8 Best Antivirus for Mac of 2026

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac fills the gaps in macOS protection more directly than anything else at this price. Real-time scanning covers ransomware, adware, spyware, trojans and keyloggers, and detection work runs in Bitdefender's cloud, so updates for new threats arrive without a heavy local engine. The ransomware tools are the standout. Safe Files lets you add folders to a watch list that only trusted apps can change, and Time Machine Protection guards your backups from being encrypted or destroyed. In the browser, the Web Sage extension and anti-phishing check links before you open them and block fake banking and shopping pages, and the Anti-tracker extension blocks data collectors. A 200 MB daily VPN is included, enough for logins on hotel Wi-Fi but not for streaming. The first year costs $24.99 for one Mac or $29.99 for three, and there is a 30-day free trial. It needs macOS Big Sur 11.3 or later.

Norton 360 Deluxe is the most complete plan for a household that mixes Macs with Windows PCs, iPhones and Android phones. One subscription covers 5 devices with antivirus, malware, ransomware and hacking protection, plus Norton's Scam Protection and Deepfake Protection. The extras are where it pulls ahead of single-Mac products: a VPN for public Wi-Fi, a password manager, Dark Web Monitoring and Privacy Monitor all come in the same plan. Mac buyers should read the small print, though. Norton states that its Cloud Backup and Parental Control features are not supported on macOS, so the 50 GB of cloud storage in the plan only helps your Windows machines. Parents can still manage a child's controls from a Mac through the Norton account. The first year costs $49.99, which is good value for 5 devices, but renewal is $124.99 per year. A 60-day money-back guarantee gives time to decide.

Avast One is the strongest free answer for Mac owners who want more than XProtect without paying. The free tier runs real-time protection in the background and adds full Mac scans, custom and scheduled scans and scans of external USB and DVD drives, which XProtect does not do. Web Guard blocks scam sites and dangerous downloads, Email Shield checks attachments, and Avast Assistant gives quick guidance on whether a message or offer looks like a scam. Avast also detects Windows malware so you do not forward infected files to PC users. The free version stops short of ransomware protection. Premium Security adds Ransomware Shield, alerts when someone joins your Wi-Fi network and Email Guard, which flags suspicious messages in Gmail, Outlook and other providers. Premium costs $49.08 for the first year, renews at $77.99 and covers one Mac plus one mobile device. A browser extension handles tracker blocking and typo-site redirects.

Intego ONE is the only product on this list built just for Apple computers, and it shows in the tools it chooses. Real-time scanning checks every file and process as it appears, and suspicious files go to a quarantine folder where you can review details, restore trusted items or delete confirmed threats. Quick, custom and scheduled scans cover the rest. The firewall is the main reason to pick it over Bitdefender: it lists which apps are trying to go online and gives plain options to allow or block each one, with custom rules per app. The Advanced plan adds SmartClean, which clears caches and leftovers, fully uninstalls apps and watches CPU, memory and disk space. The Complete plan adds Intego VPN and an iPhone app. Plans come in 1, 3 or 5 Mac seats with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Intego's pricing page showed only euro prices from our location, so we could not verify a USD price.

Malwarebytes is the easiest product here to install and forget. Premium Security for Mac stops ransomware, adware and suspicious apps, and its web protection blocks malicious sites, infected ads, credit card skimmers and credential stealers. Malwarebytes says scans can finish in as little as 30 seconds, and a single dashboard holds the controls and privacy settings. Trusted Advisor gives tailored security assessments, and monthly health reports summarize what it found. Browser Guard, included in every plan, blocks ads, trackers, tech support scams and in-browser cryptojackers. The Standard plan costs $59.99 per year and covers 3 devices across Mac, Windows, Android and iOS, so it is better value if you have a laptop and two phones than if you have one Mac. The Plus plan at $79.99 adds a WireGuard VPN with unmetered data. It lacks a firewall and folder-level ransomware tools, which Intego and Bitdefender offer.

Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac is a tidy, low-cost choice for a single computer. It protects against ransomware, uses Trend Micro's Advanced AI Learning to spot new threats, blocks dangerous websites and flags phishing emails and scam sites. Pay Guard, a protected mode for banking and shopping, is included in this base product rather than reserved for the suites. A privacy control blocks unauthorized use of the Mac's camera and microphone, which none of the cheaper free tools document. What you do not get at this tier is parental controls, social media privacy checks, cleanup tools or a password manager; those sit in Internet Security and Maximum Security, which also cover Windows. Trend Micro keeps settings and status reports simple, and there is a free trial. The first year costs $29.95 for one Mac against a listed price of $42.95, only a few dollars more than Bitdefender's one-Mac plan.

AVG AntiVirus Free for Mac is the plainest free option here, and that is its appeal. It runs real-time scanning in the background against viruses, spyware, ransomware and adware, blocks malicious websites, downloads and email attachments, and updates itself automatically. There are no account steps or extra apps to configure. Avast One documents more free tools, such as USB drive scans and its scam assistant, which is why it ranks higher. The paid AVG Internet Security for Mac adds ransomware protection for personal files, anti-phishing and blocking of scam shopping and banking sites. It costs $46.68 for the first year for one Mac against a listed price of $79.99, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. For most people, the free version plus XProtect is the reason to install AVG; the paid tier is fair but Bitdefender offers more for less.

ESET HOME Security Essential is a multi-platform plan rather than a Mac product, and it suits homes that already trust ESET on Windows. The Essential tier covers 3 devices across PC, macOS, Android and iOS for $59.99 per year and includes real-time antivirus, AI-powered threat detection, anti-phishing, safe banking and browsing, and scam protection, including what ESET calls AI interaction security for chatbots. A 2-year plan saves 15%, and a 30-day free trial needs no credit card, which makes it easy to check how it runs on your Mac. The drawback for Mac owners is documentation. ESET notes that functions differ by operating system and does not set out the macOS feature list as clearly as Bitdefender, Intego or Avast, so some features on the plan page may apply only to Windows. Premium at $89.99 adds unlimited VPN data and file encryption.