Power ranking
Who leads this subcategory.
Vetting this category yourself, or here
100 brands, each a ~3-hour comparison if you did it by hand.
This week?
Keeper and Nord Security rewrote the Privacy & Security rankings in one week, climbing 17 and 15 spots respectively to land at #12 and #8. Proton held the top slot for a second straight week while NordPass and LastPass fell hard—down 15 and 14 spots to #28 and #30. Mullvad arrived at #13 and Malwarebytes at #24, suggesting buyers are looking elsewhere for the passwords and threat tools they trust.
The questions?
These rankings answer 3 buyer questions. Open any one for the head-to-head.
The subcategory score is an aggregate. Each question has its own AI ranking, reviewer check and weekly movement — that's where the picks actually come from.
Act one
Where the machines rank them.
The AI models rank every brand here — who just arrived, the full board, who serves each buyer type, the lineup each brand fields, who owns each trait, and who plays at which price.
Act two · ★ new
What people & press say.
Where the AI ranking and the reviewers part ways, how the street rates these brands — and which of them are making news right now.
In the press
Which brands are making news.
6 of the brands ranked in Privacy & Security drew coverage in the last 30 days — the mood skews positive.?
MicrosoftCritical
Microsoft faces mounting regulatory and legal challenges over pricing and AI training practices, while investor concerns about heavy AI spending weigh on stock performance.
via Reuters, Yahoo Finance, The New York Times · 8 stories
Nord SecurityPositive
Nord Security's NordVPN receives mostly positive coverage for security and value, though a significant adware discovery on pirate sites highlights ongoing cybersecurity threats the brand is…
via Mashable, TechRadar, VICE · 7 stories
ZohoCritical
Zoho's coverage is dominated by founder Sridhar Vembu's political commentary and government criticism, alongside positive news on SME digital transformation partnerships in Kenya, but overshadowed…
via Moneycontrol.com, Hindustan Times, Capitalfm.co.ke · 7 stories
AvastPositive
Avast security products receive mostly positive reviews praising their protection capabilities, though pricing complexity is noted as a drawback in some coverage.
via All About Cookies, Security.org, PCWorld · 5 stories
ProtonPositive
Proton gaming software receives positive coverage for technical improvements including better AMD FSR4 support and DX12 optimizations, while the Linux Drive client launch is welcomed as a…
via GamingOnLinux, VideoCardz.com, OMG! Ubuntu · 4 stories
F-SecureMixed
F-Secure's Q2 2026 results show strong organic revenue growth and embedded security gains, but are overshadowed by margin compression and an EPS miss that disappointed analysts.
via TradingView, webull.com, Investing.com · 8 stories
as of July 26 · 6 brands?
Marketing honesty
Which brands keep their word.
4 brands in Privacy & Security carry a marketing-honesty score — how their official claims hold up against owner & expert reviews. Field median 77.?
as of August 1 · 4 brands?
Act three
How the models think.
Where each brand actually competes across the buyer questions, and the running ledger of what just moved here.
Intent dominance
Where each brand actually competes.
as of August 3 · 3 intents?
Ledger?
What just moved here.
- ▼ fall#14 → #40
- ▼ fall#24 → #39
- ▼ fall#22 → #36
- ▼ fall#29 → #41
- ▲ climb#23 → #13
- ▲ climb#26 → #17
- → entersenters at #23
- ▼ fall#20 → #27
- ▼ fall#25 → #32
- ▲ climb#21 → #15
- ▼ fall#10 → #16
- ▲ climb#27 → #21
- ▲ climb#30 → #25
- ▼ fall#16 → #20
- ▲ climb#28 → #24
- → entersenters at #26
- ▲ climb#15 → #12
- ▼ fall#19 → #22
- ▲ climb#7 → #5
- → entersenters at #28
about privacy & security
Pick by what you need
- buying intents · in products →
- Best VPNs
- Best Password Managers
- Best Antivirus Software
interesting facts from privacy & security
Privacy and security brands split along clear lines. Some build for specialists who need granular control and deep technical features. Others serve people who want protection without thinking about settings. Some charge premium prices for comprehensive suites. Others compete on value. A few focus narrowly on one problem—encryption, password management, VPN. Others try to solve many.
Your choice depends on what you actually use and how much friction you tolerate. Do you want to tinker or set it and forget it? Do you need one tool or a full suite? Are you willing to pay more for depth? The rankings on this page show how the AI systems sort these brands for different kinds of buyers. Read them to see where each one lands instead of guessing.
The brand view stops here. For the individual products in this subcategory, switch to the product view.