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avast! Free Antivirus

AVAST Software a.s.Home Antimalware (primary)Free AntimalwareCompare with others in Home Antimalware

Product

Avast Free Antivirus is a free antivirus for individual consumers, now delivered as part of the Avast One app for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. Supported platforms are Android, iOS, Linux, macOS and Windows. Recorded capabilities include behavioral detection, email protection, malware detection and ransomware protection. Its record also notes web protection. It is aimed at Consumer buyers.

Current Version
2015.0
Product Page
avast.com/…/free-antivirus-downlo…
Market
Consumer
Licence
Free
Price
Free
Record Created
2026-08-20
Last Updated
2026-10-25

Vendor

Avast was founded in Prague in 1988 — as a cooperative, in what was still Czechoslovakia — by Pavel Baudiš and Eduard Kučera, and built its business on something few competitors would try: giving a complete antivirus away. The free tier brought in hundreds of millions of users and the paid upgrades and bundled services made the money. It is no longer independent. Avast bought its Czech rival AVG in 2016, and in 2022 merged with NortonLifeLock to form Gen Digital, which now owns Avast, AVG and Norton alike; the site's own copyright line reads Gen Digital Inc. The current range is built around Avast One, which combines antivirus, VPN and device cleanup in one application, with Avast Free Antivirus as the free tier inside it and Avast Premium Security and Avast Ultimate above. Avast SecureLine VPN, Avast AntiTrack, Avast BreachGuard, Avast Cleanup Premium and Avast Secure Browser are sold alongside, and Avast Business Security covers small organisations. Avast and AVG have shared a detection engine since the acquisition, so their test scores move together rather than independently. Vendor page →

Website
avast.com
Country
Czechia
Headquarters
Prague, Czechia
Year Established
1988
Customers
740K organisations
Users
440M users
Revenue
$892.9M (2020)

Platforms

Linuxnative
Windowsnative

Target Market

Consumer primary

Capabilities

Malware Detectionkeynative
Ransomware Protectionkeynative
Behavioral Detectionkeynative
Web Protectionkeynative
Email Protectionnative
Host FirewallNot known
Sandbox AnalysisNot known
Cloud-Assisted ScanningNot known
Heuristic DetectionNot known
Device ControlNot known
Vulnerability ShieldingNot known
Central Management ConsoleNot known

7 of 12 not yet known — not recorded, which is not the same as not supported.

Pricing

PlanLicencePriced perBilledPrice
SummaryFreenot statedno recurring chargeFree

Versions

  • 2015.0Windows
  • 1.0Linux

The newest release each source names per platform, not every release the vendor has shipped. A release date is shown only where one is recorded.

Independent Tests

At a glance — latest result per lab test

AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection TestAdvanced+

Tested: Windows2026-06-15lab report ↗

AV-Comparatives Malware Protection TestAdvanced

Tested: Windows2026-10-15lab report ↗

AV-Comparatives Performance TestAdvanced+

Tested: Windows2026-10-20lab report ↗

AV-TEST Antivirus Test

Tested: Windowslab report ↗

SE Labs Home Anti-Malware ProtectionAAA

2026-06-30lab report ↗

Each bar is one lab’s own figure on that lab’s own scale. Labs test different models at different times, so the figures are not combined into one score.

All results

AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection TestAV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test — July–October 20252025-11-17
Advanced+Protection Rate: 100%False Positives: 8
AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection TestAV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test — February–May 20262026-06-15
Advanced+Protection Rate: 99.3%
AV-Comparatives Malware Protection TestAV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test — March 20262026-04-15
Offline Detection Rate: 96.3%Online Detection Rate: 98.7%Online Protection Rate: 99.97%False Positives: 9
AV-Comparatives Malware Protection TestAV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test — September 20252025-10-15
Offline Detection Rate: 97.4%Online Detection Rate: 98.9%Online Protection Rate: 99.98%False Positives: 8
AV-Comparatives Malware Protection TestAV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test — September 20262026-10-15
AdvancedOffline Detection Rate: 95.4%Online Detection Rate: 98.3%Online Protection Rate: 99.96%False Positives: 15
AV-Comparatives Performance TestAV-Comparatives Performance Test — September 20252025-10-15
Impact Score: 3.9AV-Comparatives Score: 90
AV-Comparatives Performance TestAV-Comparatives Performance Test — April 20262026-04-22
Impact Score: 5.5AV-Comparatives Score: 90
AV-Comparatives Performance TestAntivirus Performance Test September 20262026-10-20
Advanced+Impact Score: 5.2AV-Comparatives Score: 90
AV-TEST Antivirus TestTest antivirus software for Windows 11 - June 2026
Protection: 6Performance: 6Usability: 6
AV-TEST Antivirus TestTest antivirus software for Windows 11 - August 2026
Protection: 6Performance: 6Usability: 6
SE Labs Home Anti-Malware ProtectionHome Anti-Malware 2026 Q2
AAAOverall 98Protection Accuracy: 96%Legitimate Accuracy: 100%Total Accuracy Rating: 98%
SE Labs Home Anti-Malware ProtectionHome Anti-Malware 2026 Q1
AAAOverall 100Protection Accuracy: 100%Legitimate Accuracy: 99%Total Accuracy Rating: 100%

Certifications

OESIS Framework SupportSupported1 activeSupported
OPSWAT Certified Security ApplicationPlatinum1 activePlatinum

Change History

This record was created 2026-08-20. Everything below is what has changed since.

  • 2026-10-25Platform addedRuns on Linuxevidence
  • 2026-10-25Platform removedPlatform no longer recorded: macOSevidence
  • 2026-10-25Platform removedPlatform no longer recorded: Linuxevidence
  • 2026-10-25Platform removedPlatform no longer recorded: iOSevidence
  • 2026-10-25Platform removedPlatform no longer recorded: Androidevidence
  • 2026-10-21Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Performance Test result: Advanced+evidence
  • 2026-10-15Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test result: Advancedevidence
  • 2026-09-30Test result addedNew SE Labs Home Anti-Malware Protection result: AAAevidence
  • 2026-09-30Test result addedNew SE Labs Home Anti-Malware Protection result: AAAevidence
  • 2026-09-30Test result addedNew AV-TEST Antivirus Test resultevidence
  • 2026-09-28Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test result: Advanced+evidence
  • 2026-09-28Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test result: Advanced+evidence
  • 2026-09-23New versionNew version: 1.0 (Linux)evidence
  • 2026-09-23Capability addedRansomware Protection: built inevidence
  • 2026-09-23Capability addedBehavioral Detection: built inevidence
  • 2026-09-23Capability addedEmail Protection: built inevidence
  • 2026-09-23Capability addedWeb Protection: built inevidence
  • 2026-09-22Product updatedListed in Free Antimalwareevidence
  • 2026-09-22Product updatedListed in Home Antimalwareevidence
  • 2026-09-21Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Performance Test resultevidence
  • 2026-09-21Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Performance Test resultevidence
  • 2026-09-21Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test resultevidence
  • 2026-09-21Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test resultevidence
  • 2026-09-20Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test resultevidence
  • 2026-09-20Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test resultevidence
  • 2026-09-19Product updatedNo longer sold to: Enterpriseevidence
  • 2026-09-19Product updatedSold to: Consumerevidence
  • 2026-09-09New versionNew version: 2015.0 (Windows)evidence
  • 2026-08-30Platform addedRuns on iOSevidence
  • 2026-08-30Platform addedRuns on Androidevidence
  • 2026-08-30Platform addedRuns on Linuxevidence
  • 2026-08-30Platform addedRuns on macOSevidence
  • 2026-08-30Test result addedNew AV-TEST Antivirus Test resultevidence
  • 2026-08-26Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test resultevidence
  • 2026-08-26Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test resultevidence
  • 2026-08-26Test result addedNew AV-TEST Antivirus Test resultevidence
  • 2026-08-25Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test resultevidence
  • 2026-08-25Test result addedNew AV-TEST Antivirus Test resultevidence
  • 2026-08-25Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test resultevidence
  • 2026-08-25Test result addedNew AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test resultevidence
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