Malwarebytes vs Norton 2026: Flat Price vs First-Year Deal

Norton 360 Standard is the better value in year one, at $39.99 for 3 devices against $59.99 for Malwarebytes Standard, and Malwarebytes is the better value once the renewal email arrives, because Norton's printed renewal for that plan is $94.99 a year while Malwarebytes prints one price with no separate renewal rate. Prices were read on both vendors' US pages on October 26, 2026.

The two companies sell the same promise in opposite ways. Norton prints a discount of 47% to 60% on every 360 plan and, next to it, the renewal price that replaces it after twelve months. Malwarebytes prints a single yearly figure on Standard and Plus, and reserves the first-year-only discount for Ultimate, its identity tier. A buyer who re-shops every year should take Norton's discount; a buyer who wants to forget the subscription should read the second column of each card before the first.

Toolradar data: Toolradar, the software directory we run, tracks 873 security tools as of October 2026, and Malwarebytes holds a 4.6 out of 5 aggregate from 1,089 G2 reviews there, with Kaspersky as the product visitors compare it with most. Norton has no profile in that catalog, and Toolradar's antivirus guide tells readers to skip Norton unless they want its bundled extras. The security ranking lists the wider field.

Malwarebytes vs Norton at a glance

Prices from Malwarebytes' pricing page and Norton's US product pages, read October 26, 2026. Both vendors give annual buyers a 60-day money-back window.

Plan	Devices	Year-one price	Price after year one	Edge
Malwarebytes Standard	3	$59.99	No separate renewal price printed	Malwarebytes, if the printed price is what you want to budget
Norton 360 Standard	3	$39.99	$94.99 a year	Norton in year one
Malwarebytes Plus (adds VPN)	3	$79.99	No separate renewal price printed	Norton in year one, Malwarebytes on the printed year-two figure
Norton 360 Deluxe	5	$49.99	$124.99 a year	Norton for 5 devices
Malwarebytes Ultimate (adds identity)	1 adult, 3 devices	$139.99	$279.99 list, discount is first year only	Norton
Norton 360 with LifeLock Select Plus	10	$99.99	$189.99 a year	Norton on both years
Norton AntiVirus Plus	1	$29.99	$59.99 a year	Norton for a single machine

The table says most of it. Norton undercuts Malwarebytes in year one on every tier, by $20 at the entry level and by $40 at the identity level, and it covers more devices for the money on Deluxe and LifeLock Select Plus. What it gives back is the renewal: each 360 plan's second year costs 2.4 to 2.5 times its first, on figures Norton itself prints.

How much does each cost in year one?

Norton 360 Standard, at its year-one price, covers 3 devices with antivirus, the Norton VPN, dark web monitoring, a password manager and 2 GB of cloud backup. Malwarebytes Standard, at $20 more, covers 3 devices with antivirus and Browser Guard, its ad and scam blocker, and no VPN. So the fairer like-for-like pair is Norton 360 Standard against Malwarebytes Plus, the $79.99 tier that adds the Privacy VPN. On that pairing Norton is $40 cheaper for the first twelve months.

Norton 360 Deluxe at $49.99 covers 5 devices and adds 50 GB of backup, parental control and a privacy monitor. Malwarebytes has no 5-device plan: the choice is 3 devices or a 10-device Family plan at $119.99 for Standard Family and $149.99 for Plus Family. A household with four or five machines pays $10 more than Norton Standard for Deluxe, or $70 more for the smallest Malwarebytes plan that fits.

At the identity level the gap widens. Norton 360 with LifeLock Select Plus costs $99.99 in year one for 10 devices, 250 GB of backup, LifeLock identity theft protection, one-bureau credit monitoring and up to $25,000 in stolen funds reimbursement. Malwarebytes Ultimate costs $139.99 in year one for 1 adult and 3 devices, with identity protection carrying $2 million of insurance and a personal data remover. Ultimate's insurance line is larger; Norton's price is lower and covers seven more devices.

A single machine is Norton's cheapest ticket: AntiVirus Plus at $29.99 the first year, with 2 GB of backup and the password manager. Malwarebytes sells a one-device Standard option, but its page does not print a readable price for it, so check the current price on Malwarebytes' site before assuming it beats Norton's single-device price.

What happens at renewal?

This is where the brief flips. Norton prints a renewal price on each card and repeats it on a renewal price list dated March 2026, where the four renewal figures in the table above appear again, SKU by SKU. Its subscription terms add that renewal prices may be higher than the initial price, that the charge can land up to 35 days before the term ends, and that annual subscribers get an email with the renewal price first.

Malwarebytes prints no renewal rate for Standard or Plus. The pricing page shows the Standard and Plus prices with no struck-through list price beside them, the help center describes a renewal reminder email 30 days before the date that states the amount, and nothing on the vendor's public pages names a second figure. That is not the same as a promise that the price holds. It means the number you can budget from is the one on the card, and the reminder email is the document that confirms it.

Ultimate is the exception on the Malwarebytes side. The card shows the list price struck through, the discounted price beneath it, and a footnote that the discount is for the first year only. On Malwarebytes' own printed figures, Ultimate's second year is the list price, which makes it the most expensive renewal on this page.

Two-year bills on printed figures

Our arithmetic, adding each plan's year-one price to the renewal price the vendor prints. Malwarebytes Standard and Plus are left out because no second figure is printed.

Plan	Year one	Year two (printed)	Two-year total
Norton AntiVirus Plus, 1 device	$29.99	$59.99	$89.98
Norton 360 Standard, 3 devices	$39.99	$94.99	$134.98
Norton 360 Deluxe, 5 devices	$49.99	$124.99	$174.98
Norton 360 with LifeLock Select Plus, 10 devices	$99.99	$189.99	$289.98
Malwarebytes Ultimate, 1 adult and 3 devices	$139.99	$279.99 (list)	$419.98

Set Norton 360 Standard's renewal next to the price Malwarebytes prints for Standard and the difference is $35 a year in Malwarebytes' favor from year two. Against Malwarebytes Plus, the VPN tier, Norton's renewal is $15 a year higher. Over the first two years the running totals are close: Norton Standard's $134.98 sits between the two Malwarebytes tiers' doubled card prices, which is why the decision turns on whether you will re-shop at month twelve.

A reader who cancels auto-renewal and buys fresh each year keeps Norton's first-year price indefinitely only if Norton keeps offering it to returning customers, which the pages do not promise. Price the plan on the renewal column, then treat the discount as a bonus if you get it twice. The antivirus renewal price index puts both vendors against six others on the same measure.

What does each tier include?

Malwarebytes sells three steps and one family version of each. Standard is real-time antivirus for PC, Mac, Android and iOS plus Browser Guard, which every plan includes. Plus adds the Privacy VPN with unmetered data. Ultimate adds identity theft protection with $2 million of insurance, three-bureau credit monitoring and the personal data remover, for one adult. The Family plans move each tier to 10 devices, and Ultimate Family covers 2 adults and 10 kids. Malwarebytes Free remains a scanner for clean-up, not protection.

Norton's line runs from a single-device antivirus to an identity bundle. AntiVirus Plus is antivirus, the password manager and 2 GB of backup. 360 Standard adds the VPN and dark web monitoring. Deluxe lifts backup to 50 GB and adds parental control and privacy monitor on 5 devices. LifeLock Select Plus moves to 10 devices and 250 GB and bolts on LifeLock, credit monitoring at one bureau and the $25,000 stolen funds line. A mobile-only plan, Norton Mobile Security, is $19.99 the first year and half as much again at renewal.

Norton bundles more at every price point, and that is the trade. Backup, parental control and a password manager are features a security-minded buyer may already have elsewhere, and paying for them twice is the hidden cost of a bundle. Malwarebytes charges for less and is lighter on the feature list, which is what its buyers tend to want. The Malwarebytes review and the Norton review go through the products feature by feature; this page stays on price.

Which is the better buy for a household?

Ten devices is the honest household count once phones and tablets are in. Malwarebytes Standard Family is $119.99 a year with no renewal figure printed. Norton 360 with LifeLock Select Plus is $99.99 the first year and $189.99 after, and it is the 10-device plan on Norton's products page. So a family that wants antivirus only pays Norton $20 less in year one and $70 more in year two, on printed prices, and gets LifeLock it may not have asked for.

A family that wants the VPN on 10 devices compares Malwarebytes Plus Family at $149.99 with the same Norton plan, which already includes it: Norton is $50 cheaper in year one and $40 dearer at renewal. A family that wants identity protection for two adults compares Malwarebytes Ultimate Family, $199.99 the first year and $399.99 list after, with that Norton plan again, and Norton wins both years by a wide margin on price.

Three devices is the other common case, and there Norton 360 Standard at its year-one price is the cheapest way to cover a laptop and two phones with a VPN included. Pay it, set a reminder for day 330, and decide then whether the renewal is still the right number. Or pay Malwarebytes its card price and skip the reminder, accepting that its renewal will be confirmed by email rather than on the card.

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Who should pick which

Buy Norton 360 Standard when the first year's bill matters most, you want a VPN and dark web monitoring in the same price, and you will put the renewal date in the calendar. It is the cheapest 3-device suite on this page in year one by $20, and its second-year price is the figure to put in the budget if the diary fails.

Buy Norton 360 Deluxe or LifeLock Select Plus for 5 or 10 devices. Malwarebytes has no 5-device plan, and its 10-device Family plans cost more than Norton's identity bundle in year one at every tier. The LifeLock plan is also the cheapest printed path to identity monitoring on this page, in both years.

Buy Malwarebytes Standard when you want one printed price and no renewal cliff, and your devices run Windows, macOS, Android and iOS without needing backup, parental control or a password manager from the same vendor. Buy Plus when the VPN matters and you expect to keep the subscription past year one, where Norton's renewal exceeds the Plus card price by $15.

Skip Malwarebytes Ultimate unless the $2 million insurance figure is the deciding factor, because its printed list price of $279.99 after the first year is the highest renewal here, against the renewal Norton prints for a plan that covers 10 devices. A buyer choosing between Malwarebytes and a third suite should read Bitdefender vs Malwarebytes; one choosing between Norton and Bitdefender for a company fleet should read Bitdefender vs Norton. The best antivirus for Windows and best antivirus for Mac lists cover the field beyond these two, and the best free antivirus guide covers the $0 option.

How we compared

We read Malwarebytes' US pricing page, its Premium Security product page, its legal index and its help center article on auto-renewal, and Norton's US products page, the AntiVirus Plus, 360 Standard and 360 Deluxe product pages, and its subscription renewal price list, all on October 26, 2026. Every price on this page is a figure printed on one of those pages. Two-year totals are our arithmetic from a printed year-one price and a printed renewal or list price; where Malwarebytes prints no second figure, no total is given. The pricing detail for each vendor sits in Malwarebytes pricing and Norton 360 pricing. Re-check both vendors before buying, because Norton's cards are introductory offers and Malwarebytes confirms renewals by email.

FAQ

Is Malwarebytes or Norton better value in 2026?

Norton 360 Standard is better value in year one at $39.99 for 3 devices, with a VPN and dark web monitoring included, against Malwarebytes Standard, which costs half as much again and has no VPN. Malwarebytes is better value from year two on printed figures, because Norton's renewal for that plan is $94.99 while Malwarebytes prints one price and no separate renewal. The best pick depends on whether you will re-shop at month twelve.

How much does Malwarebytes cost compared with Norton 360?

Malwarebytes charges one yearly price per tier for 3 devices: Standard, then Plus with the VPN at $79.99, then Ultimate at $139.99 in its discounted first year, with the 10-device Family plans running from $119.99 to $199.99. Norton prices every matching tier $20 to $40 lower in year one and then renews its 360 plans at 2.4 to 2.5 times that first-year figure, so the second year is where Malwarebytes pulls level or ahead. The full ladder for both vendors is in the table at the top of this page.

Does Malwarebytes raise its price at renewal?

Malwarebytes prints no separate renewal price for Standard or Plus on its pricing page, its legal pages or its help center, which describes a reminder email 30 days before the renewal date that states the amount. Ultimate is different: its discounted year-one price carries a footnote that the discount applies to the first year only, against a $279.99 list price. Treat the reminder email as the confirming document for any Malwarebytes renewal.

Does Norton raise its price at renewal?

Yes, and it prints the amount. Norton 360 Standard renews at 2.4 times its discounted first year, Deluxe at $124.99 and LifeLock Select Plus at $189.99, and AntiVirus Plus doubles from its first-year price. Norton's terms say renewal prices may be higher than the initial price, that the charge can be billed up to 35 days before the term ends, and that annual subscribers receive the renewal price by email beforehand.

Which covers more devices for the money?

Norton. Deluxe covers 5 devices for $49.99 in year one, and LifeLock Select Plus covers 10 for $50 more, while Malwarebytes tops out at 3 devices on its individual plans and moves to 10 only on the Family plans, from $119.99. Over two years on printed prices, Norton's 10-device plan costs $289.98 and Malwarebytes Standard Family prints one yearly price and no renewal figure.

Can I get a refund from either vendor?

Both vendors give annual buyers 60 days. Malwarebytes states a 60-day money-back guarantee on its pricing page, and Norton's terms allow a full refund within 60 days of payment on annual subscriptions and within 14 days on monthly ones. Norton also lets you cancel the renewal from your account or by phone, and Malwarebytes lets you turn off auto-renewal from its account portal, with the subscription staying active until its expiry date.

Does either include a free plan?

Malwarebytes offers a free scanner that removes infections it finds but does not provide real-time protection, so it is a clean-up tool rather than a replacement for a paid plan. Norton's products page lists free trials and free tools but no free plan; its cheapest paid entry is AntiVirus Plus at $29.99 the first year for one device. A buyer who wants protection at $0 should compare Microsoft's built-in Defender in the best free antivirus list.

Cite this: Cyberpresso, "Malwarebytes vs Norton 2026: Flat Price vs First-Year Deal", October 2026.

Cyberpresso tracks what security subscriptions cost after the first invoice. Join at cyberpresso.com.

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