good
Avast impresses with a great free version covering all the essentials, and a huge set of features that offer well-rounded antivirus protection and some nice extras. Scans can slightly impact performance, however.
Try Avast now *
Installation & Usage
9.4 / 10
Features
9.4 / 10
Support
8.0 / 10
Security & Performance
8.0 / 10
Antivirus

Avast Antivirus Review 2023: How Good Is It?

Author
Janis von Bleichert
Last update
6. Mar 2023
Our editors test and evaluate all services independently. For links on this page, EXPERTE.com may earn a commission from the provider.

Over recent years, cybercrime has become one of the fastest-growing developments in criminal statistics. While the physical world becomes less dangerous, the virtual one seems to be heading in the opposite direction, providing all the more reason to have a solid line of defense against malicious online activities.

Avast offers one of the most popular free antivirus programs out there and in this review, we'll let you know whether it's earned its good reputation.

What Is Avast Antivirus?

Avast Antivirus* is an award-winning antivirus program for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Its basic version is free of charge, however, to unlock all of the program's features, you will need to pay for a premium subscription. We tested the software on Windows and Android.

Avast Antivirus Review

Review
8.6
good
Visit Website*
Installation & Usage
9.4 / 10
Features
9.4 / 10
Support
8.0 / 10
Security & Performance
8.0 / 10
  • Packed with features

  • Easy-to-use

  • Functional freeware version

  • Excellent support area for DIY types

  • Limited options for contacting support

  • Scans can inhibit your computer's performance

1.

Installation & Usage

It only takes a few minutes to install Avast, concluding (optionally) with the first scan of your computer, which helps the program determine if your system is infected with any malware, or if outdated software has created any vulnerabilities. At installation, a free, 60-day premium trial subscription was offered, just like with AVG Antivirus. While on the subject, both programs have a nearly identical setup process, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise as AVG was bought by Avast in 2016.

Immediately after installation, Avast will ask if you'd like to run your first scan with the software.

Avast's user interface is streamlined and aesthetically harmonious thanks to its blue tones, orange accents (from the company's logo), and green 'all clear' buttons (if your computer is secure). In the menu on the left, in addition to being able to view your current status, you'll have the ability to perform a quick "Smart Scan" and to view all of Avast's features, divided into categories like "Protection", "Privacy", and "Performance".

When everything is green in the status area, your system is in good shape.

Notifications, such as warnings or information about updates, appear in the upper menu bar. Here, you can also access the program's settings, which have a very practical integrated search feature, helping you find what you need quicker. Even without the search tool, the app is well-arranged, with the result being that you won't ever need to spend long looking for a tool or module.

Avast's settings are neatly grouped into categories such as "Security", "Privacy", and "Performance".

Despite Avast's variety of features, navigating it is both easy and enjoyable, owing to its well-conceived and tidy interface: It shouldn't take long to find any feature or setting you might be looking for, and the most important information always seemed to be just a click away, but never more.

Visit Website*
Installation & Usage
9.4 / 10
2.

Features

Avast Antivirus does not suffer from a shortage of features. In fact, even the freeware version wasn't lacking anything that we look for in an antivirus program. The wheelhouses of any antivirus software are its scanning capabilities and provision of real-time protection.

Comprehensive manual scans

In Avast Antivirus, you can view the different types of scans by clicking on Security > Virus Scan. In addition to the aforementioned Smart Scan, which you likely performed after installing the software, you'll find a few additional scan types as well: "Full Virus Scan" checks your entire system, whereas the "Targeted Scan" only evaluates specific, user-defined files or folders. With a "Boot-Time Scan", you can identify threats to your system when it's starting up.

It's also possible to create user-defined scans and schedule these at regular intervals. In addition to the kind of scan to be performed, you can also select how often it should be repeated (never, once, daily, weekly, or monthly), and what the program should do if any threats are identified.

Avast Antivirus offers plenty of scan options.

Customizable real-time protection

You can take a closer look at real-time protection by clicking on the "Security" tab in the menu. In the "Core Shields" area, you can toggle the File, Behavior, Web, and Mail shields on or off. Additional options for each of these can be found under settings. These include the ability to instruct the program to automatically check your incoming and outgoing emails or to block Web attacks and unsafe downloads.

Some real-time protection features are only made available to paying subscribers. These include ransomware protection, which defends you against extortion attacks, a particularly nefarious type of malware that encrypts your data, only returning access to it for a fee. Webcam protection too, which prevents unauthorized access to your webcam and microphone, is likewise only offered to users of the premium version.

You can adjust each of the program's real-time protection shields independently of one another.

User-defined firewall

That about covers the features available to freeware users. For paying customers, Avast Antivirus also includes a firewall that monitors all incoming and outgoing data traffic on your network, all the while preventing unauthorized access.

Should you want to set a specific time when suspicious network packets are to be monitored, or if joint-use of your internet connection should be temporarily allowed or disabled, you can do so in the settings menu.

Paying subscribers can make use of the software's firewall.

File-shredder and Sandbox

The program's file shredder allows you to completely destroy saved data, preventing it from being reconstructed or recovered. This is particularly handy for users who want to recycle or throw away a hard drive, memory stick, or other storage devices, without fretting over what others might be able to retrieve from it.

The "Sandbox" is another of Avast Antivirus's special features, allowing users to open questionable apps or data in a secure partition, without endangering the rest of their computer. This protects against the risks posed by unverified software. For example, if you want to know what is contained within a suspicious .exe file, you can launch it securely by right-clicking on it and selecting "Open in Sandbox".

You can open suspicious apps or programs in "Sandbox" without putting your system at risk.

Safe WiFi usage

Avast's "Wi-Fi Inspector" scans networks you are connected to, alerting you to any security issues it encounters. At home, this allows you to find out if there are problems with your router, or if any connected devices are in danger (or posing a danger). On public networks, you'll be able to see whether there are any threats nearby.

Bonus features: VPN and more

During installation, you can (optionally) install Avast Secure Browser, which comes with an integrated adblocker. In the past, Avast Antivirus also came with a password manager, however, this has been discontinued.

Even though Avast doesn't come with a standalone VPN, Ultimate package subscribers can take advantage of Avast SecureLine. During our assessment, we rated this service as average owing to its relatively small server network, few features, and lack of a security audit.

Mobile Features

The mobile version of Avast Antivirus offers additional security features, including a "Photo Vault", which encrypts and PIN-protects pictures in your device's gallery, and the so-called "Wi-Fi Scan", which assesses the security of the network you're connected to.

Since smartphones are a common target for (physical) thieves, the mobile app also includes a number of anti-theft tools. For example, you can set Avast to mark your device as "lost", whenever an unrecognized SIM card is inserted.

You can also remotely access your device, and locate it using GPS. These anti-theft measures are included in all versions, however, some can only be used by premium subscribers, such as "Camera Trap", which allows you to secretly photograph your phone's thief or the PIN lock, which marks your phone as lost after eight incorrect PIN input attempts.

The mobile version of Avast Antivirus comes with a number of practical anti-theft features.

Likewise reserved for premium users is "App Lock", which provides an added layer of security for your apps, requiring the input of a PIN or fingerprint scan to open them.

Avast Antivirus has all of that features expected from a product of its caliber, as well as a few nice extras to boot.

Visit Website*
Features
9.4 / 10
3.

Security & Performance

To provide a representative assessment of Avast Antivirus, we consulted AV-Test and AV-Comparatives, each of which regularly awards a range of antivirus programs with separate scores for their performance and security.

SecurityPerformance

100% (6 / 6)

100% (6 / 6)

66% (2 / 3)

90%

OVERALL

83%

95%

Avast Antivirus cuts a very fine figure in both areas: AV-Test awarded it perfect scores in both categories, whereas the program aced the performance test from AV-Comparatives, collecting 90 from 100 points.

The most recent real-world protection test (February-May 2021) withheld a third star from the software owing to an overabundance of false positives and a few security vulnerabilities. All the same, 99.9% of attacks were neutralized, with the remaining 0.1% dependent upon user behavior.

Performance-inhibiting full system scan

Avast Antivirus required around 45 minutes to perform a full scan on our system during the assessment. Unfortunately, we noticed a considerable dip in our computer's performance with surfing, opening programs, or copying files all adversely affected.

The third-party testing labs awarded Avast Antivirus high scores in terms of both security and performance, a conclusion that we can throw our support behind as well. The only negative is that, while reliable, a full system scan with Avast Antivirus can adversely impact your computer's performance, making it difficult to perform regular tasks while scanning.

Visit Website*
Security & Performance
8.0 / 10
Note: January 2020 Controversy surrounding the sale of user data

An investigative report published jointly by Motherboard (Vice) and PCmag in January 2020 revealed that Avast, through its subsidiary, Jumpshot, had sold user data on a massive scale to third parties, including Google, Microsoft, McKinsey, Pepsi, and Yelp. According to the authors, this data refers to "Google searches, GPS coordinates used in Google Maps, LinkedIn site history, YouTube videos, and porn browsing history, including the entered search terms and the videos watched." Even though no personal data was sold, it would not have been difficult for the purchasing entities to identify individual user IDs on the basis of movement data and device numbers. In the interim, Avast's CEO Ondrej Vlcek apologized for the incident and closed Jumpshot.

4.

Support

DIY users will feel right at home in Avast's support center, thanks to its keyword-searchable variety of resources. To gain an even better idea of Internet security or digital matters be sure to check out Avast's Academy, which is part of the company's efforts to not only protect but also educate users. Additionally, there is also a forum.

The company's self-help offerings are so good, that in most cases, it really isn't necessary to get in touch with live support. This is probably Avast's hope since directly contacting the company and its support personnel is much more problematic. As a freeware user, no provisions are made for filing support tickets, whereas premium users can send emails. At present, the company does not offer a live chat. During testing, our query was answered within three hours.

Avast Antivirus's support center is first-class and its response times are good.

Avast appears to have put a great deal of effort into its FAQs and guides, while (unfortunately) saving on its live support. Still, in our experience, the response times for the latter were excellent, leaving us with a rather favorable impression of how the company assists its users.

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Support
8.0 / 10
5.

Pricing

Avast is available in free, premium, and ultimate versions. The two paid subscriptions (premium and ultimate) can be booked for either a single device or up to ten devices.

The service also offers three different business subscriptions, relative to the organization's size.

A current overview of the service's prices can be found below:

FreePremium SecurityUltimate
Set-up Fee $0.00 - -
Price per Year $0.00 $44.28 from $58.49
Contract Period (Months) 0 12 12
Software
OS
Windows
macOS
Android
Windows
macOS
Android
Windows
macOS
Android
Max. Number of Devices unlimited 10 1
Special Protection Features
Real-time Protection
Internet Security
Email Protection
Ransomware Protection
Webcam Protection
Premium Features
Firewall
Password Manager
VPN Access
Adblocker
Cloud Backup
File Shredder
Parental Control
Performance Tuning
Mobile Features
App Lock
Location Tracking
Remote Lock
Camera Trap

Since subscription packages for each program vary, the table below compares each provider's offering on the basis of a sample, with similar conditions. In comparison to other similar services from our sample, Avast Antivirus's premium version is in the more affordable end of the midfield.

1.
Trend Micro
Antivirus+
$19.95
yearly price
2.
Avira
Pro
$26.99
yearly price
3.
360 Total Security
Premium
$26.99
yearly price
4.
Panda Security
Advanced
$28.49
yearly price
5.
AVG
Internet Security
$31.08
yearly price
6.
Bitdefender
Internet Security
$32.99
yearly price
7.
Malwarebytes
Premium
$33.74
yearly price
8.
G Data
Internet Security
$39.95
yearly price
9.
Norton
360 Standard
$39.99
yearly price
10.
McAfee
Total Protection
$39.99
yearly price
11.
Avast
Premium Security
$44.28
yearly price
12.
Sophos
Home Premium
$45.00
yearly price
13.
F-Secure
Internet Security
$49.99
yearly price
14.
ESET
Advanced Security
$49.99
yearly price

It's possible to test the premium version of Avast Antivirus for 30 days at no cost, however, you will have to input a payment method to start the trial. We recommend canceling the subscription when it concludes (or shortly beforehand) and then monitoring your account to make sure that you aren't charged for a subscription you aren't using. All the same, each subscription comes with a 30-day, money-back guarantee.

Conclusion

Review
8.6
good
Visit Website*
Installation & Usage
9.4 / 10
Features
9.4 / 10
Support
8.0 / 10
Security & Performance
8.0 / 10

Avast Antivirus offers a wide range of features in a very nicely designed package that is not only easy to use but also reliable where it counts, in terms of security and performance. Free users can access the most important features, and there are a few bells and whistles to entice prospective customers to the premium or ultimate versions: These include "Sandbox" and "Wi-Fi Inspector", both of which add further security, setting the program apart from its competitors.

We did have to deduct points in terms of support, since, despite the excellent FAQs and guides, the lack of a human touch was felt, something that could be problematic for users who may not be so technically inclined and require a helping hand. In terms of performance too, the software dropped points since it can slow down your PC while scanning. All the same, this is a problem common to most antivirus programs and therefore, not a major issue.

Avast Antivirus
Avast Antivirus
(7,201,798 )
Avast impresses with a great free version covering all the essentials, and a huge set of features that offer well-rounded antivirus protection and some nice extras. Scans can slightly impact performance, however.
many features
Sandbox and WiFi-Inspector
solid free version
intuitive app
scans can impact performance
8.6
good
Plan
Free
Devices
unlimited
Protection Features
3
Premium Features
1
Avast Free
$0.00
Visit Website*
Download for Free

Customer Ratings

All-in-all Avast Antivirus was rated very highly in the customer reviews that we examined, attributable, in large part, to the significant number of perfect scores in the Play Store. There, many users commended the program for doing its job well and without much intrusion. On Trustpilot, the program performed less favorably: There, a number of reviewers decried billing irregularities, such as automatic charges even after cancellation. Additionally, the company's support also came in for a bit of criticism.

Customer Ratings
4.7 / 5
7,201,798 Bewertungen
Visit Website*

Alternatives to Avast Antivirus

The antivirus software market is large and highly competitive, making some of Avast's rivals worth a look. Bitdefender, the top performer in our assessment, offers better support (including a live chat) and received even higher scores from the testing labs, all while remaining easy to use and providing a similar package of features.

A list of solid alternatives to Avast Antivirus can be found below:

Best Overall 2023
Bitdefender Antivirus
Bitdefender Antivirus
(398,640 )
Our 'best in test' antivirus program Bitdefender boasts strong security, confirmed by independent test laboratories, along with a flawless user interface and a comprehensive set of features.
flawless user interface
excellent lab results
configurable quick actions
good support with 24/7 live chat
many features
9.6
excellent
Plan
Antivirus Plus
Devices
up to 3
Protection Features
3
Premium Features
2
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus
$23.99
yearly price
Visit Website*
Norton Antivirus
Norton Antivirus
(1,859,654 )
With its robust set of features, lean applications, and a 100 % antivirus guarantee, Norton Antivirus is definitely worth a look. Sadly, the testing labs aren't unanimously impressed, and one or two features are missing.
learn, user-friendly apps
customizable child protection
100 % antivirus guarantee
no anti-theft features
mixed test lab results
8.4
good
Plan
Antivirus Plus
Devices
1
Protection Features
3
Premium Features
3
Norton Antivirus Plus
$19.99
yearly price
Visit Website*
Trend Micro Antivirus
Trend Micro Antivirus
(134,263 )
Trend Micro delivers a solid overall antivirus package with lots of features and some nice extras, such as social media protection. However, the testing labs are a bit divided on the reliability of its protection.
some good lab results
plenty of features
social media protection
no firewall, webcam protection
uneven lab scores
8.4
good
Plan
Antivirus+
Devices
1
Protection Features
5
Premium Features
1
Trend Micro Antivirus+
$19.95
yearly price
Visit Website*
G Data Antivirus
G Data Antivirus
(1,072 )
G Data offers virus protection "made in Germany" with solid test lab scores, lots of customization, and great support. The user interface, however, could use a facelift.
many configuration options
great support
handy status bar
interface somewhat outdated
test lab scores "only" solid
8.4
good
Plan
Antivirus
Devices
up to 5
Protection Features
4
Premium Features
0
G Data Antivirus
from $29.95
yearly price
Visit Website*
F-Secure Antivirus
F-Secure Antivirus
(16,715 )
F-Secure focuses on the essentials and delivers reliable protection from most malware, as demonstrated by its results in the testing labs. But some features, such as webcam protection, are missing.
good lab grades
DeepGuard detects new Malware
VPN and password manager
no firewall
no webcam protection
8.1
good
Plan
Internet Security
Devices
up to 25
Protection Features
4
Premium Features
1
F-Secure Internet Security
from $49.99
yearly price
Visit Website*
Janis von Bleichert studied business informatics at the TU Munich and computer science at the TU Berlin, Germany. He has been self-employed since 2006 and is the founder of EXPERTE.com. He writes about hosting, software and IT security.
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