Malwarebytes Premium Safety evaluate: A one-time staple, now non-compulsory

Finest Costs Immediately: Malwarebytes Premium

Malwarebytes was as soon as an important piece of software program—a mandatory complement to your most important antivirus scanner. You couldn’t all the time depend on only one program to catch all the things, and Malwarebytes rose to prominence as a dependable secondary software.

However the world has modified since 2010. Now for those who run a number of antivirus apps, you possibly can open your self as much as software program conflicts or elevated threat for system vulnerabilities. One single program is the way in which to go—and for those who’re a beginner to safety and like a lifeless easy app, then Malwarebytes’ streamlined, elegant strategy can match the invoice.

How a lot does Malwarebytes Premium Safety price?

As a easy suite, Malwarebytes Premium Safety prices $60 per yr. New subscribers can join a two-year package deal to save lots of $15 ($105 whole). In contrast to most different antivirus distributors, Malwarebytes payments in month-to-month installments over a 12-month time period, relatively than charging the full price upfront. 

For its client merchandise, the corporate gives a 14-day trial, and a 60-day a refund assure.

Single-device plan (3 units)

• $60 per yr (billed month-to-month over a 12-month time period)

Malwarebytes’ plan permits you to unfold your gadget allotment over these operating Home windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and even ChromeOS.

If you wish to cowl extra gear, or save a bit extra cash, you may get licenses for Malwarebytes by way of third-parties like Amazon and the PCWorld Software program retailer with extra versatile phrases and at decrease charges. Nevertheless, such plans at the moment don’t embrace VPN service, which Malwarebytes added to the subscriptions it sells instantly.

What does Malwarebytes Premium Safety embrace?

Whenever you step up from Malwarebytes’ free model to a paid subscription, real-time monitoring for malware, electronic mail, internet, and choose community threats turns into energetic. (The free plan solely scans for those who provoke a guide verify.) General, you’re protected towards viruses, ransomware, and different malware, in addition to different widespread assaults like phishing makes an attempt, zero-day exploits on the net and over electronic mail, and suspicious apps.

Selecting Malwarebytes Premium Safety provides on entry to the corporate’s VPN, which Malwarebytes advertises as a no-log service. As premium upgrades go, this one is simplistic—you don’t get parental controls, a password supervisor, extra defenses like protected folders, or PC utilities, as you do with a rival like AVG. The corporate appears to weigh its VPN service as equally helpful to a set of such antivirus options.

Key options of Malwarebytes Premium Safety

Set up and consumer interface

After you put in the app, you’ll see the primary dashboard. The interface is extremely streamlined, with simply two tabs on the left navbar—Dashboard and Settings. You possibly can select between Mild, Darkish, or matching Home windows’ mode.

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Accordingly, you’ll ship nearly all of your time on the Dashboard view, which is split into three segments. Within the bigger one, you’ll see a few sections blocked out. On the higher left is Safety, with Scanner, Detection Historical past, and Actual-Time Safety because the three choices and their settings:

• Scanner enables you to run a fast, full, or customized scan, in addition to soar on to associated settings. You may as well entry the scheduled scans to evaluate what’s already arrange and create new ones. 
• Detection Historical past reveals quarantined objects, the historical past of occasions (like detected viruses), and your permit checklist—objects that you simply’ve accredited as secure after initially being flagged by Malwarebytes. 
• Actual-Time Safety is just not a lot a characteristic, however an evidence for the way Malwarebytes and the way it safeguards your PC constantly.

Instantly beneath the safety part is one for the VPN. It places the main controls at your fingertips, letting you rapidly activate the service and alter the situation. You may as well soar into associated settings.

Alongside the best facet is a score to your PC’s safety stage—Malwarebyte’s evaluation of how shut you’re to using the app totally. You may as well verify on different units related along with your account.

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Typically, the interface is clear and easy, as are the settings for the app and its options. The one space the place you may dig in deeper are the antivirus safety settings—however as Malwarebytes rightly warns, almost all customers are higher off leaving the defaults as they’re.

One tip: As soon as the software program is put in, head to Settings > Notifications, scroll all the way down to the underside, and switch off advertising notifications.

Virus, malware, and risk safety

Actual-time safety

Malwarebytes Premium Safety consistently retains an eye fixed out for quite a lot of threats. Whenever you’re opening or including information, utilizing apps, or looking the online, it’ll block viruses, ransomware, and different malware like rootkits, together with phishing makes an attempt.

In contrast to different rivals, Malwarebytes doesn’t provide a firewall. That job is left to Home windows. It additionally doesn’t provide extra protections towards risks like DNS hijacking and webcam takeovers. As for id safety, like darkish internet monitoring and insurance coverage protection, you have to improve to the corporate’s Full Safety plan, which prices twice as a lot per yr.

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If you wish to regulate your real-time scanning settings, you may change what the app screens for and the way stringent it’s with its filters, in addition to the way it handles suspicious information. Malwarebytes permits you dig surprisingly deep, although solely consultants ought to get into the weeds. The overwhelming majority of customers ought to hold the defaults as they’re.

Scheduled and guide scans

At set up, Malwarebytes Premium Safety routinely creates a scheduled scan for as soon as per week. It runs every time your system is idle, which the app calls a “sensible scan.” You possibly can edit this default or create extra scheduled scans.

For guide scans, Malwarebytes gives three sorts. The default is a risk scan, which checks generally focused areas of your PC, together with issues operating in reminiscence and at startup, in addition to registry adjustments. Information saved in your PC are additionally appeared over. 

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To fireplace up a fast or customized scan, you have to select Superior Scan from the three-dot menu for the Scanner on the dashboard. Customized scans allow you to tweak a handful of settings associated to file sorts and areas of your PC, in addition to tips on how to deal with doubtlessly undesirable packages and modifications to your system.

Further options

Browser extension

Malwarebytes gives a Browser Guard extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, however regardless of being out there as a separate free obtain, it’s nonetheless thought-about a part of the Premium Safety suite. After set up, it runs quietly within the background, defending your browser from malware and scams (together with bank card skimming), in addition to serving as an adblocker.

VPN

Malwarebytes retains its controls for its VPN easy relatively than restrictive. Firing up the service is fast and quick, as is selecting a location for a server—and Malwarebytes enables you to select a handful of cities inside nations exterior of the US, extra just like a devoted VPN.

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You possibly can select servers in Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Eire, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK, Ukraine, USA.

This nation checklist isn’t as massive as with some VPN providers, however as talked about above, you may typically select between two to 4 cities per nation. The exception is the USA, which has 18 cities out there, coast to coast.

Speeds held secure when utilizing the VPN throughout gentle testing. For US server speeds, Los Angeles (inside the identical state as PCWorld’s San Francisco location) confirmed a lower of about 5 to 7 %, whereas New York noticed a roughly 26 % drop.

Buyer assist

From inside the app, you may soar to Malwarebytes’ consumer information, assist pages, and assist software. You may as well use an AI chatbot for solutions to your questions, or for those who’re signed into your Malwarebytes account, to contact buyer assist—you’ll get funneled to your selection of electronic mail or stay chat.

Updates and upkeep 

Updates for the app and virus definitions occur routinely within the background, however you may as well set off a verify manually. You’ll must click on on the individual icon within the higher proper of the app window, then select About Malwarebytes and click on on the Verify for updates button.

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Efficiency

In AV-Comparatives’ real-world safety take a look at for February and March 2026, Malwarebytes stopped one hundred pc of the 200 take a look at instances, although with 20 false positives. (This variety of false positives was the second highest among the many 20 antivirus apps examined.) In AV-Comparatives’ March 2026 malware safety take a look at, Malwarebytes remained robust, with a 92.4 % offline detection fee, 98.3 % on-line detection fee, and 99.59 % on-line safety fee, with 23 false positives. (Once more, on the upper facet for false alarms.)

Malwarebytes didn’t take part in AV-Comparatives’ November 2025 Superior Risk Safety Check, which checks to see how effectively antivirus apps do towards extra subtle, focused threats like malicious scripts and fileless assaults.

AV-Comparatives

Malwarebytes additionally participates in AVLab’s efficiency checks. In AVLab’s March 2026 superior in-the-wild take a look at, Malwarebytes caught all 421 samples, with its detection fee was cut up between 97.86 % web-layer safety (detection of malware earlier than they run within the system) and a pair of.14 % runtime protection (malware is run and blocked by the app).

AVLab.pl

Throughout {hardware} efficiency checks on our funds Acer Aspire 3 take a look at laptop computer, Malwarebytes lived as much as its claims of sunshine affect on PC assets. When left idle within the background, it had just about no impact on typical duties, as proven by PCMark 10’s prolonged benchmark. That take a look at simulates video chatting, internet looking, gaming, picture and doc enhancing in free apps like GIMP and LibreOffice, and the like. 

In case you work as a substitute on Microsoft Workplace paperwork, our UL Procyon checks confirmed a minimal affect on outcomes, with a lower than 3 % distinction. Equally, our Handbrake encoding take a look at solely dipped by about 4 %.

Even operating a risk scan constantly throughout our benchmarks didn’t disturb these numbers a lot—PCMark 10 slipped by about 7 %, Procyon by about 14 %, and Handbrake by about 19 %. Given how rival antivirus engines from rivals like McAfee and Norton are far greedier about system assets, Malwarebytes does distinguish itself on this regard.

Conclusion

In case you dislike sophisticated interfaces, Malwarebytes Premium Safety could be a good match as a substitute for Home windows Safety—as long as you don’t thoughts not getting as a lot bang to your buck. The app is enticing and clear in its structure, and the settings are clear and easy. Nevertheless, extra seasoned safety vets might have purpose to hesitate on pulling the set off, as a result of comparatively low quantity of impartial testing information out there about software program efficiency.