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Cybersecurity · head to head

Avast One vs Baffle

Avast One logo

Avast One

Cybersecurity

All-in-one protection for your digital life

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Baffle logo

Baffle

Cybersecurity

Transparent proxy that encrypts, tokenises and masks database fields without application code changes

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Avast One has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Avast One ransomware and Wi-Fi vulnerability protection only on paid plans; Baffle the proxy sits in the production data path, so it becomes a latency contributor and a failure domain, and any deployment needs load and failover testing that customers routinely underestimate.
  • They diverge on capability: Avast One covers Antivirus, Baffle covers Transparent proxy deployment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Avast One and Baffle actually diverge.

Attributes where Avast One and Baffle differ
AttributeAvast OneBaffle
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOS, iOS, AndroidLinux, Web
Founded1988Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Avast One

  • Antivirus
  • Firewall
  • VPN
  • Data breach monitoring
  • Email Guardian
  • Webcam Shield
  • Ransomware Shield
  • Performance optimization

Only in Baffle

  • Transparent proxy deployment
  • Field-level encryption
  • Tokenisation
  • Format-preserving de-identification
  • Dynamic data masking
  • Bring your own key
  • Analytics and pipeline support
  • AI pipeline protection

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Avast One

  • Antivirusnot Baffle
  • Internet Securitynot Baffle
  • Privacy Toolsnot Baffle

Baffle

  • A bank with a legacy application it cannot safely refactor that has an audit finding requiring field-level encryption of account datanot Avast One
  • A company wanting to take a reporting database out of PCI scope by tokenising card fields before they landnot Avast One
  • A healthcare organisation that must ensure database administrators and cloud operators cannot read patient identifiers in the tables they administernot Avast One
  • A team moving regulated data into a warehouse or an AI retrieval pipeline that needs identifiers de-identified in transit without rewriting the ingest jobsnot Avast One

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Avast One

  • Ransomware and Wi-Fi vulnerability protection only on paid plans
  • Free plan VPN is limited, no data breakthrough monitoring
  • Rebuilt app in May 2026 may have stability issues

Baffle

  • The proxy sits in the production data path, so it becomes a latency contributor and a failure domain, and any deployment needs load and failover testing that customers routinely underestimate.
  • What you can still do in SQL depends on the protection mode chosen, and stronger modes restrict comparisons, joins and aggregations on protected columns, which can quietly break existing reports and analytics.
  • Database and driver coverage is finite, so an organisation with an unusual engine, an old driver or heavy use of stored procedures may find its most important system is exactly the one not supported.
  • Pricing is unpublished and scales with protected data stores, which means an enterprise trying to protect a long tail of small databases pays disproportionately compared with protecting a handful of large ones.
  • Key management is your responsibility under bring your own key, and while that is the correct security posture, it moves a real operational burden and a genuine data-loss risk onto the customer.

Pricing, plan by plan

Avast One

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Antivirus
    • Limited VPN
    • Privacy tools
  • Silver$2.99/month
    • Enhanced antivirus
    • VPN
    • Device cleanup
  • Premium$4.19/month
    • Full antivirus
    • VPN with 55 servers
    • Password manager
  • Premium Plus$11.67/month
    • All Premium features
    • 30 devices covered

Baffle

On request
  • Baffle Data Protection Services$undefined/year
    • Quoted by protected data stores and deployment scale
    • Self-managed and cloud marketplace deployment options
    • Annual subscription

Which should you pick?

Choose Avast One if

  • You need antivirus.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want firewall.
Avast One review

Choose Baffle if

  • You need transparent proxy deployment.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want field-level encryption.
Baffle review

Questions people ask

Is Avast One or Baffle better?
Neither clearly leads. Avast One starts at Free and Baffle at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Avast One or Baffle?
Avast One has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Avast One and On request for Baffle.
Does Avast One or Baffle run on more platforms?
Avast One runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Baffle runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Avast One for free?
Yes. Avast One has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Baffle starts at On request.
What is Avast One best used for?
Avast One is most often used for antivirus, internet security, privacy tools. Of those, antivirus and internet security are not what Baffle is typically brought in for.
What can Avast One do that Baffle cannot?
Avast One covers Antivirus, Firewall, VPN, Data breach monitoring. Baffle covers Transparent proxy deployment, Field-level encryption, Tokenisation, Format-preserving de-identification.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Avast One: Is Avast One free?

Yes. Avast One offers a free tier with antivirus, VPN (limited), and privacy tools. Paid plans start at $2.99/month for Silver and $4.19/month for Premium covering up to 5 devices.

Source
Baffle: Do applications need code changes?

No. That is the central design choice. Baffle intercepts traffic as a proxy rather than requiring an SDK call at every read and write.

Avast One: What does Avast One include?

Avast One provides antivirus, VPN, password manager, device cleanup, Wi-Fi security, data breach monitoring, and protection against AI-generated scams and deepfakes.

Source
Baffle: Can you still query encrypted columns?

Partly, and it depends on the protection mode. Some modes preserve equality matching and format, stronger modes restrict what SQL operations remain possible, so this must be tested against your actual queries.

Avast One: Does Avast One have ransomware protection?

Ransomware protection is available only on paid plans, not the free tier. Free users get antivirus and basic protection only.

Source
Baffle: Does it take systems out of PCI scope?

Tokenisation can reduce scope by ensuring card data never lands in the protected system, but scope reduction is an assessor judgement, not a product setting.

Baffle: Who holds the encryption keys?

You do, through your own key management service. Baffle supports bring your own key rather than holding customer keys itself.

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