There is a lot of battle between the two most famous antivirus software, i.e., Avast vs Bitdefender. There is no doubt about this that Avast is older than Bitdefender and is a very well-known brand among computer users. Whenever we hear the name of Avast, the idea of an antivirus software pop-ups into our minds instantly.
Although recently Avast is facing hot water for the news story stating that Avast is selling web browsing data of its users to third parties without the consent of their customers, all of that remains unproven. Regardless of this news story, Avast serves millions and millions of users worldwide by delivering its services against online security threats.
Here at TechNinjaPRO, we have done a lot of research to compile a detailed comparison on Avast vs Bitdefender debate to check which one has the best:
- Antivirus Protection
- Performance
- Features
- Interface
- Sign Up & Set-Up
- Pricing
We have discussed all of these in great depth to understand which one suits you the best for protection against viruses.
Similar to the technology of VPN (a virtual private network), the tech of antivirus detection software has also been upgraded, enhanced, and has been customized to deal with the most recent threats your computer might be facing.
Many companies worldwide (whether big or small) have launched various antivirus software to the general public claiming to fulfill the security needs of available people. However, only a few antivirus software works, while the rest of the antivirus software is nothing more than a scam.
Out of all of that antivirus software, Avast and Bitdefender are some of the top dogs in the antivirus industry. Many people have been asking the question, “Which one is the best? Avast or Bitdefender?”.
So, to make an informed decision to deal with the complicated modern viruses and invasive malware, here’s a short review on the topic.
- Bitdefender and Avast: Short Review
- PREMIUM Protection & Security
- Protection: Bitdefender Vs Avast
- Malware Protection: Bitdefender Vs Avast
- Antivirus Protection
- Scanning
- Firewall Protection
- System Performance
- Features Discussion of Avast & Bitdefender
- User Interface: Avast Vs Bitdefender
- Customer Support
- Final Rundown: Avast Vs Bitdefender
Bitdefender and Avast: Short Review
The two most famous antivirus programs (Avast and Bitdefender) provide you with protection against viruses and several other malicious problems to which your computer might be vulnerable.
Both of these software helps you in detecting and removing viruses from your computer as a result of some hacker trying to get in your operating system and introducing tracking/spying files, malware you can pick up from the website, visiting websites that are not adequately secured, or by downloading several files from the internet which are unsafe.
Out of the two software, Bitdefender is a clear winner (according to our research). It has state-of-the-art malware detection technology integrated into it, which effortlessly verifies any virus or malicious file that the client might face.
Not only that, its parental control features are far better than Avast and more user-friendly altogether.
Bitdefender differs from Avast, especially in this regard where your online banking is kept safe, and there is not even the slightest loophole that a hacker can take advantage of during your financial running sessions. Thus, Bitdefender offers much more subsequent protection as antivirus software in comparison to Avast.
OUTLINE - Avast Vs Bitdefender
Avast
- Password Manager
- Ransomware Protection
- Sandbox Tool
Bitdefender
- Highly Advanced Parental Controls
- VPN (Secure & Unlimited)
- Ransomware Protection (Multi-Layer)
PREMIUM Protection & Security
Protection: Bitdefender Vs Avast
Excellent antivirus software does become great by just only detecting viruses and malware. Its main plan should also cover this factor by actively removing that virus from your operating system. Also, it should only remove the harmful files from your computer instead of your regular essential files stored on your hard drive.
One of the leading antivirus testing agencies, the AV-TEST Institute, has checked more than 20+ home security software to determine the best one so far and how they perform in real-life situations where external threats are faced daily. The AV-TEST Institute tested various scenarios and challenged the products by throwing real-world threats over them to demonstrate their capabilities by using all their components and protection layers.
Their findings stated that Avast and Bitdefender both received six scores out of 6 in the protection sector, where the degree of security and protection against malware and viruses was calculated.
So, if you use Avast or Bitdefender, you’ll find that they perform at the same level in the protection factor. However, Bitdefender is integrated with a more comprehensive defense list and features which makes it shine compared to Avast.
Malware Protection: Bitdefender Vs Avast
Bitdefender takes the lead in the malware protection sector when it comes to the Bitdefender vs Avast debate. How?
Well, for starters, the malware protection by Avast highly depends upon the type of subscription plan you have bought. If you buy the most expensive project, then and only then will the Avast application perform network scans thoroughly and adequately. In most of their basic plans, malware protection is concerned chiefly with the internal files that end up on your computer. If Avast antivirus software performed network scans as well (even in their most basic plan), then most of the junk files will not end up in your computer in the first place.
Keeping this in mind, Bitdefender also has upgraded features of performing network scans in their premium version. However, they differ from Avast by integrating their most basic understanding with network safety tools. This will help you by giving your device real-time protection and active network scanning to filter all the malicious files and prevent them from entering your operating system.
Bitdefender has several tools in their basic plan to avoid frequent scans and will save your device’s resources by not keeping it busy all the time.
Antivirus Protection
Viruses are old enemies of all types of operating systems, and over the year, several viruses have rocked the market of operating systems to their core. They deceive the user and allow themselves inside of their CPUs to cause problems.
The primary function of antivirus software is to protect against viruses. Several software providers are available in the market who claim to provide these services, but only a few are successful in actually delivering what they promise.
Out of the two antivirus software under discussion, let’s see in detail what features both of these software come with for ultimate protection against viruses.
The tests carried out by AV-TEST Institute showed us the results that both of this antivirus software, i.e., Avast and Bitdefender, scored 6 out of 6 in the protection against viruses area, and they were both 100% effective against threats like:
- Zero-Day
- Widespread Malware
Furthermore, we have seen that Avast is not as capable or fast in hunting down viruses compared to Bitdefender. Bitdefender is active and has recently been proven more efficacious against modern-day viruses and malware. This does give a slight edge to Bitdefender in the antivirus protection sector. However, both of these software perform well whenever they confront external and internal virus threats.
Scanning
Another vital feature that every antivirus software should have is a practical scanning feature. The ability of antivirus software to scan your device for viruses and potential threats is essential to detect all types of harmful programs installed or present in your computer. This is of great significance as you might not know what these viruses or dangerous malware are doing on your computer, like collecting data, eating up RAM/ROM, or even spying over your activity on your computer. Thus, you need stringent antivirus software with a complete scanning feature.
Once antivirus software performs a complete scan of your device, it unveils all types of issues that are playing in the background and causing severe damage to your system. Antivirus software performs quick sweeps and dismantles these issues from your computer until there is no significant threat.
When it comes to Avast Vs Bitdefender, both software performs an equal level of scanning within your device’s application to look for problems and issues. Both software has almost the same set of features in the Scanning department; however, Avast performs scans more efficiently (quick) than Bitdefender.
In addition to that, Avast has a few more scan types and features to offer compared to Bitdefender, which allows the user to perform some advanced scans. Both antivirus software will give you a pretty good scan, and however, if you are looking for something more exclusive in the Scanning department, then Avast is the software for you.
Firewall Protection
The fundamental purpose of firewall protection is to protect against external cyber-attacks and shield your device (including your network) from any type of malicious and uninvited network traffic.
The antivirus software under discussion also provides their customers with a Network Security Toolkit. However, both of these network firewalls differ in functionality.
The Bitdefender’s firewall protection is not as breathtaking as one imagines it to be (based on its other features and performance). It does not have a firewall customization option and works automatically in the background. Once in a while, it will send you a notification telling you about any suspicious connections your device is connected to or is trying to connect to.
Coming to Avast now, Avast’s firewall protection functionality is not as good as Bitdefender’s. Although the outlook of Avast’s firewall protection feature is very aesthetic in comparison to Bitdefender’s user interface, the functionality of Avast is the worst. The software is not able to identify any of the unknown devices or suspicious network connections.
The one thing that stands out in Avast’s firewall protection is the customization feature which allows you to enhance your firewall strictness. It’s not significantly user-friendly, and one can quickly go overboard while customizing the firewall feature.
System Performance
Most antivirus programs are heavy-duty, and they take a lot of resources from your computer to function correctly. So, if you have a typical computer (not well-built), these antivirus software can have an adverse effect while running on your machine.
If your machine is running slowly or is lagging in performing various activities, then the antivirus program of your choice is not the right one to go for. Before you buy antivirus software, you must initially check out the requirements set by the provider for the software to function correctly. This is to know whether your computer can handle this antivirus software or not.
The factor RAM plays a vital role while running antivirus software. The processing power of your computer will define the output of your antivirus software. Avast is an excellent software and is heavy-duty. It has caused several problems in the past for people who tried to run it on their cheap or average level systems. It causes malfunctioning, distorts the speed of your computer, and you can forget about online playing games on your standard system with Avast software running in the background. However, well-built computers can handle Avast antivirus software with ease.
On the lighter side, the Bitdefender software is lightweight, and it works great with computers or devices with low RAM. It will run as effectively on a cheaper computer as it will on a heavy-duty machine. Further, it does not cause any system performance problems while protecting your computer from viruses and malware.
Features Discussion of Avast & Bitdefender
Here’s a complete list of features that are conventional/distinctive in between Avast and Bitdefender.
If we talk about the standard features offered by both Bitdefender and Avast, the Network Threat Prevention features is an internet security technology that both of these antivirus software provides. It helps you fight against external internet threats like vulnerabilities in the WiFi connection, the addition of malware in your browser, botnet URLs, and exploitation of your internet traffic. Avast calls this WiFi Network Security, and it includes DNS caches protection.
Another feature that is integrated into both of these antivirus software is the Vulnerability Assessment Analysis which helps you in analyzing your system’s properties, all the software which are on your machine and deliver to you a customized security report for your operating system. Avast goes one step further and adds the feature of Auto Updates, which makes sure that all of the programs are automatically updated once their new versions are available in the market so that the old version does not fill your computer with bugs and lagging programs.
Also, to protect your machine from tracking software or hacking, Bitdefender and Avast both provide an Anti-tracker feature whose primary purpose is to block all types of tracking/spying software while you are browsing the internet. Avast offers this Anti-tracking feature in their Premium plans.
Bitdefender and Avast both provide webcam & microphone protection features, helping you destroy any tracking organization’s agendas or an individual hacker looking to spy over your online activities.
Another vital feature is the VPN feature which protects your online surfing with the shield of a VPN. Bitdefender provides this feature in their most basic plan, but it is limited to 200MBs per day. If you want to use that feature in Avast, you will have to get the Avast Ultimate plan
Apps: Bitdefender Vs Avast
When it comes to the applications of Bitdefender and Avast, you do not need to be a properly registered user to download the software.
Bitdefender’s downloads 13 MB of executable file which in turn downloads the 400 MB rest of the package. The downloading of Bitdefender is very slow as per the heavier load of the files. The overall set-up of Bitdefender takes time and for some people, it can cause an inconvenience.
On the other hand, Avast’s setup and installation are much quicker, however, their application performs some dirty work by offering the user with small tiny checkboxes for Opera and Avast Secure Browser which you can miss easily and their installation can cause disruption in your system. They come pre-checked by default and can be easily missed during the installation of the Antivirus software.
Out of the two, Bitdefender seems a much better choice even though it takes some time to download and set up. Once downloaded and the app is up and running, it will silently work in the background without bothering the overall RAM of your PC or OS.
User Interface: Avast Vs Bitdefender
Most of the ordinary users (people who are not tech-savvy or computer savvy) cannot understand complex user interfaces, which can cause problems for an average user. Everyone uses technology in some form or manner and has to deal with all kinds of ransomware, malware, malicious files, and hacking attacks. So, the user interface is the first impression of any software, whether it be antivirus software or VPN software.
The usability of any program is what makes an ergonomic interface, and the software or app can be termed as useless if one cannot utilize it properly. For instance, if someone is a software engineer and that person has to deal with a very technical user interface, it wouldn’t be a problem for them as they deal with these kinds of things daily. However, if someone is not well-read in the technical aspects of a computer, the user interface will seem to them nothing more than monkey language.
Looking at Bitdefender’s user interface, it is overwhelming. The features are all aligned so that only a technical person can navigate their program with ease. For an average joe, the user interface of Bitdefender is gibberish. Further, the presentation of information on Bitdefender is difficult, complex, and requires intermediate knowledge of computer concepts to use the application under discussion.
On the other hand, Avast has considered the user intent while developing its antivirus application user interface. One can easily navigate and look for features on the Avast app. The data is organized in such a manner that one can wholly interpret it without any difficulty. So, if you are looking for comfortable software to deal with and have a user-friendly interface, then Avast is the obvious choice you should go for.
The free version of Avast also shows you the available features only in the premium version of the application. This can be frustrating sometimes, as if you accidentally click on one of those features, you’ll be led to their site and get pitched for an upgrade.
Customer Support
As Jeff Bezos pitches in every interview, “Customer,” “Customer,” & “Customer.” Customer support by service providers is one of the most critical factors for any client willing to pay to get the respective services.
These antivirus software are integrated with state-of-the-art technology, and their users need customer support from time to time to get guidance about various issues and troubleshooting problems.
Avast generally delivers customer support in two ways:
- Live Chat
- Emails
They also offer a ‘technician phone support’ option, but you’ll have to pay extra for this service. Mainly this service is utilized by businesses or numerous corporations in the IT industry.
If you navigate to Avast’s website to find solutions to various problems, they have compiled an enormous amount of self-help solutions, detailed FAQs and allows you to contact any one of their representatives via a live chat feature.
In contrast to all of this, Bitdefender Premium Security offers for their customers and clients the following:
- Extensive Support Hub
- Online Videos
- Email Support
- Call Support
- Live Chat
- Expert Community
Bitdefender delivers 24/7 support to its clients and customers without paying any extra costs.
Final Rundown: Avast Vs Bitdefender
History of Avast & Bitdefender
Avast:
Avast has its jurisdiction based in the Czech Republic and has almost 1,700+ people working for them currently. They have 400+ million people using their antivirus software, and it is the most known antivirus program in the world.
Bitdefender:
Bitdefender has its jurisdictions set in Romania and is a cybersecurity firm. It was built in 2001 and had been functioning since. It has half a billion people using its antivirus technology worldwide and has patents from almost 150 countries. To this day, it has 1,600+ people employed in its organization.
Frequently Asked Question
Final Say
After the entire discussion on Bitdefender Vs Avast, there is no doubt that Bitdefender is the clear winner in the functioning, performance, and feature criteria. Even though Avast is not harmful antivirus software, it’s just that Bitdefender is better.
Although Bitdefender is costly compared to Avast, it provides additional security features such as anti-theft and VPN, which is not less than a simple requirement for everyone daily. Thus, it provides an excellent value for money.