How Different Users Can Find the Right AV-Comparatives Test Reports

Updated

AV-Comparatives organizes its independent test results by the type of product being evaluated, not by a single combined ranking. The fastest way to find relevant reports is to start from your role or the product category you care about, then open the matching test section. Enterprise buyers should look at EDR, XDR, firewall, and endpoint protection tests; consumers should look at antivirus, internet security suite, and VPN tests; and anyone working with connected or industrial systems should look at IoT and OT security tests. AV-Comparatives states that its results are freely accessible to individuals, news organizations, and scientific institutions, and that it serves consumers, CISOs, analysts, and vendors as target groups.

Start With Your Role

The site explicitly lists four target groups, and each maps to a different way of using the same test data:

Your role What you likely need Where to focus
Consumer Unbiased results for antivirus, internet security suites, and VPNs Consumer Cybersecurity section
CISO / enterprise security lead Independent results for EDR, XDR, firewalls, and endpoint protection Enterprise Cybersecurity section
Industry analyst Comparable, data-driven evaluations across vendors Enterprise and Consumer sections, plus vendor-level test history
Journalist or editor Citable, independent findings and certification status Test reports and the certification/seal information

If you are choosing software for personal devices, go straight to the consumer section. If you are evaluating tools for an organization, the enterprise section is the relevant one. The IoT & OT section is separate and covers smart home, smart city, and industrial cybersecurity.

Finding Enterprise Test Reports

Enterprise coverage includes EDR, XDR, firewalls, and endpoint protection. The site's latest enterprise tests illustrate the two main formats you will encounter:

  • Endpoint Prevention & Response (EPR) Test 2026 (September 2026) — evaluates enterprise products' ability to detect, prevent, and respond to targeted attacks.
  • Business Security Test H1 2026 (March – June) (June 2026) — the first half-year report of the enterprise main-test series, containing a Real-World Protection Test, a Malware Protection Test, and a Performance Test, plus product descriptions.

To use these: open the enterprise section, pick the test type that matches your decision (prevention and response capability versus broad protection and performance), and read the report for the specific period you need. The EPR test is the better fit if targeted attacks and response matter most; the Business Security Test is the better fit if you want a recurring, comparable view across protection and performance.

Finding Consumer Test Reports

Consumer coverage includes antivirus, internet security suites, and VPNs. The stated purpose is to give unbiased results so you can assess leading solutions and choose protection for your devices. If you are comparing standalone antivirus against a full suite, check which category each product was tested under before comparing scores, because the two are not the same product class.

Finding IoT and OT Test Reports

This section covers Internet of Things and Operational Technology solutions, from smart home and smart city technologies to industrial cybersecurity. Use it when your decision involves connected devices or industrial environments rather than traditional endpoints. The evaluation goal stated on the site is to help you make informed choices for secure and resilient operations.

What "Independent" Means Here

AV-Comparatives describes its testing as independent and data-driven, with unbiased evaluations of cybersecurity, IoT, and OT solutions. It also states that results are freely accessible to individuals, news organizations, and scientific institutions, and that its certification seal indicates top-tier software performance. For practical purposes: when you cite or rely on a result, check whether the report carries the certification seal and which test period it belongs to, since tests are published per period rather than as a single permanent score.

A Quick Decision Path

  1. Identify whether your product is enterprise, consumer, or IoT/OT.
  2. Open the matching section on av-comparatives.org.
  3. Choose the test type that matches your question — for example, targeted-attack detection and response (EPR) versus broad protection and performance (Business Security Test).
  4. Read the report for the specific period, and note whether a certification seal applies.
  5. Compare only products tested in the same category and period.

The main pitfall is mixing categories: an enterprise EPR result and a consumer antivirus result answer different questions and should not be compared directly.