Kaspersky Antivirus Plus Review (2026): The right choice?

Full Review

Kaspersky is ranked #9 of the 28 best antivirus of 2026.

Kaspersky offers a strong antivirus scanner with a range of extra features to enhance online security. Its anti-phishing tools effectively block dangerous websites, while parental controls and Safe Browsing help protect users across multiple platforms. The Safe Money and on-screen keyboard features provide added protection from keyloggers.

The built-in VPN is secure, fast, and supports torrenting on all servers, though its split-tunneling feature is limited to Windows 10 and later. Kaspersky’s intuitive interface, along with helpful tutorials, ensures a smooth user experience. Installation is quick and straightforward, taking just a few minutes.

Kaspersky offers three packages—Standard, Plus, and Premium—covering up to 20 devices in some regions. A free antivirus version is available, and all paid plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Anti-malware

Kaspersky’s anti-malware engine delivers exceptional protection through a combination of a local virus database and advanced cloud-based machine learning. When a suspicious file is detected, it is uploaded to Kaspersky’s cloud scanner for in-depth analysis, ensuring that even zero-day threats are identified quickly. During testing, the software achieved a perfect 100% detection rate against a wide range of malware samples, including viruses, trojans, rootkits, ransomware, and keyloggers—placing it alongside industry leaders like Norton and Bitdefender.

The program offers six types of scans: Quick Scan for system-critical areas, Background Scan for idle-time protection, Full Scan for comprehensive system coverage, Selective Scan for user-defined targets, Removable Drive Scan for external devices, and Application Vulnerability Scan to detect outdated or exposed software. Each mode can be scheduled for automatic operation based on user preference.

Performance is another strong point. The Quick Scan completed in just two minutes, significantly faster than competitors such as VIPRE. Meanwhile, the Full Scan—lasting around 45 minutes—found every malware sample without slowing down the system. Kaspersky also minimizes false positives and provides easy access to restore quarantined files when needed. Its real-time protection layer instantly blocks malware downloads and ransomware simulations, maintaining continuous system safety without performance impact.

Anti-phishing

Kaspersky’s web protection suite employs multi-layered defenses against phishing and malicious websites. Its Safe Browsing extension, compatible with Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari, checks visited URLs against a live database of harmful domains while using heuristic analysis to identify emerging threats. In testing, it successfully blocked most phishing attempts, performing slightly below top competitors like Bitdefender and Norton.

The URL Advisor feature enhances browsing safety by marking safe sites with a green indicator in search results, allowing users to assess link safety before clicking. Meanwhile, Private Browsing blocks tracking attempts from advertisers and social networks but, by default, allows Kaspersky and its partners to collect some analytics data—something users can easily disable in settings.

Kaspersky also integrates an on-screen keyboard for secure data entry, preventing keyloggers from capturing credentials. For financial protection, the Safe Money secure browser isolates online banking and payment sessions from the main system, scanning for rootkits, invalid certificates, and untrusted modules. Although effective, Safe Money’s slow loading time can be frustrating, and its interference with Google services like Gmail and Drive may require manual adjustments. Overall, Kaspersky’s anti-phishing features are comprehensive, balancing security, privacy, and usability.

Firewall

Kaspersky’s firewall provides robust protection against network intrusions, surpassing Microsoft Defender’s native firewall in detecting exploit attempts. It actively monitors incoming and outgoing connections, effectively blocking unauthorized access and providing detailed insights into each application’s online behavior. For example, users can view statistics on how widely used an app is and whether it can be trusted.

Advanced users benefit from granular control options, including packet rule configuration, port access detection, and adjustable permissions for protocols like DNS over TCP and UDP. This depth of customization enhances network transparency and protection.

However, the firewall’s interface could be more streamlined. Some settings, such as packet filtering, reside in different menus, which may confuse less technical users. Furthermore, the macOS version includes only a basic network attack blocker—lacking the full functionality available on Windows. Despite these drawbacks, Kaspersky’s firewall remains a highly effective defense mechanism against unauthorized network activity, offering both simplicity for casual users and customization for power users.

Password manager

Kaspersky’s password manager provides a secure and efficient way to store sensitive information, including login credentials, banking details, and private notes. It uses AES 256-bit encryption and follows a strict zero-knowledge policy, ensuring that even Kaspersky cannot access stored data. Users create a single master password to unlock their vault, with no recovery options available, reinforcing privacy but reducing convenience.

The premium version allows unlimited password storage and is included in Kaspersky’s Plus and Premium plans. In contrast, the free version limits users to just five entries, which is restrictive compared to competitors like Norton that offer unlimited storage for free. The manager’s setup process is straightforward, and browser extensions for major browsers enable smooth auto-save and auto-fill functionality. During tests, both features worked flawlessly across multiple platforms.

Beyond password storage, the vault supports additional data types such as documents, bank cards, and addresses, which can be organized into folders. A built-in password generator creates complex passwords of up to 99 characters, and a history log allows users to revisit recently generated credentials. Notably, Kaspersky includes an integrated two-factor authentication (2FA) generator, eliminating the need for third-party authenticator apps. While simple compared to dedicated solutions like Dashlane or 1Password, it remains a capable, secure tool for everyday users.

VPN

Kaspersky’s VPN, available with the Plus and Premium plans, offers unlimited data, AES encryption, a kill switch, and full DNS and IP leak protection. It features servers in over 70 countries and supports split tunneling for selective traffic routing. The VPN also includes Smart Protection, which automatically activates secure connections when users join untrusted networks.

In performance tests, the VPN showed significant speed reductions—particularly in download rates—when connected to the fastest available server. Browsing responsiveness also decreased slightly. However, streaming compatibility was strong: both Netflix and Amazon Prime worked seamlessly, a notable advantage over some competitors like Avira.

Security-wise, Kaspersky’s VPN delivers strong encryption and maintains a strict privacy standard, making it safe for general browsing, streaming, and light downloads. While it lacks advanced customization options and the performance seen in standalone VPNs such as ExpressVPN, it remains a solid inclusion within Kaspersky’s broader security ecosystem, providing reliable protection for casual users.

Other security features

Kaspersky includes a wide range of supplementary tools that enhance both security and system performance. Its parental control suite, Safe Kids, offers robust features such as content filtering, screen time scheduling, YouTube monitoring, and GPS tracking. Although iOS support is limited, Safe Kids remains one of the most capable parental tools integrated into an antivirus suite.

The software also features system optimization utilities, including a PC Speed-Up tool, duplicate and large file finder, hard drive health monitor, and a privacy cleaner that removes browsing traces. The Windows Troubleshooting tool detects and repairs system issues overlooked by Microsoft’s default utility. While these optimization tools cannot be run simultaneously and are less advanced than Bitdefender’s, they perform reliably and help maintain performance stability.

Additional protection components include webcam and microphone access alerts, intrusion prevention with process-level control, and stalkerware detection for identifying apps that secretly monitor user activity. The Smart Home Monitor tracks connected IoT devices, though it lacks direct blocking capability.

Kaspersky’s Rescue Disk provides deep cleaning for heavily infected systems, and its gaming mode suspends notifications during full-screen use. Lastly, the integrated Backup and Restore feature enables file protection via cloud or removable drives, while the Identity Theft Protection service in Premium plans offers recovery assistance for compromised accounts and lost credentials.

Collectively, these features make Kaspersky one of the most versatile security suites available today.

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.

Note: Kaspersky has rebranded its products. Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Kaspersky Internet Security, and Kaspersky Total Security are now Standard, Plus, and Premium. The Kaspersky Security Cloud is also no longer available.

Plan description

Kaspersky offers three tiers: Standard, Plus, and Premium. All can protect 3, 5, or 10 devices, and the Premium even goes up to 20 in some locations. If you’re budget-conscious, Kaspersky Free offers just basic antivirus features.

Kaspersky Standard – Basics Covered

Priced at $38.49/year, this plan is a decent entry point. It provides essentials like malware scanning, a firewall, and anti-phishing. For a single device, Norton AntiVirus Plus could be a more budget-friendly alternative with similar features.

Kaspersky Plus – Best Value

For $52.99/year, you get features like an unlimited-data VPN, password manager, and file shredder. We like the inclusion of an unlimited VPN at this price point, as competitors often reserve this for higher-tier plans.

Kaspersky Premium – Extras with Caveats

Costing $74.99/year, it adds identity protection and free parental controls for one year. The parental controls are excellent but limited to the first year, a downside when competitors like Norton offer it indefinitely.

Summary

For most, Kaspersky Plus offers the best bang for your buck, blending robust protection and privacy features. The Premium plan is a good pick for families but could improve by extending the duration of its parental controls feature. Overall, Kaspersky offers reliable, tiered plans that can suit various needs and budgets.

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.

Company Profile

Kaspersky is a leading cybersecurity firm, privately held with its holding company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1997, the company has amassed over 25 years of experience in the industry, and it protects more than 400 million individuals and 240,000 corporations across 200 countries and territories.

The company prides itself on its commitment to quality, regularly participating in independent tests to evaluate the effectiveness of its technologies against evolving threats. This has earned Kaspersky a strong presence in public TOP3 metrics and numerous awards.

At the core of Kaspersky’s operations is a team of 4,000 highly qualified specialists. They focus on developing innovative and user-friendly solutions that allow people to use technology without worrying about cybersecurity risks. The company’s portfolio is diverse, offering various security solutions that cater to a wide range of customer needs.

In terms of corporate values, Kaspersky prioritizes transparency, innovation, simplicity, and a human-centric approach. The company aims to build a safer world by adopting a “Cyber Immune” security model, which focuses on creating systems that are inherently secure. This approach is guided by the philosophy that the cost of launching a successful cyberattack should exceed its potential benefits. Eugene Kaspersky, the CEO, is a key proponent of this forward-thinking strategy.

By consistently delivering high-quality, effective solutions and maintaining a strong set of values, Kaspersky has established itself as a market leader in cybersecurity.

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.