There has always been a big debate to whether free antivirus is sufficient enough and so deciding between competing products can be difficult, especially due to the massive volume of choice and the influence of marketing allowances. In short, free antivirus isn’t going to fully protect you and so no it isn’t good enough. To be fully protected from malware and viruses, you will need a full-featured solution.
Sure, installing a free AV is very attractive due to the lack of cash required and most of the time the actual antivirus part of the software isn’t any weaker in a free version than it is in a paid version (when comparing free and paid solutions from the same company). However, the paid versions will be a lot better in other areas, they’ll offer much more features to enhance security such as; Advanced firewall, Family Protection, Browser Protection, Password managers and more… They will 9 times out of 10 offer technical support for paid users, which is always a bonus!
To most people, the cost of an antivirus doesn’t out-way the benefits. At around $2-3/month it’s not exactly going to break the bank balance. Free solutions in the long term could end up costing more – your precious time and cash! Because free versions aren’t fully featured products and aren’t updated as regularly the chances of infection is a lot higher. This could lead to a serious virus attack and your local IT guy may need calling out, or even worse hardware could need replacing.
Ultimately it will come down to your needs and your budget. If you feel like having access to advanced features seems worth it (they’ll definitely benefit someone who makes online payments and frequently loiters on social media) then go ahead and purchase a paid solution, you won’t regret it and it’s not going to harm you or your machine, only your bank balance (very slightly). We’d recommend putting safety first as you can never be too careful online.