Norton VPN vs Bitdefender VPN – are antivirus VPNs really worth your money this Black Friday?

Black Friday deals are proving to be the best pre-holiday gifts. But did you know that beyond speakers, TVs, and other electronics, they also extend to the world of cybersecurity?

While many of the best VPNs are currently running massive Black Friday VPN discounts, we’re also seeing VPN/antivirus combos join the party.

Norton VPN and Bitdefender are both offering VPN/antivirus bundles in time for Black Friday, but you might wonder if it's worth investing in a combo at all. Below, we've dug into each deal, so you can see for yourself what's included.

Exclusive deal

Norton VPN Plus: $29.99 (72% saving)

This Black Friday deal is available for our readers in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia, and extends to Norton VPN’s Plus and Ultimate plans (not the Standard tier). You get an unlimited VPN that’s independently audited and capable of unblocking geo-restricted content in multiple locations, 10 GB of secure cloud backup, a password manager, and a 60-day money-back guarantee to try it out risk-free.

– Get Norton VPN in US & Canada with this exclusive deal

– Get Norton VPN in the UK with this exclusive deal

– Get Norton VPN in Australia with this exclusive deal

Bitdefender Total Security: $52.55 for 1-year ($59.12 saving)

Bitdefender's Total Security comes with great antivirus tools, including double encryption, data breach detection, and SafePay. It also includes a password manager tool and a private VPN which, although limited to 200 MB a day, is more than enough for occasional users. The subscription also carries a generous 30-day money-back guarantee, meaning you can give Bitdefender a try risk-free.

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Let’s unpack the key differences between Norton VPN and Bitdefender’s VPN/AV Black Friday deals.

Norton VPN

Norton VPN's 2025 Black Friday VPN deal applies to its Plus and Ultimate plans, not the Standard tier. So, while the plans are pricier, they're arguably a better deal because you get a lot of extra cybersecurity tools bundled in, along with strong core VPN and antivirus features.

Speaking of the VPN, Norton VPN now offers polished and user-friendly apps across various devices, strong unblocking performance (we were able to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ from all our testing centers), and a clear-cut no-logs policy. The only thing is that the connection speeds weren’t quite as impressive, especially when compared to the fastest VPNs.

Even better, Norton VPN's no-logs policy has been independently audited by VerSprite. It's worth noting that the auditing firm singled out two issues, which Norton was very quick to resolve, and it later received a clean sheet from VerSprite.

Users on Norton VPN’s Plus plan also get 10 Gb of secure cloud backup, a dark web monitoring tool, and a built-in password manager. The Norton VPN Ultimate plan includes all of this – plus parental controls and 50 Gb of cloud backup – and lets you use them on up to 10 devices.

Bitdefender

Bitdefender is one of the most reputable names in cybersecurity, and its VPN lives up to the hype, offering great encryption, decent speeds, and a huge assortment of essential tools like the ones you'll find in some of the most secure VPNs. Bitdefender's VPN also comes with a robust kill switch, split tunneling, a regularly audited no-logs policy, and RAM-only servers (that wipe your data with every boot for extra privacy).

The biggest caveat here is that Bitdefender's VPN is limited to just 200 Mb a day (fewer data than even the best free VPNs), meaning while it's handy in a pinch and for occasional use – such as when you want to connect to public Wi-Fi at an airport for a few hours – it won't support bandwidth-heavy tasks like streaming, torrenting, or even 24/7 browsing.

What's more, there’s also a handy password manager, and you can increase the account limit to 5 (from 1) and the device limit to 25 (from 5) by upgrading to Bitdefender's Family plan, which notably also comes with parental controls to ensure the young ones in your family enjoy a safe internet experience.

The bottom line

A VPN-AV combination is arguably better than getting each of those products separately, simply because it lets you have all your essential cybersecurity tools in one place – perfect for newbies looking for a one-stop solution.

Out of the two, we believe Norton’s antivirus-VPN combination is the better deal compared to Bitdefender, not only because it’s cheaper but also because its VPN doesn’t put daily data caps, unlike Bitdefender's.

Still, Bitdefender is a great pick if you’re after a privacy-first VPN – think RAM-only servers, a regularly audited no-logs policy, SafePay, and real-time protection – all wrapped into one of the best antivirus suites available.