Avira Free Security for Mac review: Decent free malware protection

In the world of software, there’s free, there’s a trial period, there’s a demo, and there’s some strange, hybrid concoction that makes sense to the company trying to sell you the software. This is the case with Avira Free Security for the Mac, which essentially functions as a strange, sleeper demo and pathway to Avira’s assorted features, services, and subscriptions.

Starting out, Avira Free Security is everything you expect, and downloads and installs easily, requiring macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later to install and run. The installer allows for the easy configuration of full access to your Mac’s hard drive, which takes only a few clicks.

Avira Free Security wraps itself around an assortment of tools and modules (Status, Activity, Scheduler, Virus Scans, Protection Scans, Quarantine, VPN, Passwords, Cookie Cleaner, Junk Cleaner, Uninstaller, and Startup Apps), with some tools locked away unless you opt for a paid subscription. Still, there are plenty of tools that are available under the free tier.

The Scheduler kicks things off by working as intended, while offering a nice level of customization as to when antiviral scans take place.

The heart and soul of Avira Free Security lies within its antivirus toolset, which is honestly pretty admirable. The tools here were able to set forth and do their job well, scanning both .zip and .dmg file archives, picking off sample malware, and performing both quick and full drive scans easily.

When let loose on a sample external volume loaded to the brim with malware samples, it was able to locate and quarantine just about everything, allowing for selection as to what malware to keep in quarantine, what to delete, and what to restore.

On top of this, it’s a simple task to either select an external volume to scan or drag and drop a volume onto the application, and let it go to work finding and quarantining questionable software.

Where Avira’s Phantom VPN tools are concerned, the free version allows you a taste, but not the full meal. Yes, the software easily sets up a network configuration, but the free version offers only 500MB of data traffic without a subscription, and geolocation services only work under a paid account.

The Phantom VPN’s tools are functional, but less robust than a dedicated client, and this feels a bit like a tease unless your payment information has been sent along and a 60-day trial has been initiated.

Other tools, such as the Junk Cleaner, work well, and Junk Cleaner works to clear out cache files, your Downloads folder, and reports and logs, clearing dozens of gigabytes of effluvia from my MacBook Pro’s hard drive with ease. Detailed views as to what was located for removal are also available, and it’s easy to pick and choose what to delete and what to save. This, combined with a clean, efficient user interface, makes using Avira Free Security enjoyable.

Avira Free Security’s home screen offers a Smart Scan feature that looks over what it considers to be Security, Privacy, and Performance. This is useful and locates some files that can readily be cleared out, but also brings up tracking cookies as something immediately worth nixing while offering email monitoring services. That being said, it’s generally better to head to the tools you’re more likely to want to work with than to rely on the most overarching/generic scan available.

A free password manager is also included, but for most users, Apple’s password manager is probably the more convenient solution.

There are some excellent free tools here that stop just about every chunk of malware I could throw at Avira Free Security. The scan speeds are good; it performed well under macOS Tahoe 26.0.1, and a lengthy overnight scan was able to dig out the AdWind malware that slipped through during testing.

You get what you pay for

Obviously Avira has locked an inordinate number of tools behind its paywall, and is at the very least lusting for your credit or debit card credentials. Probably the most frustrating part of Avira Free Security is the sheer number of tools that require one of the paid editions.

The user interface of the free version lists the functions of the paid version, which can be a little confusing as only half of the listed functions can actually be used. For example, the Uninstaller, Cookie Cleaner and Startup Apps tools are available only to paid accounts.

You could try these out, just remember to cancel the account prior to the 60-day trial period expiring if you don’t wish to subscribe.

Take away the tools that require a subscription, and you’re left with the antivirus feature, a limited VPN, a password manager that works only in Safari, and a junk file cleaner. That’s not a terrible mix for a free product.

One positive compared to Avira’s free-to-use competitor, Avast, is that while Avast advertises quite intrusively for the paid version in its free version, Avira is much more moderate with its advertising.

The more complete version of the software, should you choose to subscribe to the Avira Internet Security version, is available for $34.99/£23.99 for the first year with support for one device or $70.99/£47.99 for subsequent years, or $6.99/£4.99 per month, while the Avira Prime account retails for $109.99/£94.99 per year, and supports up to five devices. We review Avira Prime for Mac separately.

Each tier adds new features and services as expected. The Prime account is available as a 60-day free trial, but it requires either your PayPal account information or credit or debit card information to register for the trial and receive a download link for the higher-end software.

Should you use Avira Free Security for Mac

If you’re looking for a reliable and free antiviral utility for your Mac, Avira Free Security is worth a gander. Its antiviral engine rests on a robust toolset, and it was easy to scan .zip and .dmg archives as well as external volumes with no hassles.

Additional tools like the Scheduler and Junk Cleaner lived up to their titles, and it was fun clearing out dozens of gigabytes of cache-based fluff, while a clean, useful interface only added to the experience.

The 60-day free Prime trial comes hunting for your credit and/or debit card information, a plethora of modules sit behind a paywall, and the Phantom VPN tool allows for a meagre 500MB of data before demanding access to a paid, or trial paid, subscription.

If you’re looking for a reliable and free antiviral utility for your Mac, Avira Free Security is worth a gander, but expect to be hassled for a subscription.

For alternatives, see our roundup of the best antivirus software for Mac.

You can get Avira Free Security for your Mac here.