Bitdefender vs ESET
ESET comes out ahead of Bitdefender on 4 of the 7 things that decide this, going by what each company publishes and what independent review sites report. The one that matters for you may be one the leader loses.
The verdict
ESET takes it, 4–3 on rounds.
On the published figures and the independent review sites, ESET takes 4 of 7 rounds. Treat that as a starting point and check the current figures on both pages, because prices and plans move.
Choose Bitdefender if…
- • You want Bitdefender's edge on how much it blocks and how easy it is to use
Choose ESET if…
- • You want ESET's edge on how often it cries wolf and how much it slows your pc
Round by round
- Round 1How much it blocksBitdefender winsBitdefender8/10
99.5%
AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test, February to May 2026
Source: av-comparatives.org ↗
ESET5/1098.5%
AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test, February to May 2026
- 98.5%, against 99.5%
Source: av-comparatives.org ↗
Bitdefender wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 2How often it cries wolfESET wins
ESET wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 3How much it slows your PCESET winsBitdefender5/10
9.6
AV-Comparatives Performance Test, April 2026
- 9.6, against 4.2
Source: av-comparatives.org ↗
ESET wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 4What reviewers sayESET winsBitdefender5/10
4.6 out of 5
average rating from 37 reviews on Capterra
- 4.6 out of 5, against 4.7 out of 5
Source: capterra.com ↗
ESET wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 5What customers say on TrustpilotESET winsBitdefender5/10
4.3 out of 5
TrustScore from 12,581 reviews on Trustpilot
- 4.3 out of 5, against 4.6 out of 5
Source: trustpilot.com ↗
ESET wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 6How easy it is to useBitdefender winsESET5/10
4.5 out of 5
ease-of-use rating from Capterra reviewers
- 4.5 out of 5, against 4.6 out of 5
Source: capterra.com ↗
Bitdefender wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 7How reviewers rate its supportBitdefender winsESET5/10
4.4 out of 5
customer-service rating from Capterra reviewers
- 4.4 out of 5, against 4.5 out of 5
Source: capterra.com ↗
Bitdefender wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
Side by side
- paid only
- paid only
- 9.6, against 5.3
- 4.3 out of 5, against 4.7 out of 5
- 9.6, against 3.3
- No free version, against Free version
- 98.5%, against 99.3%
- 4.2, against 3.3
- 98.5%, against 99.5%
- 4.5 out of 5, against 4.6 out of 5