"I've got a free antivirus, I'm fine." That is the sentence repeated by almost everyone who later finds their computer locked, their photos gone and a ransom note on the screen.
A free antivirus is not useless. It is simply incomplete, and the missing part is exactly the one you need when things go wrong.
What a free antivirus actually does
A free product almost always limits itself to scanning files and comparing them against a database of already known threats. It works against old viruses, the ones that have been circulating for months.
The problem is that the threats doing real damage today are not the old ones.
The three things free versions do not do
- Full real-time protection: free versions often step in after the damage, not before.
- Ransomware defence: blocking attempts to encrypt your files is almost always reserved for paid versions.
- Browsing and payment protection: phishing site blocking and protected banking sessions are premium features.
Add to that the lack of support: if something goes wrong, with a free product you are alone in front of the screen.
What "saving money" really costs
An average ransomware attack demands figures starting from several hundred euros, with no guarantee of getting your files back. Add the lost time, the work documents you cannot recover and the family photos that are gone for good.
A complete security suite costs about the same as two pizzas a year. The gap between those two numbers is all the security you are choosing to go without.
What if your data is already out there?
Free programs do not warn you when your credentials end up in a data breach. Complete suites do, and they often include a VPN and a password manager too: two separate subscriptions you get here at no extra cost.
The Microsoft Defender case
Anyone using Windows 10 or 11 already has a free built-in antivirus: Microsoft Defender. It is far better than the old free antivirus programs downloaded from the internet, and it scores well in independent tests. For very basic use on a single computer it can be a starting point.
Its limits are real, though: it only protects the Windows PC, not the smartphones, tablets or Macs at home; its web protection works best only in the Edge browser; it includes no VPN, no password manager and no real parental controls; and there is no dedicated support if something goes wrong.
How free products pay for themselves
No company works for free. Free antivirus products fund themselves in three ways: constantly nudging you towards the paid version with notifications and pop-ups, showing ads, or collecting usage data. In the past some vendors have been fined precisely for selling the browsing data of their free users to third parties.
With a paid product the deal is clear: you pay, they protect you.
Point-by-point comparison
- File scanning: present in both.
- Advanced real-time protection: limited in free, complete in paid.
- Ransomware defence with file restore: almost always paid only.
- Anti-phishing in every browser: reduced in free.
- Protection for phones and Macs: missing or minimal in free.
- VPN and password manager: only in paid suites.
- Parental controls: paid only.
- Support: none in free, included in paid.
When free can be enough
Let us be honest: there are cases where free protection, combined with good habits, can be enough. For example a single Windows computer used for light browsing, with no important data, no online banking and no children downloading things. If, on the other hand, the computer holds photos, work documents or banking access, or there are several devices at home, complete protection stops being a luxury and becomes insurance.
How to pay as little as possible
- Choose the right number of devices, no more and no less.
- Prefer annual or multi-year plans to monthly ones.
- Check the renewal price and note the expiry date.
- Compare several offers: the same product changes price very often.
The right price does exist
The point is not paying, it is paying the right amount. The very same products can cost up to 50% less depending on where and when you buy them: first-year promotions are the rule, not the exception.
Our free quiz tells you in under a minute which protection fits your case and where to find it at the lowest price available today. Take it now, before you have to do it in a hurry.