Kaspersky Antivirus for Android review: Great protection and plenty of extras but at a steep price

Kaspersky Antivirus for Android attempts to do for phones and tablets what the company’s flagship security programs do for Windows and Mac. While the antivirus portion is second to none with the best protection available, the VPN access is limited to a mere 200MB a day unless you pay extra or get one of the company’s cross-platform plans. Its Data Leak Detector, Smart Home Monitor and Weak Settings Scan can help tighten up your security stance but Kaspersky Antivirus for Android is among the most expensive phone security apps and malware scanning takes up a lot of system resources.

Our Kaspersky Antivirus for Android review will help you decide if this is the best Android antivirus app for your smartphone or if you might be better off with something less expensive.

Kaspersky Antivirus for Android review: Costs and what’s covered

While Kaspersky doesn’t offer a free Android security version app, there is a 7-day trial, though it lacks the paid version’s Data Password Manager, Data Leak Checker and App Locker. It’s functional but its VPN access is limited to 200MB a day; getting just the VPN for five costs $43 on its own or can be had as part of the Plus or Premium plans.

The paid app on its own costs $34, several dollars a year more than the others, although five licenses cost $99. In addition to the company’s Password Manager, Data Leak Checker and App Locker, the paid app has Kaspersky’s encrypted Vault for storing anything sensitive. 

There’s also the cross-platform Plus plan that covers Windows, Mac, Android and iOS with unlimited VPN as well as a way to evaluate how strong your passwords are; it costs $100 for five systems. Meanwhile, the Premium plan ($150 for 10 systems), adds several security goodies, like the Identity Theft Check, an identity wallet for key documents and Smart Home Monitor that sifts through your Wi-Fi network looking for unauthorized use and SafeKids digital parenting app. It also includes full 24/7 support.

To use the app requires a phone or tablet with Android 8 (Oreo) or newer software. This makes it for recent Android devices only, while Bitdefender reaches back several generations of compatibility. There’s an iOS app, although Apple doesn’t allow malware scanning; it can block phishing attempts. Unfortunately, Kaspersky doesn’t offer a consumer Chromebook app.

To make a long story short, Kaspersky has had to transition from a company with origins in Russia to one that Western customers feel safe with. As a result, all of its server infrastructure and customer information for U.S. and Canadian users is stored either in the U.S. or Switzerland. 

Kaspersky Antivirus for Android review: Malware protection

Protecting a phone or tablet with Kaspersky Antivirus for Android starts with some of the best and most thorough scanning for malware along with real-time infection monitoring. Through a mix of local and cloud analysis, the app has been optimized to fight viruses (new and old) while defending against phishing attempts, online scams and having surreptitious apps installed.

Unlike some others, Kaspersky Antivirus for Android gives the choice of different scanning intensity levels as well as a Quick Scan for apps only that’s on a par with Google Play Protect. The more thorough approach is the Full Scan that looks at everything. It’s easy to look into any folder for a selective scan.

The app lacks the ability to schedule scans, although there’s an Automatic Anti-Virus setting that will run examinations for dangers when the system is idle. After installation, the app wants to run an initial scan but you can run a scan at any time you feel vulnerable.

Kaspersky Antivirus for Android review: Malware detection

For several years, Kaspersky has been at the top of the security game with excellent effectiveness. In the November 2023 malware assessment conducted by AV-Test, it captured every one of the 3,102 current threat samples and 3,095 widespread exploits used.  

That’s good, but Kaspersky was not alone, with Avast, Bitdefender, ESET, Norton and Trend Micro equaling this perfect result. By contrast, McAfee and Google Play Protect slipped up here and there by allowing some threats through. Happily, none of the participants had any pesky false positive (FP) readings of safe software as dangerous.

When it came to the June 2023 survey of security apps by AV Comparatives, Kaspersky along with Bitdefender, ESET and Trend Micro captured all of the potentially dangerous samples the lab used. While McAfee and Norton didn’t take part, Google Play Protect fell short at 99.8% effectiveness with a dismal 12 FPs. Meanwhile, Avast hit the 100% mark but it was marred by two annoying FP results. 

Kaspersky Antivirus for Android review: Security features and tools

Like Bitdefender Mobile Security, Kaspersky Antivirus for Android offers 200MB a day of VPN access as a tease for non-paying customers. On its own, full VPN use costs $43 for five or with the Plus or Premium plans.  

The good news is that, like McAfee and Norton, Kaspersky’s VPN is part of the main app and doesn’t require a separate installation. It’s available in 83 countries with 16 servers in the U.S. alone and includes the ability to keep your IP address hidden, stop data leaking from your phone and can be set to automatically drop your connection if the VPN cuts out. It took 2.1 seconds to connect.

At the same time, Safe Browsing can block websites with a reputation for phishing and malware. It’s part of the app so it can work with just about any app that has an online component.

The Plus and Premium plans have a stack of extra defenses, like stalkerware detection. There’s help with optimizing your social networking connections for the right balance of safety and sanity and the app’s Safe Messaging can block unsafe links hiding inside texts.

There’s also an App Lock that’s included with the Plus and Premium plans for turning off any apps. This allows you to lend your phone to a child and not worry about them quietly buying lots of stuff on Amazon or Temu.

The Kaspersky software lacks explicit fraud and scam protection or online checking of suspect sites like Norton’s Genie and Bitdefender’s Scamio. This protection is built into a protective layer below the surface through the extensive use of cloud-based artificial intelligence techniques to counter AI threats.

The Password Manager app requires a separate installation but it can auto-fill forms while encrypting and hiding an unlimited number of login credentials behind a super-strong password; it can even suggest new ones. For good or bad, it can hold your credit card info for quicker online shopping.

Below the surface, the Password Manager’s Identity Protection Wallet can encrypt and hide important documents, like ID cards, bank credentials and all kinds of documents that you want to have handy, but don’t want them available if your phone is lost or stolen. Only your master password can open it.

If your phone gets out of hand, Kaspersky’s Where is my Device mirrors Google’s Find my Device. It can lock or wipe the phone’s contents, locate it on a map and snap a photo of anyone using it.

Meanwhile, the Smart Home Monitor can keep an eye on your home network for intruders and bandwidth thieves with a list of connected devices. It can lock out any that don’t appear to be legit. Finally, the Data Leak Checker watches for your personal data on the dark web. If your data has been compromised, the app can’t help wipe it, though.

One of my favorites is the Weak Settings Scan that checks out how secure the phone’s configuration is. The call filter is for blocking unwanted calls, while the app’s secure QR code scanner promises not to sell your data. The Kaspersky software has a key flaw, though. It lacks a meaningful security report. Its Report only looks at the last scans individually and lacks any consolidation of the threat data that just about every competitor provides.

Kaspersky Antivirus for Android review: System impact

Using Passmark 11’s benchmark software as a gauge of system performance, I checked on how much of the OnePlus 11 test phone’s performance potential was eaten up by Kaspersky Antivirus for Android and its scanning engine. Before loading the app, I ran the benchmark and repeated that with the app in place but not scanning. I finished up scanning the system for dangers while the benchmark ran and timed how long it took to examine the system’s apps and files. The OnePlus 11 phone had a fully updated version of Android 14. 

It all started with a pre-installation baseline reading of 21,923 on Passmark 11’s Cross-Platform test. The CP score declined by 14% to a score of 18,883 after the app was installed. 

Its scanning had a heavy touch with the score declining to 2,512, an 89% drop in performance potential from the original baseline. This makes Kaspersky one of the most resource hungry apps around, with a decline that was slightly more than ESET, Avast, Bitdefender and Trend Micro. It was in a different league from the 4% drop for Google Play Protect and the 32% decline for McAfee.  

Ccanning for dangers took 2 minutes and 32 seconds, about twice as long as Avast (1:13), Bitdefender (1:08) and Trend Micro (1:06). Still, it was an eternity compared to ESET’s 1.7 seconds and Play Protect’s 2.1 seconds, although Play Protect only looks for problems in the device’s apps.

Kaspersky Antivirus for Android review: Setup and support

Protecting my test phone with Kaspersky Antivirus for Android began with getting the app on the Play Store. The company’s website also has links to the app.

Next, I needed to allow the app to send me notifications and give it access to my phone’s storage as well as agree to the company’s license and privacy policy. There’s a place to allow the company to share your data.

Starting with the trial version, I didn’t need to register. I ended up using the Premium plan and was able to check on unused licenses at the My Kaspersky account I set up. Finally, the app was done loading and proclaimed itself “Ready to Scan”. Start to finish, it took 6 minutes and 15 seconds.

While the app ran well on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 tablet, there’s no consumer Chromebook app. Only the business-oriented Endpoint Security software was available.

Its support is world-class with 24/7 access to technicians with the Plus and Premium plans, something that all customers deserve. There’s a lot of DIY material but the app lacks a direct link to support. There is a link at the company’s My Kaspersky online portal though.

Kaspersky Antivirus for Android review: Interface

Kaspersky Antivirus for Android’s interface has evolved over the years to become one of the most efficient available. It only works in portrait mode on phones for quick handheld use and the Home page has the expected green checkmark when things are safe. It turns yellow when it wants you to tighten up the security and red when there’s a problem. 

The colors are a bit too far on the neon scale for my tastes, but it’s easy to change to dark mode.

Its top-down approach has the major app functions in Quick action boxes below. The All features link on the right leads to – you guessed it – a long list of everything the app can do in the security realm. In addition to accessing the VPN and automatic threat scanning, it has areas to use the App Lock and fine tune the Data Leak Checker.

Along the bottom are tabs for returning to the Home screen and seeing all the features. There’s also a link to the My Kaspersky account page to see your license and subscription info.

The My Profile page does double-duty with a Settings section at the bottom. It has links to the major functions of the program.

Kaspersky VPN & Antivirus: Verdict

With everything from excellent malware scanning and website blocking to ways to tighten up the security of your home network, your phone and social media presence, Kaspersky Antivirus for Androids seems complete. It is among the best ways to keep an Android phone or tablet clean and can be part of one of the company’s all-encompassing security suites.

It falls half a step short of the best because Kaspersky doesn’t have a consumer Chromebook app and when it examines a system for infections, its scanner diminishes performance by a lot. More to the point, at $34 on its own, it is the most expensive app of the eight I looked at. Sure, it’s only a few dollars, but others, like the $25 Bitdefender Mobile Security, make every penny count.