The Best Security Suites We've Tested for 2026 - PCMag

Table of Contents For almost as long as antivirus apps have existed, PCMag has evaluated them to pick the best. As the antivirus industry evolved to offer security suites, we expanded our analysis to include them. We’ve got reviews for nearly 50 suites, covering a range of security features. If you want an entry-level option with plenty of features, our Editors’ Choice is Bitdefender Total Security. Norton 360 Deluxe adds online backup, VPN, and more to earn our Editors’ Choice imprimatur for a mega-suite. At the high end, Bitdefender Ultimate Security or Norton 360 With LifeLock excel at combining identity theft with security. To protect your small business, Avast Premium Business Security has our blessing. Really, though, any of the suites described here might be a good fit for you, depending on your needs. Read our summaries below, then keep reading to learn how to pick the one that best suits you. Our Top Tested Picks Best for Device-Level Protection Bitdefender Total Security Available at Bitdefender Check Price EXPAND  PROS & CONS FEATURED DEAL What is this? Best for Multi-Device Households McAfee+ AI-Powered Antivirus, Scam Detection, and More Starting at $3.33/Mo at McAfee Check Price EXPAND  PROS & CONS Best for a Full-Featured VPN Norton 360 Deluxe Available at Norton Check Price EXPAND  PROS & CONS Best for Business Security Avast Premium Business Security Available at AVAST Check Price EXPAND  PROS & CONS Best for Families Bitdefender Ultimate Security Get Bitdefender Ultimate Security for Only $89.99 at Bitdefender See It EXPAND  PROS & CONS Best for Privacy Protection Norton 360 With LifeLock Available at Norton Check Price EXPAND  PROS & CONS Best for Tech Experts ESET Home Security Ultimate $179.99 Per Year at ESET See It EXPAND  PROS & CONS Best Focus on Privacy Malwarebytes Ultimate Available at Malwarebytes Check Price EXPAND  PROS & CONS See (3) More The Best Security Suite Deals This Week* Surfshark One — Protect 5 Devices for $2.49 Per Month on 2 Years Plan + 3 Months Free and Includes VPN Norton 360 Deluxe — Protect 5 Devices for $4.17 Per Month on 1 Year Norton 360 Deluxe Plan ESET — $3.49 Per Month for 3 Devices on 1 Year ESET Essential Plan McAfee — Plans Start at $4.16 Per Month for Unlimited Devices + Scam Detector *Deals are selected by our commerce team Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks RELATED: Best Antivirus Best Business Security Suites Best Ransomware Protection Best Spyware Protection Best VPN Services Best Malware Protection EDITORS' NOTE March 16, 2026: With this update, our lineup of recommended security suites remains unchanged. The existing picks have been vetted for currency and availability. (Credit: Bitdefender) Best for Device-Level Protection Bitdefender Total Security 4.5 Outstanding Pros & Cons Award-winning antivirus Protects Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices Online management and remote control VPN, spam filter, and parental control Vast number of additional bonus features Full VPN access requires a separate subscription Parental content filter not fully effective Support for iOS is limited You surely have antivirus installed on your PCs, but what about your other devices? And what about security that goes beyond just antivirus? With a Bitdefender Total Security subscription, you can protect devices running Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS. It’s our Editors’ Choice for basic security suite; the macOS and Android editions have separately earned the Editors’ Choice honor in their respective arenas. And you can manage all your devices from the convenient Bitdefender Central online console. Why We Picked It Who It’s For Specs & Configurations GET IT NOW Today’s Best Deal Learn More Bitdefender Total Security Review (Credit: McAfee) Best for Multi-Device Households McAfee+ 4.0 Excellent Pros & Cons Protects all devices in your household Identity theft detection and remediation Helps remove abandoned online accounts Excellent antivirus lab test scores No-limits VPN Missed two real-world ransomware attacks Some familiar features are no longer present Limited children's identity features You've installed security on your desktops and mobile devices. But what about your partner’s devices and all those electronic gadgets that enrapture your children? The generous McAfee+ suite lets you protect every device in your household, whether they run Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS. It even supports Chromebooks and ARM-based laptops. That protection includes McAfee’s VPN with no bandwidth or server limits, along with numerous security bonus features. But wait; there’s more! McAfee+ comes in three tiers: Premium, Advanced, and Ultimate. You get basic dark web monitoring of personal information at all three levels. The Advanced and Ultimate levels include full-scale identity theft monitoring and remediation, roughly parallel to Norton’s LifeLock and to Bitdefender Identity Theft Protection. It doesn’t monitor quite as many different aspects of your identity, but it hits the important ones. Why We Picked It Who It’s For Specs & Configurations GET IT NOW Today’s Best Deal Learn More McAfee+ Review (Credit: Norton) Best for a Full-Featured VPN Norton 360 Deluxe 4.5 Outstanding Pros & Cons Award-winning antivirus VPN with no bandwidth or server limits Hosted online storage for backups Effective protection against dangerous and fraudulent websites Powerful, self-sufficient firewall Parental control unavailable on macOS Online backup strictly for Windows Data-broker opt-out system limited Among many other features, Norton 360 Deluxe includes a robust, intelligent firewall, a basic password manager, and a dark web monitoring system that warns you if your private data is exposed. Your subscription lets you protect up to five devices running Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS. It also gets you five full licenses for Norton’s VPN. That’s a plus. Many other suites charge extra to remove limits on their included VPN components, or reserve a no-limits VPN for their most expensive tier. Norton’s 50GB of online storage for your backups is a nice bonus. Why We Picked It Who It’s For Specs & Configurations GET IT NOW Today’s Best Deal Learn More Norton 360 Deluxe Review (Credit: Avast) Best for Business Security Avast Premium Business Security 4.5 Outstanding Pros & Cons Excellent scores in antivirus lab tests and our tests Full remote configuration management Can remotely trigger scan, update, reboot, more Includes firewall, VPN, file shredder Web control filters inappropriate content Exchange and SharePoint security for servers Relatively expensive No VPN for Mac installations Many security companies prepare a special version for small business owners. In many cases, the small-business version closely resembles the consumer-side suite, with additions and enhancements for business functions. That’s not how Avast works. You install its protection on all your company’s desktops, either PCs or Macs. With that done, you have total control over protection on all your company computers. You can view status, launch scans, force a reboot, and more. And by editing global policy online, you can push configuration changes out across the entire company. Avast Premium Business Security is an Editors’ Choice pick for small business security. Why We Picked It Who It’s For Specs & Configurations GET IT NOW Today’s Best Deal Learn More Avast Premium Business Security Review (Credit: Bitdefender) Best for Families Bitdefender Ultimate Security 4.5 Outstanding Pros & Cons Excellent device-level security Supports Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS Thorough identity and credit monitoring Dedicated resolution specialists help remediate identity theft Identity theft insurance No-limits VPN Parental content filter not fully effective Password manager lacks advanced features Cannot actually prevent identity theft Ultimate is the right word for Bitdefender Ultimate Security. It incorporates Bitdefender Total Security, Bitdefender Premium VPN, Bitdefender's SecurePass password manager, Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection, and more. You also get a full-scale identity protection and remediation system, complete with privacy monitoring, breach alerts, and white-glove personal assistance in the event you experience identity theft. Bitdefender backs its identity theft with a million-dollar guarantee; two million at the highest subscription tier. And if you choose a Family subscription, you get identity protection for up to five family members. Why We Picked It Who It’s For Specs & Configurations GET IT NOW See It Learn More Bitdefender Ultimate Security Review (Credit: Norton) Best for Privacy Protection Norton 360 With LifeLock 4.5 Outstanding Pros & Cons LifeLock identity theft remediation Excellent device-level security protection Full VPN with no bandwidth limits Supports Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS Million-dollar identity protection guarantee Security protection is limited on iOS devices No parental control or backup for macOS Cannot actually prevent identity theft Norton’s security software can protect your devices and your local data, but it can’t reach out into the real world and protect your identity. That’s why you want Norton 360 With LifeLock. This suite starts with everything we like about Norton 360 Deluxe and adds identity monitoring and identity theft remediation supplied by identity pioneer (and Norton property) LifeLock. You can choose from three protection tiers, each with more identity theft features, device-protection licenses, and storage for your online backups. The top tier includes all identity features, protection for unlimited devices, and 500GB of hosted online backup storage. Why We Picked It Who It’s For Specs & Configurations GET IT NOW Today’s Best Deal Learn More Norton 360 With LifeLock Review (Credit: ESET) Best for Tech Experts ESET Home Security Ultimate 4.0 Excellent Pros & Cons Excellent price for family identity protection Global VPN coverage Perfect antivirus lab scores Identity protection lacks advanced tracking Poor score in hands-on malware protection test Annoying firewall pop-ups ESET Home Security Ultimate leans toward high technology. For example, it offers a Device Control system that lets you granularly control which device types and devices can connect to your PC. You could block USB drives in general, but allow the use of those you’ve personally vetted, for example. This suite includes a wide range of security tools, some suitable for all users and others that require serious technical expertise. Going beyond ESET's other suites, it offers a capable VPN and identity protection for the whole family. Other ESET features include a network inspector, a firewall, a spam filter, an anti-theft system for laptops, webcam security, banking protection, and a limited parental control system. Why We Picked It Who It’s For Specs & Configurations GET IT NOW See It Learn More ESET Home Security Ultimate Review (Credit: Malwarebytes) Best Focus on Privacy Malwarebytes Ultimate 4.0 Excellent Pros & Cons Identity theft protection by partner TransUnion Personal data removal service Includes no-limits VPN protection Near-perfect score in malware blocking test Very good protection against malicious and fraudulent sites Omits some common suite components Relatively expensive When other antiviruses lose the battle with malware, experts turn to Malwarebytes to clean up the mess. At the premium level, Malwarebytes aced our hands-on malware protection test and also earned a perfect score from two testing labs. As the name suggests, Malwarebytes Ultimate goes beyond mere antivirus, with an integrated VPN, personal data removal, and a full-powered identity theft protection service. This isn't your typical security suite. It doesn't include a firewall, parental control, or spam filtering, features that not everyone needs. And that can be just fine for many users. Why We Picked It Who It’s For Specs & Configurations GET IT NOW Today’s Best Deal Learn More Malwarebytes Ultimate Review Get Our Best Stories! All the Latest Tech, Tested by Our Experts Sign up for the Lab Report to receive PCMag's latest product reviews, buying advice, and insights. Sign up for the Lab Report to receive PCMag's latest product reviews, buying advice, and insights. Email Sign Me Up By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The Best Security Suites for 2026 Compare Specs Select Up To 3 05tOekU4dNswLHEykvhE7Lc Bitdefender Total Security McAfee+ Norton 360 Deluxe Avast Premium Business Security Bitdefender Ultimate Security Norton 360 With LifeLock ESET Home Security Ultimate Malwarebytes Ultimate 04EEL5nrDdD8dHcF70y6vpk Bitdefender Total Security McAfee+ Norton 360 Deluxe Avast Premium Business Security Bitdefender Ultimate Security Norton 360 With LifeLock ESET Home Security Ultimate Malwarebytes Ultimate 01dD7c6Jiwhc0I2GjnOxkdz Bitdefender Total Security McAfee+ Norton 360 Deluxe Avast Premium Business Security Bitdefender Ultimate Security Norton 360 With LifeLock ESET Home Security Ultimate Malwarebytes Ultimate Your Selections Bitdefender Total Security Available at Bitdefender Check Price McAfee+ Available at McAfee Check Price Norton 360 Deluxe Available at Norton Check Price Rating 4.5 4.0 4.5 Best For Best for Device-Level Protection Best for Multi-Device Households Best for a Full-Featured VPN VPN Limited Full Full Firewall Antispam Parental Control Backup Tune-Up Buying Guide: The Best Security Suites for 2026 Basic vs. Advanced Security Suites Most security companies offer at least three levels of security programs, including a standalone antivirus utility, an entry-level security suite, and an advanced suite with additional features and enhancements. Entry-level suites typically include antivirus software, a firewall, spam protection, and parental control features. The advanced "mega-suite" often includes a backup component and a system tune-up utility, and some also add password management, a VPN, or other security extras. When a new or updated security line is released, we begin by reviewing the antivirus. In our review of the entry-level suite, we summarize the results of the antivirus review and delve deeper into the suite-specific features. For a mega-suite review, we focus on the advanced features, referring to the entry-level suite review for features shared by both. Your choice between a basic and an advanced security suite depends entirely on which features matter to you and what you're willing to pay for them. Is Microsoft Defender Good Enough? Over the years, the Windows Defender program built into Windows 10 and 11 has evolved into Microsoft Defender Antivirus. In addition to antivirus protection, it manages Windows Firewall and other Windows security features. It doesn't truly qualify as a suite; it's just an antivirus that manages other Windows components. In the past, some independent antivirus test scores for Defender have come in below zero, but its scores have been steadily improving. You can still achieve better overall protection with the best third-party free antivirus utilities, but Microsoft Defender is continually improving its capabilities. Even so, it can't begin to replace a full-scale security suite. Security Suites Fight Malware, Adware, and Spyware Malware protection is the heart of a security suite; without an antivirus component, there's no suite. Naturally, you want a suite with an effective antivirus. When evaluating an antivirus, we look for high marks from the independent antivirus testing labs. The fact that the labs consider an antivirus important enough to test is a vote of confidence in its effectiveness. The best antivirus utilities consistently receive high ratings from multiple labs. All of our top picks have high scores from at least two labs. We also perform our own hands-on testing. For one test, we use a relatively static set of malware samples that we replace once per year. We note how the antivirus reacts when we try to launch those samples and score it on how well it protects the test system. Additionally, we attempt to download new malicious files from URLs that are no more than a few days old. Lab test results, our own test results, and other factors, such as ease of use, contribute to our antivirus rating. What Do You Want in a Firewall? A typical personal firewall offers protection in two main areas. First, it monitors all network traffic to prevent inappropriate access from outside the network. Second, it monitors running applications to ensure they don't misuse your network connection. The built-in Windows Firewall handles traffic monitoring but doesn't provide program control. A few security suites skip the firewall component, assuming that Windows Firewall already handles the most essential firewall tasks. The last thing you want is a firewall that bombards you with incomprehensible queries about online activity. Program PoleznyyIdiot.exe wants to connect with IP address 212.192.156.38 on port 443. Allow or Block? Incoming or outgoing? Once, or always? Plastic or paper? Modern firewalls reduce these queries by automatically configuring permissions for known programs. The very best also handle unknown programs by closely monitoring them for signs of improper network activity and other suspicious behavior. Providers Mostly Handle Spam Filtering These days, most of us hardly ever see spam messages in our inboxes because our email providers filter them out. If you don't receive this service from your provider, it can be challenging to find your valid mail amid all the offers for male enhancements and free cryptocurrency drops. If your provider doesn't block spam, choosing a suite with built-in spam filtering is a smart move. Look for one that integrates with your email client. Client integration lets it divert spam to a dedicated folder and sometimes lets you train the spam filter by flagging any spam messages that got through or, worse, valid messages that wound up in the spam folder. Prevent Phishing and Protect Your Privacy The best antivirus in the world can't help you if a fraudulent website tricks you into giving away your security credentials. Phishing sites often masquerade as legitimate banking sites, auction sites, and even online dating or gaming platforms. When you enter your username and password, your account is instantly compromised. Some clever frauds pass along your credentials to the real site to avoid raising suspicions. You can learn to avoid phishing scams, but having some backup from your security suite is important when you're not as alert. We test phishing protection using real-world fraudulent sites scraped from the internet. Steering users away from phishing sites helps protect privacy, but that's not the only way suites can keep your private information out of the wrong hands. Some offer specific protection for user-defined sensitive data, such as credit card and bank account information. Any attempt to transmit sensitive data from your computer sets off an alarm. Other spyware protection techniques include thwarting keyloggers, preventing webcam misuse, and providing a hardened browser that allows you to conduct online banking in an isolated environment, separate from other processes. Content Filtering and Parental Control We don't penalize a suite for omitting parental control. Not everyone has kids, and not every parent feels comfortable controlling and monitoring their children's computer use. In fact, we don't even recommend buying a third-party parental control utility, not when Apple, Google, and Microsoft offer such services at no cost. Even so, if a suite offers parental control as a feature, it had better work properly. Blocking inappropriate websites and controlling the amount of time a child spends on the internet (or on the computer) are the core components of a parental control system. Some suites offer advanced features, such as instant message monitoring, game filtering based on ESRB ratings, and location tracking for the child. Others struggle to manage even the most basic tasks successfully. A VPN Protects Your Communications Local antivirus and security suites protect your data and documents, but their protection doesn't extend to your internet communications. A virtual private network, or VPN, secures your internet traffic and can hide your IP address and location from snoops. Most VPN companies have just one product, but an increasing number of security suite companies are venturing into the VPN realm. Often, though, you don't get full VPN protection included with your suite. Some install a free edition or a free trial. Others offer a link that sends you online to subscribe. Norton 360, McAfee+, and Malwarebytes Ultimate are exceptions, offering VPN protection without such limits. Will a Security Suite Slow Down My PC? One significant reason to use a security suite rather than a collection of individual utilities is that the integrated suite can perform its tasks using fewer processes and a smaller portion of your system's resources. However, hardly any modern suites have a significant impact on performance. In the past, we've run some simple performance tests, timing three common system actions with and without the installed suite, averaging many runs of each test. One test measured system boot time, another moved and copied a large collection of files between drives, and a third repeatedly zipped and unzipped the same file collection. After years of spending time on these tests with little to no effect on performance, we've retired this test. Do I Need Backup and Tune-Up Utilities? In a sense, having a backup of all your files is the ultimate security. Even if a sample of asteroid dust goes astray and destroys your computer, you can still restore it from a backup. And if ransomware gets past your antivirus, you can restore your files from backup after eliminating the attacker. Recommended by Our Editors What to Do If Your Antivirus Stops Working 7 Signs You Have Malware and How to Get Rid of It Was Your Info Stolen in a Data Breach? Take These Steps Now Some companies reserve backup as a feature for their premium suite offering, while others include it in their entry-level suite. Read our reviews carefully, as backup capabilities vary wildly. At the low end, some companies give you nothing you couldn't get for free from IDrive or another online backup service. At the high end, you might get 25GB, 50GB, or even more online storage hosted by the company, possibly paired with the separate ability to make local backups. Tuning your system's performance has no direct connection to security unless it counteracts the security suite's performance drag. However, tune-up components often include privacy-related features, such as clearing browsing history traces, deleting temporary files, and removing lists of recently used documents. What Can I Do About Identity Theft? No software solution can guarantee that malefactors won't capture and misuse your personal information. What they can do is alert you when they find evidence that your data has been compromised, so you can head off full-scale identity theft. This kind of dark web monitoring is becoming more common. If the worst happens and your identity is thoroughly stolen, you can get help. McAfee+ includes identity theft remediation at its two higher pricing tiers, and Norton offers suites that include LifeLock identity protection. The top-level suites Bitdefender Ultimate, ESET Home Security Ultimate, and McAfee+ enhance device-level security with identity theft remediation and a no-limits VPN. Malwarebytes Ultimate also adds VPN and identity protection. All of these will assign a caseworker to help you recover and spend what it takes to remediate the problem, typically a million dollars or more. Do Suites Offer Security for Mac, Android, and iOS Devices? Windows still dominates the desktop market, but many households also have Macs. Cross-platform, multi-device suites provide a single source of protection for all your devices. Typically, you don't get as many features on macOS. In fact, most companies just offer a Mac antivirus, not a full suite. Be sure to take advantage of the option to protect your Macs. They're not immune to malware. Android devices are ubiquitous, and the Android platform isn't locked down like iOS. Even if you stay away from third-party app stores and refrain from jailbreaking your device, you can still get hit with Trojans, ransomware, and other Android malware. Smart users protect their devices with an Android antivirus. Most Android antivirus utilities include antitheft features such as locating, locking, or wiping a lost or stolen device. Some include bonus features, such as blocking unwanted calls or warning you when you connect to an insecure Wi-Fi network. As for iPhones and other iOS devices, Apple's built-in security makes life tough for malware coders and antivirus writers alike. Many cross-platform suites simply skip iOS; those that don't typically offer a seriously stripped-down experience. Given the platform's inherent security, it rarely makes sense to use one of your licenses to install protection on an iPhone. Editors’ Note: Given that the US government has banned the sale of Kaspersky security products, we no longer recommend them.