Bitdefender Vs Avast Comparison

Bitdefender and Avast both are established companies in the field of cybersecurity. Avast was founded in 1988 while Bitdefender started their journey about a decade later in 2001. Despite starting so late, Bitdefender creates its name in the field of cybersecurity. Both organizations offer several home and enterprise security solutions.

In this article, I am going to do Bitdefender Vs. Avast comparison. This article will have a detailed analysis of the different products offered by both companies. It also has the features of different products and their pros and cons. At the end of this article, you will also see the analysis of their protection and performance test scores.

Company Offerings

Bitdefender	Avast
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus (Windows Only)	Avast Pro Antivirus (Windows Only)
Bitdefender Internet Security (Windows Only)	Avast Internet Security (Windows Only)
Bitdefender Total Security (Windows & Mac)	Avast Premier (Windows Only)
Bitdefender Family Pack (Windows & Mac)	Avast Ultimate (Windows Only)
Virus Scanner (Mac Only)	Avast Security (Mac Only)
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac (Mac Only)	Avast Security Pro (Mac Only)
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition (Windows Only)	Avast Free Antivirus (Windows Only)

Features in Bitdefender Security Suites

Bitdefender security suites are rich in features. They contain essential elements and doesn’t have any unnecessary options. So many options make the software bulky, and it slows down the system. So, its good that they have not included fancy features. However, their free software only has the protection feature which is less in comparison of Avast free version tool. We should also understand that a free tool couldn’t have all the features. The companies have to make money too.

Let’s take a look at the features of different Bitdefender products.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition

Bitdefender Free Antivirus is a basic protection suite. It has only a few features that are required to secure your PC from virus and malware. The Free version also protects you from fraud and phishing websites. It doesn’t protect your password and privacy. It also lacks VPN, Parental Controls, Webcam Protection, and Ransomware Protection.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is the entry-level premium security suite. It has the features of Free Edition and also comes with Free Online Support. It has File Shredder, VPN, Password Manager, and Wi-Fi Security Advisor. Antivirus Plus also checks the vulnerability of your PC and suggest fixes. It also protects your financial transactions from harmful websites.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus lacks some other features. It doesn’t have a Firewall. It also doesn’t protect your webcam. Also, Parental Control, Anti-Theft, File Encryption, and Performance enhancement features not present.

Bitdefender Internet Security

Along with the features of Antivirus Plus, Internet Security comes with few extra features. It protects your webcam and files. It also has a Firewall, Parental Controls, and File Encryption. Internet Security doesn’t have all the features that Bitdefender offers. It doesn’t improve the performance and also doesn’t have Anti-Theft feature.

Bitdefender Total Security

When it comes to a full-featured protection suite, Bitdefender Total Security comes ahead. It has all the elements, and it also supports multi-device. It protects your Windows PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices. The Windows version has all the features, while Mac, iOS, and Android has fewer features due to OS compatibility. Bitdefender comes with 5 device protection subscription. So, its price is reasonable.

Bitdefender Family Pack

Bitdefender Family Pack is for your whole family. It has the features of Total Security. You can protect up to 15 devices with this plan. Like Total Security, it also supports Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. So with one subscription, you can have a strong shield for all devices in the family. With this plan, you can properly use and manage the parental control feature. You can use the Bitdefender Central account to handle them.

Virus Scanner for Mac

Bitdefender Virus Scanner is a free tool, and it is for Mac. It has an essential feature of virus scanning. So, when you are suspecting about a virus, run this tool. It lacks several other features that Bitdefender provides in the paid version.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is the premium security suite. It protects your Mac from viruses and malware. It also has a ransomware shield. The VPN protects your confidential information from hackers. It also blocks phishing websites. This antivirus also boosts the performance of your Mac.

If you are getting Bitdefender Total Security or Family Pack, Antivirus for Mac is included in that plan.

In the table below you can compare the features of different Bitdefender products.

Features in Avast Security Suites

Avast also offers similar protection features. It has the same security suites range like Bitdefender. Few Bitdefender product offers multi-device platform which Avast doesn’t offer. However, its security suites have more features than Bitdefender. Let’s take a quick look at the characteristics of different Avast products.

Avast Free Antivirus

When it comes to free antivirus, Avast offers a lot compared to other free security solutions. It protects your PC from viruses and malware. It also comes with a password manager to store your credentials in a secure vault. Not only this, but this free antivirus also has the Wi-Fi inspector. The Free Antivirus also scans your home network for weaknesses.

Avast Free Antivirus lacks other essential features also. It doesn’t stop spam and phishing websites. It doesn’t have VPN, File Shredder, Webcam Protection, and Ransomware protection. This version also doesn’t have a Firewall which is evident in case of a Free tool.

Avast Pro Antivirus

Avast Pro Antivirus is the entry-level suite in the premium category. With the features of the Free version, it comes with sandbox technology. The Sandbox lets you test the suspicious files in a secured virtual environment. It also protects your DNS settings that hackers changes to redirect you on a fake website. It also comes with premium support.

Avast Internet Security

Avast Internet Security is for users who want to protect their devices from new emerging internet threats. With all the features of Avast Pro Antivirus, it got few extra options. It has an advanced Firewall, Anti-Spam & Anti-Phishing, Ransomware Security Layer. Though, it lacks webcam protection, file shredder, Avast Cleanup Premium, SecureLine VPN, Password Premium. Avast Internet Security also doesn’t automatically update your other apps.

Avast Premier

Avast Premier comes with all the features of Internet Security. In addition to that, it got webcam protection and the file shredder. It also has automatic software updater which auto updates your other apps. You won’t get a few other tools from Avast. Avast Premier doesn’t come with Avast Cleanup Premium, SecureLine VPN, and Password Premium.

Avast Ultimate

Avast Ultimate has the features of Avast Premier plus it got few other premium tools. When you purchase the subscription of Avast Ultimate you also these tools. It got Avast Cleanup Premium, Avast SecureLine VPN, and Avast Password Premium.

Avast Security for Mac

Avast Security for Mac is a free tool. It is like the Avast Free Antivirus for Windows. It has similar features. Avast Security blocks viruses and other malware. It also warns you about unsafe websites and blocks intrusive web tracker. It also scans your Wi-Fi network for weaknesses. Avast Security doesn’t stop ransomware attacks. It also doesn’t give real-time Wi-Fi Security alerts.

Avast Security Pro for Mac

Avast Security Pro is a full-featured protection suite for Mac devices. It blocks viruses and other malware. It also warns you of harmful websites. It has Wi-Fi Security assessment feature and also gives real-time Wi-Fi security alerts. Avast Security Pro also protects your photos and files from unwanted changes.

Below is the table that lists all the features of important Avast Products.

Bitdefender Vs Avast – Which has better Protection?

The anti-viruses are meant to provide protection. So how can we decide which one is better without checking their protection capability? To know which antivirus is better in protection, I will take reference from two antivirus test institutes. The AV-Test and AV-Comparatives, both analyze the protection and performance of popular anti-viruses.

Earlier, anti-viruses used to work on the signature-based mechanism to detect computer threats. The problem with this method is, it is efficient only on known computer threats. Nowadays thousands of new malware are emerging every day. So, anti-viruses had to evolve to catch all these. This type of risks is called zero-day malware.

To solve this issue, a new approach was developed. It is called a heuristic approach. Anti-viruses check the behavior of suspicious files. If they seem to follow the wrong way the antivirus blocks them and update its signature in the database. This updation helps other AV client’s to prevent the threat if they appear quickly.

Bitdefender and Avast both works on the heuristic approach. It checks the signature of the viruses and also analyzes the behavior to catch new threats. Now let’s take a look the AV test institutes scores in these two methods of protection.

AV-Test Results of Bitdefender and Avast

The AV-Test institute conducted the most recent test in October 2018. Bitdefender performs very well while Avast was a little behind. Bitdefender got 6/6 score while Avast got 5.5/6 in protection test.

Bitdefender blocked 100% threats in both month tests of zero-day malware. AV-Test used 311 samples of new malware inclusive of web and e-mail threats. Bitdefender blocked them all and got a 100% score while the industry average is 99.4%.

In the signature based detection, Bitdefender again performed well in September and October 2018. There were 21257 samples of widespread malware used in the test. Bitdefender blocked them all.

In the same test, Avast performs a little low. In the real world test of Zero-day malware, AV-Test used 311 samples. Avast blocks 99.4% in September and 99.3% in October. The score is little below than industry average. It is the reason it got 5.5/6 score. However, it has been seen in the past the Avast performance keeps fluctuating in this segment.

In the signature based test Avast performed well and got 100% scores in both months. It blocks all the 21257 samples of widespread malware in the last 4 weeks.

I include a table below which will help you to get a clear idea of the protection scores of both anti-viruses.

The above matrix is for the Windows version. In android and Mac version, Bitdefender and Avast performed well. Avast got 6/6 score in both versions. However, in the detection, there was a marginal difference compared to Bitdefender.

AV-Comparatives Results of Bitdefender and Avast

In the Real World Protection Test of AV-Comparatives June 2018, both Bitdefender and Avast were awarded with the Advanced+ award. This test was conducted from February to June 2018. AV-Comparatives used 1078 samples of zero-day malware. Bitdefender blocked 99.8% threats and compromised only 2 of them. While Avast blocked 99.4% and compromised 6 threats, for this reason, Avast ranking is little below Bitdefender, but still, it got Advanced+ award.

In the False Positive Test, Bitdefender only blocks 2 legitimate websites/files while Avast blocks 6 clean domains/files. Bitdefender again here is a winner.

AV-Comparatives conducted the Malware Protection Test in the September 2018. It checked the signature based detection capability of these anti-viruses. Bitdefender and Avast again got the Advanced+ award. There were 11890 samples used. Avast blocked them all and got 100% score while Bitdefender compromised 1 of them and gained a 99.99% score.

Avast had 5 cases of False Positives while Bitdefender had 9. So, in Malware Protection test Avast is the winner here.

As the test results indicate, Bitdefender is proved to be better than Avast in protection. However, there were few instances where Avast performs well. So, overall both companies protection is fantastic, and there is nothing that we cannot trust them. Both companies antivirus have a higher number of detection and least false positives.

Bitdefender Vs Avast – Impact on Performance

Every system software consumes some resources. Either it is a simple clock or antivirus they leave some impact on the performance. It is essential that we choose an antivirus which has better protection and leaves less impact on the resources. Because if the antivirus consumes so much of resources, it will make your system slow.

To test the performance of these two company’s antivirus, I will again take the reference of Antivirus test institutes.

AV-Test for Performance of Bitdefender and Avast

The AV-Test conducted the performance test in October 2018 on various levels. It checks by opening popular websites, downloading apps, launching apps, installing apps, and copying files. Then it compares the performance with other anti-viruses and gives them scores. Below is the result of Bitdefender performance test.

Bitdefender got 6/6 score in the performance. If we take the average of the test result, Bitdefender impact on the standard PC performance is 8.2%. While its average impact on the high-end PC is 8.4%, let’s check the result of Avast.

Avast got the 5.5/6.0 score, which is less than Bitdefender. Avast put 11.4% average impact on the performance of standard PC. While it causes 13.8% average impact on the high-end PC performance, the difference is vast.

Bitdefender average impact is 8.3%, and Avast’s is 12.6%. It is crystal clear that Bitdefender is way lighter on your system resources compared to Avast.

AV-Comparatives Performance Test of Bitdefender and Avast

The AV-Comparatives Performance Test October 2018 tells the different story. It awarded both Bitdefender and Avast with the Advanced+ award in the performance. It also checks the impact on the performance on various levels. Below is the impact score of the result of popular anti-viruses.

The test result is just the opposite of the AV-Test performance test. It shows that Avast put a 2.1 impact on the system resources. While Bitdefender puts 8.7 effect. This result tells that Avast is lighter on the system resources compared to Bitdefender.

However, they both got the Advanced+ award. The AV-Comparatives suggest that we should consider products with the same award to be as light as the other products with the same awards.

Avast Vs Bitdefender – Impact on your Pocket

I tried to include the prices of similar devices offered in the security suites for both companies. It will help you to compare. It is clear that if you want all the features in Avast, you have to pay much more than Bitdefender. Fewer feature suites in the Avast and Bitdefender have a similar price tag. However, when you go up, you need to spend more with Avast. Bitdefender is a winner in the price section.

Bitdefender Vs Avast – User Opinions

When we see the user opinions, Avast is much more popular compared to Bitdefender. This user here is supporting the AV-Comparatives Performance test result.

Another user is praising the Bitdefender’s protection.

The below poll result is showing that users consider Bitdefender has better protection than Avast.

According to the OPSWAT a company that publishes the monthly report on market share of popular anti-viruses, Avast is no 1. According to its October 2019 report, Avast is the biggest company in the anti-malware market. It has a 16.66% market share, and it is currently on top position. While Bitdefender has only 10.65% market share with 4th position.

This report tells that Avast products sell more than Bitdefender. However, the way Bitdefender is progressing it will soon take over if it keeps offering the best protection at low prices.

The Conclusion

Bitdefender and Avast both are good anti-virus software products. They offered great protection, and reasonable subscription cost. However, you cannot have both, right? So, you need to choose the one which is better.

Based on the findings in this comparison article, I could say that Bitdefender got more for you. It has better protection, light on system resources and low subscription charges. While the Avast also protects you well but scores are on slightly lower side than Bitdefender.

Users complain that Bitdefender causes system slowdown. However, that shouldn’t be an issue with modern hardware configuration PCs.

If you are choosing the free version, then Avast is the best suite for you. It got more features than the Bitdefender Free version.