Battle Kaspersky Premium or Bitdefender Total Security?

[Brahman]

I was using Comodo firewall with our beloved CS settings in my Windows 11 but after the last month's Windows update, it failed to start properly. I tried everything, including reinstalling the OS but once OS gets updated to the latest Windows updates the problem re occurs. So I decided to move and I have narrowed my options to either Kaspersky premium or Bitdefender total security.
1. Kaspersky Premium.
Costs around Rs.1300 ( $16) for 3 years for a single device
Comes with unlimited VPN
premium 24x7 support
2. Bitdefender Total Security
Costs around Rs.600 ($7.3) for 3 years for a single device
No VPN
I have not used both these software in a long time, so am unaware of its user-friendliness and its cons. So any advice on this topic will be of much help to me. Thanks in advance.

 

[Sammo]

I've had them both and overall I prefer Kaspersky. It's lighter and the protection can't be beat. Kaspersky's Search Adviser works in Google search but I could never get Bitdefender's to work in Google.

 

[Xeno1234]

Kaspersky is Lighter and has much better protection. Go with them.

 

[likeastar20]

Flip a coin

 

[Xeno1234]

I was using Comodo firewall with our beloved CS settings in my Windows 11 but after the last month's Windows update, it failed to start properly. I tried everything, including reinstalling the OS but once OS gets updated to the latest Windows updates the problem re occurs. So I decided to move and I have narrowed my options to either Kaspersky premium or Bitdefender total security.
1. Kaspersky Premium.
Costs around Rs.1300 ( $16) for 3 years for a single device
Comes with unlimited VPN
premium 24x7 support
2. Bitdefender Total Security
Costs around Rs.600 ($7.3) for 3 years for a single device
No VPN
I have not used both these software in a long time, so am unaware of its user-friendliness and its cons. So any advice on this topic will be of much help to me. Thanks in advance.

Here's a comparison:
Kaspersky:
Very Light
Best home AV detection
VPN
More features
Free Sandbox connected to the AV online Kaspersky Threat Intelligence Porta
More User Friendly

Bitdefender:
More Performance Heavy
Worse detection than Kaspersky but still good detection
Better Safe Browsing and Safe Pay (maybe)

 

[Mindaugas]

I'll choose Bitdefender. Better app on android. For me better design on Bitdefender Central page. Also not Russian product

 

[Ink]

Are the offers a time-limited promotion? Otherwise I recommend running a trial version for both, separately, for 7 to 30 days. In that time you can draw any conclusions about its features and stability on your system. If you don’t require all the premium-features, then consider looking at the Standard plans, if cheaper or better value.

Both Bitdefender and Kaspersky offers Free Antivirus choices, as an alternative to Microsoft Defender Antivirus. This could be another option if you miss the promotion window and/or want to upgrade at a later date.

I would only consider using a VPN if they specialised in the VPN privacy field. If you don’t need or already use another provider, then you can skip this.

• Proton VPN Free
• Nord VPN (Subscription)
• Other privacy VPN providers with a great reputation.

Here's a comparison:
Kaspersky:
Very Light
Best home AV detection
VPN
More features
Free Sandbox connected to the AV online Kaspersky Threat Intelligence Porta
More User Friendly

Bitdefender:
More Performance Heavy
Worse detection than Kaspersky but still good detection
Better Safe Browsing and Safe Pay (maybe)

Are you able to elaborate on the Pros’ provided for Kaspersky?

“Very light” — Describe the term Light?
“Best home AV detection” — Controlled environment testing doesn’t reflect real-world usage/scenerios.
“VPN” — Is Kaspersky VPN worth the extra Rs. 700? (Based on the prices provided by @Brahman)

Are there any concerns that you have surrounding Kaspersky?

 

[Brahman]

Are the offers a time-limited promotion? Otherwise I recommend running a trial version for both, separately, for 7 to 30 days. In that time you can draw any conclusions about its features and stability on your system. If you don’t require all the premium-features, then consider looking at the Standard plans, if cheaper or better value.

Only Bitdefender is on a time-limited promotion, 25 days of Monsoon offer. Kaspersky's price is a constant on Amazon. I shall try both for a week as it does not hurt anything. Thank you for your timely input.

Are there any concerns that you have surrounding Kaspersky?

I am not concerned about the privacy aspect of Kaspersky, I am not politically motivated, especially by international politics. Apart from that, I do not use Windows for anything that can profile me or trace me, Windows is there for gaming and using Microsoft Word, so if Kaspersky is better in protection I have no hesitation in going with them.

 

[partha_roy]

If you just wish to use Windows for gaming and Word, why not stick with MS Defender then; you may also install the Kaspersky Anti-ransomware Tool alongside it. It's completely free

that way, you get access to Kaspersky's definitions and behaviour modules for ransomware; in my tests, I have found these modules to detect other kinds of harmful files too

 

[Brahman]

If you just wish to use Windows for gaming and Word, why not stick with MS Defender then; you may also install the Kaspersky Anti-ransomware Tool alongside it. It's completely free

that way, you get access to Kaspersky's definitions and behaviour modules for ransomware; in my tests, I have found these modules to detect other kinds of harmful files too

"Paranoid" is the word to describe my itching to get the best protection available. I can not take a chance as the system is connected to a NAS with tonnes of data. Restoring all of it from backup is a pain in the A##. I would rather spend a thousand bucks on security on any day than spend time to restore my NAs. In fact, 400 ($5)bucks per year are dirt cheap IMHO.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

"Paranoid" is the word to describe my itching to get the best protection available. I can not take a chance as the system is connected to a NAS with tonnes of data. Restoring all of it from backup is a pain in the A##. I would rather spend a thousand bucks on security on any day than spend time to restore my NAs. In fact, 400 ($5)bucks per year are dirt cheap IMHO.

Then I would definitely go for Kaspersky and look for the guides of @harlan4096 to make it even stronger.

 

[brambedkar59]

For that price you can't beat BDTS. Both are S-tier AVs, can't go wrong with either of them. Although if price was similar, I would choose Kaspersky.

Edit: If VPN is more important for you then go Kaspersky. Security wise VPN does nothing for me, cause I don't use any public Wi-Fi.

 

[Jonny Quest]

@Brahman on the less tech side, the plan you get now, will be cheaper than the renewal. So I may not buy one just for a better deal up-front. For BD, just make sure you disable auto-renewal, otherwise, you may be renewed at a higher, going rate.

Again aside from protection, BD layout is a bit easier to follow, Kaspersky's is more involved, more setting, and more scrolling, but it definitely has more useful information regarding your system, its settings, the information in Firewall, Intrusion Prevention where you can even grab the corners of the windows to expand them. BD lacks in not being informative enough.

 

[Trident]

BD lacks in not being informative enough

Definitely, the events log is very minimal too. The root cause analysis that was implemented not too long ago is also not very useful. Settings are minimal but protection is OK.

 

[Dave Russo]

Have you considered running cyberlock(voodoshield) which definitely helps, and runs alongside whichever AV you choose

 

[Sandbox Breaker - DFIR]

Kaspersky all the way. But I still love BitD!

 

[Xeno1234]

Are the offers a time-limited promotion? Otherwise I recommend running a trial version for both, separately, for 7 to 30 days. In that time you can draw any conclusions about its features and stability on your system. If you don’t require all the premium-features, then consider looking at the Standard plans, if cheaper or better value.

Both Bitdefender and Kaspersky offers Free Antivirus choices, as an alternative to Microsoft Defender Antivirus. This could be another option if you miss the promotion window and/or want to upgrade at a later date.

I would only consider using a VPN if they specialised in the VPN privacy field. If you don’t need or already use another provider, then you can skip this.

• Proton VPN Free
• Nord VPN (Subscription)
• Other privacy VPN providers with a great reputation.

Are you able to elaborate on the Pros’ provided for Kaspersky?

“Very light” — Describe the term Light?
“Best home AV detection” — Controlled environment testing doesn’t reflect real-world usage/scenerios.
“VPN” — Is Kaspersky VPN worth the extra Rs. 700? (Based on the prices provided by @Brahman)

Are there any concerns that you have surrounding Kaspersky?

I can elaborate:
Very Light - Not performance heavy. On default settings its actually not noticable and has many performance increasing modes
Best Home AV Detection - I'm not going by things like AV Test/AV Comparitives. I've seen malware analysis here getting past Bitdefender and Kaspersky nags it. Along with this, alot of people here think Kaspersky has a superior behavior blocker to Bitdefender.
VPN - Decent VPN, its not perfect, but you can get pretty good speeds with it.

 

[Brahman]

Update:
I used both solutions on two different fresh Windows images ( no VM) and I felt Bitdefender is a bit too heavy on my system, it takes considerably more time to open browsers and the file explorer. On the other hand, Kaspersky felt like it was not there at all, no delays no hangups, just as fast as a bare system. I am going with Kaspersky. Thank you all for your kind interactions.

 

[Ink]

Update:
I used both solutions on two different fresh Windows images ( no VM) and I felt Bitdefender is a bit too heavy on my system, it takes considerably more time to open browsers and the file explorer. On the other hand, Kaspersky felt like it was not there at all, no delays no hangups, just as fast as a bare system. I am going with Kaspersky. Thank you all for your kind interactions.

It is always recommended to try the software before buying, so it’s good to hear you found a solution that works.

If you have any general questions, feel free to ask in the Kaspersky sub-forum.

This topic will now be closed.