McAfee Review 2026: McAfee+ Pricing, Pros, Cons and Renewals

McAfee sells its consumer security as McAfee+, three individual tiers called Premium, Advanced and Ultimate, plus starter and family plans.

The intro price is the headline, and the renewal is the real cost. On the cheapest tier the second year costs three times the first, which is the single most important number for anyone comparing McAfee with a rival on a one-year quote.

This review prices every individual McAfee+ plan on both the one-year and two-year terms, works out what each costs over three years from the renewal McAfee prints, and sets the result beside Norton, Bitdefender, Aura and Microsoft Defender.

For the head to head with Norton, read our Norton vs McAfee comparison; this page is about whether McAfee alone is worth paying for.

Toolradar data: McAfee is not one of the 3 top picks in Toolradar's antivirus guide (Bitdefender Total Security, Kaspersky Premium and Malwarebytes Premium), prices checked October 2026.

That guide advises skipping Norton and McAfee unless you want their bundled features, which is exactly the question this review answers with prices. Cyberpresso data: on October 25, 2026 Cyberpresso reached 27,000+ security readers, with a 30% open rate.

Methodology: McAfee+ prices, renewals and offer terms were checked on McAfee's US plans page on October 18, 2026. Bitdefender, Aura and Microsoft prices and terms were read on their own US pages the same day.

Cyberpresso runs no test lab, so nothing here is a detection or speed measurement. Every three-year total is our arithmetic from printed prices.

• Premium: personal info scans and 24/7 monitoring.
• Advanced: personal info removal, financial protection and identity restoration, plus up to $1M of identity theft coverage, which Premium does not include.
• Ultimate: maximum personal info and financial protection, and double the coverage of the two lower tiers.

You buy a term, one year or two years, and the subscription renews automatically every year after it until you cancel. The renewal is always an annual charge at the standard rate, even when you started on the two-year term, so the two-year deal only fixes the price for the first 24 months.

McAfee's offer details set out the timing. It charges your payment method 30 days before an annual term expires, sends an email reminder 30 days before that charge, and asks you to cancel at least 31 days before expiration to avoid it.

In plain terms, the decision point is a month before the anniversary on your receipt, not the anniversary itself. Put it in a calendar on the day you buy.

McAfee also says renewal prices may change and that it will notify you in advance if they do. Vermont residents must opt in to auto-renewal. The plans page carries a 30-day money-back guarantee banner, which is your window to decide whether the suite is worth keeping before the first term runs on.

The savings McAfee shows are measured against the renewal price, not against a past sale price: its offer details say the savings figure is the gap between the introductory first-term price and the cost of each year after. So the "SAVE" label on each card is also a preview of what you pay from year two.

Installation covers all your devices under one account, and McAfee Assist helps with setup. Identity features, such as monitoring, credit tools and restoration support, run from that same account rather than a separate product.

McAfee prints the intro price and the renewal side by side for every individual McAfee+ plan, read on McAfee's US plans page on October 18, 2026. The cheaper the tier, the bigger the jump at renewal.

On the one-year term, Premium renews at three times its intro price, the figures in the summary above. Advanced renews at a little over twice its intro. Ultimate has the smallest jump in relative terms, because its first-year discount is the smallest of the three, which makes it the least painful renewal but the most expensive plan in every year.

On the two-year term, Premium is $99.99 for both years, Advanced $179.99 and Ultimate $399.99, each paid upfront. After those 24 months, each plan renews annually at the same standard rate as the one-year version.

Over three years, the two-year term is cheaper on every tier. Premium bought yearly costs $349.97 over three years (the intro plus two renewals), against $249.98 on the two-year term plus one renewal. Advanced costs $489.97 against $379.98, and Ultimate $759.97 against $679.98.

The two-year Premium plan works out to about $50 a year for the first two years, which is the lowest price McAfee+ reaches.

For comparison, Bitdefender Total Security is $59.99 for the first year for 1 member and up to 5 devices, or $119.99 for 2 years, and its family plan is $79.99 for the first year for 5 members and up to 25 devices; Bitdefender says the renewal may be higher and does not print it on that page.

Aura is $12 a month on annual billing or $15 month to month for an individual, with 10 devices and identity theft insurance. Microsoft Defender Antivirus is built into Windows.

All prices exclude sales tax. McAfee family plans, Total Protection starter plans and Norton's current US prices: check the current price on each vendor's site before you compare.

McAfee+ fits one person with many devices who wants identity monitoring and coverage in the same subscription as the antivirus. Unlimited devices on every tier is a real advantage over Bitdefender's 5-device individual plan, and Advanced is the tier to pick if you want McAfee to remove your data from broker sites rather than only list where it appears.

The two-year Premium plan is the value buy: it is the lowest McAfee+ price per year and locks it for 24 months. Set a reminder for 31 days before it ends, because the renewal after that is the full standard rate.

Skip McAfee if you only want antivirus. Windows already ships with Microsoft Defender, covered in our is Windows Defender enough explainer, and the best free antivirus list covers the no-cost options.

Skip it too if identity theft protection is the main goal for a couple or a family: price Aura or read our identity theft protection comparison first.

Mac owners should check the best antivirus for Mac list before paying for a Windows-first suite.