Serious Discussion Best Free Antivirus in 2026 – Windows Defender, Avast, or Something Else?

Best free AV for Windows home users right now?

  • Microsoft Defender – good enough, no bloat

  • Avast One Basic / AVG Free – web shield + extras win

  • Bitdefender Antivirus Free – top detection, silent runner

  • Avira Free Security – VPN + pw manager perks

  • Kaspersky Security Cloud Free – exploit king (where available)

  • Sophos Home Free – remote family mgmt

  • ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus – firewall boost

  • Comodo Free Antivirus

  • Other (ClamAV, Adaware, etc. – name it!)

Results are only viewable after voting.
Divergent said:
Andy should use this as a commercial for his products lol. Seriously though this strong security is baked into the OS, users just need to learn to use it. Of course MS in its infinite wisdom has not made documentation accessible not or most even inclined. Honestly it's not even necessary to go that far with a good ad blocker, password manager and some serious habits training.
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And that's the rub, most don't realize what we're capable of in using the available Windows Defender tools. How many are willing to develop and learn serious habit training, and maybe that's their "fault" for not doing so? Since Windows XP we've been conditioned to need and use an 3rd party AV (rightly so at that time), so a lot of people still do (including myself, for other user friendly AV options, reasons), even though Defender has greatly improved.

Back 5 years ago, I had my sister and my best friends wife set up with BD, they both said when their subscriptions ran out they weren't going to renew, and in knowing their conservative online habits, I had no problem with that and didn't try to talk them into renewing (they're both using Windows Defender). They're both doing fine, no problems :)

Here on the forum, we can tend to be about extremes, extreme protection, extreme malware, extreme settings (because we can or know how to?) etc. but in normal use with the millions of Windows users running "standard" Defender, what is the actual malware rate for those PC's? I'm not talking about the happy go lucky clickers and tickers, but normal common sense users? Let alone using WD in a hardened mode.

I agree this post by @Marko :) very well stated, IMO.
Marko :)

Serious Discussion Post in thread 'Is Windows Defender Enough in 2025? With Perfect Scores in Recent Tests, Are Third-Party AVs Obsolete?'

Absolutely! I already said; I know quite amount of people that visit shady websitrs and just click next every time they install software without reading anything. Their PCs? Completely clean! Tested with multiple anti-malware software.
The same people had their PC filled with malware and garbage pre-Microsoft Defender era.

Ever since Defender got so good, we barely see topics on various forums people asking for help to remove malware from their PCs. That's another indicator showing Defender is more than enough for everyone.

To answer those claiming "(put x antivirus here) is...
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Be careful, but from now on, Windows Defender will or may only be sufficient on PCs with W11.
So, for those who still have W10, I don't know how safe they will be without a third-party AV. That said, if the OS isn't updated, it will still be under attack and will have to rely exclusively on a good AV.
 
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Nunzio_77 said:
Be careful, but from now on, Windows Defender will or may only be sufficient on PCs with W11.
So, for those who still have W10, I don't know how safe they will be without a third-party AV. That said, if the OS isn't updated, it will still be under attack and will have to rely exclusively on a good AV.
Click to expand...
or on win10 also consider 0patch Pro.
 
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Nunzio_77 said:
These are my opinions:

Sophos no longer has a free version. It's only free for 30 days.
Kaspersky no longer has a free version. It's only free for 30 days.
Panda Free has no web protection and weak behavioral protection.
Avast/AVG offers excellent protection, signatures are always up-to-date, but it's a shame about some invasive ads.
Comodo AV has no web protection and its signature detection rate is very low compared to average.
Windows Defender is insufficient for protection, especially web protection and behavioral analysis.
Bitdefender Free offers excellent behavioral protection, excellent signatures, and complete basic protection. The only thing missing is advanced ransomware protection, however, with signatures and behavioral analysis, he manages to remedy this deficiency. Some complain about its heaviness, but in everyday use, in my opinion, it doesn't impact the system.
I don't consider the others among my options.

I voted for Bitdefender.
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Although opinions vary, and everyone has a right to have one, I would say this is the most honest of all opinions...

Still I can not choose Bitdefender, not because it isn't good at providing protection, but because on my present system (high end), Bitdefender is VERY heavy...

However Bitdefender was not heavy on one of my previous PC's...
 
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annaegorov said:
Although opinions vary, and everyone has a right to have one, I would say this is the most honest of all opinions...

Still I can not choose Bitdefender, not because it isn't good at providing protection, but because on my present system (high end), Bitdefender is VERY heavy...

However Bitdefender was not heavy on one of my previous PC's...
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How does "heavy" apply in your system? Does it consume a lot of RAM? Or do you actually feel the system slower, file transfer is slower, app launching is delayed. Can you elaborate? Because from the times I've used either BD Free or Total Security I never experienced performance issues.
 
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RoboMan said:
How does "heavy" apply in your system? Does it consume a lot of RAM? Or do you actually feel the system slower, file transfer is slower, app launching is delayed. Can you elaborate? Because from the times I've used either BD Free or Total Security I never experienced performance issues.
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"the times you've used it", what are you using now, if I may ask? :)
 
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RoboMan said:
How does "heavy" apply in your system? Does it consume a lot of RAM? Or do you actually feel the system slower, file transfer is slower, app launching is delayed. Can you elaborate? Because from the times I've used either BD Free or Total Security I never experienced performance issues.
Click to expand...
Yes slower all around, apps, internet etc.
 
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Sampei.Nihira said:
@Bot

I would like to know if the other antivirus programs you have included in the list in this thread have strong, proven Anti-Exploit functionality like Microsoft Defender does.
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Hello Sampei.Nihira,

That's an excellent question. Microsoft Defender's Exploit Protection (a descendant of the old EMET tool) is indeed a powerful and well-regarded feature built directly into Windows. It provides a deep level of mitigation against memory-based attacks and vulnerability exploits.

When looking at other free antivirus programs, it's common that dedicated anti-exploit modules are reserved for their paid versions. The free products tend to rely more on a combination of signature-based detection and broader behavioral analysis to stop threats.

Here's a general breakdown of the ones you asked about:

  • Bitdefender Free includes its Advanced Threat Defense, which is a very strong behavioral blocker. It's designed to catch suspicious process behavior, which would include the actions a successful exploit might take. However, it doesn't offer a separate, configurable anti-exploit module like Defender's.
  • Avast & AVG Free use their Behavior Shield to monitor programs for malicious behavior in real-time. This can certainly stop malware delivered by an exploit, but again, a specific "Anti-Exploit" feature is not part of the free package. Their premium versions have more advanced, layered protection.
  • Other products like Panda Free or Comodo Free generally have even less sophisticated behavioral components compared to the others mentioned, and do not have a comparable feature.

So, while top-tier free AVs like Bitdefender and Avast provide excellent protection and can stop threats that use exploits, they don't typically include a dedicated, user-configurable anti-exploit engine in the same way Microsoft Defender does. That feature is one of Defender's unique strengths as a built-in security solution.
 
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Sampei.Nihira said:
@Bot

Is it therefore possible to conclude, based on the information available online, that Microsoft Defender outperforms all other antivirus programs included in this list because it ALSO has an anti-exploit feature that is unmatched by the other antivirus programs included in the poll?
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That's a very sharp observation, and it gets to the heart of why choosing a security solution can be so complex.

While it's true that Microsoft Defender's built-in Exploit Protection is a powerful and unique feature not explicitly matched in most free antivirus products, it's not quite that simple to declare that it "outperforms" all the others overall.

Think of security as having multiple layers. Defender has an exceptionally strong layer in its anti-exploit protection. However, other aspects of protection are also critical:
  • Raw Detection Rates: How well does it detect known malware files (signatures)? Historically, products from companies like Bitdefender and Avast have often tested with slightly higher detection rates in independent labs.
  • Behavioral Analysis: How well does it stop brand-new, unknown malware based on its actions? Bitdefender's Advanced Threat Defense is considered top-tier in this area.
  • Web Protection: How effectively does it block malicious websites and phishing attempts before anything is even downloaded? This is another area where third-party AVs often excel.
So, a more accurate way to look at it would be:

Microsoft Defender has a significant advantage in the specific area of built-in, configurable anti-exploit mitigations compared to other free AVs. This makes it incredibly resilient against certain types of advanced attacks.

However, other antivirus programs might have an advantage in different areas, like blocking a wider range of malicious files via signatures or having more aggressive behavioral blocking.

Ultimately, it's a trade-off. There is no single "best" solution, but rather a choice based on which layers of security you prioritize. The strength of Defender's anti-exploit is a very compelling reason to use it, but it doesn't automatically negate the strengths of its competitors.
 
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Bot said:
That's a very sharp observation, and it gets to the heart of why choosing a security solution can be so complex.

While it's true that Microsoft Defender's built-in Exploit Protection is a powerful and unique feature not explicitly matched in most free antivirus products, it's not quite that simple to declare that it "outperforms" all the others overall.

Think of security as having multiple layers. Defender has an exceptionally strong layer in its anti-exploit protection. However, other aspects of protection are also critical:
  • Raw Detection Rates: How well does it detect known malware files (signatures)? Historically, products from companies like Bitdefender and Avast have often tested with slightly higher detection rates in independent labs.
  • Behavioral Analysis: How well does it stop brand-new, unknown malware based on its actions? Bitdefender's Advanced Threat Defense is considered top-tier in this area.
  • Web Protection: How effectively does it block malicious websites and phishing attempts before anything is even downloaded? This is another area where third-party AVs often excel.
So, a more accurate way to look at it would be:

Microsoft Defender has a significant advantage in the specific area of built-in, configurable anti-exploit mitigations compared to other free AVs. This makes it incredibly resilient against certain types of advanced attacks.

However, other antivirus programs might have an advantage in different areas, like blocking a wider range of malicious files via signatures or having more aggressive behavioral blocking.

Ultimately, it's a trade-off. There is no single "best" solution, but rather a choice based on which layers of security you prioritize. The strength of Defender's anti-exploit is a very compelling reason to use it, but it doesn't automatically negate the strengths of its competitors.
Click to expand...
@Bot great reply.
 
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