Malwarebytes premium is worse than Kaspersky free. Overall, Kaspersky offers stronger protection, it has less features, but most people don't need the ones that are removed from the free version anyway.
Comparison
Software
Malwarebytes Premium
Best for Privacy
Malwarebytes Premium was built for one thing: catching the threats that traditional antivirus misses — adware, potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), spyware, and zero-day exploits. Its heuristic scanning engine doesn't rely on signature databases, so it catches newly emerging threats faster than legacy AV suites. Many security experts recommend running Malwarebytes alongside your primary antivirus as a second layer of protection. Real-time protection, scheduled scans, and a browser guard complete the package.
13 mentions · 7 threadslast mention Aug 20244.6/ 10
ClearPick Score
Buyer Beware
Score informed by 13 owner mentions across 7 Reddit threads · see every quote ↓
2 positive0 mixed11 negative
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Best for Privacy
Malwarebytes Premium
~$72 CAD/yr est. on Amazon.ca
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Every mention, sourced
Real comments from Reddit, linked to the original thread. Nothing paraphrased.
Malwarebytes blocked several ports on my pc, many games like battlefield 1 stopped working. Just be careful and open the ports manually if need be.
Complaint
Fine I guess. But premium can still never be worth it when you get so much for free with win def. I'd recommend free version at most. If there is something like that.
Complaint
You can get better protection from a decent free AV (e.g. those from Kaspersky or Bitdefender), than from Malwarebytes Premium.
Comparison
Malwarebytes doesn't usually submit its products for lab tests, and this is why. The product blocks less than other products do.
Complaint
The free version is okay as a removal tool; the paid product is lame.
Complaint
Malwarebytes is, quite literally, the least effective of all the mainstream solutions.
Complaint
Malwarebytes is fine as a free, second opinion, on demand scanner, just don't ever pay for premium.
Comparison
Sure but you can get better protection for free from Bitdefender. Premium is just not a good product.
Comparison
I've been using Malwarebytes premium (the free trial) for almost 2 weeks and I haven't had any problems, it even caught 2 pieces of malware that Norton didn't catch.
Praise
I tried the premium trial of Malwarebytes and it felt much better, even blocking malicious sites.
Praise
it screws up Windows BIG TIME. Defender refuses to turn back on... While MB is great, I will never recommend it ever again. It's done
Complaint
after upgrading to Windows 11, the Malwarebytes/Avast combo constantly crash windows to the point where the computer becomes un-useable. Malwarebytes alone is not enough to protect me from virus as I recently discovered.
Complaint
✅ What Works
- Caught malware some competing tools missed in at least one head-to-head trial
- Interface is straightforward and easy to use
- Works as a supplemental on-demand scanner alongside other protection
⚠️ Worth Knowing
- Protection effectiveness repeatedly rated below free alternatives (Kaspersky, Windows Defender) in owner comparisons
- Does not submit to independent lab testing, which owners flag as a red flag
- System interference reported — crashes, blocked game ports, and one account of it breaking Windows Defender
- Several owners say they no longer recommend it as a primary security tool
- Score revised from an earlier pass in this same correction sweep to accurately reflect the sentiment split above — treat this as the current, corrected figure.
ClearPick Verdict
Owner sentiment on Malwarebytes Premium is heavily negative: 11 of 13 mentions are negative and none are mixed. The core complaint is protection effectiveness — owners report it rated as weaker than free alternatives like Kaspersky and Windows Defender, note that Malwarebytes "doesn't usually submit its products for lab tests," and describe it blocking less malware than competing products in head-to-head comparisons. System interference is the second recurring issue: reports of Windows crashes when combined with other security software, blocked game ports, and one account of it "ruining Windows" badly enough that Defender wouldn't re-enable. There is a genuine fan base — one trial user reports it caught malware Norton missed — but the volume of comparative-effectiveness complaints is hard to ignore. This is a reasonable supplemental scanner for some users, but owners considering it as a primary defense layer over a well-reviewed free alternative should weigh these reports carefully.
