A real lab that runs antivirus through hands-on malware tests, but the vendors it certifies are also its paying customers, and critics have questioned how easy its seal became.
What it's really for An independent German security lab; hands-on testing is the whole job, and results are free.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its lab malware-protection scores and 'Certified' seal, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
- Operating since
- 2004 (22 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- An independent German lab that hands-on tests antivirus and security software, publishes free comparative results, and sells certifications, commissioned tests, and seal-licensing rights to the same vendors.
- What they do
- Runs security products through in-house lab tests against live malware across Protection, Performance, and Usability, scoring them on a published 18-point scale and awarding a "Certified" seal.
- What to watch for
- The vendors being rated are also AV-TEST's paying customers (certification fees, commissioned tests, seal licensing), and one industry CEO publicly argued in 2013 that a lowered scoring threshold made the certification easier for most products to earn.
- Composite score
- 3.70 / 5.00 → grade B+
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- AV-TEST was founded by Andreas Marx and Guido Habicht in 2004 and is based in Magdeburg, Germany; in February 2021 it was acquired by Swiss IT Security. Source: Wikipedia: AV-TEST →
- The SITS Group and its managing partners acquired a 100% share in AV-TEST GmbH (Feb 2021), folding the testing-and-certification lab into the commercial Swiss IT Security Group. Source: SITS Group acquisition announcement →
- Kaspersky CEO Eugene Kaspersky argued AV-TEST's certification was devalued: the REPAIR criterion was dropped and 'you now only have to score 10 points out of a possible 18 to receive an award,' so 'just about everyone will have awards from AV-TEST.' Source: Eugene Kaspersky blog (2013) →