Independent antivirus labs put macOS antivirus tools to the test, reporting scores that let us know which ones are the most effective. Both AV-Test and AV-Comparatives routinely give Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac perfect or near-perfect scores, and it earned very good scores in our hands-on tests. In the default Autopilot mode, it does its work while keeping user interaction to a minimum.

This antivirus doesn’t boast the immense feature collection found in its Windows equivalent, but it still goes well beyond the average macOS antivirus. Its tracker-blocking system actively prevents advertisers and others from tracking web surfing activity in your browsers, and, like its Windows counterpart, it actively protects against ransomware. A VPN (virtual private network) gets installed with the antivirus and lets you protect 200MB per day of web traffic. For a separate fee, you can remove that bandwidth cap and unlock other features. In addition to the Web Protection that steers you away from malicious and dangerous web pages, Bitdefender’s Traffic Light browser extension marks up search results with green and red icons to flag safe and dangerous pages.

Suppose that antivirus protection isn’t a hobby for you; it’s a chore. You want the best but don’t want to hear about every little event. Bitdefender’s Autopilot achieves that set-and-forget goal, letting you spend your online time doing things you actually enjoy while lab-certified protection goes on in the background.

Norton AntiVirus Plus is a feature-rich antivirus for Windows, and Norton AntiVirus Plus for Mac goes well beyond antivirus basics. The independent labs verify its effectiveness—both AV-Test and AV-Comparatives gave it a perfect score. It also earned a perfect score in my own hands-on testing against phishing frauds.

Where firewall protection in many Mac security apps is limited to blocking unsolicited incoming network traffic, Norton offers a full two-way firewall, both blocking attacks from outside and preventing apps on your Mac from misusing the network connection. With Norton, you also get a cross-platform password manager, a security-first private browser, and an AI-based scam-fighting chatbot, among other bonuses.

Some folks just want the cheapest item available, while others are happy to pay a little more and get a lot more. Is that you? A Norton AntiVirus Plus subscription costs more than many Mac antivirus apps, but you get a powerful firewall and other bonuses. And you can’t argue with perfect scores from two labs and my own tests.

It’s always nice to know that the experts think you’ve made a good choice; the lab-testing experts think Avast One is just about perfect. At least, it takes the highest possible scores in the latest reports from both labs we follow. It does well in our own tests, earning a phishing protection score within a hair of perfect and 97% detection of Windows-focused malware.

But this program goes well beyond simple antivirus protection, starting with a full-powered VPN with no limits on bandwidth or features. It also offers unusual protection against browser fingerprinting, a technique for tracking your online activities even when you’ve engaged the traditional Do Not Track technology. Its people-centric user interface is a welcome change from big, dark rectangles. Data breach monitoring, a performance enhancement tool, and a cleanup system for your photos are among the other elements of this feature-rich offering.

You’re not a fan of shopping—you’d rather make one purchase and have everything you need. Avast One combines award-winning antivirus with no-limits VPN protection for your online traffic. To that dynamic duo, it adds an impressive collection of bonus features, all wrapped in a user interface that should brighten your day. Security shopping? Done!

Most antivirus utilities for macOS come from companies that established their bona fides in Windows. Intego, by contrast, has been supplying macOS-specific security since 1997. Its latest release, Intego Mac Internet Security, was recently certified by AV-Comparatives for protection against macOS malware. It also holds certification from AV-Test, though it didn’t reach 100% malware detection. Intego detects malware that targets Windows and Linux, so your Mac doesn’t become a malware-carrying Typhoid Mary. In addition to the VirusBarrier antivirus component, Intego features a firewall called NetBarrier. You tell the firewall what sort of network you’re using (Home, Work, or Public Hotspot), and it controls network communication appropriately.

Does using an antivirus app developed as an afterthought by a Windows-focused company make you feel like a second-class citizen? Would you prefer to support a security company that’s always been Mac-proud? If so, Intego is just what you’re looking for.

Most antivirus utilities for macOS come from companies that established their bona fides in the Windows realm. Ukraine-based MacKeeper, by contrast, focuses completely on macOS antivirus and other security software. Like ClamXAV, MacKeeper skips browser-based protection against malicious and fraudulent websites. Other than that omission, it boasts more features than most. Antivirus is present, of course, but also system cleanup, ad blocking performance tune-up, privacy monitoring, an integrated VPN, and more. It costs more than a bare-bones antivirus, but you also get more.

Do you ever feel like your Mac antivirus takes second place to its corresponding Windows product? Does Mac protection seem like an afterthought? You’ll never get that feeling with MacKeeper, as its focus is and always has been Mac, Mac, and more Mac.

The virtue of open-source software is that anyone with the necessary expertise can peruse the code to spot problems. ClamXAV isn’t itself an open-source project, but it builds on the popular Clam Antivirus, which is. It supplements that protection with its own scanning engine and antivirus database and wraps it all in an attractive user interface.

ClamXAV offers options to scan your whole Mac for antivirus threats or just focus on specific areas like your user folder or Documents. It also scans files in real time, and you can set it to run a regularly scheduled scan. It doesn’t add the typical browser-level protection against malware-hosting sites, figuring that its real-time protection will catch any malware you download. It also skips trying to identify and block phishing websites.

ClamXAV is a great bargain if you have a house full of Macs. You can protect nine of them for $59.95 or three for $29.95. It’s small and speedy, partly because it skips some common features. It’s a perfect fit for die-hard Mac enthusiasts.

Figuring out how well an antivirus works isn’t a task for the average user; you need to call in the experts. In past years, Trend Micro earned a perfect score from AV-Test, though it doesn’t appear in the latest report from AV-Comparatives. In my hands-on testing, it finished a full scan more quickly than the average, and it earned a near-perfect 98% score in my hands-on phishing protection test.

This app is loaded with features beyond just antivirus. Its social network scan ensures you’ve configured your accounts properly for privacy. It fends off ransomware attacks by banning all unauthorized changes to protected files. A warning system helps prevent misuse of your Mac’s camera and microphone. The latest edition adds new privacy and utility tools, though some require a separate payment for full functionality.

Not everyone lives surrounded by a gaggle of computing devices. A Trend Micro subscription offers award-winning protection for your (single) Mac, along with an impressive and growing array of bonus features. But if you’ve got many Macs to monitor, you should look elsewhere.

When malware gets past your antivirus or keeps you from installing antivirus, who do you call? Right, Malwarebytes. But Malwarebytes isn’t just a Windows product. You can run a cleanup scan on your Macs for free, just as you can on your PCs. Even better, install Malwarebytes for Mac Premium and get ongoing real-time protection to fend off any new attacks. Without scores from the independent labs, it’s riding on the company’s reputation, but that’s an impressive reputation. And its Browser Guard extension earned near-perfect scores in our hands-on testing.

If Malwarebytes Premium provides your Windows antivirus protection, going for the Mac edition is a no-brainer. Your licenses are interchangeable.

McAfee Total Protection for Mac is the Mac-oriented manifestation of the cross-platform McAfee Total Protection suite. With your McAfee subscription, you get up to 10 licenses to install antivirus protection for the Macs in your household, as well as Windows, Android, iOS, or ChromeOS devices. For a modern household brimming with devices, McAfee can be a bargain, and it comes with a guarantee. If malware gets past McAfee’s protective shield, the company’s experts will fix the problem remotely. In the unlikely event the malware wins, McAfee will give your money back.

McAfee’s antivirus efficacy is backed by a guarantee, but not at present by lab results. The labs haven’t included McAfee’s macOS edition in testing for some years, though it regularly received certification when they did rate it. In my own platform-independent phishing protection test, McAfee managed 100% detection both on macOS and Windows, and its WebAdvisor component also helps you avoid malware-hosting pages and other online dangers.

If you’re the security guru for a house full of Mac users, you’ll save by setting them all up with McAfee’s protection. As a bonus, you can also protect your crew’s devices that run other operating systems, Windows, Android, iOS, or even ChromeOS.

Total Defense Essential Anti-Virus for Mac protects your Mac’s files and backups from ransomware, just like Bitdefender. It earned an excellent score in our phishing protection test, though not at the very top. It detects and deletes Windows malware, it offers Autopilot mode, and its browser extension marks up dangerous links in search results, just like Bitdefender. Coincidence? Nope. When Total Defense needed to extend protection into the macOS realm, the company simply licensed excellent Mac protection from Bitdefender.

Bitdefender gets perfect scores from two antivirus testing labs, but the labs make it very clear that their results apply only to the tested app. While we can guess that Total Defense would also excel in these tests, we don’t have hard results. Total Defense also doesn’t bring along Bitdefender’s VPN component, which is admittedly quite limited unless you pay extra for its premium edition.

Bitdefender is proudly based in Romania, even featuring dragon-wolf images from the ancient Dacian peoples of the region. Total Defense has headquarters in Minnesota, promises US-based tech support, and was spun off from another US company, Computer Associates (now CA Technologies). The main reason to buy Total Defense rather than going straight to Bitdefender is if you’ve got a strong “Buy American” goal.

Just like its Windows equivalent, Webroot Essentials for Mac is a tiny package. More than most, it strongly resembles its Windows version, the main difference being the absence of a button for firewall protection. Like Total Defense, Webroot offers entirely US-based tech support. Useful features include a system analyzer to check your Mac’s overall status, a secure deletion tool to permanently wipe sensitive files, and a system optimizer to clear junk files and otherwise speed up performance.

Do you prefer small, tight solutions over ponderous, slow-loading downloads? Install Webroot, and it will immediately get busy protecting your Mac. The fact that it packs some handy bonus features into its tiny package just makes things better.