Our 3 Favorite Alternatives for Malwarebytes Antivirus in 2024
Malwarebytes makes enticing promises, but our cybersecurity experts prefer alternatives such as TotalAV, Surfshark, and Norton
When we tested Malwarebytes, we were shocked at how quickly it scanned our computer. At first, we thought it was nice how quickly it ran. But then we started to get a bit nervous. How did it scan our entire computer in about a minute when most antivirus software takes about an hour?
It didn’t actually scan our entire computer. Instead, it only scanned our running programs, system files, and new files. That hits the hot spots, but it’s not enough to make our list of the best antivirus software. While that’s our biggest issue with Malwarebytes, it wasn’t our only issue. So, we put together a list of our three favorite alternatives that live up to the expectations we had for Malwarebytes. Let’s get started.
Comparison Between the Best Malwarebytes Alternatives
System |
TotalAV Antivirus
![]() |
Surfshark Antivirus
![]() |
Norton Antivirus
![]() |
---|---|---|---|
Ranking | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
Ratings | 9.7/10 | 8.9/10 | 9.5/10 |
Devices covered | 4 to 8 | Unlimited | 1, 3, 5, 10 or unlimited |
Included firewall | No | No | Yes |
Supported operating systems | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | Windows, Mac, Android | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android |
Price range | $29 to $49 per year | $47.85 to $76.35 per year | $29.99 to $39.99 per year |
Read Review | TotalAV Antivirus Review | Surfshark Antivirus Review | Norton Antivirus Review |
Malwarebytes Alternatives
-
1. TotalAV Antivirus
Product Specs
Virus Detection Yes Malware Detection Yes Firewall No On-demand Scanning Yes On-access Scanning Yes Behavior-based monitoring Yes What Makes TotalAV a Good Malwarebytes Alternative?
One of the things we liked most about TotalAV was its Smart Scan capabilities. This let us run quick scans on our computer where it looked in common areas that malware hides, just like Malwarebytes’ full scan. But it could still scan our full system too, unlike Malwarebytes, and it could do it on a set schedule. So if you want fast scans that check critical areas of your device, we like TotalAV more than Malwarebytes.
Malware Scanning
Our main gripe with Malwarebytes was its malware scanning capabilities. TotalAV did not let us down. In our test with sample malware from the European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research (EICAR), TotalAV found it through a manual scan when we hid it in two layers of archived .zip files. Here’s a quick overview of our tests:
EICAR malware sample file TotalAV detection Unhidden Detected with real-time monitoring In one .zip file Detected with manual scan, but not real-time monitoring Two layers of .zip file archiving Detected with manual scan, but not real-time monitoring We ran a similar test with Malwarebytes, except we hid the malware in five different file types. It detected one out of five malware samples.
Overall, we liked TotalAV more since it could scan our entire computer. We scheduled automatic scans once a week at 2:00 a.m. on a Wednesday so it never interrupted us even though it took about an hour.
Customer Support
When testing TotalAV, we could get in contact with live support by giving them a call. That meant if the software told us we had an issue that required our immediate attention, we could call them up if we had any questions. It also meant if we received a phishing email pretending to be TotalAV, we could confirm whether or not it was actually them.
Pro Tip: Phishing scams are a serious threat. They occur when someone sends you a message trying to get you to give them information, click a link, or download malware by pretending to be someone they’re not. Most of the time, they pretend to be companies. Always reach out to the company itself if you receive a message from a brand to verify its legitimacy before sending or clicking anything.
They also offered an email for support, but it took 24 hours before we got a response and they didn’t promise a response until 48 to 72 hours after they received our message. We always prefer live chat features on a website, but a live phone number got the job done better than Malwarebytes.
-
2. Surfshark Antivirus
Product Specs
Virus Detection Yes Malware Detection Yes Firewall No On-demand Scanning Yes On-access Scanning Yes Behavior-based monitoring Yes What Makes Surfshark a Good Malwarebytes Alternative?
While we haven’t said much good about Malwarebytes yet, one of the things we liked was that it came with a VPN in its Security+VPN and Complete Protection plans. Well, Surfshark started out as a VPN company and it’s one of our favorite VPNs. As such, its VPN is more capable and it showed. When we tested Surfshark VPN, it delivered faster speeds and more locations to connect through, and it cost about the same as Malwarebytes VPN.
FYI: Surfshark just released a new tool called Incogni that automatically requests the removal of your personal information from data broker and people search sites. By doing so, it aims to reduce the risk of your identity getting stolen. It comes with Surfshark One+, which includes all of Surfshark’s tools. We tested Incogni out ourselves to see what this new tool had to offer and we were impressed.
Malware Scanning
Surfshark is another lightweight antivirus software, although it gave us three options for scanning our computer. These three options were:
- Quick Scan: Running quick scans took us about 10 minutes and looked at our Documents, Desktop, and Downloads folders. That’s not too thorough, but that’s why it’s the quick scan and not the only scan.
- Full Scan: Thankfully, Surfshark let us scan our entire computer, giving it a leg up over Malwarebytes.
- Target Scan: When we downloaded questionable files, we always ran target scans before opening them. This scanned the specific file we told it to, keeping things quick but thorough.
Customer Support
When it came to customer support, Surfshark nearly hit our gold standard. And that’s a 24/7 live chat support that’s easy to find with plenty of self-support options. Surfshark has it all except the live chat support feels hidden.
You need to navigate to the Help Center from the “Resources” tab and then at the bottom of that page, the option to access live support will eventually load. They put a delay on the live chat support option so it doesn’t load right away. Now that you know how to find it though, Surfshark’s live chat can help you out anytime you need it.
-
3. Norton Antivirus
Product Specs
Virus Detection Yes Malware Detection Yes Firewall Yes On-demand Scanning Yes On-access Scanning Yes Behavior-based monitoring Yes What Makes Norton a Good Malwarebytes Alternative?
If you’re looking for the software that’s the best at detecting malware, Norton is hard to beat. Its scans definitely take longer than Malwarebytes, but that extra time does not go to waste. You can also bundle all of the same services as Malwarebytes offers, including 3-bureau credit monitoring and identity insurance. And while Norton costs more, the quality across the board beat Malwarebytes in our hands-on testing.
Malware Scanning
AV-Test is an independent firm that tests how well different antivirus products identify malware. They found that Norton has identified all of their malware samples since 2020. But they have had more than a few false positives. These tests also don’t say how good an antivirus software is at finding malware in your computer.
That’s why we run our own tests. With Norton, we downloaded sample malware from the EICAR and hid it as XLSX, EXE, DOC, XLSM and SLX files. Then we ran a complete scan of our computer to see how many of them Norton could find. We did the same thing with Malwarebytes. Here are the results for both:
File type Norton Malwarebytes XLSX Detected Undetected EXE Detected Detected DOC Undetected Undetected XLSM Undetected Undetected SLX Detected Undetected Three out of five for Norton might not seem great either, but that’s the industry standard we found after running the same test on over 40 different antivirus providers. So, we still felt safe with Norton on our computer and phone.
Customer Support
Remember that gold standard that Surfshark nearly hit? Well, Norton hit it. They gave us every option possible to contact support, including Facebook Messenger and X. They also had a 24/7 phone line, live chat support, and plenty of self-help articles. Basically, if you need any type of support while using Norton, you’ll be able to get it no matter the circumstances.
Bottom Line
Malwarebytes can seem like a convenient antivirus software with its short scan times that minimize its impacts on your computer’s performance. However, those benefits come at the cost of its ability to protect your computer.
Although TotalAV, Surfshark, and Norton all take longer to scan your devices, we think the wait is well worth it. All three let you schedule your system scans, meaning you can set them to run when you aren’t using your computer. We set ours to scan every Wednesday at 2:00 a.m.
Frequently Asked Questions About Malwarebytes Alternatives
-
What’s the best Malwarebytes alternative?
After testing over 40 different antivirus software, our three favorite Malwarebytes alternatives are:
- TotalAV for efficient malware scanning
- Surfshark for a high-quality VPN
- Norton for comprehensive coverage
-
Is Malwarebytes a good antivirus software?
We don’t consider Malwarebytes to be one of the top antivirus softwares. It takes shortcuts when scanning your computer which leaves it exposed. And after paying for a subscription, we still couldn’t get live support.
-
Is there a free alternative to Malwarebytes?
TotalAV offers a free version that can scan your computer. We recommend using that until you can afford a premium antivirus solution.
-
Can I cancel my Malwarebytes subscription?
All annual Malwarebytes purchases come with a 60-day money-back guarantee for any reason. To cancel your subscription, send a message to Malwarebytes’ support asking them for a refund.
-
Is Malwarebytes worth the price?
We think you can get more for your money with another antivirus service. If you only want antivirus software, TotalAV’s Antivirus Pro costs $29 for the first year compared to $45 for Malwarebytes. For a VPN, we like Surfshark One, which costs $47.85 for the first year. If you want to get Malwarebytes Total Protection, we think Norton 360 with LifeLock gives you stronger identity theft and device protections, although it is a bit more expensive.