ESET Antivirus Review 2024: Is the Protection Worth the Price?

ESET antivirus is a good product that’s proven its effectiveness through third-party tests. Although the price per device is higher than its competitors, such as McAfee and Norton, ESET provides equally as strong protection against malware and viruses. 

With additional features meant to keep your browsing safe, and even anti-theft protection for your computer, ESET has a lot of qualities a person with one or two devices may be looking for in an antivirus package. 

Let's dig into ESET's features and pricing to find out if it's the right antivirus program for you.

ESET antivirus review at a glance

4.6

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Editorial Rating

Learn More

On ESET's website

Antivirus Software

ESET

15% off on 2-year protection

• Lots of useful features
• Offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required
• Lackluster customer service options

Our experience

ESET was relatively easy to install and setup was very fast. We tested it on a laptop running Windows 10 and had no issues. You can have this security software downloaded, installed, and running in less than 30 minutes (depending on your internet speed) without needing advanced knowledge of how antivirus software works. 

The full scan of our hard drive was fast (coming in at less than two minutes) and alerted us to files that may need cleaning. We found all of the features to be easy to use, most with off/on toggles, and useful.

While we were trying out the features, ESET would set annoying yellow reminders to let us know we hadn’t finished setting up our anti-theft, firewall, and some other features we’d clicked on. There was no option to clear these reminders so we had to continue to set them up. We didn’t love that.

We also found that the dashboard could be confusing for beginner antivirus users. Along with the cyberthreats found, our virus results mention "Detection engine used" without an explanation of the detection engine. Other antivirus we've tested provide explanations or helpful tips throughout its dashboard, which we think would be a good addition to ESET.  

Otherwise, we had a pleasant experience testing ESET. The overview tab on the dashboard links to all the other ESET features like your password manager, browser privacy and security, safe banking and browsing, and more.

Who is ESET best for?

• Recommended for advanced antivirus protection for one or two devices

ESET has a lot of features like anti-phishing protection, an exploit blocker, and advanced machine learning that provide superior protection against viruses and malware. 

Its essential security features, alongside additional features such as Gamer Mode and cloud-powered scanning, offer a well-rounded security option that’s constantly evolving to keep you protected.

Unfortunately, ESET’s price is determined by how many devices you’re looking to cover. If you have one or two devices, you’ll reap many benefits of this antivirus. If you have a family to cover with multiple devices between family members, it's probably bes to find an antivirus program that offers more devices at a single price.

ESET prices and subscriptions

ESET has a wide price range of $35.88-$119.88/yr (first year only) and your plan price depends on three factors: how many devices you want to cover, how many years you need coverage for, and how much protection you need beyond the standard antivirus. 

As you increase each of these factors, your price continues to rise. Although this is a reasonable yearly price for one person with one device, if you need a family subscription this could become expensive quickly.

Compared to other popular antivirus programs, ESET is on the higher end. However, the difference is minimal if you opt for the starting plan:

• TotalAV: $29.00/yr (first year only)
• Bitdefender: $29.99/yr (first year only)
• Norton: $29.99/yr (first year only)
• ESET: $34.99/yr (first year only)

The Premium Security plan seems the most beneficial to most people. Although it doesn’t include the identity theft protection or the virtual private network (VPN) that comes with Ultimate Security, it does include a password manager along with everying in the Essential Security plan. 

ESET security features

ESET provides a long list of features for customers that only expands as you go up in price plans. Although protections such as antivirus and advanced machine learning are available to everyone, most privacy and identity protection features are only for Advanced and Premium subscriptions. 

That doesn’t exclude ESET from the conversation; however, as all pricing tiers have useful tools for every need.

Malware and antivirus scan

Malware is a constant threat in all its forms. ESET’s anti-malware protection provides you with manual scan options for all types of malware, such as ransomware, spyware, adware, and other viruses. 

You can scan your entire device, run a custom scan and define your scan targets, and schedule scans to run on a recurring basis. 

ESET will even alert you to potentially dangerous files that might not have allowed a scan. You can find these by going to the Tools section of your dashboard, then selecting Quarantine.

Phishing protection

ESET protects you from phishing attempts through a series of safety measures. If you go to Tools < Internet protection, you'll find a series of toggles to protect against various types of phishing.

ESET compares websites you’re visiting with its own database of safe or suspicious websites.  If you do happen across a malicious site, it severs the connection to the site. 

ESET does this through its proprietary phishing detection, which is always up-to-date, and by learning the behaviors of malicious sites and scripts. All this boils down to a safer way to browse online.

Firewall

All ESET plans include a firewall. It has several different methods for configuration including integrating Windows firewall rules into its own firewall. Because the firewall feature is filtering out content on multiple levels, it allows you to configure those specifics within its portal. 

If you aren’t comfortable configuring your firewall, no worries; ESET has permissions for the most common usage already set up and ready for you. All you’ll need to do is turn it on.

Real-time protection

The real-time protection feature is set to launch and scan automatically without you needing to configure anything. 

ESET also scans files as you receive and open them to make sure what you’re accessing doesn’t contain anything malicious. Because these permissions are always looking at what’s passing over your machine, it’s not recommended to disable them.

Ransomware protection

Ransomware is just one form of malware, but it’s the one that gets most of the press. A ransomware attack can devastate a business (or your personal finances). 

ESET protects you from ransomware with the Ransomware Shield. This feature blocks any malware that tries to lock you out of your personal data. It even goes a step further to provide you with free cybersecurity training to help you become a more vigilant internet user.

Anti-fraud protection

ESET provides you with a secured browser to help thwart fraudulent attempts when you’re using the internet for sensitive information. It works through your default browser and can be accessed through your ESET portal on your device when you go to Advanced setup then Browser protection. 

ESET even includes a handy guide for adding or blocking websites within the browser configurations.

Bonus features

Depending on what plan you choose, ESET offers a variety of bonus features to enhance your security and performance. Although antivirus protection and performance optimization tools come standard on every pricing plan, tools for privacy and identity protection come with the Premium and Ultimate plans.

Performance optimization tools

The performance optimization tools offered by ESET include Gamer Mode, cloud-powered scanning, and a small system footprint. Gamer Mode disables pop-ups and notifications when you’re gaming so you can have an uninterrupted experience.

Cloud-powered scanning whitelists files to speed up scanning. The small system footprint feature takes the majority of the computing power off your computer so more memory is left for you.

Secure web browsing tools

In addition to ESET’s safe browsing tools, you'll have access to network attack protection, antispam, banking and payment protection, and botnet protection. Each of these tools employs various filters to keep potentially harmful executables from planting themselves on your device. 

An executable is anything that executes on your computer, like when you download an attachment from your email or a file from the internet.

Network and device monitoring tools

Parental controls, webcam protection, network inspector, anti-theft, and brute force attack protection are included with all plans. Although some of these features are self-explanatory, such as webcam protection, other features like the network inspector are useful surprises. 

Network inpector scans the network you’re connected to so you can find devices that shouldn’t be connected as well as see the vulnerabilities of devices you have authorized.

ESET test results

Scan speeds

• Result: Fast

EICAR test results

• Result: EICAR aced all of its EICAR tests.

One way to test an antivirus program yourself is through EICAR testing. The European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research (EICAR) developed test files that mimic malware and phishing links. That way, you can test antivirus programs without downloading real viruses. 

ESET passed all the EICAR tests with flying colors. It was quick to block the malware test files from downloading and quarantine them. When we opened the phishing test link, ESET blocked us from accessing the site and explained why.

AV-TEST results

• Result: ESET received perfect scores for Windows and Android, didn't test its macOS product.

AV-TEST is one of the third-party testers we reference during our antivirus testing. It reviews antivirus programs for the following:

• Malware protection: How well does the antivirus detect and block malware?
• Performance: How much does the antivirus impact your device's speeds?
• Usability: How effective is the antivirus at detecting cyberthreats correctly?

ESET received perfect AV-TEST scores for Windows and Android. It had perfect malware detection rates for Windows and near-perfect malware detection rates for Android. It also had lower influence on computer speeds compared to the industry average and no false positives. 

ESET didn't test its macOS program, but we've found that this is common. Most antivirus companies prioritize submitting their Windows programs for third-party testing. 

AV-Comparatives results

• Result: High protection rates, medium performance impact

ESET has also submitted for testing to AV-Comparatives, another third-party tester. The three sections tested were real-world protection, malware protection, and performance. We also check the mobile security results. 

ESET had no false positives, tying with Avira and Kaspersky at the top of the list. ESET also blocked 99.4% of all malicious attempts that AV-Comparatives threw at it. It was beat by a number of antivirus programs, like Norton, Avast, and TotalAV, but only by a smidge of a percentage. 

ESET compatibility

ESET compatibility is relatively simple, just note that there's no coverage for iOS or Linux. 

ESET does cover the following:

• Windows 7+
• macOS
• Android

Plus, the ESET Browser Privacy & Security extension is available for the following browsers:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Brave

ESET customer support

ESET has a wide range of customer support options. For human support, there's phone, email, and live chat.  

Note that all the human support options are only available Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT. The live chat support is listed as being able to help with basic support like product installation and activation, lost license key or activation email, and error messages from your ESET product. 

We reached out to ESET customer support, and the agent was quick to respond and friendly.

You can also pay $20.00 per hour to chat with an ESET Home Adviser, which can help with advanced issues and troubleshooting other software.

ESET also has an extensive listed of online guides and support forums where you can chat with other ESET users.

Top alternatives

ESET offers lots of features but could be expensive depending on your budget and device coverage needs. Here are some of the best antivirus programs to consider if you're not sold on ESET:

Antivirus
Star rating	4.3 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.0 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.3 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
Price	$29.00–$49.00/yr (first year only)	$29.99–$249.99/yr	$29.99–$99.99/first yr
# of devices protected	4 - 8	Unlimited	1 - 10
Malware scans	Manual and scheduled	Manual and scheduled	Manual and scheduled
Real-time protection
EICAR test results	2/3	3/3	3/3
Firewall
Phishing protection
Compatibility	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Chrome, Edge, Opera, Safari	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Extras	Password manager, ad blocker, VPN	Parental controls, performance optimization tools, VPN	Password manager, VPN, dark web monitoring, parental controls, privacy monitor, identity theft protection, cloud backup
24/7 customer support
Learn more	Get TotalAV	Get McAfee	Get Norton 360

ESET FAQs

Bottom line: Is ESET good?

Yes, ESET is a good antivirus product with a lot of extra features that enhance your protection online. It has high ratings from independent testing as well as a user-friendly interface and easy-to-use controls. With the use of advanced machine learning, real-time protection, and global research to identify new and emerging threats, ESET gives a well-rounded shield of protection to any device.

Although the cost can be a little higher than some of the best antivirus programs, it’s still a trusted product. If you aren’t interested in covering a lot of devices, ESET’s pricing falls on par with its competitors. Choosing ESET is a decision you can feel confident about.

See how ESET compares to some of our recommended alternatives:

• ESET vs. Norton
• ESET vs. Bitdefender

4.6

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Editorial Rating

Learn More

On ESET's website

Antivirus Software

ESET

15% off on 2-year protection

• Lots of useful features
• Offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required
• Lackluster customer service options

Author Details

Mary James

About the Author

Mary is a seasoned cybersecurity writer with over seven years of experience. With a B.S. in Liberal Arts from Clarion University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Point Park University, she educates audiences on scams, antivirus software, and more. Her passion lies in educating audiences on helpful ways to protect their data.

Steph Trejos