The 4 Best Antivirus for Mac (2023 Update)

The best antivirus for Mac of 2023

What is the best antivirus software for Mac in 2023? We have tested 20 brands. And to be honest, not all are worth your money.

Because most cybersecurity companies focus on Windows, their antivirus software for Mac often lack features such as a firewall or password manager.

So which one should you buy? Below you can find the four that we consider the best. Especially the first two, Norton and Intego, are exceptionally good.

• 1. 🥇 Norton Antivirus – The best antivirus software of 2023.
• 2. 🥈 Intego Antivirus – Excellent & intuitive protection.
• 3. Kaspersky Antivirus
• 4. Bitdefender Antivirus
• Comparison table
• How we test
• Antivirus tested
• Frequently asked questions

Click the links or scroll down for more.

Alternatively, you can look at our comparison of the best antivirus for 2023, Windows 11, Android, or iOS. Or our privacy-focused comparisons of the best VPN and best antivirus with a VPN.

Norton Antivirus for Mac Review

Summary: Norton offers the best antivirus protection for Mac. It combines anti-malware, web protection, firewall, unlimited VPN, password manager, parental controls, and dark web monitoring. No competitor offers such complete protection on Mac.

Norton’s antivirus for Mac consists of a central dashboard, called My Norton, from which you can access the various security features. We’ll discuss each:

Device Security

As most Mac users want to keep things simple, Norton has added the Quick Scan and Live Update buttons that allow you to update the software, run a quick scan of your Mac, and get on with the rest of your day.

But sometimes, you’re in the mood for a bit more. That is when you hit the Open button to access the advanced features and settings.

Features

• Add Devices: Send a download link to another device via text or email, or scan the QR code to install Norton’s app on your phone.
• Scan: Run a Quick Scan, Full System Scan, or File Scan to check your entire Mac or a specific file.
• LiveUpdate: Download the latest product updates and malware database to your Mac to keep your security updated.
• Clean: Search and remove temporary, duplicate, or similar files to clear up space on your hard drive.

Settings

• Protect My Mac: Customize your system scans by including or excluding specific folders.
• Firewall: Adjust the firewall to block specific applications, protect vulnerabilities, or sharpen the firewall’s network awareness. 
• Safe Web: Install Norton’s Safe Web browser extension on Safari, Chrome, or Firefox to block malicious websites before visiting them. 
• Activity: See the security history of your Mac, including firewall blocks, scans, threat detections, and updates.
• Product Settings: Access Silent Mode, Error Management, Automatic Upgrades, and Norton Community Watch.

Anti-Malware Test Results

Norton’s malware removal for Mac is exceptional. Its test scores in the independent test lab, AV-Test, have been consistently 100% since tests for Mac began in June 2017.

No other brand has a perfect track record on macOS. Avast, Avira, AVG, Bitdefender, F-Secure, Intego, Kaspersky, MacKeeper, TotalAV, and TrendMicro all fall behind Norton when averaging the test results.

Dark Web Monitoring

Norton can search the Dark Web for your data and email you if any of it is sold by hackers. It can search for your Address, Driver’s License, Insurance, Mother’s Maiden Name, Gamer Tag, Email, Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, and Phone Numbers.

Norton has become a leader in identity theft protection thanks to its Dark Web Monitoring and its LifeLock features available in the US.

Secure VPN

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) makes you anonymous online and safe on public Wi-Fi networks. It does this by encrypting your internet connection and hiding your IP address. This significantly increases your online safety.

Where most competitors’ VPNs have a data limit of a few hundred MB per day, Norton has included an unlimited VPN for free. It’s fast, secure, private (no logs), works with Netflix, and allows you to download torrents.

Although it will be enough for most users, privacy wonks prefer Intego’s VPN. Intego’s VPN is far more advanced as it includes a kill switch, split tunnel, auto-connect, and a range of customizable features. Still, Norton’s VPN is included for free, while you’ll need to pay extra for Intego’s VPN.

Password Manager

Norton’s password manager is excellent. It helps you create and store ultra-secure passwords and auto-fills them when logging onto a website. It also automatically syncs those passwords on all your devices.

We like that you can use your phone’s fingerprint or facial recognition to log in to your password vault on your phone and your Mac.

Parental Controls

Norton’s parental controls allow you to monitor and protect your kids online. For example, you can block specific websites and apps and set screen time rules.

Is Norton 360 the best antivirus for Mac?

Yes. We believe so. By featuring anti-malware, web protection, a firewall, an unlimited VPN, a password manager, parental controls, and dark web monitoring, Norton is far more than just an antivirus program.

We believe Norton is the most complete security software you can buy. It offers both the best virus protection and the best internet security for Mac.

For an even more in-depth analysis, see our full review of Norton 360 Deluxe.

Intego Antivirus for Mac Review

Key takeaway: Intego is one of the best Mac antivirus software. It isn’t as versatile as Norton. Because it only offers great protection for Mac (not other OS), and it misses the password manager and dark web monitoring. That said, we are big fans of its intuitive firewall, customizable parental controls, and highly advanced VPN. If you only have a Mac to protect, Intego is an excellent choice.

Intego’s antivirus software for Mac consists of five features and one optional one, the VPN.

• The two core features, the anti-malware, and firewall, are present in Intego Mac Internet Security X9.
• If you upgrade to Intego Premium Bundle X9, you also get the other three features; the backup, optimizer, and parental controls.

Below we’ll discuss each feature.

Anti-Malware

Intego has named its anti-malware for Mac the VirusBarrier. And it’s excellent. It consists of a real-time scanner, quick scan, full scan, and scheduled scan. And can hunt for various malware types, including:

• Mac malware
• Windows malware
• Linux malware
• Malicious scripts
• Hacking tools
• Keyloggers

On top of that, it can scan external harddisks and devices, including your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. It can even check your email if you use the Apple Mail app.

Firewall

We’re big fans of Intego’s firewall, called the NetBarrier.

What we love most about it is its interface. Let’s be honest; not everyone enjoys studying the ins and outs of firewalls. Intego solves that perfectly by using a user-friendly layout that explains the concept perfectly.

On top of that, it will automatically detect whether you are at home, work, or on a public Wi-Fi network and adjust its security settings for both internet and local connections accordingly.

It’s an excellent firewall.

Backup

Although Mac users already have their fair share of backup options, thanks to the Time Machine and iCloud Drive, Intego has built its own and called it the Personal backup.

It allows you to back up and sync your entire hard drive, or individual files and folders, to an external hard disk. So it’s similar to iCloud Drive but doesn’t charge a monthly subscription fee.

Of course, unlike iCloud Drive, you must supply your own hard drive.

Mac Optimizer

Intego helps you to optimize your Mac with its Washing Machine feature. It will enable you to:

• Reclaim disk space by finding and deleting junk files.
• Remove duplicate files to free up even more disk space.
• Organize your Desktop and Dock, and order files into Smart Folders.

Parental Controls

Intego’s parental controls, the ContentBarrier, allow you to monitor and protect your kids online. It’s easy to set up, thanks to its pre-designed protection levels, focused on teenagers or young kids.

But it also offers a wealth of customization options if you want to get your hands dirty. Amongst others, you can:

• Block websites and apps by category or individually.
• Record chats, screenshots, and even keystrokes.
• Get automated reports via email.

One of the most notable features is the Anti-Predator alert, which instantly sends you an email when your child engages with a bad actor in a chat room. Intego recognizes this via speech patterns and word choice.

VPN

As you might already know, a VPN encrypts your internet connection and hides your IP address online. This makes you anonymous online and secure on public Wi-Fi.

Intego’s VPN, Privacy Protect, is an optional feature that costs extra. It’s based on the Private Internet Access VPN, also owned by Intego’s parent company, Kape Technologies.

And we must admit, we are huge fans of the VPN. It is lightning-fast, secure (no leaks), private (no logs), and works with streaming services (Netflix) and torrent clients (uTorrent). And, as if that wasn’t enough, it’s the most customizable VPN we have ever tested on Mac.

You can read more about it in our full review of Intego’s VPN.

Is Intego the best antivirus for Mac?

Intego is the only real competitor to Norton. Although it misses a few features compared to Norton, like the password manager and dark web monitoring, it compensates with its intuitive firewall and advanced VPN.

However, remember that Intego is primarily designed to protect macOS, the operating system of MacBooks and iMacs. Although the company has recently launched Intego antivirus for Windows, it’s not very good.

So if you only want to protect a Mac, Intego is excellent. But if you also want to safeguard an Android phone or Windows PC, Norton is a better choice.

For even more details, please read our full review of Intego antivirus for Mac.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac Review

Key takeaway: Kaspersky’s Internet Security for Mac is one of our favorite antivirus programs for Mac. It’s advanced yet affordable. And the browser extension has more features than a Swiss army knife. The only downsides are its lack of a password manager and unlimited VPN. To access these, you will have to pay extra (or get Norton, which includes both for free).

Kaspersky’s Mac Antivirus is called Internet Security. And the name is apt because Kaspersky offers many tools to increase your online safety. Below we discuss all the security features that you can access.

Protection Center

The protection center gives you insight into the following:

• Your license duration
• Active threats on your Mac
• Real-time protection
• Database status

It also helps you install the excellent browser extension called Kaspersky Security. It offers the most extensive web protection that we have tested and includes a range of features that can be turned on and off individually:

• Web antivirus: Scan incoming data and get notified of threats.
• Website tracking: Stop sites from installing cookies into your browser that track your activities online. By default, this feature is off.
• Safe money: Check the authenticity of e-commerce stores and online banks and their security certificates.
• URL advisor: Know whether a link is safe to click before clicking it.
• Onscreen keyboard: Type passwords into a digital, rather than physical, keyboard to avoid being tracked by keyloggers.

Scan

All the usual suspects are present, such as the quick scan, full scan, and scheduled scan. There is also the option to scan an individual file or folder. Then, in typical Apple fashion, you can drag and drop the file into the window to scan it, which we like.

Update

Ensure the database’s malware samples are up to date to get the highest possible malware detection rate. Kaspersky itself also updates the database at regular intervals. But if you want to run a scan, updating the database first is also handy.

Privacy

The privacy section includes two features:

• Block webcam: Block all apps from accessing your webcam. It’s a nice feature because few other antivirus tools offer it on Mac. But it would be even better to allow specific apps to access the webcam while blocking all others. So now it’s a bit of a blunt instrument.
• Block website tracking: This is a shortcut to the browser extension’s anti-tracking feature, called Website Tracking. So you can (de-)activate it from both the antivirus software and the browser extension.

There is also a link to Kaspersky’s VPN, called Secure Connection, based on Hotspot Shield‘s technology (just like Bitdefender’s and Panda’s VPN). It’s a fast, secure (no leaks), and private (no logs) VPN that works with Netflix and allows you to download via torrents clients like BitTorrent.

However, the free VPN included is limited to 300 MB/day. So if you want an unlimited VPN, you must pay extra.

Safe Kids

Safe Kids are the parental controls by Kaspersky, which are housed in a separate app. With your Internet Security for Mac subscription, you’ll get a basic version of Safe Kids, allowing you to protect your kids online by blocking specific websites and website categories.

You will have to buy the premium version for the complete feature set. This one adds a GPS tracker, social media monitor, and low-battery notifier.

Preferences

Some of the features mentioned above can be customized under preferences. For instance, you can choose which type of tracking cookies to block: Web analytics, ad agencies, web behavior trackers, and social networks.

Here you can also find Kaspersky’s firewall, called Network Attack Blocker. It is not a full-feature firewall like Norton and Intego offer, but it offers similar protection. For instance, it scans incoming traffic for attacks. When it discovers any, it will block the data stream from that source for an hour.

Is Kaspersky the best virusscanner for Mac?

No. Although it’s excellent, we prefer Norton and Intego.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac offers excellent anti-malware protection and a range of web protection features. We especially like the advanced and customizable browser extension. 

However, because it doesn’t include a password manager, complete firewall, or unlimited VPN, it can’t compete with Norton on sheer protective abilities.

That said, Kaspersky is a bit cheaper. So if you think the features on offer are all you need, it might be a great deal for you.

For more, please read our full review of Kaspersky Internet Security.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac Review

Key takeaway: Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is a well-designed app, with excellent anti-malware, ransomware prevention, and web protection. However, it lacks a firewall and password manager, and the unlimited VPN costs extra. All of which are freely available with Norton.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac looks just as cool as its brother on Windows. On the left side, you can find a menu with seven items that house the features and settings. We’ll walk you through them from top to bottom:

Dashboard

The first menu item, Dashboard, offers short-cuts to five core features:

• Quick scan
• System scan
• Protect a new device
• Safe files
• Web protection

Protection

The second menu item, Protection, covers the security features:

• Quick Scan: Quickly scan areas of your Mac that are sensitive to malware.
• System Scan: Run a complete scan of all files and directories of your Mac.
• Custom Scan: Pick specific files to scan.
• Quarantine: See a list of possibly dangerous files. Delete or remove them.
• Exceptions: Create a list of files that can be excluded from scanning.
• TrafficLight: A browser extension for Safari, Chrome, and Firefox, that stops you from entering phishing sites and downloading malware.
• Safe Files: A ransomware protection feature stops malware from making unauthorized changes to your files.
• Time Machine Protection: Protect Apple’s built-in backup feature, the Time Machine, from unauthorized changes.

Privacy

The third menu item, Privacy, covers the privacy features:

• VPN: A Virtual Private Network (VPN) restores your privacy online. Bitdefender’s VPN is fast, private, secure, and works with Netflix and torrents. It’s excellent. However, the free version is limited to 200 MB/day.
• Anti-Tracker: A browser extension that blocks tracking cookies in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.

Notifications

The fourth menu item, Notifications, gives you a chronological overview of everything security-related that occurred on your Macbook.

My Account

In the fifth menu item, My Account, you can see account information and the remaining duration of your subscription. It also includes a link to Bitdefender Central, where you can manage your account.

Preferences

In the sixth menu item, Preferences, you can (de-)activate various features, such as Bitdefender Shield. You can also choose what files should be scanned. For instance, you can exclude backups or decide only to scan modified files, to speed up your scanning.

Is Bitdefender the best virusscanner for Mac?

No, it isn’t. Although we like Bitdefender’s anti-malware, anti-ransomware, anti-tracking, and web protection, it misses some essential features.

For instance, we would have liked to see a firewall and password manager. And although we are impressed by Bitdefender’s excellent VPN, the free version is limited to 200 MB/day, making it useless.

We, therefore, think both Norton and Intego remain the best security software for Mac.

For more, please read our full review of Bitdefender Total Security.

Comparison table of the best antivirus software