Bitdefender Total Security Review
By Alex Mercer • Updated October 2025
9.6
The Verdict
Bitdefender is our "Best Value" pick. It catches malware just as well as Norton but costs significantly less and runs lighter on your CPU.
Check Bitdefender Price →Performance: The "Photon" Engine
The biggest selling point of Bitdefender is that it is invisible. We tested it while playing Cyberpunk 2077 and saw zero frame-rate drops.
Its "Autopilot" mode makes security decisions for you, so you don't get pestered with pop-ups asking "Allow this connection?" every 5 minutes.
Ransomware Protection
Bitdefender uses a multi-layer approach. It backs up your sensitive documents the moment it detects suspicious activity. If a virus tries to lock your files, Bitdefender restores them from the backup automatically.
Pros
- + Extremely lightweight (doesn't slow PC)
- + Excellent Phishing Protection
- + OneClick Optimizer included
Cons
- - VPN is limited to 200MB/day on basic plans
- - macOS version has fewer features than Windows