Among the many challenges brought on by COVID-19 has been an increase in reported scams, particularly online scams such as phishing. The Federal Trade Commission first saw spikes in reports on April 24th, 2020, peaking in May with 1,479 reports in a single day.
The security software market, currently estimated to be $224 billion globally, is intended to protect consumers and businesses from cybercrime, hacking, and related risks. This report looks specifically at the U.S. personal antivirus software market, which is software intended to protect personal computers and other connected devices from malware and other viruses brought on by cyber-criminals.
We find that awareness among Americans of antivirus software is at an all-time high at 91 percent. Along with awareness, usage is also at an all-time high as 82 percent of internet-connected U.S. households, or around 86 million households total, report using the software.
Of these, roughly 45 million households report paying for antivirus software for personal use (there are many free versions on the market).
Here are some other key findings:
- We estimate the U.S. personal antivirus market to be about $1.8 billion, based on a $40 average annual cost and 45 million households who pay for antivirus software for personal use.
- Nine percent of American heads of households report being open to purchasing antivirus software in the next six months “if a need arose,” representing a significant near-term opportunity.
- The brand with the most consumer awareness is McAfee at 91 percent recognition.
- The older someone is, the more likely they are to use antivirus software; those over the age of 60 are the most likely to use antivirus software at 85 percent.
Table of Contents
- Antivirus Market Size
- Who Is Aware of Antivirus Software?
- Who Uses Antivirus Software?
- When Did You First Purchase Antivirus Software?
- Why Do People Use Antivirus Software?
- Have You Gotten A Virus While Using Antivirus Software?
- How Many People Pay for Antivirus Software?
- How Do People Feel About Antivirus Software?
- Why Don’t People Use Antivirus Software?
- Conclusion
- Methodology
Personal Antivirus Market Size
Recent census data estimates that there are 122.8 million households in the U.S., and 85 percent of all U.S. households have internet access. Eighty-two percent of consumers reported using antivirus software, of which just over half (52 percent) pay for antivirus. This amounts to an estimated 45 million households, with an average annual cost of $40, for a personal antivirus market in the U.S. of $1.8 billion.
Moreover, our data indicate future growth for the U.S. antivirus market. Google Trends data has shown a 269 percent increase in searches for “best antivirus software” from 2018 to present day, indicating that more and more people are interested in buying antivirus software.
Who Is Aware of Antivirus Software?
Ninety-one percent of heads of households in the U.S. are aware of antivirus software, while six percent were not sure of their awareness and three percent were not aware.
| Are you aware of antivirus software? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Aware | 91% |
| Not aware | 3% |
| Unsure | 6% |
Next, our research compared awareness of the most popular antivirus software options. The brands with the most consumer awareness are McAfee at 91 percent, and Norton at 90 percent. However, all of the other software options such as Malwarebytes, Kaspersky, and Avast have consumer awareness rates at 35 percent or lower.
| Are you aware of any of the following antivirus brands (select all that apply). | Awareness from Survey |
|---|---|
| None of the above | 2% |
| Vipre | 4% |
| ESET | 5% |
| Trend Micro | 11% |
| Bitdefender | 15% |
| Webroot | 15% |
| AVG | 28% |
| Avast | 30% |
| Kaspersky | 32% |
| Malwarebytes | 35% |
| Norton | 90% |
| McAfee | 91% |
Who Uses Antivirus Software?
Overall, 82 percent of U.S. households reported using antivirus software. While all ages report high usage of antivirus software, age overall was correlated with adoption.
| Do you use antivirus software? | Yes, for business use, personal use, or both business and personal use | No |
|---|---|---|
| 18-29 | 73% | 27% |
| 30-44 | 83% | 18% |
| 45-60 | 84% | 16% |
| > 60 | 85% | 16% |
However, it’s not clear why antivirus software usage increases with age, as adults over 60 are less likely to get viruses than adults between 30 and 60.
| Have you gotten a virus or malware in the past? | 18-29 | 30-44 | 45-60 | >60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 18% | 29% | 27% | 26% |
| No | 17% | 26% | 30% | 26% |
When Did You First Purchase Antivirus Software?
The majority of antivirus software-users bought it before 2018 at 70 percent, while only 13 percent bought it last year, in 2020.
| When did you first purchase antivirus software? | Responses |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 13% |
| 2019 | 6% |
| 2018 | 11% |
| Prior to 2018 | 70% |
Why Do People Use Antivirus Software?
Forty-one percent of antivirus software-users, or 45 million households in the U.S., use it for personal use only, while another 32 percent use it for both business and personal use; in total, 73 percent of households use antivirus software for personal use. Only nine percent of antivirus-using households, or nine million households, used it for work use solely, implying that once people start using antivirus software for work, they are inspired to use it on personal devices, as well.
| Why do you use antivirus software? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Personal use only | 41% |
| Business use only | 9% |
| Business and personal use | 32% |
| Do not use | 18% |
Similar to the results of our VPN usage research, nine out of 10 antivirus-users use the software for general security, followed by general privacy at 62 percent.
| What are the biggest reasons that you use antivirus software? Select all that apply. | Responses |
|---|---|
| General security | 90% |
| General privacy | 62% |
| Required for job | 25% |
| Increased security for online shopping | 45% |
| Use public Wi-Fi without risk | 22% |
| To secure VOIP phone calls | 4% |
| To protect cryptocurrency exchanges | 6% |
| Other | 3% |
Have You Gotten A Virus While Using Antivirus Software?
Half of our survey’s respondents have gotten viruses or malware in the past, but the plurality of these cyber attacks occurred more than a year ago. Forty-one percent of U.S. households reported having a virus or malware over a year ago, while only nine percent had viruses or malware in the past year.
| Have you gotten a virus or malware in the past? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Yes, in the past month | 2% |
| Yes, in the past 6 months | 3% |
| Yes, in the past year | 4% |
| Yes, more than a year ago | 41% |
| No | 50% |
How Many People Pay for Antivirus Software?
Over a third of antivirus software-users use free antivirus software, while 52 percent pay for antivirus software for personal use.
| Do you pay for antivirus software? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Yes, I pay for my antivirus software that I use on personal devices for personal reasons. | 37% |
| Yes, I pay for antivirus software on personal devices used for personal reasons, while my employer pays for antivirus software on work devices used for work purposes. | 15% |
| No, I use free antivirus software. | 33% |
| No, my employer pays for my antivirus software. | 12% |
| No, someone else pays for my antivirus software that's neither me nor my employer. | 2% |
| Other | 2% |
How Do People Feel About Antivirus Software?
In general, people reported positive feelings about antivirus software. Ninety-three percent of respondents found it somewhat to very useful, while 98 percent found it somewhat to very effective.
| Responses | How useful do you think antivirus software is? | How effective do you think antivirus software is? |
|---|---|---|
| Very | 50% | 45% |
| Somewhat | 43% | 53% |
| Somewhat not | 4% | 1% |
| Very not | 3% | 1% |
Why Don’t People Use Antivirus Software?
Sixty-five percent of people who don’t use antivirus software reported that they don’t need it for neither personal nor business uses. A third of non-users say that antivirus software is too expensive, while 36 percent cited other reasons for their non-usage.
| Why don't you use antivirus software? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Too expensive | 30% |
| Don't need for personal use | 47% |
| Don't need for work use | 18% |
| I don't want it for another reason | 13% |
| Other | 23% |
Moreover, three-quarters of non-users did not plan on buying antivirus software in the next six months, while five percent of households reported that they would buy antivirus software if they had a personal need.
| Are you planning on buying antivirus software in the next 6 months? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Yes, if I have a personal need | 1% |
| Yes, if I have a business need | 4% |
| Yes, if I have a personal or business need | 4% |
| No | 74% |
| Unsure | 16% |
Conclusion
In general, eight out of 10 U.S. heads of households that use antivirus software are pleased with it, rating it both effective and useful. Plus, five percent of non-users are planning to invest in personal antivirus software in the next six months, so we expect increases in usage for the $1.8 billion personal antivirus market. As COVID-related cybercrimes and scams continue to proliferate online, more and more people are using antivirus software to improve their data security.
Methodology
The majority of our data regarding the antivirus market came from a survey of 841 heads of U.S. households that occurred in January of 2021. We also used Google Trends data from 2018 to the present, data from Statista, the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Center for Education Statistics, and AV-Labs, along with our own data from purchasing and testing each antivirus software mentioned. To learn more about how we test antivirus software, read our antivirus guide.
