Avast vs Malwarebytes: Which One Should You Use?

Avast vs Malwarebytes, which is the better option in 2021?

A premier security program is the best solution in overcoming security threats to your device, whether you are up against a simple computer virus or a complex Trojan, or ransomware. Without it, your computer becomes vulnerable to attacks, and you risk losing all your data.

With a wide range of available antivirus solutions available, selecting the best antivirus can be too overwhelming.

Avast and Malwarebytes are two of the top names that will come up when you look for the best antivirus software today. Since it’s not advisable to run two antiviruses at the same time on a single computer, we’re here to help you make a decision on which antivirus you should use on your PC or laptop.

Which Antivirus is Better? Avast or Malwarebytes

To make it easier for us to determine which is the better antivirus software between Avast and Malwarebytes, we’ve come up with 6 categories that’ll help in identifying which software is the better choice.

Features

Avast has more comprehensive and feature-packed products compared to Malwarebytes. Both the free and premium versions of Avast has more features than their Malwarebytes counterparts. It’s clear to us who won in this category.

Winner: Avast

Security

Malwarebytes uses a different approach to what Avast has when it comes to protecting your computer against threats. To determine who has better security features, we will be basing it on the results gathered by an independent lab called AV-Test. It was close, but Avast showed that it offers better security and protection.

Winner: Avast

Ease of Use

Both antiviruses have a user-friendly platform that its users can use. The two of them uses easy to understand color schemes to show whether your computer has an issue or not. However, we must give the slight edge to Avast for having a more modern-looking design than Malwarebytes.

Winner: Avast

Overall Customer Satisfaction

For this category, we based it on the data gathered by third-party review companies. With the help of Trustpilot and G2, we were able to read real-life customer reviews, and come up with an answer to our question, which has better ratings, Malwarebytes or Avast?

Winner: Avast

Pricing

Comparing the pricing structures for both Avast and Malwarebytes, you can easily tell that Malwarebytes is the more affordable option.

Winner: Malwarebytes

Support

Malwarebytes only offers live chat support, meanwhile Avast has phone, email, and ticket support but no live chat. Unfortunately, as good as live chat help can be, the Malwarebytes support team seems to be lacking the needed number of agents to cater to their customers’ concerns. With slow response time and inaccurate information given by Malwarebytes’ support agents, we’ll have to side with the Avast support team.

Winner: Avast

An In-Depth Comparison: Malwarebytes vs Avast

Both antivirus software have their own pros and cons, and it may all come down to your budget and personal preference when you need to decide which one to get. For now, let’s dive into the details for an in-depth comparison between Avast and Malwarebytes, and to finally determine which of them is the better antivirus software.

Malwarebytes Features vs Avast Features

Avast, as mentioned before, has more features than Malwarebytes. Here are some of the features that Avast has but Malwarebytes do not.

• Secure Brower. According to Avast, this is a Avast Secure Browser is a next-generation browser that’s built to provide unparalleled privacy and security with its own ad-blocker, VPN, and complete data encryption.
  
• Safe Price. This feature is perfect for those people who are avid online shoppers. Safe Price lets you compare prices and shows you the latest coupons so you’ll be able to save money while you shop online.
  
• Password+ and Premium. Avast Password+ is available for free, while the Premium will cost you $19.99 a year. Both password managers help secure your accounts and sync your passwords for safer, one-click website logins.
  
• SecureLine VPN. Protect your privacy from your internet provider, employer, and hackers while enjoying high-speed connection using various servers all over the world. This feature will cost you $89.99/year, comes free with the Avast Ultimate, or you can test it out first using their 7-day free trial.
  
• Cleanup Premium. If you need to clear storage space, then the Avast Cleanup Premium is a neat tool to use. It helps boost your computer’s performance by fixing the things that are slowing it down. Avast will scan your PC from top to bottom to remove leftover junk files from over 200 applications and browsers.
  
• Email Protection. Avast has the feature to protect your email accounts against threats. From phishing to email spam, Email Protection will handle all those for you.
  
• Driver Updater. Much like the other Avast features, Driver Updater is pretty straightforward. It helps you update your drivers to their latest versions and it can do it for you automatically.

For comparison, here are the features exclusive to Malwarebytes.

• Live Chat. Like most companies today, Malwarebytes has its live chat support to assist you with all your concerns and inquiries about their products. For those looking for a quick fix or answer, this is a great feature to have since Avast doesn’t have this option.
• Chromebook Protection. As good as Chromebook’s built-in Antivirus can be, it’s still better to have Malwarebytes installed to provide added protection against phishing and malware.

Avast also runs on various operating systems from computers using Windows or MACs to mobile devices running Android or iOS, while Malwarebytes only works on Windows, MAC, Android, and Chromebooks. Considering all these, it’s easy to tell why Avast came out on top against Malwarebytes in this category.

Malwarebytes Security vs Avast Security

When it comes to getting a good antivirus product, protection against malware is the single most important feature that you have to consider. This means that your antivirus program must be able to scan and remove malware efficiently. To determine who has better security features, we’re going to use the October 2020 test results from AV-Test.org, an independent IT-Security institute.

Their tests showed that Malwarebytes Premium was able to get a perfect score on both protection and performance. Avast Free also got a perfect score for protection but only received 92% on performance. Avast Free made up for it in usability by getting a 100% rating as opposed to the 83% rating that Malwarebytes Premium received. Both antivirus programs offer protection against 0-day malware attacks.

Unfortunately, they don’t have the data for Avast Premium or Ultimate for us to compare, but it’s safe to assume that if the Avast Free version is already better than the premium version of Malwarebytes, then the gap will only widen if the additional features you get from having a paid version of Avast are also tested and considered for ratings.

Malwarebytes User Interface vs Avast User Interface

Having a simple and easy to understand user interface is enough to satisfy most users. The good news is both antivirus programs offer a user-friendly interface that easily shows what each application can do. They have clean menus and even their free versions are both easy to use.

However, we feel that it’s easier to navigate through and see notifications on Avast than Malwarebytes. Avast also has a better overall design. For these reasons, we give the slight advantage to Avast’s user interface.

Malwarebytes Reviews vs Avast Reviews

The best thing about review sites is we can easily read the best things that a product can offer and also its worst features all thanks to highly-satisfied and extremely-satisfied customers.

• G2
  At G2, both Avast and Malwarebytes have gathered a score of 4.5 stars out of 5. These excellent ratings are mostly because of how impressed customers were with their offered malware protections.
  
• Trustpilot
  Avast had an overall score of 3.8 out of 5 stars from the 4,185 reviews they got so far on Trustpilot. A lot of the reviewers raved about how easy it was for them to use and run Avast on their computers. For Malwarebytes, it was the complete opposite, most customers are complaining about their support system and are wondering why they’ve been charged without their consent. Out of the 191 reviews they’ve got, Malwarebytes was only able to get a score of 2.2 stars.

Based on the reviews we’ve read, it’s obvious that Avast is the more trusted software.

Malwarebytes Pricing vs Avast Pricing

Both software may have the same functions, but their manufacturers view their products differently in terms of their price. In this section, we will be comparing the prices for Avast and Malwarebytes. Let’s start with Avast.

Avast Pro Antivirus

The price of Avast Pro is set to be $49.99 for a 1-year subscription.

Avast Internet Security

Avast Internet Security is set at $47.99 for a 1-year subscription and $87.99 for a 2-year subscription.

Avast Premier

The Avast Premier will set you back $55.99 for a 1-year subscription and $111.99 for their 2-year subscription.

Avast Ultimate

The Avast Ultimate is priced at $119.99 a year and is only available on 1-year subscriptions.

Avast Security for Mac

The Avast Security Mac is priced at $47.99 a year.

Meanwhile, this is how Malwarebytes plans are priced.

Malwarebytes Premium (PC)

The premium version of the Malwarebytes for PC is currently priced at $39.99 for a 1-year subscription and $69.98 for a 2-year subscription for a single device.

Malwarebytes Premium (Mac)

The premium version of the Malwarebytes for MAC is set at $39.99 for a 1-year subscription and $69.98 for a 2-year subscription for a single device.

Malwarebytes does not offer many options for its users compared to Avast. But in terms of pricing, it’s evident that they have more affordable antivirus options.

Malwarebytes Support vs Avast Support

Malwarebytes only offer live chat support, so it’s either you wait for one of their agents to get back to you or you browse through their resource and try to find by yourself the solution to your concern or issue.

Unfortunately, Malwarebytes agents do not look ready to answer all of our questions, and some of them gave the wrong information. Have I mentioned how long it took for them to get back to our query? Well, we waited for more than 3 hours. Was it worth the wait? Definitely not.

Now, Avast does not have live chat support but they make up for it with their email, phone, and ticket support features. If the solution to your problem can’t be found on the resources available on their website, then you can easily call, email, or submit a ticket to them.

All those options will notify Avast about your ongoing issue/s with their antivirus software. The turnaround time varies, but when we used it ourselves, we were able to get a response from them in less than 24 hours.

Avast Free vs Malwarebytes Free

Avast has a free version that anyone can download and use on their Windows and MAC computers as well as on their mobile devices that run on Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. The same can be said to Malwarebytes, but they don’t have one for mobile users. However, much like other free software, the features and capabilities that come with Avast Free and Malwarebytes Free are limited.

In fact, Malwarebytes Free isn’t even considered an antivirus software because it does not work in real-time like Avast Free.

If you have to choose between Avast Free and Malwarebytes Free, going with Avast Free is the obvious choice since it can give you better protection against malware.

Avast Paid vs Malwarebytes Paid

For those who have the budget to upgrade their antivirus software for added protection and better security, we’re going to compare Avast Paid and Malwarebytes Paid.

Here are the paid versions available for Avast and the extra features that come with them.

• Avast Pro. This is the Avast Free plus Sandbox, Real Site feature, and their premium customer support.
• Avast Internet Security. This will get you the features on Avast Pro and better malware protection with their advanced firewall, Email Protection, and a much-improved ransomware protection.
• Avast Premier. This will have everything on Avast Internet Security plus automatic software updates, data shredder, and webcam shield.
• Avast Ultimate. The most feature-rich Avast plan, Avast Ultimate, will include everything on Avast Premier and Cleanup Premium, SecureLine VPN, and the Passwords Premium

For Malwarebytes Premium, the paid version, you will get the following features.

• Protection against ransomware, malware, and spyware
• Real-time protection
• Secure browser with malicious website protection

We hope that it’s clear for you now how significant Avast’s advantage is in terms of the features it has compared to what Malwarebytes offers. Sure, you might save a few dollars a year by going with Malwarebytes Premium, but by getting the most affordable plan for Avast, you’ll be able to get better value for your money.

Final Thoughts: Avast vs Malwarebytes- Which Is The Better Option?

That’s it for our comparison between Avast and Malwarebytes! And we believe that Avast is the better option since it has more features and is significantly better in protecting your computer against malware and phishing. Also, it’s great to know that the Avast Free version can be as effective as the paid version of Malwarebytes against most online threats today based on the tests we’ve read. The only reason you need to get Malwarebytes is if you own a Chromebook and you want to improve its security against malware, ransomware, and spyware by purchasing the Malwarebytes for Chromebook.

If you’re still not convinced, you may start with Avast Free before you decide whether you want to upgrade your plan or switch to a different antivirus software. While both Malwarebytes and Avast offer some premium protection, the differences between them are too significant to ignore.

For regular users, Avast Free should be enough. However, for those who have the budget to spend on premium antivirus software, it’s recommended that you invest in at least the Avast Internet Security. If you want to get the highest level of protection, feel free to install Avast Ultimate on your device. Avast Ultimate should be enough to lessen all your worries against online threats, but it’s still best to practice caution when you browse and be wary of new phishing strategies.