Independent · sourced · Updated October 2026
Best Antivirus Software (2026)
9 antivirus software options compared on price, free tier, compliance and fit — ranked by entry price. Every figure links to the public page it was captured from — the vendor's own wherever the vendor publishes the number, otherwise the named public source — with the date we captured it; where a vendor publishes no monthly price we name the kind of pricing it uses, never a guess.
The cheapest antivirus software is Avast at $0/mo. 4 offer a free tier. All 9 compared below on price, free tier and compliance — every figure sourced and dated, updated October 2026.
As of Oct 12, 2026 · figures linked to their source in the table below
Cite this comparison
Per The Front Desk Review, the cheapest antivirus software is Avast at $0/mo; across 9 with published pricing the median is $3.33/mo ($2.08–$8.33/mo), 4 with a free tier, every figure sourced and dated, as of 2026-10-12. https://frontdeskreview.com/best/antivirus-software/ Key takeaways
- Typical paid price: from $2.08/mo, median $3.33/mo, up to $8.33/mo — across 9 with published pricing.
- Free tier: Avast, AVG, Comodo, Bitdefender.
- Tracked: 9 vendors, data current through 2026-10-12. STALE · 2026-09-02
Comparison
| # | Antivirus Software | Entry price | Free | HIPAA | SOC 2 | Best for | Source | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avast STALE · 2026-09-27 | $0/mo Avast Free Antivirus | Yes | — | — | Budget users wanting a full-featured forever-free antivirus | avast.com | Visit → |
| 2 | AVG STALE · 2026-09-02 | $0/mo AVG AntiVirus Free | Yes | — | — | Budget users wanting a genuine forever-free antivirus (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS) | avg.com | Visit → |
| 3 | Comodo | $0/mo Comodo Free Antivirus | Yes | — | — | Security-focused users who want prevention-based (not just detection-based) protection | antivirus.comodo.com | Visit → |
| 4 | Bitdefender STALE · 2026-09-26 | $2.08/mo Bitdefender Antivirus Plus (1 device) | Yes | — | — | Windows-primary households wanting strong detection with low system overhead | bitdefender.com | Visit → |
| 5 | McAfee STALE · 2026-09-05 | $2.5/mo McAfee Basic | No | — | — | Households with unlimited devices needing a single subscription | mcafee.com | Visit → |
| 6 | Kaspersky STALE · 2026-09-02 | $3.25/mo Kaspersky Standard | No | — | — | Non-US consumers wanting top detection rates at competitive prices | security.org | Visit → |
| 7 | ESET STALE · 2026-09-05 | $3.33/mo ESET NOD32 Antivirus (1 device) | No | — | — | Security-focused users who value a vendor with a clean track record | eset.com | Visit → |
| 8 | Malwarebytes STALE · 2026-09-02 | $3.75/mo Malwarebytes Standard (1 device) | No | — | — | Users who want a secondary malware scanner alongside another antivirus | security.org | Visit → |
| 9 | Norton STALE · 2026-09-02 | $4.99/mo Norton AntiVirus Plus | No | — | — | Families wanting bundled antivirus + identity theft protection | us.norton.com | Visit → |
Prices are the lowest published self-serve rate, with the period it is charged on, as captured on the linked source. Annual-billing and usage details are on each vendor's record in our open dataset.
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What is the cheapest antivirus software?
Avast has the lowest published entry price at $0/mo (Avast Free Antivirus), as of 2026-09-27.
How much does antivirus software cost per month?
Across the 9 antivirus software with published paid pricing, the median starting price is $3.33/mo, ranging from $2.08/mo to $8.33/mo, as of 2026-10-12. 4 also offer a free tier.
Which antivirus software have a free plan?
Avast, AVG, Comodo, Bitdefender offer a free tier.
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