Best Antivirus for Mac Apple Silicon and Intel
The "Macs don't get viruses" line stopped being true years ago. Moonlock's 2025 macOS threat report puts trojans at 50% of all Mac detections in 2025, up from 16.6% a year earlier. Info-stealers such as AMOS (Atomic macOS Stealer), Poseidon, and Cuckoo Stealer are now pushed through Google Ads impersonating Homebrew, fake Final Cut Pro installers, and cracked-app lures on Telegram and torrents. Apple's built-in XProtect catches known families on a one-week update cadence, but it does not see new variants until Apple ships a signature — which is the window stealers actually operate in.
This guide ranks the eight antivirus products worth running on a Mac in 2026, whether you are on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, or M4) or a late-model Intel machine. Every pick is Apple Silicon native where applicable, scored in the AV-Comparatives Mac Security Test June 2025 or the AV-TEST macOS March 2026 cycle (macOS Tahoe), where Intego, Bitdefender, Norton, ESET, Avast, Kaspersky and F-Secure all earned a perfect 6/6 for protection (Trend Micro 4.5, Avira 3.5), and tested hands-on by our team on an M3 Pro MacBook Pro and a 2020 Intel iMac running macOS Sequoia 15.4.
Short answer: Intego Mac Internet Security X9 is the best pick for a Mac-only household — it is the only major AV vendor that has built exclusively for macOS since 1997. Bitdefender Total Security is the best value if you also need to cover a Windows PC or an Android phone. Norton 360 Deluxe is the pick if you want unlimited VPN and LifeLock identity protection in the bundle. Apple XProtect alone is acceptable only if you never download software from outside the Mac App Store.
Our Top Picks for Mac
| # | Product | First-year price | Best for | Apple Silicon native |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intego Mac Internet Security X9 | $39.99 | Mac-only households, Mac specialists since 1997 | Yes |
| 2 | Bitdefender Total Security | $19.99 (5 devices) | Best value, mixed Mac + Windows + mobile households | Yes |
| 3 | Norton 360 Deluxe | $39.99 (5 devices) | US users who want LifeLock identity protection + unlimited VPN | Yes |
| 4 | ESET Cyber Security Pro | $49.99 | Lightest CPU and battery footprint on Apple Silicon | Yes |
| 5 | Avast Free Antivirus for Mac | Free | Budget pick, free macOS scanner (shared engine) | Yes |
| 6 | Malwarebytes for Mac | $44.99 | Second-layer pick, strong ransomware rollback | Yes |
| 7 | McAfee+ Premium | $39.99 | Unlimited household devices, identity monitoring | Yes |
| 8 | Apple XProtect (built-in) | Free | Users who never install apps from outside the App Store | Yes (native) |
Prices verified on each vendor's official store the week of May 8, 2026, for U.S. customers paying in USD. Renewal pricing is higher for every paid product in this list — we cover that in each individual review.
Best by scenario:
- Intego — best Mac-only household.
- Bitdefender — best value / mixed devices.
- Norton — best U.S. identity / VPN bundle.
- ESET — lightest paid option.
- Avast Free — best free scanner.
- Malwarebytes — second-layer scanner.
- McAfee+ — unlimited household devices.
- Apple XProtect — built-in baseline.
Detailed Picks
1. Intego Mac Internet Security X9 — best for Mac-only households
Intego has built exclusively for macOS since 1997. That single fact explains why the product integrates with macOS in a way cross-platform vendors cannot: deep hooks into the unified log subsystem, a firewall (NetBarrier) that speaks macOS network-extension APIs natively, and a VirusBarrier scanner that understands macOS-specific file types (.dmg, .pkg, Xcode project bundles) the same way Windows engines understand PE executables.
In the AV-Comparatives Mac Security Test June 2025, Intego scored 97.1% on the macOS malware set and flagged zero false positives on 500 clean Mac apps. On our M3 Pro MacBook Pro, a full scan of 420 GB of data finished in 28 minutes and pushed CPU to 22-30% on performance cores — noticeable but not enough to throttle a Zoom call running concurrently.
Intego is also the vendor that identified Cuckoo Stealer in April 2024, when most other AV engines were still flagging it as generic adware. This kind of Mac-first threat research is the reason we put Intego at #1 for single-platform Mac users despite being pricier per-seat than Bitdefender.
Skip Intego if you also need to cover a Windows PC — Intego does not make a Windows product. See our full Intego review.
2. Bitdefender Total Security — best value, best cross-platform
Bitdefender Total Security covers 5 devices (any mix of macOS, Windows, iOS, Android) for $19.99 first year. That is unmatched pricing for a product that hit a perfect 6/6 for protection in AV-TEST’s macOS March 2026 test and 99.4% in the AV-Comparatives Mac Security Test June 2025.
The Mac build is Apple Silicon native and runs lighter than most users expect. On the M3 Pro, Bitdefender's Mac agent sat at 110-140 MB RAM at idle with CPU under 1%. Full scan of 420 GB took 31 minutes with CPU peaking at 25-35% on performance cores.
Bitdefender is the right answer for the household that has one Mac, one Windows PC, two iPhones, and an Android tablet — one subscription, one dashboard, consistent detection quality across all of them. See our full Bitdefender review.
3. Norton 360 Deluxe — unlimited VPN + LifeLock bundle
Norton 360 Deluxe covers 5 devices at $49.99 first year and is the only top-5 Mac antivirus that ships with unlimited VPN, 50 GB encrypted cloud backup, and — for U.S. customers — LifeLock identity-theft restoration in the base bundle. Norton scored 100% on the AV-Comparatives Mac Security Test June 2025, tied with Kaspersky for the top macOS detection result of the cycle.
The honest conversation about Norton remains its renewal pricing: $49.99 first year can become $119.99 at year two unless you call for a retention discount or let the subscription lapse and repurchase. See our Norton 360 review for the full renewal playbook.
Outside the U.S., LifeLock does not apply and Bitdefender is the better-value pick. Inside the U.S., if your threat model includes identity theft, Norton is the only consumer product that bundles human identity-restoration specialists into the antivirus subscription.
4. ESET Cyber Security Pro — lightest Apple Silicon agent
ESET's Mac agent is the lightest in this guide. On our M3 Pro test machine, idle RAM sat at 88-115 MB with CPU essentially 0%. Full scan of 420 GB finished in 34 minutes at 12-20% CPU — the only product in our tests where the fan never spun up during a full scan.
ESET is Apple Silicon native, covers macOS, Windows, Linux, and Android in the $49.99 tier, and scored strong results on AV-Comparatives 2025. The tradeoff versus Intego is less Mac-specific threat intelligence (ESET is a cross-platform vendor with a Bratislava HQ and a broad business-endpoint focus); the tradeoff versus Bitdefender is higher per-seat price. Right pick for users on older Intel Macs or 8 GB Apple Silicon machines where battery and thermals matter. See our full ESET review.
5. Avast Free Antivirus for Mac — free tier, shared engine with Avast Windows
Avast Free Antivirus for Mac is the best free option beyond Apple's built-in XProtect. The detection engine is the same one that earned 18/18 at AV-TEST for the Windows build in the February 2026 cycle, adapted for macOS. The Mac build is Apple Silicon native.
The caveat on Avast is corporate: Avast is owned by Gen Digital (same parent as Norton, AVG, Avira, LifeLock) and has a post-Jumpshot trust history users should read before installing. For a free on-device scanner with credible detection, it is a reasonable pick. For a primary paid product, pick Intego or Bitdefender. See our full Avast review.
6. Malwarebytes for Mac — strong second layer, ransomware rollback
Malwarebytes for Mac is designed to coexist with another antivirus. The free tier is an on-demand scanner; the $44.99/year Premium tier adds real-time protection, web filtering, and ransomware rollback that restores modified files from local snapshots. Detection leans toward adware, PUPs, and stealers — exactly the Mac threat profile in 2026.
We run Malwarebytes Premium alongside Intego or Bitdefender on test machines when we suspect a user has installed software from outside the App Store. Community threads on r/MacOS catalogue cases where Malwarebytes has caught AMOS or Poseidon variants that XProtect missed until Apple's next signature push. See our full Malwarebytes review.
7. McAfee+ Premium — unlimited household devices
McAfee+ Premium at $49.99 first year covers an unlimited number of devices within a household. For a family of five each with a Mac, a phone, and a tablet (15+ devices), McAfee's unlimited-license model is genuinely cost-effective. Detection on macOS is competent though not at Norton or Bitdefender levels.
McAfee's renewal pricing is the most aggressive of the top-8 and in-product upsells are more present than any other pick in this list. If the unlimited-device count is not what draws you, other products win on price-per-seat. See our full McAfee review.
8. Apple XProtect — baseline only
Apple XProtect is built into every Mac, requires no install, and runs transparently. Apple updates XProtect signatures weekly (sometimes more often during active campaigns). It blocks known malware families on download and on launch via Gatekeeper, and it uses XProtect Remediator to clean specific infections post-execution.
XProtect's limits: no user interface, no scan-on-demand, no quarantine review, no behavioral detection for new variants. If Apple has not yet shipped a signature for a new AMOS variant circulating on Telegram this morning, XProtect does not see it. For users who install software exclusively from the Mac App Store and never click cracked-app or fake-Homebrew links, XProtect is fine. For everyone else — which is almost everyone — a dedicated AV on top of XProtect is the realistic floor.
What Apple Already Protects You From
Modern macOS is not unprotected. Apple includes Gatekeeper, notarization checks, XProtect, XProtect Remediator, sandboxing, privacy permissions, system integrity protection and background security updates. That baseline blocks a lot of known malware and makes macOS harder to infect than an unmanaged system.
The reason to add Mac antivirus is not that Apple does nothing. The reason is that Apple’s built-in stack is mostly invisible and limited as a user-facing security product. It does not give most users a clear dashboard, phishing and web protection across browsers, scheduled scans, parental controls, a VPN, identity monitoring, scam-message help, or easy second-opinion scans.
Is Apple XProtect Enough?
This is the single most-searched Mac antivirus question and the answer has changed over the last two years.
What XProtect actually does in 2026: Apple ships XProtect as part of macOS. It has three components: the YARA-based signature engine that checks downloaded files on first launch, MRT (Malware Removal Tool, now folded into XProtect Remediator), and Gatekeeper (signature and notarization checks). Apple pushes XProtect signature updates through macOS's background update channel on a roughly weekly cadence, with out-of-band pushes when a high-profile campaign appears.
What XProtect does not do:
- No user interface. You cannot trigger a scan, see quarantined items, review logs, or whitelist a file. XProtect operates entirely invisibly.
- Limited detection of brand-new variants. XProtect is signature-matching. New AMOS or Poseidon variants compiled this week and distributed through fake Homebrew Google Ads will not match a signature until Apple writes one. Third-party AV engines with heuristics and cloud lookup catch unknown variants on reputation and behavior grounds — XProtect does not.
- No web or email filtering. XProtect is file-based. Malicious URLs, phishing pages, and credential-theft sites are Safari's job (and Safari's anti-phishing is minimal). A dedicated AV's web shield flags these before you click.
- No ransomware rollback. If something encrypts your Documents folder, XProtect does not restore it. Time Machine is your recovery path — if you set it up.
The realistic rule: XProtect is a solid last-mile filter against known-bad, and it raises the baseline for every Mac. It is not a complete endpoint product. If you download anything from outside the Mac App Store — Homebrew, direct-download DMGs, GitHub binaries, cracked apps — add a paid AV on top of XProtect. The two layers are complementary, not redundant.
Who Actually Needs Antivirus on a Mac
You probably need a dedicated Mac antivirus if you install apps from outside the Mac App Store, use Homebrew, download developer tools, open client attachments, run cracked software, use crypto wallets, manage ads or business accounts, share files with Windows users, or support less technical family members.
You can reasonably stay with XProtect alone if you only install apps from the Mac App Store, keep macOS updated, use Safari or a hardened browser setup, avoid unknown DMGs and PKGs, don’t use crypto wallets, and already have Time Machine plus strong password-manager habits. If that’s not you, our best free antivirus picks are a no-cost starting layer.
Real Mac Threats — What Is Actually Circulating
The macOS threat landscape in 2025-2026 is dominated by info-stealers, not viruses. Here are the four families a Mac user realistically encounters.
AMOS (Atomic macOS Stealer). First identified in April 2023 and now sold as malware-as-a-service on Telegram and cybercrime forums for $1,000-$3,000/month. AMOS grabs browser cookies, saved passwords from Keychain, crypto-wallet seeds from Exodus, Electrum, Atomic Wallet, and MetaMask, plus Telegram session tokens. Distribution in 2025-2026 has shifted heavily to malicious Google Ads for fake Homebrew, Arc browser, Slack, and Figma installer pages — the ads appear above the real search result, link to a lookalike domain, and serve a signed .dmg that requests password prompt and then exfiltrates. Moonlock and Intego both attribute a significant share of 2025 Mac infections to AMOS variants.
Poseidon Stealer. Forked from a leaked AMOS code base in mid-2024 and operated by a different crew, Poseidon adds VPN-client credential theft (targeting OpenVPN, WireGuard, Viscosity configs) and SSH-key exfiltration to the AMOS feature set. Distribution overlaps with AMOS — fake installer pages — but Poseidon is more frequently packaged inside cracked versions of professional software (fake Adobe CC, fake Final Cut Pro, fake Logic Pro) hosted on torrent trackers.
Cuckoo Stealer. Intego identified Cuckoo Stealer in April 2024 distributed inside cracked Mac apps (fake DumpMedia, fake TuneSolo) advertised on shady download sites. Cuckoo is notable for its persistence technique (LaunchAgent plist) and for targeting the same credential surface as AMOS. Intego's early detection gave the product a reputation among Mac-focused security researchers.
Fake Homebrew clones via Google Ads. Not a malware family itself but a distribution channel that ships all of the above. Attackers buy Google Ads for "brew install", "homebrew mac", and "arc browser download" search terms. The ad leads to a lookalike domain (brew-sh[.]com, homebrew-install[.]net, arc-browser[.]app) that serves either a .sh script that pipes curl into bash with a stealer payload, or a signed .dmg containing AMOS/Poseidon. r/MacOS and r/sysadmin have recurring threads throughout 2025-2026 documenting new lookalike domains every few weeks. The fix on Apple's side has been slow because the underlying ad-buying account churn is fast.
Cracked-app lures. Fake Adobe Creative Cloud, fake Final Cut Pro, fake Logic Pro, fake Microsoft Office — distributed on torrent trackers and Telegram channels pitching "free pro software for Mac." The installers are almost universally AMOS or Poseidon with the cracked app as a decoy to mask the credential theft. This channel has been consistent for years but the payload has evolved from adware in 2019-2021 to credential stealers in 2024-2026.
The common thread across all four: XProtect catches them after Apple writes a signature. A third-party AV with cloud-reputation lookup catches the lookalike domain or the unsigned binary at download time, before it runs.
Mac Phishing, Scam and Browser Protection
A lot of Mac risk does not arrive as a traditional virus. It arrives as a fake Google ad, a lookalike Homebrew page, a fake browser update, a malicious DMG, a phishing email, a crypto-wallet seed request, or a fake support pop-up.
For that reason, web protection matters as much as file scanning. Before choosing a Mac antivirus, check whether the product protects Safari, Chrome, Edge and Firefox, whether browser extensions are required, whether malicious-site blocking works outside Safari, and whether scam and phishing warnings are clear enough for the user. For the scam side specifically, see our best antivirus for scam protection guide and our explainer on deepfake scams.
How We Tested — Methodology
We based this ranking on three data sources.
AV-Comparatives Mac Security Test June 2025. The most recent Mac-specific independent test at the time of writing. AV-Comparatives tested 7 macOS security products against a 377-sample Mac malware set collected in the preceding three months. Headline results: Kaspersky and Norton 100%, Bitdefender 99.4%, Intego 97.1%. The same report tracks false-positive rates against 500 clean Mac applications — Intego, Bitdefender, and Norton all scored zero false positives.
AV-TEST macOS March 2026 (macOS Tahoe). AV-TEST's latest Mac cycle tested 10 home-user products on the current macOS, scoring protection, false positives and performance. Intego, Bitdefender, Norton, ESET, Avast, Kaspersky and F-Secure all earned a perfect 6/6 for protection; Trend Micro (4.5) and Avira (3.5) lagged, and McAfee was not in this macOS round. Windows lab scores can support a vendor’s engine reputation, but they do not replace macOS-specific testing — macOS permissions, system extensions, Full Disk Access, web protection and app behaviour all differ, so we weight the Mac results here.
Hands-on testing on Apple Silicon and Intel. Our team installed each product on an M3 Pro MacBook Pro (16 GB RAM, macOS Sequoia 15.4) and on a 2020 Intel iMac (27-inch, i7, 32 GB RAM, macOS Sequoia 15.4). We measured idle RAM, full-scan time against an identical 420 GB data set, CPU peak during scan, battery drain on the MacBook during a scheduled scan, and install-to-first-full-scan time. We also tested each product against three in-the-wild AMOS samples captured from Telegram channels in March and early May 2026 (samples detonated in an isolated Parallels VM with outbound network blocked). This AMOS sample check is a small qualitative sanity check, not a statistically meaningful lab test — we used it only to see whether products reacted to current stealer-style installers in an isolated VM. The ranking weight still comes primarily from the independent macOS labs, product features, pricing and hands-on usability.
Editorial disclosure: we do not accept review units from vendors. Every product in this guide was purchased by us at retail pricing and installed on production hardware.
Mac Antivirus Buying Guide — What Actually Matters
A few specific things to check before you pay for any Mac AV.
Apple Silicon native. Products that still ship Rosetta 2 (x86_64) builds run noticeably slower on M-series chips and consume measurably more battery. Every product in our top 8 ships a native arm64 build in 2026. If you are evaluating a vendor not on this list, check Activity Monitor's Kind column after install — it should read "Apple" not "Intel".
Battery impact on laptops. Scheduled scans on a MacBook running on battery are the single biggest daily annoyance with Mac AV. ESET and Bitdefender let you pause scheduled scans when the system is on battery; Intego and Norton have this option but it is buried in settings. Configure it on install day.
Unified log integration. Modern macOS security tooling relies on Apple's unified log subsystem. AV products that tap into unified log events detect suspicious behavior (for example, a process trying to read Keychain data, or a LaunchAgent writing outside ~/Library/LaunchAgents) without needing a signature match. Intego and Bitdefender do this; Malwarebytes and Avast rely more on file scanning. For stealer detection specifically, unified-log awareness matters.
Full Disk Access and System Extension prompts. Every Mac AV needs Full Disk Access in System Settings to scan the whole file system, and most need to load a system extension. Grant both during install — if you skip them, the product is partially blind. macOS will prompt you; do not dismiss the prompts.
Browser extensions. Most Mac AVs ship an optional Safari and Chrome extension for web filtering. The extension catches phishing URLs and malicious downloads before the main engine sees the file. Install it. This is the layer that catches fake-Homebrew Google Ads in real time.
macOS version support. Check the vendor's compatibility page. As of 2026 every product in our top 8 supports macOS Sequoia 15.x and Sonoma 14.x. macOS Tahoe (rumored WWDC 2026 announcement) is not yet tested — recheck vendor compatibility pages in July 2026 after the developer beta.
What you do not need on a Mac. Registry cleaners (macOS has no registry), "Mac speed boosters" that promise 10x performance, and one-click "optimizers" are almost universally PUPs. MacKeeper's old reputation was earned; avoid any product whose primary pitch is performance rather than detection.
Mac Antivirus Permissions: Full Disk Access, System Extensions and Network Filters
Mac antivirus products often need extra permissions after installation. That can include Full Disk Access, system extensions, network filtering, notifications and browser extensions. If you skip these prompts, the app may install but not fully protect Mail, downloads, external drives, browser traffic or Time Machine locations.
This is also why “lightweight” Mac antivirus is not only about CPU usage. A product can look idle in Activity Monitor while missing browser protection or full-disk scanning because the user never granted the required macOS permissions. Grant the prompts on install day, then confirm them in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
Apple Silicon vs Intel Mac Antivirus Performance
On Apple Silicon, pick a native arm64 build. Products that still rely on Rosetta 2 can use more battery and feel heavier during scans. On older Intel Macs, CPU and fan impact matter more, so lightweight products like ESET or Bitdefender can be better than heavier all-in-one suites.
Don’t judge Mac antivirus only by detection. On a MacBook Air or an 8 GB MacBook, idle RAM, scan scheduling, browser-extension weight and battery impact are all part of the buying decision.
Best Mac Antivirus by User Type
The "best" Mac antivirus depends on what your Mac is for. Here are the picks broken down by use case.
Mac-only households
Pick: Intego. Mac-specialist vendor since 1997, Apple Silicon native from day one of M1 launch, VirusBarrier behavioral protection tuned specifically to macOS attack patterns (sparsebundle inspection, dylib injection, kext loading). Mac-only licence, no wasted Windows seats. Full Intego review.
Mixed Mac + Windows + mobile households
Pick: Bitdefender Total Security. One licence covers up to 5 devices across Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. 6/6 protection in AV-TEST’s macOS March 2026 test, with top marks across platforms. Lightest CPU footprint among premium cross-platform suites. Full Bitdefender review.
U.S. users wanting identity protection bundle
Pick: Norton 360 Deluxe. Cross-platform AV plus LifeLock identity-theft protection (U.S. only) plus unlimited Norton VPN under one subscription. Best fit if you would otherwise pay separately for AV + VPN + identity monitoring. Full Norton review.
Battery-life-conscious laptop users
Pick: ESET Cyber Security Pro. Smallest measured background CPU and battery drain on Apple Silicon among paid suites. Independent Slovak vendor (no Gen Digital, no private equity). HIPS behavioral engine. Full ESET review.
Budget-conscious Mac users
Pick: Avast Free Antivirus for Mac. Free forever, top-tier engine shared with paid Avast/AVG products. Acceptable if you accept the upsell pop-ups (covered in our review) and tolerate Avast's Jumpshot-history corporate baggage (FTC consent order June 2024, settled). Full Avast review.
Power users who run Homebrew, dev tools, third-party installers
Pick: Bitdefender or ESET as primary, plus Malwarebytes for Mac on-demand. Primary AV catches real-time; Malwarebytes' on-demand scanner catches adware bundles and PUA that real-time AV may not flag aggressively. Run Malwarebytes weekly, not real-time. Full Malwarebytes review.
Family/kids Macs needing parental controls
Pick: Norton 360 Deluxe. Bundled Norton Family parental controls with web filtering, screen-time limits, and location tracking. macOS Screen Time covers basics; Norton Family adds richer cross-device reporting. Full Norton review.
"I just opened a suspicious DMG and clicked through the warnings"
Action: free Malwarebytes scan + ClamAV scan from Terminal. Don't rely on whatever AV you have installed — run two independent scanners. Malwarebytes detects most adware bundlers; ClamAV catches Windows-malware leftovers in attachments. Full malware-removal walkthrough.
VPN, Password Manager and Identity Protection Are Not Mac Antivirus
Bundles can be useful, but they shouldn’t blur the core decision. A VPN protects network privacy on untrusted Wi-Fi; a password manager protects credentials; identity monitoring helps after data exposure; antivirus protects against malicious files, suspicious behaviour, malicious websites and unwanted apps.
Norton can be a good U.S. bundle because of its VPN and LifeLock, but outside the U.S. the identity value changes. Bitdefender can be better value for cross-platform households. Intego can be better for a Mac-only home that wants Mac-specific firewall and malware protection.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mac Antivirus
Do Macs need antivirus in 2026?
Yes, unless you install software only from the Mac App Store. Moonlock's 2025 threat report shows trojans as 50% of Mac detections, up from 16.6% the prior year. AMOS, Poseidon, and Cuckoo stealers target saved passwords, browser cookies, and crypto wallets via fake Homebrew and cracked-app lures that XProtect does not catch until Apple writes a signature. A paid Mac AV catches these at download time through cloud reputation and heuristics.
Is Apple XProtect enough?
Only if you never install software from outside the Mac App Store. XProtect is signature-only, updates weekly, has no user interface, and has no behavioral detection. It catches known-bad after Apple writes a signature. Third-party AV fills the gap on new variants, phishing URLs, and cracked-app payloads.
Will antivirus slow down my M3 or M4 Mac?
Not meaningfully on modern Apple Silicon. In our testing on an M3 Pro, idle RAM usage was 88-140 MB for the top products and CPU was under 1% at idle. Full scans peaked at 12-35% CPU depending on product. ESET and Bitdefender were the lightest; Intego was in the middle. You will not notice the AV during normal use. Schedule scans for overnight or while on AC power to avoid battery drain.
Which Mac antivirus is best for Apple Silicon?
Choose a native Apple Silicon (arm64) build. Intego, Bitdefender, Norton, ESET, Avast and Malwarebytes all ship native Mac apps — judge them by native support, RAM and CPU impact, browser protection, and whether you grant the macOS permissions (Full Disk Access, system extension) they need to protect fully.
What is AMOS stealer?
AMOS (Atomic macOS Stealer) is a credential-theft malware family sold as malware-as-a-service on Telegram since April 2023. It exfiltrates browser cookies, Keychain-saved passwords, crypto-wallet seeds from Exodus/MetaMask/Atomic/Electrum, and Telegram session tokens. Distribution in 2025-2026 is primarily through malicious Google Ads impersonating Homebrew, Arc browser, Slack, and Figma installers. Intego, Bitdefender, Norton, and ESET all detect current AMOS variants; XProtect detects known variants but lags new ones until Apple ships a signature.
Is Intego better than Bitdefender for Mac?
Intego is the better pick if you only own Macs and want a Mac-specialist vendor with deeper macOS threat research (Intego identified Cuckoo Stealer in April 2024 before most other engines). Bitdefender is the better pick if you also need to cover a Windows PC or Android phone at lower per-seat price. On pure macOS detection, Bitdefender scored 99.4% in the AV-Comparatives Mac Security Test June 2025 versus Intego's 97.1% — both are strong results with zero false positives.
Can I run two Mac antivirus products at the same time?
Malwarebytes for Mac is designed to coexist with a primary AV and is the exception. Two full real-time AVs (for example, Intego and Bitdefender simultaneously) will fight over file-system events, system-extension slots, and Full Disk Access, causing high CPU and occasional hangs. Run one primary AV plus Malwarebytes as a scanner if you want a second layer.
Is free antivirus safe for Mac?
Avast Free Antivirus for Mac is the best free option and uses the same detection engine as the paid Avast Windows product (shares the engine behind Avast’s strong AV-Comparatives Mac results). The trade is less support, no web filtering in some tiers, and Gen Digital as the corporate parent. Apple's XProtect is also free and built-in. For users unwilling to pay, Avast Free plus XProtect is the strongest free combination.
Does Mac antivirus protect against ransomware?
Yes, the paid products in this list include behavioral ransomware protection. Mac ransomware is rare compared to Windows but not nonexistent — Turtle, LockBit Mac variants, and MacRansom have all been documented over the last three years. Malwarebytes Premium specifically includes ransomware rollback that restores modified files from local snapshots, which is a feature no other pick in this list offers. Time Machine remains the most reliable recovery path — set it up.
Final Verdict
#1 Overall: Intego Mac Internet Security X9 — $39.99 first year. The only major AV built exclusively for macOS since 1997 — our #1 Mac-only pick not because it wins every lab metric (Bitdefender’s 99.4% edges Intego’s 97.1% in the AV-Comparatives Mac Security Test 2025), but because it is Mac-first: NetBarrier firewall, VirusBarrier, and simple macOS integration. Bitdefender is the better lab and value pick for mixed-device households. Apple Silicon native, zero false positives, and the vendor that identified Cuckoo Stealer in April 2024. Best pick for Mac-only households and for anyone who wants a Mac specialist rather than a cross-platform generalist.
Best value: Bitdefender Total Security — $19.99 first year for 5 devices. Covers Mac, Windows, iOS, Android under one subscription. 99.4% on the AV-Comparatives Mac test and 6/6 for protection in AV-TEST macOS March 2026. The right answer for mixed-platform households.
Best bundle: Norton 360 Deluxe — $39.99 first year for 5 devices. 100% on AV-Comparatives Mac June 2025 plus unlimited VPN, 50 GB cloud backup, and LifeLock identity restoration for U.S. users. Manage the renewal pricing actively.
Buy any of the above and you have a Mac that is meaningfully safer than Apple's built-in XProtect on its own. For Mac-only households where macOS expertise matters most, Intego is our top pick for 2026.