Malwarebytes vs Malware Hunter: Which Should You Choose?

Choosing a second layer of malware protection can feel more confusing than it needs to be, especially when two well-known names offer such different approaches. Malwarebytes and Malware Hunter both promise to keep your PC free of malicious software, but they go about it in almost opposite ways. One is a full-time security suite that runs quietly in the background around the clock. The other is a lighter, on-demand tool built by Glarysoft, the company behind the popular Glary Utilities cleanup software. This article compares Malwarebytes vs Malware Hunter across protection, features, independent test results, pricing and safety, so you can work out which one (or whether both) belongs on your PC.

At a Glance: The Quick Comparison

Before getting into the details, here’s how Malwarebytes and Malware Hunter stack up on the points that matter most to most buyers.

Feature	Malwarebytes	Malware Hunter
Real-time protection	Yes, on all paid plans	Only on the Pro version
Platforms	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS	Windows only
Scanning engine	Malwarebytes’ own proprietary engine	Built on Avira’s scan engine
Independent lab testing	Tested by AV-Comparatives	Not part of any major independent test
Extra tools	Web protection, ransomware protection, exploit protection	System cleanup, process protection, active protection (Pro)
Free version	On-demand cleaner, no real-time protection	On-demand scanner, no real-time protection
Best used as	A full-time primary defence or companion scanner	A lightweight companion scanner alongside a main antivirus

What Is Malwarebytes?

Malwarebytes started life in 2006 as a specialist tool for removing malware that traditional antivirus missed, and has since grown into a full security suite. It’s now one of the most recognised names in consumer cybersecurity, known partly for its reputation as an effective “second opinion” scanner.

Key Features

The paid Premium version covers most of what you’d expect from a modern security suite: real-time malware and PUP protection, ransomware protection that watches for suspicious file-encryption behaviour, exploit protection against attacks that target software vulnerabilities, and web protection that blocks malicious or phishing sites before they load. A Browser Guard extension is bundled in too, which strips out ads and trackers as a side benefit. The free version works differently: it’s an on-demand cleaner for a device that’s already infected, rather than an ongoing shield, since real-time protection is reserved for the paid tiers.

Who It’s Best For

Malwarebytes suits two quite different groups well. If you want one piece of software to handle real-time protection across a phone, tablet and computer, the cross-platform Premium plans cover Windows, Mac, Android and iOS from a single subscription. If you already have a main antivirus you’re happy with, Malwarebytes also has a long-standing reputation as a companion scanner, a role explored in more detail in our comparison of SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes.

What Is Malware Hunter?

Malware Hunter takes a narrower approach. It’s an on-demand, and in its Pro version, real-time scanner from Glarysoft, the company better known for Glary Utilities, its long-running Windows cleanup toolkit. Malware Hunter pairs malware detection with disk cleanup tools rather than trying to be a full internet security suite.

The Avira Engine Explained

Here’s the detail most comparison articles skip over: Malware Hunter isn’t built on a detection engine that Glarysoft developed itself. It runs on Avira’s scan engine, the German security firm, which is one of the more established names in malware detection. That’s genuinely useful context rather than a knock against the product. It means Malware Hunter benefits from a mature, well-regarded detection engine under the bonnet, while Glarysoft focuses its own development effort on the interface, the scheduling tools, and the PC cleanup features layered on top.

Who It’s Best For

Malware Hunter is aimed squarely at Windows users who want a fast, lightweight scanner to run alongside their main protection, rather than a replacement for it. Its Active Protection feature (available on Pro) adds real-time monitoring, but the free version is scan-on-demand only, which makes it a natural fit for anyone who wants an occasional second check rather than a full-time guard.

Malwarebytes vs Malware Hunter: Key Differences

The clearest way to think about Malwarebytes vs Malware Hunter is as a full-time suite versus an on-demand specialist. Malwarebytes is designed to run continuously, monitoring web traffic, file activity, and known exploit techniques as they occur. Malware Hunter’s free tier is essentially a scanner you run when you want it, and even its Pro real-time layer is designed to catch what slips past your main antivirus rather than replace it.

Platform reach is another clear split. Malwarebytes protects Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices under one account, which matters if your household or business mixes device types. Malware Hunter is Windows-only, so Mac and mobile users won’t find it listed as an option at all.

The two also differ in what they add beyond malware scanning. Malwarebytes leans into internet security extras: web protection, ransomware-specific defences, and exploit protection. Malware Hunter leans into system housekeeping: junk file cleanup, startup management and registry tidying sit alongside the scanner itself, reflecting Glarysoft’s roots in PC optimisation software.

Handling Ransomware and Trojans

Ransomware and Trojans are the two threat types most likely to cause real damage, so it’s worth looking at how Malwarebytes and Malware Hunter approach them specifically, rather than assuming “malware protection” covers everything equally well.

Malwarebytes Premium includes a dedicated ransomware protection layer that watches for the behaviour ransomware relies on, such as rapidly encrypting large numbers of files, rather than only matching against known ransomware signatures. That behavioural approach matters because new ransomware variants appear constantly, and a purely signature-based scanner can miss a strain it hasn’t seen before.

Its exploit protection works alongside this, aiming to prevent Trojans and other malware from ever executing by shielding common vulnerabilities in your browser, PDF reader, and similar software. For a deeper look at how ransomware attacks unfold and what additional precautions are worth taking beyond antivirus software alone, our ransomware protection guide covers backup strategy and early warning signs in more detail.

Malware Hunter takes a more traditional route here. Its Avira-based engine scans for and removes known Trojans and ransomware using signature- and heuristic-based detection, and Active Protection (Pro only) adds a real-time layer that can catch a Trojan attempting to run before it causes damage.

What it doesn’t offer is a ransomware-specific behavioural shield, as Malwarebytes does, so its ransomware defence is really a by-product of general malware scanning rather than a purpose-built feature. For most home users running it as a secondary scanner, that’s a reasonable trade-off, but it’s not a substitute for behavioural ransomware protection if that’s your main concern.

Compatibility: Windows, Mac and Mobile

Platform support is one of the simplest ways to narrow the Malwarebytes vs Malware Hunter decision down. Malwarebytes covers Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, with a single subscription typically covering a handful of devices, depending on the plan you choose. That makes it a realistic single option for a household with a mix of laptops and phones.

Malware Hunter, by contrast, is Windows-only, supporting recent versions of Windows alongside several older ones still in use on ageing hardware. There’s no Mac, Android or iOS version, and no indication from Glarysoft that one is planned. If you need protection across multiple operating systems from one product, that alone may settle the Malwarebytes vs Malware Hunter question in Malwarebytes’ favour, regardless of how the rest of the features compare.

Performance and Independent Testing

Marketing claims are one thing; independently verified results are another, and this is where Malwarebytes vs Malware Hunter becomes a genuinely uneven comparison. Malwarebytes has been part of AV-Comparatives’ public Main Test Series since 2021 and continues to be included in current rounds, which cover real-world protection, malware detection, performance impact, and false alarms. That’s a meaningful point in its favour: anyone can go and check its scores rather than take a vendor’s word for it. It’s also worth being even-handed about what those results show.

In AV-Comparatives’ Real-World Protection Test covering February to May 2026, Malwarebytes was one of several products downgraded from the top award tier due to an above-average rate of false positives, meaning it occasionally flagged legitimate files or sites as threats. Strong detection and an occasional false alarm aren’t mutually exclusive, but it’s a fair trade-off to know about before you rely on it as your only line of defence.

Malware Hunter doesn’t appear in AV-Comparatives’ or AV-TEST’s public results at all. Independent reviewers have also noted that Glarysoft doesn’t publish its own detection statistics or detailed information about how its scanning database is maintained. That doesn’t mean the underlying Avira engine is unreliable, since Avira itself is independently tested elsewhere, but it does mean you’re taking Glarysoft’s implementation of that engine on trust rather than checking a published score for Malware Hunter specifically. If independently verified detection rates matter to you, that’s a real point in Malwarebytes’ favour, and it’s worth checking AV-Comparatives’ current test results yourself before deciding.

Additional Features Compared

Beyond core scanning, Malwarebytes and Malware Hunter offer quite different sets of extras, and which set matters more depends on what you’re trying to solve.

Malwarebytes’ Premium plans add scheduled scans, so you can set regular automatic checks without having to remember to run them manually, plus the Browser Guard extension to block ads, trackers, and known malicious sites while you browse. Its ransomware protection specifically watches for the mass file-encryption behaviour that signature-based scanning alone can miss.

Malware Hunter’s additional tools lean more towards system maintenance than internet security. Process Protection monitors running processes for suspicious behaviour and can terminate anything flagged, while its cleanup tools clear temporary files, manage startup items and tidy the registry to help an older or cluttered PC run a little faster. Active Protection, available on the Pro version, adds the real-time monitoring layer that the free version lacks. None of this replaces a firewall or web filtering, so Malware Hunter is best understood as a scanner-plus-cleanup combination rather than an all-around internet security product.

Pricing and Value

Both tools follow a similar free-versus-paid structure, though what you get for upgrading differs. Malwarebytes’ free tier is a manual cleaner for a device that’s already infected, while its paid Premium plans (priced per device, with individual, family, and small business tiers) add the real-time protection, ransomware defence, and web protection described above. Malware Hunter’s free version offers on-demand scanning and basic cleanup, while its Pro upgrade switches on Active Protection and scheduled scanning.

Exact prices for both products change frequently with regional pricing and ongoing promotions, so rather than quote a figure here that may already be out of date by the time you read this, it’s worth checking Malwarebytes’ and Glarysoft’s official pricing pages directly before buying. As a general rule of thumb, Malwarebytes Premium falls within the same bracket as other established paid antivirus suites, while Malware Hunter Pro is typically positioned as a lower-cost companion tool rather than a full-suite replacement, which fits its role as a secondary scanner rather than a primary one.

Can You Run Malwarebytes and Malware Hunter Together?

This is one of the most practical questions in the whole Malwarebytes vs Malware Hunter debate, and it’s rarely answered clearly elsewhere. Running two full real-time antivirus engines side by side is generally a bad idea: their kernel-level file monitoring can conflict, trigger false alarms against each other, and slow your PC down for no real security benefit. That’s true whether the second product is Malware Hunter, another antivirus, or even two editions of the same brand.

The more sensible combination is a single primary, real-time antivirus (Malwarebytes Premium, Windows Defender, or another established suite) paired with an occasional on-demand scan from a second tool, used as a spot check rather than a constant background process. Malware Hunter’s free, on-demand mode fits neatly into that role, since it isn’t running continuously in the background, competing with your main protection. If your main antivirus is Windows Defender, our Microsoft Defender vs Avast comparison covers how Defender performs as a full-time baseline, which is useful context before deciding whether you need a companion scanner at all, and if so, how often to run it.

Is Malware Hunter Safe to Use?

It’s a fair question to ask before installing anything with “malware” in its own name. Malware Hunter is a legitimate product from Glarysoft, an established developer with a long track record through Glary Utilities, and its detection is built on Avira’s engine rather than an unknown or unproven system. Independent download platforms that scan installers for hidden threats have not flagged it as malicious.

Where it falls short of full transparency is in what Glarysoft publishes about the product itself. There’s no public breakdown of detection rates from an independent lab, and the company doesn’t publish detailed technical documentation on how its malware database is maintained or updated, other than stating that updates occur automatically. That’s a reasonable trade-off for a free or low-cost companion tool, but it does mean you’re extending a degree of trust that Malwarebytes’ AV-Comparatives-tested track record doesn’t require in the same way. If data handling and telemetry transparency matter a great deal to you, it’s worth reading each company’s current privacy policy directly on their websites, since neither is summarised reliably enough elsewhere to repeat second-hand.

Which Should You Choose?

When it comes down to it, the Malwarebytes vs Malware Hunter decision comes down to a fairly simple question: how much protection do you need running full-time, and on how many devices?

If you want one subscription to cover real-time protection across Windows, Mac and mobile devices, with independently tested results you can check for yourself, Malwarebytes is the stronger all-around choice. It costs more than a simple on-demand scanner, but you’re paying for continuous protection, cross-platform coverage and a track record that’s open to public scrutiny through AV-Comparatives.

If you’re a Windows user who already trusts your main antivirus (including Windows Defender) and just wants an occasional second opinion, plus some basic PC cleanup along the way, Malware Hunter is a sensible, low-cost addition. Just run it as a spot-check tool rather than a second full-time engine, and treat its lack of independent test data as something to weigh up rather than ignore.

Neither answer is wrong. The right choice comes down to whether you’re looking for your main line of defence or a lightweight companion to whatever you’re already running, and hopefully this comparison has made that decision easier either way. For a broader look at how these two fit alongside other options, our roundup of the top antivirus software is a useful next stop, and if ransomware is your main worry, our ransomware protection guide goes into that threat in more depth.

Frequently Asked Questions