PC Matic and Norton are consumer and small business security providers, mainly offering basic device and web security like antivirus and antimalware. PC Matic is a great choice for families that must protect many devices. Norton’s selection of security features makes it a good fit for home offices, particularly entrepreneurs’ devices. I evaluated PC Matic and Norton, including their pricing, features, and support options, to help you select the best fit for you.
- PC Matic: Better for ease of use and administration (starts at $50 annually for 5 devices)
- Norton Antivirus: Better overall for home security and small startups (starts at $49.99 annually for five devices)
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PC Matic vs Norton at a Glance
The following table outlines the similarities and differences between PC Matic and Norton, including their pricing, device and system support, and a few features.
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (Billed Annually) | • Starter: $50 for 5 devices • Personal: $100 for all personal devices • Family: $199 starting at 15 devices | • Norton Antivirus Plus: $29.99 (1 device) • Norton 360 Standard: $39.99 (1 device) • Norton 360 Deluxe: $49.99 for 5 devices • Norton 360 with LifeLock: $79.99 for 10 devices |
| Supported Operating Systems | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS |
| Number of Devices Supported | 5-15 (depending on plan) | 1-10 (depending on plan) |
| Automated Updates | Yes | Yes |
| VPN Feature or Add-On | Yes | Yes |
| Firewall | No | Yes |
| Visit PC Matic | Visit Norton |
Based on my evaluation, Norton is the overall better antivirus product, with plenty of features, multiple support channels, and affordable pricing plans. PC Matic is still a solid choice, though, especially for families and home offices. Continue reading to see my comparison of the two, or skip down to read how I evaluated both products’ offerings.
PC Matic Overview
Better for Ease of Use and Administration
Overall Rating: 3.7/5
- Pricing: 3.5/5
- Core features: 3.9/5
- Advanced features and integrations: 3.5/5
- Usability and administration: 4.2/5
- Customer support: 3.3/5
PC Matic is an endpoint and application security provider for basic antivirus and device protection. It offers features like virtual private network (VPN) security for Wi-Fi, ad blocking, and endpoint scans. PC Matic has a knowledge base with help articles and a few simple introductory videos for customers, and it supports Windows and Mac PCs and Android and iOS devices. It’s a good choice for teams that want plenty of administrative features.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Option of free antivirus plan | No native firewall or add-on |
| Paid support offers phone, email, and chat | No support forum or customer community |
| VPN available | No Linux support |
- Anti-malware: PC Matic has a team that examines software for malicious design and identifies malware within a day.
- Ad blocker: PC Matic blocks unwanted advertisements, including pop-ups that try to collect information from you or even masquerade as genuine ads.
- Script blocking: This agent is designed to identify malicious scripts and block them from running on the protected device.
- Whitelisting: PC Matic has a whitelist of allowed programs, and any other application is sent to PC Matic’s malware team for identification and categorization.
- Cloud backup: PC Matic’s Personal and Family plans offer 25 gigabytes of cloud backup to protect sensitive files.
Norton Overview
Better for Basic Home Security and Security Startups
Overall Rating: 4.2/5
- Pricing: 4/5
- Core features: 4/5
- Advanced features and integrations: 5/5
- Usability and administration: 4/5
- Customer support: 4.3/5
Norton is an antivirus and security provider offering solutions for both consumers and small businesses. Its features include a password generator and manager, anti-malware, automated security updates, and privacy monitoring for your personal information on the internet. Norton is a good choice for any individual or family looking for overall cybersecurity, but it’s also a great option for home offices and very small startups because it offers so many features.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| VPN and firewall integrations available | No plan for large families |
| Phone, email, and live chat support | No native ad blocking in AV product |
| Affordable pricing for antivirus | No Linux support |
Key Features
- Password manager: Use Norton’s built-in password manager to generate passwords, update them with AutoChange, and access your vault with biometrics.
- Dark web monitoring: Norton 360 with LifeLock scans forums and sites on the dark web and notifies you if your information shows up there.
- Privacy monitor: Norton scans online forums and data brokers for your personal information and helps you request to opt out of being listed there.
- Identity theft protection: LifeLock consistently monitors data points to locate stolen identities, credit, funds, and Social Security numbers.
- Intrusion prevention: Norton analyzes network traffic to halt potential incoming threats before they affect your devices.
Better for Pricing: Norton
| | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest Pricing Tier (Billed Annually) | PC Matic Security: $50 for 5 devices | Norton Antivirus Plus: $29.99 (1 device; current sale price) |
| Mid-Range Pricing Tier (Billed Annually) | Personal: $100 for all your personal devices | Norton 360 Deluxe: $49.99 for 5 devices; current sale price |
| Highest Pricing Tier (Billed Annually) | Family: $199 for 15 devices | Norton 360 with LifeLock: $79.99 for 10 devices; current sale price |
| Free Trial | Length unclear | 7 days |
| Visit PC Matic | Visit Norton |
Winner: Norton has multiple pricing plans that are less expensive than PC Matic.
PC Matic has three pricing plans designed for different use cases. The PC Matic Security plan is best for individual users who only have a few devices, like a phone, a desktop, and a laptop, and only want basic antivirus security. The Personal plan supports all your devices and provides additional features like a VPN and identity threat protection; this is a good choice if you run your own business. The Family plan works well for families protecting multiple teenagers’ devices.
Norton Antivirus Plus and Norton 360 Standard are the most basic of Norton’s four plans, supporting only a single device. The 360 Deluxe plan supports five and offers features like ransomware protection and dark web monitoring. Norton 360 with LifeLock is the most extensive plan, including all the features of the previous plan plus identity theft protection. It’s good for entrepreneurs or startups with 10 or fewer devices, though not great for large families.
Better for Core Features: Norton
| | |
|---|---|---|
| Endpoint Scans | Yes | Yes |
| Antimalware | Yes | Yes |
| Web Browsing Protection | Limited | Yes |
| Ad Blocking | Yes | Only through other product |
| Threat Remediation | Some | Through free Norton tool |
| Automated Updates | Yes | Yes |
| Visit PC Matic | Visit Norton |
Winner: Norton just barely edges out PC Matic with more web browsing functionality, but both offer plenty of useful security features.
PC Matic’s core security features include endpoint scans, antimalware, ad blocking, and automated software updates. While its Essential Security plan doesn’t offer many additional features — just antivirus and antimalware protection — the Personal and Family plans are more extensive, including extras like identity theft protection. PC Matic doesn’t have reporting features, like charts about your overall device security posture or email scans.
Norton’s four AV plans contain malware, ransomware, hacking, and virus protection. They also offer increasing numbers of gigabytes for cloud backup; the smallest plan starts at 2 GB, and the 360 with LifeLock provides 250. Like PC Matic, Norton’s Antivirus plans don’t offer email scans — you’ll need to purchase Norton Safe, a separate product. Also, reporting features are limited to Windows users, who can view device activity data that Norton has logged.
Better for Advanced Features & Integrations: Norton
| | |
|---|---|---|
| VPN | Yes | Yes |
| Password Manager | Through integration | Yes |
| Firewall | No | Yes |
| Dark Web Monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Visit PC Matic | Visit Norton |
Winner: Norton checks all the boxes for my picks for advanced capabilities and integrations.
PC Matic provides a VPN for your Wi-Fi activity so your browsing is shielded from unfriendly eyes while you’re connected to the internet. It also has password management functionality through an integration with IdentityForce. Like Norton, PC Matic offers dark web monitoring so you know if your email address has been exposed to threat actors on the dark web. PC Matic doesn’t appear to have native firewall capabilities or a firewall add-on.
Norton offers a VPN, a password manager, and a firewall for its antivirus customers, as well as dark web monitoring. The password manager is available in all four plans. The VPN is available in Norton 360 Standard, 360 Deluxe, and 360 with LifeLock Select, as is dark web monitoring functionality. Norton Smart Firewall technology is also available in the Standard, Deluxe, and Select plans.
Better for Usability & Administration: PC Matic
| | |
|---|---|---|
| Supported Operating Systems | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS |
| Number of Devices Supported | Up to 15 in Family plan | Up to 10 in 360 LifeLock Select |
| Knowledge Base / How-to Articles | Many | A few |
| Training Videos | A few | Many |
| Visit PC Matic | Visit Norton |
Winner: PC Matic gets the edge for its extensive documentation.
PC Matic’s home security plans support more overall devices since the least expensive plan is designed for up to five devices and the Family plan supports at least 15. PC Matic supports Windows and Mac but not Linux for computers and desktops. Mobile support includes both Android and iOS mobile devices. PC Matic has quite a few knowledge base articles for its products, and it offers a few instructional videos.
While Norton’s antivirus products are quality solutions, they don’t support quite as many devices per plan — the most expensive plan, 360 LifeLock, protects up to 10. This will be sufficient for smaller families and work-from-home office setups, but not larger families. Like PC Matic, Norton supports Windows and Mac computers, but not Linux. It also supports both Android and iOS on mobile. Norton offers quite a few video tutorials for using its AV products.
Better for Customer Support: Norton
| | |
|---|---|---|
| Support Forum / Customer Community | No | Yes |
| Support Hours | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| Phone | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Live Chat | Yes | Yes |
| Product Demo | No | No |
| Visit PC Matic | Visit Norton |
Winner: Both have comparable customer support options, but Norton wins for having a customer community.
PC Matic’s Personal plan includes customer support for covered products via phone. The Family plan offers 24/7 phone support for your supported devices, including any routers and tablets covered by PC Matic. It also provides remote assistance for product issues. PC Matic also offers customer support via email and live chat through its paid support option, an annual fee of $100. Like Norton, PC Matic doesn’t offer a product demo.
Norton offers 24/7 customer support. You can contact support through live chat or phone, and from my research, it looks like Norton responds to support inquiries through email, too. You can also reach out to Norton’s customer community for support assistance as well; this is particularly useful if your need isn’t immediately pressing. Norton doesn’t have an official product demo — likely because it’s more consumer-facing — but if you’d like to try it first, check out the free trial.
Who Shouldn’t Use PC Matic or Norton
PC Matic and Norton Security are great choices for home security and basic protection for business startups. But they aren’t the best fit for everyone, particularly businesses and especially enterprises.
Who Shouldn’t Use PC Matic
Choose another product if you fall into one of these categories:
- Individual or entrepreneur looking for a firewall: PC Matic doesn’t offer a native firewall or add-on within the antivirus plans.
- Small businesses with more than ten employees: While the Family plan might work for small startups, more than 15-20 devices won’t be covered.
- Large enterprises: While PC Matic offers business products, the suites covered above are more focused on home security.
Who Shouldn’t Use Norton
You should consider a different solution if you’re one of the following:
- Large families: Because the LifeLock Select plan only supports up to 10 devices, Norton may not work well for large families with a lot of devices.
- Users that want an extensive knowledge base: Norton doesn’t have a lot of help articles, just a few basic how-to documents.
- Teams larger than a couple of people: The products in this guide are mainly for consumers, though Norton does have separate business solutions.
Top 3 Alternatives to PC Matic & Norton
PC Matic and Norton offer strong basic security capabilities, but they won’t serve all needs, particularly those of most small companies. If you’re looking for other antivirus solutions, particularly business-facing ones, check out Bitdefender, Malwarebytes, or McAfee.
Bitdefender Total Security
Bitdefender Total Security is an antimalware solution offering both threat detection and removal for up to 10 devices. Aside from its protection against viruses, spyware, and ransomware, the solution also includes 200 megabytes of VPN coverage per day for each individual device. It supports Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.
Bitdefender is priced between $59.99 and $99.99 for five devices annually and between $65.99 and $109.99 for 10 devices annually. Potential buyers can try the generous 30-day free trial to see if the product is right for them.
ThreatDown (Powered by Malwarebytes)
Malwarebytes is an antivirus and managed endpoint security provider. While Malwarebytes offers a free option for the most simple needs, the product ThreatDown — powered by Malwarebytes — is a paid option for businesses, with security features like patch management and vulnerability assessments. If the home-security-focused plans in this review sound insufficient, or you’re a business with more than 10 employees, consider Malwarebytes.
Malwarebytes’ download for home security is free. ThreatDown has four different plans: The least expensive, Core, costs $69 per endpoint annually. The most full-featured, Ultimate, costs $119 per endpoint annually.
If you’re interested in learning more, read our full comparison of Malwarebytes and Bitdefender.
McAfee
McAfee is a security and privacy solution for individuals and families, offering antivirus, identity monitoring, and text scam detection. Both of its advanced plans offer multiple privacy protection features, including social privacy management, personal data cleanup, and a VPN. It’s a good choice for families that are particularly focused on protecting their online identities and avoiding scams.
McAfee’s Starter plan costs $39.99 per year for a single user and up to five devices. McAfee is a little more expensive than Norton, with an individual plan costing $89.99 per year for unlimited devices and a family plan costing $119.99.
Read more product details and differences in our comparison of Bitdefender and McAfee.
How I Compared PC Matic & Norton
To analyze PC Matic and Norton, I developed a rubric with five major categories that potential buyers should look for in an antivirus product. Each of the five main criteria received a specific weight based on its importance, and each category also contained multiple subcriteria, each with its own weighting. This rubric covered the products’ pricing, core features, advanced capabilities, ease of use and administration, and customer support options.
Pricing – 20%
I evaluated the products’ main pricing plans and how many devices they support, as well as the availability of free trials and the option to use a free antivirus plan.
Core Features – 30%
I looked at PC Matic and Norton’s major features, including endpoint scans, antimalware protection, and ad blocking. I also checked the products for a main dashboard or management console and reports.
Advanced Features & Integrations – 15%
Both PC Matic and Norton offer some features outside of just standard antivirus protection, so I looked at capabilities like dark web monitoring, as well as firewall and VPN functionality. I also considered whether they offered password management.
Usability & Administration – 20%
I evaluated which operating systems the products supported, both desktop and mobile, and the number of devices protected. Additionally, I looked at the availability of product documentation and training videos.
Customer Support – 15%
I checked customer support channels, like email and phone, and the hours that the customer support team is available. I looked for potential product demos and customer communities or forums as well.
Bottom Line: PC Matic vs Norton
Both PC Matic and Norton are good choices for household and home office security, but one may be a better fit for you. Check out PC Matic if you’re looking for an easy-to-use antivirus solution that supports plenty of devices. If you’re interested in a lot of features, especially identity protection or firewalls, consider Norton.
If you’re interested in checking out business-focused antivirus solutions, read our guide to the best business AV software next.
