Bitdefender Antivirus Free may be the lowest and most basic free antivirus software product in the Bitdefender range, but don’t let that put you off. Sure, there’s no VPN, password manager or parental controls, but Bitdefender Antivirus Free does include precisely the same leading-edge antivirus protection as Bitdefender’s big suites, all at zero cost, and that works for us.
We’re less impressed by the platform support: Bitdefender Antivirus Free is strictly Windows only, a problem when Avast and Avira have free products for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. But if the focus on Microsoft isn’t a problem, could Bitdefender Antivirus Free be the best malware removal and protection suite for you? We put the app through some very in-depth tests to find out.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free: Getting started
You can’t install Bitdefender Antivirus Free without setting up an account. That’s quick, easy and free, but it does mean handing over your email address. Avast Free Antivirus and Avira Free Security can be installed and used without registration or handing over any personal details.
This isn’t just about privacy; there are practical issues, too. Because Bitdefender requires you to log into an account, it knows the number of devices you’re protecting, and currently limits you to a maximum of three. Avast and Avira don’t know who you are, and you can install their apps wherever you like.
We noticed another complication. Bitdefender Free Antivirus is only available if you have a new Bitdefender account with no subscription. If you’re currently protecting three laptops with a Bitdefender Total Security license, for instance, there’s no way to add a free license to give another laptop basic protection. There’s a workaround - create a new Bitdefender account with a different email - but we’d much rather the problem didn’t exist at all.
On the plus side, signing up for a Bitdefender account does get you access to live support, not something we see with other free antivirus. That’s potentially very important, because antivirus issues can be complex. If you run into technical troubles, having access to live expert help could make all the difference.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free: Features
The Bitdefender Antivirus Free dashboard gives easy access to the app’s core antivirus features. Quick Scan speedily checks the most commonly-infected areas of your device; System Scan takes its time to inspect absolutely everything; the Scheduler allows you to set up scans to run automatically when you’re not around, and you can manage Exceptions (files you tell Bitdefender to ignore because it flags them incorrectly) and Quarantine (where Bitdefender securely locks away blocked files.)
The app is missing some of Bitdefender’s more advanced antivirus features. There’s no Rescue Environment, unfortunately, to remove stealthy threats which can’t be touched when Windows is running. That’s bad news if you’re suffering a serious infection, and not a problem we had with Avast Free Antivirus, which supports creating a bootable rescue scanner and has many other scan types.
The app doesn’t have Bitdefender’s ransomware remediation, either, a valuable extra layer which can restore encrypted files after a ransomware attack.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free doesn’t include any of Bitdefender’s bonus privacy or security tools. There are buttons for the firewall, antispam, parental controls, anti-theft, the performance optimizer and more, but they all display a padlock icon which means they’re not accessible unless you pay to upgrade.
The VPN is one of the few without a padlock, but not because there’s a free version: you just get an option to install a 7-day trial of Bitdefender’s free VPN. That’s still welcome, but if you’re looking for an antivirus suite with a free VPN, Avast One Essential is a better option. Its VPN has major restrictions - can’t change location, no kill switch - but the 5GB a week data allowance is generous, and it might work for simple tasks.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free is best described as ‘basic’, then, but that’s not necessarily bad news. Avira Free Security includes extras like a password manager and software updater to check for missing software patches, but they’re limited, and we suspect most people won’t use them more than once. If you only want quality antivirus, Bitdefender’s stripped-back design may appeal more than the ‘here, have loads of features you don’t need’ approach used by many competitors.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free: Protection
We begin checking antivirus effectiveness by monitoring results of nine regular tests from top labs including AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and MRG Effitas. The tests measure protection, performance, usability and more, and we combine their scores into a single aggregate figure to give us an overall measure of antivirus effectiveness.
Bitdefender is currently equal first with Avast and McAfee, an excellent result. ESET, F-Secure and Norton are equal fourth, while Avira trails a little in seventh place.
We ran further tests of our own, attempting to access 50 brand new phishing URLs on a Bitdefender-protected system. The results were a little below average, with Bitdefender blocking 64% of threats. (Avast blocked 86% in its own tests, and Avira reached an excellent 90%.)
Phishing results can vary hugely depending on the test URLs, though, and Bitdefender scored much better on our malware tests. We gave Chrome 50 links to malicious files, and Bitdefender blocked 92% at the domain access or download level, and the remaining 8% as they were saved to our hard drive, for a perfect 100% protection rate. Other free antivirus apps got close - Avira managed 90%, Avast 94% - but Bitdefender is the only provider in recent testing to score 100%. Even most paid apps can’t manage that.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free: Final verdict
Bitdefender Antivirus Free is a great malware-hunting performer, but is still fractionally behind Avast in independent testing. As Bitdefender also leaves out tools which Avast includes, such as a bootable scanning, it means you’re a little less likely to be able to remove an infection if something does penetrate your defenses.
The difference is fractional, though, and not enough to outweigh your personal preferences in other areas. If you only need Windows antivirus, and you trust Bitdefender more, don’t like Avast’s more pushy marketing or need its stack of extras, Bitdefender Antivirus Free is still one of the very best zero-cost malware hunters around.
