Visually Reviewed rate Avast Antivirus an 8/10
Quick Summary
Avast Antivirus comes with many great features, with some of the most essential all included in the free plan. Avast Antivirus has scored very well in independent tests which reflect a high level of competence at keeping you and your devices safe. The biggest issue we found with using Avast Antivirus is that it can slow down your device.
Pros
- All the essential features, plus more included in the free plan
- Great scores from independent testing organisations.
- Reliable and effective at keeping your device safe
Cons
- Desktop notifications quickly get annoying, though these can be disabled
- May slow down your device
- Firewall not included in free version
About Avast Antivirus
Avast Antivirus is an antivirus software available on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. Avast Antivirus has been considered one of the best antivirus software available for many years now. As of 2020, it reports over 435 million active users. Avast Antivirus offers its services at three main plans: Free Antivirus, Premium Security, and Ultimate.
What does Avast Antivirus offer?
Avast Antivirus offers a lot more features than you think, especially for its free plan. Below we’ve made two lists for both the free and the paid features. Avast Antivirus offers the most amount of free features that we’ve seen compared to other antivirus software.
Free features
- File Shield
- Behaviour Shield
- Web Shield
- Mail Shield
- Ransomware Shield
- Software Updater
- Browser Cleanup
- Rescue Disk
- Wi-Fi Inspector
- Passwords
- Cleanup
- Do Not Disturb Mode
Paid features
- Sandbox
- Advanced Firewall
- Real Site
- Data Shredder
- Password Protection
- SecureLine VPN
- Webcam Shield
- AntiTrack Premium
- Sensitive Data Shield
- Cleanup Premium
- Driver Updater
We find this to be a fair balance between free and paid features. The free version offers the essential features, plus more. This is something we’ve found that separates Avast Antivirus from its competitors. The paid features are certainly very useful and if you’re looking for advanced protection, that’s exactly what you’ll get with these features. Some of the biggest paid features offered here are the Advanced Firewall, SecureLine VPN, and Driver Updater.
The Advanced Firewall feature is great for keeping hackers away from your device. A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic based on a set of security rules.
The SecureLine VPN is another great feature that encrypts your internet connection, allowing for safe and private browsing. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and it hides your IP address, effectively hiding your online identity whilst allowing you to bypass region-blocked content at the same time. We recommend that everyone uses some sort of VPN.
The Driver Updater feature is another paid feature which we find very useful. Device drivers are a group of files that allow one or more hardware devices to communicate with your device’s operating system. Over time, these drivers get old and outdated, which may cause your device to slow down and face issues such as your device crashing. It is very important to keep your drivers up to date as they can eliminate security risks and can help keep your device running as fast and smooth as possible.
How good is Avast Antivirus?
Avast Antivirus is easily one of the best antivirus software currently available. We don’t just say this because of the many great features it includes, we say this based on results from independent organisations. In this review, we’ll be looking at the results from AV-TEST.
AV-TEST compares many antivirus software each month and gives them ratings for protection, performance, and usability. We’ll be looking at the most recent report of Avast Antivirus, which at the time of writing, is from April 2020 on versions 20.1 and 20.2.
Avast Antivirus protection
Protection against malware infections such as viruses, worms or Trojan horses.
Avast Antivirus performance
Average influence of the product on the computer speed in daily usage.
Avast Antivirus usability
Impact of the security software on the usability of the whole computer – lower values in this screenshot indicate better results.
Overall, AV-TEST scores Avast Antivirus the following:
- Protection score: 5.5/6
- Performance score: 5.5/6
- Usability score: 6/6
Take a look at the most recent Avast Antivirus reports from AV-TEST here.
Avast Antivirus review: Pricing
Avast Antivirus has three main plans: Free, Premium, and Ultimate.
The free version of Avast Antivirus comes with the very essential features for keeping your device(s) safe. If you’re looking for more security, check out the options below.
If you’re looking for a bit more protection, Avast Antivirus Premium Security comes with all of the essential features, protection against ransomware, protection against fake and unsafe websites, protection against phishing websites, and a feature to verify Wi-Fi network security. This premium version costs £59.99 a year for one computer, or £74.99 a year for 10 devices. We recommend the 10 devices plan as it allows you to protect all of your devices such as your smartphone at only a slightly more expensive plan.
If you’re still looking for better protection, then Avast Antivirus Ultimate is definitely the plan for you. It comes with all of the essential features, all of the premium features, and includes SecureLine VPN, Cleanup Premium, and Passwords Premium. This ultimate version costs £84.99 a year for one computer, or £99.99 a year for 10 devices. We recommend the 10 devices plan as it allows you to protect all of your devices such as your smartphone at only a slightly more expensive plan.
If you’re looking for a solution for your business, then we recommend you check out Avast Business Antivirus Pro Plus. This option includes the best possible antivirus protection alongside an easy-to-use console, Avast SecureLine, Avast Passwords Premium, and much more to ensure your business is kept secure.
Quick Answers
How much does Avast Antivirus cost?
Avast Antivirus is free to download and comes with all the essential features. For more advanced protection, Avast Antivirus also offers a Premium plan (£59.99), and an Ultimate plan (£84.99).
Is Avast Antivirus good?
Avast Antivirus is an amazing antivirus software. It comes with many great features and has scored very well in independent tests which proves Avast Antivirus is one of the best Antivirus softwares to keep you safe online.
Avast Antivirus review: Conclusion
Avast Antivirus is an overall amazing antivirus software. It comes with many great features and has scored very well in independent tests which proves Avast Antivirus is one of the best software to keep you safe online. The only real downside we’ve seen with Avast Antivirus is it may slow down your device a little.
Share this Avast Antivirus review
