Avira Antivirus Prime Review (2025): Is it the right choice?

Full Review

Avira is ranked #7 of the 28 best antivirus of 2025.

Avira provides top-tier malware protection, useful features, and an easy-to-use interface at an affordable price. Its malware scanner consistently achieves 100% detection rates, and its web protection effectively blocks online threats.

The included password manager is comparable to dedicated services. Avira’s free plan is among the best available, while its premium options offer great value compared to other antivirus providers.

Anti-malware

Avira’s cloud-based antivirus scanner offers powerful protection by comparing files against a vast malware directory and using heuristics to detect zero-day threats. Offloading the scanning process to the cloud ensures minimal impact on device performance while utilizing advanced tools. This technology is so effective that it’s been licensed by other antivirus providers, including TotalAV and Systweak.

In testing, Avira achieved a perfect 100% malware detection rate, identifying ransomware, trojans, spyware, and more. Its full system scan took just over an hour without causing any noticeable slowdown, outperforming some competitors like McAfee.

Avira also provides a variety of scanning options, including Smart Scan, rootkit, local drive, and external device scans. The Smart Scan goes beyond malware detection by identifying privacy risks, performance issues, and outdated software, making it a versatile tool for system maintenance.

Avira’s scanner is fast, efficient, and highly accurate, offering a range of scan options tailored to different user needs. The Smart Scan, in particular, combines malware detection with system optimization, addressing privacy vulnerabilities and performance concerns.

Anti-phishing

Avira’s Browser Safety extension provides strong protection against phishing sites, ads, and trackers, but falls short in defending against exploit attacks. Available for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, the extension blocked nearly all phishing sites in our tests, outperforming the built-in protections of both Chrome and Firefox.

In terms of ad and tracker blocking, Avira’s Browser Safety outperformed uBlock Origin on ad-heavy sites, offering robust privacy protection. However, its exploit protection was underwhelming, detecting only about 10% of known exploit attacks in our testing—far below competitors like Bitdefender, which blocked 100%.

While Avira’s Browser Safety is effective against phishing and online tracking, its weak exploit protection leaves room for improvement.

Firewall

Avira’s firewall is straightforward yet effective, using an algorithm to block network intrusions and alerting users of any attempts. In testing, it consistently blocked threats, including some that Windows Firewall missed. Users can easily manage app permissions, assigning trust levels and deciding which apps to block or allow. The Intruder Protection feature also lets you whitelist specific IP addresses while blocking others.

However, Avira’s firewall lacks advanced customization options seen in competitors like Norton, which offers more control over SSL protection, security protocols, and spoofing protections. Additionally, Avira provides limited details about how its firewall algorithm works, which could leave users with unanswered questions.

Overall, it’s a user-friendly firewall that works well for basic needs, though it could benefit from more advanced configuration options.

Password manager

Avira’s password manager is a secure and user-friendly tool, offering features like unlimited password storage and syncing across devices, even in its free version. It includes essential security features like 256-bit AES encryption, biometric mobile login, two-factor authentication (2FA), and a password generator. Higher-tier plans, such as Internet Security and Prime, unlock advanced features like data breach monitoring and password vault auditing.

The interface is intuitive, and its browser extension supports auto-save and auto-fill for logins on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera, though it lacks a password generator within the extension itself (available only in the desktop app). The mobile app integrates well with Android and iOS, offering biometric login and seamless sync across devices.

Avira’s Pro features, such as vault auditing, help improve password security by identifying weak or reused passwords, while data breach monitoring alerts users if their credentials appear in public breaches. However, it lacks advanced tools like 2FA USB token support (e.g., YubiKey), family vault sharing, and dark web monitoring found in competitors like 1Password or Dashlane.

Overall, Avira Password Manager is an excellent, secure choice for users seeking a free, easy-to-use password manager with key features, though it’s missing some advanced options available in premium competitors.

VPN

Avira’s Phantom VPN offers strong security, decent speeds, and a solid server network, but it struggles with accessing popular streaming services. The VPN, bundled with Avira’s Prime plan, provides unlimited data, while lower-tier plans limit users to 500 MB per month. For those needing unlimited data, purchasing Prime is often more cost-effective than buying the VPN separately.

Key features include 256-bit AES encryption, a strict no-logs policy, DNS leak protection, and access to 1,400 servers in over 35 countries. The Pro version supports torrenting and includes a kill switch, but only for Windows users. Phantom VPN is fast, with speed reductions averaging 25-30%, comparable to leading VPNs like ProtonVPN. It also supports unlimited simultaneous connections, though it can’t be installed on routers or smart devices, unlike competitors such as ExpressVPN.

While Phantom VPN is suitable for browsing and torrenting, it doesn’t reliably unblock streaming platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime. For better streaming performance, standalone VPNs like NordVPN or Surfshark are recommended. If you’d rather stay with legacy cybersecurity companies, consider Norton VPN or Bitdefender VPN. 

Overall, Phantom VPN is a solid option for secure browsing and torrenting, particularly as part of Avira’s Prime package, though standalone VPNs may offer more flexibility and streaming capabilities.

Other security features

Device optimization tools

Avira’s system optimization tools are among the best in the market, offering a variety of features to improve device performance and free up space. These include:

• PC junk file cleaner: Detected over 26 GB of junk in our tests, rivaling top competitors like TotalAV and Norton. It also allows users to review files before deletion.
• Duplicate file finder: Cleared around 100 MB of redundant files in minutes.
• Startup optimizer: Identifies programs slowing down boot times and offers a “Hyper Boost” feature to deeply optimize the boot sequence, tracking improvements on a graph.
• Driver updater: Scans for outdated software and applies updates, ensuring security patches are installed to close potential vulnerabilities.
• Battery usage manager: Puts your system into a low-power mode but lacks detailed tracking of apps consuming battery life.
• Game booster: Closes unnecessary background processes and optimizes network settings for smoother gaming performance, though Norton’s game booster offers more impactful system adjustments.

Additional Security Features

Avira offers several extra features that further enhance security:

• File encryption and shredding: Encrypt files for protection and securely delete them to prevent recovery.
• Network traffic and process managers: Monitor internet connections and running processes, with options to stop unwanted activity.
• Disk defragmenter and file recovery: Improve hard drive speed and restore deleted files.
• Safe Shopping extension: A browser tool that recommends deals, but it produced inconsistent and sometimes irrelevant suggestions during testing.

Overall, Avira’s optimization and security tools are powerful and comprehensive, offering a wide range of features that are easy to use and highly effective. However, tools like the Safe Shopping extension could benefit from improvements in accuracy.

Plans and pricing

In the table below are the core products with their features and prices.

The prices shown are from the USA. However, most brands have different prices (and currencies) in other regions. So visit the brand’s website to see the price in our country.

Plan description

We evaluated Avira’s four plans—Free Security, Antivirus Pro, Internet Security, and Prime. Each comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee. Here’s the quick rundown:

Free Security: Best in the free category, offering robust antivirus and ransomware protection. Includes a limited VPN with 500 MB data per month. No email or phone support. Great for basic protection.

Antivirus Pro: Priced at $26.99/year, this plan offers a few more features like email protection and advanced ransomware safeguards. We don’t find it adds enough value for the money, especially when you have access to only limited customer support.

Internet Security: Costs $34.99/year, adding a premium password manager and a software updater to the Pro features. While good, we believe users can find better deals by combining Avira Free with standalone password managers.

Prime: At $59.99/year, this is Avira’s best value. It covers up to 5 devices, includes all previous features plus a full-fledged VPN, PC optimization tools, and VIP support. However, it doesn’t offer as many features as Norton 360‘s premium plans.

Our take: Avira Free is excellent for no-cost protection, but for comprehensive coverage, Avira Prime offers the best value. It’s competitively priced and covers multiple devices, although it lacks some features like parental controls found in other suites like Norton 360.

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: December 2024).

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: December 2024.

Company Profile

Avira is owned by Gen (NASDAQ: GEN).

Norton is part of the Gen Digital family (NASDAQ: GEN), a global leader in Cyber Safety with a mission to make the digital world safer and more private for everyone.

Gen is a collection of renowned cybersecurity brands that serve over 500 million users in 150 countries. Its portfolio includes Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, and AVG.

Operating from dual headquarters in Tempe, Arizona, and Prague, Czech Republic, Gen brings together cutting-edge AI technology and data analytics to tackle today’s most pressing cybersecurity challenges. 

By consolidating these brands, Gen combines expertise and innovation to address both current and future cybersecurity threats.

How we test antivirus software

At SoftwareLab, we provide thorough and unbiased antivirus reviews to help you make informed cybersecurity decisions. Our comprehensive testing covers all critical aspects of antivirus performance. We assess each product in six key categories, weighted by importance:

For even more details, visit our blog posts on how we test antivirus software.