Trend Micro or Webroot, which antivirus software is a better choice in 2019?

Read this comprehensive, data-driven comparison to make a smart decision.

In this detailed guide, you’ll see what features are included in different Security suites Trend Micro and Webroot offer, as well as how both software compare in terms of malware protection, system performance, user interface, cost, and more.

These days, it’s hard to imagine a digital life without a reliable security program.

Do you know the AV-Test Institute catches more than 350,000 new malware samples every single day? If you don’t take proactive measures to safeguard your data and privacy, it goes without saying that you’ll find yourself in a lot of trouble down the road. 

The word “antivirus” represents an important tool that helps protect your devices (computers and smartphones, in particular) against a range of online threats, like viruses, ransomware, spyware, rootkits, rogue software, and other related threats (all collectively called “malware”).

First, let’s see the security suites both Webroot and Trend Micro offer.

If you’re in a rush and want the answer straight away, see the graphic below and also read our verdict to make your mind.

Short Verdict

Trend Micro is better than Webroot as it not only offers more security-enhancing features and extra utilities in its security suites but also provides better malware protection with minimal impact on system performance. Also, Trend Micro’s security suites are cheaper than Webroot’s.

What’s Included in Trend Micro’s Security Suites?

Like other antivirus companies, Trend Micro offers a range of security suites to match your protection needs. The entry-level suite, called Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security, is the company’s Windows-only security product. Besides guarding against different kinds of malware threats (including viruses, worms, ransomware, Trojans, etc.), it offers the Pay Guard module (protects your sensitive data while you shop online) and an email filter (blocks phishing/spam emails). Protection against web-based threats is also incorporated into the product.

A single license of this suite provides a year of protection for a single PC.

Get Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security

Another level up is another Windows-only product, called Trend Micro Internet Security. It includes everything found in the previous suite, plus a useful parental control utility (helps protect your kids online), a social media scanner, and several other computer performance optimization features.

You can protect up to 3 PCs with a single license of the “Internet Security” suite.

Get Trend Micro Internet Security

Next up is Trend Micro Maximum Security — the company’s most popular and multi-platform compatible antivirus package. It includes everything found in the “Internet Security” plan, plus a password management tool (stores all your passwords in a secure vault) and a two-way firewall (blocks malicious network traffic and prevents hacking attacks).

A single license of the suite protects up to 5 devices (PCs, Macs, and smartphones) in any combination.

Get Trend Micro Maximum Security

Trend Micro Premium Security is the company’s top-of-the-line security package. Usually, most antivirus companies include all the advanced security-related features and extra utilities into their high-end product, but you won’t find much included in this suite. It includes everything found in the “Maximum Security” suite, plus 24/7 customer support, one free Computer Health Check Service (an expert will perform a health check on your computer and apply necessary settings) and one free Virus Removal Service (an expert will remotely access your computer to remove malware).

You can protect up to 6 PCs, Macs, and mobile devices (in whatever combination you prefer) with a single subscription of the suite.

Get Trend Micro Premium Security

What’s Included in Webroot’s Security Suites?

Like most antivirus companies, Webroot offers a progressively stronger range of security products.

Webroot Antivirus (compatible with both PCs and Macs) is the company’s entry-level security suite. Along with providing top-notch protection against viruses, ransomware, rootkits, worms, and other related threats, it offers an advanced two-way firewall and the Network Monitor module (protects your Wi-Fi network against hackers and intruders). Protection against identity theft and webcam spying is also included in the product.

Another level up is Webroot Internet Security Plus. It included everything jammed into the previous suite, plus a password management utility and advanced protection against online threats. You can protect up to 5 PCs, Macs, tablets, or smartphones with a single license of this suite.

  is the company’s top-drawer and most popular security offering. It includes everything found in the “Plus” suite, plus a System Optimizer (eliminates traces of user activity and boosts system performance) and an automatic backup utility (comes with 25 GB of online cloud storage).

Note: All Webroot security products are compatible with both Windows and macOS.

Trend Micro vs. Webroot: Which Software Offers Better Malware Protection?

One of the most important points of comparison between both software is their ability to recognize and protect against malware infections.

Most modern antivirus programs have two layers of protection: a traditional signature-based scanner that matches suspicious code to known malware definition files and a heuristics scanner that monitors malicious behavior. If a file is flagged as malicious by a security product, it is then sent to a separate environment (like cloud servers) for further examination.

To see which of the two software is better in terms of malware protection, I’ll look at the most recent lab tests conducted by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives — two well-known and widely respected security firms that regularly rank and evaluate top antivirus products against different standards.

AV-Test’s most recent round of evaluations were conducted during September and October 2018. All participating security products were judged against 311 zero-day malware samples and 21,257 widespread malware samples.

Trend Micro was among one of the few products that demonstrated perfect protection rate against both types of malware samples during both months, earning a full 6 out of 6 rating from the experts in the “Protection” category.

To tests how well a security product performs against different types of malware threats, the experts at AV-Comparative do two comprehensive tests, namely Real-World Protection Test and Malware Protection Test.

The most recent Real-World Protection Test report published by AV-Comparatives includes combined results of all the tests which were conducted between July and November 2018.

Trend Micro’s protection rate was extraordinary, at 99.9%, but it also returned 47 false positives which marred its performance. Despite its excellent protection rate, it was awarded the second-best “ADVANCED” title in this test.

***False positive refers to the event when a security software falsely detects a clean file/URL as malware-infected.

In the recent Malware Protection Test, which took place in September 2018, Trend Micro once again registered flawless detection rate but also returned a whopping 38 false positives, which marred its performance.

Trend Micro had to settle for the second-best “ADVANCED” title in this test.

Webroot, on the other hand, didn’t participate in any of the tests mentioned above so not much can be said about its performance.

Overall, Trend Micro is the winner in this category because of its impressive performance in the independent tests.

Winner: Trend Micro

Trend Micro vs. Webroot: Which Software Puts Less Impact on System Performance?

Another important point of comparison is the impact both Trend Micro and Webroot put on system performance (or system speed).

I will once again look at how both products fared in the recent performance tests conducted by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives.

In the “Performance” category of the AV-Test evaluations, the experts measure the impact (or influence) a security product exerts on test systems during the execution of common computer tasks, like downloading/installing applications, copying files, launching popular websites, and more. The results are expressed in terms of system slowdown experienced by a standard PC as well as by a high-end PC.

Here’re are the results of the test with Trend Micro installed: