⚡ Quick Verdict:
- Pricing: McAfee VPN comes in bundles from $39.99/yr. AVG VPN paid plans start at $4.99/month.
- Best for: AVG for Mac users and busy households. McAfee for people who want identity protection in the same bill.
- Key difference: AVG covers 10 devices and macOS. McAfee covers 5 devices and has no macOS app.
- Our pick: AVG VPN for most users. It logs less and turns the kill switch on by default.
McAfee VPN is the cheaper bundle on paper.
Yet price is not the biggest gap between these two.
Both come from antivirus brands, not dedicated VPN companies.
One logs your IP address and the websites you visit.
The other keeps lighter logs and covers twice as many devices.
That difference decides this matchup for most people.
Overview
This McAfee VPN vs AVG VPN comparison covers privacy, speed, streaming, pricing, and device support.
Our writer spent hands-on time with AVG Secure VPN directly.
Observations on McAfee Safe Connect VPN come from documentation and third-party reviews.
We also compared each privacy policy and pricing page.
By the end, you’ll know which VPN service fits your devices and budget.
What is McAfee VPN?
McAfee VPN is the virtual private network built into McAfee’s security plans.
You may also see it called McAfee Safe Connect or Secure VPN.
It encrypts your VPN connection with AES-256 encryption.
It switches on by itself when you join unsecured public Wi-Fi.
That shields banking logins from man-in-the-middle attacks on café networks.
McAfee sells it inside All-in-One Protection packages with antivirus and identity protection.
Here’s a quick video walkthrough of how McAfee VPN works.
McAfee VPN
A VPN packed inside McAfee antivirus and ID tools. Best for casual public Wi-Fi protection.
McAfee VPN Pricing
McAfee sells the VPN inside its security bundles. Here’s what each plan costs in 2026.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $39.99/yr | One person who wants antivirus plus VPN |
| Advanced Individual | $89.99/yr | Adding identity and credit monitoring |
| Advanced Family | $119.99/yr | Households sharing one security plan |
Pricing verified September 2026.
Free trial: Trial offers vary by region. Check the McAfee site before you pay.
Money-back guarantee: You get a 30-day money back guarantee on the annual plan.
📌 Note: The pricing is simple to read. But unlimited VPN bandwidth usually needs automatic renewal switched on. Turn renewal off, and your data allowance may shrink.
⚠️ Price check: Some review sites list a standalone McAfee VPN at $7.99/month. Others quote $19.99 for year one (about $1.66/month) and $47.99 at renewal. Confirm the final price at checkout.
Key Benefits of McAfee VPN
Here’s what McAfee VPN does well for everyday online security:
- Auto-Protect on Public Wi-Fi: The VPN turns on when you join an unsecured network. You don’t have to remember to connect.
- AES-256 Encryption: Your traffic gets scrambled with the standard most VPNs use. Anyone snooping on the network sees noise.
- Harder to Throttle: Encryption hides bandwidth-heavy activity from your ISP. That makes speed throttling harder.
- DNS Leak Protection: DNS requests stay inside the tunnel. Your ISP can’t read them.
- Split Tunneling on Android: Android users can pick which apps skip the VPN. Other apps stay fast.
- Identity Protection Bundle: Advanced plans add identity monitoring and credit monitoring. Most VPN services don’t include these.
- Geo-Restriction Bypass: Switch server country to reach content locked to other regions. Results vary by site.
What Our Team Noticed
Note: We haven’t had extensive hands-on time with McAfee VPN for this comparison. The details above come from McAfee’s documentation and third-party reviews. For more depth, see our full McAfee VPN review.
McAfee VPN Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Bundled with antivirus and identity protection tools
- Auto-connects on unsecured public Wi-Fi
- AES-256 encryption with DNS leak protection
- User friendly app that suits beginners
❌ Cons
- Logs your IP address and the websites you visit
- No kill switch on iOS or Android
- No macOS or Linux VPN app
What is AVG VPN?
AVG Secure VPN is the VPN from AVG, the antivirus brand owned by Avast.
It hides your IP address and encrypts your traffic with AES-256.
The main screen has one big ON button.
Tap it, and you’re protected in a few seconds.
It covers every app on your device, not just your browser.
It runs on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
One subscription covers up to 10 devices at the same time.
The company is based in the Czech Republic, inside the EU.
This video shows the AVG VPN app in action.
🏆 Winner: AVG VPN
A simple VPN that covers up to 10 devices. Try it free for 60 days before you pay.
AVG VPN Pricing
AVG sells its VPN next to its antivirus plans. Here’s the 2026 lineup.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| AVG Antivirus Free | Free | Basic virus scans on one computer (no VPN) |
| AVG Internet Security | $4.99/month | Stronger antivirus and firewall protection |
| AVG Ultimate | $4.99/month | Full suite with Secure VPN and cleanup tools |
Pricing verified September 2026.
Free trial: AVG Secure VPN offers a 60-day free trial for new users. You need an account and a payment method to start it.
Money-back guarantee: Paid subscriptions come with a 30-day refund window.
📌 Note: Check which plan includes Secure VPN before you pay. AVG Ultimate bundles it with antivirus and tune-up tools. The free antivirus doesn’t include the VPN.
⚠️ Price check: AVG doesn’t sell monthly VPN subscriptions. The minimum is one year, which some review sites list at about $54. Confirm the total at checkout.
Key Benefits of AVG VPN
Here’s what makes AVG Secure VPN worth a look:
- 10 Devices on One Plan: Cover phones, laptops, and tablets with one subscription. That’s double McAfee’s limit.
- Kill Switch On by Default: Your internet cuts off if the VPN drops. You don’t need to dig through settings first.
- Mimic Protocol: This in-house protocol is built to slip past VPN blockers. WireGuard and OpenVPN are there too.
- Streaming Servers: Dedicated servers handle Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Regular servers may get blocked.
- Shared IP Addresses: Many AVG users share one server IP. That makes your activity harder to single out.
- 60-Day Free Trial: You get two full months to test it. Few VPN services match that.
- Many Languages: The app comes in multiple languages. That helps non-English speakers set it up.
What Our Team Noticed
Our writer signed up for AVG Secure VPN and spent several days exploring the app. Here’s what stood out:
AVG VPN Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Covers up to 10 devices on one subscription
- Kill switch is on by default
- 60-day free trial for new users
- Apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS
❌ Cons
- Keeps connection event logs for two years
- No independent audit of its privacy claims
- No monthly plan; one year is the minimum
Feature Comparison
Let’s compare McAfee VPN and AVG Secure VPN across 10 key areas. Each section shows how both tools handle the same job.
| Feature | McAfee VPN | AVG VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $39.99/yr | $4.99/month |
| Free Plan | ❌ | ❌ (60-day trial) |
| Kill Switch | ⚠️ Windows only | ✅ On by default |
| Split Tunneling | ⚠️ Android only | ⚠️ Limited |
| macOS App | ❌ | ✅ |
| Simultaneous Connections | 5 | 10 |
| Logs Your IP Address | ❌ Yes | ✅ No |
| Streaming Servers | ❌ | ✅ |
| Antivirus Bundle | ✅ | ✅ |
| Best For | McAfee antivirus users | Families and beginners |
1. Public Wi-Fi Protection
McAfee VPN: The VPN turns on by itself when you join unsecured public Wi-Fi. That protects sensitive data like banking details on airport networks. You can also switch it on manually over your mobile carrier data.
AVG VPN: AVG protects banking logins, emails, and browsing history on the same open networks. It encrypts all data leaving your device. That data then travels through a secure tunnel to an AVG server, bypassing your ISP. Your provider can’t see your online activities.
2. Privacy Policy and Logs
McAfee VPN: This is McAfee’s weakest area. Safe Connect logs your IP address and the websites you visit. It keeps that data until you delete your account, then 30 more days. To erase it, you have to contact McAfee and close the account.
McAfee also doesn’t block cookies. If you stay logged into personal accounts, sites still know you. Its separate Personal Data Cleanup tool is a brighter spot. It removes your details from data broker sites.
AVG VPN: AVG says it doesn’t log your original IP, DNS queries, browsing history, or emails. It does keep connection timestamps and data usage to plan server capacity. Connection event logs stay for two years, and no independent audit has checked these claims. Its transparency reports also show past data sharing with authorities.
⚠️ Warning: McAfee’s privacy policy covers all its products and barely mentions the VPN. It’s vague about geo location information and third party advertisers. McAfee also says it will hand data to legal or government authorities on request. Can you trust McAfee Safe Connect with private browsing? Not fully.
3. Encryption, Protocols, and Kill Switch
McAfee VPN: McAfee pairs AES-256 encryption with the Catapult Hydra protocol. Hydra comes from the same protocol family behind Hotspot Shield. The kill switch only works on Windows. If the VPN fails on a phone, iOS users get no safety net.
AVG VPN: AVG also uses AES 256-bit encryption. Mimic is the default, with WireGuard and OpenVPN as extra protocol options. AVG Secure VPN’s kill switch is on by default. Reviewers note that Mimic’s security details aren’t public, though.
⚠️ Warning: Neither app offers multi hop routing or other advanced security features. If you need those, look at a dedicated provider instead.
4. Server Network
McAfee VPN: McAfee lists about 2,000 servers. Reported country counts range from 23 to 47, depending on the source. The server list is short next to dedicated VPNs.
AVG VPN: AVG advertises 700+ servers in 50+ locations. Independent counts vary from 36 to 66 countries. Coverage leans on Europe and North America. Picks include the UK, France, Canada, and Australia.
5. Speed and Performance
McAfee VPN: Third-party speed tests clocked McAfee at 97Mbps on a nearby server. International downloads never dropped below 75Mbps. But latency jumped as much as 600% on Windows, so gaming feels laggy.
AVG VPN: AVG’s results are more modest. One review measured 31% of base download speed and 19% of upload. Connection speed is fine for browsing, but big downloads take longer.
💡 Pro Tip: Run your own speed test before and after you connect. Your internet plan and server distance change the numbers a lot.
6. Streaming and Geo-Unblocking
McAfee VPN: McAfee struggles with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. It can reach some geo-blocked sites, but big platforms often block it. It also doesn’t support P2P traffic, so torrenting is out.
AVG VPN: AVG runs dedicated servers for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. One review ranked it #29 of 61 VPNs for streaming. It unblocked US Netflix and BBC iPlayer. Regular servers may still get blocked by streaming sites. Its streaming capabilities also extend to servers set up for torrenting.
⚠️ Warning: Neither VPN offers Smart DNS. So you can’t use either one directly on Apple TV or most game consoles.
7. Device Support
McAfee VPN: The VPN runs on Windows, iOS, and Android. There’s no macOS app for it and no Linux support. You get up to five simultaneous connections.
AVG VPN: AVG covers Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Up to 10 devices connect at once, which suits families with several laptops. All AVG apps share one account, so setup stays easy.
8. Identity Protection Extras
McAfee VPN: McAfee’s bigger plans go far beyond a VPN. You get identity monitoring, a security freeze, credit monitoring, and a scam detector. Identity theft coverage and restoration help sit on top.
AVG VPN: AVG offers AVG Secure Identity as an extra layer. It watches for your personal data in breaches and sends alerts. It’s useful, but lighter than McAfee’s credit and theft tools.
9. Antivirus Bundle and Ease of Use
McAfee VPN: McAfee’s advanced antivirus lives in the same app as the VPN. VPN settings are the bare minimum, which keeps things simple. Beginners get a clean screen with few choices.
AVG VPN: AVG pairs the VPN with its antivirus tools and a one-click main screen. The design mirrors AVG’s antivirus app, and the settings menu is short. One review ranked its user experience #36 of 61 VPNs. It lacks advanced features, but most beginners won’t miss them.
10. Pricing & Cost
Here are the plans side by side.
| Plan | McAfee VPN | AVG VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ❌ | AVG Antivirus Free: Free (no VPN) |
| Entry | Essential: $39.99/yr | AVG Internet Security: $4.99/month |
| Mid | Advanced Individual: $89.99/yr | AVG Ultimate: $4.99/month |
| Top | Advanced Family: $119.99/yr | — |
| Free Trial | Varies by region | 60 days |
| Refund Window | 30 days | 30 days |
McAfee VPN: Essential is the cheaper way in. It puts antivirus and VPN on one annual plan. The renewal jump sits within industry averages. The Advanced plans only make sense if you want identity protection.
AVG VPN: AVG costs more per year than McAfee Essential. But the 60-day trial lets you test it first. Families also get more value from the 10-device limit.
Different Scenarios
| If You Need… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest yearly cost | McAfee VPN | Essential costs less per year |
| Stronger online privacy | AVG VPN | Doesn’t log your original IP |
| Mac or big family | AVG VPN | macOS app and 10 devices |
| Identity and credit tools | McAfee VPN | Monitoring, freeze, and theft coverage |
| Streaming | AVG VPN | Dedicated streaming servers |
| Beginner-friendly | AVG VPN | One-click screen and 60-day trial |
💰 Your Budget
McAfee Essential is the lower yearly bill for VPN users on one device. If you share with a family, AVG’s 10-device limit stretches each dollar further.
🔌 Your Tech Stack
Mac owners should skip McAfee, since there’s no macOS app for its VPN. Android TV owners should check Google Play for AVG support before paying.
🔒 Your Privacy Needs
McAfee claims to protect your online activity. Yet it logs your IP and the sites you visit. McAfee is also US-based, inside the Five Eyes alliance. AVG sits under EU data retention rules.
🎓 Your Experience Level
Both apps suit beginners who want one button and no jargon. For occasional use on hotel Wi-Fi, either one does the basic job.
🆓 Free Trials and Demos
Neither is a true free VPN, and free VPNs often sell your data anyway. AVG’s 60-day trial is the safest way to test before paying.
🛟 Support Options
Both route VPN questions through their wider antivirus support teams. Check live chat support hours and how fast each team responds before you commit.
Switching Guide
Already using one of these tools? Here’s what to expect if you switch.
🔄 Switching from McAfee VPN to AVG VPN?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- A macOS app and room for 10 devices
- A kill switch that’s on by default
- No logging of your original IP or browsing history
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Identity monitoring, security freeze, and credit tools
- Faster raw speeds on nearby servers
- The lower Essential plan price
📋 How to switch:
- Note your McAfee renewal date and turn off auto-renewal
- Download AVG from the official website and install it on each device
- Connect to a server and confirm the kill switch is on
🔄 Switching from AVG VPN to McAfee VPN?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Identity theft coverage and restoration help
- A scam detector and security freeze
- Auto-connect on unsecured public Wi-Fi
❌ What you’ll lose:
- macOS support and five device slots
- Dedicated streaming servers
- A kill switch on your phone
📋 How to switch:
- Cancel your AVG subscriptions before the renewal date
- Buy a McAfee plan and install the McAfee app
- Turn on Secure VPN in settings and enable auto-connect
What Our Review Didn’t Cover
This comparison focused on home users and small families. We didn’t test torrenting, business accounts, or router setups. McAfee details come from documentation and third-party reviews, not our own hands-on time. Plans and server counts reflect September 2026 and may change.
Final Verdict
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| 💰 Pricing | McAfee VPN |
| 🔒 Privacy and Logs | AVG VPN |
| 🛡️ Kill Switch and Protocols | AVG VPN |
| ⚡ Speed | McAfee VPN |
| 📺 Streaming | AVG VPN |
| 📱 Device Support | AVG VPN |
| 🪪 Identity Extras | McAfee VPN |
| 👶 Ease of Use | AVG VPN |
| 🏆 Overall Winner | AVG VPN |
🏆 WINNER: AVG VPN
AVG VPN wins 5 out of 8 categories.
Best for: Mac users, families with many devices, beginners who want a long free trial
💡 Why AVG wins a tie: Both VPNs score 3.5/5 overall. AVG takes the top spot for lighter logging, the 10-device limit, and macOS support.
McAfee VPN and AVG VPN are both add-ons from antivirus brands. Neither beats a dedicated VPN, but one is clearly safer for daily use.
McAfee is worth it if you mainly want identity protection. Its VPN suits coffee-shop Wi-Fi. Its logging is a big deal, though. We wouldn’t use it for anything sensitive.
AVG logs less, covers more devices, and works on a Mac. Start with the 60-day trial and see how it fits your routine.
More of McAfee VPN Compared
Here’s how McAfee VPN stacks up against other competitors:
McAfee VPN wins on: built-in antivirus, credit monitoring on Advanced plans, auto-connect on unsafe Wi-Fi
NordVPN wins on: audited no-logs policy, kill switch on every app, far larger server network
McAfee VPN wins on: identity theft coverage, password manager in the bundle, one bill for a family
ProtonVPN wins on: Swiss privacy laws, open-source apps, a no-cost tier with no data cap
McAfee VPN wins on: scam detector, security freeze, antivirus in the same app
PureVPN wins on: port forwarding, split tunneling beyond Android, cheaper long-term VPN plans
More of AVG VPN Compared
Here’s how AVG VPN stacks up against other competitors:
AVG VPN wins on: a 60-day trial, antivirus in the same bundle, a simpler main screen
ExpressVPN wins on: audited privacy, far more countries, router apps and broader streaming reach
AVG VPN vs CyberGhost
AVG VPN wins on: more devices per plan, a longer trial window, bundled antivirus
CyberGhost wins on: servers labeled by streaming service, a bigger network, a 45-day refund on long plans
AVG VPN vs Private Internet Access
AVG VPN wins on: easier setup, antivirus in one account, a free two-month test
Private Internet Access wins on: unlimited connections, open-source apps, port forwarding and deeper settings
Frequently Asked Questions
Is McAfee VPN safe?
It uses AES-256 encryption, so your traffic is safe from Wi-Fi snoops. But it logs your IP address and visited sites. It’s fine for public Wi-Fi, not for private browsing.
Is AVG VPN safe to use?
Yes, for everyday use. It encrypts traffic and turns the kill switch on by default. It keeps connection logs for two years, and no independent audit has verified its claims.
Does McAfee VPN cost extra?
No. It’s included in McAfee’s security plans, starting with Essential at $39.99/yr. Unlimited bandwidth usually requires auto-renewal to stay switched on.
Is AVG VPN free?
Not permanently. You get a 60-day free trial, then it needs a paid plan. The free antivirus doesn’t include the VPN.
Does AVG VPN work with Netflix?
Yes, on its dedicated streaming servers. They can unblock US Netflix and BBC iPlayer. Regular servers often get blocked, so pick a streaming server first.
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