TotalAV vs. McAfee

Key Similarities:

• Works on Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, and ChromeOS
• Similar capabilities when it comes to detecting malware
• Excellent customer service

Key Differences:

• McAfee offers a firewall; TotalAV does not
• TotalAV offers a free version; McAfee only offers a free trial
• McAfee offers more features but also costs considerably more

The Takeaway:

While both McAfee and TotalAV offer powerful antivirus protections, TotalAV gets our recommendation due to its superior ability to detect viruses, its streamlined user experience, and its overall value.

Read the Reviews:

• TotalAV Review
• McAfee Review

Malware, viruses, and ransomware threats abound online, as do identity thieves, hackers, and scammers. While you just want to download the picture your mom sent you of the family reunion, some teenager half a world away has spoofed her email address to trick you into downloading a virus that will brick your phone.

The unfortunate reality is that until we can all play nice in digital spaces, you’re going to need to take proactive measures to protect yourself online. And that means investing in modern antivirus software. Yes, you still need antivirus software in 2024.

Today we’re going to be talking about two big names in that industry — McAfee and TotalAV. We’re going to look at their features, capabilities, and overall value. I’ll give you a sense of what it’s like to work with both, and my recommendation for which one you should pick.

Before we get to that, though, let’s talk for a second about how this article was developed.

Security.org’s Methodology

All of my reviews start with intensive research. I look up company claims, expert reviews, customer testimonials, and consumer reports to get an idea of what the company says it can do and if those promises are accurate.

Then I purchase the software for myself, and install it on my devices for a little test drive. I pay particular attention to how easy the providers’ websites are to navigate, how easy the software is to set up, and how effective it is. I test that by using EICAR files (more on that below) as well as live malware to see if a service can detect real-world threats. I weigh all of this against their annual prices to determine their overall value.

>> Learn More: We Don’t Use AI to Write. Here’s Why

Once that’s done, I compare the key factors of each service to see which ones I recommend over others. Only after I fully understand each product and work with them hands-on do I provide that recommendation.

With that out of the way, let’s see which antivirus software is better — TotalAV or McAfee. Hey, that rhymes…

Malware Protection

To test how well antivirus software works, I use a test file from the European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research, or EICAR for short. The file itself is harmless, but it mimics the characteristics of a computer virus when it’s executed. Most antivirus software will be able to detect the file by itself, but only really good ones can detect it when it’s hidden in archives.

So how did TotalAV and McAfee do in the tests? Honestly, about the same. Not perfect, but not too shabby either. While both were able to detect the EICAR file on its own, TotalAV failed to find it when it was in a .zip file. It did pick up on it when I tried to extract it though, so I can’t ding them too hard there.

When playing with live rounds, McAfee was able to detect about half of the viruses we threw its way, depending on the file type. In similar tests, TotalAV did considerably better, detecting almost 100 percent of the viruses. Keep in mind, though, that these were two different tests performed under different conditions, so it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges.

>> Learn More: How antivirus software works

Having worked with both systems, I’m going to give the malware protection award to TotalAV. Its deep scanning performs really well. TotalAV seems to pick up on more malware than McAfee — the core reason for having antivirus software in the first place.

Worth noting, though, is that McAfee tends to be a little less resource-intensive, meaning that you won’t notice as many performance issues when you’re running a scan compared to the more resource-hungry TotalAV. And while this might move the needle slightly, it’s not enough to give McAfee the win here.

Malware Protection Winner: TotalAV

User Experience

Both McAfee and TotalAV’s desktop and mobile apps are designed well, and their UIs are pretty intuitive. Points to both services on those fronts. However, some of McAfee’s features are a little harder to find, and the navigation can get a little cluttered.

>> Resource: How to Use Antivirus Software

Also worth pointing out: The buying experience is more streamlined with TotalAV. It can be difficult to find the services you’re looking for on McAfee’s website. I personally suffered from an information overload when I was purchasing their products for my tests. If you’re looking at overall user experience, I’d say TotalAV takes it.

User Experience Winner: TotalAV

Supplemental Features

McAfee and TotalAV both offer some pretty interesting supplemental features like password managers and virtual private networks. One of the supplemental features I always look for with an antivirus software is a firewall. In layman’s terms, this is a security feature that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic and decides to block certain traffic based on a defined set of rules. Think of it as your computer’s first line of defense in the fight against malware. McAfee offers a powerful firewall, but it’s not my favorite firewall. TotalAV doesn’t have this functionality at all.

McAfee also offers identity theft protections with its premium subscription packages, which pushes it into comprehensive protection territory. Identity thieves are everywhere, and taking proactive measures to thwart them is an important part of modern-day digital security. This functionality is lacking with TotalAV.

>> Read More: Does Antivirus Software Stop Hackers? 

That said, TotalAV does offer an ad-blocking feature that’s missing from McAfee’s portfolio. This can definitely come in handy if you want a streamlined browsing experience, but from a security standpoint, this feature is far less important than the firewall and identity theft protection. I’m going to give this one to McAfee.

Supplemental Features Winner: McAfee 

Pricing Structure

Both McAfee and TotalAV offer different subscription plans that include different features for different annual prices. Let’s take a look at what both offer and then we’ll talk about overall value. Here’s McAfee’s basic breakdown:

And here’s TotalAV’s plans and pricing structure:

Like I stated above, it’s pretty clear that McAfee offers more protections. However, you are going to pay more for them — a considerable amount, in fact. This is especially true if you plan on renewing your subscription beyond the first year. It’s convenient to have your VPN and your identity theft protection all bundled together. Still, I’d encourage you to really consider what you’re paying for and what you’re getting. $279.99 per year is a lot of money. It might even seem exorbitant when you take a look at our top VPNs of the year and our favorite identity theft protections. Also, you might end up getting better services for less money if you split everything up.

That’s a long-winded way of saying when it comes to value, TotalAV wins.

Pricing Structure Winner: TotalAV

>> Suggested Article: McAfee Antivirus Alternatives

Free Version

Both McAfee and TotalAV offer free versions of their software, albeit with slightly different approaches. McAfee offers a 30-day free trial (credit card required), while TotalAV offers an honest-to-goodness free version you can use indefinitely, albeit with stripped-down functionality.

Not a whole lot more to say about this, other than TotalAV clearly wins this category.

Free Version Winner: TotalAV

Customer Support

The final category I took a look at was customer support. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but it’s good to know what to expect if you do.

Both TotalAV and McAfee offer respectable customer support and multiple channels to reach them, including live chat and traditional phone. McAfee, however, doesn’t offer an email address to send queries to. It’s not a huge deal but worth noting. Both services also offer great knowledge resources and community support.

>> Learn More: How to remove malware from a PC

Also worth noting is McAfee’s setup assistant. It’s only available on certain Windows operating systems and only comes with the Ultimate plan, but this wizard helps you set everything up, step by step. If something doesn’t work as expected, or if you can’t figure something out, you can immediately connect with a customer service agent to have them walk you through it. It’s basically a fast-track to troubleshooting.

This category is very close to being a tie, but I think that last element nudges McAfee into the winner’s circle.

Customer Support Winner: McAfee

So now that we’ve gone through all of our categories of comparison, it’s time to give you my final verdict. Which service is better? McAfee or TotalAV?

Final Recommendation

If you tally up the scores, it looks like TotalAV is the winner, but if you take into account the nuances of each section, you’ll see that they just eked out a lead. Both of these services are solid — solid enough to show up on our list of the best antivirus software providers of this year, in fact.

All things considered and all things equal, I’d recommend TotalAV over McAfee. If you decide to go with the latter, I wouldn’t say you’re making a mistake. Maybe you want to protect your identity while protecting your devices. Maybe you want an antivirus software that won’t degrade your performance. Maybe you just like McAfee’s brand reputation. Regardless of the reasoning, it’s tough to go wrong with these two services. For my money, though, TotalAV takes the overall win.

Overall Winner: TotalAV