Independent labs test antivirus products every few months, and the leading names now catch nearly the same share of threats. That makes the headline number a poor way to choose. What separates them is everything around it.
The features worth paying for
Real-time protection and web filtering are the core. After that, look for ransomware protection that locks your documents folder, and a firewall that asks sensible questions instead of dozens of them.
A password manager or VPN in the bundle can be good value, but only if you'd otherwise buy one. Judge them separately.
The ones you can ignore
"PC tune-up" tools, registry cleaners and driver updaters add noise and occasionally break things. We'd leave them switched off.
Finally, check the renewal price before you buy. First-year discounts of 60 percent are common, and the second-year bill is often a surprise.