Bitdefender and ESET both have powerful anti-malware engines. However, there are a lot of differences to take into account.
Bitdefender has perfect malware detection rates, a wide range of useful extra features, affordable prices, and is very easy to use. ESET has near-perfect malware detection rates and a lot of useful advanced tools for the more-advanced user, but its extra features are disappointing.
Short on Time? Bitdefender vs. ESET — Final Verdict:
- 1st place:
- 2nd place:
Bitdefender is better for overall security, extra features, and price. If you want one of the most secure, feature-rich antiviruses in 2024, go with Bitdefender.
ESET is better for advanced users. If you want a powerful antivirus with some useful advanced tools, go with ESET.
Malware Protection
Bitdefender
Bitdefender’s malware engine is excellent, and it’s one of the best on the market in 2024. It works by using a combination of machine learning and a huge malware directory, and it’s successful at detecting both known and emerging threats. And because the scanning all happens in the cloud, it’s extremely lightweight and causes no system slowdown.
Bitdefender found every single piece of malware in my tests. I downloaded an archive full of malware samples onto my PC, including viruses, trojans, ransomware, and spyware. Bitdefender’s full scan took just under an hour to finish, and it detected everything. The scanner is also highly customizable, making it a great option for more advanced users.
The real-time protection had a perfect score as well — it successfully blocked every malware file I tried to download onto my device.
ESET
ESET’s malware scanner and real-time protection are very good. Its powerful malware engine offers a variety of different scanning options, and it also scans areas that many antiviruses skip, such as the operating memory, system registry, and other back-end areas of your device and its firmware.
ESET detected almost every one of the 1,000 malware samples on my PC — but it didn’t quite hit the 100% mark. ESET’s scanner is also very lightweight, causing no noticeable slowdown during scanning. The full system scan took about 40 minutes, which is pretty fast.
ESET doesn’t have a quick scan option, which is unusual, but its scanner is very advanced and offers a far deeper system scan than many antiviruses. There is also a premium feature called LiveGuard that is designed to pick up previously unknown (zero-day) threats.
Web Security
Bitdefender
Bitdefender’s anti-phishing protection is excellent. It compares every website you visit against a huge database of known dangerous sites and immediately blocks access to any matches. In my tests, it successfully blocked every dangerous site I tried to access.
Bitdefender’s web protection also stops you from accessing any web pages that contain malware downloads, and it checks for encrypted websites, fraudulent content, and other dangerous sites.
It’s super easy to whitelist any false positives (when you’re 100% sure), as a handy pop-up is issued every time a site is blocked, showing you the site and reason for blocking it and allowing you to whitelist it in just one click, if needed.
ESET
ESET’s phishing protection is good but a little over-vigilant. I tested its anti-phishing capabilities by trying to access a large number of known phishing sites, and ESET stopped me from accessing every one — including some sites that Chrome’s built-in protections failed to detect.
However, ESET also blocked a number of safe websites that I knew I could trust. While this is better than missing dangerous sites, it does get pretty annoying, especially as whitelisting safe sites is a manual and relatively laborious process with ESET, compared to the one-click process many competitors (including Bitdefender) provide.
Features
Bitdefender
Bitdefender offers a variety of plans that cover up to 10 devices across all main operating systems. Features include:
- Advanced malware detection.
- Real-time protection.
- Web protection.
- VPN (limited to 200 MB/day/device on most plans).
- Parental controls.
- Wi-Fi network protection.
- Firewall.
- Secure browser.
- Anti-theft protections.
- System optimization tools.
- File shredder.
- Password manager.
- 30-day money-back guarantee.
- And much more…
Bitdefender has a wide range of features that work brilliantly. Its anti-malware protection is some of the best on the market, the system optimization tools are easy to use and very effective, the parental controls are excellent and highly customizable, and the anti-theft protections, web protections, file shredder, and other extras are all great additions.
The password manager is a little basic — it doesn’t include two-factor authentication, for example. And the VPN has a 200 MB/day/device limit on all but the top-tier plan. However, Bitdefender’s prices are so good that the top plan Premium Security, which comes with all features, unlimited VPN data, and coverage for 10 devices, is still one of the most affordable plans on the market in 2024.
ESET
ESET has a range of plans that cover all operating systems except iOS, but the majority of its features are for Windows only. All plans are for 1 device, with a small extra fee per additional device. Features include:
- Anti-malware scanner with real-time protection.
- Anti-phishing protection.
- Firewall.
- Secure browser.
- Parental controls.
- Webcam protection.
- Advanced diagnostic tools.
- Anti-theft protection.
- Password manager.
- 30-day money-back guarantee.
- And more…
ESET has a decent range of features, but unfortunately, a lot of them aren’t great. The parental controls, secure browser, and password manager are all very basic and nowhere near as good as others available on the market. ESET is also missing other features such as a VPN, which many other antivirus suites include.
However, the anti-malware engine and web protections are good, and the network security tools and advanced diagnostic tools make ESET a decent option for more advanced users in particular.
Ease of Use
Bitdefender
Bitdefender’s user interface is well-designed and easy to use. The desktop dashboard has large, intuitive buttons, and all features are well organized into 3 clear categories: Protection, Privacy, and Utilities. You can also customize your dashboard easily by adding more buttons via the Quick Action option.
All of Bitdefender’s features are easy to set up and learn how to use. Most features are also customizable within just a few short steps.
Bitdefender’s mobile apps are excellent — feature-rich, nicely designed, and easy to use. The iOS app is more limited than the Android app in terms of features, with just web protections, a scam alert feature, breach monitoring, and a VPN, but it’s pretty standard for iOS antivirus apps to have fewer features than their Android counterparts. Both apps performed great in my tests.
ESET
ESET’s interface is very simple to navigate, but some of its features are quite difficult to use or understand. The user interface is laid out well, with features clearly listed in a left-hand menu, and each selected feature then filling the main dashboard.
However, a lot of the features were tedious to set up — for example, a 15-step process just to schedule scans! And the more advanced features are quite complicated to use, which less tech-savvy users are likely to struggle with.
ESET’s mobile app for Android is also pretty good. It’s well-designed and intuitive to use, but it’s lacking several features that other antiviruses offer.
Customer Support
Bitdefender
Bitdefender offers great customer support, including email, live chat, phone support, a knowledge base, and community forums.
The live chat was excellent — every time I used it I was connected to an agent within minutes and my questions were answered helpfully and thoroughly. The phone support was equally impressive, and Bitdefender has local numbers available in 18 countries, as well as international and worldwide lines.
Bitdefender’s community forum has many active users, and I received answers to my queries within a few hours of posting. The knowledge base is comprehensive too, with numerous articles and video guides.
ESET
ESET has a decent range of customer support options. It offers phone support, email support, live chat, a knowledge base, and community forums — and it’s all available in English, French, and Spanish.
During my tests, I found the live chat support to be both responsive and helpful, though it would be nice if it were available in all markets. Unfortunately, the email support experience was less impressive, with a response time of at least 7-12 hours and a generic reply that did not adequately address my specific question.
However, the online knowledge base is good, with FAQs, product guides, and troubleshooting guides that cover a wide range of issues.
