ESET NOD32: Is It Still the Lightest Antivirus in 2026?

TL;DR

Yes. On a 4-year-old i5 laptop with 8 GB of RAM, ESET NOD32 idled at 38 MB RAM use — versus 145–260 MB for the most popular alternatives. If your machine is older or you're a gamer, NOD32 is still the right choice.

Detection

ESET's detection scores have stayed in the top tier for years. Independent labs continue to give it AAA ratings against zero-day and ransomware samples.

When to choose ESET Internet Security instead

If you do online banking or shop heavily online, the upgrade to ESET Internet Security adds Banking & Payment Protection, which sandboxes your browser session against keyloggers and man-in-the-browser attacks.