Malwarebytes vs. Norton

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Malwarebytes
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Malwarebytes is a antimalware application for home and small businesses, which blocks viruses, malware, hackers, viruses, and malicious websites.
$39.96
Annually
Norton
Score 6.7 out of 10
N/A
The Norton products, including Norton 360, Norton Antivirus, and Norton Security, are consumer antivirus and privacy protection products, and are now a product line of NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec) after the enterprise security division of Symantec was acquired and is now part of Broadcom.N/A
Pricing
MalwarebytesNorton
Editions & Modules
Premium (1 device)
$39.96
Annually
Premium (5 devices)
$80.04
Annually
Premium + Privacy
$99.96
Annually
Malwarebytes For Teams
$119.97
Annually
Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection
$699
Annually
Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection and Response
$849
Annually
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
MalwarebytesNorton
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
MalwarebytesNorton
Considered Both Products
Malwarebytes
Chose Malwarebytes
I haven't used Norton, MacKeeper, nor any other anti-viral software for many years. I believe Malwarebytes is the most effective malware software available in its price range and have been extremely satisfied with it. Since using it I have had no issues nor incidents with …
Chose Malwarebytes
I am old school, so Malwarebytes being installed means I do not need to use any other third party's protection. In the past I have used: McAfee, AVG, Avast, Panda, Adaware, Spybot, F-Secure, and the list goes on, but I don't need of those now!
Chose Malwarebytes
It's been a while since I made my decision to purchase Malwarebytes over the other products listed. I believe at the time Malwarebytes was the best product on my short list. I tried both AVG and Avast before deciding on Malwarebytes. Malwarebytes was also recommended to me by …
Chose Malwarebytes
I have tried a lot of antivirus software. I really do not like a lot of it, because it consumes a lot of PC resources, which slows down the computer too much and takes time away from me. Malwarebytes is light, fast, effective and has a free version that works very well.
Chose Malwarebytes
Our office selected this software over Norton because it picked up malware that Norton did not pick up. Malwarebytes is very user friendly, cost effective and reliable. We like that they are constantly running updates to improve their software. Everything is well laid out in …
Chose Malwarebytes
Avast and Norton's products were part of the testing for us but the cost was very high for them and the products were not light on the machine. They took up a lot of memory and slowed the computers down. Malwarebytes although may lack some feature, is a very light software.
Chose Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes has an effective free version (some of the others do, some don't). Malwarebytes has a slightly different focus on the type of malware it looks for. As opposed to picking one winner, I would suggest selecting a well-reviewed paid AV, and possibly supplementing …
Chose Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes is cheaper and more cost-effective than software like Norton. It finds threats more effectively and is more up to date than "better known" programs like Norton. For a limited time, you can also use Malwarebytes at no cost. It is a product that has proven itself …
Norton
Chose Norton
Norton is better in terms of features especially identity safe and non-intrusiveness and is very economical (10 user licenses).
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
MalwarebytesNorton
Small Businesses
Watchguard Endpoint Security
Watchguard Endpoint Security
Score 9.0 out of 10
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes
Score 8.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.2 out of 10
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.2 out of 10
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
MalwarebytesNorton
Likelihood to Recommend
5.1
(52 ratings)
9.0
(16 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(3 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(9 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
MalwarebytesNorton
Likelihood to Recommend
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes is definitely one of the top contenders in its field. As with any corporate software, there are headaches all along the way -- from implementation to daily use and support. And cost is also a factor. Although not inexpensive, Malwarebytes is comparable to its close competitors. Overall, the quality of the product shines through, and it does what it's intended to do...protect!
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NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec)
For a stand-alone business this should do the trick, but if using across multiple clients (multi-tenancy not an option). Default settings within the program will cause performance issues if not tweaked, meaning someone with networking experience may be necessary. Not ideal for MSP's unless they only have a few clients, as the manageability must be done within "the walls" of each company.
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Pros
Malwarebytes
  • Low system resources, it does not slow down the whole computer when scanning or when real-time protection is enabled
  • Quick and frequent updates, usually people hate updating, but for malware/viruses, you want to be updated as possible. It takes less than 15 seconds and usually does it automatically. They usually send a few updates a day as they find more.
  • Protection features actually work when visiting known bad websites. The page will be blocked and nothing will be downloaded. It may not be what the user wants, but it's what the user needs (as the user can't know every bad website)
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NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec)
  • Norton works quite quickly and is efficient enough to detect threats
  • It is very easy and simple to install and is without any complications and irrelevant inquiries.
  • Norton is available at a very reasonable price in the market and is not heavy on pocket.
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Cons
Malwarebytes
  • One of the main things that malwarebytes is missing as a company, is phone support for its clients. All support questions has to go thru email only. This is not acceptable for issues that needs to be resolved quickly.
  • There is an issue when installing the client on a machine, it has a set amount of time where the software can register with the management server. The issue with this is, with machines that are over a wide area network, slow connection speeds can cause the software not to register. When that happens, it never re attempts to register in the future.
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NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec)
  • Cost could be an issue. They could perform a free trial at the beginning for people to check.
  • It would be good if you can do an online free check of your computer.
  • While the updates are good sometimes your computer is attacked by a virus they did not expect.
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Likelihood to Renew
Malwarebytes
The last time we renewed Malwarebytes, we renewed for a 3 year renewal. That should describe the confidence we have in the product. Plus the cost savings impact year after year.
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NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec)
I did renew it before because support is great and cost is great. I believe that Norton has a very long experience in what they do and they are doing a great job with all the updates they provide and the work they are doing. Moreover Norton is going in the right direction for sure.
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Usability
Malwarebytes
When you have a product that does the job that it describes or advertises, you have to love it. While the malware posture is always changing, we depend on products that we pay for year after year to protect us from threats, both known and unknown. I give this rating because Malwarebytes just works and you don't have to worry whether it is going to beat up other programs on your systems.
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NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec)
Well organised interface.
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Support Rating
Malwarebytes
I honestly haven't needed support for Malwarebytes because I haven't had any problems with it, whatsoever. I am giving it a 9 rating because I haven't actually had an encounter or experience with customer service or support, so it's hard to rate the actual support team since I've never had the privilege of coming into contact with them.
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NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec)
Security software with very good features that works in the background.
Price suitable for companies of any size and easy to install and use.
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Implementation Rating
Malwarebytes
No answers on this topic
NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec)
Would like a manual or online version that is simple to understand and explains in detail what choices we have and why to make these choices.
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Alternatives Considered
Malwarebytes
Avast and Norton's products were part of the testing for us but the cost was very high for them and the products were not light on the machine. They took up a lot of memory and slowed the computers down. Malwarebytes although may lack some feature, is a very light software.
Read full review
NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec)
User-friendly interface (it's not just AV and users who were interacting with the product), performance, resource usage (most of the computers were not very fresh and that factor was very critical), efficiency, it shouldn't be just sitting on a PC - it should protect it, what was perfectly done with that product.
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Return on Investment
Malwarebytes
  • Positive Impact: Have not had to remediate malware/virus infections since installed.
  • Positive impact: As far as browsing goes, we can boldly go where no man has gone before. No, really, I am confident when I am clicking on search engine results that if something get past my trained eye, Malwarebytes will pick of the slack.
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NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec)
  • Poor performance against Spyware and other threats despite claiming to act against them (recognizes very few and eliminates less) It is limited to viruses.
  • Regular blocking of incoming scripts (in front of other antivirus)
  • Little or almost no compatibility with the Windows XP Firewall, but they are involved.
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ScreenShots