Gen Digital Inc. · freemium
Avast Free Antivirus & Avast One
One of the most-downloaded free antivirus products, now part of Gen Digital.
Avast Free Antivirus is among the most widely installed free security products in the world. It offers real-time protection, a web shield, an email shield and a Wi-Fi network inspector at no cost, funded by upsells to Avast Premium Security and Avast One.
Avast and AVG are now both owned by Gen Digital and share the same underlying detection engine, which is why their protection results track each other closely. The difference between them is packaging, interface and bundled extras rather than raw detection.
Avast has faced past scrutiny over browsing-data practices through a subsidiary that has since been shut down. Current products expose privacy settings during installation — take the time to read them.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-09
Developer Offer + 1 Extra Month
Current offer published by the software developer at checkout
+ 1 extra month of coverage provided by VirusGuardHub
- Valid:
- Ongoing while the developer promotion remains live
- Eligibility:
- New subscriptions purchased through the link on this page, for customers in the United States.
- Available in:
- United States
- Terms:
- The extra month is supplied by VirusGuardHub and applied after your purchase is confirmed. The developer sets the base price, currency, renewal terms and refund window.
Offer last verified on . Promotions are set by the developer and can change without notice.
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At a glance
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
- Free version
- Yes — Avast Free Antivirus for Windows, Mac and Android with real-time protection.
- Trial
- Premium tiers are offered with a developer-set trial.
- Paid plans
- Avast Premium Security and Avast One tiers.
Who it is for
Good fit
- • Windows users who want free real-time protection with more shields than the bare minimum
- • Android users looking for a free mobile security app
- • Mac users wanting a free basic scanner
Not a fit
- • Users who dislike in-product upselling
- • People who want zero telemetry
Security features
| Real-time protection | Included |
|---|---|
| Malware scanning | Included |
| Ransomware protection | Included |
| Anti-phishing | Included |
| Web protection | Included |
| Email scanning | Included |
| Trojan detection | Included |
| Spyware detection | Included |
| Firewall | Included |
| VPN included | Included |
| Password manager | Not included |
| Identity monitoring | Not included |
| Parental controls | Not included |
| PC cleanup tools | Included |
- • Free tier includes File Shield, Web Shield, Email Shield and Wi-Fi Inspector.
- • Firewall, ransomware shield and sandbox are Premium features.
- • Avast One bundles VPN and device-optimisation tooling.
Performance and privacy
Reasonable on modern hardware. The free product's notification and upsell volume is the more common complaint.
Review the data-sharing choices presented during setup. Historical concerns about browsing-data monetisation make this worth a careful read.
Pros and cons
Pros
- + Feature-rich free tier
- + Good cross-platform free coverage including Android and Mac
- + Wi-Fi network scanning is genuinely useful
Cons
- − Persistent upsell prompts
- − Past privacy controversy
- − Free tier lacks firewall and ransomware shield
Installation and removal
How to install
- 1. Uninstall other real-time antivirus products.
- 2. Download from avast.com only.
- 3. During setup, decline the bundled extras you do not want and review the data-sharing toggles.
- 4. Reboot and run a full scan.
How to uninstall
- 1. Settings → Apps → uninstall Avast.
- 2. Run the official avastclear removal utility in Safe Mode if the uninstall fails.
Avast computer security across platforms
Avast's Windows client is the most complete. The Mac product is lighter and focuses on real-time file protection plus web filtering. On Android, Avast layers app scanning and a web shield over Google Play Protect. The three are separate downloads sharing a brand and an account, not one cross-platform installer.
Platform notes
Windows: Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Android: Avast Free Antivirus for Android provides app scanning, web shield and Wi-Fi security checks, with a paid tier removing ads.
macOS: Avast Security for Mac is free with real-time protection and a paid tier adding Wi-Fi and ransomware features.
ChromeOS: Android builds can run on Chromebooks with Play Store support, but ChromeOS security largely relies on the OS itself.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Avast Free really free?
- Yes, Avast Free Antivirus is a permanent free product with real-time protection. It is funded by upgrade prompts rather than a time limit.
- Is Avast free antivirus for Android worth installing?
- It adds app scanning and a web shield beyond Google Play Protect. Whether that is necessary depends on whether you install apps from outside the Play Store.
- Is Avast Security for Mac free?
- There is a free Avast Security tier for macOS, with a paid upgrade adding ransomware and Wi-Fi features.
Sources
- Avast official site