Malwarebytes and Norton are both good antivirus options, but they’re very different. Norton is a full-featured antivirus program with perfect malware detection rates. In contrast, Malwarebytes is a minimalist antivirus that’s great for beginner users who just want essential malware protection.
Today, I’m going to take a close look at both options so you can decide which is better for you.
Short on Time? Malwarebytes vs. Norton — Final Verdict:
- 1st place:
- 2nd place:
Norton has better malware protection, web security, features, and customer support. If you want the best antivirus suite in 2024, go with Norton.
Malwarebytes is better for ease of use. If you’re only after a basic antivirus with essential protections, then go with Malwarebytes.
Malwarebytes vs. Norton: Quick Summary
Malware Protection
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes’s anti-malware engine works well. Like Norton, it uses an extensive malware database and heuristic analysis that blocked the majority of malware samples on both my Windows and Mac devices.
Malwarebytes found 95% of malware samples in my tests. I downloaded an archive containing 1,000s of malware samples, including ransomware, rootkits, computer worms, and more. I hid each sample in different locations on my Windows 11 PC — including inside critical system folders — and ran a full system scan. The scan took over 3 hours to finish, and while a 95% detection rate is good, Norton had perfect malware detection rates (and was much quicker).
That said, I like Malwarebytes’s real-time protection, which blocked 98% of the malware samples I tried to download. Again, it’s not as good as Norton, but it’s still better than the default protections built into Windows and Mac.
Norton
Norton’s malware scanner uses a large malware database in addition to machine learning and heuristic analysis. Combined, these allow Norton to detect both known and new malware threats.
Norton found every malware sample I hid on my system (I downloaded the same malware sample archive I used to test Malwarebytes). The scanner took just 40 minutes to check every file and folder on my PC. I like that Norton scanned my computer without any slowdown too.
Norton’s real-time protection also performed really well. When I turned the real-time protection on and tried downloading the same malware sample archive, Norton blocked the download and immediately quarantined the zipped file.
Web Security
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes handles its web protections through Browser Guard — a browser-based extension that works on most Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave, etc.) and Firefox. The protection works well and blocks phishing websites, trackers, and pop-up ads.
In my tests, Malwarebytes’s web protection blocked 98% of phishing sites. This is pretty good — but it’s not as good as Norton, which has perfect detection rates.
I’m also not a massive fan of Malwarebytes’s ad blocker, which only blocked 80% of ads in my tests. However, it’s still better than the default protections built into most major web browsers.
Norton
Norton’s web shield, Safe Web, works really well. It stops you from accessing dangerous websites containing malicious file downloads.
I tested Norton’s Safe Web with 100s of known phishing websites, and Norton was able to block every single one. It even blocked phishing websites that the default protections in most web browsers missed.
Safe Web can be downloaded as a free extension for most browsers — including Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari — so you don’t need a subscription to benefit from Norton’s web protection. However, I recommend getting a Norton subscription anyway, as Norton’s other protections are really good.
Malwarebytes vs. Norton: Features
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes Plus offers coverage for up to 1-20 devices and includes:
- Malware scanner.
- Real-time malware protection.
- Anti-phishing protection.
- VPN (virtual private network).
It’s much more minimalistic than other antiviruses on the market, but both the malware and web protections work well. I also think the VPN is pretty good — it’s fast and can keep you safe from web trackers. However, it’s still not as good as a standalone VPN and while it has key features like a kill switch and torrenting support, you can’t use it for streaming.
That said, Malwarebytes is great if you want the most basic protections. Many of Malwarebytes’s features are free, and you can simply leave it to run in the background while enjoying more protections than those offered by Windows and Mac by default.
Norton
Norton 360 Deluxe covers 5 devices and has the following features:
- Malware scanner.
- Real-time protection.
- Firewall.
- Password manager.
- VPN.
- Device optimization tool.
- Dark web monitoring.
- Parental controls.
- Webcam protection (Windows only).
- 50 GB cloud storage.
- And more…
I honestly think Norton includes the best features on the market in 2024. I really like Norton’s parental controls, which make monitoring your kid’s activity easy. You can pinpoint their location to a tee and block inappropriate websites by choosing various categories (such as pornography or weapons).
Norton’s VPN is also really good. It’s secure, fast, has access to many server locations, and works with most streaming services, including Netflix. However, it doesn’t allow torrenting on all servers like standalone VPNs (such as ExpressVPN) do. That said, it’s still one of the best antivirus-bundled VPNs.
Ease of Use
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes is pretty minimalistic, so it’s straightforward to set up and use. You can set Malwarebytes up in less than 5 minutes and simply leave it running in the background. The user interface is really easy to navigate and clearly laid out, making it easy to access most features.
I like Malwarebytes’s mobile app, too — the Android app shares the same features as the desktop version, but the iOS app loses scanning capabilities because of Apple App Store limitations.
Nonetheless, both mobile apps are easy to navigate, with every feature available in an easy-to-access sidebar you can quickly open.
Norton
Norton offers a clean, simple-to-use interface. However, because Norton has a large number of features, navigating the user interface takes some getting used to. While the main screen displays the main tools, some features are hidden behind submenus, which can be a nuisance to navigate.
That said, Norton also includes a clearly laid out online dashboard that’s more intuitive and responsive than the desktop UI. I often found myself using the web dashboard more than I used the desktop interface.
Norton’s mobile apps are really good. I tested them on my iPhone 11 and Huawei P30 Lite. Despite the P30 being an older model, I didn’t experience any slowdown or bugs while using Norton, and I could enjoy each of the protections offered by the mobile apps.
Customer Support
Malwarebytes
The customer service from Malwarebytes is efficient, but it’s not the best out there. Despite Malwarebytes offering email assistance and an extensive knowledge base, it lacks live chat or phone support — options that a lot of its competing companies do offer.
It took 24 hours for the email support team to reply when I had a query. Though they were helpful, the slow response time is pretty annoying.
Malwarebytes offers a 24/7 chatbot. While it provides quick navigation through its resources, it’s not as efficient as a live chat for nuanced queries.
Norton
Norton’s customer service is really good — with options like phone support and live chat. It also provides multilingual support in several languages, including English, German, Mandarin, and Turkish, making it easier for you to get help in your preferred language.
It took some time to connect with Norton’s live chat, but once I did, the representatives were consistently outstanding — friendly, skilled, and incredibly helpful.
Norton’s phone support is also pretty good. I never struggled to contact an agent, and they were really helpful every time I got in touch with them.
Most of all, however, I enjoyed Norton’s knowledge base. I found it intuitive and easy to navigate, and it always provided helpful answers to most of my questions.
