Best Antivirus Software For Mac | 2024 Guide

To help protect you online, here’s the Best Antivirus Software for Macs of 2024:

Below is the Best Antivirus Software for Macs of 2024. All prices listed are renewal prices, as first-year subscriptions are often discounted.

Avast: Avast, which places No. 1 in our rating of the Best Antivirus for Macs, comes in two forms: Avast Antivirus and the newer Avast One. The basic versions of both forms of the software are free for individuals. Both Avast and Avast One also have upgraded versions that include features like a virtual private network (VPN) and system cleaning and tuning tools. As an antivirus package, Avast Free Antivirus ranks very well in independent lab tests, as does Avast One. Avast antivirus software protects against viruses, ransomware, and other malware, along with phishing, Wi-Fi intrusion, and other cybersecurity threats. Renewal prices for the paid packages range from $69.99 to $139.99 a year, depending on features and the number of devices covered.

Intego: Tying for No. 2 in our rating, Intego’s antivirus product line is based on its VirusBarrier products. Intego is primarily a Macintosh software company, and its antivirus software and associated products are heavily focused on Macs. As is the case with many security products, Intego offers a free version of its antivirus software called VirusBarrier Scanner for MacOS. Mac Internet Security X9 is Intego’s mid-range security bundle. There’s also the Mac Premium Bundle X9, which contains antivirus, a firewall, and system optimization software. VirusBarrier X9 software for Macs ranges in price from $49.99 a year after the first year for one device to $84.99 a year after the first year for five devices. The company has other security software packages as well that vary in price and capabilities.

Bitdefender: Also tying for No. 2 in Best Antivirus Software for Macs, Bitdefender antivirus offers several antivirus software packages that are competitively priced and get high marks from reviewers and independent testing labs for antivirus and ransomware protection. There are three packages for Macs: Bitdefender Internet Security, Bitdefender Total Security, and Bitdefender Premium Security. Packages are priced between $79.99 and $159.99 a year. Higher packages offer more features like parental controls, a firewall, a password manager, and a VPN. An “autopilot” feature recommends security measures to keep your system safe. There’s also a “rescue environment” that will automatically reboot your computer if there’s a serious virus infection that needs to be repaired. Professional reviewers generally praise Bitdefender antivirus for its effectiveness but say it can slow down some computers.

Norton: Completing the three-way tie for No. 2 in our rating, Norton is a veteran in the computer security industry with well-regarded antivirus software. Its team of researchers uses machine learning and other techniques to stop new threats. This process runs each file in a virtual environment to identify cybersecurity threats. Norton also stores virus signatures in the cloud. Norton antivirus subscriptions are pricey but full featured, including a generous cloud data allowance. The company also offers a 100% protection promise and a full refund if a virus can’t be removed. The highest packages include robust parental controls. Standard pricing ranges from $59.99 a year for a single Mac to $124.99 a year for 10 Macs or other Apple devices. Like Bitdefender, professional reviewers rate Norton’s antivirus software highly for its effectiveness.

Malwarebytes: Tied for No. 5 in our rating, Malwarebytes doesn’t offer some of the extra features, like a password manager, that some of the other companies in our rating provide. However, professional reviewers praise Malwarebytes for what it does offer: basic, no-frills, real-time protection at a competitive price. In particular, its virus scans are relatively fast in identifying malware, ransomware, and other threats. There’s a free version that can scan and remove viruses from one Mac. Paid versions can detect malware in real time, as well as detect phishing emails, malicious links, and websites. Malwarebytes also defends against ransomware and “brute force” attacks aimed at accessing your system. Pricing is reasonable at $39.99 to $99.99 a year.

Kaspersky: Also coming in at No. 5 in our rating, Kaspersky Lab (which recently relocated from Russia to Switzerland) has been a highly rated security company for more than two decades. It gets good marks from professional reviewers for its intuitive antivirus products and strong malware detection that uses machine learning. There are four antivirus packages for consumers with a simple, easy-to-use interface. Packages are priced from $59.99 to $149.99 a year and offer various security and privacy tools depending on how much you’re willing to pay. These can include a VPN, ad blocker, and adult content blocker. The premium Kaspersky Security Cloud has all of these options and adds an “account check” to let you know if your Netflix, Facebook, or other accounts have been compromised. The free antivirus option doesn’t cover Macs, but it does cover iOS devices.

Avira: Avira gets high marks for malware protection even with its free version. It offers users free antivirus software that’s cloud-based, detects ransomware, and includes anti-phishing and other standard protections. The Mac version also includes utilities, such as a VPN, password manager, privacy controls, and ad blocking software. There are three paid versions as well, including Avira Antivirus Pro, Avira Internet Security, and Avira Prime. Only Avira Prime covers more than one Mac and provides an unlimited VPN. On the downside, professional reviewers have found that Avira’s antivirus scores poorly in some virus detection tests. Paid versions of the software cost from $49.99 to $99.99 a year, which is a fairly reasonable price.

TotalAV: Rounding out our four-way tie for No. 5, TotalAV includes protection against online threats, dark web monitoring for your data, a disk and browser cleaner, and PC tuneup tools. It offers a free edition with limited features. The software earns good scores from independent labs for malware protection, although some reviewers say it’s not as strong as a few of its rivals. Its anti-malware engine uses a combination of artificial intelligence, cloud technology, and endpoint scanning for real-time protection against viruses, worms, and ransomware. The interface is said to be well-designed. However pricing is on the high side, ranging from $119 to $179 a year. Higher plans include a VPN and ad-blocking functionality. But some features that competitors include are missing, such as parental controls and cloud storage.

Trend Micro: Coming in at No. 9 in on our list, Trend Micro focuses primarily on business security software but also has antivirus products for consumers. Trend Micro offers an effective, easy-to-use security package that blocks viruses, ransomware, and other malware quickly and efficiently. A stand-alone antivirus package called Antivirus+ Security costs $39.95 a year after the first year. Trend Micro Maximum Security includes parental controls and covers up to five users for $89.95 per year after the first year. Trend Micro Premium Security Suite, which covers up to 10 devices and includes dark web monitoring and a VPN, is regularly priced at $129.95 per year. A password manager, identity theft protection, and a VPN are available for an additional fee.

McAfee: Another giant in the computer security industry along with Norton, McAfee’s basic antivirus package protects one device, while more comprehensive subscriptions provide antivirus protection for unlimited devices. All plans provide extras, like a VPN and identity monitoring, in addition to antivirus protection. There are family plans with parental controls as well. The highest includes up to $1 million in coverage to remediate identity theft. Although McAfee’s lineup of antivirus and other security products can be confusing, professional reviewers generally consider them to be excellent products that work very well. One downside is that some reviewers say McAfee’s antivirus is slower than some rivals. It’s also not the cheapest on the market at a renewal price of $84.99 to $179.99 a year depending on the package.

Sophos: Another company that’s better known for its business antivirus software, Sophos also offers a consumer product called Sophos Home. Its main draws are simplicity and affordability, as there’s only one antivirus product for Macs that costs $59.99 a year after the first year. Like all antivirus software, Sophos Home will scan your computer for existing viruses and malware, and it will block new attacks in real time. On the downside, professional reviewers have found that Sophos Home offers limited webcam protection and limited parental controls. In addition, professional reviewers have criticized Sophos Home for having limited features and a greater-than-average impact on system resources and performance.

If you have a computer running Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 7, or another version of Windows, we’ve researched the Best Antivirus Software of 2024. Click on the company names below for more information about the antivirus software that each offers.

In your search for the best antivirus software for your Mac, follow these steps:

According to Peter Stelzhammer, co-founder of independent security testing lab AV-Comparatives, Macs and Windows machines are equally vulnerable to online attacks. These attacks can come in a myriad of forms, such as:

In other words, if you have one or more internet-connected devices, like a laptop, tablet, or phone, you need antivirus software regardless of what operating system it uses. However, don’t rely on antivirus software alone to keep you safe. John Hawes, chief operating officer of the international nonprofit Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), says you still need to take commonsense security precautions. These include setting strong passwords, ignoring links in emails from unknown recipients (which could be phishing attempts), and providing important personal information, like your Social Security Number, only to legitimate recipients. We also recommend installing a firewall, setting parental controls, and installing a good password manager. All of these steps will help protect you from harm, such as identity theft.

That said, antivirus software provides a critical extra layer of protection in and of itself. This kind of software can detect and try to eliminate spyware, adware, viruses, and other malware that you might not know is there until it steals your data or does other damages. In addition, if the software detects a suspicious website or file that might contain malware, it will warn you not to click on it. Andreas Marx, a managing director at testing lab AV-Test, says that hackers invent more than 350,000 new types of malware daily. To deal with this, antivirus software is regularly updated to detect as many of these threats as possible.

Many antivirus programs also include a virtual private network (VPN), which disguises what you do online, along with parental controls to protect children from online threats, and a firewall, which monitors traffic on your home network. For anonymity online, a VPN is essential.

Note that there are other types of attacks in addition to malware, including a common technique called phishing. During a phishing attempt, a hacker will send you an email or text with a link to a fake website that resembles one used by your bank or another company or institution. If you click on the link and enter your information, such as your Social Security or bank account number, the person operating the fake website can steal it.

Look for these features and traits in antivirus software:

Performance/Reliability: First and foremost, a good antivirus program can identify, block, and remove all types of malware, including viruses, worms, adware, and others. Antivirus software should also be able to detect phishing attempts. Our Best Antivirus Software for Macs of 2024 and Best Antivirus Software of 2024 ratings can point you to lists of effective antivirus programs.

Pricing/Value: Only buy programs with features you actually need, including the ability to protect all of your computers, tablets, phones, and other devices. In addition, look at the annual renewal price rather than the discounted first-year price.

Ease of Use: If the software offers a free trial, take advantage of it to make sure the program is easy to use and doesn’t slow down your computer. In addition, contact customer service during the free trial to see if they’re responsive and helpful.

The term antivirus software is somewhat misleading, according to Stelzhammer of AV-Comparatives. That’s because it guards against not only viruses, but also other types of malware like worms, adware, and ransomware. In addition, a good antivirus program will watch for phishing attempts that try to steal your personal data by getting you to enter it on a fake website.

Because of the variety of online threats, antivirus software uses several different methods of detecting them. These include, among others:

Signature Analysis: With this fingerprinting-like technique, real-time antivirus signature analysis records a piece of malware’s unique signature. It then uses that information to help identify new, similar threats.

Heuristic Analysis: Many hackers know how to defeat signature analysis. That’s where heuristic analysis comes into play. With this approach, antivirus software looks for files that are behaving suspiciously in a way that matches known malware.

Sandbox Detection: Some antivirus software, if it encounters a suspicious file, will open and run it in a secure area called a “sandbox.” This will prevent the file from harming your computer if it turns out to be malware.

Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence: Machine learning and artificial intelligence are two relatively new ways for computers to identify malware and other threats. The software then adds information about these threats to its detection database.

Behavior Monitoring: Hawes, of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization, explains that behavior monitoring involves watching the traffic between your computer and various devices like disk drives and printers to “stop them when they do something suspicious.” You can also undo any authorized changes these external devices make that may compromise your internet security.

Still looking for more information about antivirus software or trying to find the best antivirus software for you? Explore the directory below to learn more.

At U.S. News & World Report, we rank the Best Hospitals, Best Colleges, and Best Cars to guide readers through some of life’s most complicated decisions. Our 360 Reviews team draws on this same unbiased approach to rate the products that you use every day. To build our ratings, we researched more than 37 antivirus companies and analyzed 16 antivirus reviews. Our 360 Reviews team does not take samples, gifts, or loans of products or services we review. All sample products provided for review are donated after review.

The purpose of 360 Reviews by U.S. News & World Report is to evaluate products and services from multiple, diverse vantage points. We make recommendations based on an assessment of what matters to consumers, experts, and the community of professional reviewers. We convey what’s most important about antivirus software based on an unbiased evaluation of products commonly in the consideration set. Our overarching goal is to empower consumers with the information and tools needed to make their own informed decisions.

The following describes our 360 approach to researching and analyzing Antivirus Software companies to provide guidance to potential customers in the market for an Antivirus Software.

1. We researched the companies and products people care most about.

U.S. News analyzed and compared a variety of publicly available data, including internet search data, to determine which antivirus software companies consumers are most interested in. After additional analysis of consumer and professional reviews, we narrowed the list down to the twelve Best Antivirus Software Companies of 2024 and the eleven Best Antivirus Software Companies of 2024 for the Mac Operating System(OS). We then researched and explained the most important features of Antivirus Software to help readers with their purchasing decisions.

2. We created objective 360 Overall Ratings based on an analysis of third-party reviews.

Our scoring methodology is based on a composite analysis of the ratings and reviews published by credible third-party professional and consumer review sources. The ratings are not based on the personal opinions, tests, or experiences of U.S. News. To calculate the ratings:

(a) We compiled two types of third-party ratings and reviews:

Not all professional and consumer rating sources met our criteria for objectivity. Those that did not were excluded from our model.
(b) We standardized the inputs to create a common scale.

The third-party review source data were collected in a variety of forms, including ratings, recommendations and accolades. Before including each third-party data point into our scoring equation, we had to standardize it so that it could be compared accurately with data points from other review sources. We used the scoring methodology described below to convert these systems to a comparable scale.

The 360 scoring process first converted each third-party rating into a common 0 to 5 scale. To balance the distribution of scores within each source’s scale, we used a standard deviation (or Z-Score) calculation to determine how each company that a source rated was scored in comparison to the source’s mean score. We then used the Z-Score to create a standardized U.S. News score using the method outlined below:

(c) We calculated the 360 Overall Score based on a weighted-average model.
We assigned “source weights” to each source used in the consensus scoring model based on our assessment of how much the source is trusted and recognized by consumers and how much its published review process indicates that it is both comprehensive and editorially independent. The source weights are assigned on a 1-5 scale. Any source with an assigned weight less than 2 was excluded from the consensus scoring model.

Finally, we combined the converted third-party data points using a weighted average formula based on source weight. This formula calculated the consensus score for each product, which we call the 360 Overall Rating.