The best VPN with antivirus combines two of the most powerful privacy and security services in to one comprehensive cybersecurity solution.
VPNs help to protect your internet traffic by encrypting your data and sending it out via a secondary location, helping to mask your IP and location while also preventing your internet service provider from seeing your browsing activity. They are also perfect for protecting yourself while using public Wi-Fi services.
Antivirus on the other hand protects your device from all forms of malware by scanning downloads and attachments, as well as your files to find where any pesky trojans or viruses might be hiding.
By combining these services into one solution, you can protect both your inbound and outbound internet traffic from snoops and thieves while also keeping your device uninfected.
Our experts have put over 10 of the best VPNs with antivirus through their paces against our testing criteria, which includes both the performance and customization of the VPN and antivirus services separately, as well as how well they work to protect devices together. We also factor in cost, compatibility, customer service, and ease of use.
I have rounded up the best performing solutions from our testing and organized them in by use case to make it easy to find the best VPN with antivirus for you. Here are my top three recommendations:
1. NordVPN
The best VPN overall
NordVPN is our top-rated VPN overall thanks to an impressive suite of security tools. This includes Threat Protection Pro, which safeguards against ads, trackers, phishing attempts, and malicious sites. It even warns users about malware before it has a chance to impact the device. Plus, if you’re willing to part with a little extra money each month, NordVPN has its very own password manager that simplifies the process of generating, storing, and auto-filling super-secure credentials. It’s the total privacy package, and you can check it out, risk-free, with a handy 30-day money-back guarantee.
2. Surfshark
The best cheap VPN
Surfshark has its very own built-in antivirus tool – which is doubly impressive when you consider how cheap a subscription is. We recommend the One plan, which is the most feature-rich option, including a data breach alert system, ad-free search engine, and the Alternative ID feature (which generates a new online identity you can use in place of your real details). See how Surfshark stacks up against NordVPN with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
3. Private Internet Access (PIA)
The best Linux VPN
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a privacy-first service that’s a favorite amongst power users, thanks to deep customizability that allows for the tailoring of virtually all of its tools. PIA also includes an antivirus that effectively detects threats hidden in files, sites, and apps, and can be scheduled in all sorts of ways. Although PIA isn’t as quick as NordVPN and Surfshark, we didn’t notice any significant slowdown when streaming, torrenting, or going about our usual browsing. Take PIA for a test spin with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
VPNs and antivirus tools both protect your digital privacy and data – but in very different ways. Together, they cover multiple layers of your overall security posture.
Antivirus software, as the name implies, can protect you from computer viruses. Although the term is a bit antiquated at this point, the operation of such software remains as relevant as ever: it can prevent the likes of malware and ransomware from being downloaded and executed on your devices, which can steal files and sensitive data, as well as locking you out completely. It can also pave the way for further attacks against you down the line.
VPNs, on the other hand, essentially mask your IP address, thus preventing attackers from discovering your virtual and physical location, and protecting your data as it is sent and received across the web by encrypting tunnels.
VPN can also help users bypass geo-restrictions that’d otherwise prevent them from accessing location-specific content – like Netflix shows and live sports. By connecting to a VPN server, you’ll appear to be located physically in that same place, and will be served up that region’s local content as a result.
There are specialist streaming VPNs for this purpose, which specialize in unlocking geo-restricted content, as well as letting you torrent safely too. We also have resources to help you learn more about virtual private networks.
Best VPN with antivirus bundles in 2026
As you can see, most dedicated antivirus solutions do not offer comprehensive VPNs. So, if your major use case is anonymity on the internet and/or streaming region-restricted content—and you’d also like more than just decent malware protection, here are the best, most popular VPN providers that come with built-in antivirus.
