# McAfee vs Bitdefender Central

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bitdefender Central at none against McAfee's 12. Bitdefender Central also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). McAfee's advantage is ratings volume (240K vs 11K) and chart position (#15 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. McAfee sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Bitdefender Central asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for McAfee against 4.8 for Bitdefender Central. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: McAfee has 240K ratings behind it against 11K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 52% of McAfee's written reviews are positive against 59% of Bitdefender Central's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | McAfee | Bitdefender Central |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (240K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mcafee-stay-secure-and-private/id724596345/reviews) | **[4.8 (11K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bitdefender-central/id969933082/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **240K** | 11K |
| Positive reviews | 51.7% of reviews | **59.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#15** | — |
| Size | 436 MB | 191 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [McAfee, LLC.](https://appshunter.io/developer/369885745) | [Bitdefender SRL](https://appshunter.io/developer/384899757) |

## What reviewers say

### McAfee

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mcafee-stay-secure-and-private/id724596345)

**Currently charting:** #15 Top Grossing · Utilities, #165 Top Free · Utilities (US App Store)

This app offers comprehensive protection against online threats, including scam detection for texts and emails, VPN for secure browsing, and identity monitoring. It helps safeguard your personal information and devices from various cyber risks.

**Highlights:** Scam Detector for texts and emails, Secure VPN for public Wi-Fi, Identity monitoring and alerts, Transaction and credit monitoring, Safe browsing with malicious site blocking, Personal data cleanup from brokers

**Features:** Safari Extension, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Basic Subscription | $2.99 | per month |
| Monthly Standard Subscription | $2.99 | per month |
| Monthly Plus Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Advanced Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Total Protection Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| McAfee+ Advanced Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Yearly Standard Subscription | $29.99 | per year |
| Yearly Plus Subscription | $79.99 | per year |
| Total Protection Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| McAfee+ Advanced Yearly | $199.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great protection
- 🔒 Secure VPN
- 👍 Easy to use
- 💡 Useful features like media vault

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔋 Drains battery
- 🔒 Issues with VPN connectivity
- 💰 Expensive subscription

**Reported bugs**

- App keeps logging users out
- VPN not working as expected
- Compatibility issues with iOS updates

**Requested features**

- More customization options
- Improved scanning and detection capabilities
- Better integration with other devices


### Bitdefender Central

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bitdefender-central/id969933082)

Manage and control the cybersecurity of all your Bitdefender-protected devices, both locally and across your network. This app allows remote scanning, threat detection notifications, and comprehensive management of your smart home hub for enhanced online safety.

**Highlights:** Install protection on all devices, Remote device scanning and optimization, Real-time threat notifications, Smart home network security management, Parental controls and screen time management, Locate and lock lost/stolen devices

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Effective protection
- 🔒 Reliable security
- 👍 User-friendly
- 🚀 Thorough scanning
- 🚀 Easy to use

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🔋 Battery drain issues
- 🔍 Confusing interface
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🤖 Buggy software

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes on iOS 11+
- Web protection randomly disabling itself
- Inability to delete email addresses from account
- Inconsistent behavior across different devices
- Lack of support for older devices

**Requested features**

- Improve mobile app responsiveness
- Add more customization options
- Enhance parental control features
- Provide better visibility into device protection status
- Improve compatibility with other VPN services


## Frequently asked questions

### Is McAfee free?

McAfee is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Bitdefender Central free?

Bitdefender Central is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, McAfee or Bitdefender Central?

Bitdefender Central is rated higher. McAfee averages 4.7 out of 5 from 240K ratings, while Bitdefender Central averages 4.8 from 11K ratings.

### Do McAfee or Bitdefender Central have ads?

Neither McAfee nor Bitdefender Central shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, McAfee or Bitdefender Central?

McAfee ships an update every 3 weeks, and Bitdefender Central every 3 weeks. Most recently, McAfee was updated on November 1, 2026 and Bitdefender Central on November 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*