MacKeeper vs Sophos Home (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Sophos Home grades higher than MacKeeper: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Sophos Home grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
MacKeeper
Mac maintenance app with antivirus, cleanup and a VPN
Sophos Home
Business-grade antivirus for up to 10 Windows PCs and Macs
Which one is for you
Pick MacKeeper if
- Fits if you want cleanup tools and a scanner in one Mac app
- Works for one or three Macs on a yearly plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Windows or a phone, as only Mac is covered
- Pricey if you pay monthly at $14.95
- Watch out: the homepage says from $10.95 a month while the pricing page shows lower figures
- Watch out: the refund must be requested within 30 days and is lost after six months of use
- Tight if you stay on free: one week of malware scanning only
Pick Sophos Home if
- Fits if you look after your parents' computers from another house
- Works for households with several PCs and Macs, as one $59.99 plan covers 10 computers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a VPN, password manager or identity monitoring in the same subscription
- Not for you if you need help at weekends, as live support is weekdays in US Eastern hours
- Watch out: the $44.99 first year is a 25% offer, and it renews by itself at $59.99
- Tight if you want to stay free, as there's no free plan and protection stops after the 30-day trial
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAMacKeeperFair | 2.4GPASophos HomeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$71.40 a year for 1 Mac, shown as $5.95 a month, between the middle and the dearer quarter of this category. The month-to-month plan is $14.95 and no renewal price is stated. | 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, about $6 a computer a year at the full price. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free version with one use of the memory cleaner, one week of malware scanning and a limited adware blocker. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial of Premium with no credit card needed. After that it stops protecting unless you buy. |
| Features | CAntivirus, cleanup and VPN in one Mac app, though the antivirus is one part of a maintenance suite. | 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, but it is a Mac app you install and run. | 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 | DMac only: no Windows, iPhone or Android app is listed. | 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 | a Mac cleanup app with antivirus attached | 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: MacKeeper and Sophos Home. How we grade
Price against what you get
MacKeeper starts at $5.95 a month and scores 2.0 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.
Sophos Home scores higher and starts $0.95 a month lower. Of the other antivirus apps on the chart, 21 score higher than MacKeeper for less, and 5 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
- MacKeeper also covers system monitor, disk cleanup, vPN and ad and tracker blocking.
At a glance
| MacKeeper | Sophos Home | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $5.95 per month for 1 Mac, billed yearly ($71.40); renewal price not stated | $59.99 per year for 10 computers at renewal, after a first year for $44.99 |
| Free plan | Free version offers one-time use of the memory cleaner, one week of malware scanning and a limited adware blocker. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of Sophos Home Premium, no credit card required |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Clario Tech | Sophos Ltd. |
| Price read from | mackeeper.com | home.sophos.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
MacKeeper
- Mac only; no Windows, iOS or Android app is listed.
- The pricing page does not state what yearly plans cost at renewal; it says only that later payments are billed annually.
- The 14-day money-back guarantee must be requested within 30 days for yearly plans and is lost once the license has been used for six months.
- The homepage lists pricing as starting at $10.95 a month, which differs from the pricing page figures.
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
MacKeeper
- Antivirus and adware cleaner
- Scans for malware and adware and offers real-time protection; the vendor cites a 99.7% detection rate in an AV-TEST comparison.
- Mac cleaner and uninstaller
- Removes junk files, duplicates, unused apps and leftover files to free disk space.
- Memory cleaner and optimizer
- Quits memory-heavy apps and manages startup items to free RAM.
- VPN, ad blocker and breach monitoring
- Includes a VPN, an ad and tracker blocker, and monitoring of email accounts for password leaks.
- In-app chat support
- Chat with support staff from inside the app, which the vendor says is available around the clock.
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
MacKeeper
12-month, 1 Mac$5.95
per month, billed yearly; first term, renewal price not stated
$71.40 for the year, shown against a crossed-out $179.40; covers 1 Mac with every MacKeeper tool.
12-month, 3 Macs$7.45
per month, billed yearly; first term, renewal price not stated
$89.40 for the year, shown against a crossed-out $179.40; covers 3 Macs.
1-month, 1 Mac$14.95
per month, billed monthly
Month-to-month plan for 1 Mac with full access to every tool.
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
MacKeeper
- Other savings
14-day money-back guarantee
All plans are eligible for a refund requested within 30 days of purchase on yearly plans or 14 days on monthly plans.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, MacKeeper or Sophos Home?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Sophos Home is cheaper to start with: $5 a month when paid by the year, against $5.95 a month for MacKeeper. MacKeeper starts at $5.95 per month for 1 Mac, billed yearly ($71.40); renewal price not stated, and Sophos Home starts at $59.99 per year for 10 computers at renewal, after a first year for $44.99.
Which has a free plan, MacKeeper or Sophos Home?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only MacKeeper has a free plan. Sophos Home does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do MacKeeper and Sophos Home run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Sophos Home lists Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a macOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.