McAfee LiveSafe vs Total Protection: what is the difference?

What is McAfee LiveSafe?

McAfee LiveSafe is software that is often pre-installed as a trial version on your new Windows laptop. Handy, because you’re protected right away. Less handy: after 30 days (or sometimes 1 year), the protection stops unless you renew or switch.

LiveSafe provides protection for an unlimited number of devices and includes, among other things, antivirus, a VPN, web protection (McAfee WebAdvisor), a password manager and parental controls (McAfee Safe Family). One feature that used to be included but no longer appears in recent editions is cloud storage via Personal Locker. That option is no longer available in the current LiveSafe.

Do you have a new laptop with McAfee LiveSafe?

If you’ve just bought a new laptop, there’s a chance McAfee LiveSafe is already installed. That’s useful for quickly getting started with protection, but pay close attention: this version is a trial. Once the trial period ends, your protection stops as well. That’s often the moment you start looking: should you renew LiveSafe? Or is switching a smarter choice?

At that point, it’s worth thinking about what you need. Do you want to protect multiple devices, save money, or get more comprehensive identity protection and recovery? Then renewing LiveSafe may not be the best choice. Later in this blog, we’ll help you make a well-informed decision.

What is McAfee Total Protection?

McAfee Total Protection is another McAfee security package and offers many of the same features as LiveSafe. Think antivirus, firewall, VPN, WebAdvisor, password management and identity monitoring.

The biggest differences? Your licence covers a limited number of devices (1, 3, 5 or 10), and parental controls are not included as standard. 

McAfee LiveSafe vs Total Protection comparison

What is the difference between McAfee LiveSafe and Total Protection, and which one should I choose?

In terms of features, the packages are almost identical. Both give you a complete security suite, including a VPN and identity monitoring. The only real difference is the number of devices and whether you need parental controls.

LiveSafe:

• Ideal if you don’t want a limit on the number of devices you can protect
• Includes parental controls

Total Protection:

• Almost the same features as LiveSafe
• Often priced more competitively
• You choose the number of devices you need
  

Renewing McAfee LiveSafe: what you need to know

If you get a message that your McAfee LiveSafe has expired, it may seem logical to simply renew it. But did you know you don’t necessarily have to renew LiveSafe with the same product? Instead of LiveSafe, you can also switch to an alternative package such as McAfee Total Protection or McAfee+ Premium.

In practice, we see that alternative packages often offer more or the same features for a similar or even lower price. So it can pay off not to automatically choose a LiveSafe renewal, but to take a moment to see which solution really suits your situation best.

• Do you want almost the same features as LiveSafe, but a more affordable package? Then McAfee Total Protection is a better choice.
• Do you want protection for an unlimited number of devices, parental controls, and more comprehensive identity monitoring, then McAfee+ Premium is perfect.

And the best part: switching is easy. You don’t even need to remove any software. After purchasing your new licence, you can activate it using your existing installation. Also handy: at 2GO Software, you’ll get clear, tailored instructions and help with installation if you get stuck.

Tip: also take a look at McAfee+ Premium and Advanced

Both LiveSafe and Total Protection are solid security packages. But if you want to get the most out of your protection, also take a look at McAfee+ Premium or McAfee+ Advanced. These packages:

• Provide protection for an unlimited number of devices (just like LiveSafe)
• Include all the features that LiveSafe and Total Protection offer as standard, such as a VPN, password manager and identity monitoring
• Provide more comprehensive identity protection than LiveSafe and Total Protection
• McAfee+ Advanced also includes identity restoration
• And the Family versions of these product ranges also include parental controls (McAfee Safe Family)

These packages are future-proof, especially if you have a growing family or if you want maximum control over your digital privacy and identity.

Conclusion

McAfee LiveSafe and Total Protection are virtually identical, apart from a few details. If you don’t use parental controls and don’t want to pay more than you need to, switching to McAfee Total Protection is often the smartest choice. You keep the same protection, but pay less. View all McAfee Total Protection products here if you want to switch from LiveSafe to Total Protection.