Security experts and users alike are aware of a myriad of factors when choosing an antivirus program, apart from its protection capabilities. Cost, system impact compatibility, usability, and personal judgement regarding the practices of a company can all be significant factors that affect a person’s choice of an antivirus tool.

Germany-based Avira is a great choice for anyone in need of an antivirus suite with solid test results and the option of billing monthly. Avira’s antivirus program is renowned for its high scores in all categories. Avira also offers numerous useful features like a password management tool. Avira’s scans feature a subtle background effect and are not particularly resource-heavy. However, the full-scan speed drop is fairly substantial at 53 percent which is among the highest in our tests.

It’s hard to pick the best free antivirus program, as many of our top choices have a few drawbacks. Kaspersky can slow down your computer by as much as 53% because of its hefty background effect, whereas Avast is just a bit slower at 44 percent. Bitdefender on the other hand has a great free version as well as an excellent subscription AV program which has excellent independent test lab scores. Its feature set is very extensive and includes the VPN, which helps it stand out from the competition.

The top-rated best antivirus free reddit paid AV software include F-Secure, McAfee Total Protection and Trend Micro Internet Security. Microsoft Defender, the built-in antivirus that comes with Windows 10 and 11, is fairly light, having an impact on background of 9%. However, it could cause heavy system slowdowns when conducting full system scans.