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The best Android antivirus apps not only keep your smartphone or tablet safe from malicious apps and other malware but they can also help protect you from falling victim to fraud or even identity theft.

In addition to excellent malware detection and prevention, the best Android antivirus apps also include useful privacy and anti-theft features. While some like Google Play Protect are completely free, there are others you have to pay for but they often include extra security features like a VPN or password manager to help keep you safe online.

Weve rounded up the best Android antivirus apps from the biggest names in the mobile antivirus business Avast, Bitdefender, Lookout, McAfee, Norton and even Google itself and rated them based on their ease of setup, interface, usability, extra features and of course, their ability to protect your Android smartphone from the latest threats.

Below you'll find everything you need to know about the best Android antivirus apps at a glance. Whether you're looking for a comprehensive mobile security solution and willing to pay for it or you want something free to add a bit more protection to your Android phone, there's something here for every budget.

Best overall

1. Bitdefender Mobile Security

The best Android antivirus app overall

Bitdefender Mobile Security provides excellent malware protection with a light impact on performance. It also includes tools like an app lock, a Wi-Fi scanner, anti-theft features and data breach notifications.

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Best for apps

2. Norton Mobile Security

The best Android antivirus app for securing apps

Norton Mobile Security provides great malware protection and has an intuitive design. Its App Advisor feature checks for apps that are using too much data or acting suspiciously which could indicate they're malicious.

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Best performance

The best Android antivirus app for performance

Avast Mobile Security provides good malware protection with minimal impact on system performance. It also packs in additional anti-theft features, an app locker and tech support with its paid plan. You can also get access to Avast's SecureLine VPN as an add-on to either paid plan.

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Best on a budget

4. Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus

The best Android antivirus app on a budget

Kaspersky Mobile Security provides great malware protection with a small system impact and there's even a call blocker. Its free version doesn't have any ads and there's only a little bit of nagging to get you to upgrade to a paid plan. The paid version of Kaspersky Mobile Security automatically scans news apps, blocks known phishing sites and adds an app lock feature.

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Best for identity

5. Lookout Security & Antivirus

The best Android antivirus app for identity protection

Lookout Security & Antivirus has a clean interface and comes with identity protection. While the free version just scans for malware, the paid version blocks malicious websites, scans Wi-Fi networks and comes with a VPN.

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Best for simplicity

6. McAfee Mobile Security

The best Android antivirus app for simplicity

McAfee Mobile Security provides decent malware protection but lacks many features it once had. The free version includes app data usage tracking and a Wi-Fi security scanner. The paid version adds a URL screener, 24/7 tech support and removes ads.

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The best Android antivirus app overall

Price per year: $15; free alternative is separate app

Minimum Android support: 5.0 Lollipop

Ads: No

App lock: Yes

Anti-theft: Yes

Top malware protection

Many useful features

Small system impact

Affordable premium version

Expensive unlimited VPN option

Bitdefender's Android security app has nearly flawless malware protection, a very light performance impact, Android Wear watch integration, a VPN client and a malicious-website blocker that works with most Android browsers.

It also has robust privacy-protection tools, including an app lock, a Wi-Fi scanner, anti-theft features and data-breach notifications.At the same time, Scam Alert flags possibly malicious links in SMS text messages, messaging apps and screen notifications.

Bitdefender Mobile Security offers a 14-day trial period, but this is not a freemium app. The separate Bitdefender Antivirus Free for Android app (which is indeed totally free) only scans for malware.

The built-in VPN client gives you only 200MB of free data per data just enough to check your email while traveling. If you want more data, you'll have to pay $7 monthly or $50 yearly.

But at $15 per year for the first year ($25 on renewal), Bitdefender Mobile Security is well worth the expense. It's our choice for the best Android antivirus app.

Read our full Bitdefender Mobile Security review.

A one-stop shop for securing your Android devices

Price per year: $15, $50 or $105; no more free version

Minimum Android support: 8.0 Oreo

Ads: No

App lock: No

Anti-theft: No

Intuitive design

Flawless malware detection

App Advisor beats the competition

Lacks free tier

No more anti-theft functions

Norton Mobile Security, aka Norton 360, offers the best malware protection of any of the Android antivirus apps we tested. Unfortunately, it no longer has anti-theft functions, nor its contacts backups and Link Guard malicious-link blocker.

Norton also killed Norton Mobile Security's free tier, which was the best among all the Android antivirus apps we've tested. That's been replaced with a security-only app for one device that costs $15 a year for the first year ($30 on renewal).

For $50 a year, a medium-priced tier called Norton 360 for Mobile adds unlimited VPN service and "dark web" monitoring of your personal information. The most expensive plan, Norton 360 Deluxe, $105 per year, is actually part of Norton's antivirus lineup and lets you protect up to five Android, Windows, Mac or iOS devices.

All of these subscriptions can be paid for right through the Norton app, which has a 14-day free trial period.

Norton's killer feature is the unique App Advisor, which checks apps on your device for heavy data usage and unusual behavior. It also checks apps in the Google Play Store for security and privacy risks even before you install them.

Read our full Norton Mobile Security review.

An Android antivirus app with low system overhead

Price per year: Free; $20, $40 premium versions

Minimum Android support: 6.0 Marshmallow

Ads: Free version

App lock: Premium only

Anti-theft: Partly premium

Lots of features for free

Inexpensive premium version

Unreliable anti-theft features

Too many ads in free version

Avast Mobile Security & Antivirus is one of the most full-featured of the best Android antivirus apps, offering everything from a privacy adviser to a system optimizer to a customizable blacklist.

While Avast's malware protection is good, it's far from perfect. Some of Avast's anti-theft functions didn't work for us, and its call-blocking feature didn't work at all. (It's since been removed.) And the free version's ads and constant nags to upgrade are annoying and intrusive.

Those ads go away if you pay for either of Avast Mobile Security's paid tiers, Premium ($2 monthly or $20 yearly) or Ultimate ($7 monthly or $40 yearly). Users of either paid plan also get additional anti-theft features, an app locker and tech support.

The built-in client for Avast's SecureLine VPN is just a tease, and the only way to use it is to pay for an Ultimate tier. Since the stand-alone price for SecureLine is $60 per year, paying an extra $20 on top of the premium Android antivirus tier for unlimited VPN data is not a bad deal.

Read our full Avast Mobile Security review.

Great malware detection with minimal system impact

Price per year: Free; $20 premium version

Minimum Android support: 5.0 Lollipop

Ads: No

App lock: Premium only

Anti-theft: Yes

Call blocking works

No ads in free version

Strong malware protection

Limited features overall

Free version won't auto-scan new apps

Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus, also known as Kaspersky Antivirus for Android, offers nearly-perfect malware protection, a small system impact and a call blocker that actually works.

There are no ads in the free version, and not much nagging to upgrade to the paid plan. Free users get call filtering, Wear OS support and a strong set of anti-theft functions, but you have to scan each new app manually.

Paying users get automatic scans of new apps, an app lock and blocking of known phishing websites. And that's about it. There's no Wi-Fi network scanner and none of the privacy tools that other Android antivirus apps now offer.

If you're just looking for malware protection, you can't really go wrong with Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus's free tier. But while the paid version is inexpensive, it feels stripped-down, and you can get more from Bitdefender's rival paid app for $5 less.

The rest is here:
The best Android antivirus apps in 2024 - Tom's Guide