Malwarebytes vs McAfee:Which is searched more?
In September 2026, Malwarebytes had more branded searches than McAfee among antivirus software worldwide. Malwarebytes was estimated to have 1M branded searches compared to McAfee’s 611K, and held a 25.5% Share of Search versus McAfee’s 15.1%. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.
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Which is more popular in search, Malwarebytes or McAfee?
Compare the antivirus and internet security software people buy. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.
Share of Search by month for Malwarebytes, McAfee. The figures are in the table below the chart.
View monthly share of search table
| Month | Malwarebytes | Norton | Bitdefender | McAfee | Kaspersky | ESET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 19.3% | 24.5% | 15% | 17.8% | 15.3% | 8.1% |
| Nov 2025 | 23.2% | 21.6% | 14.6% | 17.3% | 15.2% | 8% |
| Dec 2025 | 20.5% | 22.7% | 15.4% | 18.3% | 16.1% | 7.1% |
| Jan 2026 | 22.4% | 22.1% | 13.7% | 19.9% | 14.3% | 7.6% |
| Feb 2026 | 22.1% | 23.3% | 13.6% | 19.5% | 14% | 7.5% |
| Mar 2026 | 24.8% | 21.5% | 15.2% | 18.4% | 13% | 7% |
| Apr 2026 | 27.5% | 20.1% | 14.1% | 16.5% | 14.2% | 7.6% |
| May 2026 | 24.7% | 20.8% | 14.4% | 17.8% | 15.3% | 6.9% |
| Jun 2026 | 25.7% | 21.6% | 14.9% | 17.7% | 13% | 7.1% |
| Jul 2026 | 25.3% | 21.3% | 16.4% | 17.1% | 12.8% | 7% |
| Aug 2026 | 24% | 22.3% | 14.6% | 16.9% | 15.2% | 6.9% |
| Sep 2026 | 25.5% | 23.3% | 16.3% | 15.1% | 13.6% | 6.3% |
How has the Malwarebytes and McAfee comparison changed over the last 12 months?
3 findings
- Malwarebytes was ahead of McAfee in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Malwarebytes’ estimated Share of Search among antivirus software worldwide moved from 19.3% to 25.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 851K to 1M.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, McAfee’s estimated Share of Search among antivirus software worldwide moved from 17.8% to 15.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 783K to 611K.
How did search popularity change for antivirus software worldwide in September 2026?
3 changes
In September 2026, Bitdefender overtook McAfee and Kaspersky to rank 3rd among antivirus software worldwide, with 16.3% estimated Share of Search.
In September 2026, Malwarebytes gained estimated Share of Search among antivirus software worldwide, from 24% to 25.5%.
In September 2026, McAfee lost estimated Share of Search among antivirus software worldwide, from 16.9% to 15.1%.
Other head-to-heads among antivirus software
How each brand is measured
Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Malwarebytes’ and McAfee’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.
Malwarebytes
6 branded search terms
- antivirus malwarebytes
- endpoint security malwarebytes
- malwarebytes
- malwarebytes app
- malwarebytes endpoint security
- malwarebytes software
McAfee
2 branded search terms
- mcafee
- mcafee antivirus
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