Much like the stagehands in a musical, antivirus software works in the background to keep everything running smoothly. That’s the beauty of having good antivirus software. You’re not paying to watch the software work. You’re paying for protection and peace of mind, and when virus and malware strike, you know you can count on your antivirus to defend your device.
With that in mind, the antivirus programs that offer that kind or protection often charge a fee for their services, so how much should you expect to pay for antivirus software? In our experience, prices vary, so we must take a closer look at each brand.
Here on this page, we’ll give you a tour of Norton’s products and features, as well as guide you in picking the right Norton plan for your budget. We know it can be overwhelming to choose the right antivirus software, and we want you to get the best bang for your buck, so let’s get started.
The first thing to note is that Norton isn’t just an antivirus brand anymore. It offers a wide range of cybersecurity products, from a virtual private network to password manager, and even services like performance optimization and online premium support.
Because Norton has so much to offer, its pricing can be a bit all over the place. There’s an endless combination of individual products, bundles, and deals, and frankly, it can be overwhelming. So let’s take a look at Norton’s pricing one product at a time.
To narrow down your options, let’s start with the three main packages from Norton.
The first group consists of barebones antivirus subscriptions that offer some extra protections like a password manager. Called AntiVirus Plus, packages under this group are the most affordable, so we recommend them if you want to test out Norton’s antivirus software.
Next, we have the feature-rich Norton 360 packages that, as the name implies, offers 360-degree protection against different types of online threats. Norton 360 typically includes a VPN, a password manager, and cloud backup for important files to protect them from ransomware.
Lastly, we have the Norton 360 with LifeLock bundles. These bundles offer the same digital protections as Norton 360, but adding LifeLock makes them capable of protecting your identity as well.
LifeLock will alert you of potential identity theft, as well as suspicious changes to your credit. In addition, you’ll receive identity theft insurance coverage of up to $1 million, plus a separate reimbursement of stolen funds up to $1 million if you become a victim of fraud. You can read more about identity theft protection in our identity theft guide, or you can read our review of LifeLock to gain more insight into what it does.
Now, let’s look at how those three types of Norton products compare.
Aside from features, you’ll want to consider the number of devices each product protects. If you’re a multi-device user, you’ll probably save more by going with a product that costs more but protects more devices than an affordable one that protects just one device.
Also, keep in mind that while it’s completely fine to purchase each product individually — for example, just the antivirus or just the VPN — there are lots more opportunities to save with bundles.
For example, the Norton 360 with LifeLock Advantage bundle costs $19.99 on a monthly basis. That’s two products rolled into one. If you buy the LifeLock Advantage subscription alone, that will cost you $17.99. That means with a bundle, you’re only paying $2 per month for the Norton 360 subscription, which usually costs over $4 per month.
Bundling can help you save if you want to purchase multiple services and products from Norton, but what if you only need one? In the sections that follow, we highlight Norton’s pricing for individual products.
Norton Secure VPN is a virtual private network. It hides your IP address and encrypts your online data to protect your privacy. You can learn more about it in our Norton Secure VPN review.
The Norton VPN is available through several subscriptions. You can buy a monthly subscription or pay yearly for some savings. You can also have a subscription for one, five, or 10 devices total.
You’ll notice below that the minimum cost of the VPN for one device is $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year. That’s only $20 less than the 360 Deluxe one-year plan, which includes Norton Secure VPN for not just one but five devices. Again, bundling helps you save.
Check out what we thought of their VPN in our Norton Secure VPN review.
This device optimizer, which aims to get rid of clutter and make computers run faster, costs $49.99 per service on one computer. However, there are ways to do this sort of cleanup for free, so we think that your $50 could be better spent elsewhere.
From pornography and violence to child identity theft, there are a number of risks you take when you let your kids use the Internet. That being said, in our research on parental attitudes towards child identity theft, we found that about a third of parents aren’t very concerned or not concerned at all with child identity theft.
In a nutshell, Norton Family lets you block apps and sites you don’t want your kids to see, implement safe search terms, schedule screen time, and get reports about what your kid is doing online sent straight to your inbox. It’s a piece of parental control software that can help parents monitor their children’s internet usage and keep them safe online. It can also help kids develop healthy online habits.

FYI: Unsure how much screen time is safe for your child? OSF Healthcare pediatrician Dr. Ameera Nauman thinks that children ages five to 17 should have no more than two hours of screen time a day. That goes down to one hour for two to five-year-olds and no hours for kids under age two.2
Suffice it to say that some people are more tech-savvy than others. Without stereotyping people by their ages, research has shown that millennials are the leading adopters of tech, with Baby Boomers and Gen Xers following behind.3 But no matter what age you are, running into frustrating tech issues is…well, frustrating. Fortunately, Norton offers a virtual help desk that lets you contact IT whenever you want, 24/7, for $19.99 a month. This applies to three devices, be it a smartphone, tablet, or computer. With this plan, you can call Norton’s virtual help desk unlimited times.
Norton Utilities Premium is another optimizer for PCs available for $39.99 a year. You can use it on up to 10 PCs but again, we don’t think this service is necessary as you can clean up your PC yourself for free.
Finally, there’s an option for small businesses with five, 10 or 20 devices. This software works on Windows, Android, macOS and iOS, but Norton’s website isn’t very clear on what it actually does. To find out, we recommend live chatting with a member of their support staff to get all of your questions answered.
Looking at numbers only, Norton’s pricing is commensurate with other top antivirus companies, and overall, we’re fans of the software. Here’s why.
With any of Norton’s antivirus software plans, which include all of its Norton 360 offerings, users get seven days to try them out without paying. However, this doesn’t apply to any of their other standalone products like the VPN or the parental controls, only to the packages.

Note: Unlike some of its competitors, Norton doesn’t have any ongoing, free antivirus packages available. Rather, all of their free trials end after a week.
Some more good news: Norton has a 60-day money-back guarantee, which means that if you don’t like their products, you can cancel within 60 days of purchase and get your money back. However, that only applies to annual subscriptions; monthly subscriptions only have a 14-day window, but most of Norton’s plans are annual, anyway.
One of the perks of being part of a student network like Student Beans is unlocking some great discounts; and that’s a blessing, because after tuition, room, board, and textbooks, your bank account is probably dwindling. While their annual pricing isn’t any different from their regular pricing, they do have discounted prices if you sign up for a month, which is probably more ideal for commitment-phobic students. However, note that only the Deluxe and LifeLock Select plans cover five devices; with Antivirus Plus or 360 Standard, only one device is covered.
We cover Norton’s deals more extensively elsewhere, but to summarize, we’ve seen discounts from them in the past, not only on Black Friday but also on Cyber Monday. In 2018, for example, they offered up to $70 off.4 Here are some other deals we’ve seen in the past:
As far as current deals go, Norton is offering savings of up to 36-percent off antivirus products. Norton 360 Deluxe, for example, can be purchased for as low as $34.99 for the first year (instead of $49.99).
If you ask us, though, the best deals are on bundles. Simply choosing a bundle saves you a large amount compared to buying individual Norton products. Plus, you can take advantage of lower introductory prices if you sign up for a year or two. Just remember that once the initial subscription expires, you’ll have to pay the regular rates.
That about does it for Norton’s antivirus pricing, along with pricing of their other software. If you want to learn more, we highly recommend reading our Norton antivirus review, in which we actually test out the software, compiling it with a bunch of research to see if it’s trustworthy.
Pricing aside, we wanted to answer your general questions about Norton antivirus, and even how it compares with top competitors.
McAfee and Norton both have great virus prevention and device protection features, but overall, Norton is more robust. Norton’s ability to detect malware is better than that of McAfee. On top of that, its protection goes beyond just malware, as it also has a top-notch identity theft protection service in LifeLock.
On its own, Norton Antivirus Plus costs $19.99 for the first year. However, students registered with Student Beans can get it for $5.99 a month.
Although there is a seven-day free trial for Norton Antivirus, there’s no completely free subscription option.
The best antivirus software are Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, ESET, Kaspersky, Norton, McAfee, Malwarebytes, Vipre, Trend Micro and more.
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. (2020). Screen Time and Children.
aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-And-Watching-TV-054.aspx
OSF HealthCare. (2020). Screen Time for Kids; How Much is Too Much?
newsroom.osfhealthcare.org/screen-time-for-kids-how-much-is-too-much/
Pew Research. (2019). Millennials stand out for their technology use, but older generations also embrace digital life.
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/09/us-generations-technology-use/
Facebook. (2018). Norton.
facebook.com/NortonAU/photos/our-best-black-friday-cyber-monday-dealhave-a-safer-more-secure-holiday-with-nor/1111424539035030/
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