Bitdefender vs. Norton Antivirus

In the world of antivirus software, many candidates vow to keep you and your devices safe from malware and other threats. Sometimes the sheer amount of options can be overwhelming. Antivirus programs have a long legacy dating back to Reaper, an early 1970s program that was used to tackle the Creeper virus that affected PDP-10 mainframe computers.1 We’ve come a long way since those days.

In this guide, our digital-security experts examine two major antivirus programs, Bitdefender and Norton Antivirus, and compare them head to head. What are the advantages of each? In what ways are they similar? We’ll take into consideration things such as cost, value, scanning speed, and effectiveness of virus detection. The antivirus market can sometimes seem confusing, but we’re here to give you the skinny on which product better keeps viruses at bay. As ring announcer Michael Buffer says, let’s get ready to rumble!

Which Price Is Right? Bitdefender vs. Norton Costs

For our comparison, we looked at Bitdefender Total Security and Norton 360 Deluxe. Bitdefender Total Security starts at $59.99 for the first year for up to five devices. Norton 360 Deluxe is currently listed at $49.99 for the first year for up to five devices. That puts Bitdefender at a slightly higher price for similar features, although Bitdefender renews at a lower price than Norton 360.

Both plans support up to five devices. In addition to a computer, we tried the programs on our phone. With the Bitdefender Antivirus bundle, we also got a VPN program. Norton offered other features, including VPN protection, a password manager, parental controls, and dark web monitoring, which we’ll get into later.

Prices, Prices, and More Prices

We aimed to narrow down some of the brands’ most popular packages, and outline what services you get with them.

How Bitdefender and Norton Work to Protect

Both Bitdefender Antivirus and Norton Antivirus boast a range of protections with their software, even in the more basic tiers. You can expect comprehensive protection against spyware, malware, and viruses. Norton Deluxe 360 comes with a password manager and both Bitdefender and Norton come with a built-in VPN. Both programs provide quick scans and full-system scans. The latter takes longer. Below are a few other features worth noting.

Multiple device protection: We were particularly jazzed about Bitdefender’s ability to work across 10 devices. There’s great flexibility there to keep everything from your tablets to your phones safe.

Dark web monitoring: Norton 360 Deluxe comes with a unique feature called dark web monitoring. The site keeps a close eye on email, home addresses, phone numbers, gamer tags, bank accounts, credit cards, and even your mother’s maiden name.

Safe files: Bitdefender Antivirus prevents unauthorized changes to files you designate as especially sensitive, protecting you from ransomware and other threats to your information.

Parental controls: In a world in which young people grow up online and are at risk to threats like doxxing, we were heartened that Norton 360 Deluxe incorporated smart parental controls, including blocking certain apps or websites and setting limits on screen time.

Scanning With Bitdefender and Norton

Launching into scanning for viruses with Bitdefender and Norton was a breeze. It took us some time to actually launch into the correct app with Bitdefender, however, which had multiple programs installed, including Bitdefender VPN.

There was a big difference in speed between the two programs once the scan started. Bitdefender’s quick scan was fast enough: five minutes. A full-system scan took an hour and 35 minutes, though, compared to Norton 360 Deluxe’s 19 minutes. We noticed that Bitdefender seemed to scan a lot more files — a total of 1.5 million files on our hard drive.

Neither the quick scan nor the full scan seemed to bog down our system. That’s always a plus, especially for Bitdefender’s comparatively long scanning time. Many people like to run antivirus scans while they’re away from their computers, but it’s good to know you can do it while you’re actively working on your device.

>> Expand Your Knowledge: Best Norton Antivirus Alternatives

Putting Bitdefender and Norton Antivirus Detection and Protection to the Test

Now for the part we’ve all been waiting for: actually putting Bitdefender and Norton Antivirus through their paces on detection and protection. At this level, most virus programs offer superior protection — well into the 90th percentile. But is one of these programs clearly better than the other?

Detection rate translates to the ability of an antivirus software to identify and block malicious files or programs. The metric is expressed as a percentage of the total malware samples identified. We’ll compare detection ability when the antivirus program is online and when it’s offline.

Virus online detection rate: In the latest tests, Bitdefender and Norton successfully detected 100 percent of known malware samples.2 However, Norton holds a longer history of detection of all known malware samples.3

Offline detection rate: This is where Bitdefender scored significantly better, with a 98.1 percent offline detection rate compared with Norton’s 91.1 percent. That’s a pretty sizable difference. Bitdefender was tied for second-highest out of 16 antivirus programs tested in this category.

Online protection rate: This stat refers to how well Bitdefender and Norton keep you protected while they’re running. Bitdefender scored 99.94 percent, compared to 99.99 percent for Norton.

Bitdefender’s and Norton’s Mobile Apps

In addition to taking a deep dive with Bitdefender and Norton on computers, we took them for a spin on our mobile phones. The transition was pretty seamless, especially with Norton. It was especially easy to figure out how to sync Norton on devices across multiple platforms with a QR code.

Bitdefender mobile, meanwhile, clearly outlines what it protects against as soon as you boot it up. It boasts scam alerts, web protection, account privacy, and a VPN, allowing you to stay anonymous on the web.

Customer Support

Can we just say how happy it makes us when computer software has a help center built right into the app? Norton even goes a step further by offering 24/7/365 service, along with an FAQs section, a community forum, and online chat.

Tabulating the Results and Picking a Winner

If you’re looking for exceptional virus protection, Bitdefender and Norton both are great options. Here’s where we stand.

Price and value: With any product, there’s the question of whether you’re getting the most bang for your buck. Bitdefender and Norton Deluxe 360 offer similar price points and similar stellar value. It’s a wash.

Antivirus scan speed: Norton has the clear edge in this category, finishing its scan a whole hour faster than Bitdefender.

Antivirus detection strength: It’s a wash when it comes to antivirus protection, since both programs are great tools to have in your digital-security toolbox. It’s worth highlighting again how well Bitdefender performed in offline scans.

Additional features: Norton 360 Deluxe has the edge. We were particularly fond of its dark web monitoring and extensive 24/7 chat support.

Both programs are great tools, but in a close battle Norton takes a slight edge over Bitdefender. For more details on Bitdefender and Norton, read our full reviews of the products below.

>> Read More: Bitdefender Antivirus Review and Norton Antivirus Review