[help] Best free/paid anti-virus for windows OS

Kaspersky security cloud

There is no best for FREE

Windows Defender is free and enough.

If you don’t do web surfing much then windows defender is fine
Although if you still want to opt for antivirus then Kaspersky or Quick Heal both are good.

Best free: Avira antivirus
Best paid: bitdefender internet security/total security

avast …. licenses are easily available for free…

In my experience, Kaspersky antivirus / internet security is good. You can compare both versions and proceed as per your requirement. Also, Kaspersky uses a bit more computer resources, therefore you may experience some lag (depending on pc configuration, higher configuration-comparatively less lag), however the protection is really good.
P.S. :- I have been using Kaspersky antivirus from about 5 years.

avg

Only really “FREE” and good antivirus available for windows is Forticlient.
It’s technically not marketed as a consumer grade antivirus but it works very well.
Just remember when installing be sure to check advanced tab and select component ‘antivirus’ during installation.

Bitdefender is good in terms of protection and better interface and not system heavy and also not pricey.
Kaspersky is good in terms of protection but very heavy on resources and pricey.
Mcafee had good features and better usabilty but little heavy.
Avast has many features hidden behing paywall but average in protection.