Avira offers one of the best antivirus scanners on the market. It also includes a wide range of additional features, all for a really good price.
Avast provides powerful anti-malware protection and is very easy to use. But its extra features are a bit disappointing when compared with Avira.
Read on to find out what each product offers and decide which will work best for you.
Short on Time? Avira vs. Avast — Final Verdict:
- 1st place:
- 2nd place:
Avira has better additional features than Avast and provides a ton of value for its cost. Its performance optimization tools are especially great, and it contains a pretty decent VPN. If you’re after one of the most well-priced antiviruses on the market, then go for Avira.
Avast is slightly easier to use than Avira. If you’re after a very beginner-friendly antivirus, then go for Avast.
Malware Protection
Avira
Avira offers a powerful and lightweight cloud-based scanner that uses advanced heuristics and a massive malware database to protect your computer. The scanner can detect all kinds of malware, including cryptojackers, trojans, rootkits, spyware, adware, and more.
I hid thousands of malware samples on my computer — Avira found 100% of them. And since Avira scans your files in the cloud, there’s hardly any slowdown on your computer while scanning.
Avira’s real-time protection also works really well. I tried downloading several malware samples and running a ransomware simulator on my computer. Avira’s real-time protection stopped the downloads and prevented any folders on my computer from being encrypted.
Avast
Avast’s malware scanner is also really good. It was able to detect 100% of the malware samples that I put on my computer, and it completed its scan in just under an hour, which is comparable to other top antiviruses. There was no noticeable decrease in my computer’s performance while the scan was ongoing.
Avast’s real-time protection was able to detect and block every malware sample that I attempted to download. Plus, its Ransomware Shield provides an additional layer of defense for your most important files if ransomware slips past your antivirus.
Web Security
Avira
Avira’s web security feature (Browser Safety) stops you from visiting phishing websites. It also works as a tracker blocker. In my tests, Avira blocked more phishing websites than Chrome and Firefox’s default protections, but I can’t exactly say it was glitch-free. On a few occasions, it marked a known phishing site as safe while still blocking access to it.
On the other hand, when dealing with false positives, Avira makes it quite easy to add a permanent exception on flagged websites. If Avira blocks a website you trust, you can tap a button from the notification Avira issues to instantly whitelist the site. Some antiviruses require you to navigate into the settings to do this, which can be annoying.
Avira also has exploit protection, making it an essential download if you want to stay safe online.
Avast
Avast’s anti-phishing protections were able to correctly identify most phishing sites I visited on PhishTank. It worked better than my browser’s (Firefox) default protections, and I didn’t encounter any false positives during my tests.
Unlike Avira, Avast has an ad blocker, but you’ll have to use its free Secure Browser to get access to it. This isn’t ideal, as few users would want to switch out of their default browser just to access this feature.
Features
Avira
Avira can cover up to 25 devices and includes:
- Virtual private network (VPN).
- Performance optimization tools.
- Password manager.
- Game booster.
- File shredder.
- Vulnerability scanner.
- 60-day money-back guarantee.
- And more…
I really like Avira’s performance optimization tools. Most competitors only clean up junk files, but Avira can also update all of your drivers and optimize how quickly your computer starts up. I also like Avira’s game booster, which closes background applications and services so you can get the maximum amount of CPU when gaming.
Avira’s VPN is pretty good too. It masks your IP address behind a virtual IP address to keep your data protected online, and there’s only a slight internet speed decrease when running it. Avira also has a strict no-logs policy, so you can fully maintain your privacy while browsing the internet with the VPN enabled.
Avast
Avast covers up to 30 devices and its plans include:
- Anti-malware protection and real-time protection.
- Web protection.
- VPN.
- Rescue Disk (not included with Avast One).
- Wi-Fi network protection.
- Firewall.
- PC clean-up and optimization tools.
- File shredder (not included with Avast One).
- Sandbox (not included with Avast One).
- 30-day money-back guarantee.
- And more…
Avast is also capable of cleaning up junk files, updating your drivers and software, and boosting your computer’s speeds by freezing background apps. It has a Do Not Disturb mode too, which suppresses all notifications when you’re in a full-screen app. But keep in mind that some of Avast’s performance-optimizing features are only available on its Avast One product line.
Avast’s Rescue Disk is a standout feature that helps you recover from malware infections that stop your system from working or starting up properly. But note that it’s not available with the Avast One product line.
Ease of Use
Avira
Avira is one of the most easy-to-use antiviruses on the market. It features a really straightforward and intuitive user interface that you can download and install in 5 minutes. You can scan your entire system in one click and schedule a scan by clicking on a calendar and choosing a date.
It also comes with more scan options than any antivirus I’ve tested. While most antiviruses offer quick, custom, and full scans, Avira also includes a rootkit scan, hard drive scan, removable drive scan, and more. Again, you can access these options with just a couple of clicks.
Avira’s mobile app offers an intuitive interface, and you can scan your entire device with one tap. Like the desktop scanner, Avira’s mobile scanner detected 100% of malware samples on my Android device.
Avast
Avast has very user-friendly interfaces. All of its basic features are clearly labeled and have brief explanations attached to them, so even a non-tech-savvy user should be able to understand everything. It also comes with a search function in the settings, which makes it very easy to locate the setting you’re trying to change.
However, I’m surprised that you can’t schedule a scan on a specific time and date with Avast. The most you can do is set up automatic scans that run daily, weekly, or monthly. This can be rather inconvenient if you’re trying to schedule scans at times when you’re not really using your computer.
Avast’s mobile apps are just as user-friendly as its desktop apps and include the same powerful anti-malware protections.
Customer Support
Avira
Avira provides support through email, telephone, and an online knowledge base. The response time via email is within 24 hours, which is not the fastest but also not the slowest among antivirus customer support teams.
Avira’s phone support is also good. It’s toll-free and available in over 30 countries. While the phone lines are only operational during specific hours, the agents I spoke to were extremely helpful and promptly resolved all my issues.
Finally, the online knowledge base is really good. It includes a handy search feature to troubleshoot problems quickly, and the answers for most of my issues were really detailed.
Avast
Avast offers live chat, email, and telephone support. It also has a community forum and an online knowledge base. The latter is very detailed and well-organized and addresses the most common issues.
I was able to connect to a support person on live chat almost instantly. However, while they were able to address all of my basic concerns, they weren’t able to provide clear answers to my more complex questions.
