Compare Avast vs Norton
Avast vs Norton at a Glance
Here is the key thing most people miss when comparing Avast and Norton: they are the same company now. NortonLifeLock and Avast merged in September 2022 to form Gen Digital, which also owns AVG, Avira, CCleaner, and LifeLock. Choosing between Avast and Norton in 2026 is choosing between two product lines inside one corporate umbrella — same parent, different engines, different pricing tiers, different target users.
That said, the products themselves remain technically distinct. Avast's engine (which also powers AVG) is optimized for lightweight free-tier performance and took Gold for Overall Performance at AV-Comparatives 2025. Norton's engine is tuned for in-the-wild URL blocking and took Gold for Real-World Protection in the same report. Historically these were competitors — since the merger, the R&D teams are nominally unified but the engines have stayed separate.
The other context that matters: Avast's Jumpshot FTC settlement. Avast paid $16.5 million to the FTC in February 2024 for selling anonymized user browsing data through its Jumpshot subsidiary (shut down 2020). The current Gen Digital privacy policy prohibits the old practices, and no fresh incidents have surfaced since 2024. We mention this because it belongs in any honest Avast comparison.
Data below: AV-TEST February 2026, AV-Comparatives 2025 Summary Report, 2026 vendor pricing, and hands-on testing.
Quick Verdict Table
| Criterion | Avast One / Premium Security | Norton 360 Deluxe | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes (Avast Free) | No | Avast |
| Paid first-year price | $39.48 (Avast One Basic) | $39.99 / 5 devices | Close tie |
| AV-TEST Feb 2026 | 18 / 18 | 18 / 18 | Tie |
| AV-Comparatives 2025 | Gold Overall Performance | Gold Real-World Protection | Different categories |
| System impact | Lighter | Heavier | Avast |
| VPN | Unlimited (Avast One paid) | Unlimited included | Tie |
| Cloud backup | Not included | 50 GB included | Norton |
| Identity restoration | Not offered (US) | LifeLock path (US, higher tier) | Norton |
| Corporate parent | Gen Digital | Gen Digital (same) | Tie |
For a user who wants free AV, Avast Free wins automatically (Norton has no free tier). For a user who wants a paid full bundle, Norton 360 Deluxe wins on bundle breadth (cloud backup, LifeLock path). For a user who wants paid AV with minimum friction, Avast One at $39.48 is a legitimate alternative.
Lab Test Showdown
Both products score at the top of consumer AV testing, but they win different categories.
AV-TEST February 2026. Avast 18/18. Norton 18/18. Both Top Product designation. Tied.
AV-Comparatives 2025 Summary Report. Avast took Gold for Overall Performance (system impact measurement — the lightest top-tier product) and shared Gold with AVG since they run the same engine. Norton took Gold for Real-World Protection (in-the-wild attack blocking). Both earned Advanced+ across the full report. Different optimization targets, both elite.
SE Labs Q4 2025. Avast AAA. Norton AAA. Tied at the top rung.
Practical read: Avast is lighter on your system; Norton blocks slightly more in-the-wild drive-by attacks. Both handle commodity malware equivalently. For most home users the lab-level differences are smaller than the differences in what each suite bundles.
Pricing and Renewal Reality
Avast runs a tier structure roughly parallel to Norton's.
Avast Free Antivirus: $0 forever. Real-time AV, web shield, email shield. No VPN, no password manager, no identity features. The only legitimate competitor to Microsoft Defender in the free-AV category — 18/18 at AV-TEST February 2026.
Avast Premium Security: $39.48 first year for 1 device / $49.68 for 10 devices. Adds ransomware shield, sensitive data shield, real site (anti-spoofing), firewall hardening. No VPN bundled — SecureLine VPN is a separate subscription ($47.88/year).
Avast One Basic: Free. Combines AV + 5 GB/week VPN + basic performance tools.
Avast One: $39.48 first year / 5 devices. AV + unlimited VPN + performance optimization + data breach monitoring. This is the Norton Deluxe equivalent. Renewal $99.48.
Norton 360 Deluxe: $49.99 first year for 5 devices. Renewal $119.99. Includes unlimited VPN, 50 GB cloud backup, password manager, dark web monitoring.
Honest math. Avast One and Norton 360 Deluxe are effectively price-equivalent at intro and renewal pricing. Norton adds 50 GB cloud backup. Avast One adds performance optimization tools (marginal value). LifeLock identity restoration is only on Norton upper tiers, not Deluxe. Pick based on bundle contents, not price.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Pricing | ||
| Price | $69.99 | $49.99 |
| Old pricing | ||
| Money back Guarantee | ||
Scanning | ||
| Real-time Antivirus | ||
| Manual Virus Scanning | ||
| USB Virus Scan | ||
| Registry Startup Scan | ||
| Auto Virus Scanning | ||
| Scheduled scan | ||
Threat type | ||
| Anti-Spyware | ||
| Anti-Worm | ||
| Anti-Trojan | ||
| Anti-Rootkit | ||
| Anti-Phishing | ||
| Anti-Spam | ||
| Email Protection | ||
| Chat/IM Protection | ||
| Adware Prevention | ||
Compatibility | ||
| Windows | ||
| Mac | ||
| Android | ||
| IOS | ||
Usage | ||
| Easy of use | ||
Extra features | ||
| Personal Firewall | ||
| Parental Controls | ||
| Gamer Mode | ||
| VPN Service | ||
| Smartphone Optimizer | ||
| Device Tune-up | ||
| Safe browser | ||
Support | ||
| Live Help | ||
| Phone support | ||
| Email support | ||
| Ticket support | ||
| Feature | Avast One (paid) | Norton 360 Deluxe |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time AV | Yes (18/18 AV-TEST) | Yes (18/18 AV-TEST) |
| Firewall | Avast Firewall | Smart Firewall |
| VPN | SecureLine unlimited | Secure VPN unlimited |
| Password manager | Not included (Avast Passwords discontinued 2023) | Norton Password Manager |
| Cloud backup | Not included | 50 GB included |
| Web protection | Real Site, Web Shield | Safe Web extension |
| Ransomware shield | Yes | Yes |
| Sensitive data shield | Yes (monitors doc access) | Dark web monitoring |
| Performance optimization | Cleanup tools, driver updater | Basic (Utilities Ultimate is $50 add-on) |
| Identity restoration | Not offered | LifeLock path (US, higher tier) |
| Parental controls | Not offered | Included |
| Webcam protection | Yes | SafeCam (PC only) |
Norton wins on cloud backup, password manager (Avast discontinued theirs in 2023), parental controls, and the LifeLock upgrade path. Avast wins on performance optimization tools and free-tier access. For most bundle-focused users, Norton is the more complete package.
Real-World Performance
Avast is lighter; Norton is more feature-dense.
Full-scan CPU. Avast: 20-35%. Norton: 30-45%. Avast is meaningfully lighter during scans.
Idle RAM. Avast: 150-180 MB. Norton: 220 MB. Avast wins.
Boot time. Avast: +3.1 sec. Norton: +4.2 sec. Avast wins.
UI. Both are busy. Avast's UI aggressively pushes Avast One and SecureLine VPN upgrades if you run the Free tier. Norton's UI pushes LifeLock and Utilities Ultimate upgrades. Neither is minimalist. ESET and Bitdefender have cleaner interfaces if that matters.
Install experience. Avast's installer historically pre-checked third-party Chrome/Firefox extensions and browser changes. Current installers in 2026 still have some pre-checked boxes — pay attention during install, uncheck Avast Secure Browser setup and any toolbar/default-search changes. Norton's installer is cleaner on this front, with fewer default opt-ins.
Who Should Pick Avast
Pick Avast if you match at least two:
- You want a legitimate free antivirus that is not Microsoft Defender. Avast Free at 18/18 AV-TEST February 2026 is the best non-Microsoft free AV available — Norton has no free tier.
- You care about system impact. Gold for Overall Performance at AV-Comparatives 2025. Lighter CPU and RAM than Norton by a meaningful margin.
- You already have LifeLock, a password manager, and cloud backup from other sources. Avast One gives you AV + VPN without duplicating what you already have.
- You are OK with the Avast brand history. The Jumpshot incident is real; the FTC settlement and post-2024 privacy policy change are also real. If that history disqualifies Avast for you, pick Norton (same parent, different brand) or a non-Gen-Digital alternative.
- You are on older hardware where Norton's footprint is noticeable.
Read our full Avast review.
Who Should Pick Norton 360 Deluxe
Pick Norton if you match at least two:
- You are in the US and want an upgrade path to LifeLock identity theft restoration. Avast has no equivalent US service.
- You want 50 GB of cloud backup bundled. Genuinely useful against ransomware. Avast does not offer this.
- You want an integrated password manager. Norton's is included and usable; Avast discontinued theirs in 2023.
- You want parental controls. Norton includes them; Avast Family Space is a separate product.
- You want the broader bundle for slightly more money. At $39.99 vs Avast One's $39.48, the price delta is negligible — Norton's bundle is clearly wider.
Read our full Norton review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Avast and Norton owned by the same company?
Yes. NortonLifeLock and Avast merged in September 2022 to form Gen Digital, which now owns Norton, Avast, AVG, Avira, CCleaner, ReputationDefender, and LifeLock. The brands are marketed separately but share corporate ownership, R&D pooling, and some back-end infrastructure. Engines remain distinct: Avast/AVG use one engine, Norton uses a different one inherited from Symantec.
Is Avast safe to use after the Jumpshot scandal?
Avast paid a $16.5 million FTC settlement in February 2024 for selling anonymized user browsing data through its Jumpshot subsidiary (shut down January 2020). The current Gen Digital privacy policy prohibits the old practices, and no fresh data-sharing incidents have surfaced since 2024. Technically the product works well — 18/18 at AV-TEST February 2026. Whether that corporate history disqualifies Avast is a personal call; if it does, note that Norton has the same parent company now.
Is Avast Free actually free or is there a catch?
Avast Free Antivirus is genuinely free — no trial limit, no forced upgrade, full real-time AV protection. The catches are: (1) the UI pushes Avast One and SecureLine VPN upgrades persistently, (2) the installer pre-checks default-search and browser changes that you have to manually uncheck, and (3) Avast's historical data practices are documented (see Jumpshot FAQ). The product itself does not charge you or time-limit your usage.
Is Norton 360 worth paying for when Avast is free?
If you want AV only and Microsoft Defender is not enough for you, Avast Free is the cheaper option — $0 vs Norton's $49.99. If you want the bundle (VPN, password manager, 50 GB cloud backup, parental controls, identity monitoring), Norton is the better value at $49.99 first year; sourcing those features separately would cost $120+ annually. Norton's LifeLock upgrade path is US-only.
Which has better customer support: Avast or Norton?
Both are Gen Digital and share support infrastructure. Norton Premium Support (US, higher tiers) has faster response times than Avast Free users get. Paid tier support for both is roughly equivalent in quality — decent for the Gen Digital consumer products, behind third-party best-in-class like Bitdefender's or ESET's dedicated consumer lines.
Can I switch from Avast to Norton without uninstalling first?
No. You must fully uninstall Avast (via Windows Apps & Features, then run the Avast Clear removal tool to remove residual drivers and services) before installing Norton. Installing Norton on top of Avast will cause conflicts, performance degradation, and likely installation failures. The AvastClear tool is free from Avast's support site. Clean uninstall is also recommended when moving between any two real-time AV products.
Final Verdict
If you want free: Avast Free Antivirus. $0 forever, 18/18 AV-TEST February 2026, Gold Overall Performance at AV-Comparatives 2025. The best free AV alternative to Microsoft Defender. Accept the Jumpshot corporate history and the upsell-heavy UI, and it is a legitimate free protection product. Our Windows 11 ranking places it as top free (non-Microsoft).
If you want paid with the full bundle: Norton 360 Deluxe. $39.99 first year vs Avast One's $39.48 — essentially price-equivalent, and Norton wins on 50 GB cloud backup, integrated password manager, parental controls, and the LifeLock upgrade path. Gold Real-World Protection at AV-Comparatives 2025.
If you already have VPN, password manager, and backup elsewhere: Avast One at $39.48 first year is a slimmer bundle that does not duplicate existing tools, with a lighter system footprint than Norton.
Consider neither if you are uncomfortable with Gen Digital owning five consumer AV brands. Alternatives: Bitdefender Total Security ($19.99), ESET Home Security ($49.99+), Malwarebytes Premium ($44.99). See Best Antivirus for Windows 11 2026 for full ranking context.
