Avira Antivirus Review 2025: Is It Worth the Cost?

Avira provides ease-of-use and reliable antivirus protection. It scores high with third-party testers like AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives while keeping scans quick and unobtrusive to our browsing. Even if you're completely new to antivirus software, Avira makes navigation simple and every feature is clearly labeled with helpful descriptions. 

On the other hand, Avira can become expensive if you want to cover several devices. It can also be lackluster for macOS users because the firewall is exclusive to Windows. 

In this review, we’ll break down Avira’s pricing, features, and performance test results to help you decide if it’s the right antivirus solution for you.

At a glance

Price	$26.99–$59.99/first yr
Free plan	Yes
# of devices protected	1 – 25
Malware scans	Manual and scheduled
Real-time protection	Yes
EICAR test results	3/3
Firewall	Yes (Windows only)
Phishing protection	Yes
Compatibility	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Extras	Password manager, VPN, ad and tracker blocker, identity monitoring, file shredder, Avira Safe Shopping
24/7 customer support	Yes (paid plans only)
Details	Get Avira

We last tested Avira on August 19, 2025.

Our experience

There's a lot to like about Avira, like its user-friendly dashboard and effective malware protection. After downloading the app, Avira immediately prompted us to run a smart scan, providing a brief description of what it covers. 

It took approximately 45 seconds, and the results were categorized into three areas: Security, Privacy, and Performance. 

The system scan results were easy to read, checking off anything marked as safe and using a red minus sign to highlight any potential cyberthreats. 

For the privacy and performance results, it flagged several issues that could compromise our device's privacy and performance, such as settings to adjust and slow-starting apps.

Correcting those issues was easy. All we needed to do was select Fix issues, and Avira got to work for us. It took only a couple of minutes to improve and secure our device.

If you want coverage for more than one device, you can opt for three or five devices but the price jumps up $50 to $60. Only Avira Prime includes coverage for more than one device, but we found that this subscription can do a lot more than just protect our devices from malware. 

Avira Prime includes a basic virtual private network (VPN), a password manager, and performance optimization tools. 

Who is Avira best for?

• Recommended for individuals seeking comprehensive antivirus protection for minimal devices.

If you're looking for a basic antivirus, Avira offers a free version with many of the same features as its paid version. If you opt for the free version, you can expect:

• Real-time antivirus protection
• Online threat blocking
• Secure internet activities
• Cleanup tools

Now, if you need additional tools, such as performance optimization tools, a password manager, and a virtual private network (VPN), then you're better off with a paid Avira plan. 

Just note that the starting price for Avira Antivirus Pro and Avira Internet Security only covers one device. You can pay to cover three or five devices, but your subscription price will increase. 

When selecting antivirus software, the primary functions are to scan for and block malware. No one wants a nasty computer virus. You want a product that’s thorough, and that’s what you’ll get in every Avira plan.

Avira antivirus cost

Avira offers a free plan and paid plans from $26.99–$59.99/first yr. There are four plan tiers: Avira Free, Antivirus Pro, Internet Security, and Prime. 

For its starting price, Avira is on par, starting at $26.99/first yr for one device. Here's how it compares to our top alternatives:

• TotalAV: $19.00/first yr (covers three devices)
• Norton: $29.99/first yr (covers one device)
• Bitdefender: $24.99/first yr (covers one device)

However, adding additional devices to your plan can double this price. With Avira Prime, you can cover five devices for $59.99/first yr. 

	Free	Antivirus Pro	Internet Security	Prime
Price for first year	Free	$26.99/first yr	$34.99/first yr	$59.99/first yr
# devices supported	1	1 – 5	1 – 5	5 – 25
Manual and auto scan
Phishing protection
Firewall*
Real-time protection
Ransomware protection
Performance optimization tools
Premium VPN
Details	View plan	View plan	View plan	View plan

Avira Free antivirus

If you don’t want to buy antivirus software, you can opt for the free version of Avira. It’s compatible with Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. 

The free version is great for those who want real-time protection, automated software updates, and browser safety. 

Avira antivirus features

Avira comes with your standard antivirus features, including a variety of scans, phishing protection, and a firewall. You'll also get PC optimization tools, Avira Phantom VPN, and a password manager, depending on your plan tier.

We'll break down Avira's features and how well they worked for us. 

Malware and antivirus scan

Avira antivirus provides both automatic and manual scanning options for malware detection. You can schedule scans to run at specific times or use manual scans as needed. There's also a full scan option to dive deeper into your device.

The Smart Scan was particularly useful in reviewing our device for security, privacy, and performance issues. To fix the issues detected, all we needed to do was select Fix Issues, and Avira improved our device.

You also get a custom scan option that may not be available with other antivirus products. Avira’s custom scan allows you to browse specific documents or files you want to scan instead of running a quick or full scan on an entire drive. 

Custom scans can be faster than a quick scan, depending on the number of documents you want to check.

Phishing protection

Avira offers Web Protection, which safeguards you against web content such as phishing links, malware, spam, and fraud. There’s nothing special to do or set up with this feature; it’s part of the real-time protection that blocks viruses and malicious attachments.

There's also the Avira Browser Safety extension, which blocks ads, trackers, and malicious websites. It's available for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. 

Firewall

Avira offers a firewall for its Windows program, which you can use as an alternative to the Windows firewall. It's automatically enabled once you've downloaded the program, but you've the option to customize the app rules and intruder protection settings. 

Unfortunately, the macOS program doesn't have a firewall. To ensure we hadn’t overlooked anything, we contacted customer support to verify our findings. They confirmed that the firewall isn't available for macOS.

Real-time protection

When you want real-time protection, Avira doesn’t miss the mark. This feature is turned on by default, so there’s nothing for you to do. The Avira real-time protection scans any file you access to prevent malware from infecting files on your device.

The best part is that you won’t notice anything because it runs in the background. We had numerous browser tabs open and didn’t notice any lag with real-time protection working.

Ransomware protection

Avira antivirus provides real-time ransomware protection, blocking malicious software from gaining control of your device.

If you decide to get the paid antivirus program, the ransomware protection uses a behavior-based approach that checks the actions of the code trigger. If actions are found that suggest ransomware, the software gets blocked.

The free version of Avira includes basic ransomware protection. It works by comparing known ransomware types in the database to potential threats.

Bonus features

Avira includes bonus security features, such as a VPN, performance optimization tools, a password manager, and a secure shopping browser extension.

With the free VPN, you’re limited to 500 MB of data per month. If you get Avira Prime, you'll get unlimited VPN data.

The Avira password manager browser extension is easy to use and helps secure your online accounts. The password manager monitors for data breaches, which is a necessary feature for any decent password manager. 

You don’t typically get a password manager included with all antivirus software, so we appreciate that it’s included in Avira’s security suite.

For performance optimization, there's a PC cleaner, which removes junk files, speed up your boot time, and reduce lag, and automatic software updates to keep your programs and drivers up to date. 

Avira antivirus test results

We test the antivirus programs we review through multiple hoops to verify their claims. First, we run several types of scans to determine their duration and the impact on our device. 

Then, we use EICAR test files to assess how well the antivirus program can block cyberthreats, such as malware and phishing sites.

Finally, we like to see what independent research organizations have to say about these antivirus programs. We review the most recent third-party test results from AV-TEST, AV-Comparatives, and SE Labs. 

Scan speed

• Result: Average

Avira has options for a full scan, a quick scan, and a smart scan. The smart scan checks for security, privacy, and performance issues, while the quick and full scans are focused on threat detection.

Scan type	Time spent
Smart scan	25 seconds
Quick scan	27 seconds
Full scan	44 minutes, 3 seconds

Avira is typically fast with its scans. This time, the smart scan and quick scan both took less than 30 seconds. 

But our full scan took nearly an hour. In the past, Avira has averaged around nine minutes for full scans, so this could be because we were testing on a MacBook. 

We did notice our laptop taking a bit more time to load webpages, but it was still completely usable. 

EICAR test results

• Result: 3/3

The European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research, also known as EICAR, provides malware test files for you to safely test your antivirus programs from home. During our testing, we run tests for malware detection, drive-by malware downloads, and phishing pages detection.

Test	Avira score
Malware detection	Pass
Drive-by malware downloads	Pass
Phishing pages detection	Pass

Avira passed all three tests with ease. The malware files were either quarantined or Avira blocked us from visiting the page altogether. 

When we opened the phishing test link, the Avira browser extension warned us against accessing the phishing page. Avira succeeded against all the tests we threw at it.

AV-TEST results

• Result: Avira achieved perfect test scores for Windows and macOS, but scored lower with Android. 

AV-TEST evaluates security products to determine how they stand up against malware, false positives, and performance issues. The site uses the most current version of the products for testing, so you get up-to-date results. 

AV-TEST evaluates products based on a point system, and the highest number of points awarded for each of the three categories (performance, protection, and usability) is six.

Test type	Windows score	macOS score	Android score
Protection	6/6	6/6	6/6
Performance	6/6	6/6	6/6
Usability	6/6	6/6	5/6
Total	18/18	18/18	17/18
Date	June 2025	June 2025	May 2025
Link to test	Link	Link	Link

Avira achieved perfect scores with its Windows and macOS programs. Only the Android app received a markdown. 

However, the Android app also received a lower score in the usability category. It detected one false positive while installing and usage of legitimate apps from the Google Play Store, while the industry average was zero. 

Avira's performance was still near-perfect, so we're not concerned about these results. 

AV-Comparatives results

• Result: Scored high in protection tests but ranked toward the bottom in performance impact test. 

AV-Comparatives is another independent organization dedicated to systematic testing on antivirus products and mobile security solutions. It creates a real-world environment to test these programs for real-world protection, malware protection, and device performance impact (along with mobile security for the apps).

Test type	Mobile security	Real-world protection	Malware protection	Performance impact (Lower is better)	Mac security
Score	99.9%	99.3%	99.98%	18.3	99.3%
Platform	Android	Windows	Windows	Windows	macOS
Date	May 2025	February - June 2025	March 2025	April 2025	May 2025
Link	Link	Link	Link	Link	Link

Avira and TotalAV tied for the third-best score for malware protection in the most recent AV-Comparatives testing. It was only beaten by F-Secure, which scored a 99.99% protection rate, and Kaspersky, which scored a 100% protection rate.

For real-world protection, Avira tied at 99.3% with several top antivirus providers, including AVG and McAfee. Bitdefender got the top score (99.8%). 

However, Avira ranked twelfth with its performance impact score. For reference, McAfee had the best impact rate at 2.6. That means Avira may have a greater impact on your system performance compared to other antivirus programs. 

Avira has also submitted its macOS and Android programs to AV-Comparatives and those results were newly updated this year. The Avira macOS app came in third place and was beaten only by Avast and AVG (which received 100%).

The Avira Android app received a near-perfect score and tied with Avast, AVG, and Norton. It was only beaten by Bitdefender, which received 100%. 

SE Labs results

• Result: 97%

SE Labs is the final independent organization we review for antivirus test results. SE Labs measures protection accuracy, testing how well an antivirus protects against general attacks and targeted attacks, as well as legitimate accuracy, testing how well an antivirus can detect real cyberthreats. The final score represents the total accuracy.

Test type	Home Anti-Malware Protection
Protection accuracy rating	93%
Legitimate accuracy rating	100%
Total accuracy rating	97%
Date	2023 Q2
Link	Link

Avira hasn't submitted its program to SE Labs since 2023, so its program has likely been updated since then. 

Avira antivirus compatibility

When you’re shopping for an antivirus, you want one that works for all your devices. Many of us use several devices, and it’s best to get a product that covers them all. You’d be hard-pressed to find a device Avira isn’t compatible with.

If you have any of these, you can secure them all with Avira antivirus software and mobile apps:

• Windows 7+
• macOS 10.15+
• Android 9+
• iOS 11+

Avira Browser Security is available on the following browsers:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
  
• Opera

Avira customer support

To reach an Avira customer support agent, you can call, email, or use the live chat. If you want to reach someone by phone, the hours are Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Central European Time (CET). 

You can also search the knowledge base to do some troubleshooting on your own. 

You should know, however, that only paid subscribers have access to phone and email support. But if you use the free version, you still get access to the knowledge base. When you visit the main support page, you can select your device and then choose from various options related to your issue.

Top alternatives

Avira is a top-notch provider, but the antivirus market is large, and it's not the only option. Here are some of our favorite programs to consider instead:

FAQs

Bottom line: Is Avira antivirus good?

Avira is a good antivirus software with excellent malware protection scores. If you’re looking for a product with numerous features that are easy to use and knowledgeable customer support, you won’t go wrong with any of the Avira products.

The best antivirus software should meet all your needs at a competitive price, so don’t be afraid to look at all your options before you decide. You may pay more for Avira's premium features and additional device coverage, but a higher price usually adds extra protection and utility. (And often, you can catch sales that discount the cost.)

See how Avira compares to some of our top alternatives:

• Avira vs. Norton
• Avira vs. Bitdefender