ESET HOME Security Essential

ESET HOME Security Essential is the entry-level paid plan from ESET, a Slovak company, for Windows, macOS and Android. The plan priced at $59.99 for the first year covers three devices and includes antivirus, ransomware protection, a firewall, parental controls and anti-theft. ESET also sells NOD32 Antivirus, a one-device antivirus-only product, and two larger plans, Premium and Ultimate.

In 2026 tests by AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives ESET reached top or near-top protection scores on Windows and macOS. The Customer Experience Improvement Program stays off unless you agree to it, but the optional cloud feedback system sends suspicious files to ESET, and the renewal price is not published before you buy.

What the built-in protection of Windows, macOS and Android already covers, and what a paid plan adds to it, is covered in Do You Need an Antivirus?

Lab Results

ESET is part of the regular test series of AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives. AV-TEST tests ESET Security Ultimate, the Windows app installed with the Ultimate plan, which adds a cloud sandbox and other modules to what Essential has. In July and August 2026 it stopped all of the new and widespread malware samples and received the maximum 6.0 points for protection, speed and usability. The same protection score appears in every Windows round since February 2024. On macOS (June 2026) the Mac app scored 6.0 for protection, catching 99.9% of 1,122 samples, and 5.5 for speed. On Android, ESET Mobile Security was last tested in July 2025 and scored 6.0 in all three categories.

AV-Comparatives tests the Essential plan itself. In its September 2026 malware test on Windows it blocked 9,989 of 10,000 samples, a 99.89% protection rate in the top group, and raised three false alarms. In the real-world test from February to May 2026, which uses malicious websites and downloads, it blocked 394 of 400 attacks, a 98.5% protection rate, one group below the top, with two false positives against a test average of eight. In the lab’s 2026 Mac test it caught 99.9% of Mac malware and 94% of unwanted Mac apps, with no false alarms.

No lab has published results for an iPhone app, which ESET has announced but not yet released, so the lab results in this section cover Windows, macOS and Android only.

What the Software Sends to ESET

ESET checks files against its LiveGrid cloud service. According to the privacy policy, the reputation part of LiveGrid compares one-way hashes of scanned files with a cloud list of safe and unsafe files. The feedback part goes further: once it is on, ESET’s Windows help says it submits suspicious files to ESET’s lab by default, along with the file path, name, date and the process involved, and the privacy policy adds IP addresses, website addresses and crash dumps. Office documents and PDFs are excluded by default, other files are sent up to 64 MB, and sample submission can be switched off. This cloud scanning feedback is one of the options offered during installation, next to an “Allow all and continue” button; ESET says turning it off removes no features.

The Customer Experience Improvement Program, which reports how you use the app, what device you have and what errors occur, also appears at installation. ESET describes it as voluntary and based on consent, and says the data stays with ESET. This telemetry program is off unless you agree to it. Separately, the privacy policy says ESET processes technical data such as the operating system, hardware information, installation and licence IDs, IP and MAC address and product settings to provide updates and maintain its infrastructure, and aggregated usage statistics on the basis of its legitimate interest; the policy describes no switch for this.

Account and Data Use

Subscriptions bought since November 2023 need an ESET HOME account, which asks for your name, country and email. ESET’s privacy policy allows it to use that email to advertise similar ESET products unless you opt out, and to use aggregated usage statistics to improve its services. It says ESET does not share your data with third parties, apart from its own affiliates and partners for licensing and support and its cloud and billing providers. Its data use therefore goes beyond protection alone. ESET North America’s separate policy for its US website and store says visitor data may go to advertising networks.

ESET, spol. s r.o. is registered in Bratislava, Slovakia, so the EU’s data protection law applies to it. Billing records are kept for ten years, and licensing data is anonymised within 12 months after a licence expires. The company was founded in 1992 and is privately owned; its co-founders sit on the board.

Data Breach and Incident History

In December 2018 researchers found an open database that appeared to belong to ESET’s cloud services. It held licence purchase records from ESET’s South African division: owners’ names, licence keys and passwords, email addresses and two administrator logins with hashed passwords. Anyone who found it could read and change it. ESET took it offline on 17 December and thanked the researcher; the report does not say whether anyone else accessed it.

On 8 October 2024 phishing emails in ESET’s name were sent to security staff at Israeli organisations, with a link to a file said to be hosted on ESET servers that installed data-wiping malware. ESET said the incident affected its Israeli distributor, that the campaign was blocked within ten minutes and that ESET itself was not compromised. The 2018 database is the documented exposure of customer data; the 2024 campaign hit a distributor and is listed because it used ESET’s name. The sources describe no changes ESET made after either event; these two cases make up the data breach history found for ESET.

Audits and Vulnerabilities

There is no published independent security audit of ESET’s home products. ESET’s Trust Center lists ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 certifications, but the reports are available only on request, and such certifications cover company processes, not the product.

ESET takes vulnerability reports by email, credits researchers and aims to fix confirmed flaws within 90 days, but it rewards reports with a goodie bag, not money, so it has no paid bug bounty. It publishes security advisories with fixed versions. The most recent one for a home product, from 24 July 2026, describes a flaw in the uninstaller of the Mac app that let a local user without administrator rights run code as root; version 9.0.6300.0 fixed it.

What Is Included

Essential includes real-time malware and ransomware protection, anti-phishing, a protected browser mode for banking, a firewall with home network scanning, parental controls and anti-theft. It does not include the VPN, file encryption or ESET LiveGuard, which checks new files in a cloud sandbox; those start with Premium. Identity monitoring and ransomware file recovery come only with Ultimate. Essential is a smaller bundled security suite than the higher plans.

Prices

Essential costs $59.99 for the first year for three devices, and each extra device adds $5. ESET’s store says the price applies to the first term only and that renewals are charged at standard pricing, with the amount announced 30 days before the renewal date; the renewal price itself is not published. Subscriptions renew automatically until you turn this off in your account, and a full refund is available within 30 days.

Premium costs $89.99 for the first year for three devices and Ultimate $179.99 for five devices. NOD32 Antivirus, for one Windows or Mac computer, costs $39.99 for the first year. On Android, ESET Mobile Security runs for free with real-time protection and without a subscription, which makes it a free tier. ESET also offers a 30-day trial without a credit card.

Pros and Cons

• Full AV-TEST protection scores for ESET's Windows app in every round since February 2024
• 99.89% protection rate in AV-Comparatives' September 2026 Windows malware test, with three false alarms
• The optional Customer Experience Improvement Program is off unless you agree to it
• One subscription for Windows, macOS and Android, up to three devices
• Free Android version with real-time protection, and a 30-day refund window

• The renewal price is not published before you buy
• With cloud feedback on, suspicious files are uploaded to ESET by default
• An ESET account is required, and its email is used for marketing unless you opt out
• No published independent audit and no paid bug bounty
• No VPN in Essential, and no iPhone app yet

Our Rating

Essential suits people who want lab-tested malware protection for a few Windows PCs, Macs and Android phones, who prefer usage statistics off by default, and who accept a required ESET account. It does not suit anyone who needs an iPhone covered today, wants a VPN in the base plan, or wants to know the renewal price before buying.

• Protection Quality9.0/10

  AV-TEST has given ESET the full 6.0 for protection on Windows in every round since February 2024, and also on macOS in June 2026 and Android in July 2025. In AV-Comparatives' 2026 Windows tests the Essential plan blocked 99.89% of malware samples, in the top group, and 98.5% of real-world attacks, one group below the top, with few false positives in both. On Mac it caught 99.9% of malware.

• Privacy & Data Practices6.5/10

  The Customer Experience Improvement Program is off unless you agree to it, though the update service still receives technical data about the device. When the LiveGrid feedback system is on, it uploads suspicious files to ESET's lab by default, though office documents and PDFs are excluded. An ESET account is required and its email is used for marketing unless you opt out. The policy says ESET does not share your data with third parties, and the company is under EU law in Slovakia. In 2018 a database with customer licence data from ESET's South African division was left open, and in 2024 ESET's Israeli distributor was used to send malware in ESET's name.

• Usability & System Impact8.0/10

  AV-TEST gave 6.0 for usability on all three systems with no false detections. Performance scores were 6.0 on Windows in the latest round and on Android, 5.5 on Mac, and 5.5 in three Windows rounds between December 2025 and April 2026. In AV-Comparatives' September 2026 Windows performance test its impact score was 9.5, ninth of 20 products, in the top group. Essential covers Windows, Mac and Android under one subscription; the iPhone app is announced but not yet released.

• Transparency & Verifiability5.0/10

  There is no published independent audit of the product. ESET publishes security advisories with fixed versions, such as the July 2026 Mac flaw that let a local user gain root rights. It accepts vulnerability reports and credits researchers, but pays them with a goodie bag rather than money. Its ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 reports are available only on request.

• Price & Value6.0/10

  Essential costs $59.99 for the first year for three devices. ESET does not publish the renewal price: the store says renewals use standard pricing and that you are told the amount 30 days before. Essential has no VPN, which starts with Premium at $89.99 for the first year. A free Android version and a 30-day refund are available.

Overall7.3/10

Protection Quality 30% · Privacy & Data Practices 25% · Usability & System Impact 20% · Transparency & Verifiability 15% · Price & Value 10%

See our rating methodology →