Norton vs. TotalAV: Which Is the Better Antivirus in 2024?

Norton and TotalAV are powerful antiviruses with excellent malware detection rates and really good additional features. However, they do have some slight differences. For example, Norton has slightly higher malware detection rates than TotalAV, but TotalAV offers more options in its PC optimization feature than Norton does.

I’ve summarized their core strengths and differences below to help you decide which one is right for you.

Malware Protection

Norton

Norton provides a powerful malware scanner that uses machine learning, heuristic analysis, and a vast malware database. It can detect zero-day and known malware threats (including trojans, worms, rootkits, and more).

Norton was able to find 100% of my malware samples — I downloaded an extensive database with 1,000s of samples to test Norton’s scanner and hid the samples throughout my Windows 11 PC. I then ran Norton’s full scan, which only took 40 minutes to complete and found everything. What’s more, I could stream HD video while scanning my computer without experiencing any slowdown.

Norton also offers excellent real-time protection that blocked every malware sample I attempted to download.

TotalAV

TotalAV’s malware scanner is based on Avira’s anti-malware engine — one of the most powerful anti-malware engines on the market. It uses a large malware database and heuristic analysis that can detect known and zero-day threats.

TotalAV’s malware detection is excellent, but it’s not quite as good as Norton’s. To test TotalAV’s malware scanner, I downloaded the same malware database containing 1,000s of malware samples that I used to test Norton. I hid the samples throughout my Windows PC and ran TotalAV’s full system scan. The full system scan took an hour to complete, which is slightly slower than Norton, and detected 99.6% of malware samples — which is more or less perfect.

TotalAV’s real-time protection is great, too. It blocked every malware sample I tried to download — including those in compressed folders — and automatically quarantined them.

Web Security

Norton

Norton’s web security stops you from accessing phishing websites that try to steal your data or contain malicious file downloads. I also really like how Norton helps you spot false positives through community reviews.

I tried visiting 100s of phishing websites to test Norton’s web security. Norton blocked more sites than most competitors and even blocked websites that the default protections on Firefox, Edge, and Chrome allowed through.

TotalAV

TotalAV’s web protection (WebShield) works like Norton’s and blocks online malware distributors and dangerous phishing websites. However, I found TotalAV isn’t as user-friendly and makes whitelisting false positives a bit more complicated. There’s also no access to community reviews, so you have to make your own decisions.

That said, TotalAV was able to block most phishing sites I tried to visit. It uses its own AI-based system to detect dangerous websites, and it works really well.

I also really like how TotalAV provides phishing protection for free. You can download TotalAV’s WebShield as an extension for your browser without purchasing a TotalAV plan.

Features

Norton

Norton 360 Deluxe protects up to 5 devices and includes:

• Malware scanner.
• Real-time protection.
• Firewall
• Virtual private network (VPN).
• Password manager.
• Dark web monitoring.
• Webcam protection (Windows only).
• 10 GB cloud storage.
• And more…

I particularly like Norton’s firewall, which is much more effective than the built-in firewalls on macOS and Windows. It provides customization features and easy rule-setting for advanced users, but beginner users can just leave it running in the background and still get the best protection.

Norton also includes a really good password manager that has 256-bit AES encryption, unlimited password storage, password vault auditing, and more. It’s not as comprehensive as a standalone password manager, but it’s better than most password managers that come packaged with antivirus software. Many only have the basics and don’t include Norton’s extras, such as password vault auditing.

TotalAV

TotalAV Total Security offers protection on up to 8 devices and includes:

• Malware scanner.
• Real-time protection.
• System cleanup tool.
• VPN.
• Password manager.
• Ad blocker.

I really like TotalAV’s system cleanup tool. It includes more features than most system cleanup tools on the market, and after running it, I noticed a significant improvement in my computer’s speed. It can also clean up your browser to help keep your online activity private, which is cool.

TotalAV’s VPN performed really well in my tests, too. While it’s still not as good as a standalone VPN, it is very secure and very fast. I didn’t notice any slowdown while running it, and I appreciate how it shows individual server speed, making it easy to change to a faster server if necessary.

Ease of Use

Norton

Norton’s user interface is intuitive once you’ve gotten used to it. However, it can initially be challenging to navigate due to its many features.

That said, I like how Norton allows you to pick your view: modern, classic, or a web-based dashboard. This freedom allows beginner users to experiment and choose a view that suits them best. I particularly like the web dashboard, which is laid out clearly, easy to navigate, and has every feature accessible with one click.

I also like Norton’s mobile apps, which come with tons of unique features to protect you. They’re easy to navigate and include SMS spam filters, an app advisor (Android only), a secure calendar (iOS only), and more. Honestly, my only complaint is you need to download multiple apps to access every feature.

TotalAV

TotalAV is easy to set up and can be installed in as little as 5 minutes. It features a simple, intuitive dashboard that makes things like scheduling virus scans quick and easy.

Like Norton, TotalAV provides an online dashboard. I love that the dashboard offers video tutorials and FAQs for every TotalAV feature. Still, I was a little disappointed in the lack of remote device access, which Norton includes.

However, I love how feature-rich TotalAV’s mobile app is. It can do nearly everything Norton’s mobile apps can and even includes a device tune-up feature for mobile, which works really well. It cleared over 1,000 MB of junk files on my Android in my tests.

Customer Support

Norton

Norton provides excellent customer support. I like how the phone and live chat support are accessible in English, Turkish, German, and Mandarin. A lot of competitors don’t provide such a wide range of language options.

When I tested Norton’s phone support, I could contact an agent instantly. Each time, the agent was helpful and able to answer my questions no matter how complicated they were.

Likewise, I never waited for more than a minute to connect with a live chat agent. I tried multiple times, and they were always helpful, answering my questions quickly and even offering to remotely access my computer to help solve more complex issues.

Finally, I discovered that Norton’s knowledge base is incredibly thorough, featuring product guides, FAQs, and more. It frequently proved to be easier to check the knowledge base for solutions rather than reaching out to Norton’s customer service team for responses.

TotalAV

TotalAV offers a broad range of customer support methods such as email, live chat, 24/7 phone assistance, and a specialized Help Center. What differentiates TotalAV is its phone support in 7 countries, catering to a diverse set of users. I was impressed by my interactions with the TotalAV phone team, the agents all offered quick responses and friendly, helpful guidance.

Email support took its time, clocking in at around 18 hours before I received a reply. I like the Help Center, though. It doesn’t match Norton’s knowledge base, but it answered most of the questions I had.

I also quite like TotalAV’s live chat. While the countries you can access it from are restricted, the live chat team is always helpful and responsive.