VirusTotal
Malware analysis tools
System security software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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$5,000 per year
Free TrialFree version
Small
Medium
Large
- Information technology and software
- Media and communications
- Professional services (engineering, legal, consulting, etc.)
What is VirusTotal
VirusTotal is a malware analysis and threat intelligence service that lets users submit files, URLs, domains, and IP addresses for scanning and reputation checks across multiple security engines and data sources. Security teams and researchers use it for triage, indicator enrichment, and hunting based on observed artifacts. The platform combines multi-engine detections with metadata such as relationships, behavior signals (where available), and historical context, and it offers web UI and APIs for automation.
Multi-engine artifact scanning
VirusTotal aggregates results from many antivirus and security engines for a single submitted file or URL. This helps analysts quickly compare detections and spot consensus versus outliers during triage. It also reduces the need to run multiple standalone tools for basic reputation checks.
Broad artifact and metadata coverage
The service supports common investigation pivots across files, URLs, domains, and IP addresses. It presents contextual metadata such as hashes, detection history, and relationships between artifacts to support enrichment workflows. This makes it useful as a central lookup point during incident response and threat hunting.
API-driven investigation workflows
VirusTotal provides APIs that allow SOC tools and scripts to query reputations, retrieve reports, and submit artifacts programmatically. This supports automation for alert enrichment and case management. It also enables integration into internal pipelines for malware triage and IOC validation.
Not a full EDR replacement
VirusTotal focuses on analyzing submitted artifacts and associated intelligence rather than providing endpoint prevention, telemetry collection, or response actions. Organizations still need separate controls for endpoint detection and response, policy enforcement, and remediation. As a result, it typically complements, rather than replaces, broader system security software.
Detections can be inconsistent
Multi-engine results can vary significantly across vendors, and some detections may be generic or false positives. Analysts often need additional validation (e.g., sandboxing, reverse engineering, or internal telemetry) before making decisions. This can add time to investigations when results are ambiguous.
Data sharing and privacy constraints
Submitting files or URLs to a third-party service can raise confidentiality and compliance concerns, especially for proprietary binaries or sensitive documents. Some organizations restrict what can be uploaded or require internal approval processes. These constraints can limit usefulness for certain incident types or regulated environments.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| VT Community | Free | File & URL scanning, public API (community/public API with usage limits), community features (ratings, comments). |
| VT Contributor | From free (upon acceptance) | For engine/technology partners who contribute detections; access to a feed of blindspots and discounts based on contribution tiers; requires acceptance into the program. |
| VT Lite | From $5,000 per year | Targeted at small teams/startups/MSSPs (non-commercial). Includes advanced search, YARA hunting, file downloading, Private API access, Private Scanning; blog states "From $5k for low API volumes." |
| VT Duet | Custom pricing | For large organizations: full feature set, high API quota; pricing based on number of affiliates covered and contribution level (custom/enterprise). |
| Premium services (Private API, Intelligence, Hunting, Graph, Private Scanning) | Contact sales / Custom pricing | These are paid offerings; pricing depends on usage and requirements. Private API/Intelligence/Hunting/Graph require contacting VirusTotal for a quote; Private Scanning is a paid offering and VirusTotal documentation invites requests for a trial. |
Seller details
Google LLC
Mountain View, CA, USA
1998
Subsidiary
https://cloud.google.com/deep-learning-vm
https://x.com/googlecloud
https://www.linkedin.com/company/google/
