Antivirus Independent Lab Scores — 2026

What the two most-cited independent testing labs — AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives — actually scored for the major antivirus suites in late 2025 / early 2026. Sourced, with test names and dates.

Antivirus marketing is full of "99.9% protection" claims. The only numbers worth citing come from independent labs that test every product on the same malware sets. The two references are AV-TEST (Germany) and AV-Comparatives (Austria). This page compiles their most recent published results for the major suites.

Free to cite and link. Each figure names its lab, test and date — always confirm against the lab's own published report before quoting.

The data (independent lab results)

AntivirusAV-TEST (latest cited)AV-Comparatives (latest cited)Notable
BitdefenderPerfect 18/18 (Jan–Feb 2026)99.97% online protection — highest, March 2026 Malware Protection TestPhoton adapts scanning to behavior
Kaspersky18/18 (Feb 2026)Top-Rated, Advanced+ in all 7 2025 tests; 99.99% detectionBanned for sale/updates to US persons (US Commerce Dept, effective Sept 30, 2024); sold normally in EU/UK/CH
ESET—100% online protection (Sept 2025); 99.5% real-world (Jul–Oct 2025)Industry-lightest system impact per AV-Comparatives
McAfee6/6 protection, 100% zero-day detection—Up to $2M identity coverage; renewals ~3x intro
AVG6/6 in each category (Jan–Feb 2025)—Same detection engine as Avast (both Gen Digital)
Malwarebytes—Blocked 100% of threats (Feb–Mar 2026) but ~20 false positives (among the highest)Free version is on-demand only
Avast—Certified by AV-Test, AV-Comparatives, SE Labs, VB100Fined $16.5M by the FTC over Jumpshot data-selling (shut 2020)
Norton 360——No recent lab score in source set; bundles VPN + 50GB backup; renewals above intro

"—" means no recent score for that specific lab was present in the source compilation; it is not a zero.

Key findings

  1. Bitdefender and Kaspersky top both labs on pure detection. Both scored a perfect 18/18 on AV-TEST in early 2026 and ~99.97–99.99% on AV-Comparatives.
  2. The Kaspersky asterisk is geopolitical, not technical. Elite lab scores, but banned from sale/updates to US persons since Sept 30, 2024. Still available across the EU, UK, Switzerland and much of Asia and Africa. Separate "best detection" from "legally available to you."
  3. A perfect protection score can hide a false-positive cost. Malwarebytes blocked 100% of threats but logged ~20 false positives — among the highest. Detection rate alone is incomplete.
  4. System impact is its own axis. ESET is repeatedly cited for the lightest system impact; for older hardware the performance score can outweigh a fractional detection difference.
  5. Brand ownership is concentrated. Avast, AVG and Norton are all Gen Digital; Avast and AVG share one detection engine.

Methodology

AV-TEST scores Protection/Performance/Usability out of 6 each (18 total). AV-Comparatives runs Real-World Protection and Malware Protection tests with Advanced+/Advanced/Standard ratings and percentage detection. Scope: 8 major consumer antivirus suites with a recent published lab result in the source set. This is not a single "best antivirus" verdict — price/renewal, privacy history, legal availability and false-positive rates all matter.

Editorial note (verification): Cross-check each score against the primary report on av-test.org / av-comparatives.org before republishing — labs update continuously. Compiled 2026-06-27.

How to cite

"Antivirus Independent Lab Scores — 2026", ToolsRanks. https://toolsranks.com/etudes/antivirus-lab-scores-2026
Lab sources: AV-TEST (av-test.org), AV-Comparatives (av-comparatives.org). Spreadsheet available on request.