With nearly identical features, McAfee and BitDefender appear to be similar on the surface, making it hard to choose between them. So I tested both antivirus programs and compared them across 15 different categories to find out which brand is the best.
After extensive testing, McAfee emerged as the better option, although with only a slight edge. Both antivirus solutions display strong performance in protecting against malware and providing a wide range of features. McAfee, in particular, is better in a few aspects. First, it boasts faster scan times and a higher ability to detect phishing links than BitDefender. In contrast, BitDefender excels at optimizing device performance, and its VPN offers faster speeds.
Ultimately, both antiviruses will protect your device, keeping your whole family safe online, but I found McAfee better overall. If you want to test the service yourself, you can take advantage of McAfee’s 30-day money-back guarantee to make sure it’s right for you.
1. Virus Scanner
Both BitDefender and McAfee have reliable malware scans. However, one main difference is that McAfee’s scans are much faster, especially the Quick scan.
McAfee’s Quick scan took less than 5 minutes to check for vulnerable areas, while the Full scan took almost an hour to check my entire system, which contains over 280GB of data.
However, the Full scan was just as fast as McAfee, taking just under an hour to check my entire system.
BitDefender offers more scans than McAfee. I particularly like the Rescue Environment scan, which checks your device during safe mode to remove stubborn threats that can’t be removed while the OS is running.
McAfee Software uses Advanced Threat Defense technology to power its malware protection, which relies on signature-based protection and heuristic analysis to detect threats. BitDefender’s technology is similar, but it regularly signals more false positives than McAfee (incorrectly marking legitimate files as malicious).
2. Real-time Malware Protection
In my tests, McAfee successfully protected my device from all real-time threats. While BitDefender’s detection rate was nearly perfect, I prefer McAfee’s superior protection score.
To get a perfect score, McAfee uses Global Threat Intelligence technology. When it detects suspicious behavior in unknown items, McAfee blocks them before they can infect your device.
Bitdefender uses similar technology to protect your device from real-time malware attacks. Using a technique called “behavioral detection,” it closely monitors apps, software, and network connections (including downloaded files) for any suspicious behavior. If these are detected, the items are immediately isolated for your viewing so you can determine whether they are safe or malicious.
One of McAfee’s great features is its Ransom Guard protection. It monitors your device for suspicious changes to files and warns you if ransomware or spyware is detected, keeping you protected from zero-day ransomware threats.
When a program tries to encrypt your files—what McAfee calls file content alteration—the antivirus makes secure copies of such files, and if it detects that such alterations have been made by ransomware, it isolates them and restores backup files. Similarly, McAfee’s WebAdvisor protects you against phishing attacks, cryptojacking, and other scams. It detected 98.8% of all phishing links during my tests, while Bitdefender detected 94%.
3. System Performance
It can be difficult to measure how much antivirus affects system performance, especially with low-impact packages like McAfee and Bitdefender. After careful testing, McAfee outperformed Bitdefender.
With McAfee running in the background, my system didn’t slow down. I could work, check my emails, stream HD-quality videos, and install software without any lags or interruptions. It was like McAfee wasn’t busy protecting my device!
Bitdefender is also low-impact, and while it protects you from online threats, you won’t notice much of a difference.
To see how much system resources each antivirus consumes, I recorded my CPU, disk, and memory usage before and during the scan. I compared the values, which helped me figure out which antivirus consumes more system resources.
4. VPN
The VPN is a private tunnel that your computer uses to connect to the Internet. When you’re connected, it encrypts your entire Internet traffic, preventing hackers from hijacking your online activity.
To get access to the VPN, McAfee requires you to sign up for auto-renewal, and Bitdefender only includes its VPN with its premium plan. Out of the 2 VPNs, I like Bitdefender’s VPN more. Bitdefender’s VPN not only secures your online activities, but you can also watch Netflix and other streaming platforms.
Unfortunately, McAfee’s VPN couldn’t access Netflix at all. McAfee also has fewer server locations (only 23 vs. Bitdefender’s 27 server locations) and slower speeds. When I ran speed tests, Bitdefender’s VPN was fast enough to stream shows with only a few seconds of buffering.
5. Parental Controls
Both McAfee and Bitdefender offer parental controls with their antivirus plans, but McAfee’s is better because of its advanced options and easier setup.
Downloading and setting up McAfee’s Safe Family feature took less than 3 minutes, and I liked that I could easily see all the controls from the main dashboard.
I also like that Safe Family alerts me if any changes are made to the apps on my child’s device or if rules are violated. Kids are so tech-savvy these days, so it’s a relief to know they can’t change any of McAfee’s settings without you notifying them.
BitDefender has a geo-fencing feature and solid web filtering, but the app is difficult to set up. I spent more than 10 minutes downloading and configuring the app on my child’s iPad because the settings were hard to navigate.
6. Firewall
Both BitDefender and McAfee have reliable firewalls, but McAfee’s firewall is available on all plans, while BitDefender doesn’t offer a firewall in its basic Antivirus Plus package. Having a strong firewall is a must for protection, as even the built-in Microsoft Defender firewall has limitations.
Rather than being a standalone option, McAfee’s firewall works alongside Windows’ built-in firewall. This combination maintains reliable protection against network intrusions.
On the other hand, BitDefender’s standalone firewall has plenty of configuration options, allowing you to fine-tune it to your liking. However, if you’re not comfortable configuring it yourself, the default configuration is enough to maintain reliable protection against most intrusions.
7. Password Manager
While McAfee’s True Key is a nice feature, BitDefender’s password manager is one of the best among the antivirus packages I’ve tested. You can create secure passwords, store them in an encrypted vault, and auto-fill easily on both password managers.
All information you enter into either password manager is heavily encrypted using the same AES-256-bit standard used by the military and government agents.
However, McAfee’s True Key lacks some of the features found in top password managers. Its free version limits you to just 15 passwords, while BitDefender offers unlimited password storage across all plans. Also, True Key doesn’t support password sharing, password auditing, or dark web monitoring, which are all important features for any standard password manager.
Transferring my passwords from my existing password manager to Bitdefender was very easy. I didn’t even notice any delays when Bitdefender automatically filled in my login credentials. Many password managers take a while to autofill details, but Bitdefender entered my information in less than a second.
If you don’t have a lot of passwords, McAfee’s True Key is a safe option. However, most people have more than 15 passwords, so Bitdefender’s Password Manager is the better choice overall.
8. Gaming Mode
I was surprised that BitDefender beat McAfee in this category because McAfee has a dedicated gamer security antivirus package. Unfortunately, to make it less-impactful, McAfee compromised on some essential security features to make it less impactful, which means that BitDefender is the better choice for a gaming antivirus.
BitDefender has a specific Game Mode designed to optimize your system’s performance when you’re playing games. It diverts CPU power away from background processes and toward your games, making them run more smoothly. The best part is that Game Mode starts automatically when it detects that you’re playing, so you don’t have to set it up manually. I tested it while playing Call of Duty: Warzone, and I didn’t experience any lag while playing games.
BitDefender also has an Autopilot mode that learns how you use your device and suggests optimizations. If you play games regularly, you’ll find that BitDefender automatically adjusts settings for optimal gameplay.
There’s no dedicated game mode in McAfee’s antivirus plans, unless you opt for the Gamer Security package. However, I found that McAfee’s Gamer Security was ineffective at blocking malicious websites and phishing scams.
So while it performs well for playing games, you’re compromising on overall protection. It’s better to stick with the broader coverage that BitDefender offers, even if the antivirus isn’t specifically geared toward gamers.
9. Optimization Tools
McAfee excels in this category, offering a range of tools designed to optimize your device’s performance. BitDefender has some features that improve overall performance, but I found them not as impressive as McAfee’s additions.
The App and Web Boost feature work similarly to improve performance while you’re using your device. App Boost determines which apps are open and diverts CPU power to them, keeping speeds high and performance smooth.
Web Boost significantly improved my browsing by stopping auto-playing videos and ads, which also increased my battery life. OneClick Optimizer has 3 optimization tools that clean junk from your system – Disk Cleanup, Registry Cleanup, and Privacy Cleanup.
10. Other Features
This category is tied because both McAfee and Bitdefender have features that prove to be effective in improving your security. Bitdefender has a greater number of additional features, while McAfee’s offering works more effectively.
Some features have limitations – McAfee’s WebAdvisor browser extension is only available on Windows, while Bitdefender’s anti-spam only works with certain email platforms.
I was particularly impressed with McAfee’s ransomware protection (built into the anti-malware engine). It monitors and blocks any suspicious changes to apps or software and alerts you when ransomware or spyware is found so you can take steps to stop it. You can also take advantage of McAfee’s ransomware coverage that offers up to $25,000 in insurance on the McAfee+ Ultimate plan.
I was happy to find that the features offered by both antiviruses are high-quality tools that you’re likely to use. If you want features that keep your device secure, McAfee has some better options. For protecting personal information online, BitDefender’s features are more suitable.
Both McAfee and Bitdefender are great antivirus packages that offer top-level protection from malware and help keep your device secure.
If your focus is more on device security, McAfee is the better choice. It consistently delivers high-level protection with 100% malware detection rates for both new and known threats. Given the intensity and thoroughness of its scans, it has a surprisingly low impact on your system.
Although it’s a bit more expensive, McAfee offers better value because you can access all of its features no matter which plan you choose. Plus, you can try McAfee risk-free using its money-back guarantee. If you’re subscribed to auto-renewal, you get a full 60 days to test the service and get a refund.
Bitdefender is more configurable, making it a solid choice for more advanced users. That doesn’t mean it’s not great for beginners too — it has a clear interface and easy-to-use features that make it easy to choose the right settings.
