Avast One for Mac review: a free antivirus is all you need

Avast is an antivirus software developer that supports macOS, and the Avast One package includes extra cybersecurity features that go beyond simple malware scans. Antivirus, ransomware protection, malware blocking, and more are available in free and paid subscription plans.

A few months ago, I reviewed Avast One for Windows and found it to be a good solution. However, the Mac is a very different computer with unique hardware and software, so I tested Avast One for Mac to find out if it’s a good fit for Apple’s system and one of the best antivirus apps for your Mac.

Specs

Tiers and pricing

Avast One has a free plan and several paid subscription options. Avast

Avast One’s website describes its free tier as Basic, but the documentation refers to it as Avast One Essential. Either way, it’s powerful antivirus software that protects your Mac for free. You get a malware scanner and browser protection to block malicious downloads. A free VPN is included but the monthly data is restricted to 5GB. Avast One offers one of the best free Mac antivirus apps available.

If you subscribe, more features are unlocked, and you can pick from three price tiers and a few variations. Avast One Silver starts at $36 annually with a choice of more protection, privacy, or performance features. Renewal costs are significantly higher than the first year, jumping to $80 in year two and beyond. You can get all three feature packs at once with the $60 Avast One Gold ($130 renewal).

Avast One comes in family plans as well. For $84/$180, Avast One Silver Family increases the number of supported devices from the standard five to a generous 30, enough for everyone to enjoy protection. Avast One Gold Family costs $114/$280 to cover 30 devices.

The top tier is Avast One Platinum for $120/$300, a relatively minor increase from Avast One Gold Family that adds identity protection, dark web monitoring, and $2 million in identity theft insurance.

Design

Avast One’s free app shows locked tabs for paid services. Digital Trends

Installing Avast One was simple, and much easier than my experience with McAfee’s antivirus for Mac. After downloading the installer, a Finder window opened with a message to double-click it. After agreeing to the terms of use and allowing the required permissions, the installer placed itself in the trash and launched Avast One for setup.

I started with the free version, Avast One Essential, initially skipping the sign-in option. The app guided me to enable Avast access in System Settings, opening the appropriate tabs along the way. After a few clicks, everything was ready in about a minute.

I got a friendly message saying “Everything looks good,” but lacking enough details to convince me. I scrolled down to the shortcuts and found an option to run a system scan. The app updated its virus data, checked my browser caches, and scanned for malware. In the final step, it suggested file cleanup, giving me an option to upgrade to use this feature. I declined and moved to the next shortcut, the VPN.

After allowing a pop-up approval request from macOS, the free VPN was switched on. It’s capped at 5GB per month, which isn’t enough for daily use, but could be useful for occasional checks or vacation planning.

Avast One’s free Smart Scan checked my MacBook Air system for malware. Digital Trends

The free app shows all the features in the explore tab, but some are locked until I subscribe. Still, plenty are available in Avast One Essential. The system scan checks for malware and includes a VPN, which is capped at 5GB per month.

The account tab shows my subscription level — currently none — and has subsections to set preferences, browse help documents, check the community forums, get support, or uninstall the app. It’s refreshing to see an easy way to uninstall since removing antivirus software is sometimes difficult.

Features

Avast One performed well in AV-Test’s malware protection evaluations in the last five years. AV-Test

Avast for Mac enjoys a near-perfect malware protection record in ongoing evaluations from the independent security research lab AV-Test. In fact, there were only two instances when Avast fell below a perfect six out of six.

In September 2020, a minor miss dropped AV-Test’s rating to 5.5. The more notable flaw was from six years ago when Avast for Mac failed in 3.7% of the 241 malware tests performed in December 2018.

Every other quarterly test since December 2017 has been perfect. That’s an impressive protection record that‘s almost as good as market leaders Bitdefender and Norton.

Avast One Essential every test in Wicar’s malware suite. Digital Trends

While I trust AV-Test’s results, I still wanted to spot-check for myself. I visited Wicar’s malware test website to see how good the free web blocker was. Avast One Essential recognized all 13 browser exploits and malware downloads, blocking the danger at every turn.

I tried again with the VPN switched off, and each threat was blocked without using any monthly data to safeguard my browsing. The free app is very good, a generous gift to the often overlooked Mac community.

Switching the VPN back on, I loaded BrowserLeaks website to check if my IP address was visible. The IP address and location shown were different from mine, so Avast’s free VPN did its job.

Avast One Gold’s disk cleaner utility helped clear 4GB of space on my MacBook’s SSD. Digital Trends

With my Avast One Essential testing complete, I upgraded to Avast One Gold to continue with the subscriber version. That removed all locks on the explore tab, so I used the disk cleaner to free up over 4GB of app caches, trash, and log files.

There are plenty of extras that help with privacy, protection, and cleaning my Mac. The most important paid features are the uncapped VPN with an option to choose a server in another country to avoid geoblocking and live chat support.

Support

Avast’s live support was initially frustrating but improved greatly after a few minutes. Digital Trends

As an Avast One Gold subscriber, I requested priority support on the website via live chat. At first, I got a chatbot that misunderstood my question about how Avast One works. A multiple-choice selection let me switch to a live agent who immediately took over. After being speedy at first, the second response was much slower, and I had to repeat what I told the chatbot.

It was a bit frustrating, as if the agent didn’t understand my question. I asked for another agent but they tried again to answer. After my second request to transfer, I was told to hold.

Unfortunately, no one else was available, so I tried simplifying my question. That worked, and I got the answer I expected — Avast One protects my browser from malware and also scans my computer. I also asked some VPN questions and received prompt and accurate replies.

After 15 minutes, suddenly the answers came quickly and with higher quality. I suspect the misunderstanding was a side effect of trying to help too many customers at once. That’s the nature of live support, and it will always vary.

Overall, I was satisfied with Avast’s support via live chat.

Privacy and security

According to Avast’s privacy policy, Avast One’s free app might show targeted ads. In my brief test, I didn’t see any, but I quickly switched to a paid plan to complete the review.

The end-user license agreement allows Avast to send you promotional offers to upgrade to a higher-priced subscription. After three months on Avast’s mailing list, I haven’t noticed many emails, so I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about.

However, Avast has had some privacy issues in the past. Google removed the Avast browser extension in 2019 for spying on Chrome users.

After five years of behaving kindly, Avast has well-rated security extensions in the Chrome Web Store. I think it’s safe to let those worries fade away.

Avast One protects your Mac and MacBook

If you like the sound of Avast One’s subscription plans but want to save money, check our guide to the best antivirus deals. Sometimes Avast has sales that cut first-year costs even lower. Still, the costs will skyrocket to more than double the first year when it’s time to renew.

Avast’s parent company, Gen Digital, also owns Norton Security. Norton 360 for Mac has a better subscription package at lower prices, so that’s a better choice if you’re paying for protection.

Avast One Basic (Essential) is a nice, free antivirus that could provide everything you need. It includes prevention and protection just as powerful as what’s in the paid version. If you want more, our guide to the best antivirus software breaks down features and costs to help you make an informed purchase.