vpnAlert.com
Search
Close this search box.

5 Best Antiviruses With VPN Included (& Both Don’t Suck)

We are reader supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Learn more.

Looking for a good antivirus with a VPN for your devices?

You’ve come to the right place.

I took the time to review some of the best antiviruses that come with a VPN.

From the initial results, Norton antivirus appears to be the best choice.

But, there are also other great options worth mentioning.

Let’s have a look.

Top 3 Antiviruses With VPN Included (Mini Reviews)

USER-FRIENDLY
Bitdefender
Bitdefender devices

Bitdefender is a very user-friendly antivirus with excellent malware detection rates. It comes with a VPN powered by Hotspot Shield, although in the cheaper plans, the VPN bandwidth is limited to 200MB per day.

4.6/5
Read More
BEST OVERALL
Norton
norton devices

Norton offers high-quality solutions against malware and viruses, and the VPN it comes with is pretty useful, with unlimited bandwidth, good security features, and around 2000 servers around the world.

4.8/5
Get Discount
BUDGET-FRIENDLY
TotalAV
TotalAV devices

TotalAV is an option worth looking at, especially if you’re on a tight budget. It has features like powerful antivirus software, secure VPN available in some premium subscriptions, and even a free but limited antivirus plan.

4.6/5
Read More

The market is inundated with both antiviruses and VPN providers.

But finding them together, and both of them being proper solutions, can be challenging.

From what I’ve tried, read, and tested over a more extended period, Norton antivirus with VPN is the best choice.

But I also found other very good antiviruses with VPN, all with unique qualities and strong sides.

To really get the range of what they offer and why I recommended precisely these providers, keep reading!

Detailed Overview of the Best Antiviruses With VPN Included

The best antiviruses I tested are all significantly different from one another.

Some have better VPN features, while others come with premium antivirus software.

Or you can find both.

Regardless of your preferences, you’ll find what you’re looking for in the diverse list below.

If you want to make a quick choice, check out the best features that stick out for every provider.

Some might catch your attention.

Now, let’s get a detailed overview of these five best antiviruses with VPN.

Norton

norton header

Norton comes with many great features.

It’s, without a doubt, a powerful antivirus and anti-malware solution.

But, Norton becomes an even stronger choice to beat when you top that off with good VPN service.

The provider owes its high reputation to over three decades of experience and has the features to back it up.

Its bundles range from more basic protection to complete security and privacy protection online on all devices.

norton pricing

The most basic plan is the Norton Antivirus Plus, which covers features like antispyware, antivirus, malware and ransomware protection, a smart firewall, password manager, 2GB of cloud storage for a cloud backup, etc.

The total price is roughly $20 annually for the first year.

I like that even the basic option is still pretty decent compared to other antiviruses.

Still, it lacks a VPN.

However, Norton 360 Deluxe subscription comes with all of the features above, plus the full online privacy bundle, including Norton’s Secure VPN.

Be prepared to pay a bit more for this option.

The other two subscription plans contain LifeLock, an ID theft protection.

The Norton 360 LifeLock Select plan covers a few options, like stolen wallet protection, ID verification, and credit monitoring.

Norton 360 LifeLock Ultimate Plus covers anything you’ll need to keep all aspects of your online life secured.

Expectedly, it comes at a pretty hefty price, especially after the first year.

For me, I’m looking for more basic protection, which, in this case, would be Norton 360 Deluxe.

One thing I like is Norton’s 100% Virus Protection Promise.

If the antivirus fails to remove a threat, the provider returns your money.

norton guarantee

As for Norton’s VPN, apart from the bundle offer, you can also get it as a standalone VPN.

Norton Secure VPN is a proprietary technology from Norton.

So, there’s constant room for improvement.

Some time ago, the VPN lacked one of the main features of a reliable VPN – the kill switch.

Fortunately, they changed that and added other helpful features like split tunneling.

norton secure vpn

Apart from that, you’ll get unlimited bandwidth and around 2,000 servers around the world, some strong enough to unblock Netflix.

With the military-grade AES 256-bit encryption and the OpenVPN protocol, Norton Secure VPN is, actually, pretty secure.

Additionally, I liked a few things, like the split-tunneling feature and the very generous 60-day money-back guarantee.

The downsides are that it doesn’t support P2P traffic, so forget about torrenting.

Also, it has a bit of a high price for the standalone VPN, considering it lacks features compared to leading VPN providers on the market.

Another thing I don’t like is that it keeps some logs.

norton on keeping logs

To wrap it up, for me, the best antivirus with VPN is the Norton 360 Deluxe subscription plan.

However, with such an extensive antivirus suite, you can choose whatever fits your needs the most.

norton 360 deluxe pricing

Pros

Cons

Bitdefender

bitdefender header

Bitdefender has impressive malware detection rates. It has an even more impressive spam catch rate of 99.94%.

This is a great start, but let’s see what else this antivirus offers.

Bitdefender has a few subscriptions that differ in price based on the features they provide.

bitdefender features

The free plan is no longer available, but you can still get a relatively cheap subscription with the basic Bitdefender Antivirus.

It comes with real-time protection against malware, viruses, and ransomware.

You also get a VPN, but it’s limited to 200MB per day.

The more advanced and featureful subscriptions are the Bitdefender Total Security, Bitdefender Internet Security, and Bitdefender Premium Security.

Only the latter allows unlimited VPN bandwidth.

It’s also the most expensive.

Compared to Norton, Bitdefender has more realistic prices but fewer features.

bitdefender premium vpn

As I already mentioned, you only get up to 200MB daily, which is enough for simple browsing.

If you’re an avid gamer, streamer, or you want to binge-watch your favorite Netflix series, your option is to either get the most expensive plan with unlimited VPN or get it as a standalone VPN.

The Bitdefender Premium VPN offers ten simultaneous VPN connections, 1,300+ servers in more than 40 countries, and very reasonable prices.

bitdefender pricing

Unlike Norton, the VPN technology Bitdefender uses is based on Hotspot Shield, a VPN provider that holds a good reputation in the VPN market.

Even though it isn’t proprietary, the VPN is quite reliable and trustworthy.

The reason why Bitdefender uses Hotspot Shield is because of its Catapult Hydra protocol.

The protocol is optimized to be fast without compromising your security.

Like Norton Secure VPN, Bitdefender’s Premium VPN also comes with a kill-switch, an important feature when using a VPN.

However, the VPN is quite limited on other additional features.

On the other hand, you don’t have to worry that the VPN will leak your IP address or that it’ll log your information as Norton does.

Bitdefender’s VPN is quite reliable.

So, if you’re looking for a more simple subscription with just enough features to keep you safe, Bitdefender Total Security, my favorite bundle from this provider, is a great find.

bitdefender total security

Pros

Cons

TotalAV

totalav header

TotalAV isn’t the most widely known antivirus on the market, but it’s got great features I’ll address in this short review.

First, it’s very user-friendly.

You can easily find every feature on the interface, run a scan, or turn on the built-in VPN.

totalav features

It’s also one of the safest antivirus programs, with top-notch malware and antivirus detection technology and good protection against phishing scams and ransomware.

The technology behind it is based on Avira, one of the most advanced anti-malware systems on the market.

The provider has many features, most of them included in all three subscription plans.

There’s also a limited free plan that allows you to run diagnostics and remove viruses and malware, but it doesn’t have real-time protection or a VPN.

totalav security features

The TotalAV Antivirus Pro is the cheapest plan and covers most antivirus features.

But, it only supports up to 3 devices, and it doesn’t include a VPN.

TotalAV’s Internet Security comes with all Antivirus Pro features, plus the VPN.

Finally, the TotalAV Total Security bundle includes the VPN and additional features like a password vault and up to six devices.

All price plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

In terms of price, there are cheaper antiviruses, but TotalAV is still within the “easily affordable” price range.

However, after the first year subscription renewal, expect much higher prices.

As for the VPN, TotalAV has one built in-app, and you can choose between servers in 30 countries.

However, the server count is a bit disappointing.

TotalAV Secure VPN comes with 70 VPN servers, which is very low compared to offers like Norton, Bitdefender, or Surfshark with thousands of servers.

If your main priority is using the VPN for streaming content that might be geo-blocked in your country, then you’re better off with another provider from the list, like Surfshark.

If that isn’t your principal concern, TotalAV Secure VPN has decent server coverage, and it’s great for keeping you safe and anonymous online.

totalav servers

Another good thing is that the VPN supports the OpenVPN protocol and IKEv2.

With secure encryption like AES 256-bit, the OpenVPN protocol is your most secure option.

As my go-to TotalAV subscription, I suggest the TotalAV Internet Security bundle, which comes with a VPN and supports up to 5 simultaneous connections.

totalav pricing with inclusions

Pros

Cons

Vipre Antivirus

vipre antivirus header

Vipre isn’t a widely-known antivirus provider.

Regardless, it has some good features, especially for Windows operating systems.

Plus, it comes at a great price.

Right off the bat, I suggest this antivirus to PC or Android users since most of the features are optimized for these two operating systems.

On the plus side, Vipre is a bit cheaper than the other options on the list.

For example, Norton’s cheapest plan, the Antivirus Plus, is just shy of $20 for the first year and $60 after that.

In comparison, Vipre’s Antivirus Plus is $14.99 for the first year, then $54.99 per year.

vipre pricing

Unfortunately, the Antivirus Plus doesn’t include a VPN or the Advanced Security plan.

To get a VPN with your antivirus, you need to get the Ultimate Security Bundle.

If you do, you’ll also get the full scope of antivirus features, including a browser track cleaner, microphone and webcam protection, a dark web scanner that monitors potential identity theft and fraud, a VPN, etc.

For total protection, I suggest going with the Ultimate Security Bundle so that you can use the VPN as a bundle option.

If you’re looking for a standalone VPN, you can get Vipre’s Internet Shield VPN.

vipre internet shield vpn

Internet Shield VPN is private and won’t keep any logs on you, which is always good news.

Plus, it comes with unlimited data.

In terms of security, there’s room for improvement.

Although the provider supports multiple protocols like PPTP,  IPSec, IKEv2, even OpenVPN on TCP or UDP ports, it lacks more robust encryption.

Currently, Internet Shield VPN employs 128-bit SSL encryption.

Also, like TotalAV, the server count is a bit low and covers around 20 locations worldwide.

Still, despite the downsides, Vipre’s Ultimate Security Bundle, which is my favorite, is a very secure option.

vipre ultimate security bundle

Pros

Cons

Surfshark (VPN with Antivirus)

surfshark antivirus header

Last but not least is Surfshark.

Unlike the other options on my list, Sursfhark is a VPN provider that includes antivirus instead of the other way around.

Surfshark’s antivirus allows protection from viruses, malware, and intrusive apps for Android and Windows.

Unfortunately, it isn’t available for other operating systems at the moment.

With that, I admit  Surfshark’s antivirus suite is limited compared to the other options.

But it’s still a much better option than many antiviruses available on the market.

You can get the antivirus as a standalone feature.

Or, you can get it in the all-in-one security bundle Surfshark One, where you have the Surshark VPN, with other privacy and security features.

surfshark pricing and features

Possibly my favorite thing about this is the affordability and simplicity.

Despite how advanced and extensive Norton’s features are or how many subscription options Bitdefender has, sometimes you just don’t need all of that.

If you’re looking for something simple, user-friendly, and you want to have a one-fits-all option, Surfshark One is just the thing.

Surfshark VPN is one of the best VPNs on the market.

It has robust security and privacy features, 3,200 servers in 65 countries, unlimited bandwidth, DNS leak protection, and great prices.

Sursfhark’s servers can unblock pretty much anything on the internet, including streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.

In terms of price, this is certainly the cheapest option of all, but a good one regardless.

Surfshark comes with great discounts you don’t want to miss out on.

Plus, unlike the other options on this list, the price doesn’t drastically increase after the first year.

If you’re looking for a way to protect your online identity, with your device security as a secondary concern, Surfshark One might just be the thing.

surfshark one tagline

Pros

Cons

Do I Need Both an Antivirus and a VPN?

digital art with lock and screens

To protect yourself online and keep your device clean from malware or viruses, you’ll need both an antivirus and a VPN.

These two types of security software work very differently from one another, and they protect different aspects of your day-to-day online life.

A VPN will make you anonymous by assigning you a separate online “identity” and encrypting your internet traffic.

When you connect to a VPN server, you’ll get a different IP address that won’t reveal your physical location.

The VPN also encrypts all incoming and outgoing traffic on your device.

The encryption should be strong enough to withstand surveillance, third-party snooping, and geo-blocking with a reliable VPN.

Antiviruses protect against different types of malware, spyware, viruses, and even identity theft.

Some of these threats lurk on the internet, but they can also infect your device through external sources.

Reports show that in 2021 cybercrime went up 600%.

Since the pandemic, people are becoming more susceptible to phishing email scams.

That’s because the techniques cybercriminals use are becoming more sophisticated and hard to detect.

Even the best VPN or antivirus can’t guarantee your safety in such a situation. But both of them could.

A reliable antivirus will detect any threat that might compromise your device and everything on it, including suspicious email addresses, email attachments, and shady websites.

So, you see why you need both.

And they should both be reliable and strong enough to neutralize the negative outcomes while optimizing your security.

What to Look For in an Antivirus With a VPN?

Finding the right antivirus requires looking at a few different criteria first.

One of them, of course, is the built-in VPN.

There’re many options on the market, and some are better than others.

But the list of the best antiviruses with VPN included checks the following parameters below.

Reliable Antivirus Software

One thing an antivirus is no good without is up-to-date real-time malware protection.

A good antivirus has great malware detection rates and many security features that protect against even the most advanced threats, including trojans, spyware, ransomware, data thefts, etc.

However, there are other things to consider.

For example, how many devices the antivirus supports, whether it’s optimized for your operating system, and additional features like a good firewall, password managers, parental controls, etc.

Trustworthy VPN

Most antiviruses will put the primary focus on providing quality features for virus and malware detection and prevention.

So, a built-in VPN might not be as advanced as standalone VPNs.

Regardless, even as an antivirus feature, the VPN must be trustworthy.

To determine that, look out for three key things: 

  • Security features. Look for a VPN that supports strong encryption like AES 265-bit encryption and a secure protocol like OpenVPN.
  • Privacy features. Look for a VPN that won’t keep usage logs or other identifiable data that might compromise your privacy.
  • Servers. It’s always good to have a diversified VPN server list with fast servers that can bypass geo-restrictions.

Price

I used to go for free services to save some money, only to find that this wasn’t doing much for me.

Now, I’m trying to minimize the costs by getting good discounts or best value subscriptions.

So, if an antivirus offers quality service, go for it, even if it means paying a few extra bucks.

However, make sure to compare prices against the antivirus features and between providers.

Some antiviruses just aren’t worth it, or you don’t need everything they’re offering.

The price has to fit the value you’re getting.

Also, keep an eye on refund policies.

It’s good to have one that allows a trial period to try the antivirus and see its efficiency before committing long term.

How to Use Antivirus With VPN?

If one of your antivirus features is a VPN, using the two together is quite simple.

Just follow these quick steps:

  1. Download the antivirus software on your device.
  2. Launch the software client and sign in.
  3. Unless it’s a standalone feature, find the VPN that’s integrated as a feature within the app.
  4. If the VPN allows it, choose a VPN server and connect.

If you’re using the antivirus and VPN separately, repeat the process for both.

First, download and set up the apps, open your VPN client, and connect to a VPN server.

After connecting to the VPN, check whether it’s working.

You can use online IP checkers like MyIP.com.

Just open the website before and after connecting to the VPN.

The IP address that appears on the homepage should be different the second time.

If it isn’t, then the VPN is malfunctioning.

FAQ

Finding a good antivirus with a VPN is possible, but the real challenge is finding a free antivirus with a reliable VPN that can equip you with the protection you need.

You can find antiviruses with both premium and free plans, even free antiviruses with VPN.

For example, Avira is a “freemium” antivirus with a free plan with a limited VPN.

Although Avira is a decent option, I’d still go for something more reliable, like a cheaper antivirus subscription with a VPN like Norton 360 Deluxe.

A VPN alone won’t protect you against viruses, but a VPN with a built-in antivirus could.

The VPN’s purpose is to keep you anonymous online, but a virus can find its way to your device regardless of that.

Viruses often lurk in torrents, email attachments, suspicious links, or files you download from the internet.

While a VPN will encrypt your traffic to keep you away from potential attacks on your online privacy, it doesn’t have the means necessary to warn or protect against viruses.

That’s a job for reliable antivirus software.

If a reliable VPN is your priority, my advice is to go for one that has a built-in antivirus, like Surfshark.

If you’re a regular VPN user, you still need antivirus software on your device.

Only the combination of a reliable VPN service and antivirus will keep you protected from most online threats.

Without one or the other, you only get partial protection.

Comparing a VPN and an antivirus is difficult.

They’re both helpful, one securing you from prying eyes, the other from malicious files.

With a VPN, you’re more secure online in the sense that you can circumvent restrictions and surveillance from your government, your ISP, or cyber criminals trying to get to your sensitive data.

With an antivirus, you can protect your devices from viruses that can compromise all of your files.

The bottom line is they both protect your security, only different aspects of it.

A VPN and antivirus software can work together, and it’s best when they do.

That way, you get much better protection.

Finding a good antivirus with a good VPN or vice versa can save you time and money.

If you’re using them separately, some of the features might overlap, but this is nothing to concern yourself over with.

Yes, McAfee offers a VPN.

But not in all its subscription plans.

The McAfee Safe Connect VPN has its pros and cons.

It comes with VPN servers in 23 countries, which isn’t bad for a VPN integrated into an antivirus.

However, if you’re looking for impeccable privacy and security, this isn’t your best option.

The VPN logs some data, and it isn’t as secure as other VPNs, lacking the market’s most secure protocol, OpenVPN.

Whether you can use your antivirus and VPN on multiple devices simultaneously depends on the provider.

Usually, the answer is yes.

However, in some instances, like using a free plan or a cheaper antivirus subscription, you might be limited to one device only.

If you want to use more devices simultaneously, check out the features you get before deciding and paying for a subscription plan.

Most antiviruses work great with NordVPN.

However, if you’re using an antivirus with a VPN, you should rely on one VPN to avoid issues.

Mixing both could potentially cause errors.

Make sure to get a reliable antivirus with an equally reliable VPN, like Norton.

That way, you’ll get the best of both worlds and stay protected online.

Conclusion

I’d like to add to always keep an open eye for the ever-changing online world.

Follow security trends, stay alert of new threats and the technology to fight them off, and take your privacy and security seriously.

Now that you know the importance of using both an antivirus and a VPN don’t miss out on a great deal like Norton Antivirus, or get this limited Surfshark offer with an amazing discount!

In the meantime, stay safe out there.

Try Surfshark Risk-Free!
Protect private web traffic from snooping, interference, and censorship. All plans are covered by a no-hassle 100% money-back guarantee for your first 30 days of service.
Explore More
Surfshark logo
EXCLUSIVE March DEAL!
Our partner, Surfshark, offers an exclusive discount for a limited time! Don't miss out on the chance to save extra money.
OFFER EXPIRES IN:
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
TODAY!
VIEW EXCLUSIVE OFFER
Or Try Surfshark for FREE