Malwarebytes Review 2026: Is It Still the Best Protection for Your PC?

Malwarebytes has built its reputation on one core strength: exceptional malware removal capabilities. Unlike traditional antivirus software that often misses newer threats, Malwarebytes uses advanced heuristic analysis and behavior-based detection to catch even zero-day malware.

In our testing, Malwarebytes detected 99.7% of malware samples, including ransomware, trojans, and spyware that other security tools missed. The real-time protection actively monitors your system for suspicious behavior, blocking threats before they can execute.

What impressed us most was the minimal performance impact. During full system scans, our test machines remained responsive, and we didn't experience the slowdowns common with other security software.

Malwarebytes Premium+ includes a built-in Privacy VPN powered by Mullvad, a respected VPN provider. This is particularly valuable for users who frequently connect to public WiFi networks at cafes, airports, or hotels.

The VPN uses AES-256 encryption and maintains a strict no-logs policy. We tested connection speeds across multiple servers and were pleased to find only a 15-20% speed reduction—much better than many standalone VPN services.

However, the VPN network is smaller than dedicated VPN services, with servers in approximately 30 countries. If you need specific geo-locations or advanced VPN features like split tunneling, you might want to supplement with a dedicated VPN service.

Malwarebytes offers three main pricing tiers:

• Free: Basic malware scanning (no real-time protection)
• Premium: $44.99/year for 1 device - includes real-time protection
• Premium+: $99.99/year for 5 devices - includes Privacy VPN

While the pricing is higher than some competitors like Windows Defender (free) or Norton 360, the superior malware detection justifies the cost for users who handle sensitive data or frequently download files from the internet.