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When choosing an antivirus program, security experts and consumers alike consider many factors besides the protection capabilities of the software. Cost, system impact, compatibility, usability and personal judgement about a company’s practices can all be important factors that affect a person’s decision to choose an antivirus program.

The German-based Avira is a great option for those who require an antivirus suite that has solid test results and a monthly billing option. This antivirus program has impressive laboratory scores across every category and comes with many useful extras, such as a password manager. Avira scans are fast and don’t use a lot of resources. The full-scan speed is reduced by 53%. This is one of our most significant results.

It’s hard to pick the best free antivirus program due to the fact that many of our top choices have some drawbacks. For instance, Kaspersky’s powerful background effect can cause slowdowns that can reach 53%, whereas Avast’s full-scan slowdown is only slightly less at 44%. Bitdefender however, on the other hand has an excellent free version as well as an AV subscription solution with excellent independent testing lab scores. Its feature set is extensive and includes the VPN, which helps it stand out from the competition.

F-Secure is the best-rated paid antivirus program. McAfee Total Protection and Trend Micro Internet Security are also highly valued. Microsoft Defender, the built-in antivirus that comes with Windows 10 and 11, is relatively light, only having an impact on background of 9.9%. However, it may cause system slowdowns when performing full system scans.