Antivirus is billed yearly, and the second year is where the money is. Of the 10 antivirus plans we track, every single one costs more at renewal, on average +125%. The steepest is Norton Norton 360 Deluxe: $30 for the first year, $125.04 every year after, an increase of 317%.
| product | first year | renews at | increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norton Norton 360 Deluxe | $30 | $125.04 | +317% |
| Norton Norton 360 Standard | $24.96 | $95.04 | +281% |
| McAfee Premium (Individual) | $50.04 | $150 | +200% |
| McAfee Advanced (Individual) | $90 | $200.04 | +122% |
| Norton Norton 360 LifeLock Select | $99.96 | $189.96 | +90% |
| Avast Premium Security | $49.08 | $78 | +59% |
| Norton Norton Mobile Security For Android | $20.04 | $30 | +50% |
| Norton Norton Mobile Security For Ios | $20.04 | $30 | +50% |
| Avast Avast One | $69.48 | $99.96 | +44% |
| McAfee Ultimate (Individual) | $200.04 | $279.96 | +40% |
Two things combine. First, the discount is unusually deep, first-year prices are often less than half the regular rate, so the step up is steeper than in hosting or VPN. Second, antivirus renews silently and annually. A hosting bill arrives monthly and gets noticed; an antivirus charge arrives once, twelve months after you stopped thinking about it, on a card you may have forgotten is on file.
1. Find your renewal date. It is one year from purchase, and vendors are required to notify
you, check your spam folder.
2. Look up the real second-year price in the table above, not the price you paid.
3. Decide before it charges. Refunds after an auto-renewal are possible but slower than
simply cancelling or renegotiating beforehand.
4. Compare against buying fresh. The uncomfortable arithmetic of this category is that the
new-customer price is often far below the loyal-customer price.
How much does antivirus cost after the first year?
More than the advertised price in every case we track. The average increase across 10 plans is 125%. Norton Norton 360 Deluxe goes from $30 to $125.04 a year.
Why did my antivirus bill go up so much?
Your introductory year ended. Antivirus is sold on a heavily discounted first year and renews automatically at the regular rate, which is typically two to three times higher.
Which antivirus has the smallest renewal increase?
Of those we track, McAfee Ultimate (Individual) has the smallest measured increase at +40%. That is still an increase, none of them hold price.