G DATA Antivirus Review 2024: Why It’s Worth Checking Out

As a somewhat obscure antivirus, G DATA is rather underrated. It aced every one of my security tests, performing on par with top antiviruses like Norton. It’s missing a few premium features but provides excellent baseline security.

The malware scanner detected 100% of my hidden virus samples. The real-time protection performed flawlessly as well. Plus, the full scan only took an hour and didn’t slow down my computer or phone — no small part due to the fact that G DATA utilizes Bitdefender’s antivirus engine.

G DATA comes with most of the security features that you’d need in an antivirus, including:

• Secure firewall.
• Web protection.
• Password manager.
• Parental controls.
• Safe banking.
• System tuneup tools.
• File encryption.
• Cloud backup.  
• And more…

I particularly like the web protection extension, which outperformed Chrome’s built-in security features. It comes with a tool to block keyloggers and a safe banking feature that provides extra protection on sensitive websites. The firewall, parental controls, and password manager are also effective and user-friendly.

G DATA isn’t perfect, though. My biggest complaints are the lack of a bundled VPN, any form of dark web monitoring, or identity theft protection like you see with the best antiviruses. The customer support is also pretty lackluster if you don’t speak German.

While not the best, G DATA is still an excellent antivirus. It’s highly effective and has many helpful tools, but it lacks advanced features. G DATA offers 30-day free trials for every plan, so it’s easy to try before you buy. All plans are backed by a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.

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G DATA Full Review — Well-Rounded Antivirus With Highly-Effective Features

G DATA comes with a well-rounded kit of security features, including an excellent malware scanner that uses Bitdefender’s technology, web protection that blocks the vast majority of dangerous sites, and a highly customizable firewall.

There are a few features that need to be added, like dark web monitoring and a bundled VPN. That said, even the cheapest option offers reliable protection from malware. All plans come with a 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can ensure it works for you.

G DATA Plans & Pricing — Cost-Effective Plans for All Users (30-Day Money-Back Guarantee)

G DATA offers multiple cost-effective plans for different users. The exact form of each plan varies depending on where you live. In some cases, you can get a better deal by subscribing to a 2-year plan. Subscriptions can cover between 1 and 10 devices.

The entry-level plan, G DATA Antivirus, is available for Windows ($29.95 / year) or Mac ($39.95 / year) devices. It includes basic anti-malware and web protection features, including G DATA’s excellent malware scanner and anti-phishing tool.

G DATA Internet Security ($39.95 / year) adds file encryption, a secure firewall, parental controls, cloud backup, and a few extra features to make it a more well-rounded antivirus suite.

The Total Security plan includes all of G DATA’s bundled features, including the password manager. It costs $49.95 / year. Overall, it’s a pretty cost-effective plan.

There are also mobile plans for Android and iOS devices. You can get mobile-only coverage through G DATA’s website or get links to download the app if you subscribe to a multi-device plan. All plans come with a 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can ensure they work before committing.

G DATA Security Features — Excellent Malware Scanner Powered by Bitdefender + Extras

G DATA pairs Bitdefender’s powerful malware scanner with an in-house engine. My tests proved this to be an effective combination — G DATA found 100% of the 1,000 malware samples I put on my PC, including tricky ransomware. The real-time protection was even better, blocking every piece of malware as I tried to activate them.

G DATA can run all your standard scans: full scans, quick scans, custom scans, and more. It also automatically asks to scan external devices and lets you schedule scans.

Scans can use either (or both) of G DATA’s engines (the proprietary scanner and Bitdefender’s). Using both is implicitly more effective at finding malware, but I found the Bitdefender engine to be effective enough. When I used both engines, scans slowed my PC way more and lasted much longer, up to 90 minutes. In contrast, when I only used the Bitdefender engine scans took just 45 minutes and had almost no impact on performance.

Though not the best I’ve ever tested, G DATA’s firewall outperformed Windows Defender. It’s also quite customizable, with 4 security presets, an off switch, and the option to create manual rules for every app. It’s good but doesn’t compare with the likes of Norton’s firewall, which is more effective and more customizable.

G DATA’s web protection is excellent. It blocked most threats and didn’t annoy me with useless pop-ups. However, it’s not particularly customizable. In addition to blocking dangerous sites, the extension comes with a safe banking feature, which improves the safety of your banking transactions by monitoring for suspicious activity after a transfer is finalized (which is when your data normally gets decrypted and becomes interceptable).

But I do have some serious complaints about certain other features. The password manager is significantly more basic than standalone options like 1Password. My biggest gripe is the lack of an auto-save feature. You have to input new logins into the browser extension manually. In contrast, most top password managers will automatically add new accounts as you create them. It’s also missing passkey support, so it’s definitely behind the curve.

It’s a similar story with the parental controls. They’re far more basic than the tools you get with the best standalone parental control software. What’s more, they aren’t very effective. You can restrict access to certain categories of websites or specific sites, but I found it easy to get around these filters by downloading and using a different browser. The time-limiting tools did work, however. G DATA doesn’t provide any location tracking or much in the way of detailed reports either.

G DATA also comes with a small but effective set of utilities. These include a file encryption tool, a startup manager, and decently effective tune-up tools. I used them to clean my browser cache, defragment my hard drive, and turn off background processes that were slowing me down. They’re good, but TotalAV is better for removing junk and speeding up your devices.

Unfortunately, G DATA is missing important features like a bundled VPN. What’s more, unless you live in Germany, there’s no dark web monitoring or identity theft protection. Competitors like Norton offer dark web monitoring, up to $1 million in identity theft insurance, credit monitoring, and more. The company has a standalone VPN, but despite a relatively high price, it isn’t nearly as good as the best VPNs on the market.

Overall, G DATA offers good security packages. The malware scanner, real-time protection, firewall, and web protection worked well. Other features, like the parental controls, leave a lot to be desired. The lack of a bundled VPN and identity protection tools is disappointing, but if you aren’t interested in these tools, G DATA is a good option.

G DATA Ease of Use & Setup — Easy to Install, but the User Interface Can Be Unintuitive

G DATA is easy to set up and use, but a few problems with the UI and website prevent it from being among the easiest-to-use antiviruses.

The installation process is simple enough in most cases. Simply choose your plan, download the desktop or mobile plan, and get protected.

In any case, the antivirus itself was very easy on my system, using remarkably few resources. Since it uses Bitdefender’s cloud-based technology, G DATA doesn’t demand many resources, making it great for low-end or older devices.

G DATA is easy to use, for the most part. The main dashboard shows you a security center, which gives a general overview of your device’s health and features. Along the top are tabs that you can click on for more specific features.

However, some aspects of the design are frustratingly unintuitive. For example, most firewall controls are (unsurprisingly) found under the Firewall tab. But if you want to turn them off, you need to go to the main dashboard.

The mobile UI is much cleaner. The dashboard is much less busy, and your features are accessible through a menu bar on the top left of the screen. You can quickly jump from system scans to anti-theft tools to your settings menu.

The website also uses slightly confusing language. For example, mobile antiviruses are listed under a section titled “On The Way,” which I believe should be “On The Go”. The way it’s written makes it sound like they haven’t been released yet. The subscription options also vary a bit depending on which version of the website you visit, which can be a bit annoying. Still, you should be able to access the US version from anywhere, which has the most flexible plans.

Overall, G DATA is simple to install, easy on system resources, and intuitive to use.

G DATA Customer Support — Disappointing Support With a Language Barrier (But Quick Responses)

G DATA doesn’t have the best customer support. There are 3 main ways to get assistance: an FAQ page, email, and phone support.

The FAQs are a mixed bag. Some questions have a ton of detailed information, while others are sparse. What’s more, the questions are spread out over multiple pages and are poorly categorized, making it hard to find information about the subject you’re looking for.

The email support is a similar story. You can either contact them directly or fill out an online form. After filling out the form, I only had to wait about an hour before I received an answer. The problem is that the first few responses I received were unrelated to my question. As elsewhere, there’s a language barrier at play.

G DATA offers 24/7 phone support to 28 countries, including the US, Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, and the Netherlands. I called the US number, but I was met with a German-speaking recording before the line disconnected. The phone support for German users may be incredible, but I could not use it at all as a US user.

G DATA’s support isn’t the best. There’s no chatbot, and I couldn’t get English-language phone support. The FAQ is just okay. But after some minor hiccups, I got my questions answered over email.

Is G DATA Worth Buying?

Yes, G DATA is worth buying, at least for many users. It’s highly effective and comes with a decent set of extra features. There’s a firewall, web protection, parental controls, and quite a bit more — altogether, it makes for a very well-rounded antivirus.

It’s also pretty easy to use, though not without a few faults. Some UI aspects are just bizarrely arranged, making it hard to find what you’re looking for. When changing settings for the first time, this can be an issue, but at least the main features are easy to use.

The lack of a bundled VPN makes it a poor choice for privacy-conscious users as well. Similarly, users seeking to protect their identity are out of luck unless they live in Germany and want to pay extra. Top competitors like Norton scan the dark web for your information, alerting you if it finds your data leaked online. After that, Norton will also help you scrub the information and help in case of identity theft.

The limited parental controls and low device limits also make it a questionable option for families. McAfee has many plans with unlimited device licenses and parental controls that are much harder to get around.

Overall, I’d say that G DATA has more positive qualities than negative ones. It’s an effective and user-friendly antivirus program. But there are enough drawbacks that it won’t work for everyone, especially those looking for advanced features. Nevertheless, it offers strong basic security, so G DATA is worth considering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is G DATA free?

G DATA is not free. It offers 3 premium plans, including a decently priced entry-level G DATA Antivirus Windows. Users in certain countries can, however, get a free mobile app.

G DATA offers 30-day free trials for all of its plans and a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you have plenty of time to make sure it works before committing.

Is G DATA secure?

G DATA is a highly secure antivirus. It combines an in-house scanner with Bitdefender’s powerful malware scanner, resulting in extremely high malware detection ratings for both on-demand scans and its real-time protection. On top of that, features like web protection and firewall both work well at securing your device. Overall, G DATA is highly secure, and its malware detection ratings are similar to the best antiviruses on the market.  

Does G DATA come with a VPN?

G DATA does not come with a VPN, but it does sell one as a separate add-on. Admittedly, it might be worth picking up the extra VPN as its annual price is less expensive than many standalone VPNs. That said, you still have to pay for it on top of the antivirus. If you need an antivirus-bundled VPN, I’d highly recommend looking into options like Norton and Bitdefender instead, both of which have plans that include unlimited data VPNs.