Bitdefender vs ESET: side-by-side comparison

If you're stuck choosing between Bitdefender and ESET, you're not alone. These two are among the most trusted antivirus providers out there – but they take different approaches to protection.

Bitdefender is known for its powerful real-time protection, advanced ransomware defense, and extra features like VPN and password manager. ESET is a favorite among more technical users for its lightweight design and top-tier malware detection scores, even if it is a bit less mainstream.

Since both Bitdefender and ESET get a lot of good reviews and have large user bases, as a new user, you might have difficulty deciding which of these providers is the best. For this reason, in this Bitdefender vs ESET comparison, I go into detail how they compare in terms of performance, security, features, and user experience.

📢 LIMITED OFFER: Get Bitdefender for up to 78% OFF

Bitdefender vs ESET

During our in-house tests, both Bitdefender and ESET showed great malware detection rates. However, Bitdefender outperformed ESET in terms of malware detection in our in-house tests, recognizing all of the planted malware with 100% accuracy, while ESET’s accuracy was only 70%. Also, Bitdefender offers more features and more affordable plans than the ones offered by ESET. ESET, however, has the advantage of low impact on performace. Still, Bitdefender ranks higher overall on our best antivirus software list.

	Bitdefender Antivirus	ESET
⭐ Rating:	4.9 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★	4.4 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
🥇 Overall rank:	#1 out of #30	#8 out of #30
🔥 Coupons:	Bitdefender coupon 78% OFF	ESET coupon up to 30% OFF
💵 Price:	From $12.99/year	From $34.99/year
✂️ Free version:	Yes	No
🖥️ Platforms:	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android

Bitdefender vs ESET: which offers better protection?

Bitdefender and ESET excel in many ways but, ultimately, it’s their protection rates that are the deciding factor. I started by having a look at how well they perform at independent laboratories and found out that they have equally good protection.

Here’s how ESET Premium vs Bitdefender Total Security plans measure up:

	Bitdefender	ESET
AV-TEST	Top product	Top product
AV-Comparatives	Advanced+	Advanced+

Experts at AV-TEST awarded both providers with the TOP PRODUCT certificate for their outstanding performance. Moreover, during the latest testing, both providers received identical scores on all three categories assessed by AV-TEST experts – protection, performance, and usability. That is, Bitdefender and ESET were granted a maximum score of 6.

As for AV-Comparatives, the providers are also on par with each other. Both received the highest Advanced+ award.

Considering there is no visible difference in protection rates, this Bitdefender vs ESET round is a draw.

Malware detection rates

To test Bitdefender’s and ESET’s real-time protection, AV-Comparatives put them through real-world protection testing.

During the testing period between February and May 2024, the test detected 2 false positives for Bitdefender and 0 false positives for ESET to Bitdefender's disadvantage. The July-October testing showed slightly worse results for both providers. It detected 5 false positives for Bitdefender and 3 false positives for ESET. Nonetheless, both antiviruses can catch malware with a score over 99%.

Independent tests are great for quickly checking how the antivirus handles malware in the real world. However, we wanted to see it for ourselves, so we ran in-house testing to confirm how effective each of the providers is in detecting malware. Bitdefender's results were impressive. During the full scan, Bitdefender caught 10/10 of the malware we had planted on the device.

Meanwhile, ESET didn’t perform so well. ESET’s malware detection rate was only 7/10. While it's not a perfect score, it's still pretty decent.

Based on both independent and our in-house testing, it's clear that both antivirus providers are great at detecting and removing malware, although Bitdefender has an upper hand. Bitdefender and ESET are great antiviruses that guarantee a high level of real-time protection.

Malware protection

When it comes to protection from malware, Bitdefender and ESET have above average tools for its detection and removal. For instance, Bitdefender’s multi-layered ransomware protection not only blocks ransomware attacks but also reverses any damage by restoring encrypted files.

Additionally, it also has a vulnerability scanner. The tool searches for security holes and vulnerabilities that could compromise your device and data in the system, apps, and network. Lastly, its Advanced Threat Defense feature uses behavioral detection to protect against zero-day malware and other new threats.

ESET also has strong malware protection. Its multi-layered protection includes Ransomware Shield, which employs behavior-based detection to block malware. Besides that, ESET also protects against botnet malware, quickly blocking and reporting any detected malicious communication. Meanwhile, its Exploit Blocker blocks attacks on commonly exploited applications like browsers, PDF readers, and email clients.

During our in-house testing, 10 malware samples were planted on the device, and a full scan was performed with each provider. For Bitdefender, the scan took 20 minutes, and it found all of the planted malware samples.

ESET, on the other hand, did the full scan in 13 minutes, identifying only 7 out of 10 planted malware. In terms of resource usage, both providers are very similar, with a CPU usage between 1.1% and 4%.

Firewall

Both Bitdefender and ESET come with a firewall, but only in their higher-tier plans. With Bitdefender, you get a customizable one, which allows you to tweak things like application or network access, rules, and network adapter settings.

Also, it comes with port scan protection, which prevents cybercriminals from checking for loopholes in your network and exploiting them.

As for ESET, it has 4 different filtering modes. Automatic is the default mode that allows most outbound traffic and blocks most inbound traffic except for those from the trusted zone.

Meanwhile, interactive mode lets you block or allow unknown connections, and policy-based mode blocks all connections unless you allow them. The fourth, learning mode, automatically creates and saves rules according to your activities.

Scanning

Most top antivirus programs offer multiple types of scans for flexibility. So does Bitdefender and ESET. Bitdefender has quite an assortment of scans. Beyond the common quick and full system scans, it also offers custom scans.

Plus, the provider also offers Rescue Environment scans which reboot your device in a rescue environment for clean-up and threat removal. Meanwhile, its vulnerability scanner checks for security flaws and vulnerabilities.

ESET offers multiple scanning options, too. Its system scans check your entire device, including running processes and system files. Meanwhile, you can use custom scans to run checks on specific files and folders.

It also provides removable device scans for things like flash drives, external hard drives, CDs, and memory cards. The only missing option for ESET is a quick scan.

All in all, ESET vs Bitdefender are similar in what they offer to cover all common vulnerabilities. However, Bitdefender ultimately has more robust and well-rounded measures than ESET.

Pricing and plans

Bitdefender offers greater affordability and value than ESET. Its plans allow more device connections for a much cheaper price. For instance, its entry paid plan is priced at just $12.99/year for 1 device, while ESET’s basic plan already costs $34.99/year for just 1 device. Plus, Bitdefender has a free plan while ESET offers only a 30-day free trial.

Plan	Bitdefender	ESET
Free	✅ Yes, free version	❌ No, only a 30-day free trial
Antivirus Plus/ESET Essential	$12.99/year, 1 device	$34.99/year, 1 device
Total Security/ESET Premium	$19.99/year, 3 devices	$48.99/year, 3 devices
Premium Security/ESET Ultimate	$64.99/year, 10 devices	$125.99/year, 5 devices
Family pack	$69.99/year, 15 devices	–
	Check Bitdefender pricing	Check ESET pricing

Bitdefender antivirus plans

Bitdefender lets you choose from 3 paid plans and a free plan. Here’s an overview of each plan and what they offer:

	Free	Antivirus Plus	Total Security	Premium Security
Price	$0.00	$12.99/year	$19.99/year	$64.99/year
Devices	1	1	3	10
Secure VPN	❌ No	❌ No, for extra fee only	❌ No, for extra fee only	❌ No, for extra fee only
Real-time protection	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Virus scans	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Anti-phishing	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Privacy monitor	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Firewall	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Parental control	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Dark web scanning	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No
Identity theft protection	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No

Its Total Security plan is an excellent deal. At a fairly affordable $19.99/year, you get all the features that are missing from the Antivirus Plus plan. This includes a firewall, parental controls, webcam protection, and microphone monitor.

Meanwhile, for Mac users, your only options are either Total Security – which has the full list of features – or Family Pack if you need protection for more devices. If you want to save even more, check out our Bitdefender coupons to snag the best prices.

Try Bitdefender today

ESET antivirus plans

As for ESET, it has 3 premium plans. Here's an overview:

	Essential	Premium	Ultimate
Price	$41.99/year	$48.99/year	$125.99/year
Devices	3	3	5
Secure VPN	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Real-time protection	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Virus scans	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Anti-phishing	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Privacy monitor	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Firewall	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Parental control	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Dark web scanning	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Identity theft protection	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes

ESET gives you a selection of 3 plans that are on the pricier end. For instance, ESET Ultimate costs $125.99/year to protect 5 devices, but the cost increases if you want to cover up to 10 devices.

ESET Premium plan is a good middle ground that offers the best price-to-value ratio. The Essential plan is missing some vital privacy and safety features like the privacy monitor and identity theft protection. While The Ultimate plan is generally expensive considering the features it adds, which only include a VPN and identity protection. However, you can save with our ESET coupon codes.

Try ESET today

Bitdefender vs ESET: feature comparison

When it comes to features, Bitdefender and ESET are very similar. Both providers offer comprehensive and diverse features, Bitdefender slightly outperforms ESET in performance optimization.

Here’s what you can get with each provider:

	Bitdefender	ESET
Virus scans	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Real-time protection	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Ransomware protection	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Firewall	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Anti-spam	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Banking and payment protection	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Parental controls	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Password manager	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Photo encryption	❌ No	✅ Yes
Anti-tracker	✅ Yes	❌ No
VPN	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Performance optimization	✅ Yes	❌ No
File shredder	✅ Yes	✅ Yes

Bitdefender features

Bitdefender has plenty of notable features, and many of them are definitely worth a closer look. However, keep in mind that some of these features are only included in its premium plans.

To start with, Bitdefender has Advanced Threat Defense, which provides real-time monitoring. It uses heuristic methods to detect ransomware and zero-day threats in real time.

Meanwhile, its ransomware mitigation feature has a dual function. It blocks ransomware attacks and creates backups of your files so that they’re protected in case of an attack.

There’s also Anti-Spam, which offers multi-layered protection for the email channel, and its whitelister blocks spammer domains. It also runs a heuristic analysis on the received emails’ content, headers, and metadata. However, for it to work efficiently, the user has to train the module by telling which messages are spam and which aren’t. SafePay is another one of Bitdefender’s attractive features. It creates a sandbox browser to protect payment details during online purchases.

Bitdefender’s Anti-Tracker feature helps keep your data and activity private. This is a browser extension that prevents third-party scripts, cookies, and adware from tracking your online behavior.

Additionally, Bitdefender offers Webcam Protection – a microphone and webcam protection feature. It notifies you whenever a new app tries to access your webcam or microphone.

Finally, Bitdefender’s VPN deserves a mention too. It encrypts internet traffic and makes your online identity anonymous, allowing you to protect your privacy. The version included in all paid plans comes with 200MB of data per day.

Alternatively, you can upgrade to Bitdefender’s Premium VPN for $2.49/month. This upgraded version offers unlimited data, over 3000 servers across 100 countries, and WireGuard and OpenVPN for its tunneling protocol.

Check out the Bitdefender features in our review.

ESET features

ESET has an abundance of features as well. However, as is common, many of them are reserved for those choosing premium plans.

For starters, ESET has a great set of anti-theft features. To protect against theft, it offers features like location tracking, anti-theft optimization, laptop activity watch, one-way messaging, and phantom account.

Plus, the higher-tier plans also come with a password manager with 256-bit AES secure encryption. Though, compared to a dedicated third-party password manager, it lacks features, including breach monitoring, auditing, password sharing between users, and emergency access.

ESET also has strong banking protection to prevent payment details from being compromised. The provider’s automatically activated banking feature will switch to a secure browser whenever you visit a recognized financial site. To learn more about the features, visit our in-depth ESET review.

Impact on PC performance

A review of Bitdefender vs ESET test results of their test results shows that Bitdefender has a bigger impact on performance. It’s no surprise considering how many items Bitdefender scans, but it did have a higher CPU load and more intense disk usage compared to ESET.

It’s almost inevitable that antivirus software slows down your device since it's constantly scanning your files and programs. You need the scans to update virus definitions, check for viruses and malware, and detect advanced issues all at the same time.

However, both Bitdefender and ESET’s impacts on performance could be improved. In fact, a look at the AV-Comparatives performance impact score reveals that ESET’s score is at 9.5, landing it in 7th place. Meanwhile, Bitdefender is only in 17th place with a score of 25.1.

Quick scan

Bitdefender is the only one with a quick scan. During the tests, I took into account its CPU, memory, and disk usage during the scans.

	Bitdefender	ESET
Quick scan	1min 23s	Doesn't have a quick scan
CPU load	70% max, 45% average	–
Memory load	54%	–
Disk load	31%	–
Items scanned	6639	–

Overall, Bitdefender completed the scan rather swiftly but was heavy on system performance with rather high CPU utilization. That said, this is very common among antivirus software and is almost impossible to avoid. Bitdefender's overall resource usage doesn’t raise any concerns.

Full scan

Bitdefender and ESET completed their full scans quickly. However, Bitdefender used more memory during the scan than ESET. Nonetheless, both Bitdefender and ESET are light on CPU.

	Bitdefender	ESET
Full scan	20min 24s	13min 00s
CPU usage	Fluctuated between 0% and 1% while idling and rose to 4% when malware was detected	Stayed at 0% while idling, then jumped to 3% when malware was detected
RAM usage	Stayed at 48MB throughout the scan	Stayed at about 24MB while idling, rising to 35MB when malware was detected

Overall, when it comes to full scans, the difference in resource consumption between Bitdefender and ESET is relatively small and is not going to have a significant effect on system performance.

Apps and interface: which is more user-friendly?

When it comes to ESET vs Bitdefender for user experience, Bitdefender wins. Bitdefender’s interface is far cleaner and easier to navigate due to its well-organized features and modern layout. Meanwhile, ESET’s interface is very straightforward but old-fashioned and less user friendly.

Desktop apps

Bitdefender’s desktop app is sleek, intuitive, and carefully planned for easy navigation. All the features you need are categorized under the Protection, Privacy, and Utilities sections.

Moreover, for fast and easy access, there's an option to add quick actions to the dashboard. Whether you need scans, Safepay, or VPN, all these tools are right in your sight and just a click away once you pin them to your dashboard.

ESET’s interface is fairly straightforward too. However, the multi-level menu could get old since you’d need to click multiple times to get to a tool.

As for looks, the interface is somewhat outdated. Plus, its slightly cluttered layout could be intimidating for beginners.

Mobile apps

Both providers did well with their mobile apps for Android, but fumbled with iOS. In fact, ESET doesn’t even support iOS.

Bitdefender’s iOS version, though very neat and easy to navigate, comes with limited features. Its Android version, in contrast, replicates its desktop version and is filled with features. From malware scanner to anti-theft and app lock, you’ll find them all in the app.

As for ESET, its mobile app can be a little overwhelming. That’s only because it comes with plenty of features like antivirus scanner, anti-theft protection, and call filter.

In brief, there’s no debate in regards to which provider has better apps. Bitdefender has the lead with its contemporary and intuitive desktop as well as mobile apps.

Customer support

Bitdefender has better customer support options than ESET, but it’s a tight race since both provide some of the best services in the industry. However, the reasons why Bitdefender has better customer support are simple.

To start with, it has more options to reach out to its agents, as unlike ESET, it offers email support. Moreover, connecting to customer support is easier as you’re asked three simple questions about your problem and the product you need help with. After completing the questionnaire, Bitdefender offers three options to connect to support: a live chat, phone line, or email.

Reaching ESET’s customer support is more complicated. First, you’re offered only two options: AI Advisor or contacting technical support. In case you decide to contact technical support, you have to fill out a form and wait for a response regarding your issue. Otherwise, if you want to contact the agent in real time, you can use a phone line.

	Bitdefender	ESET
Live chat	✅ Yes (24/7)	✅ Yes
Email support	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Phone support	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Forum	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Knowledge base	✅ Yes	✅ Yes

Both providers offer typical support channels like live chat and phone line, in addition to active forums. They both also have huge knowledge bases if you prefer finding information yourself.

Final verdict

All in all, the clear winner of this comparison is Bitdefender. It offers feature-rich plans, high-level security, and user-friendly apps – all for an affordable price. ESET, on the other hand, offers good base features, but its pricing is more premium. In terms of performance, it’s a tight race between both providers. However, taking into consideration the full service that each of the providers offers and the overall quality, Bitdefender is a better antivirus than ESET.

Category	Bitdefender	ESET
Features	✅	❌
Security	✅	✅
Pricing	✅	❌
Performance	❌	✅
User experience	✅	✅
Support	✅	❌

FAQ