In this full comparison between Bitdefender and Avast , you will see what both antivirus companies offer, and how both programs compare in terms of malware protection, impact on system performance, user interface, costs and more.
Do you know that almost half of computer users worldwide have been, or will be, infected by malware?
Do you know the firm AV-Test, which is an independent security laboratory, that collects more than 350,000 new malware samples every day? The frequency with which malware attacks occur these days is alarming.
Hackers are continually discovering new ways to access your devices, mainly computers and mobiles, to compromise your data and violate your privacy.
So how do you protect your devices against malware attacks? You need a reliable antivirus to stay protected against digital threats, such as destructive ransomware, Trojans and viruses.
Fortunately, most top-notch antivirus programs automatically update their malware definitions several times a day , providing immediate protection against all the latest real-time computer threats.
While free antivirus programs may be useful, they do not include advanced security-related features or additional tools that improve your security. In addition, most free security solutions do not offer real-time anti-malware protection .
For these reasons, we strongly recommend that you invest in a premium antivirus solution for complete security.
Before moving on to the comparison between the two brands, we decided to get wet and tell you which one is the best for us.
And the winner is Bitdefender.
Now, if you want to know why, you should continue reading.
You can buy Bitdefender in the Licensing Shop at the lowest price in all of the USA.
Bitdefender , our winner
Overall, Bitdefender is our main antivirus recommendation for 2019 , due to its performance in recent independent laboratory tests conducted by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives. At this time, we believe that Bitdefender Total Security 2019, is the best antivirus package available in the market.
In addition to providing excellent protection against malware, it offers all the advanced features and utilities that should be in a high quality package, and best of all, it offers excellent value for money.
You can protect up to five devices with a single license from this suite.
If you have more than five devices in your home, we recommend Bitdefender Family Pack.
With a single license of this set, you can install the Bitdefender total security application suite on an unlimited number of devices.
Now, let’s go to the comparison.
Comparison: Avast or Bitdefender
Avast offers more security-related features and additional utility tools in its security products than Bitdefender.
Independent tests show that both programs provide excellent protection against all types of malware, but Bitdefender is better than Avast in terms of impact on system performance.
We believe that Bitdefender Total Security 2019, is the best antivirus package you can buy in 2019, because you can protect up to five devices with a single license.
Features you’ll find in Bitdefender antivirus
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition provides “essential protection without additional material.” It has great protection , and there is no doubt about that, but it includes only the essential security-related functions, as expected in the free software, and very few additional utilities.
It lacks a utility as a password manager, but includes protection against fraudulent sites and phishing or phishing.
The Bitdefender Home Scanner, which is available for download separately, searches for vulnerable devices and passwords on your network and offers detailed security recommendations to help you improve your security. Bitdefender also offers free adware and ransomware removal tools as separate downloads.
The next level is Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2019.
This alternative adds a silent mode game option , a secure browser for purchases, a password repository, a file shredder that helps you securely and permanently delete confidential files and a battery protector. As a customer, you will also get a premium customer service.
It also adds a vulnerability scanner, and a rescue disk option to eliminate deep malicious infections.
The next antivirus package is Bitdefender Internet Security 2019, which adds webcam protection, parental control features, a secure archiving feature to protect your important files from ransomware attacks, a two-way firewall and an antispam to block unwanted emails .
For Mac, Bitdefender offers a free antivirus , which, like its free Windows software, contains only the essential security-related features. It also offers two free Mac utility tools: the Adware and TrafficLight removal tool, a web filter that blocks malicious content before it reaches your device.
Features you’ll find in Avast antivirus
Avast offers separate antivirus solutions for Windows and MacOS.
First, let’s talk about the products for the Windows operating system.
Unlike the free Bitdefender software , Avast Free Antivirus is one of the antivirus programs with more features that exist .
In addition to excellent malware protection, it includes web and email protection, a password store, a home network inspector, which verifies vulnerable networks and settings, a software updater, which informs you which of your programs is outdated, and A silent mode function for games.
You can also create a rescue means to eradicate malware that has seriously infected your system. The Avast SafeZone browser protects your online shopping and banking experience, while its Online Security browser plug-in blocks phishing and dangerous sites while browsing the web.
The next level is Avast Pro Antivirus, which adds Sandbox technology, allows you to test potentially dangerous files in a virtual environment , a real site function to prevent hackers from taking over your DNS settings and premium support.
Avast Internet Security adds an advanced firewall, an antispam to block unwanted emails and high-level protection against ransomware.
With Avast Premier, you will get everything the Avast Internet Security package offers you, plus a file shredder and protection against webcam spying. In addition, the other outdated applications will be automatically updated.
The Avast Ultimate package adds Cleanup Premium, which improves system performance by cleaning garbage, a SecureLine VPN to help you surf the web anonymously and a premium password pool.
Now let’s talk about what Avast offers for MacOS .
Avast offers two security solutions for Mac: Avast Security and Avast Security Pro.
Avast Security incorporates first-class anti-malware security , web and email protection, and a WiFi security scanner, while Avast Security Pro adds protection against WiFi ransomware and intruders.
And now the million-dollar question, which of these two antivirus suits you best?
Avast or Bitdefender: what software provides better protection
Bitdefender and Avast, like most other modern antivirus solutions, use signature matching detection, that is, checking for a suspicious file against a huge and robust library of malware definition files, and heuristic monitoring , verify the behavior characteristics of the files, to detect all types of known files and threats of unknown malware.
Usually, all antivirus share the same malware detection engine .
To see which product offers a better level of protection against malware, we must observe how both products behaved in recent tests conducted by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives, two independent security laboratories that regularly test the main antivirus products.
In the most recent AV-Test tests, both programs were tested against 185 zero-day malware samples and 10,684 generalized malware samples.
Bitdefender successfully detected 100% of both types of malware in both months, obtaining a “perfect” star rating of 6/6.
Avast achieved roughly the same results, detected 100% of zero-day malware in and 99.9% of widespread malware.
In the latest AV-Comparatives real-world protection test, which tested the main antivirus products against real-world malware threats, Bitdefender and Avast received a perfect “ADVANCED +” rating thanks to their almost perfect 99.9 protection % and 99.6% respectively.
In the latest AV-Comparatives malware protection test, which judged the ability of the antivirus product to protect the system against malware, before, after or during execution, both Bitdefender and Avast again received an excellent “ADVANCED +” award. .
Avast returned 9 false alarms, that is, the false identification of clean software such as malware in the test, while Bitdefender produced 5 false positives.
So it is clear that both Bitdefender and Avast provide first class protection against all types of malware.
Avast or Bitdefender: What software has the least impact on system performance?
All modern antivirus products run continuously in the background to provide real-time protection, which means that they occupy a percentage of system resources all the time.
A security software that provides high-level malware protection along with many additional security-related features, but that degrades system performance, is not a good product.
In the AV-Test performance study, its experts analyzed the influence that each security solution had on the speed of the computer, while executing common operations, such as browsing websites, downloading and installing applications, copying files.
Bitdefender received a rating of “excellent” in this test.
Avast scores were not as perfect as Bitdefender’s, but still received an ‘impressive’ rating.
While you can be sure that none of the programs will significantly degrade system performance, we must tell you that Bitdefender received slightly better results than Avast in both independent tests.
Avast or Bitdefender: What software has a better user interface?
Bitdefender offers two interfaces, one for the free antivirus and the other for its paid software.
Since your free software does not have a large number of advanced security features and additional utilities such as Avast Free Antivirus, its interface is minimalist and follows a “set it and forget it” approach.
Paid versions of Bitdefender come with a more robust interface . It contains a vertical menu on the left that contains the following elements: Protection, Privacy, Tools, Activity, Notifications, Account, Settings and Support.
You will see the name of the plan to which you are subscribed at the top and, at the bottom, there is a link that takes you to the Bitdefender Central online portal from where you can manage all your devices in one place.
Now let’s go deeper into the Avast interface.
Unlike Bitdefender, Avast offers the same interface for all its security products . At first glance, it may seem a little less complicated than the Bitdefender interface. It has four elements arranged in a vertical menu: Status, Protection, Privacy and Performance.
The default window shows the protection status and a button to execute what Avast calls a ‘Smart Scan’. The ‘Protection’, ‘Privacy’ and ‘Performance’ tabs elegantly open all the functions and options associated with each item.
The name of the antivirus package you are subscribed to is shown in the title bar. In the lower left, there is a button that takes you to the ‘Settings’ page, and just above it is a button to update you to a higher plan.
In general, the Bitdefender interface, that of Premium products, seems a bit more complex and overwhelming than Avast’s.
Therefore, in this sense the winner is Avast.
Conclusions
After all we have seen, for us Bitdefender is one of the best antivirus today if we consider the value for money.
And with its version of Internet Security, you can protect up to five devices, have a quality customer service and a 30-day money back guarantee.
But of course, you have the last word.
Therefore, what do you say? Avast or Bitdefender?
Marziano is a seasoned tech expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and multiple certifications, including CompTIA A+, Network+, and Cisco’s CCNA, he has a well-rounded and robust understanding of various aspects of technology.