Avira and TotalAV are two of the best antiviruses on the market. However, there are some similarities and differences you need to know about.
For example, Avira features one of the best malware scanners in the world. It has perfect malware detection rates and offloads its resources to the cloud, so you can still browse the internet without any slowdown while running it. Avira’s scanner is so good, it’s actually licensed out to TotalAV.
However, while Avira’s password manager has advanced features and includes a mobile app, TotalAV’s password manager is pretty basic and doesn’t work on mobile. That said, TotalAV has better customer support than Avira.
Today, we’ll look at the two antiviruses closely so you know which one you should get in 2023.
Avira vs. TotalAV: Final Verdict:
- 1st place: TotalAV.
- 2nd place: Avira.
TotalAV has better web protection and customer support. TotalAV features excellent malware detection rates and powerful performance optimization tools. If you want to speed up your PC while enjoying great malware protection, go with TotalAV.
Avira has excellent malware detection rates and great optimization tools. It’s well priced and even includes a free plan. If you’re on a budget, go with Avira.
Avira vs. TotalAV: Malware Protection
Avira features a powerful malware scanner that offloads the malware scanning process to the cloud, so it doesn’t use a lot of resources on your computer. It uses a mix of heuristic analysis and an expansive malware database to detect worms, rootkits, trojans, and more.
I downloaded 1,000s of malware samples onto my Windows 11 computer and hid them in different areas — including system and temp folders. I then ran Avira’s full system scan, which took about 40 minutes to complete and found 100% of the malware samples on my device.
When I turned on Avira’s real-time protection, I tried to download the same malware samples I used to test the malware scanner. Again, Avira found all the samples before they could damage my computer.
TotalAV uses the same malware scanner as Avira, so the results in my tests were the same. Like Avira, TotalAV found 100% of the malware samples I hid throughout my Windows 11 computer and completed in 40 minutes without any slowdown to my device.
Similarly, when I switched on TotalAV’s real-time protection, it blocked every malware sample I tried to download before they could be installed on my computer.
Avira vs. TotalAV: Web Security
Avira features a web extension called Browser Safety. You can install it on all major internet browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, and Microsoft Edge. Browser Safety can stop you from visiting dangerous phishing websites and also block ads and trackers.
I first tested Avira’s web security by visiting 100 phishing site samples, and found it was able to block more dangerous websites than the built-in protections on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
I then ran a series of sample exploit attacks against my browser — but unfortunately, Avira couldn’t block all of them.
Finally, I tested the ad blocker and was impressed by it. Avira blocked 116 ads on AOL’s home page, which is excellent. The default protections on most major web browsers can’t stop any ads.
TotalAV’s web shield also works on all major browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Chrome, and Firefox. TotalAV’s web extension focuses on phishing websites and doesn’t block ads like Avira’s web extension (but you can download an ad blocker for TotalAV separately).
I visited the same phishing websites I visited when testing Avira and TotalAV detected all of them. TotalAV even blocked websites that the default protections on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge missed.
I also tested TotalAV’s ad blocker — it was easy to download and install, and I was pretty impressed with it. It successfully blocked all of the ads Avira blocked, including advertisements that Chrome, Firefox, and Edge issued on my browser.
Avira vs. TotalAV: Features
Avira Prime can protect up to 5 devices and includes:
- Malware scanner.
- Real-time protection.
- Browser security.
- Device optimization tools.
- Password manager.
- VPN (virtual private network).
- Driver updater.
- File shredder.
- And more…
All of these features work pretty well, but I especially like Avira’s device optimization tools. Honestly, I think Avira and TotalAV have the best optimization tools on the market. Avira’s device optimization tools are easy to use and well laid out, and they cleared around 1.3 GB of data from my computer in my tests. It only took a few minutes to run the tool, too.
I also like Avira’s file shredder. Usually, when you delete personal files, they go into your recycle bin. Unfortunately, even after you empty your recycle bin, hackers can still recover files from it. Avira’s file shredder destroys the files with just a few clicks, so hackers can’t recover them.
TotalAV Total Security protects up to 6 devices and includes:
- Malware scanner.
- Real-time protection.
- Ad blocker.
- System cleanup tools.
- VPN.
- Password manager.
- And more…
Like Avira, TotalAV has really good PC optimization tools. They only took a few minutes to run on my Windows 11 computer and significantly increased the speed of my PC. I really like that the tools also include a start-up manager. Windows has this feature built-in, but beginner users might not know about it. TotalAV makes its start-up manager easy to access, and you can quickly control which programs boot with your PC.
I also think TotalAV’s ransomware protection is pretty cool. Unfortunately, it’s not available on TotalAV’s free plan, but premium users can benefit from it. I ran several ransomware simulators on my PC, and TotalAV stopped them before they could encrypt any files.
Avira vs. TotalAV: Ease of Use
Avira took less than 10 minutes to install on my computer, and I never struggled to use it. It has a sleek user interface, with most features accessible in just a few clicks.
I love how simple Avira makes it to schedule different types of malware scans. With a few clicks, I set up Avira so it would run a quick scan once a week and a full scan once a month.
I also found Avira super fast. Every time I clicked on its icon in the tray, the UI appeared instantly, and when I had it minimized, I never experienced any slowdown or CPU spikes.
Finally, Avira’s mobile app for iOS and Android is quick to navigate and easy to use. All its features are separated into different categories along the bottom of the UI. Each category is well labeled, and when you tap it, you can see a list of all features in that category with a brief description underneath explaining what they do — perfect for beginner users.
TotalAV is also really easy to set up and use. Like Avira, it took less than 10 minutes to download and install on my device, and when I clicked TotalAV’s icon in my system tray, it opened instantly.
I found TotalAV’s dashboard to be intuitive. You can access all of TotalAV’s features through a sidebar, and everything is well explained and laid out simply so beginner users won’t struggle.
I also like how TotalAV has an online dashboard that provides quick access to its knowledge base and market and shows all the devices you have connected to your account. Unfortunately, there’s no remote access from the web dashboard like some competitors have — but it’s handy to see which devices you have TotalAV installed on.
Finally, I like TotalAV’s mobile app. It’s feature-rich, sleek, and has every feature accessible with just a few taps.
Avira vs. TotalAV: Customer Support
Avira features phone and email support, as well as an online knowledge base. Unfortunately, there’s no live chat support like most competitors have — but Avira does make up for this with its in-depth knowledge base that’s intuitive and easy to navigate.
I tried ringing Avira’s phone support multiple times throughout the day, and each time I connected with a helpful agent who was friendly and able to solve all of my problems. The only downside to Avira is that it only offers its phone support to premium users. Most competitors don’t put these restrictions on their phone support lines.
Avira’s email support is pretty good, too, although the response time was a bit slow. When I contacted Avira, they took 24 hours to reply to my email. That said, the support was helpful. The customer support agent provided me with clear instructions and useful links to the knowledge base so I could resolve problems I was having with the software.
TotalAV offers 24/7 phone support, live chat, and email support. It really goes the extra mile with its phone support and offers country-specific numbers for the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and more. I tried contacting several of these country-specific numbers, and each time I quickly connected with a helpful agent who could answer all of my questions quickly and clearly.
When I tested TotalAV’s email support, the team took 18 hours to respond. This isn’t the fastest response time I’ve seen, but it was slightly quicker than Avira. Again, the agents were helpful and showed genuine concern for me as a customer.
Finally, I tried TotalAV’s live chat. It’s more restrictive than some live chats I’ve tested and is only available in certain countries. Still, if you’re in an eligible country, you can get in touch with an agent easily, and they’re always responsive and helpful.
