Is TotalAV Legit? Our TotalAV Review for 2026

Our verdictTotalAV

TotalAV is real antivirus with top AV-TEST protection scores, sold on a steep first-year discount. Budget for the renewal price, not the checkout price.

Best for

Households covering up to 4 devices that want antivirus plus cleanup tools and will set a reminder before it renews

Skip it if

You have one Windows PC and only need antivirus; Microsoft Defender scored the same at AV-TEST

$29first year at checkout, 4 devices

Visit TotalAV (official site, opens in a new tab) Official site

Is TotalAV legit or a scam?

TotalAV is a legitimate antivirus from a registered company, not a scam. Total Security Limited, which makes TotalAV, is listed at UK Companies House as company 10161957, incorporated on May 4, 2016, with its registered office in Fareham, Hampshire. The same company traded as Protected.net Group Limited from 2018 to 2023, which is why AV-TEST still lists the product as “Protected.net TotalAV”.

Total Security merged with Pango Group in December 2024, and the combined company took the name Point Wild. Point Wild’s announcement says its brands include Total AV, Hotspot Shield, UltraAV, Betternet, CyEx, Simpluris and Comparitech. Comparitech publishes antivirus reviews, so the owner of TotalAV also owns a site that reviews it. Comparitech’s TotalAV review discloses this in an editor’s note.

The “scam” label usually comes from billing, not from malware. TotalAV’s checkout shows a discount for the first year and says the plan “will then auto renew annually” at the regular rate. Customers on older plans renew at older prices: TotalAV’s own pricing matrix shows a Total Security plan sold from 2019 to 2024 still renewing at $209 a year. We searched the UK Advertising Standards Authority’s rulings for “TotalAV” on October 24, 2026, and the search returned no rulings.

TotalAV review: how well does it protect?

TotalAV protects as well as the top antivirus apps in AV-TEST’s latest rounds. AV-TEST tested TotalAV 6.6 and 6.7 on Windows 11 in July and August 2026 and gave it 6/6 for protection, 5.5/6 for performance and 6/6 for usability. TotalAV stopped 100% of zero-day attacks in August.

AV-Comparatives tested TotalAV against 400 live threats between February and May 2026 and recorded 99%, the same rate as Microsoft Defender (99%) and a little below Norton (99.3%). AV-Comparatives notes that TotalAV uses the Avira engine. The weak spot is speed: TotalAV placed 18th of 20 in AV-Comparatives’ September 2026 Performance Test.

TotalAV price: first year vs renewal

TotalAV costs $29 for the first year of Total AV Plus at checkout, then $99 a year after that. The checkout text says you “agree to pay” the first-year price today and that the plan “will then auto renew annually” at the full rate until you cancel.

The Total AV Plus renewal is $70 more than the first year (our sums of published prices). Monthly billing renews at $11 a month, which adds up to more than the yearly plan. TotalAV says it sends notice at least 30 days before an annual renewal. The product pages list the regular yearly price; the discount appeared only at checkout.

What do you get beyond antivirus?

TotalAV’s cheapest plan covers the antivirus basics, and the privacy tools sit in higher tiers. TotalAV lists these by plan:

• Total AV Plus: real-time antivirus, zero-day cloud scanning, ransomware and phishing protection, and cleanup tools (disk cleaner, browser cleaner, app uninstaller).
• Internet Security: adds Total VPN.
• Total Security: adds Total Password, TotalAV’s password manager.
• Paid add-ons: Total Adblock, identity theft protection, extra devices and more, each billed as a separate yearly subscription that you cancel separately.

How do you cancel TotalAV and get a refund?

TotalAV cancels from your online account: sign in, open My Subscriptions and select Cancel Subscription next to the plan. TotalAV emails a verification code first, and the plan stays active until the end of the term you paid for.

Cancelling only turns off auto-renewal. For your money back, TotalAV says you must fully end the subscription and ask within 30 days of starting a yearly or biannual plan, or within 14 days for monthly and quarterly plans. Access ends as soon as a refund is approved. Add-ons such as Total Adblock or Total VPN are cancelled one by one, even when they share a login. If you subscribed through the App Store or Google Play, cancel there instead.

TotalAV vs Norton, Malwarebytes and Defender

TotalAV matches Norton, Malwarebytes and the free Microsoft Defender on AV-TEST protection; the difference is price and devices.

On a single Windows PC, the free option protects just as well: read how Defender compares with paid antivirus. Our Malwarebytes Premium review and verdict on Norton 360 cover the other two paid columns. For a Norton plan with a lower renewal on more devices, our side-by-side Norton and McAfee prices cover both brands, and our McAfee review covers another heavily discounted suite. TotalAV also sells iPhone and Android apps; read what iPhone security apps can and can’t do before paying for one.

How do you uninstall TotalAV?

TotalAV uninstalls like any app, and uninstalling doesn’t cancel your subscription. On Windows 11, open Start, search for TotalAV, select Uninstall, find TotalAV in Installed apps and choose Uninstall, then restart when asked. On a Mac, open TotalAV, click TotalAV in the menu bar and choose Uninstall TotalAV, then enter your Mac password when prompted. Cancel auto-renewal separately in your TotalAV account.