Norton and Trend Micro are two comprehensive antivirus suites that include powerful malware scanners. However, Norton has slightly higher detection rates than Trend Micro and includes a more extensive range of additional features.
For example, Trend Micro’s identity theft protection offers no live support, but Norton’s identity theft protection does. Similarly, Trend Micro’s VPN has fewer customization options than Norton’s VPN. However, both Norton and Trend Micro provide really good mobile apps for Android and iOS.
Today, I’m going to compare both antiviruses and explore a few key points so you can make an informed decision in 2024.
Short on Time? Norton vs. Trend Micro — Final Verdict:
- 1st place:
- 2nd place:
Norton has better malware protection, web security, and extra features. If you want the best antivirus package in 2024, go with Norton.
Trend Micro is a bit easier to use and offers lower prices (but its extra features aren’t great). If you’re on a budget and want the essential protections, go with Trend Micro.
Malware Protection
Norton
Norton’s malware scanner is great. It uses heuristic analysis, machine learning, and a huge malware database to detect both known and emerging threats.
I like that Norton has perfect malware detection. I tested its antivirus scanner by hiding over 1,000 malware samples on my Windows 11 PC and running a full system scan. These samples included trojans, worms, rootkits, and more. Norton’s full system scan detected 100% of the samples and only took 40 minutes to complete. I was impressed that the scan didn’t slow down my PC either.
Norton’s real-time protection blocked all malware samples I tried to download, including those hidden in zipped files and encrypted folders — which is very impressive.
Trend Micro
Trend Micro’s malware scanner is also pretty good. It uses both machine learning and signature-based analysis to protect your computer from malware. However, its detection rates aren’t as good as Norton’s.
Trend Micro’s malware scanner detected 97% of my malware samples — good, but not as good as Norton. I tested it by hiding the same archive containing over 1,000 malware samples on my Windows 11 PC and running a full system scan. Like Norton, Trend Micro’s full system scan completed in 40 minutes.
That said, I really like Trend Micro’s real-time protection. It detected just as many malicious files as Norton did — including those that target browser extensions.
Web Security
Norton
Norton’s web security stops you from visiting phishing websites. It also offers community reviews for suspicious web pages so you can make an informed decision before visiting them.
To test Norton’s web security, I visited over 100 known phishing websites on PhishTank. Norton detected and blocked more phishing websites than the default protections on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. It also blocked more phishing websites than most competitor antiviruses (including Trend Micro).
Trend Micro
Trend Micro’s phishing protection blocks dangerous websites. However, it doesn’t include access to community reviews like Norton’s phishing protection does.
I wasn’t too impressed with Trend Micro’s web security. I tested it by visiting the same phishing website samples I visited when testing Norton, and I found Trend Micro couldn’t block as many phishing websites as Norton did.
That said, Trend Micro blocked more dangerous sites than web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Trend Micro also makes it easy to whitelist sites you trust. All you have to do is click a button on the blocked page to permanently add an exception for it.
Features
Norton
Norton 360 Deluxe covers up to 5 devices and includes:
- Malware scanner.
- Real-time protection.
- Virtual private network (VPN).
- Password manager.
- Secure Browser.
- PC optimization.
- Webcam protection (Windows only).
- Dark web monitoring.
- 10 GB cloud storage.
- And more…
I really like Norton’s VPN. While it’s not as good as a standalone VPN, it provides access to a large number of servers, includes a strict no-logs policy, and has a kill switch to shut off your internet connection if the VPN suddenly drops.
If you’re a US user, you can also get one of Norton’s LifeLock plans, which come with data breach monitoring, credit monitoring, $1 million in legal assistance, and more. I love the identity theft protection because Norton actually hires agents to monitor and protect your accounts.
Trend Micro
Trend Micro Premium Security Suite offers protection on up to 10 devices and includes:
- Malware scanner.
- Real-time protection.
- Secure web browser.
- Password manager.
- PC optimization tool.
- Parental controls.
- VPN.
- Identity theft protection.
Trend Micro has an impressive number of extra features, but none of them worked as well as Norton’s extra features. For example, Trend Micro doesn’t employ live agents for identity theft protection.
That said, Trend Micro’s password manager is good. While it’s basic and lacks many features a standalone password manager includes, it’s easy to use and has a decent password generator.
Ease of Use
Norton
Norton’s user interface takes some getting used to due to its many features. However, after a bit of practice, you should be able to easily navigate the interface.
I particularly like how Norton provides different options for the UI: you can use a new view, a classic view, or a web dashboard. These choices of views are great for beginner users to experiment with. However, my favorite is the web dashboard — it’s responsive, clearly laid out, and makes every feature easy to access.
I also really like Norton’s mobile apps — even though it’s annoying that the features aren’t all bundled into a single app. That said, Norton offers one of the best mobile antiviruses on the market.
Trend Micro
Trend Micro is super easy to set up and navigate. Its user interface is nicely laid out, with the main features categorized into 4 different sections you can access in one click: Device, Privacy, Data, and Family.
No matter which option you pick, each feature is clearly explained and can be set up by following simple, straightforward on-screen prompts. For example, if you access Trend Micro’s secure browser, you can easily add websites you want to open in the secure browser automatically.
I also found Trend Micro’s mobile app intuitive. Unlike Norton, everything is contained in a single app, and you can access any of Trend Micro’s mobile features in just a few taps.
Customer Support
Norton
Norton has excellent customer support. You can access live chat and telephone support in English, Dutch, Mandarin, Turkish, and German.
The phone support works well. I never struggled to connect with an agent, and they were always really helpful in answering my questions — no matter how complicated my questions were.
Likewise, the live chat was great. I never waited for more than a minute to connect to an agent, and the agents I chatted with were really helpful and ready to access my computer remotely to fix the issue at hand.
Norton also offers an excellent knowledge base, filled with FAQs, product guides, and more, which I discovered to be so exhaustive that I frequently didn’t need to contact Norton’s customer service.
Trend Micro
Compared to Norton, Trend Micro offers a broader range of support options, including phone, live chat, email, and forum support. However, it offers fewer language choices than Norton.
I really like how Trend Micro offers 24/7 phone support in several countries, including the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. I never struggled to get through to an agent, and they were always helpful.
Trend Micro’s live chat is pretty good, but it sometimes led me through hoops to get answers to straightforward questions. Before answering a simple question, the agent insisted on a list of product features, my serial number, and the version of Trend Micro I was using, which made things unecesarily complicated and frustrating.
That said, Trend Micro’s instructions are helpful and straightforward to follow when you eventually do get answers.
