The Best Antivirus for Mac in 2024

1. TotalAV Antivirus - Best Comprehensive Protection

SecurityScore:

9.7 /10

View Packages Links to TotalAV Antivirus

How We Review

Product Specs

Virus Detection	Yes
Malware Detection	Yes
Firewall	No
On-demand Scanning	Yes
On-access Scanning	Yes
Behavior-based monitoring	Yes

View Packages Links to TotalAV Antivirus

Real-time Protection

Vigilance goes a long way in avoiding malware. You think you’re just reading an online news article, or downloading an app, or loading a file, but malware could already be infecting your computer in the background. With TotalAV’s real-time protection, you’re always protected.

TotalAV runs in the background and immediately scans any file or program involved when you perform any action. For example, if you open a file, TotalAV scans it in real-time to make sure it’s clean. You don’t have to start a scan manually or wait for a scheduled scan; TotalAV protects you 24/7.

When it comes to costs, TotalAV is relatively affordable. It costs $29 for the first year, and $59 annually after that. For an extra $10, you get protection for two more devices and TotalAV’s VPN. And even though it’s an antivirus company at heart, we were surprisingly satisfied when we tested Total VPN by TotalAV. While that might seem like a kind of bait-and-switch, this variable price model is pretty common in this industry. Just something to keep in mind to prevent sticker shock 12 months down the line. A lot of times, you can get it even cheaper during TotalAV’s Cyber Monday deals.

More Than Just an Antivirus

TotalAV comes with a lot of useful extras. In fact, it might be more fitting to call it a “security solution” rather than just “antivirus software.” For example, it scans not just your local files but files stored in the cloud as well. It also includes a secure password vault where you can keep your passwords safely. And to protect you from various online threats, there’s a WebShield feature that identifies unsafe websites before you visit them.

One of TotalAV’s best extra features is a VPN or virtual private network. The VPN encrypts your online data to keep your browsing sessions private and to hide your IP address. With this, you’re not only safe from viruses, but from hackers and government spying as well.

>> Related Reading: The Best Password Managers for Mac

2. Surfshark Antivirus - Best with VPN

SecurityScore:

8.9 /10

View Plans Links to Surfshark Antivirus

How We Review

Product Specs

Virus Detection	Yes
Malware Detection	Yes
Firewall	No
On-demand Scanning	Yes
On-access Scanning	Yes
Behavior-based monitoring	Yes

View Plans Links to Surfshark Antivirus

More Than Just a VPN

Wait, why are we including a VPN on this list of antivirus software providers? Two reasons — first, your digital security needs to be comprehensive. You wouldn’t install a smart lock on your front door but leave your back door wide open at night, would you? Second, Surfshark doesn’t just offer a high-quality VPN. With Surfshark One and Surfshark One+, you’re going to get complete protection from malware as well as some identity theft protection and even additional webcam security.

Everybody hates zoom meetings, but what’s worse is that if you’re not cautious, hackers can take control of your webcam and spy on you without you knowing it. We used to keep a piece of tape over ours just to be safe, but we were able to ditch it after installing Surfshark One.

Identity Theft Protection

Like we said above, Surfshark’s protection covers a lot of bases, and that includes your identity on top of your physical devices. By constantly scanning known black-market sites for your personally identifiable information, Surfshark can let you know if you’ve been a victim of a data breach. While they won’t be able to prevent your credit card information or social security numbers from being leaked, they will let you know if it happens so you can take evasive action and prevent it from becoming a major problem. We had an identity theft scare a few years back, and trust us, we would have really appreciated some advanced notice.

3. Bitdefender Antivirus - Best for Families

SecurityScore:

8.7 /10

View Plans Links to Bitdefender Antivirus

How We Review

Product Specs

Virus Detection	Yes
Malware Detection	Yes
Firewall	Yes
On-demand Scanning	Yes
On-access Scanning	Yes
Behavior-based monitoring	Yes

View Plans Links to Bitdefender Antivirus

Top-Notch Virus Protection

In case you haven’t read any of our antivirus reviews yet, we do a virus detection test where we hide five viruses on our computer and see how many an antivirus program can catch. We do this test every time we test antivirus software, and so far, only two managed to catch them all. Bitdefender was one of those antiviruses. Because of that, its spot on our list of the overall best antivirus software is well-earned.

Antivirus for Up to 15 Devices

Bitdefender can protect more than just your Mac computers. With a single subscription, we were able to install and use Bitdefender on up to 15 devices. That’s one of the reasons we think it’s a great option for business antivirus protection, especially for small businesses. A single subscription can protect 15 employee computers making it cost-effective while still providing the protection you need while getting your business off the ground.

Better still, it worked outside the Apple ecosystem. We also installed it on our Windows laptops and Android smartphones.

Bitdefender is easy to use across all platforms. Thanks to its impressive malware detection capacity and real-time protection, all you need to do is install the software on your devices and it will work in the background to protect you from all kinds of malware threats.

When it comes to Bitdefender’s costs, expect to pay between $39.99 and $69.99 per year, depending on your package and the features you select. That equals out to a little more than $3 per month for the former and about $6 per month for the latter. Definitely worth it, in our opinion.

4. Trend Micro Antivirus - Best for Mac Web Protection

SecurityScore:

8.6 /10

View Packages Links to Trend Micro Antivirus

How We Review

Product Specs

Virus Detection	Yes
Malware Detection	Yes
Firewall	Yes
On-demand Scanning	Yes
On-access Scanning	Yes
Behavior-based monitoring	Yes

View Packages Links to Trend Micro Antivirus

On-Demand and On-Access Scanning

Trend Micro follows the trend of antivirus software offering multiple scanning options. When we tested Trend Micro, we made use of on-demand scanning, meaning, we scanned our Macs whenever we felt like it. That said, with on-access scanning, Trend Micro gave us extra protection by running in the background continuously to scan for malware. For more details on ways that antivirus protection inoculates your systems against threats, check out our detailed antivirus guide.

Intuitive User Interface

Trend Micro offers a slew of features, and most of those features are accessed through the app. That is why we appreciate Trend Micro’s intuitive app interface. Trend Micro’s apps offer access to different settings and features. We used it to start or schedule on-demand scans, protect our folders that contain sensitive information, and monitor how Trend Micro had protected our devices.

Just a fair warning — they offer a whole lot of different packages, and figuring out which one is right for you can get pretty complicated. Generally, we recommend the premium security suite to get the full features and capabilities of Trend Micro. This package includes VPN and identity theft protection services as well as antivirus protection for up to 10 devices. If you only want antivirus software for your Mac, go with the Antivirus for Mac package that costs $39.95. But, it only covers one device. More on that in our guide to Trend Micro’s pricing, but here’s a quick rundown:

5. Avast Antivirus - Best Free Antivirus for Mac

SecurityScore:

8.5 /10

View Plans Links to Avast Antivirus

How We Review

Product Specs

Virus Detection	Yes
Malware Detection	Yes
Firewall	Yes
On-demand Scanning	Yes
On-access Scanning	Yes
Behavior-based monitoring	Yes

View Plans Links to Avast Antivirus

High App Ratings

We had a great experience testing Avast, but its high macOS app rating of 4.7 out of 5 proved that we weren’t the only ones who thought the software delivered. One user, who said they had subscribed to Avast for years, said it had saved them from installing software containing malware onto their phone. Seeing that macOS laptops and computers make up nearly eight percent2 of the global market share in laptops and desktop computers, it’s crucial to make sure that these devices are protected from viruses.

Money-back Guarantee

We loved our experience with Avast, but some users may not have the same thoughts. That’s why it’s great that Avast offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with the software, all you need to do is contact Avast’s customer support within 30 days of your purchase and ask for a refund. Avast will cancel your plan and return your money with no questions asked.

This could also be the perfect way to do a full test-run of the service, if you’re between a couple of options. If you decide to move beyond the 30-day trial into a full subscription, we outlined every option on our Avast pricing page. Here’s the long and short, though: Avast will cost you between $34.99 and $44.99 per year, depending on the package you select.

6. Vipre Antivirus - Best with Behavior-based Detection

SecurityScore:

8.3 /10

How We Review

Product Specs

Virus Detection	Yes
Malware Detection	Yes
Firewall	With Advanced Security and Ultimate Security versions
On-demand Scanning	Yes
On-access Scanning	Yes
Behavior-based monitoring	Yes

Affordable Protection

When we conducted our tests, we used VIPRE Advanced Security, which costs $36.99 for one year, or about $3 per month. Mac-users will need to go for the Advanced Security offering, as VIPRE Antivirus Plus is only compatible with PCs. Nevertheless, we had plenty of options when it came to the term length and the number of devices that we could connect. We could connect anywhere from one to ten devices and sign up for contracts as short as one year or as long as four years. If you’re still curious about cost, we have a full page on VIPRE’s pricing. Something you should know right off the bat, though, is that they offer a more basic version of the service we tested — Antivirus Plus — for $20.99 per year and a more advanced version — the Ultimate Security Bundle — for $59.99 per year.

Intuitive User Experience

VIPRE’s interface was very intuitive: the program showed a status bar that let us know when the computer was last scanned, whether the firewall protection was active, and that the threat definitions were up to date. We allowed certain websites and apps past the firewall, and were also happy that our VIPRE shielded our email inbox from phishing attacks. The presets were exactly how we would have customized the tool, so we didn’t have to do much to get up and running, and appreciated that the service did not serve us any pesky pop-ups.

7. AVG Antivirus - Best for Detecting Malware for Mac

SecurityScore:

8.6 /10

View Plans Links to AVG Antivirus

How We Review

View Plans Links to AVG Antivirus

Free Option Available

Beyond offering a 30-day money-back guarantee, AVG actually offers a free version of their service that doesn’t expire. We gained:

• A file shield that scanned every file that we opened or downloaded onto our computer
• A behavior shield that monitored our apps
• Ransomware protection
• A network inspector that scanned our entire Wi-Fi network and all of our connected devices.

While AVG’s free software does not cover detection of fake websites and phishing, it’s a great bare-bones antivirus if that’s something you are comfortable with. We also compiled the best free antivirus software in case price (or lack thereof) is a major factor in your decision.

For more security, you’ll want to go with the premium version of their service. We have more on this in our guide to AVG’s prices, but right now that package is on sale for $46.68 per year.

High Malware Detection Rate

We were impressed with AVG’s behavior-based detection, where the software identified suspicious behavior that can lead to cyber-attacks. A lot of antivirus software just matches up malware to an existing database, so AVG goes above and beyond to spot new threats in real-time. Their malware detection of the most recent macOS malware was accurate 100-percent of the time, a perfect score that doesn’t come by easily. Even though Macs’ built-in security measures are strong, it’s still important that antivirus software sniffs out undiscovered threats. For more ways to bolster your security, check out our best VPNs for Mac.