Bitdefender vs. McAfee: What’s the Difference, and Which Should You Get?

Bitdefender and McAfee are among the best security suites in the market today. McAfee boasts 30 years of excellence in the threat intelligence industry, neutralizing an extensive array of cybersecurity issues. On the other hand, Bitdefender has an extensive collection of advanced security features that provide comprehensive protection against various cyber threats, including viruses, malware, spyware, phishing, ransomware, and more.

Since these two systems have their strengths and weaknesses, which is the best? Which should you use? Please stick with us as we compare Bitdefender and McAfee in the search for a better threat intelligence companion.

Bitdefender vs. McAfee: Side-By-Side Comparison

Great Features

Bitdefender Total Security 2023 – Complete Antivirus and Internet Security Suite – 5 Devices | 2 year Subscription | PC/Mac | Activation Code by Mail

$39.99

• Rated #1 by PC Mag for 2023
• Compatible with Windows (8.0, 8.1, 10, and 11), Mac (macOS X Yosemite 10.10 and later), iOS (11.2 and later), and Android (5.0 and later)
• Dedicated browser secures your online transactions
• Advanced features like web protection tools, parental controls, file shredder, firewall, VPN, and anti-tracker
• Will not automatically renew

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11/27/2023 08:44 pm GMT

What Is Bitdefender?

Bitdefender is a cybersecurity threat intelligence system providing many protection features with threat prevention, detection, and response solutions. Bitdefender enjoys great usage, having 500+ million users in over 150 countries worldwide. 

The company covers to a whopping 38% of the world’s cyber security needs. Bitdefender provides superb cybersecurity threat management, excellent security efficiency, and impressive performance. The system has a smaller protection coverage and will work perfectly for individuals, small to medium businesses, and mid-market enterprises. Bitdefender aims to defend all its worldwide users, from organizations to individuals, against cyberattacks, thus improving the digital experience.

What Is McAfee?

McAfee is a premium digital threat intelligence system that detects malware and all other online threats in real-time. The security suite offers unlimited plans. These plans are very useful, especially for people with many devices. McAfee leads the threat management industry, having over 525 million worldwide users.

The security suite works across all platforms, including Android, Windows, Mac, and Apple, allowing users to enjoy their service without worrying about compatibility. Additionally, McAfee is perfect for families, individuals, and small to medium enterprises. 

Bitdefender vs. McAfee: What’s The Difference?

Bitdefender and McAfee are two of the best online threat detection systems. They have their similarities and differences. Let us examine how the two antivirus systems differ.

Features

Bitdefender and McAfee, the best online threat intelligence systems, offer many valuable features, ensuring that users are safe from all kinds of online threats. 

If you get a Bitdefender subscription, you can access additional features, including a password manager, a file shredder, and a VPN. However, the VPN features a daily 200MB data cap. The Rescue Environment feature comes in handy as it automatically reboots your computer on the detection of any rootkits. Rootkits are malicious programs that scan through your system while detecting vulnerabilities before giving unauthorized access to third parties.

On the other hand, McAfee also has many useful features. The system protects you from malware, ransomware, and other online threats. WebAdvisor is a helpful feature that protects users from scams and phishing sites while scanning their downloads for malicious content. The feature can also inform you of typing errors when typing website addresses. In addition, the antivirus has an identity theft monitoring system that can secure a maximum of 10 email addresses from any exposure. Other features include a password manager, file shredder, and VPN. However, the VPN has a 500MB monthly data cap, which is small compared to what Bitdefender offers. 

Finally, McAfee has a Protection Score system that helps users integrate all its security features to protect their devices to the maximum. With this system, the score increases as you enable more features, helping you keep track of your device’s security. 

Plans and Pricing

Regarding plans and pricing, Bitdefender and McAfee offer various subscription options to cover every user. While these plans may seem pricey on first look, they are worth considering since they add to the security features, making the investment worthwhile. 

With Bitdefender, the Antivirus Plus plan costs $23.99/year for 3 devices. The Total Security plan costs $35.99/year (5 devices), whereas the Family Pack plan costs $54.99/year for 15 devices. The Internet Security plan costs $32.99/year for 3 devices. In contrast, with McAfee, the Essential plan costs $39.99/year for 5 devices, whereas the Premium plan costs $44.99/year (unlimited devices). The Advanced plan costs $79.99/year for unlimited devices, whereas the Basic plan costs $29.99/year for 1 device.

Comparing the subscription prices of the two providers, Bitdefender has better pricing than McAfee. McAfee encourages users to buy advanced plans by charging more on basic plans. However, McAfee plans are good if you have multiple devices thanks to their unlimited device count, ending this comparison in a draw. Also, note that Bitdefender’s Antivirus Plus and Internet Security Plans only work on Windows. Consider going for the Total Security plan if you want cross-platform compatibility. 

Ease of Use

When using Bitdefender on your desktop, you will notice that its dashboard is well-designed, making its features easy to access. The large buttons on the Quick Action tab allow users to customize the dashboard by adding more buttons. The protection settings are also easy to access. Further, when using the Android app, you have access to useful features. However, the iOS app only has limited features, including web protection, a VPN, and breach monitoring. 

McAfee is also simple to install and use. We encountered no problems scheduling a scan on McAfee. Further, you can easily customize the firewall protection, with the VPN and system tune-ups run functions being readily available. However, parental controls and identity theft monitoring aren’t included in the app, meaning you can only access these features via the online dashboard. The mobile app versions are well-designed and easy to use. Additionally, the iOS app is more advanced compared to Bitdefender’s.

Customer Support

Both security suites have multiple customer support options, making it tough to declare a winner. Both Bitdefender and McAfee have a 24/7 live chat, FAQs, how-to guides, phone support, and a community forum. The how-to guides, community forums, and FAQs come in handy if you want information on the product and how to use it. The Phone support and live chat enable you to ask for technical help if you encounter difficulties using the system. 

However, Bitdefender also provides support via email while McAfee doesn’t. Both live chats do not practice high-level privacy since they require users to provide their personal information before giving help. However, Bitdefender’s email support service only requires the user’s name and email address, making it more private. Bitdefender thus wins in this customer support comparison. 

Web Security

Regarding web security, the anti-phishing tool that Bitdefender provides is outstanding. It automatically blocks all phishing sites by comparing the websites you visit with an extensive database of phishing sites. After blocking you from a potentially dangerous website, the tool shows you the site that was blocked and the reason for this blocking. Bitdefender also automatically prevents its users from visiting pages with downloadable malware. The system cleverly checks search results for dangerous sites while scanning encrypted websites to identify malicious content.

McAfee also offers excellent web protection. WebAdvisor helps identify phishing sites using its database. After identifying a phishing site, WebAdvisor now blocks the site, warning the user in the process. Overall, MacAfee is a superb option when it comes to web protection.

Malware Protection

Bitdefender uses a malware scanner to protect its users against malware. The malware scanner may be lightweight, but it is still powerful enough since it uses machine learning and an extensive directory to detect malware. Most of this scanning takes place in the cloud, ensuring only a tiny amount of your CPU is used. 

In our tests, Bitdefender found all the malware in our computers, from rootkits, ransomware, trojans, and viruses. Even if the scan took an entire hour, we could still use the computer as it had less effect on our system performance. Bitdefender Shield, the real-time protection system, also performs excellently.

McAfee also identified all our malware samples using its antivirus scanner. The security suite uses traditional malware detection procedures, cross-checking files against a database with known viruses and using heuristics to find potentially dangerous files. Its full system scan also took an hour, but slowed down our computer. To avoid this issue, consider scheduling scans for convenient times when you aren’t using your computer.

Real-Time Protection

Real-time protection is an essential feature in any security suite. An antivirus with real-time protection capability can actively monitor your device, identifying and halting potential threats before they affect your computer. 

McAfee has real-time protection consisting of the Ransom Guard and the Content Transformation. The Ransom Guard monitors online activities, whereas the File Content Transformation monitors your files. If any malicious software is detected in your files, copies of the files are created before the software is put in quarantine, ensuring you never lose your data. 

Bitdefender’s real-time protection, Advanced Threat Defense, is also powerful. Being a part of the Global Protective Network, Bitdefence has access to an extensive malware database, enabling the security suite to identify and eliminate threats quickly.

Firewall Protection

Firewall protection ensures hackers cannot connect to your device. Both Bitdefender and McAfee have this feature. McAfee has its firewall protection easily accessible on the dashboard. The firewall creates a barrier between your network connections, protecting you from malicious parties. Bitdefender also has a firewall protection feature that allows you to access network adapters and security settings. However, you can only get this firewall in the Total Security and Internet Security plans. 

Great for Multiple Devices

McAfee Total Protection 2023 | 5 Device | 1 Year with Auto Renewal - Amazon Exclusive Subscription

$19.99

• Auto-renewal from Amazon removes the hassle of searching for a new anti-virus next year
• McAfee has won several awards in the Anti-virus sector
• Includes a secure VPN to protect your privacy
• McAfee warns you against suspicious websites in advance for worry-free browsing

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11/29/2023 10:25 am GMT

Bitdefender vs. McAfee: Must-Know Facts

• Both Bitdefender and McAfee are easy to use. However, the McAfee iOS mobile app is more intuitive and engaging than the Bitdefender iOS app.
• While both antiviruses have excellent customer service support. Bitdefender features email support with more privacy, while McAfee lacks email support.
• Bitdefender has better malware protection than McAfee since it impacts your computer less when scanning for malware.
• McAfee has better web protection than Bitdefender thanks to its WebAdvisor, which is more robust than Bitdefender’s anti-phishing tool.
• Bitdefender has better pricing than McAfee since McAfee encourages users to buy advanced plans by charging more on basic plans. However, McAfee’s plans are good if you have multiple devices thanks to their unlimited device count.
• McAfee has real-time protection consisting of the Ransom Guard and the Content Transformation. The Ransom Guard monitors online activities, whereas the File Content Transformation monitors your files.

Bitdefender vs. McAfee: Which Is Better? Which Should You Use?

Now that we have explored how Bitdefender and McAfee differ, which is better? Bitdefender is a better antivirus since it has more useful security features, including microphone and webcam protection. The included browser also ensures you can safely make all your bank transactions. Additionally, Bitdefender can eliminate malicious links available on social networks. The security suite’s superb performance in different categories, from good customer support service, also helps it take the top spot. However, McAfee isn’t all bad since it still shines in some sectors.

We recommend McAfee if you want a VPN with fewer restrictions and a proper iOS app. Choosing McAfee offers you excellent malware detection, affordable plans, and a great selection of valuable features and extras. 

We recommend Bitdefender if you are looking for a simple customizable antivirus. Choosing Bitdefender will guarantee great malware detection, many extra features, and well-priced plans. Both Bitdefender and McAfee feature a 30-day money-back guarantee in their plans.

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