CrowdStrike Falcon Go vs Malwarebytes
We give CrowdStrike Falcon Go and Malwarebytes the same GPA: 2.2 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CrowdStrike Falcon Go
Small-business antivirus with USB device control and mobile protection
Malwarebytes
Malware scanner and real-time protection, with VPN and ID plans
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACrowdStrike Falcon GoFair | 2.2GPAMalwarebytesFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$59.99 a device a year, or $7.99 a month. We judge antivirus on five devices over two years, and that's $599.90, about $25 a month, several times what home suites here cost. The business kit, one console, USB control and Express Support, explains some of it. Renewals are at the then-standard price. | DFive devices means Standard Family, $119.99 a year for up to 10, with no first-year deal on record. So two years cost $239.98, about $10 a month, in the dearest tenth of antivirus. With three devices or fewer, Standard at $59.99 a year halves that. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but there's a 15-day free trial, and nothing on record says it wants a card. After that, annual plans can be refunded within 30 days and monthly ones can't. | CMalwarebytes Free scans Windows PCs and Macs and removes what it finds, for nothing. But it has no real-time, ransomware or phishing protection, so it cleans up after an infection rather than stopping one. |
| Features | CIt does the core job fully: machine-learning antivirus on Windows, Mac and Linux, USB device control, and threat protection on iPhone and Android. But it's narrower than the suites here. Firewall management needs Falcon Pro, and there's no VPN, password manager or identity monitoring. | CReal-time protection on Windows, Mac and Android, Browser Guard against scam sites, Scam Guard for messages, and a VPN from Plus up. The gap is in the listing itself: exploit protection, firewall control and webcam monitoring are Windows-only. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Protection comes switched on with pre-set policies, there's a step-by-step onboarding guide, and one home screen shows your devices and what was blocked. You do still put the agent on each machine. | BNo store rating on record. It's a program you install and run, and the free scanner needs nothing set up before the first scan. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, all run from one console, so every device a small office has is covered. No integrations or API are on record, which keeps it at B. | BWindows, Mac, Android, iPhone, and Browser Guard for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari. No web app, integration list or API on record, so it stops at B. |
| Best for | small businesses with no IT person | cleaning up a computer that's already infected |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: CrowdStrike Falcon Go and Malwarebytes. How we grade
Price against what you get
CrowdStrike Falcon Go starts at $5 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Malwarebytes starts at $5 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other antivirus apps on the chart, 4 score higher than CrowdStrike Falcon Go for less, and 4 score higher than Malwarebytes for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- CrowdStrike Falcon Go starts at $59.99 per device / year, billed annually ($7.99 per device billed monthly). Malwarebytes starts at $59.99 per year for up to 3 devices (Standard).
- Malwarebytes has a free plan. CrowdStrike Falcon Go does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only CrowdStrike Falcon Go lists a Linux app.
- Only Malwarebytes lists a browser extension.
- Malwarebytes also covers vPN and ad and tracker blocking.
At a glance
| CrowdStrike Falcon Go | Malwarebytes | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $59.99 per device / year, billed annually ($7.99 per device billed monthly) | $59.99 per year for up to 3 devices (Standard) |
| Free plan | None | Malwarebytes Free scans Windows PCs and Macs on demand and removes infections already there. It has no real-time, ransomware or phishing protection. |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | CrowdStrike | Malwarebytes Inc. |
| Price read from | crowdstrike.com | malwarebytes.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
CrowdStrike Falcon Go
- Small businesses protecting up to 100 computers and phones
- Owners without IT staff who want protection that works out of the box
- Businesses that need to control what USB drives can do
Malwarebytes
- Cleaning up a computer that is already infected, for free
- Households that want one antivirus across Windows, Mac and phones
- Buyers who want a VPN in the same subscription as their antivirus
Worth knowing
CrowdStrike Falcon Go
- Purchases of Falcon Go are capped at 100 devices.
- Firewall management needs Falcon Pro ($99.99 per device a year); EDR and threat hunting need Falcon Enterprise ($184.99).
- Annual plans can be refunded within 30 days; month-to-month plans get no refund, and renewals are at the then-standard price.
- The bundle covers antivirus, device control and mobile protection only; there is no VPN, password manager or identity monitoring.
Malwarebytes
- Malwarebytes Free has no real-time protection: it only finds and removes infections when you run a scan.
- Ultimate's $139.99 covers the first year only; it then renews at $279.99 a year, and subscriptions bought online renew automatically.
- Several protections, such as exploit protection, firewall control and webcam monitoring, are Windows-only.
- Home plans are for personal use; small businesses are sold Malwarebytes for Teams separately.
Key features
CrowdStrike Falcon Go
- Next-gen antivirus
- Falcon Prevent uses machine learning and behavior-based detection to block known and unknown malware and ransomware on Windows, macOS and Linux.
- USB device control
- See which USB storage devices are plugged into company machines and set what they may do, to stop data being copied off.
- Mobile device protection
- Falcon for Mobile watches for malicious activity on company phones and tablets running iOS 16 or later and Android 9 or later.
- Pre-configured policies
- Protection comes set up by default, with a step-by-step onboarding guide and one home screen showing devices, threat activity and blocked attacks.
- Express Support
- A support line for small and medium businesses that helps with installation and day-to-day management questions.
Malwarebytes
- Real-time malware protection
- Premium Security blocks malware, ransomware and potentially unwanted programs as they arrive on Windows, Mac and Android. The free version only cleans up afterwards.
- Browser Guard
- A free extension for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari that blocks ads, third-party trackers and sites known to spread malware or scams.
- Scam Guard and text and call filtering
- Scam Guard checks suspicious messages and links and suggests what to do. Phones get scam text filtering, and the iPhone app also blocks spam calls.
- Privacy VPN
- Plus, Plus Family and Ultimate include a WireGuard-based VPN with no metering of data, on desktop and mobile.
- Windows-only extras
- On Windows, Premium Security adds exploit and brute force protection, firewall control, webcam monitoring, a file shredder and system tweaks.
- Identity protection
- Ultimate adds dark web and account alerts, three-bureau credit monitoring, recovery specialists, $2 million identity insurance and a personal data remover.
Plans
CrowdStrike Falcon Go
Falcon Go$59.99
per device / year, billed annually ($7.99 per device billed monthly)
Next-gen antivirus, USB device control, mobile device protection and Express Support, for up to 100 devices.
Malwarebytes
Free$0
On-demand scanner that finds and removes malware already on the device. Free apps for Android and iOS too.
Standard$59.99
per year for up to 3 devices
Premium Security antivirus with Browser Guard's scam, ad and tracker blocking and data breach alerts. Also sold for a single device.
Plus$79.99
per year for up to 3 devices
Everything in Standard plus Privacy VPN, a WireGuard VPN with no data cap.
Standard Family$119.99
per year for up to 10 devices
Standard's antivirus and Browser Guard for up to 10 devices.
Plus Family$149.99
per year for up to 10 devices
Antivirus, Browser Guard and Privacy VPN for up to 10 devices.
Ultimate$279.99
per year for 3 devices at renewal, after a first year for $139.99
Adds identity protection with $2M insurance and a data remover for 1 adult. First year $139.99. Family: $199.99, then $399.99.
Ways to pay less
CrowdStrike Falcon Go
- Annual discount
About 37% off with annual billing
CrowdStrike's pricing page shows Falcon Go at $59.99 per device billed annually against $7.99 per device billed monthly, or $95.88 over 12 months.
Malwarebytes
- Other savings
Ultimate at $139.99 for the first year
The pricing page shows Ultimate at 50% off, $139.99 instead of $279.99, and Ultimate Family at $199.99 instead of $399.99. The discount is for the first year only.
