Malwarebytes Antivirus Review (2026) Is it the right choice?

Full Review

Malwarebytes provides essential security features like real-time malware protection, ransomware protection, and web protection, along with identity theft protection. However, it lacks many of the extra features offered by competitors, such as system tuneup tools and parental controls. While it includes a VPN, its competitors like Norton and TotalAV offer superior VPN services and additional tools. Nonetheless, Malwarebytes remains a strong, budget-friendly option for users seeking solid malware protection without extra frills.

Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes provides reliable malware protection across Windows, macOS, and Android platforms. It leverages a vast database of millions of known threats, such as trojans, worms, ransomware, spyware, and rootkits. In addition, heuristic and machine learning technologies enable the software to detect new and evolving malware without requiring manual updates. These combined layers ensure users receive up-to-date defenses against both established and zero-day threats.

The program offers four scan types: Threat Scan, Quick Scan, Custom Scan, and Deep Scan. The Threat Scan inspects critical areas such as memory and startup programs, while Quick Scan focuses on detecting active infections. Custom and Deep Scans provide more thorough options for users who want full control or a comprehensive system inspection.

In performance testing, Malwarebytes’s Threat Scan completed over 200,000 file checks in just over five minutes, which aligns with industry averages. Detection accuracy reached 90% in a Deep Scan, slightly below competitors like Norton and Bitdefender, which achieve near-perfect results. Nonetheless, the software’s intuitive interface and detailed post-scan reporting allow users to identify, review, and manage potential threats efficiently.

Overall, Malwarebytes delivers solid malware protection through quick and versatile scanning options. While detection rates can improve slightly, the platform remains effective at identifying and blocking the majority of malicious files users are likely to encounter in 2026.

Anti-Phishing

Malwarebytes integrates advanced anti-phishing and exploit protection technologies designed to safeguard users from online attacks. Its Web Protection module works across all browsers, scanning URLs and scripts to detect phishing attempts and malicious sites before they can cause harm. In real-world tests, the feature successfully intercepted more phishing pages than the built-in protections found in Chrome and Firefox.

The Browser Guard extension further strengthens phishing defenses by blocking deceptive domains, trackers, and pop-up ads. Available for Chrome, Edge, Safari, and Firefox, it is enabled by default and simple to configure. During evaluation, Browser Guard blocked nearly all of 40 tested phishing sites, leaving only one undetected, demonstrating high reliability.

Malwarebytes also prevents drive-by exploit attempts through its Exploit Protection feature, which defends against malicious code embedded in web scripts. This operates silently in the background, providing users with continuous browsing safety without noticeable slowdowns.

Although Browser Guard can block roughly 70% of ads, it struggles with video advertisements, and its performance boost claims are overstated. Nonetheless, for phishing prevention and exploit blocking, Malwarebytes’s layered web defenses rank among the most effective free tools currently available.

VPN

Malwarebytes Privacy VPN offers users essential online privacy functions through its inclusion in the Plus plan. It operates with a no-logs policy, uses the modern WireGuard protocol, and supports servers in 49 countries. Both Windows and macOS versions include a kill switch, ensuring internet connectivity is halted if the VPN connection drops unexpectedly — an important safeguard for maintaining anonymity.

Performance testing revealed generally stable, though not exceptional, speeds. Local connections maintained acceptable latency, but long-distance connections experienced significant speed reductions, dropping download speeds to around 25% of the baseline rate. Competing services like ExpressVPN perform notably better in this regard.

The VPN does not reliably access popular streaming services such as Netflix, which limits its use for entertainment purposes. However, it supports torrenting and offers split tunneling, enabling users to control which apps route through the VPN to balance privacy and speed.

Malwarebytes’s VPN lacks functionality in restrictive regions and doesn’t match the versatility of top-tier VPN providers. Still, it is a secure, straightforward choice for users seeking basic encryption, anonymity, and private browsing without complex setup requirements.

Other Security Features

Malwarebytes expands its protection suite beyond malware and phishing defenses with several useful security tools. Identity Theft Protection provides global coverage in over 70 countries, with credit monitoring, dark web scanning, and recovery assistance available to users. U.S. subscribers receive additional benefits, including credit monitoring, lost wallet services, and up to $2 million in identity theft insurance coverage. The social media monitoring function reviews connected profiles for suspicious or inappropriate content, helping safeguard reputations and prevent cyberbullying.

Tamper Protection adds an additional safeguard by preventing unauthorized modifications to Malwarebytes settings or real-time protection features. During testing, it successfully blocked attempts by simulated malware to disable system defenses. Complementary features such as brute-force protection enhance remote access security, and App Block on macOS prevents potentially dangerous or unauthorized applications from launching.

The suite also includes Windows optimization tools aimed at improving performance. These allow users to manage startup applications, adjust privacy settings, and apply common network or system fixes from a single interface. The Windows Firewall Control utility simplifies network management, while game and system tweaks help optimize hardware performance for specific use cases.

Overall, Malwarebytes offers a well-rounded set of protective and system management tools. While its malware and VPN features form the foundation, its broader focus on identity security, system optimization, and privacy control gives users a comprehensive defense framework suited to both home and professional environments.

Test score comparison

We conduct in-house anti-malware tests and review the results from AV-Test, a German lab renowned for its objective evaluations. Below is the average of the last 10 AV-Test results for Windows. Their scoring criteria are:

• Protection (1-6): Effectiveness in blocking malware.
• Performance (1-6): Impact on system speed.
• Usability (1-6): Frequency of errors like false alarms.

We calculate a final score using this formula:

Final Score = 60% Protection + 20% Performance + 20% Usability.

While these results influence our choice of the best antivirus for Windows 11, other factors like privacy and identity protection also play a key role. For a similar analysis for Android or macOS, visit our other comparisons:

• The best antivirus for Android.
• The best antivirus for Mac.

Note: Brands not listed in the table either do not participate in AV-Test trials or are tested too infrequently, such as Surfshark Antivirus.

Source: AV-Test (Last updated: November 2025).

Price comparison

We’ve compared the prices of the top antivirus products for Windows. To make it a fair comparison, we looked at what it would cost us, to protect a  single Windows PC with the most essential features:

• Anti-malware
• Anti-phishing (web protection)
• Firewall
• Password manager
• Unlimited VPN (no data limit)

A few notes:

• Some brands are missing features, lowering their value for money.
• Prices are second-year prices in the USA, without first-year discounts.
• Prices are rounded up for readability (e.g., $99.99 becomes $100).

Brands have different prices outside the USA. See those on their website.

User reviews

We’ve compared the user reviews of all antivirus brands. We’ve used the scores and review count of TrustPilot, a leading user review platform. 

We consider scores above 4.0 very good. Lower scores indicate that the brand might have a poor product or customer service. McAfee’s scores, for instance, are worrying.

Source: TrustPilot. Last Update: November 2025.