Top 3 Alternatives to Kaspersky Antivirus in 2024
Here are our three expert-vetted Kaspersky antivirus alternatives, with TotalAV leading the pack.
Last Updated on Oct 09, 2024
Editor’s Note: The U.S. government just banned Kaspersky sales since Kaspersky has Russian ties. Don’t worry, these Kaspersky alternatives will keep you covered.
In 2018, the United States banned Kaspersky products from all federal agencies. There are concerns that Kaspersky shares information with Russia due to a string of hiring decisions that brought in people with connections to the Russian military.
This reputation still affects Kaspersky today, with the U.S. just recently banning any Kaspersky sales in the states. That didn’t stop us from testing it out and seeing how it stacks up against the best antivirus software. We compared notes against the 40 other types of antivirus software we tested to find the three best alternatives to Kaspersky, so you can avoid the controversies while maintaining your antivirus protection and internet security.
We’ve also conducted full dives that compare Kaspersky to other leading antivirus programs
Comparison Between the Best Kaspersky Alternatives
| System |
TotalAV Antivirus
|
Surfshark Antivirus
|
Norton Antivirus
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Ratings | 9.7/10 | 8.9/10 | 9.5/10 |
| Devices covered | 4 to 8 | Unlimited | 1 to 5 |
| Included firewall | No | No | Yes |
| Supported operating systems | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | Windows, Mac, Android | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android |
| Price range | $29 to $49 per year | $47.85 to $76.35 per year | $29.99 to $39.99 per year |
| Read Review | TotalAV Antivirus Review | Surfshark Antivirus Review | Norton Antivirus Review |
Kaspersky Alternatives
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1. TotalAV Antivirus
View Packages Links to TotalAV AntivirusProduct Specs
Virus Detection Yes Malware Detection Yes Firewall No On-demand Scanning Yes On-access Scanning Yes Behavior-based monitoring Yes
What Makes TotalAV a Good Kaspersky Alternative?
It’s no secret that Kaspersky offers one of the most secure antivirus softwares on the market. TotalAV is another one of those ultra-secure antivirus providers — except without any controversies. They also cost a bit less, starting at $29 for the first year compared to $38.49 for a year of Kaspersky.
Did You Know? On average, antivirus software slows down your web browsing and apps by about 11 percent. Lightweight antivirus software is important to avoid those slow downs — most people buy antivirus software to get their computer running better, after all. Well, TotalAV beats those industry averages, impacting your web browsing by only seven percent and apps by about five percent.
Antivirus Quality
TotalAV scored near-perfect marks on Windows and Android devices, and works better on those devices than it does on macOS and iOS devices. After tests with over 20,000 combined malware samples by AV-Test, TotalAV held the following detection rates:1
Kaspersky’s AV-Test Results by Operating System Windows 99.9% detection rate Android 99.9% detection rate macOS 99.2% detection rate Now, those Windows and Android scores are slightly lower than Kaspersky since Kaspersky detected 100 percent of the malware samples. But remember, it’s 0.1 percent — you can’t get closer than that.
Company Reputation
The biggest issue we found while testing TotalAV was in its privacy policy. While it’s not as uncommon with antivirus software as it is with VPNs, TotalAV retains the right to collect your IP address and location data. But it still can’t identify where you are with those pieces of information. It can only get your whereabouts.
You’ll want to keep your IP address out of your VPN provider’s hands. Since your IP address is unique to your device, your browsing activities could become compromised by cross-checking between connections to the VPN servers and your IP address. And TotalAV has a VPN that follows the same privacy policy, which is why you won’t see it on our list of the best VPNs, even though it’s our favorite antivirus software.
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2. Surfshark Antivirus
View Plans Links to Surfshark AntivirusProduct Specs
Virus Detection Yes Malware Detection Yes Firewall No On-demand Scanning Yes On-access Scanning Yes Behavior-based monitoring Yes
What Makes Surfshark a Good Kaspersky Alternative?
If you plan to get a Kaspersky bundle that includes a VPN, Surfshark makes for a great alternative. Although its antivirus software doesn’t quite keep up with Kaspersky, its VPN is a lot better. We like having multihop as an option, which lets us further protect our internet traffic by sending our signal through two servers and two layers of encryption. You don’t get that option with Kaspersky. Surfshark has 1,000 more servers than Kaspersky, as well.
FYI: Are you trying to stay anonymous online? Pairing a VPN with one of the best data removal services helps keep new information from getting online and removes the information that’s already out there.
We prefer the combination of Surfshark’s VPN and antivirus software over Kaspersky’s VPN and antivirus software. But, if you only want antivirus software, Kaspersky, Norton, and TotalAV are better options.
Antivirus Quality
Surfshark is a VPN company first and foremost. But its antivirus software is nothing to scoff at either. It hasn’t been tested as many times as Kaspersky by AV-Test, but the time it was tested it received high marks. Here are the results from 2022:2
Surfshark’s AV-Test results Malware samples tested November results December results 12,962 99.9 percent detection rate 100 percent detection rate On top of its high rate of virus detection, Surfshark was easy to use. It didn’t slow down our computer at all while we ran real-time monitoring in the background, or during manual scans. When we ran real-time monitoring, we didn’t need to take any action immediately when it detected something. It quarantined the suspicious file and waited for us to review it instead of sending a pop-up that could’ve disrupted our workflow.
Company Reputation
While TotalAV takes your IP address and location data permanently, Surfshark takes it and then deletes it within 15 minutes, according to their privacy policy. (Well, it’s not just their privacy policy that says it; They got a third party audit from Deloitte, a $30 billion consulting company,3 that confirmed Surfshark follows its own policy.)
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3. Norton Antivirus
View Plans Links to Norton AntivirusProduct Specs
Virus Detection Yes Malware Detection Yes Firewall Yes On-demand Scanning Yes On-access Scanning Yes Behavior-based monitoring Yes
What Makes Norton a Good Kaspersky Alternative?
For comprehensive online protection, Norton is a solid choice. You can get all of the same services as you can with Kaspersky, with the addition of a password manager, parental controls, identity alerts, credit monitoring, and identity protection through LifeLock. It also matches Kaspersky’s impressive virus detection rate.
Antivirus Quality
Since Norton is a huge name in the antivirus industry, AV-Test regularly tests its malware detection capabilities. Most recently, there was a March and April test. As usual, Norton put up perfect scores. It’s been putting up perfect scores since 2020, so we can confidently say that Norton offers some of the best protection on the market. Here’s what Norton scored on its latest AV-Test:
Norton’s AV-Test Results in 2024 Samples tested March results April results 19,544 100% detection rate 100% detection rate While Norton is great at detecting malware, its desktop app got old quickly. Since Norton offers so many different services, the app has tons of windows within it. That means we had to switch windows constantly between turning our VPN on, then switch to another window to turn our antivirus on, and then another window for our credit monitoring.
Company Reputation
Norton comes with a bit of a checkered past as well. Except instead of foreign governments, Norton’s issues come in the form of unethical business practices. First, in 2012, Norton settled a class-action lawsuit that claimed Norton falsely identified malware to get customers to pay for antivirus software.
Then, in 2013, another class action lawsuit was brought forth related to double billing. Norton ended up paying out $10 million to customers who got billed twice. Finally, in 2018, Norton faced a final class action lawsuit related to the effectiveness of their antivirus software. After that, they seem to have changed their ways. Norton hasn’t had any marks against its reputation and has detected 100 percent of malware samples from AV-Test since 2012.
Pro Tip: There are plenty of free antivirus companies that try to play tricks on you. Whether it’s saying you have malware when you don’t or the free antivirus software itself being malware, free services always come with risks. That’s why we took those risks for you and created our roundup of the best free antivirus software that actually works.
Final Thoughts
We can’t get around the security that Kaspersky offers. With a 100 percent detection rate since June based on AV-Test’s malware samples, there’s no beating Kaspersky’s antivirus capabilities. But that detection rate can be matched, and it has been by Norton. Norton also has more service options. You can’t get away from a tarnished company reputation, though.
There’s plenty more to look at than just an antivirus software’s detection rate. You can also look at the product’s other digital security offerings and its relative ease of use. There’s where Surfshark and TotalAV come in, with Surfshark having one of the best VPNs on the market and TotalAV speeding up your computer instead of slowing it down.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kaspersky Alternatives
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What’s the best Kaspersky alternative?
The three best alternatives for Kaspersky antivirus are:
- TotalAV for a premium user experience
- Surfshark for an industry-leading VPN
- Norton for equal protection with more options
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Why is Kaspersky banned from some countries’ governments?
There are concerns that Kaspersky cooperates with the Russian government after some suspicious hiring that brought in people connected to Russia’s military operations.
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Is Kaspersky a strong antivirus software?
Yes, Kaspersky is one of the strongest antivirus software on the market. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t worthy alternatives. For instance, Norton matches Kaspersky’s marks for malware detection.
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Am I allowed to use Kaspersky?
In the United States, civilians can still use Kaspersky on their personal devices. It’s only banned from government computers.
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Should I stop using Kaspersky because of the controversies?
If you already use Kaspersky and enjoy using it as your antivirus software, the controversies around it having ties to the Russian government shouldn’t stop you. It’s only been banned from government computers and devices.
AV Test. (2024). Total AV.
av-test.org/en/av-test/marketing/totalav/AV Test. (2022). AV-TEST Product Review and Certification Report – Nov-Dec/2022.
av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/december-2022/surfshark-antivirus-4.4–4.5-221618/Deloitte. (2023). 2023 facts & figures.
deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/facts-and-figures.html