Malwarebytes vs Sophos Home
We give Malwarebytes a 2.2 GPA and Sophos Home a 2.4, out of 4.0. Sophos Home grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Malwarebytes
Malware scanner and real-time protection, with VPN and ID plans
Sophos Home
Business-grade antivirus for up to 10 Windows PCs and Macs
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAMalwarebytesFair | 2.4GPASophos HomeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | 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 | 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. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial of Premium with no credit card needed. After that it stops protecting unless you buy. |
| Features | 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. | 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 a program you install and run, and the free scanner needs nothing set up before the first scan. | 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, 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. | 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 | cleaning up a computer that's already infected | 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: Malwarebytes and Sophos Home. How we grade
Price against what you get
Malwarebytes starts at $5 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 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.
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 Malwarebytes 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
- Malwarebytes starts at $59.99 per year for up to 3 devices (Standard). Sophos Home starts at $59.99 per year for 10 computers at renewal, after a first year for $44.99.
- Malwarebytes has a free plan. Sophos Home does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Malwarebytes lists a browser extension.
- Malwarebytes also covers vPN and ad and tracker blocking.
At a glance
| Malwarebytes | Sophos Home | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $59.99 per year for up to 3 devices (Standard) | $59.99 per year for 10 computers at renewal, after a first year for $44.99 |
| Free plan | Malwarebytes Free scans Windows PCs and Macs on demand and removes infections already there. It has no real-time, ransomware or phishing protection. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of Sophos Home Premium, no credit card required |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Malwarebytes Inc. | Sophos Ltd. |
| Price read from | malwarebytes.com | home.sophos.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
