McAfee Pricing 2026: First-Year Deals vs Renewal Prices

After the first year, McAfee+ Premium costs $149.99 a year, Advanced $199.99 and Ultimate $279.99. Those renewal prices replace introductory rates of $49.99, $89.99 and $199.99, so year two costs between 1.4 and 3 times year one depending on the plan. McAfee prints both figures on its US plans page, where we read them on 19 October 2026, in US dollars before tax.

The cheapest plan has the steepest jump. Premium triples at renewal, while Ultimate, the most expensive plan, rises by the smallest share. That inverts the usual advice: the plan that looks like the bargain is the one that punishes you hardest in year two, unless you buy the 2-year term, which turns out to be the best-value way into every McAfee+ plan. This page sets out each price, what each tier adds for the extra money, a three-year cost model we built from the printed figures, and the cancellation and refund rules that decide whether you ever pay the renewal rate.

McAfee prices at a glance

Every figure comes from the "Choose your plan" section of McAfee's consumer plans page, read on 19 October 2026. Each card prints the line "Billed as one payment of X, then renews annually at Y", which is where the renewal column comes from. The monthly column divides the printed yearly price by 12; McAfee bills each term as one payment, not monthly. All three McAfee+ plans on that page cover unlimited devices for one user.

Toolradar data: Toolradar, the software directory we run, records Malwarebytes Premium at $3.75 a month billed yearly (pricing checked 15 October 2026), joint second of 10 tools on entry price in its category. McAfee+ Premium sits just above that in its first year and at more than three times it from the first renewal, which is the clearest way to see what the introductory discount is hiding.

How much does McAfee cost after the first year?

The renewal price is the real price of McAfee. McAfee's own offer details say the savings it advertises are "the difference between the introductory first-term price" and "the renewal subscription price", and that the introductory price applies to new customers and to customers without an existing McAfee subscription. Anyone renewing, or coming back while a subscription is still active, pays the renewal rate.

In dollars, the jump is $100 on Premium, $110 on Advanced and $80 on Ultimate. As a share, Premium is the outlier: the cheapest plan renews at three times its introductory price. Advanced, which McAfee badges as its most popular plan, a little more than doubles. Ultimate goes up by 40%, the gentlest rise of the three, because its introductory discount is the smallest.

McAfee also states that renewal prices may change and that it will notify you in advance if one does. So the renewal column is the price printed today, not a promise for 2028. Budget for it, and treat any later change as something McAfee has said it will email you about before it bills.

Three-year cost: the model we built

The cleanest way to compare McAfee's plans is to add up three years from the printed prices. We used two routes for each plan: buy the 1-year term and let it renew twice, or buy the 2-year term and let it renew once. Every input is a price McAfee prints; nothing is assumed.

The 2-year term wins on every plan. It works because McAfee prices the second year of that term at almost exactly the first-year rate: $99.99 for two years of Premium is roughly the Premium introductory price paid twice. Buying the 1-year term means paying the full renewal price in year two instead.

Over three years, Premium averages $83.33 a year on the 2-year route and $116.66 on the 1-year route. Advanced averages $126.66 against $163.32, and Ultimate $226.66 against $253.32. The catch with the 2-year term is commitment: you pay up front for 24 months of a product you may not keep, so it only makes sense once you know McAfee suits you. The 30-day refund window covered below is your trial period.

What each McAfee+ plan includes

All three plans share a core: Scam Detector, antivirus, Secure VPN, identity monitoring and alerts, web protection and Social Privacy Manager, on unlimited devices. The differences sit in identity and financial protection, and the comparison chart on McAfee's page marks them plan by plan.

• Premium scans for your personal info and old online accounts and alerts you, but leaves the removal to you. The chart marks identity theft coverage, identity restoration support, bank and credit card transaction monitoring, credit monitoring and credit lock as not included.
• Advanced switches the scans to personal info and online account removal, so McAfee does the takedown. It adds up to $1M identity theft coverage, identity restoration support, bank and card transaction monitoring, credit score and report monitoring, and Credit Lock and Security Freeze.
• Ultimate raises the coverage to up to $2M and adds 401(k), investment and loan transaction monitoring plus McAfee Assist protection setup.

That makes Premium a security suite with identity alerts, not an identity theft protection plan. The step from Premium to Advanced is where the insurance, the restoration help and the credit tools arrive, and it costs $40 more in year one and $50 more a year at renewal. For someone who wants identity coverage at all, Premium is not the cheaper version of the same thing; it is a different product.

Which plan is the best value?

Advanced is the plan most buyers should price, because it is the cheapest McAfee+ plan that includes identity theft coverage and restoration. On the 2-year term it costs $179.99 for 24 months and then renews at the full Advanced rate each year. If identity insurance matters to you, compare that renewal figure with what dedicated services charge; our Aura pricing breakdown and best identity theft protection ranking set out the alternatives with their own prices.

Premium is the value pick only for someone who wants antivirus, a VPN and breach alerts on many devices and does not need insurance. Its renewal price is the problem, because that sum buys a suite you could replace with a cheaper antivirus and a separate VPN. Our cheapest antivirus ranking and cheapest VPN guide show what that split costs.

Ultimate is for households with retirement and investment accounts to watch, and for buyers who want the $2M ceiling. It has the smallest renewal jump of the three, yet its renewal is still the highest yearly rate McAfee prints for one person, so it only pays for buyers who will use the investment monitoring.

Total Protection and Family plans

McAfee sells two lines beyond the three plans above. McAfee Total Protection is the starter line, which McAfee describes as basic device and identity protection for individuals. McAfee+ Family plans cover up to 6 family members, defined as 2 adults and 4 children under 18. Their prices sit on separate McAfee product pages, so check the current price on McAfee's site before you buy, and look for the "renews annually at" line that every McAfee+ card on the plans page carries.

McAfee's subscription terms, from auto-renewal to the refund windows, are written for its subscriptions in general rather than for one plan, so expect the same mechanics there. If a family plan or a starter plan tempts you with a low first-year price, run the three-year sum from the printed renewal figure before you commit, as in the model above.

McAfee's renewal terms, and how to avoid the renewal price

McAfee's subscription terms are printed at the foot of the plans page, and four of them matter for your budget.

1. The charge lands early. McAfee bills annual renewals 30 days before the term expires and sends an email reminder 30 days before the charge.
2. Cancel at least 31 days before expiry. That is McAfee's own cutoff for avoiding the renewal charge. Set a calendar reminder for 35 days before the end date, not the end date itself.
3. Refunds run longer on renewals. You get a full refund within 30 days of the first purchase, and within 60 days of a renewal charge. A renewal you forgot about can still be refunded if you ask inside two months. Monthly subscriptions are excluded.
4. Auto-renewal carries perks. McAfee gives free benefits to customers who stay enrolled in auto-renewal, including its Virus Protection Pledge, which refunds your current term if McAfee cannot remove a virus from a supported device. Turning auto-renewal off can mean losing that pledge.

Vermont residents must opt in to auto-renewal, and auto-renewal settings are managed from the McAfee My Account page. The practical sequence for a price-sensitive buyer: buy the 2-year term, note the end date, and decide 35 days before it whether the renewal price is worth paying or whether another vendor's introductory deal is better.

McAfee pricing vs Norton and Bitdefender

Norton also pairs an introductory price with a printed renewal price, so the same three-year sum works there. Our Norton pricing page sets out each Norton plan's first-year and renewal figures, and the Norton vs McAfee comparison weighs the two suites feature by feature. Bitdefender's plans and their renewal terms are covered in Bitdefender pricing.

Before paying any of them, check whether you need a paid suite at all. Our is Windows Defender enough guide and the best free antivirus ranking cover the $0 route, and Mac owners have their own list in best antivirus for Mac. For McAfee's protection and interface rather than its bill, read the McAfee review.

Frequently asked questions

How much does McAfee cost per year?

McAfee+ Premium costs $49.99 for the first year, Advanced $89.99 and Ultimate $199.99, on McAfee's US plans page as of 19 October 2026. From the second year each renews at a higher printed rate: Premium triples, Advanced a little more than doubles and Ultimate rises 1.4 times. All three cover unlimited devices for one user.

What is the McAfee renewal price?

Premium renews at $149.99 a year, Advanced at $199.99 and Ultimate at $279.99, and each McAfee+ plan card prints that renewal figure next to the introductory price. For Premium that is three times the first-year price, the steepest rise of the three. McAfee says renewal prices may change and that it notifies customers in advance of any change.

Is the McAfee 2-year plan worth it?

Yes, if you expect to keep McAfee for at least two years. Over three years the 2-year term saves between $79.99 and $109.99 compared with renewing a 1-year term, depending on the plan, because the second year is priced near the introductory rate instead of the renewal rate.

Does McAfee+ Premium include identity theft insurance?

No. McAfee's comparison chart marks identity theft coverage, identity restoration support and credit monitoring as not included in Premium. Coverage of up to $1M starts on Advanced, and Ultimate raises it to up to $2M.

How do I stop McAfee from renewing automatically?

Turn off auto-renewal from your McAfee My Account page at least 31 days before the subscription expires, since McAfee bills annual renewals 30 days before the end of the term. If a renewal has already been charged, you can request a full refund within 60 days of that charge.

Can I get a refund on McAfee?

Yes. McAfee offers a full refund within 30 days of the initial purchase and within 60 days of a renewal charge. Monthly subscriptions are not covered by those windows.

Sources and method

We read McAfee's US consumer plans page on 19 October 2026, including its plan cards, its feature comparison chart and the "Important Terms and Offer Details" section quoted above. Prices are US dollars before tax. Three-year totals add the printed up-front price to the printed renewal price for each later year; monthly figures divide a yearly price by 12. The Toolradar figure comes from the Malwarebytes profile on Toolradar; Toolradar also profiles Bitdefender and Aura.

Introductory prices follow McAfee's promotions and can change at any time, so check the plan card before you buy. These figures were read on 19 October 2026.

Cite this: Cyberpresso, "McAfee Pricing 2026: First-Year Deals vs Renewal Prices", November 2026.

Related reading: McAfee review, Norton vs McAfee, Norton pricing, Bitdefender pricing, Aura pricing, Aura vs LifeLock, LifeLock review, cheapest antivirus, best free antivirus and best antivirus for Android.

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