In short
Free antivirus for business is limited. Many free consumer products are licensed for personal or home use only, so check the licence first. Free products also lack a central console, server support, policies, reporting and business support. Microsoft Defender Antivirus is included with Windows, and several business products offer free trials.
Get a quote for business antivirus
Tell us roughly how many users or sites you have and we will reply by email with options and a quote.
Can a business use free antivirus?
The first question is not technical; it is legal. Many free antivirus products are licensed for personal or home use only, and using them on company computers can breach the licence. Terms differ between vendors and change over time, so read the current licence of any free product before installing it on a work device.
The one free option clearly intended for organisations is the one already on your Windows computers: Microsoft Defender Antivirus, built into Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server 2016 and later. It is part of the operating system you have licensed. Our guide is Windows Defender enough? explains where it fits and where it falls short for a business.
What free antivirus leaves out
Even where a free product is allowed, it is designed for one person looking after their own device. In a business you give up:
| What you lose | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Central console | No single view of which devices are protected, out of date or infected |
| Policies | Settings and exclusions must be made device by device, and users can change them |
| Server support | Most free products do not install on, or are not licensed for, servers |
| Reporting | Little or no evidence for Cyber Essentials, an insurer or a customer audit |
| Tamper protection and alerts | Nobody is told when protection is switched off or a threat is found |
| Business support | No supplier to escalate to during an incident |
| Upgrade path | No EDR or managed service on the same agent |
The real cost of free antivirus is usually time: the hours spent checking machines one by one, and the risk that one unprotected laptop goes unnoticed.
Not sure which option fits? Ask us
Tell us what you need and we will recommend the right option for your organisation, with a quote.
Free antivirus for Windows Server
People often search for free server antivirus because server licences can look expensive next to workstation ones. On Windows Server 2016 and later, Microsoft Defender Antivirus is built in and active by default. The same business gaps apply: without a management console you are relying on local settings, and there is no detection and response.
Business products treat servers differently, with server-specific protections and, with some vendors, separate server licences. See server antivirus for Windows Server and Linux antivirus for the options.
Try before you buy: free trials of business products
A trial gives you most of the reassurance people want from "free", with a business product at the end. Examples from the vendors we supply:
- CrowdStrike offers a 15-day free trial on its website covering Falcon Prevent next-gen antivirus, Falcon Device Control and Express Support. Through us, trials are available on the Falcon Defend and Falcon Advanced Defend bundles. See CrowdStrike antivirus.
- Halcyon: a trial of the Pro Platform Plus DXP anti-ransomware edition, which runs beside your existing antivirus, is available through us. See Halcyon editions.
- Check Point can be trialled in your own tenant. See Check Point antivirus.
- SentinelOne, ThreatDown and Bitdefender: ask us about running a trial on a few devices before you commit.
Trial terms are set by each vendor and can change, so we confirm what is available when you get in touch.
Is business antivirus the right fit for you?
We will check it against your systems and requirements and recommend the right option.
Low-cost alternatives to free antivirus
If budget is the concern, a few approaches keep cost down without giving up central management:
- Make full use of what you have. If you have Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft Defender for Business is already included.
- Choose the right licence unit. Per-user licensing (Sophos Endpoint, Trend Micro Worry-Free) can cost less when staff have several devices; per-device can suit shared PCs.
- Pay monthly where you can. Many products can be billed monthly through Forever Systems on what you protect, which helps avoid paying for spare licences; we confirm terms at quote.
- Start with endpoint protection, add EDR later. Pick a product with an upgrade path and buy detection and response when you are ready. See EPP vs EDR.
Our business antivirus cost guide explains what drives the price, and antivirus for small business covers products aimed at smaller teams.
Signs you have outgrown free antivirus
Free products can get a very small organisation started. These are the usual signs it is time to move on:
- You have more than a handful of devices and cannot say with confidence that every one is protected today.
- You have a server, on premises or in the cloud.
- You are applying for Cyber Essentials or answering a cyber insurance questionnaire that asks how malware protection is managed.
- A customer or supplier has asked about your security controls as part of a contract.
- You use Macs or Linux alongside Windows and want one view of all of them.
- Someone other than the device user, such as an IT provider, needs to manage protection remotely.
Moving from a free product to a business one is mostly a deployment exercise: remove the free product, install the business agent and confirm every device in the console. We can plan that for you.
Cyber Essentials and free antivirus
The Cyber Essentials malware protection control does not require a paid product. It requires anti-malware (on Windows and macOS) that is kept up to date, stops malware and malicious code from running and blocks connections to malicious websites, or application allow listing. Whatever you use, you need to be able to show it is installed and working on every in-scope device, which is much easier with a central console.
Talk to us
Forever Systems can help you compare the built-in Microsoft option with a business product, arrange a trial where the vendor offers one, and choose a licence unit and term that keep costs in check. Contact us for a quote.
How Forever Systems helps with endpoint protection
We are an independent UK IT and cyber security provider. We supply business antivirus and endpoint protection from several vendors, so we can recommend what fits your devices, your team and your budget rather than pushing one product.
- Review what you have: we look at your current antivirus, your Microsoft licences and the devices you need to cover before suggesting anything new
- Compare the options: next-generation antivirus, EDR and managed services from vendors including CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, ThreatDown, Bitdefender, Trend Micro, Sophos, Check Point, WatchGuard and Acronis
- Licensing and quotes: the right edition and licence count for your Windows, Mac, Linux, server and mobile devices, with pricing confirmed at quote
- Deployment and migration: we can help roll out agents, set policies and remove the old product cleanly
- Support after go-live: help with policy tuning, alerts and renewals, with the scope agreed at quote
We can also help with the rest of your security, from endpoint security and EDR to Cyber Essentials and security awareness training.
Frequently asked questions
Is free antivirus allowed for business use?
Often not. Many free antivirus products are licensed for personal or home use only. Check the current licence terms of any free product before installing it on company devices.
Is there free antivirus for Windows Server?
Microsoft Defender Antivirus is built into Windows Server 2016 and later. For central management, server-specific protection and detection and response, businesses usually add a business endpoint product.
What do you lose with free antivirus?
A central console, policies, server support, reporting, tamper alerts, business support and an upgrade path to EDR. That makes it hard to prove every device is protected.
Can I try business antivirus for free?
Yes, with several vendors. CrowdStrike offers a 15-day free trial on its website, and through us trials are available on products such as CrowdStrike Falcon Defend and Halcyon Plus DXP. Ask us what is available for the products you are considering.
Is free antivirus enough for Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials does not require a paid product, but the anti-malware must stay up to date, stop malware and malicious code running and block malicious websites on every in-scope Windows and macOS device. Check the licence allows business use.
Still have a question about business antivirus?
Ask us and a member of our team will reply by email.