McAfee Total Protection vs Norton 360
An honest side-by-side comparison of two of our top antivirus software picks — pricing, strengths, weaknesses, and who each one is really for.
McAfee Total Protection
Ranked #3 of 15 in this directory
Trusted antivirus with unlimited device coverage and identity monitoring
Norton 360
Ranked #1 of 15 in this directory
All-in-one security suite with antivirus, VPN, dark web monitoring, and cloud backup
Our pick: Norton 360. Our editors rank Norton 360 higher overall in Antivirus Software — but McAfee Total Protection can be the better fit depending on your budget and use case below. How we review
Compare the details
| McAfee Total Protection | Norton 360 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | See website | See website |
| Category | Internet Security | Internet Security |
| Editorial rank | #3 of 15 | #1 of 15 |
Strengths
McAfee Total Protection
- ✓Unlimited device coverage on premium plans — cover your whole family
- ✓Personal data cleanup removes your info from data broker sites
- ✓$100M identity theft protection guarantee
- ✓Included VPN with unlimited bandwidth
- ✓Web protection and safe browsing across all platforms
Norton 360
- ✓Consistently top-rated by AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives labs
- ✓All-in-one: antivirus, VPN, password manager, cloud backup, identity protection
- ✓LifeLock identity theft coverage up to $1M
- ✓Minimal system performance impact with smart scanning
- ✓Dark web monitoring alerts if your info appears in breaches
Watch out for
McAfee Total Protection
- !Detection rates slightly behind Bitdefender and Norton in lab tests
- !Can be resource-intensive during scans on older hardware
- !Aggressive marketing for add-ons and renewals
- !Auto-renewal pricing is significantly higher than introductory rates
Norton 360
- !Expensive at full price — $99-349/year depending on tier
- !Auto-renewal at higher rates if not manually canceled
- !VPN has limited server locations compared to dedicated VPN services
- !Can be resource-heavy during full system scans
Best use cases
McAfee Total Protection
- →Large families needing unlimited device protection
- →Users wanting data broker removal and identity monitoring
- →Households with many devices looking for cost-effective coverage
Norton 360
- →Families wanting complete protection across multiple devices
- →Users concerned about identity theft needing dark web monitoring
- →Home users wanting antivirus bundled with VPN and backup
About each tool
McAfee Total Protection
McAfee Total Protection offers unlimited device coverage on its premium plans — rare in the industry where most competitors cap at 5-10 devices. It includes antivirus, VPN, identity monitoring, password manager, and a personal data cleanup tool that removes your info from data broker sites. McAfee has evolved from a basic antivirus to a comprehensive identity and privacy suite. The $100M identity theft protection guarantee adds peace of mind.
Norton 360
Norton 360 is one of the most comprehensive security suites available, combining antivirus, firewall, VPN, dark web monitoring, password manager, cloud backup, and identity theft protection. Norton's SONAR behavior-based detection catches zero-day threats, and the suite consistently earns top scores from independent testing labs (AV-TEST, AV-Comparatives). The LifeLock identity protection add-on provides credit monitoring, SSN alerts, and up to $1M in identity theft coverage. Norton protects over 80 million devices worldwide.
Still deciding? Browse all 15 options with honest pros, cons, and pricing.
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