In our age of cyber addiction, it has never been more crucial to have a reliable form of antivirus software installed on your devices. But the antivirus market is now huge, and it’s hard to decide which provider is right for you. So let’s compare two major antivirus programs, McAfee and Norton, to see which is best suited to your preferences.
Norton vs. McAfee: Price
Antivirus programs these days can be expensive, and different packages can cost you more than you need. Let’s cover basic McAfee and Norton prices to see how much you really need to pay.
Both Norton and McAfee have different subscription plans with different features, benefits, and limitations. First, let’s look at the increasing prices of McAfee plans for a one-year subscription:
- Basic: $29.99.
- More: $39.99.
- Premium (or Total Protection): $49.99.
- Advanced: $89.99.
Here is a list of the different prices of Norton’s plans (also in ascending order):
- Antivirus Plus: $19.99.
- Standard: $39.99.
- Deluxe: $49.99.
- Select and LifeLock: $99.99.
As you can see, Norton’s most basic antivirus plan is the cheapest, at just £19.99 for the year. But McAfee’s basic plan isn’t far off that, at $29.99 per year. The more advanced plans have additional tools and features, which is why the prices increase quite significantly in some cases. Depending on how you use your devices, some plans may be more suitable for you than others. We will then discuss the features offered by each type of plan.
Norton vs. McAfee: Features
We’ll cover each antivirus plan one by one, so you know which one is right for you.
First, you have McAfee’s basic plan. This can only be used on one device and offers a firewall, password manager, identity monitoring, virus protection, protection score, web protection, file shredder and support on line. Additionally, you can use McAfee’s virtual private network (VPN) service with the basic plan, as well as all higher plans. It’s a good deal if you’re looking for antivirus and VPN tools combined.
The Plus and Premium (or Total Protection) plans are quite similar but can be used on more devices (five for the former and unlimited for the latter). The Premium plan also offers personal data cleaning scans, but not the full cleaning feature, although that’s where the differences end. Overall, you won’t get much more in the Plus and Premium plans except for a higher device limit.
All of the extra features come with the McAfee Advanced plan, which costs almost double the price of the next plan. With McAfee Advanced, you’ll have access to credit monitoring and reporting, wallet loss protection, identity restoration support, and full-service personal data sanitization. This is in addition to any features added by lower plans.
The most basic Norton plan, called AntiVirus Plus, can be used on a single device and offers protection against viruses, malware, ransomware, and hacks. The next plan, Standard, can be used on three devices and has VPN and dark web monitoring in addition to the features added by the previous plan. With Deluxe, you’ll also get a parental control tool and be able to use Norton on five devices.
The latest plan, known as Select and LifeLock, costs twice the price of Deluxe but can be used on 10 different devices and offers LifeLock, an identity protection service. You can pay for the Select and LifeLock plan on an annual or monthly basis.
Both antivirus vendors also offer additional tools, such as McAfee’s Safe Family and Norton’s Computer Tune Up, in addition to their antivirus plans. These will cost extra, although prices vary from tool to tool.
Both Norton and McAfee have highly effective malware protection levels, both at over 95%, so you can rest easy knowing your devices are effectively protected.
Norton vs. McAfee: Customer Service
It’s natural for software to malfunction, and sometimes it can be difficult to navigate. This is why customer service is important for antivirus users.
Fortunately, Norton and McAfee offer a range of customer support options. If you have a question or problem, you can contact Norton and McAfee by phone, live chat, and email. Both providers also have an FAQ page for common queries. If you run into a problem at an odd hour, Norton and McAfee offer their 24/7 live chat, so there’s always someone there to help.
Additionally, both providers offer additional support if you’d rather try to fix the problem yourself first. McAfee offers customer service knowledge articles and a series of how-to webinars for many issues and questions. Norton, on the other hand, offers a range of getting started guides and helpful notes, as well as a forum where you and other users can post or answer questions.
Norton vs. McAfee: ease of use
If you’re not particularly tech-savvy, some antivirus programs can be a little tricky to use. But don’t worry, you won’t have this problem with Norton and McAfee. Both providers offer a clean, simple and user-friendly interface that can be understood by almost anyone. However, Norton’s settings can be a bit trickier for novices compared to McAfee.
But overall, with clear main panels that can be navigated easily, you’ll probably understand Norton and McAfee’s interfaces very quickly. Still, if you are confused, you can head to the providers’ help pages or contact customer support.
Which is better: Norton or McAfee?
In terms of basic plans, Norton is the best choice here. It offers the same features as McAfee’s basic plan, but for a lower cost. So if you’re just looking for standard virus protection, Norton is a great choice.
But that doesn’t mean McAfee is below average. This service is a bit more expensive but offers great security features and unlimited device usage on its two top-tier plans. McAfee and Norton also have very high protection ratings, so you won’t be at much higher risk with either program.
However, if you’re determined to use a VPN, note that McAfee’s cheapest plan offers this feature, while Norton doesn’t. You’ll pay $39.99 for VPN protection with Norton, but only $29.99 with McAfee.
Both Norton and McAfee are solid antivirus programs
Although Norton has established itself as the best value antivirus software, both vendors are high quality. There’s no doubt that McAfee and Norton can provide solid levels of protection for their users, along with an array of useful additional features in their various plans. If you want to protect your device, these are both great options, despite their slight differences.
