Malwarebytes vs Avast: Which Antivirus Is Right for Your Small Business?
Malwarebytes and Avast take very different approaches to endpoint protection. We compare detection, features, and value.
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Malwarebytes and Avast serve different roles in the antivirus market. Malwarebytes positions itself as a second-opinion scanner with behavioral detection. Avast offers a traditional free antivirus with a business tier. We tested both to see which fits your business.
Key Takeaways: Malwarebytes wins on detection (98.2% vs 97.8%), ransomware rollback, and management simplicity. Avast wins on price ($399 vs $499). Neither matches Bitdefender or Norton as a primary solution. Use Malwarebytes as a secondary scanner for defense-in-depth.
Side-by-side comparison
| Category | Malwarebytes | Avast Business |
|---|---|---|
| Detection Rate | 98.2% | 97.8% |
| Approach | Behavioral + signature | Signature + ML |
| Ransomware Protection | Rollback feature | Shield module |
| Management Console | Cloud, simple | Cloud, dated |
| Pricing (25 seats) | $499/yr | $399/yr |
| Free Trial | 30 days | 30 days |
Detection approach
Malwarebytes uses behavioral-based detection that identifies threats by their actions rather than file signatures. This makes it effective against zero-day threats and fileless attacks. Avast relies more heavily on signature-based detection supplemented by machine learning.
Best use case
Malwarebytes excels as a secondary scanner alongside Microsoft Defender. Its ransomware rollback feature can restore files encrypted by ransomware automatically. Avast works as a budget primary antivirus but carries privacy concerns due to past data collection practices.
Pricing
Avast is cheaper at $399 per year for 25 seats. Malwarebytes costs $499. Both are below the market average. However, if you need a primary antivirus, the extra $100 for Bitdefender or Norton is a better investment.
| Category | Malwarebytes | Avast | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detection Rate | 98.2% | 97.8% | Malwarebytes |
| Ransomware | Rollback | Shield module | Malwarebytes |
| Management Console | Cloud, simple | Cloud, dated | Malwarebytes |
| Price (25 seats) | $499/yr | $399/yr | Avast |
| Malwarebytes wins on detection and features. Avast is cheaper but has privacy concerns. | |||
Frequently asked questions
Is Malwarebytes better than Avast? Malwarebytes has a higher detection rate (98.2% vs 97.8%) and a ransomware rollback feature Avast lacks. However, Malwarebytes is designed as a secondary scanner rather than a primary antivirus.
Should I use Malwarebytes with another antivirus? Yes. Malwarebytes is designed as a second-opinion scanner that runs alongside Microsoft Defender or another primary antivirus. It excels at catching threats that signature-based tools miss.
Is Avast safe for business use? Avast’s business products have not been implicated in the data collection scandals that affected its free consumer tier. However, the parent company’s privacy history creates compliance uncertainty for regulated businesses.
Which is cheaper: Malwarebytes or Avast? Avast is cheaper at $399 per year for 25 seats versus Malwarebytes at $499. Both are below market average.
Verdict
Use Malwarebytes as a secondary scanner alongside Microsoft Defender for defense-in-depth. Avast is adequate as a budget primary antivirus but hard to recommend given privacy concerns and weaker detection. Neither replaces Bitdefender or Norton as a primary solution.
This article was reviewed and updated on July 7, 2026. Information may change after publication. Always verify details with the vendor.