In today’s digital landscape, robust antivirus protection is essential, exceeding the basic safeguards provided by your operating system. While free options exist, investing in dedicated antivirus software offers enhanced security without breaking the bank. This review examines Avira Prime, exploring its usability, features, and overall value, to determine if it’s a worthwhile investment for your digital security needs.
Pricing and Plan Options
Avira offers a tiered pricing structure, including a free version, a basic antivirus subscription (Avira Internet Security), and a premium plan (Avira Prime). Uncommonly, Avira offers monthly subscriptions alongside annual and biennial options, although the yearly plans provide significantly better value.
Avira Internet Security, protecting a single computer, starts at $7/month, $35 for the first year (renewing at $71), or $126 for two years. Protecting five devices increases the cost to $10/month, $97 annually, and $172 biennially. This plan includes real-time malware protection, a free password manager, a VPN with a 500MB monthly data cap, and a software/driver updater. The free version offers similar features but lacks essential browser protection and customer support, leaving you vulnerable to infected downloads. Superior free alternatives exist if budget constraints are a primary concern.
Avira has a free version, a basic antivirus subscription, and a premium plan.
This review focuses on Avira Prime, the premium tier offering mobile device support, an unlimited VPN, and device optimization tools. Pricing starts at $10/month for five devices, $60 annually (renewing at $110), or $205 for two years. A 25-device family plan is available for $13/month, $135 annually, or $260 biennially. Avira’s generous 60-day money-back guarantee allows risk-free testing of any paid plan.
User Interface and Experience
Avira’s Windows application installs swiftly, prompting an immediate full system scan for privacy risks, performance issues, and viruses. While initially rapid, the scan progress stalled momentarily during the outdated apps check, ultimately completing with a network check.
My Windows 11 installation was fairly recent but Avira found plenty of issues.
Despite a recent Windows 11 installation, Avira flagged several issues: two outdated apps, 22 privacy settings requiring updates, and 520 registry entries related to performance. Addressing these issues primarily involved Windows updates and adjustments to default Microsoft settings.
The app’s intuitive interface displays a reassuring green checkmark on the status tab, confirming system protection. The security tab allows initiating virus scans, customizing protection options, viewing quarantined files, and managing the firewall. The privacy tab houses settings for the VPN, password manager, and other features. The performance tab provides PC cleanup and optimization utilities, largely addressed by the initial system scan.
Avira
Overall, the app’s clean design and straightforward setup facilitate easy navigation and use.
Performance and Features
An antivirus program’s primary function is malware protection. Independent cybersecurity labs, such as AV-Test, continuously evaluate leading antivirus solutions. Avira demonstrates a generally good track record, although not as flawless as some competitors like Norton, which has maintained a perfect protection score since 2015. Avira has stumbled on some zero-day threats in past tests, highlighting the importance of ongoing development and improvement.
Avira antivirus has a good track record on AV Test but there have been misses.
Practical testing using Wicar.org, a repository of harmless test files for antivirus software, confirmed Avira’s effectiveness. The Safe Shopping browser extension successfully identified and blocked the test malware downloads.
Test malware was caught by Avira Prime
The included VPN, while functional, required some server switching to bypass geo-blocking for BBC iPlayer, indicating potential limitations compared to top-tier VPN services.
Avira Prime
Avira Prime also includes a password manager, performing as expected with reliable autofill and secure note syncing across devices.
Customer Support
Avira’s support center offers a chat option. After-hours inquiries are handled by an AI assistant, which directs users to support documents and offers to create support tickets if a live agent is unavailable. During business hours, connecting with a human agent is readily achievable for more personalized assistance. While generally responsive, Avira’s support lacks the 24/7 availability offered by some competitors, a potential drawback in critical situations.
On my second try, I was connected to Avira customer support.
Privacy and Security Practices
Avira explicitly states its commitment to not selling or sharing user data, a policy clearly communicated on its website and within its privacy policy. No history of security breaches or privacy concerns surrounding Avira was found, suggesting a positive track record in handling user data.
Conclusion
Avira Internet Security and Avira Prime offer decent malware protection, but face stiff competition from other antivirus providers offering better pricing and performance. McAfee and Norton, for instance, offer more competitive annual plans and stronger antivirus track records. Avira’s unique monthly subscriptions cater to short-term needs, but come at a premium. While Avira performs adequately, more affordable and robust alternatives exist. Consider exploring these options before committing to Avira, especially for long-term use.
