Kaspersky vs Avast: which antivirus is better?

In this comparison, I provide a detailed assessment of Kaspersky vs Avast in terms of their features, performance, and pricing. Since both providers have a devoted user base and hold a leading position on the market, with the help of our research team, I conducted rigorous real-world testing of each product. This allowed me to ensure unbiased performance analysis.

To help you choose between Avast and Kaspersky, I also looked into their ability to protect your devices and how independent laboratories evaluate their performance.

Read this comparison of Kaspersky vs Avast and find out more about their features, performance, support options, and price.

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Editor's disclosure: We join the worldwide community in support of Ukraine and support the sanctions inflicted on the Russian government. Bloomberg reported Kaspersky Lab, the Russian-owned developer of Kaspersky antivirus software, to be in close contact with the country's Federal Security Service (FSB). The leaked emails indicate that the company provided FSB with real-time intelligence and identifying data of customers' computers. Cybernews do not tolerate the bloodshed, human rights abuses, and alleged Geneva Conventions violations the Russian army has inflicted on the Ukrainian people and won't stand in support of companies that might help enable it. Therefore, we will stop endorsing Kaspersky products.

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Kaspersky vs Avast at a glance

During our tests, Kaspersky and Avast demonstrated the performance that made them worth each other's competition. While both providers have high levels of security, Avast did better in real-world protection tests. It blocked 100% of attacks, while Kaspersky’s success rate was 99.1%. Also, Avast offers more security features, making it my top choice in this Kaspersky vs Avast comparison.

	Avast Antivirus	Kaspersky
⭐ Rating:	4.5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★	0 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
🥇 Overall rank:	#6 out of #30	-
🔥 Coupons:	Avast coupon 60% OFF	Cybernews Antivirus Coupons
💵 Price:	From $31.20/year	From $38.49/year
✂️ Free version:	Yes	Yes
🖥️ Platforms:	Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS

Kaspersky vs Avast: which offers better protection?

	Avast	Kaspersky
Independent tests	Highest scores	High scores
Active web-based threats	Blocked 100%	Blocked 99.1%
Firewall	Effective	Effective
False alarms	10 false positives	3 false positives

It’s not always possible to ensure flawless protection at all times because, just like everything else, malware updates and develops. However, there’s no better way to see how an antivirus can handle the newest threats than testing it out in the real world. And that’s what independent laboratories do.

According to the German Institution AV-test, which researches cybersecurity products, both antiviruses did a great job. They received the Top Product certificate, which is the organization’s highest grade award.

As if that’s not already impressive, they received the maximum possible results for protection, performance, and usability. During the period from July to August 2025, Kaspersky was slightly more effective and blocked 100% of threats. On the other hand, Avast blocked around 99% of threats.

Moving on, AV-Comparatives is another independent organization that evaluated Avast and Kaspersky and declared both of them as deserving of the Advanced+ award. The providers managed to block 100% of threats in these tests as well. Furthermore, SE Labs evaluated Avast and Kaspersky protection accuracy rating with 100% score. Also, both providers earned AAA awards due to demonstrating perfect results.

It’s worth noting that it’s not so common to receive the best awards from multiple independent laboratories. However, this was the case for both Kaspersky and Avast, which is why it’s an absolute draw.

However, it's worth mentioning that while independent lab results are positive, Avast, once a popular choice, ran into trouble when it was revealed that its free version collected and sold user data, causing major privacy concerns.

Real-time protection

Both Avast and Kaspersky offer high-level threat prevention. To test them out, AV-Comparatives put them through a real-world protection test.

During the period of July-August 2025, in a test simulating active web-based threats, Avast blocked 100% of the attacks, while Kaspersky blocked 99.1%. However, Kaspersky did better with false positives, detecting 1 versus Avast’s 5. This underscores Avast’s higher sensitivity delivering slightly higher raw protection, which comes at the cost of more false alarms.

Scanning

Starting with Kaspersky, it offers quite a few scanning options. Here’s what each of their purpose is:

• Quick scan only examines the most common areas where threats tend to hide.
• Full scan is used to scan everything in the system inside out.
• Selective scan lets you choose what you want the antivirus to examine, including files, folders, or drives.
• Vulnerability scan which examines the apps on your device and their vulnerabilities.
• Context Menu scan is used when you want to scan specific files or folders, such as archives, office formats, or distribution packages.

The variety of scanning options makes Kaspersky an attractive choice considering that you can be in full control of what you want to scan.

Just like Kaspersky, Avast also includes quite a wide range of scanning options. Here are the available scans and their functions:

• Smart Scan is used for identifying outdated software, malware, browser add-ons, and threats to the network.
• Full Virus Scan examines your whole system in-depth.
• Boot-Time Scan reviews your device during a system startup and prevents threats from being launched.
• Targeted Scan lets you pick specific files or folders that you want to scan.
• Custom Scans allow you to choose what you want the antivirus to scan.

While there’s a lot of options available, I really like the fact that with custom scans, you’re able to create multiple scans for different purposes. It’s very efficient, as you can customize a scan that you could use daily, weekly, or for a specific need.

Both providers offer a wide range of scanning options. Whether you want to create a custom scan or use a regular one, you won’t make a mistake picking either Avast or Kaspersky.

Firewall protection

Kaspersky and Avast both offer firewalls to their users. This feature helps prevent cybercriminals from infecting your device. It filters your network traffic and shields your device from threats.

In fact, both providers offer a customizable firewall. You can change their rule list, which allows you to specify the actions the firewall takes towards different apps. You can also control their behaviour towards different networks and acknowledge which ones are trusted and which ones aren’t. What’s different is that while Avast offers a firewall with its free plan, Kaspersky only provides it with the Total Security subscription.

Overall, it’s excellent that both services include a firewall, as this feature is crucial for enhanced security.

Pricing and plans

In terms of plans and pricing, both Avast and Kaspersky have a range of options to fit different user needs and budgets. Avast offers a solid free version, which includes 5 scans, inspects the network, and has limited firewall and ransomware detection. Kaspersky, too, has a free plan, but it's basic and much more limited, providing only malware protection.

Plan	Avast	Kaspersky
Premium Security/Anti-Virus	$39.99/year	$38.49/year
One/Internet Security	$31.20/year	$49.99/year
	Check Pricing	Check Pricing

Note: Kaspersky’s prices in the table represent the values prior to the ban in the US. We don’t recommend using Kaspersky due to its ties to Russia’s FSB. We strongly recommend exploring alternatives, such as Avast, TotalAV, or Bitdefender.

Avast offers 2 paid plans to choose from, with an entry Premium Security plan starting at $31.20/year. The more expansive, Ultimate plan, costs from $43.99/year. Both plans have options to get a subscription for 1 or 10 devices.

Kaspersky is more expensive than Avast. It has 3 paid plans, with the starting price of $38.49/year. While its entry plan is more costly, it does offer more features compared to Avast’s basic plan.

If you’re looking to save on antivirus and want additional ways to cut the price, I invite you to check out our curated list of Kaspersky coupons and Avast coupons.

Features overview

If not for the quality of protection, I’d say there’s nothing more important an antivirus can have than its features. In this round of Kaspersky vs Avast, I compare them in terms of quality and variety of features. Both providers offer a good selection of features with their services, but I have to declare Avast as the winner. That’s because it offers more unique security features in addition to all the features Kaspersky has.

	Avast	Kaspersky
Real-time protection	✅	✅
Wi-fi/network protection	✅	✅
Ransomware protection	✅	✅
Safe browsing	✅	✅
Firewall	✅	✅
Child protection	✅	✅
Scam protection	✅	❌
Password manager	✅	✅
Secure banking	✅	✅

First off, even though Avast offers a much better free tier, Kaspersky has more features within its entry plan. The provider has four tiers – free, Antivirus, Internet Security, and Total Security. Depending on the one you choose, you get not only real-time protection, but also a password manager, identity protection, privacy protection, GPS child-locator, firewall, and a VPN.

Meanwhile, Avast has three personal plans, including the free, Premium Security, and Ultimate subscriptions. Avast offers real-time protection and an advanced firewall with all of its tiers, and, depending on which plan you choose, you can also get email security, a VPN, scam protection, and the real-time Wi-Fi security alerts. Of course, if you’d opt for the business plan, you’d also get extra security features for companies. But, if you’re not a business owner with employees, it’s not worth the money considering the prices start from $148.36/year.

Whichever antivirus you pick, you can get a firewall, real-time threat protection, and a password manager. However, only Avast offers a comprehensive security suite that also includes scam protection.

Kaspersky features

The feature array the antivirus provides keeps you safe in virtually all corners. Sure, with Kaspersky’s free plan, you only get real-time malware protection, but if you decide to upgrade to the paid tiers, you won’t be disappointed.

First off, Kaspersky includes the Safe Money feature, which helps you secure sensitive information and your identity. On top of that, you get a password manager. It’s a great tool for storing, organizing, and restoring your login credentials.

Kaspersky also includes privacy protection – a tool that alerts about attempts to collect your data. This feature actually has a convenient ad blocker implemented which blocks commercial ads only when doing that wouldn’t disable the website. This way, the tool doesn’t become an annoyance to you and you’re free to enjoy browsing without interference.

In addition, Kaspersky has a GPS tracking for children feature, which could be useful for users with children. The way this feature works is that there’s a GPS monitor with which you can track your child’s location on their smartphone.

Another premium tool is a two-way firewall which keeps your network safe and even allows you to set connection rules for individual apps. Lastly, the feature that focuses on your identity protection is the Secure Connection VPN. It offers servers in 24+ countries, which isn’t as many as other quality VPN services include, but still a decent amount to connect to.

For more features, visit our Kaspersky Antivirus review.

Avast features

Avast surely doesn’t fall behind Kaspersky with the features it includes in its subscriptions. In fact, the free plan of Avast is even better than the ones of other providers, as not only does it include threat protection, but you also get an advanced firewall, email security, and the Wi-Fi inspector.

In terms of paid plans, Avast ensures an array of useful tools for better protection. To begin with, it includes Network Inspector in the Premium tiers. It detects vulnerabilities in both your home Wi-Fi and public networks, keeping you and your connection safe.

Another feature that you get with the Premium subscription is the ransomware protection, which shields your files from ransomware attacks. And, if you care not only about protecting your device but also staying anonymous, you’ll make use of Avast’s SecureLine VPN.

In addition to all the features Kaspersky offers, Avast has more unique features, including Scam Guardian and AI-powered assistant. Scam Guardian was introduced in June 2025. It combines several tools to combat phishing and digital fraud. The AI-assistant is a built-in feature that gives users real-time guidance to help spot and avoid scams.

The downside of Avast is that while it offers a lot of additional benefits with the Business plans, the subscriptions to them are very expensive. But, if you want extra security and are looking to share the antivirus with other people, these plans are very useful. On top of the features in Premium plans, you get web, file, email, sensitive data, and webcam protection. And, if you often have to handle confidential information, you’ll make use of the file shredder which deletes your files for good.

For more features, visit our Avast Antivirus review.

Impact on PC performance

While strong antivirus protection capabilities are important, you should also consider its impact on PC performance. You don’t want to sacrifice security for speed and not be able to use your device properly. Especially considering that an antivirus often runs background checks. For this reason, I tested Kaspersky and Avast myself, and I can confirm that neither of these antiviruses is going to overwhelm your PC’s performance.

It appeared that Kaspersky used around 26% of my CPU during a full scan, while Avast – around 30%. However, in terms of memory, Kaspersky utilized 44% and Avast – 49%. This information helps draw one conclusion – if you have an older device that is relatively slow, Kaspersky might be a better pick.

However, I couldn’t choose one winner as the results turned out to be very similar, with only a few percent points difference. Therefore, for me, in terms of impact on PC performance, it’s a draw between Avast vs Kaspersky.

Apps and interface

When installing both Kaspersky and Avast, I was genuinely pleased with how simple and quick the process ended up being. It took me barely a few minutes to set everything up and start my first scan. You can either pick a plan, sign up, pay, and install the software, or you can simply download a free version (or trial) and upgrade later.

Avast ensured a smooth experience with both desktop and mobile apps. The platform is supported on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. Everything is conveniently organized, making it a simple program that doesn’t require previous IT knowledge. You can find everything on the main dashboard or in the “Menu” section.

As for Kaspersky, it’s a bit of a different case. While it is supported on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, I didn’t quite enjoy the mobile apps. That’s because there wasn’t a single one for an antivirus but rather a few different apps for different features. On the other hand, the desktop app gave a much more pleasant experience as it’s intuitive and you have everything on hand.

To put it simply, Avast wins this round because of its convenient mobile apps.

Desktop app

In terms of desktop applications, both providers ensure a pleasant experience. To begin with, I have to say that I like a simple yet organized interface. I hate digging and searching for features, and Kaspersky made sure that I don’t have to. In fact, it was very easy to find all the necessities, as all I had to do was click on “More Tools” on the main dashboard, and everything was in the same place.

And, if you still can’t find what you’re looking for, everything else is placed in the settings section, which you can see on the left bottom of the screen. What’s more is that the interface is very clean with shades of white and green as the dominant colors. In general, Kaspersky is a conveniently organized program that you won’t have trouble navigating.

Moving on, figuring out Avast was a simple process as well, but it included a bit of a different approach. While it’s also sectioned into different categories, they’re placed on the left side. The majority of the window is left for the information and tools that appear when you open different sections.

The reason I like Avast is that it doesn't display pop-up windows when browsing, which means you don’t have to close additional windows constantly. Furthermore, Avast is known for its dark-themed design with elements of green. It’s visually pleasing, both in terms of color and the fact that everything is centralized on the main dashboard, which ensures a smooth experience.

Mobile app

Kaspersky has apps for both iOS and Android. For iOS specifically, in addition to real-time antivirus protection, Kaspersky also provides several apps for various purposes – a VPN, security cloud, safe kids control, and password manager. However, if you want a well-rounded security suite on your mobile, downloading all these apps doesn’t appear to be a very practical solution, and there are certainly better antivirus options for iPhones.

As for Kaspersky’s Android app, the situation is quite similar. You can get Security Cloud, Internet Security, and Password Manager applications. Using them, you can search for vulnerabilities, devices on your network, and data leaks, as well as enable real-time protection and scan for threats. Unlike desktop apps, which have everything in one place, mobiles have separate apps for different features. Personally, I would say that it’s also not a very effective solution and could be organized better.

Avast, on the other hand, has feature-rich platforms for both iOS and Android. The iOS app showed that dark designs are certainly something Avast specializes in. On top of that, the overall organization is very appealing, considering that the scanning button is in front of your eyes. With the iPhone app, you can make use of the unlimited photo vault, verify Wi-Fi security, and turn on a VPN or identity protection.

When it comes to the Android app, it’s a bit more versatile in terms of features. Sure, the design is basic and doesn’t have animations like the iOS app does, but it has more freebies. Not only can you turn on a VPN, but also block threats, improve device performance, and monitor your browsing habits. You can protect your device remotely in case of theft or losing your phone. This demonstrates that the Android app ensures a more secure experience.

Customer support

When it comes to customer support, both Kaspersky and Avast offer various options to reach out for help. The providers include email, 24/7 live chat, and a phone line, so you can easily get support.

From my personal experience I have to say that customer support of both providers is average. However, with Avast, the support is only available with paid subscriptions. If you have a free version, you’ll have access to the knowledge base only. While Kaspersky offers more ways to get support for the free users, including the email. As a result, I would say that Kaspersky is slightly better in customer support than Avast.

	Avast	Kaspersky
Email	✅	✅
24/7 live chat	✅	✅
Phone line	✅	✅
Knowledge base	✅	✅

Final verdict

Overall, Avast is a better antivirus than Kaspersky. It offers many useful features for a decent price. On top of that, Avast offers more convenient mobile apps and better user experience.

Also, it offers the same level of protection against viruses as Kaspersky and doesn't slow down your device. In comparison, Kaspersky offers less features, its mobile apps are limited, and it’s more expensive.

Also, considering the security issues and collaboration with Russia's secret service, we don’t recommend Kaspersky for the users.

Category	Avast	Kaspersky
Features	✅	✅
Malware protection	✅	✅
PC performance	✅	✅
Pricing	✅	❌
User interface	✅	❌
Support	❌	✅

How we tested and compared Kaspersky and Avast

To evaluate Kaspersky and Avast, together with the Cybernews team, we ran in-house tests using real-world malware samples to assess the capabilities of each antivirus. We focused on the malware detection accuracy and removal efficiency. Our antivirus testing methodology, which focuses on the following key areas:

• Malware detection and removal
• Real-time protection
• False positive detection rates
• Performance
• Extra features
• Customer support
• Compatibility
• Price

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