7 Best Free Antivirus Software for Windows 11 in 2022
As you all might already know, Windows is a prime target for hackers, and that’s why it’s important to protect your computer and valuable files against malicious actors. There are multiple antivirus programs for Windows 11 that provide protection against malware, ransomware, spyware, viruses, and more. And for your ease, we have compiled a list of the seven such best free antivirus software for Windows 11 in this list. These antivirus programs are completely free to use and do not nag you with premium subscriptions. So without any delay, let’s check out the list and find a suitable free antivirus software for Windows 11 that you should be using in 2022.
Free Antivirus Software for Windows 11 (2022)
In this article, we have included the seven best antivirus software for Windows 11. We have strictly compiled the list with antiviruses that are completely free and do not have any trial periods. So yeah, expand the table below and move to any program to learn more.
1. Windows Security
Users looking for the best free antivirus software for Windows 11 don’t need a third-party antivirus for their PC. The built-in Windows Security, aka Microsoft Defender on Windows 11, is the best free antivirus program in the market. It does everything that a traditional antivirus does, including real-time scan, malware removal, reputation-based blocking of malicious apps, and more. What I like about Windows Security is that it gets security definition updates regularly to defend your PC against new and emerging threats with ease.
Not to mention, since it comes with Windows 11, it does not affect the performance of your PC. In my experience, Windows Security has never been a resource hog and works silently in the background. All in all, if you have upgraded to Windows 11 from Windows 10 and are looking for a suitable free antivirus program, I would say do not look any further. The built-in Windows Security app is a capable tool, and it should get the job done for most users. However, if you are not happy with its performance, you can learn how to enable or disable Windows Defender in Windows 11 using the linked guide.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free and natively available | Might not detect some new malware |
| Complete suite of protection | |
| Regularly updated | |
| Real-time protection |
Pricing: Free
Included with Windows 11
2. Kaspersky Security Cloud
If the native Windows Security does not cut it for you, we suggest checking out Kaspersky Security Cloud. It’s one of the best free antivirus software for Windows 11 and works well without slowing down the PC. The best part about Kaspersky Security Cloud is that it offers you real-time protection under the free version. Yeah, no other third-party antivirus programs will provide real-time protection for free, which is a huge perk. And similar to Windows Security, it gets virus definition updates frequently to guard your PC against new threats.
Having said that, you don’t get some of the extra features that are bundled with the paid version of Kaspersky. For example, the free version lacks VPN functionality, password manager, Wi-Fi monitoring, kids protection, etc. But if you want a simple and free antivirus for Windows 11 that also offers real-time protection, Kaspersky Security Cloud is a worthy choice.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Offers real-time protection | No extra features |
| Auto-updated frequently | No enhanced threat analysis |
| Lightweight app | |
| Offers web protection |
Pricing: Free
Download Kaspersky Security Cloud
3. Avast Free Antivirus
Avast is one of the popular free antivirus programs for Windows 11 out there, and for good reason. It offers real-time protection against viruses, ransomware, spyware, and all kinds of new and old malware. Avast Free Antivirus also offers deep rootkit scanning through boot sector scanning, which is amazing. You get all of these features absolutely for free. I have personally used Avast in the past and can vouch that it’s pretty good at catching malicious programs and files stored on your PC. Not to mention, Avast is also compatible with Windows Security, so parallel protection does not run on your Windows 11 PC.
That said, there are some quibbles about this antivirus. For instance, it adds unnecessary browser extensions, which, in my opinion, is more like bloatware. Similarly, during the installation, Avast installs a bunch of extra features and services for PC maintenance if you’re not careful. These can in turn slow down the PC if you don’t skip their installation. To sum up, while Avast is a good antivirus, it also adds a ton of bloatware. It’s up to you whether you want to use the free protection offered by Avast at the expense of some bloatware.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Full-fledged antivirus program | Too much bloatware |
| Real-time protection against threats | Resource hog |
| Malware detection is good |
Pricing: Free
Download Avast Free Antivirus
4. Avira Free Security
Avira is another free antivirus that you should consider if you want a free antivirus for your Windows 11 PC. It looks uncannily similar to Avast in terms of UI/ UX, and that’s because both of these are now owned by NortonLifeLock. It is the company behind the popular and premium Norton antivirus. Nevertheless, coming to features, you get real-time protection against all kinds of threats, including viruses, spyware, malware, and more. Avira’s virus detection engine is also updated frequently to keep the antivirus up-to-date.
What’s more, Avira is compatible with Windows Security, just like Avast and other third-party antiviruses. That means the Windows Security app suspends its real-time protection, and only Avira does the inspection job. In turn, running a third-party antivirus does not slow down your PC. The only con about the free version of Avira is that it does not offer protection against ransomware and web threats. Overall, Avira is a pretty good antivirus that comes with minimal bloatware, and you can surely get behind it.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Real-time protection against malware | No web and ransomware protection in free version |
| Regularly updated | Unnecessary browser extensions are added |
| Compatible with Windows Security | |
| Free to use |
Pricing: Free
Download Avira Free Security
5. AVG AntiVirus
AVG is one of my favorite free antivirus software for Windows 11, particularly because of how lightweight the app is. Despite having six layers of security, AVG does not slow down your PC and offers all-around protection without any cost. AVG stops most of the threats, including viruses, spyware, and various popular malware. What I like about AVG AntiVirus is that it also offers you an Email Shield, which blocks suspicious links, dangerous email attachments, and phishing attempts.
Most free antivirus programs don’t provide web protection for free. But AVG brings this feature at no additional cost, and that is awesome. Not to mention, the antivirus gets real-time updates in order to defend against even zero-day attacks. To conclude, if you are looking for a full suite of protection on Windows 11 for free, you should take a good look at AVG’s offering.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Real-time protection | Virus detection is relatively slow |
| Web protection | |
| Frequently updated virus definition | |
| Quite light on resources |
Pricing: Free
Download AVG AntiVirus
6. ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus
While ZoneAlarm develops most of its apps for businesses, it has now started focusing on home users too. ZoneAlarm by Check Point now offers a free antivirus program for Windows 11 that brings robust protection and a custom firewall to protect your network. The free version can protect your PC against viruses, malware, spyware, and other kinds of cyber threats. It also brings a web shield to secure your online experience from worms, bots, and malicious threats.
Moreover, I really love the fact that ZoneAlarm adds a personal firewall, where you can allow/ block a program or service to connect to the internet. Not to mention, you also receive real-time security updates to keep the antivirus up-to-date. To conclude, ZoneAlarm’s free antivirus is a surprisingly good offering, and you should definitely take a look.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Real-time protection | Misses to catch some new malware |
| Custom firewall available | |
| Custom scanning | |
| Protection against malware, cyberthreats |
Pricing: Free
Download ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus
7. Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes is known as one of the best premium antivirus programs for PCs. It offers a 14-day premium trial period, but past that, you lose some of the premium features. Nevertheless, you can still continue to use Malwarebytes for free after the 14-day trial period without paying anything. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that real-time protection is suspended, which is a big omission, but you still get custom scanning.
You can still look for all kinds of malware, rootkits, vulnerabilities, etc., on your Windows 11 PC. But with Windows Security available for real-time protection and Malwarebytes available for custom scanning, the antivirus duo can turn out to be a good protection suite for your Windows 11 PC.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Custom scanning available | No real-time protection after 14 days |
| Malware detection is high | |
| Powerful virus detection engine | |
| Frequently update |
Pricing: Free premium trial for 14 days, Paid plan starts at $3.33/month
Download Malwarebytes
Choose the Top Free Antivirus For Your Windows 11 PC
So these are our picks for the best free antivirus programs for Windows 11. We have chosen the 7 best offerings that are completely free to use, updated regularly, and have an overall good reputation among users in the security community. Anyway, that is all from us. If you are specifically looking for the best malware removal tool for Windows 11, go ahead and check out the linked article. And in case you have any doubts, comment down below and let us know.