ESET vs Sophos Home
We give ESET a 2.6 GPA and Sophos Home a 2.4, out of 4.0. ESET grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ESET
Antivirus and home security plans priced by device count
Sophos Home
Business-grade antivirus for up to 10 Windows PCs and Macs
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAESETGood | 2.4GPASophos HomeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CHOME Security Essential is $69.99 a year for 5 devices, with no first-year deal on record, so two years cost $139.98, about $5.83 a month. That's above the dearer quarter of antivirus but short of the dearest tenth. A 2-year term takes 15% off. | CPremium is $44.99 the first year, then $59.99, so two years cost $104.98, about $4.37 a month, a little above the middle of antivirus prices. That covers 10 computers and unlimited phones, so per device it's cheap for a big household. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free version, but a 30-day free trial with no credit card. When it ends, you pay or you're unprotected. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial of Premium with no credit card needed. After that it stops protecting unless you buy. |
| Features | BReal-time protection, a secured browser for banking, a firewall, and checks on your router and smart devices. Premium adds a VPN and file and USB encryption, and Ultimate US identity protection. Only the VPN is stingy: 3 devices on Premium. | CIt does the antivirus job fully: real-time scanning with AI detection, ransomware rollback, web protection, parental web filtering and remote management. But it's a smaller product than the suites around it, with no VPN, password manager or identity monitoring. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. It's software you install and leave running, with nothing to set up first. | BNo store rating on record. You install it on each computer and it runs, with the web dashboard there when you want it. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac and Android, and the VPN runs on a home router too. There's no iPhone app on record and no API, so B is the ceiling. | BWindows and Mac computers plus iPhone, iPad and Android, all managed from one web dashboard. No API or integrations on record, so it stops at B. |
| Best for | plain antivirus priced by the number of devices | looking after the family's computers from one place |
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: ESET and Sophos Home. How we grade
Price against what you get
ESET starts at $1.08 a month when paid by the year and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Sophos Home starts at $5 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7.
ESET scores higher and starts $3.92 a month lower. Of the other antivirus apps on the chart, none scores higher than ESET for less, and 4 score higher than Sophos Home 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
- ESET starts at $12.99 per year for 1 device (Mobile Security for Android). Sophos Home starts at $59.99 per year for 10 computers at renewal, after a first year for $44.99.
- Only Sophos Home lists an iOS app.
- ESET also covers vPN.
At a glance
| ESET | Sophos Home | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $12.99 per year for 1 device (Mobile Security for Android) | $59.99 per year for 10 computers at renewal, after a first year for $44.99 |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no credit card required | 30-day free trial of Sophos Home Premium, no credit card required |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | ESET | Sophos Ltd. |
| Price read from | eset.com | home.sophos.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
ESET
- Buyers who want a light antivirus for one Windows PC or Mac
- Households covering up to 10 devices on a single plan
- Paying once for 2 or 3 years at a lower yearly rate
Sophos Home
- Families who look after the computers of relatives in other homes
- Households with several Windows PCs and Macs on one budget plan
- People who want plain antivirus without a bundled VPN or add-ons
Worth knowing
ESET
- There is no free antivirus plan; the 30-day trial is the only way to try it without paying.
- The VPN starts at the Premium tier and covers only 3 devices there; Ultimate raises that to 10.
- Ultimate is sold for 5 or 10 devices only, and its identity protection is run by a US-based team.
- Small offices get a separate plan, Small Business Security, at $179.99 a year for 5 devices.
Sophos Home
- The advertised $44.99 is a 25% first-year offer; the subscription renews automatically at the published price, $59.99 a year.
- There is no free plan: the trial stops protecting after 30 days unless you buy.
- There is no VPN, password manager or identity monitoring in the plan.
- Live support is available only on weekdays during US Eastern office hours.
Key features
ESET
- Real-time malware protection
- Blocks viruses, ransomware, spyware and phishing as they arrive, with AI-based detection aimed at new threats.
- Safe banking and browsing
- A secured browser mode for banking and shopping that helps keep payment details away from phishing pages and snooping software.
- Firewall and network checks
- A firewall and network shield, plus tests of your home router and smart devices for weak points.
- ESET VPN
- Premium and Ultimate include a no-logs VPN with unlimited traffic, split tunneling on desktop and Android, and a version that runs on a home router.
- File encryption
- Premium and Ultimate encrypt sensitive files and USB drives and let only trusted apps change protected folders.
- Identity protection
- Ultimate adds dark web scanning, 1-bureau credit monitoring, SSN tracking and identity recovery with $1M insurance from a US team.
Sophos Home
- AI threat detection
- Deep learning models flag malware that has never been seen before, alongside real-time scanning against the SophosLabs threat databases.
- Ransomware rollback
- Blocks ransomware from encrypting personal files and photos, and rolls back any files it managed to change.
- Web protection
- Blocks compromised and phishing sites, adds browser protection for banking and shopping, and scans downloads automatically.
- Remote management
- One dashboard shows and manages the protection on every computer in the family, wherever those computers are.
- Parental web filtering
- Choose categories of websites that children cannot open on a protected computer.
- Support by chat and email
- Live chat and email support from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern, Monday to Friday, with a knowledge base available around the clock.
Plans
ESET
Mobile Security for Android$12.99
per year for 1 device
Protection for Android phones and tablets, with safe banking, network checks and anti-theft. $22.99 for 3 devices, $32.99 for 5.
NOD32 Antivirus$39.99
per year for 1 device
Real-time antivirus for Windows and macOS only. $49.99 for 3 devices, $59.99 for 5.
HOME Security Essential$49.99
per year for 1 device
Antivirus, safe banking and browsing, firewall and Wi-Fi protection across devices. $69.99 for 5 devices, $94.99 for 10.
HOME Security Premium$79.99
per year for 1 device
Adds ESET VPN with unlimited traffic on up to 3 devices, file and USB encryption and folder protection. $99.99 for 5 devices, $124.99 for 10.
HOME Security Ultimate$179.99
per year for up to 5 devices
Adds VPN for 10 devices and routers, ransomware remediation and US identity protection with $1M insurance. $204.99 for 10 devices.
Sophos Home
Sophos Home Premium$59.99
per year for 10 computers at renewal, after a first year for $44.99
Up to 10 Windows and Mac computers plus unlimited phones and tablets. First year $44.99 (25% off $59.99), then renews at the published price.
Ways to pay less
ESET
- Other savings
Save 15% on 2 years and 20% on 3 years
HOME Security Essential and Premium cost less per year on longer terms: Essential for 1 device is $84.98 for 2 years or $119.98 for 3, instead of $49.99 a year.
Sophos Home
- Other savings
25% off the first year for new customers
Sophos Home Premium costs $44.99 for the first year instead of $59.99, then renews automatically at the published price.
