When looking for a free antivirus app that’s capable of keeping your system clean without any hidden costs, you don’t have many options. There are a lot of free antivirus apps that are free, but few of them are reliable. Luckily, both Avira and Malwarebytes seem to be good, and our comparison will determine which of the two is better.
Let’s start with Avira, a free antivirus with significant pedigree. Sure, Avira has a premium version, but is it worth going for it? Not really. Avira offers a free download version, and that’s plenty of security for your desktop. Because the devs behind Avira have been working on the software for many years, the scanning engine of the antivirus is exceedingly good. In fact, Avria has one of the best and most in-depth scanning functions available on the market, free or otherwise. While not the fastest or most resource effective antivirus out there, Avira makes up for these cons by providing a thorough search function that can detect most, if not all, threats. Unfortunately, Avira suffers from a lack of real-time protection in its free antivirus download version, so if you want real-time security and additional features, you’ll have to shed out some cash.
What about Malwarebytes? Malwarebytes has been gaining popularity at an exceeding rate, mainly due to its user-friendly interface and reliability. Malwarebytes works best when coupled with another antivirus program, as Malwarebytes tends to find threats other apps neglect or ignore. In many cases, Malwarebytes detects threats in files that in truth only have the potential of becoming security risks, and are not necessarily malware outright. The app is also available as a free download, and it’s one of the best additional free antivirus downloads available online. It works perfectly with any version of windows, it does extremely fast scans and has low resources costs. The downsides? Just like Avira, Malwarebytes is limited in its freely downloadable version, and if you want the most out of the app (such as real-time protection), you’re once again forced to pull out your wallet.
While both are strong and reliable tools, Malwarebytes simply wins over Avira because it’s more resource-friendly and because it’s easier to download, install and utilize. Avira does things really well, but without a built-in real time protection for its Free Antivirus Download kit, it simply becomes obsolete unless it’s paid for. Malwarebytes shares a similar fate, but because it works so well with other antiviruses (such as Avast, which also has a Free Antivirus Download option), it has more use to the budget-friendly user.