ESET vs. Norton: Which Is the Best Antivirus of 2024?

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Norton vs. ESET: Which Is Right for You?

Sam Boyd
Sam Boyd
Chief Editor

Norton vs. ESET: Which Is Right for You?

ESET and Norton are both excellent antivirus programs. However, ESET isn’t quite as good as Norton. Most of ESET’s features are only compatible with Windows and Android, and some of its additional features — like the parental controls — don’t work very well. That said, ESET has some advantages that Norton doesn’t have. For example, it includes some excellent advanced diagnostics tools that tech-savvy users will love.

Today, I’m going to take a close look at both ESET and Norton and point out some key differences so that you can choose the best one for you in 2024.

Short on Time? ESET vs. Norton — Final Verdict:

  • 1st place: Short on Time? ESET vs. Norton — Final Verdict:
  • 2nd place: Short on Time? ESET vs. Norton — Final Verdict:

Norton has better malware protection, web security, and features. Norton is well-priced and includes some great additional features. If you want the best antivirus in 2024, go with Norton.

ESET has better diagnostics tools. If you’re an advanced user and you often troubleshoot your PC, go with ESET.

Malware Protection

ESET 

ESET includes an advanced malware scanner that checks every file on your computer for trojans, rootkits, worms, cryptojackers, and other malware files.

ESET’s malware scanner detected every malware sample on my computer. I tested it by hiding 1,000 malware samples on both my PC and my USB device. I then ran the system scan, which took about 40 minutes to complete. I didn’t experience any slowdown while running the scan.

Finally, I tested the real-time protection by trying to download the same malware samples, as well as ransomware and rootkits. ESET performed really well and blocked most of the samples before they caused any damage.

Norton

Norton’s malware scanner doesn’t look as deep into your system as ESET. Still, it does use heuristic analysis, a huge malware database, and machine learning to find known malware threats and zero-day attacks.

Norton was able to find every malware sample on my device. I hid the same samples on my Windows 11 PC that I used when testing ESET and ran Norton’s full system scan. Like with ESET, the full scan only took 40 minutes to complete and found everything.

I also really like Norton’s real-time protection. With it activated, I tried downloading the same malware samples, and Norton wouldn’t even let me hit the download button. It blocked the samples instantly.

Web Security

ESET

ESET’s web security protects you from visiting dangerous phishing sites. However, it can sometimes be a little too strict.

I tested ESET’s web security by visiting over 50 known phishing websites listed on PhishTank. ESET blocked every phishing website — including those Firefox and Chrome didn’t block. However, I often found ESET blocked safe websites that weren’t listed on PhishTank.

Annoyingly, adding exceptions for safe websites is difficult. You have to navigate through 4 different windows in ESET’s UI, and there’s no way to temporarily bypass a blocked website within your browser. In other words, beginner users might struggle to access websites they trust.

That said, ESET is great at blocking dangerous websites.

Norton

Norton’s web security also blocks dangerous phishing websites. However, Norton also offers community reviews on suspicious web pages, which ESET doesn’t.

To test Norton’s web security, I visited the same sites I used to test ESET. Norton similarly blocked every phishing site — including those that Chrome, Edge, and Firefox let through.

I also found Norton’s web security wasn’t as excessively vigilant as ESET, so I didn’t need to whitelist false positives so often. When I did need to, Norton made it much easier than ESET.

Features

ESET

ESET Smart Security Premium offers coverage on up to 10 devices (with an added fee for each device) and includes:

  • Malware scanner.
  • Real-time protection.
  • Anti-phishing protection.
  • Advanced diagnostics tools.
  • Gaming mode.
  • Network inspector.
  • Safe browser.
  • Parental controls.
  • System cleaner.
  • Password manager.
  • And more…

ESET’s advanced diagnostics tools are its best feature. They include tons of ways for advanced users to monitor and troubleshoot their Windows PC. One tool I particularly like is ESET’s running process feature, which cross-references every application on your PC with ESET’s database and assigns it a security score. In other words, ESET tells you how safe an application is and whether it should be on your PC.

I also like ESET’s network inspector, which identifies all devices connected to your network and alerts you to any vulnerabilities — such as weak router passwords or open ports. It’s not a tool beginner users would need, but it’s something advanced users will appreciate.

Norton

Norton 360 Deluxe offers coverage on up to 5 devices (for no additional fee) and includes:

  • Malware scanner.
  • Real-time protection.
  • Firewall.
  • Anti-phishing protection.
  • Password manager.
  • VPN (virtual private network).
  • Dark web monitoring.
  • 50 GB cloud storage.
  • Webcam protection (Windows only).
  • Identity theft protection (US only).
  • And more…

I really like Norton’s dark web monitoring. Most antiviruses with dark web monitoring only check your email against a publicly-available database. However, Norton hires live agents who will actively monitor your accounts and alert you to any breaches as and when they happen. They’ll also be able to advise you on what you should do in case of a breach.

If you’re in the US, you can also get credit monitoring, $1 million in legal assistance should you fall victim to identity theft, and more.

Norton’s VPN is pretty good, too. It provides access to servers all over the world, uses 256-bit AES encryption so hackers can’t steal your data, and offers unlimited browsing data — even on the cheapest plan. Many antiviruses impose data restrictions if you choose a cheaper plan.

Ease of Use

ESET 

ESET doesn’t take long to install and is pretty easy to navigate. It features a simple interface with each feature listed in a menu on the left, and whatever feature you click on appears in the center of the screen.

However, not every ESET feature is easy to set up. For example, I had to go through 15 different steps when scheduling a scan. Many competitors just have you click a calendar icon and a date or time. I have no idea why ESET makes such a simple process so complicated.

That said, ESET’s mobile app is pretty good and easy to navigate. It’s only available for Android, though, which is disappointing. Norton offers a mobile app for Android and iOS.

Norton

Norton’s user interface does take a bit of getting used to as it includes lots of features. However, I never struggled with using any of the features as I did with ESET.

I like how Norton provides multiple options for its UI. You can use a modern view, a classic view, or a web-based dashboard. Most of the time, I found myself using the web dashboard as each feature on it is clearly laid out with large buttons, and they’re all super easy to access.

Norton’s mobile apps are really good, too. They’re easy to navigate and support both Android and iOS — this is much better than ESET, which only offers an Android app. Honestly, my only complaint is you have to download multiple apps to get all of Norton’s mobile features, so you can quickly fill up your phone’s home screen with Norton apps.

Customer Support

ESET 

ESET has an extensive range of customer support options, including live chat, phone (business users only), and email support. Unfortunately, some of these options are hidden away on ESET’s website.

ESET’s support services for non-business users are underwhelming. It provides phone support to corporate users, but home users only have access to live chat, and even this is limited to certain regions — for example, you can’t get live chat in the UK. Such limited access can be frustrating when you need immediate help from ESET’s support team.

That said, the live chat team was helpful and answered all of my questions with clear, concise instructions when I did get in touch with them from Canada.

I wasn’t too impressed with ESET’s email support. They only took about 8 hours to respond (which isn’t bad), but the response was copied and pasted. It didn’t feel very personalized or helpful at all.

Norton

Norton’s customer support is pretty good. It offers phone and live chat support in several languages, including English, Turkish, German, and Mandarin.

The live chat was quick to activate and the agents were pleasant and helpful. The phone support was also very good; the agents were readily accessible, their responses were quick, and they were even able to answer more complex questions efficiently.

The Norton knowledge base met all my needs. It’s filled with FAQs, product manuals, and additional resources. It’s such a comprehensive and handy tool that I frequently didn’t need to reach out to a customer service rep at all, since I found all the answers I needed within the knowledge base.

Starting Price
Money Back Guarantee
Free Trial
$29.99
60 Days
$12.99
30 Days
Security
Features
Ease of Use
Support
Pricing
10
10
9
10
10
9
7
8
8
8
Latest Positive Review*User reviews are not verified
Lenjin
Oct. 10, 2022
Excellent antivirus
Hello. Honestly, Norton is a great antivirus. It does its job perfectly...
Sep. 28, 2022
Dark-web Monitoring
I have Norton 360 Premium and am having no luck enrolling in the dark web...
Mar. 23, 2022
Best antivirus for windows
ESET caught all of the 30,00,000 samples I used in protection of zero-day...
Cyril Bartlam
Mar. 22, 2022
Incorrect Info
In the UK Eset do have a Tech Support telephone number, with Norton you...
Latest Negative Review*User reviews are not verified
Dec. 9, 2023
AVOID NORTON SECURE BROWSER
I have been using Norton 360 and it's predecessors for years. Yes it's...
Les Florin
Dec. 9, 2023
Continual intrusion
Norton anti-virus works and i have anti-tracking which also works, but...
Richard Stephenson
Feb. 5, 2023
Awful
False positives, removes legitimate software and when manually selected to...
Sep. 7, 2021
Blocks WSL2 and WSL1 Network interfaces
works great for most things, bit of a CPU hog on startup but most of my...
Our Verdict
Sam Boyd
Sam Boyd
Chief Editor
Norton is the best antivirus of 2024. It has perfect detection rates, a wide range of additional features, and friendly customer support in multiple languages. Norton also provides the best identity theft protection on the market in 2024 and includes a pretty good VPN. While Norton’s UI has a bit of a learning curve, everything is straightforward to find and use once you get used to it. ESET, on the other hand, is great if you’re an advanced user and want access to advanced diagnostics tools, but its customer support is more restrictive, and the UI makes simple features hard to set up — which is pretty disappointing. ESET has a 30-day money-back guarantee, whereas Norton offers a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Time To Decide Which One Is Best For You

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find the best antivirus for me?

The first thing to do is to understand what you need — all antiviruses come with different internet security tools to help you stay protected, so identifying what level of protection you want will help you figure out which product is right for you.

Some antiviruses have a virtual private network (VPN), some have safe browsing extensions, and some have a password manager. Some only work on certain operating systems, while others cover all operating systems across multiple devices.

It’s important to compare the best antiviruses on the market to find the perfect one with the functionality you need.

What makes an antivirus secure?

A high-quality antivirus suite will detect, flag, and remove viruses and various types of malware. It will also offer real-time protection against all threats, regardless of whether you are browsing the internet, downloading software, shopping online, or opening email. For additional security, many antivirus suites offer a VPN, secure storage, and a password manager — these things all add several layers of protection against various cyber threats.

For more information on how antiviruses work, read this.

What do I need to look for when searching for an antivirus?

An antivirus needs to protect against all types of malware — trojans, rootkits, worms, spyware, viruses, ransomware, and anything else that might cause damage to your devices. This is done in a variety of ways, but the most essential feature of an antivirus is real-time protection — this makes sure that an active threat is effectively stopped before anything serious can happen.

Other things to look for include — excellent detection rates, fast system performance, included extra features (like a VPN, password manager, etc.), easy-to-use interface, good customer support, and overall value.

Go here for a list of the best antivirus software of 2024.

How do I know if one antivirus is better than another?

When researching antiviruses, it’s a good idea to visit a few well-known antivirus software websites such as Norton, McAfee, and Bitdefender to directly compare each antivirus’s features.

You can also look at the expert opinions of our reviewers at SafetyDetectives.com to find the most up-to-date information about the best cybersecurity products on the market today.

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