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Avast Free Mac Security doesn't break a lot of new ground. As is the case with most free software, it does an OK job and — like popular free-to-play games — aims to pull money from your pockets after it's installed.

The one major perk of Avast Free Mac Security is that it can identify attacks in your email inbox, a feature that we'd like to see in all Mac antivirus services. At the end of the day, though, Avast's Mac malware protection rate isn't quite as good as its competitors', which is the most important part of antivirus software.

Avast Free Mac Security costs and what's covered

Avast Free Mac Security is free. It supports Macs running any version of macOS, as long as they have 128MB of RAM and 750MB of available disk space.

Antivirus protection

Avast Free Mac Security keeps Macs free of malware using traditional signature-based detection by unpacking Mac-specific file formats and scanning them for malicious content. It also uses its artificial-intelligence system to apply lessons from its user base to train its software.

Avast also thwarts PC malware on Mac, to prevent it from spreading on networks, and scans unopened ZIP files. It performs system protection scanning in the background, permits both on-demand and scheduled scans, and can scan your router to protect you against DNS hijacking and other threats.

Antivirus detection

Avast Free Mac Security's on-demand malware-scanning engine has a mixed record in recent lab tests. It stopped 100% of malware in tests conducted by Austrian lab AV-Comparatives in July 2018 and June 2019.

Results from German lab AV-Test were less consistent: 100% of Mac malware was detected by Avast in June 2018 and June 2019, but Avast caught only 96.3% of malware in December 2018.

That means Avast tied with Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac and Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac on the AV-Comparatives test (both hit 100%). However, it failed to match Bitdefender, Kaspersky and Norton 360 Deluxe on the AV-Test study, in which all three earned 100% scores.

Of all the Mac antivirus programs we tested, Avast Free Mac Security was the only one that flagged items already on our system as threats. Specifically, it found three email messages in my old, inactive, Outlook database that contained links to phishing websites.

Security and privacy features

Avast Free Mac Security includes Avast's Online Security browser extension, which automatically installs itself in Chrome unless you opt out, while Firefox provides a confirmation prompt to make sure you approve the extension. The Avast extension appears as a button that is green when you're safe and red if a site is potentially harmful. Similar flags will appear next to search results.

If you're wary of sites that monitor your actions, the Avast browser extension also displays a counter badge that tallies the number of activity trackers found in a website and provides an additional option to block social network-based tracking.

Not only does Avast scan activity on your hard drive and web browsers, but it also monitors POP3 and IMAP email clients, including Apple Mail, Thunderbird, Postbox and Airmail, and scans email attachments as well as email messages.

Avast monitors your computer and its network connections in the background, scans new files upon installation and lets you schedule scans. However, Avast Free Mac Security doesn't have any of the extra features offered by paid competitors, such as parental controls, a VPN service, firewalls or webcam blockers.

Performance and system impact

Avast Free Mac Security had a moderate impact on system performance, which we assessed by running our custom Excel VLOOKUP benchmark test, which matches 60,000 names and addresses on a spreadsheet. Our test machine wasa 2017 MacBook Air with a 1.8-GHz Intel Core i5 CPU and approximately 54GB of data stored on a 128GB SSD.

With Avast Free Mac Security installed on our MacBook, but without any active scans running, the VLOOKUP test finished in an average of 3 minutes and 38 seconds, 1 second longer than without any antivirus software installed. That's a passive system hit of less than 1%, and not something you would likely perceive.

MORE: Hackers Say They've Breached Three Antivirus Companies

Other antivirus products' passive system impacts ranged from 5% (Sophos Home Premium) to zero percent (Bitdefender). This is overall great news for Mac users: Most of the time, you'll never notice that you've got antivirus software running.

You would be more likely to notice the slowdowns created by Avast's active scans. During full-system scans, the VLOOKUP test finished in an average of 4 minutes and 59 seconds, resulting in a big performance dip of 37 percent. That's not as bad as McAfee AntiVirus Plus' 47% fall (the worst offender), although it wasn't as good as Sophos' 7% full-scan system hit.

Avast's full-scan completion time, which took an hour and 11 minutes on average, was on the longer end of scores but was not the longest we found — Sophos' 2-hour-and-56-minute time was the longest. Malwarebytes for Mac Premium's full scan took a miraculous 16 seconds, while Bitdefender closed its full scan in 4:25. Kaspersky (41:20) and Norton (25:49) fell in the middle of the pack.

Interface

Avast Free Mac Security may not be the prettiest antivirus app, but it provides a number of functions and options. Its main window shows users a Protected status, as scans are enabled by default. All other features, including on-demand scans, are located in a menu bar on the left.

Avast's main window presents users with their status — Protected or otherwise — and a 'Run scan' button that pushes you to Avast Cleanup Pro. You'll be confused by this abrupt switch of apps if you weren't paying attention to the fine print, and you'll soon realize that Cleanup Pro is a paid product that looks to tidy up your hard drive and costs between $2.99 or $3.99 per month.

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After you click that Run scan button once, it changes to an Upgrade button for Avast Security Pro, which features anti-ransomware protections and Wi-Fi and network scanning. To avoid further confusion, click on Scans in the left-hand menu, which opens that section as well as other sections of the app, such as Reports, Virus Chest, Shields and Preferences.

In Scan, you can select from a number of different types, such as scans of custom directories, scans of removable volumes and scans of your home network. Avast also includes scheduled scans, an increasingly rare option these days.

Clicking on New Scan presents a Start button for activating a Quick Scan and a Change Scan Type button to switch to a full-computer scan.

You'll find database updates and analyses of scans performed on your system in Avast's Reports. Avast places files it flags as malicious into the Virus Chest quarantine section, where you can delete or restore them (if you think Avast is mistaken).

Open the Shields section to see real-time analysis of scanned files. Annoyingly, if the file directory is especially long, Avast won't give you the full directory, so you can't go look up the offending file for yourself. You may not need to, but we'd prefer to have the option.

In the Preferences tab, you'll find options to change the frequency of notifications, system updates and scans. Here, you can also disable hard-drive, email and web protection, although Avast wisely makes you enter your system password first. Additionally, you can disable Avast's menu-bar icon from this window (it's under Miscellaneous).

If you create an account with Avast, you can check the status of any systems you've logged into in the Account tab as well as at my.avast.com. Avast's menu-bar button provides links to open the main interface window, see current activity and application information, and review previous notifications.

Installation and support

To install Avast Free Mac Security, you open Avast.com and click Download, which will place the installer DMG on your Mac. (Thankfully, you won't have to go through download.com anymore, an annoying part of the previous model.) After you click through the end-user-license agreements, the installer will download more files and install Avast.

No restart is required, and the whole process took about 2 minutes for me, which felt about normal. In the middle of the installation, you get the option to not install Avast's unlimited Password Manager and the company'sSecureLine VPN client. The Avast Online Security browser plug-in is free, but you get only a seven-day trial of SecureLine VPN service, which otherwise starts at $60 per year.

To get technical support, click Help in the menu bar, select Avast Technical Support and then select Contact Help to open Avast's Support site. Here, you can find a FAQ, ask for help in the forums and call a customer-support line that will provide free advice for installing, configuring, updating and removing Avast.

MORE: How to Buy Antivirus Software

If you need more help than that, Avast offers paid support starting at $79 for any call that isn't related to removing a virus or malware, or at $119 per call for virus-related calls. For more support, you can spend $199 for a year of unlimited service, or $10 per month plus a $99 setup fee.

Bottom line

Avast's email scanning gives it an edge over competing Mac antivirus products. It needs such an advantage when the rest of its package is such a mixed bag.

Not only does Avast's software continually push you to spend money on additional services (unlikely if you've already chosen to use free antivirus software), but its malware detection rates aren't great overall.

If you're going to pay, you should instead choose Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, which gives you excellent protection and a low system impact for $40 a year. If

you'd rather not pay, then Avast is the best free option, but only because Sophos Home, which has a more full-featured free tier, has undetermined malware-protection abilities on Macs.

(Last updated on April 20th, 2019)

Kaspersky or Avast, which antivirus software is a better option in 2019?

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First, let’s see the different products Kaspersky and Avast offer.

If you’re in a hurry and only want to see the summary of this detailed Kaspersky vs. Avast comparison, you can look at the infographic below that neatly summarizes the whole comparison.

Short Verdict

Avast offers more security-related features and extra utility tools in its security suites than Kaspersky. Independent tests prove that both software provide excellent protection against both widespread and zero-day malware, but Kaspersky is slightly better than Avast in terms of the impact on system performance.

Let’s start off the detailed comparison…

What’s Included in Kaspersky Antivirus Suites?

Following the footsteps of its competitors, Kaspersky released its freeware, Kaspersky Free, in July last year. The entry-level product may look bare-bones but if you take a closer look, you’ll know it still offers more in terms of features and protection than its competitors’ free products.

It provides essential malware protection, checks emails for malicious content, protects against phishing attacks, and also blocks dangerous websites and downloads. Also, it automatically scans connected USB drives for malware.

Another useful feature in the freeware is an on-screen keyword; it helps protect your sensitive information, such as banking details, from keyloggers.

If your computer is so riddled with malware that it can’t run antivirus software, you can use Kaspersky’s free Rescue Disk to reset your computer.

If security is your top priority, and you want to enjoy premium security-related features and advanced malware protection, you must select any of the Kaspersky’s premium suites.

Next level up is Kaspersky Anti-Virus. In that, you’ll get all the features jammed into the company’s free offering, along with ransomware protection, a game mode to minimize interruptions, and a vulnerability scan option (checks for outdated software and other vulnerabilities in your operating system).

Another level up is Kaspersky Internet Security, the company’s most popular plan. It offers a great array of features, including a two-way firewall (actively monitors network traffic and prevents attacks), a SAFE MONEY hardened browser for secure shopping/banking experience, and also helps you remove potentially unwanted programs and web trackers.

Additionally, webcam and microphone protection and a basic-level parental control filter (enables you to block your kids from seeing objectionable content and manage their social media usage) are also included in the plan.

Kaspersky Total Security is the company’s full-blown suite, boasting nearly every feature you could think of. Along with all the features that are part of the ‘internet security’ plan, you get an unlimited password manager (securely stores all your passwords at one place), an automatic backup software with 2GB of online space from Dropbox, and file encryption and shredding capabilities.

Note: Both Internet Security and Total Security suites also allow you to protect all your devices (PC, Mac, and mobile) with a single subscription.

A limited free VPN with a maximum data limit of 200MB per day is included in all Kaspersky’s security suites, including the freeware. Interestingly, even the top-notch suites have the same data usage limits.

Now, let’s talk about what Kaspersky offers for macOS users.

Much like its Windows-only freeware, Kaspersky offers a free antivirus solution for Mac users too, called Virus Scanner for Mac. It includes an on-demand virus scanner (checks for viruses, spyware, adware, Trojan horses, and other forms of malware) and also provides detailed reporting on any threats it catches.

Also, the product automatically updates itself so you don’t have to worry about updating it every now and then.

The premium version of the solution, Virus Scanner Pro for Mac, adds a download scanner (automatically scans all the files in your ‘downloads’ folder for malware) and also gives you step-by-step instructions on how to remove various malware.

If you want to get proactive protection and advanced security-related features, you should upgrade to Kaspersky Internet Security or Kaspersky Total Security – both of which are compatible with Mac platform, too.

What’s Included in Avast Antivirus Suites?

First, let’s look the Avast’s security suites for Windows users.

Avast’s free security solution, called Avast Free Antivirus, is one of the most feature-rich free security solution available in the market. It not only boasts decent level of malware protection, but also includes several security-related tools and utilities that most companies only offer in their premium suites, including an unlimited password vault, a WiFi inspector (checks for vulnerabilities in your network), and a limited software updater (tells you about other software that needs updating).

A game mode feature for uninterrupted experience and a rescue disk utility are also available in the freeware. If you want to run Avast alongside any other antivirus application, it can happily go into the passive mode.

The two browser plugins that Avast offers are Online Security and SafePrice. The former steers you clear of dangerous websites and also stops phishing attacks, while the latter is price comparison and coupon finder tool that could help you find the best deals while shopping online.

Next up is Avast Antivirus Pro. It includes everything that comes as part of the free version plus Sandbox technology (lets you test suspicious files in a virtual environment so don’t damage your computer), a Real Site feature (prevents hackers from redirecting you to fake websites to steal your sensitive details), and premium customer support.

Another level up is Avast Internet Security, the company’s most popular suite. It adds an advanced firewall, an anti-spam filter (blocks junk and phishing emails), and extra protection against ransomware.

Avast Premier includes everything in the ‘Internet Security’ suite plus a file shredder, an automatic software updater, and webcam protection.

Avast Ultimate is the company’s top-of-the-line security suite, boasting almost all the features that you could name. It includes a cleanup utility, an unlimited VPN, and an enhanced version of Avast’s password manager, along with every feature that is jammed into the ‘Premier’ suite.

Now, let’s see the Avast’s plans that are compatible with Mac platform.

Avast Security is the company’s free offering for macOS users. Besides providing great protection against different kinds of malware threats, it has a WiFi security scanner (checks your network and connected devices for vulnerabilities), a web shield (protects you from online threats), and an email shield (blocks junk/phishing emails).

Avast Security Pro adds a useful Wi-Fi intruder alert feature (instantly notifies when someone connects to your network) and also includes protection against ransomware attacks.

Kaspersky vs Avast: Which Software Provides Better Malware Protection?

It’s part of the antivirus software’s job to provide top-notch protection against both known and unknown of malware threats.

Known malware (also referred to as ‘widespread malware’) is the type of malware which is already out there in the wild, and for which digital signatures are already available. Unknown malware (also called zero-day malware) exploits a previously unknown vulnerability and is much more difficult to detect as no previous signatures are available for it.

Usually, antivirus programs employ signature-based detection (checking the suspected files against a database of known malware samples) to catch known malware and heuristic monitoring (checking for behavioral attributes of suspected files) to detect unknown malware.

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When a new malware sample is found, a prompt signature update is sent out to the community to make sure nobody else gets affected by it.

Now, let’s see how Kaspersky and Avast performed in the recent independent lab tests conducted by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives – two well-known and respected companies that regularly test various security products on different criteria.

In the AV-Test’s most recent evaluations, various products – including Kaspersky and Avast – were put to test against 228 samples of zero-day malware and 4,887 samples of widespread malware in two-round tests conducted in January and February 2018.

Kaspersky and Avast both came up with perfect results; both blocked 100% of both types of malware samples in both months, receiving an excellent 6/6 rating from the security experts at AV-Test. (See this and this for detailed reports.)

Note: These tests were conducted on Windows 7 platform.

The results weren’t a lot different when the same tests were held on the Windows 10 platform, in November and December 2017, with both software once again receiving a maximum 6-star rating. This time around, however, the results weren’t as flawless as were in the Windows 7 evaluations.

Kaspersky’s protection rate against widespread malware was perfect, at 100%, in both months, but its effectiveness against zero-day malware was at 98.9% in November and 100% in December.

Other than a slightly lower 99.9% protection against widespread malware in November, Avast’s scores were perfect in evaluations held on Windows 10 platform.

Austrian lab AV-Comparatives conducts two major tests to measure the protection level of various antivirus products: Real World Protection Test and Malware Protection Test.

The former aims to rigorously challenge the participating products against ‘real-world’ conditions (as experienced by users) with their default settings in place, while the latter assesses the effectiveness of the security software’s on-demand/on-access scanning engines and behavioral detection capabilities.

AV-Comparatives’ most recent Real-World Protection Test report covered average results of the tests conducted consecutively over a period of five months, from July to November 2017). Both Kaspersky and Avast received their highest accolade — which is the “ADVANCED +” award — courtesy of their near-perfect overall protection rates of 99.7% and 99.6%, respectively. Avast registered 11 false positives (identifying legitimate software as malware) over the course of 5 months, while Kaspersky returned only 2.

In the AV-Comparatives’ Malware Protection Test, which most recently took place in September 2017, Avast’s protection rate was 99.99% with 9 false positives, while Kaspersky blocked 99.96% of the threats while returning 10 false alarms. Both software received an “ADVANCED +” award in this test.

So, it’s clear that both software provide a near-perfect level of protection against malware, and hence it’s a tie in this category.

Winner: It’s a tie

Kaspersky vs Avast: Which Software Puts Less Impact on System Performance?

Since it’s part of antivirus software’s job to shield you from threats in real-time, they have to continuously run in the background to do their job, meaning they consume some percentage of your system resources all the time.

It is imperative that an antivirus program shouldn’t just provide great malware protection, but also must not significantly degrade system performance by slowing it down.

Once against, let’s see how Kaspersky and Avast fared in the independent performance tests conducted by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives.

AV-Test’s performance test measured the impact of various antivirus programs in terms of system slowdown; they executed few common computer operations — such as downloading, installing and launching applications, copying files, launching websites — and measured the slowdown each software caused on a standard and a high-end PC.

Here’re the results of the test with Kaspersky installed:

As you can see, Kaspersky received a perfect 6/6 star rating in the ‘protection’ category.

Avast, however, was found to be a little more resource-intensive than Kaspersky; it received a slightly lower but still acceptable 5.5/6 star rating from the experts at AV-Test.

Note: These tests were conducted on Window 7 platform in January and February 2018. The same tests when held on Windows 10 platform in November and December last year saw both products receive exactly the same results.

AV-Comparatives does a similar study to calculate the impact of different antivirus software on computer performance. They also executed few common computer operations, like file copying, installing/uninstalling applications, browsing websites, and more, to gauge the impact each product puts on system performance

Kaspersky once against came up with better results than Avast; it received a slightly lower impact score of 8.1 as opposed to the Avast’s 8.9. However, both software were awarded the highest “ADVANCED +” accolade.

Winner: Kaspersky

Kaspersky vs Avast: Which Software Offers a Better User Interface?

I think you’ll agree with me when I say everyone prefers a cleaner, easy-to-use interface than a clunky, old-fashioned one.

First, let’s dive into the Kaspersky’s interface…

Kaspersky interface looks light, bright, and simple. The homepage has a lot of features and useful links but yet it seems clean and uncluttered. It has six different modules: Scan, Database Update, Safe Money, Privacy Protection, Parental Control, and Protection for all devices. Each one of them contains relevant features and their settings.

Clicking the ‘More Tools’ button on the main window takes you to the advanced security features and their settings.

At the top, there’s a green banner that changes to red when the software detects an issue that needs your attention. A horizontal menu with links to news, settings, support, and more.

If you’re using the free version, you’ll see that most premium features are greyed out, meaning you have to upgrade to a premium plan to get them.

Now, let’s look at the Avast’s interface…

Avast interface follows a dark, modern-styled theme and looks neat and well-organized. The first thing you’ll when you open the software is a reassuring “you’re protected” message with a checkmark provided your PC’s health is okay. Just below the message is a button to run a useful ‘smart scan’.

Along the left, there’s a vertical menu comprising Status, Protection, Privacy, and Performance tabs. Each tab when clicked elegantly opens relevant modules and their settings in a horizontal roll-out manner. Settings and Upgrade buttons are self-explanatory.

If you’re using the freeware, you’ll not have access to the premium features. Also, an unobtrusive banner advising an upgrade is also there at the bottom for free customers.

Overall, it can be said that both software offer a user-friendly interface.

Winner: It’s a tie

Kaspersky vs Avast: Which Software is Less Expensive?

First, let’s look at the prices of Kaspersky’s security suites.

Now, let’s look at the pricing of Avast’s security suites.

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It’s clear that Kaspersky’s suites are not only less expensive but also cover more devices.

Winner: Kaspersky

Kaspersky vs Avast: Which Software is More Popular?

It is not an easy task to decide which of the two software is more popular among the antivirus community as both Kaspersky and Avast claim to have a community of 400 million users.

To decide a winner in this category, I will look the independent market share statistics and the total numbers of downloads of each software on CNET’s download.com.

According to OPSWAT – a company that releases monthly reports on the market share of leading antivirus companies – Avast leads the table with a dominating 19.64% of the total antivirus market share, followed by ESET (13.31%) and Malwarebytes (12.9%). Kaspersky Lab is last on the list, with only 3.86% of the market share.

On download.com – which is the world’s most popular software download portal – Avast has remarkably more overall total downloads than Kaspersky.

So, Avast is the clear winner in this category.

Winner: Avast

Final Verdict

The world we live in is becoming increasingly complex with every single day, and it makes sense to say that a premium antivirus suite has become more of a requirement rather than a choice.

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