Both Avast and Bitdefender originally built their reputations on their high-quality, free solutions. While they’ve both grown into professional security companies, they still offer top-notch free options. While you can’t go wrong with either product, Avast Free Antivirus and Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition take a very different approach.

Avast wants you to upgrade to a paid plan with lots of extras and additional tools. Bitdefender offers a bare-bones, no-frills antivirus that provides complete protection without any bells and whistles.

Avast and Bitdefender are both fantastic antivirus programs. Both offer the same level of protection that you would expect from a reasonably priced antivirus application, but for free. Avast and Bitdefender have both chosen not to compromise their free versions and instead added more to their paid offerings. By offering the latest virus definitions and behavioral analysis that you would find in their paid counterparts, both products are ready to handle any threat that you can throw at them.

Avast gives you a bit more, including password storage and Wi-Fi analysis and protection. Bitdefender performs a bit better, though. Which product you choose may simply come down to preference.