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

[monkeylove]

I got Premium for three dollars (one device/year).

 

[anirbandutta01]

I like Avast free.

 

[annaegorov]

I forgot to add, there is one exception that is from current testing here at MWT and that is that Eset and especially McAfee are very much relevant and top contenders... Eset has given some problems in my past use (can't remember what it was right now) but McAfee is smooth as silk.

I remember now, the problem with Eset was "failed to update, and failed to create file" something to that effect. It would not update on a clean install Image

 

[RansomwareRemediation]

Avast

 

[simmerskool]

I see Bitdefender free is 2d place in the votes behind No. 1 MS Defender -- does BD free have pop ups to buy their paid AV...

 

[Parkinsond]

I see Bitdefender free is 2d place in the votes behind No. 1 MS Defender -- does BD free have pop ups to buy their paid AV...

No, if you deselect to show in settings, but personally I prefer Avast free.

 

[Jonny Quest]

I see Bitdefender free is 2d place in the votes behind No. 1 MS Defender -- does BD free have pop ups to buy their paid AV...

I think they use upsell for the options that aren't enabled but active (as posted here, but I would also consider SeriousHoax findings above that post) as seen in @Shadowra latest test here @ :15

There are also settings that can be disabled in Settings/General/Special offers and Recommendation notifications.

 

[Nunzio_77]

.., but personally I prefer Avast free.

Why?

 

[Parkinsond]

Why?

Equal detection rate, less FP detection, customizable installation, more layers to select from, smaller and faster update process, less RAM and disk usage.

 

[Parkinsond]

Equal detection rate, less FP detection, customizable installation, more layers to select from, smaller and faster update process, less RAM and disk usage.

One more reason

 

[Templarware]

They want so badly to be on your mobile. Wonder why.

 

[Jonny Quest]

One more reason

Yep, and as usual with Bitdefender since ~2020, the users are now the beta testers. I'm done with that forum, things are only going to get worse once this is unleashed on Windows users. For now, I've seen 2 Mac threads regarding, what, and why? And what I'm most amazed with, is people put up with this (at least some do)?

Post in thread 'Coming soon, a new Bitdefender "unified" app'

Aug 3, 2026

The first post that I'm aware of regarding someone whose Mac version of Bitdefender updated to the new Bitdefender App. So, it has started, really slowly.

edit: and it sounds like we will no longer be able to uninstall the VPN separately, for those of us who don't use it. So those process(s) may continually be running in the background?

A reply to a post from the above link:

Yes, you are right, sorry about that. On both Windows and macOS the services (antivirus, VPN) can no longer be uninstalled separately, as they are bundled in the unified Bitdefender Hub by design, so...

• Jonny Quest

• 

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/106923/with-regard-to-the-new-bitdefender-interface-on-macos-how-can-you-tell-when-definition-updates-are-successfully-downloaded

 

[Nunzio_77]

Equal detection rate, less FP detection, customizable installation, more layers to select from, smaller and faster update process, less RAM and disk usage.

Annoying pop-ups with commercial promotions in Avast?
Unfortunately, in my opinion, this is the only downside, although with the "Limited" notification setting, they're significantly reduced.

 

[SeriousHoax]

One more reason

Is this Bitdefender or Ccleaner? 🫪

 

[papabanana]

Still Avast & Bitdefender as the Top Dogs.

 

[Parkinsond]

Is this Bitdefender or Ccleaner? 🫪

C defender

 

[Parkinsond]

Still Avast & Bitdefender as the Top Dogs.

The pit bull (K) is really missed.

 

[Parkinsond]

Annoying pop-ups with commercial promotions in Avast?

When prompted to connect avastui.exe by Avast own firewall wall, denly; no more pop-ups.

 

[Nunzio_77]

When prompted to connect avastui.exe by Avast own firewall wall, denly; no more pop-ups.

Does this cause problems updating the Avast GUI with later versions?

 

[Parkinsond]

Does this cause problems updating the Avast GUI with later versions?

Not at all; the exe is concerned with the UI displayed data and its related pop ups.
By the way I have disabled its peer in B free to abort any notifications using Fort firewall.