Bitdefender vs AVG: Which Is Better for Your Mac? [Features & Price]

macOS is not immune to malware as many people think. If you are online frequently, it is only a matter of time before your Mac is infected with malware. Although macOS comes with a built-in antivirus mechanism called XProtect, that's not enough. You need a powerful third-party anti-malware utility to protect against the latest viruses and zero-day vulnerabilities. Bitdefender and AVG are two popular solutions that claim to protect macOS – this Bitdefender versus AVG comparison guide will help you make the best choice.

Bitdefender does have some problems, such as the inability to schedule scans, excessive pricing plans and confusing, and complex customer support processes. It also doesn't have a free version of Mac (unless you count Bitdefender Virus Scanner, which is just a simple scanning tool). However, you can get a 30-day free trial to thoroughly test it.

Pros and Cons of Bitdefender

Bitdefender has many advantages: comprehensive defense against all forms of malware (including ransomware), complete network protection capabilities, and powerful performance. However, some issues—such as the lack of free versions and confusing customer support—reduces the user experience to some extent.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac also provides VPN support. This allows you to hide your network activity and encrypt your internet traffic (it is useful when connecting to unsecured public Wi-Fi). VPNs are limited to 200MB per day, but you can pay for more bandwidth.

4. Bitdefender pricing plan

Bitdefender offers a 30-day trial for Mac where you can try all features (including VPNs) for free. After the trial period ends, you can choose one of the following plans:

• One-year plan: One device $23.99, three devices $34.99
• Two-year plan: One device $69.99, three devices $89.99
• Three-year plan: One device $89.99, three devices $199.99

If you want to install Bitdefender on another platform (or more than three macOS devices), select the Ultimate, Premium, and Total packages. The one-year pricing plan is as follows:

• Bitdefender Total: Five devices $59.99, 25 devices $84.99
• Bitdefender Premium: Five devices $79.99, 25 devices $109.99
• Bitdefender Ultimate: Five devices $99.99

5. Bitdefender compatibility with device

Bitdefender is compatible with any Mac running macOS 10.10 Yosemite or later (Apple silicon chips and Intel chips), but its VPN requires at least macOS 10.12 Sierra. As a cross-platform security solution, it has dedicated versions of Windows, Android and iOS. If you purchase Ultimate, Premium, and Security plans, you should be able to install Bitdefender on other devices regardless of the platform.

Bitdefender can also detect threats that may be targeted to other platforms. For example, if the file you download is not a threat to your Mac but may infect a Windows computer, Bitdefender will mark it out immediately.

6. Bitdefender interface

Bitdefender has a compact and logically clear user interface, allowing you to quickly grasp its anti-malware and network protection capabilities. It is divided into four main areas and three sub-regions:

• Dashboard: Shows Autopilot's recommendations, the most commonly used scan options, and shortcuts to list of protected files.
• Protection: has tabs marked Antivirus, Cyber ​​Protection and Anti-ransomware. Under Antivirus, you can find your scanning options (Quick Scan, System Scan and Custom Scan), including your quarantine and exception list ; Under Network Protection, you can install the Traffic Light extension on your browser; under Anti-ransomware, you can enable the secure files and mark the files you want specifically protected, manage the application's access to these protected files, and activate Time Machine Protection.
• Privacy: Allows you to access Bitdefender VPN (you can also launch it separately from Launchpad) and install the anti-tracking extension on your browser.
• Notification: Allows you to view any notifications you missed.
• My Account: View your account and subscription details.
• Settings: Determines how Bitdefender works, such as specifying actions that should be taken when a malicious project is detected—for example, deletion or quarantine.
• Support: Access the Bitdefender User Guide and Support Center.

Bitdefender is also located on the menu bar on your Mac. Select the status icon to check if it is scanning any files in the background. You can also open the Bitdefender user interface from this menu or pause Bitdefender Shield.

7. Impact of Bitdefender on Mac Performance

Bitdefender has a minimal impact on Mac performance, earning a perfect score of 6/6 according to the latest benchmarks from AV-TEST. We tested Bitdefender ourselves on an Apple silicon-based Mac and didn't notice a performance drop when running Bitdefender Shield in the background. Even during a full system scan with CPU usage soaring to 90%, we felt almost no slowdown when we were doing normal work such as web browsing and word processing.

In other words, Bitdefender's system scans very slowly, and it takes 1 hour, 41 minutes and 19 seconds to scan 1,134,600 items. AVG scans a similar number of files in less than one-third of the time!

8. Bitdefender Customer Support

Bitdefender provides customer support through chat, phone calls and email, but the process is complicated. First, you cannot contact customer support using the Bitdefender app. Instead, you must log in to Bitdefender Central through your web browser. The option to talk to the support agent is only provided after asking a series of questions and trying to get you to read its support article. At the time of writing, phone support has also been turned off due to technical issues.

AVG Comments

AVG is another multi-platform anti-virus solution that has been around for nearly 30 years. It offers free and paid anti-virus software for Mac. Both versions protect you from malware and malicious websites, but the paid version provides better protection against ransomware and online shopping. It also offers more flexible scanning options than Bitdefender, but with the same detection and protection levels.

However, AVG lacks additional features such as tracking protection, Time Machine protection, and built-in VPN support. Technical support is also available for paid versions only.

Pros and Cons of AVG

AVG is available in a free version with excellent anti-virus security, better scanning options, and a 60-day trial for the paid version. However, it failed to score due to its unintuitive user interface, limited customer support and lack of network protection capabilities.

AVG also protects you from malicious downloads and email attachments by preventing malicious downloads and email attachments from being saved to internal storage by using their Web Shield and Email Shield. Then there is the Network Inspector tool, which allows you to check for hacking and security vulnerabilities in your Wi-Fi connection (you can't find anything like that in Bitdefender).

Unlike Bitdefender, AVG does not have VPN support even if you choose a paid version. AVG has a VPN solution called AVG Secure VPN, but you can only get it by purchasing an AVG Ultimate plan or paying separately. It also has no anti-tracking feature to prevent the website from monitoring you.

4. Pricing of AVG

If you want to protect only one macOS device, the first year of AVG costs $46.98. If you have multiple Macs or other devices, you must choose AVG Ultimate, which costs $59.88 for up to 10 devices in the first year. You can also get a 60-day trial to fully test all features.

Although AVG's plan is more straightforward, Mac's one-device subscription costs twice as much as Bitdefender ($23.99). If you choose one of these packages, the price is balanced – AVG Ultimate ($59.88 for 10 devices) and Bitdefender Total ($59.99 for 5 devices).

5. Compatibility of AVG with Devices

AVG is compatible with Apple silicon chips and Intel-based Macs running macOS 10.11 El Capitan or later. If you choose AVG Ultimate, you can install a customized version of the security solution on Windows, Android, and iOS devices.

As with Bitdefender, AVG detects non-Mac threats. AV-Comparatives sets its Windows detection rate to 100% of 500 malware samples.

6. AVG interface

AVG's user interface on Mac is divided into four main parts: computers, networks and emails, hacking and payments. The options for running smart scans and accessing other scan options are listed separately.

• Computer: Allows you to enable or disable File protection and check for quarantine threats.
• Web ShieldEmail ShieldEnables you to enable or disable Web Shield and Email Shield
.
• Hacking: Allows you to run Network Checker and configure ransomware protection
(by specifying the files you want to protect).
• Payment: Allows you to enable or disable phishing protection and fake website protection
.
• Scan Center: Select the Run Smart Scan button at the bottom of the screen to check for viruses on your Mac, or select Run Other Scans to run Depth Scan, target scan or external memory scan. You can also schedule a scan from this locale.
• Notification: Select the Notification option in the upper right corner to check for missed security alerts.

Although AVG's user interface looks concise and clear on Mac, we don't like how options are grouped - for example, options under Network and Email and Payment Separate, and they should belong to the same part. Most granularity options are also listed under the separate Preferences area, which you can only access after selecting any major tile or passing through the menu in the upper right corner.

7. Impact of AVG on MacBook Performance

AVG's performance is comparable to Bitdefender's performance, and scored 6/6 in the AV-TEST benchmark. In our own tests, we felt almost no performance issues, and our Mac was able to use perfectly even during resource-intensive deep scans.

We were surprised at how quickly AVG completed the scan—1,040,349 files took only 30 minutes and 58 seconds. This may be because AVG is instructed to scan only parts of the file – you can change this setting via preferences. Still, it managed to identify several malicious email attachments and a PDF file that Bitdefender missed – well done, AVG!

8. AVG Customer Support

AVG customer support for Mac is available through browser chat, but is limited to paid versions. Like Bitdefender, the whole process is a bit confusing. You need to browse the support articles to choose to talk to the support agent. To initiate a support session, you must also fill out a lengthy form with your AVG order ID, email, and phone number.

Finally Comparison

The main difference between Bitdefender and AVG is that the former has more features than the latter. Both utilities provide excellent protection and performance for your Mac. Nevertheless, Bitdefender has a more comprehensive suite of solutions for all key areas such as Time Machine protection, better network security and VPN support. It is also much cheaper for single-device/one-year license.

This is not to say that AVG does not have its advantages. It performs deep scans faster, allows you to schedule scans, and its network intrusion detection is very useful if you travel a lot. You can get a generous 60-day trial period, and if you choose a multi-license plan, the cost doesn’t matter. You can also choose not to pay, downgrade to the free version, and still have nice protection.

Bitdefender	AVG
更便宜的单设备许可证	不错的免费保护
舒适的用户界面	慷慨的 60 天试用期
内置 VPN 支持	更快的系统范围扫描
专用的 Time Machine 保护	网络入侵检测
更好的网络安全功能	支持计划扫描

Ultimately, it depends on what you want. If you want a cheaper, more comprehensive solution with VPN support, choose Bitdefender. If you prefer a more straightforward solution, you want to install on multiple devices, and if you decide not to pay, you have the option to continue being protected, choose AVG.

If our AVG vs. Bitdefender comparison isn't enough to convince you to choose any product, try MacKeeper. Its Antivirus not only protects your Mac from malicious threats online and offline, it can also help you optimize your device with various maintenance options. Most importantly, you can get unparalleled customer support.

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