Within the increasingly competitive customer support space, it can be difficult to know which solutions can really stake a claim to be the best help desk software and which are merely pretenders to the crown. Unfortunately, you’d have to say that Re:amaze falls into the latter category. 

Re:amaze is by no means a bad help desk solution, but there are a few drawbacks that customers have pointed out - including issues relating to its AI functionality. Considering there are a rapidly growing number of AI tools on the market today, this is a shame and something that could count against it considering the plethora of other live chat and help desk apps that are making bold claims about their AI functionality. 

Having said all that, Re:amaze still has a lot going for it. The platform looks to achieve its aim of enhancing agent productivity by leveraging a host of features. These include message automation and te ability to monitor customer’s browsing activity and shopping data. This is why Re:amaze, as well as being a help desk tool, is also closely aligned with CRM software solutions, with both proving useful for boosting conversion. 

So, despite its flaws, if you already have an ecommerce presence and want a new help desk solution that understands the kinds of things your customers are likely to look for in any support program, then Re:amaze could be a good fit.

Re:amaze Review: Plans and pricing

Re:amaze is available in three different pricing tiers: Basic, Pro and Plus. The prices for these compare favorably with some of Re:amaze’s competitors, many of which offer their plans at a higher price. 

The Re:amaze Basic plan is available for $29 per team member per month, while the Pro subscription comes in at $49 and the Plus plan at $69. Of course, this doesn’t tell you much about whether any of these subscriptions represent good value for money or not. That, of course, depends on what you are looking for from a help desk solution.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that Re:amaze also comes with a 14-day free trial so you can try all of the platform’s features before committing yourself financially. You won’t be billed unless you decide to continue using the platform following the trial’s completion. In fact, the platform won’t ask you for a major commitment even if you do decide to continue using it beyond the trial period. Re:amaze is billed month-to-month so you can cancel at any time, without facing a cancellation fee. 

Another interesting feature of Re:amaze’s pricing plans is that, in addition to the three aforementioned contracts, the software can also be accessed by paying for two other plans - one designed for start-ups and the other for enterprises. 

The Re:amaze Starter plan is available for a flat fee of $59 per month - regardless of the number of team members you have. Admittedly, there are some restrictions - you are limited to 500 responded conversations per month - but you also receive access to all the features that come with the Basic plan. For start-ups, or smaller businesses that are predicting rapid growth, the Starter contract could represent an attractive option, allowing for fast scalability. The other option is the Enterprise plan, which is available for a custom fee, meaning you’ll need to get in touch with the sales team to see how much the contract will set you back. It’s good to know that for the largest firms, Re:amaze is happy to accommodate their needs

Features

In terms of features, let’s start with the Basic plan. Customers at this price point will receive unlimited email inboxes, welcome, order and custom bots to integrate with their website, workflow automation, and several reporting features. 

The Pro offering comes with everything that you get from the Basic plan, plus additional functionality like a live view of website visitors and workflow reporting. The Plus tier, meanwhile, is the most feature-rich, especially when it comes to Re:amaze’s staff management functionality. The Plus plan also comes with FAQ edit history, article feedback, and live video calls. 

However, although the list of features offered by Re:amaze may look extensive, some customers have complained that not all of them work as they should. For instance, when messaging through social media channels, bugs and error messages have been noticed by several users. Given that research shows that even a single bad customer experience may lead to an individual switching brands, just one of these bugs could have serious financial implications. 

Integrations

It’s highly unlikely that your company will be able to meet all of its goals with just a single application, which is why a solid base of integration is crucial for many pieces of software to ensure they fit seamlessly as part of a broader suite of business tools. Fortunately, Re:amaze has a pretty impressive list of integrations it supports, from email marketing to payment gateways.

In terms of chatbot integrations, Re:amaze works with Octane AI, Recart, ShppMessage and ManyChat. These chatbots are already popular with many customers, so getting these to work with Re:amaze for Facebook Messenger means they should face minimal disruption to their usual communication methods. 

Communication integrations, meanwhile, include Slack, the hugely popular cloud collaboration tool that is deployed by offices all over the world, and RingCentral, another leading player. CRM integrations are also available, such as with Pipedrive, a sales pipeline tool that by aligning deals with your Re:amaze conversations, could allow you to transform  customer service conversations into sales opportunities.

Interface and ease of use

Overall, Re:amaze can be proud of its ease of use and the intuitive nature of its UI. Most customers have nothing but good things to say about Re:amaze’s functionality, including in excess of 5,000 brands worldwide.

Having said that, a small minority of customers have complained that Re:amaze is liable to make unannounced changes to its user interface via updates. They’ve also said that these updates can be confusing or lead to features that don’t work as well as they once did. 

During our review of the platform, however, we didn’t encounter a problem with the help desk solution. Everything worked as it should and the feature set was clear and easy to get to grips with. 

Support

Of course, whether you think Re:amaze is easy to use or not, you’ll be glad to hear that the platform has some pretty wide-ranging support. This includes a public and internal FAQ, as well as email and social media contacts. 

Re: amaze also comes with its own support site, complete with a host of learning resources and tips for getting started on the platform. There’s also a video tutorial series, including a comprehensive platform demo. 

It is somewhat disappointing that many knowledge base features aren’t available with the Basic Plan, so you’ll have to stump up for Pro or Plus if you want to include these withing your own customer support. However, in terms of troubleshooting for Re:amaze, itself, there is plenty of information to help you out if you get into a jam with the platform. 

Security

Given that help desk platforms have access to a great deal of customer data, security is taken extremely seriously. That’s certainly the case with Re:amaze, which has recently implemented a more secure authentication system to enhance account security. Although this change may cause some slight disruption for users, there’s a handy explainer on the company website. 

Re:amaze is also fully GDPR compliant, despite hosting all data in the US. Of course, this might be an issue for some businesses that would prefer their help desk data to be stored domestically. Even so, there’s nothing to suggest that Re:amaze won’t take great care to guarantee the privacy and security of user data.

The competition

There is no shortage of options for businesses looking to deploy a new help desk solutions - so Re:amaze is just one of many. Other choices worthy of your consideration include LiveChat, Tidio, and Intercom. 

In terms of integrations, security, and support there’s not much to choose between Re:amaze and the leading players in the market. In addition, Re:amaze is difficult to beat in terms of cost. At $29 per month for its Basic plan, Re:amaze is more affordable than many of its competitors. 

Of course, price isn’t the only consideration for firms - even if it is a hugely important one. For example, it would be nice if Re:amaze boasted some of the advanced AI functionality that some of its rivals offer. Having said that this is a fast-moving space, and the platform has shown a willingness to issue updates and launch new features, so this could become a strength in no time.

Re:amaze review: Final verdict

Re:amaze is a very decent help desk solution. And if your budget is tight, you may find its relative affordability difficult to turn down. Some other help desk tools may offer more extensive feature sets but there’s still plenty to enhance your customer support offering here. 

Laptops are essential to most jobs these days in one way or another. However, one similarity spans most laptops—they are fragile. Sure, a few are more durable than others, but the fear of breaking your expensive laptop will remain unless you have a rugged-style laptop. 

Like many of the best rugged laptops we've tested out, that's where Panasonic's line of Toughbooks comes into play. Several large laptop companies have a rugged laptop line-up. Still, Panasonic has recently updated theirs with the release of the Toughbook 55 Mk3, pushing their performance beyond what was previously attained in the rugged laptop world. But can it protect against the bumps, knocks, and scrapes of day-to-day use? We put the laptop through its paces.

Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3: Unboxing and First Impressions

From the beginning of my experience with this laptop, it became evident that the focus was on rugged durability. The laptop's packaging is a Pelican-style case with locking hinges, custom-fit padding, and more protection than I have ever seen with a computer's packaging.

The laptop covers all the ports that can be covered and closed to protect the port and computer from whatever elements you may be experiencing that day. Additionally, several modular bays on this laptop allow for expansion and customization.

Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3: Design and Build Quality

Panasonic's Toughbook 55 MK3 is a semi-rugged laptop, meaning that while it is not the most rugged option available, it's still durable enough to take a few hits and be okay. This laptop is rugged and durable for most scenarios, and the power is impressive, too. Something about large and rugged tech immediately makes me feel like it will be slow and unresponsive. However, the Toughbook 55 Mk3 proves that thought wrong. 

The Toughbook is Panasonic's line of laptops built for the outdoors. It is not just durable for a heavy set down in the office like most laptops, but durable for a drop out of a truck, knocked around at a construction yard, fumbled on a trail, or bumped at a factory. These laptops even have mounting grids for desktops or vehicles (such as a police cruiser or work truck). To help with traveling and mobility, the Toughbook 55 Mk3 also has a built-in handle that can expand when used and tuck back away when not needed.

To touch on the modular design, the Toughbook 55 Mk3 has six user-removable areas that can house a plethora of upgrades such as expanded RAM, Memory, batteries, optical drives, barcode readers, authentication readers, and other I/O.

Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3: In use

I've used a laptop heavily for nearly two decades now, and with my role reviewing gear over the last several years, I have used not only a single laptop but many laptops. I have always babied my laptops, protecting them in every way I can by using a laptop sleeve in my backpack, cases, sleeves, docks, and cleaning materials. I remember the one time I dropped my laptop; I was devastated because there was now a mark and slight dent in my beloved computer.

The Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3 is a different breed. While still as fast as the other incredible laptops I am testing, it is also unbelievably durable and ready for anything. While I am not taking this laptop to the top of a mountain, nor am I in construction, I did feel its durability and ruggedness even when used just for daily use. I brought this laptop with me everywhere for a while during testing, and it was all without any worries or concerns. 

While durable, this laptop is also remarkably capable. It makes other laptops feel limited because of their lack of modularity. I appreciate the ability to swap in and out modular pieces depending on what is essential. You can add more if you work on the go and need a massive battery. If you need a disk drive, you can add a disk drive. For both examples, if you'd rather have a different piece or a lighter overall machine, you can choose not to have those pieces, too.

This Toughbook is an excellent laptop for many reasons, such as its modularity, ruggedness, and battery life. However, there are some downsides. For one, it is significant and does not fit in my backpack's laptop sleeve or any of my backpacks. It could be more sleek, understated, and minimalist than most laptops. It doesn't fit in laptop sleeves or docks easily, either. 

But that's the point. It's designed to be used differently than most laptops. While it's more challenging to take with you places, it is specifically made for specific environments. This is different from the computer you take to get some light writing done at a coffee shop or one that you would buy for your admin job or remote work. This laptop is specifically for those who work in hazardous or outdoor scenarios and need one that can withstand such environments without needing to be babied, as most laptops do.

Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3: Final verdict

If you are in the market for a semi-rugged yet high-powered laptop, consider the Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3. It is a highly functional, powerful, and all-around fantastic computer with a rugged exterior. While, as mentioned, it may not be an excellent option for an admin computer, one frequently used in an office, or one that is going to be used as a traditional laptop, it will be great for those who value durability as much as they value performance.

We've tested the best rugged tablets and best rugged phones for durability in the field.

Avira Prime is a feature-packed security suite which includes full antivirus and web protection for mobiles and desktops, an unlimited VPN, a password manager and some of the most comprehensive Windows speedup tools we’ve seen.

It doesn’t quite have all the bonus tools we see elsewhere - there’s no webcam protection, parental control or cloud backup, for instance - but there’s a lot to like here. If you’re an Avira fan, or you need effective cleanup features, or you’re just in the market for a new security suite, it’s well worth checking out.

Avira Prime: Pricing

Avira Prime may have a very long feature list, but its prices are surprisingly low. You can cover up to five Windows, Mac, Android or iOS devices for only $59.99 in year one, $104.99 on renewal. There’s a generous 60-day money-back guarantee for subscriptions of one or more years.

To put that in perspective, Bitdefender Premium Security has a similar feature set to Prime with a full VPN and a password manager. It covers up to ten devices, but is priced significantly higher at $79.99 in year one, $159.99 on renewal.

If price is a priority, look at Norton 360 Deluxe, too. It has a full VPN and a password manager, but also adds parental controls and 50GB cloud backup, and covers up to five desktop and mobile devices for $49.99 in year one, $119.99 on renewal.

If these figures feel uncomfortably high, remember they all include an unlimited VPN, and that’s worth a lot. Sign up for even the most basic one-year NordVPN account and you’ll pay $68.25 in year one (with three free months), $112.35 on renewal. The antivirus VPNs aren’t a patch on NordVPN, but if you only need the basics, Avira’s offering could be a great value option.

Avira Prime: Getting started

Like many competitors, Avira’s apps can be mostly installed from the company’s web dashboard. We found our subscription, clicked Install, chose ‘This Device’ and the Windows installer downloaded.

Setup was easy and largely automatic. Avira Prime ran its Smart Scan at the end of the process to look for malware and other issues, and we were done. The whole process took around five minutes and didn’t require any special security or technical knowledge.

Avira’s interface looks fairly conventional at first glance. A left-hand sidebar has icons for function types like Status, Security, Privacy and Performance); tapping any of these displays tiles for specific types of task (‘Virus Scans’, ‘Firewall’ and so on), and choosing one of these displays details on what you can do. It’s all very straightforward, but there are also lots of usability benefits built in.

The app uses a lot of icons, for instance, but they’re not the tiny cryptic images that you sometimes see elsewhere: they’re large, and usually have clear text captions. We were always clear on which tile did what.

Navigation is simple. If we chose a function by mistake, there were generally at least three ways we could go back or look at something else. We found it easy to explore, and difficult to get lost.

The interface uses a regular window, too, which means you can resize it, minimize and maximize it and everything works exactly as you’d expect.

Even some of the menu options stand out from the crowd. How much time do you waste with some companies, trying to find out how to cancel a subscription or ask for a refund? Avira doesn’t hide these, it puts them up-front: ‘Renewal settings’ and ‘Cancel and ask for a refund’ options are only one click away.

Overall, Avira’s interface is a usability success story. It kept any navigation frustrations to a minimum, giving us more time to sample the app’s many interesting features.

Avira Prime: Antivirus Scanning

Avira’s scanning options begin with its Smart Scan, a speedy all-in–one option which runs a quick check for malware, but also looks for network security issues, identifies missing software updates, identifies dubious privacy settings, and lists assorted performance issues (junk files, slow startup apps and more.)

Despite covering all this ground, Smart Scans ran quickly on our test system, completing in an average 50 seconds. That’s significantly faster than the quick scans of Avast (23 minutes) and Bitdefender (7-8 minutes) on the same system, and even beat the generally speedy Norton (1:54 seconds.)

Other options include Quick Scans to check the most likely infected areas, or a Full Scan to crawl your entire system. A handy Custom Scan allows you to set up a scan with your own choice of files and folders - Documents and Downloads, say - and you can even schedule scans to run automatically when you’re not around.

We measure targeted scan speeds by pointing an antivirus at 50GB+ of test executables. Avira got off to a great start, completing the scan in 26:30, significantly ahead of Bitdefender (37:44), Avast (35:40) and Norton (32:01.)

But Bitdefender and Norton are better optimized, only scanning new and changed files by default. While their second scans dropped to 30 seconds (Bitdefender) and 3:48 (Norton), Avira’s scan time remained relatively high at 23:36.

Avira Prime: Antivirus lab test results

Although we put every antivirus app we review through our own series of tests, we also pay close attention to results from the big antivirus testing labs.

We follow nine tests from labs including AV-Comparatives (Real-World Protection, Malware Protection, Android, Anti-Phishing, Performance), AV-Test (Windows, Android), MRG Effitas (360° Protection Testing) and SE Labs (Endpoint Security Home).

Each test has its own scoring system, making it tricky to compare performance. To address this, we use a special algorithm which (as long as an app is in at least five tests) converts the various results into a single summary score from zero to 10 representing the vendor’s overall rating.

Avira scored a decent 9.96, earning it an excellent fourth place out of 12 contenders, just behind Avast (9.98), Bitdefender (9.97) and F-Secure (9.97.)

Looking at the individual scores, Avira lagged a little behind the competition in some areas. It came bottom of the Anti-Phishing test, for instance (though that only had six contenders), and didn’t achieve the 100% Android protection results we expect from the very best apps.

Keep in mind that the differences between providers are tiny, though - often just one or two threats missed out of thousands - and Avira does score maximum protection marks in some tests (MRG Effitas, AV-Test Windows.) It may not quite offer market-leading performance, but Avira still delivers above-average protection which does a great deal to keep you safe from threats.

Avira Prime: Anti-ransomware

Ransomware remains one of the most deadly threats around, and it’s easy to see why. With the Akira ransomware family alone reportedly making $42 million in under a year, there are huge profits to be made. Even if you’re not a big business, it’s easy to get caught in the crossfire: you need strong protection.

We test antivirus ransomware performance by pitting each provider against our own custom ransomware sample. This is very basic, but it’s still capable of trashing an entire drive,, and because it’s never been released, an antivirus won’t be able to detect the threat from its file signature alone.

The results were disappointing, with Avira ignoring our ransomware and simply watching as it encrypted gigabytes of test files. That’s a surprise, not least because when we scanned our ransomware manually (right-click in Explorer, ‘Scan selected files with Explorer’), Avira did recognize that it was a threat.

There’s better news in MRG Effitas' 360° Assessment, which tests vendor performance against 37 ransomware variants. Avira didn’t immediately detect all the files, but its behavior monitoring layer helped identify and stop the more stealthy threats, and it successfully protected against every test sample.

This isn’t quite the triumph it sounds because only a few other vendors took the test (Avast, Bitdefender, ESET, Microsoft, Norton, ThreatDown, Trend Micro), and they all passed, too. Still, it’s reassuring to know that Avira can stop both known and brand new malware via its behavior monitoring technology.

Avira Prime: Anti-phishing

Top-notch antivirus protection isn’t just about detecting threats as they arrive: they’ll prevent you from reaching them in the first place. That’s why we’re particularly interested in a vendor’s ability to keep you away from phishing and other malicious sites.

AV-Comparatives carries out a small annual antiphishing test, and the results weren’t great. Avira came last, blocking only 88% of test sites, and was beaten by ESET (92%), AVG (94%), Avast (94%) and Bitdefender (96%.)

(While coming last isn’t good news, it’s worth remembering that only six providers had the courage to put themselves up for anti-phishing tests. It’s entirely possible that other vendors are staying well away from that test because they know they’d score far worse than Avira.)

Avira did better in our own test, blocking every one of 100 shiny new phishing URLs. That’s a great performance, beating Avast (99%), Bitdefender (96%) and Norton (95%.)

When our results don’t match the latest from the labs, we tend to give the lab reports priority, as they’re based on larger tests. But even if Avira can’t quite match the best of the rest for anti-phishing, any difference is small, and it will still protect you from the vast majority of the dangers out there.

Avira Prime: Browser Safety

Avira’s Browser Safety is a Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Opera extension to block ads and trackers, and highlight malicious websites in your search results.

Although Browser Safety is highlighted as a feature in Avira’s paid products, it’s actually available for free, no need to install other Avira software or part with any cash.

The extension uses very capable AdGuard technology underneath, and achieved a decent 90% and 91% in our two ad-blocking tests. That’s better than many, although there are even more effective solutions around. For example, uBlock Origin scores 96% and 99% in the same tests, and it’s also available for free, no registration required.

Avira says Browser Safety highlights infected sites in your search engine results, but this didn’t happen on our test system. We visited the Support Site hoping for more information on the extension and how it worked, but the key article was a horribly brief 130 words and said little more than ‘click Privacy > Browser Safety and install it from your app store.’

The issue could be down to a lack of updates, as the extension’s last release was 18 months prior to the review. Okay, Avira makes Browser Safety free for everyone, so we’re not expecting new features every week. But when it’s also advertised as a feature of paid products like Avira Prime, we do expect more updates and web documentation than Browser Safety is currently getting.

Avira Prime: Performance impact

Antivirus has a reputation for slowing down your devices, so we check multiple test reports (and run in-depth checks of our own) to separate the overweight offerings from the speed leaders.

Avira excelled in AV-Comparatives’ last Performance Test, coming second only to ESET for its absolutely minimal performance impact (Avast came 5th, Bitdefender 6th and Norton 8th.)

AV-Test includes performance as a part of its regular device tests. As we write, it also rates Avira very highly, awarding the company a maximum 6/6 for its lightweight design.

We ran the top benchmark PCMark 10 on a test laptop, both before and after installing Avira. The results (4,566 before, 4,579 afterwards) suggested that Avira may have fractionally improved speeds rather than slowed us down, though not really enough to make a visible difference. 

Avira did extend our full device boot time (Windows plus all our startup apps) from 81 to 92 seconds, but even that was a decent performance. Norton had a similar effect, stretching our boot time to 91 seconds, and Bitdefender (101 seconds) and Avast One had even more of a drag on our startup speed at 102 seconds.

On balance, Avira Prime seems unlikely to slow your device down to any significant degree. Factor in its performance-boosting tools and, if anything, it’s possible that Avira Prime might actually leave your system faster than it was before.

Avira Prime: Phantom VPN

Avira Prime includes the full and unrestricted version of Avira Phantom VPN, with no limits on data, features or the locations you can use. 

The service is a little basic. Avira’s website talks about 157 servers in 37 countries, for instance (ExpressVPN has thousands across 105 countries.) We noticed even less, with 35 countries on most platforms and only 33 on Mac (Moldova and Slovenia weren’t available on our Mac system, for some reason.)

Apps are short on features, too. Most specialist VPNs now connect using the speedy WireGuard protocol, for example, but Avira’s Windows app restricted us to OpenVPN.

Avira Phantom VPN isn’t a bad service, though, and as part of the Avira Prime bundle, the price really is right. Sign up for NordVPN and you’ll get one of the best VPN services, but it’ll cost $68.25 in year one, $112.35 on renewal; Avira Prime gets you Phantom for a less money ($59.99, $104.99 on renewal), and gives you antivirus, privacy and performance features, too.

(If you’re short on cash then Avira Phantom VPN is included in Avira’s free suite, but with a data allowance of just 500MB a month, it’s impossible to recommend. Avast One Free is our pick of the free security suites with VPNs, thanks to its far more generous data limit of 5GB a week.)

Avira Prime: VPN features

Avira’s website claims Phantom VPN has servers in only 37 countries, and our Windows app only listed 33. That’s a small network.

Using the VPN is easy, at least in Windows. Hit the big blue ‘Turn on VPN’ button when you need it, and click ‘Turn off VPN’ when you’re done.

There are some odd interface issues. A panel titled ‘Keep VPN always on’ has a ‘Go to settings’ link, but clicking that doesn’t give you an obvious ‘Always on VPN’ setting. We clicked a second link, captioned ‘Advanced settings’, which we thought might tell us more, but both links actually go to the same Settings page.

Avira Phantom VPN doesn’t have an option to change protocol; it seems to be OpenVPN only on Windows, which is secure, but not as fast as WireGuard. Our tests suggest that even by OpenVPN standards, Avira is slow, with speeds peaking at around 75Mbps; most providers manage 100-300Mbps, and the best WireGuard VPNs can reach 950Mbps+.

The Windows app does have a kill switch to block your internet connection if the VPN drops, but this gave us mixed results in testing. It correctly blocked our internet if we closed its OpenVPN app, but didn’t display a notification or try to reconnect; you’re left to figure out what’s happened on your own.

Avira scored better at unblocking, getting us into US Netflix immediately. The results were more mixed in the UK - it unblocked Netflix and Channel 4, but failed with BBC iPlayer and ITV - but that’s a fair mid-range performance overall.

Avira Prime: Firewall

Avira’s firewall is a comprehensive network security layer which controls exactly which apps are allowed to go online, and which really aren’t.

The service works largely automatically, recognizing trusted apps and allowing them to connect to the outside world. That’s good news, because most users don’t want to be hassled by security prompts.

We first test firewalls by using Visual Studio to create and modify our own custom apps. Avira correctly recognized whenever we modified something, but it then simply asked us whether it was safe to run the app. That’s a risk, because most users simply aren’t qualified to say whether a changed app file is perfectly normal (a recent update) or very suspicious (a malware infection.) 

Avast takes arguably a better approach by automatically scanning changed files for threats when they’re launched. The bad news is you might have to wait for 15-30 seconds for the scan to complete before a changed app is allowed to launch. But the good news is the decision about approving an app is taken by the antivirus, based on real and well-thought-out rules, and not an impatient user who just wants this annoying antivirus alert to disappear so they can get on with their day.

Avira Prime: Identity Assistant

Avira’s Identity Assistant is a service which monitors the dark web and raises an alert if your details appear in a data breach.

Identity Assistant is accessed from your My Avira dashboard, where a video and short FAQ make it sound like a very complete system which can look out for all kinds of details: email addresses, bank accounts, phone numbers, credit card details, mother’s maiden name, and more.

Unfortunately, all we could actually enter at the site was a single email address. You can already do that for free at haveibeenpwned.com (which is the data breach source used by many security vendors, anyway), and other providers deliver more. Avast One allows users to specify up to five email addresses, for instance, while Norton’s dark web monitoring goes beyond email to check credit card details, phone numbers and much more.

We’re still happy to see the feature included, but it doesn’t add a lot of value to the suite, and we’re definitely not impressed by the confusing website text and video. 

Avira Prime: Privacy

Avira’s Privacy Settings (the current incarnation of its old Privacy Pal app) is an easy-to-use tool for locking down a bunch of app and Windows privacy options.

By default, for instance, apps might be recording your location, or logging all kinds of activities to display more personalized ads, then sending various details back to Microsoft. 

You can disable most of this, at least in theory, but the problem is the various settings are scattered in all kinds of obscure Windows corners. And that’s where Avira comes in. We launched Privacy Settings, clicked Recommended to choose the optimal settings, then clicked Apply, and Avira flipped all the relevant Windows privacy switches for us: much easier.

This type of tool can often go too far, disabling so many Windows features that it begins to cause usability issues. Fortunately, Avira’s recommended settings seem well chosen and unlikely to cause any problems.

If it does break something, though, Privacy Settings can restore the default settings with a click. Experts can even inspect Privacy Settings various options manually, and enable or disable whatever they like.

Using Privacy Settings does involve a degree of risk, and it's not a tool we would recommend for casual users. But if you’re technically experienced, or just looking to maximize your PC privacy, it’s well worth a look, and we’re glad Privacy Settings is included in the package.

Avira Prime: System Speedup

Avira System Speedup is a powerhouse suite of Windows cleanup and maintenance tools which comes stuffed with expert-level ways to optimize your system.

Avira’s Power Cleaner, for example, crawled all over our test laptop looking for leftover files which we could delete, helping us free up a chunky 18.5GB of storage.

To put that in perspective, Avast’s excellent CCleaner is one of the best cleanup tools around, but even it could only find 5.88GB of files to delete on the same system. That’s less than a third of Avira’s total.

Avira’s success is partly down to its aggressive algorithms. It deletes every spare byte it can, and this gave us various small issues afterwards (one Steam game lost some of its settings, one Visual Studio project also required setting up again.) 

Power Cleaner isn’t a tool we’d recommend to Windows newbies, then, but it’s a different story for power users. The tool didn’t cause any major problems, and if you do find Avira causes issues with a particular app, then you can configure Power Cleaner to ignore it in future.

Avira Prime: Free Up Space

Avira’s automated disk cleanup is hugely impressive, but it’s also just the start of what System Speedup has to offer. The app also provides a bunch of extra tools to help you manually explore what’s taking up your storage space, and remove anything you don’t need.

There are modules to find large files and folders, for instance. In a click or two we uncovered 6GB of unnecessary large files, including an old archived Outlook PST file and a bunch of ancient videos from a long-lost mobile phone.

A Duplicate File Finder helped us find more files that we had copied around our hard drive, then forgotten about the originals. Deciding which to keep and which (if any) to delete takes time and thought, but with almost 20GB of duplicates on our test laptop, it was well worth the effort.

Software Uninstaller is an advanced version of the Windows Control Panel uninstaller which gives you multiple ways to inspect your system. We were able to review recently-installed apps; the apps that took the most space; Windows Store apps, Windows updates, system components and more.

The tool only uses the regular app uninstallers, and doesn’t try to remove any leftovers itself. It’s also a little risky to use, if you’re not careful; uninstall the wrong system component and who knows what you could break. But you don’t have to use Software Uninstaller if you’re worried, and on balance we’re glad it’s included with the app.

Avira Prime: Startup Optimizer

Avira Startup Optimizer aims to cut Windows boot times by delaying (or preventing) the launch of apps, services and Windows components you may not need.

This can be risky; if the optimizer prevents something loading which is actually really important, then it might break an app or even stop your device starting properly.

The system works largely automatically. We tapped an Analyze button, it found 100+ startup items within seconds and decided what to do with them. We accepted the default settings and restarted to check the results.

The first restart was disappointing, with Avira reporting a boot time that had actually lengthened by six seconds (from 53 to 59.) We looked at the settings for an explanation, found nothing, rebooted again, and this time our boot plummeted to 33 seconds.

This kind of tool always has some risks, and might prevent apps or even your PC from loading properly if they make a mistake. But if you’re happy you can recover from most situations - you’re familiar with Safe Mode and System Restore, say - then Avira Startup Optimizer is certainly worth a try.

Avira Prime: Software Updater

Avira Software attempts to improve your device security by identifying, downloading and installing any missing app security patches.

Avira says the service only supports 150+ apps, a relatively small number: Microsoft Office, Adobe apps, browsers, media players and so on. Software Updater has been around for a very long time, though, and in our experience it does a very good job of keeping a system patched.

If you’re keen on this type of feature, Norton Software Updater is one of our favorites. It identified 11 missing updates in our last Norton review, as many as we’d expect from specialist update-checking tools.

Keep in mind, though, that many software updaters are available in a free form, allowing you to sample them before you buy. Avira Software Updater Free is available on the Avira site, and there are some excellent free specialist tools in Home Updater, and WingetUI.

Avira Prime: Game Booster

Avira’s Game Booster is a handy automatic speed-boosting technology which the company acquired when it purchased BullGuard back in 2021.

Game Booster works by temporarily switching your power plan to the most performance-friendly option, while also optimizing all running processes to give your game a greater share of system resources.

There is no guarantee Game Booster will offer measurable benefits, but, unlike some so-called Windows speedup tricks (hello, Registry cleaning)  it’s based on very sound principles. And it’s been shown to be effective. Although Avira hasn’t talked about the technology much, BullGuard got an independent company to test Game Booster when it first appeared, and it did achieve some very worthwhile results.

The good news is you don’t have to do anything to try the system out. Game Booster automatically detects and optimizes full-screen games as they’re run. Best case, speeds improve; likely worst case, you don’t notice any difference, and carry on as before.

Overall, Game Booster is another reminder that Avira is serious about its performance-boosting aspirations. Unlike many competitors, it doesn’t pretend that clearing your internet history and emptying the Recycle bin will have some magical effect: Avira uses all kinds of tools to help your system deliver extra speed when you need it.

Avira Prime: Support

Avira’s support service begins with its web knowledgebase. Although this has some useful content, there’s less than we would expect, and the articles you get are often dated and lacking depth (tutorials often don’t have screenshots, for instance.)

Some features aren’t covered at all. We searched for Game Booster, for example, and didn’t get a single hit. That’s disappointing; if Avira can’t come up with decent troubleshooting guides, we at least expect articles explaining what each feature does and how they work.

Paying customers can avoid these hassles and contact support directly. Live chat is the easiest option, and phone support is available Monday-Friday from 9am-11pm CET.

We contacted support via email with a tricky VPN connection issue. This was a complicated problem which would have stretched even the best VPN providers, but we were still surprised at Avira’s poor performance.

After sending an in-depth description of the problem, for example, we had to wait six days for a reply. Later, when he had run out of ideas, the agent explained that he had escalated our case to a ‘higher level’ team; sounded good, but three weeks have gone by as we write, and we’ve still not had a response.

For contrast, we tried something similar with Norton’s live chat. The agent opened a remote support session with us and spent 30 minutes trying everything he knew. He also said he would escalate our query, but this would only take 2-3 days, and the agent would even call us at our preferred time (approximately.) Support actually got back to us the next day, and this time fixed the problem.

We’ve had far more prompt and reliable support from Avira in the past, but we’ve not tested the company with VPN queries before; maybe it’s short of agents with the relevant expertise. Specialist VPN providers answer most questions in hours, though, not days (or weeks), and if Avira wants Phantom VPN to become a genuine alternative to the big industry names then it needs to do the same.

Avira Prime: Avira Prime for Mac

Avira Prime for Mac is a decent mid-range security suite offering antivirus, web protection, the full Avira Phantom VPN, data breach monitoring via Identity Assistant, and performance options to delete junk files, uninstall unwanted apps and control your startup software.

A straightforward interface makes this all very easy to operate. Most key functions are listed on a left-hand sidebar, and clicking something like Virus Scans takes you to a page with the relevant options (Quick, Full and Custom scans.)

(There are a few exceptions - the VPN and Password Manager options just have a button to open a separate app - but we soon found our way around.)

Malware protection is a little disappointing. AV-Comparatives gave Avira a protection rate of 99% in its last Mac test, placing the company last out of nine contenders. (Bitdefender managed 99.7%, Avast a perfect 100%.)

Results can sometimes vary between testing labs, so we were keen to check AV-Test’s latest report. But that was surprisingly similar, placing Avira last out of eight antivirus apps.

The other app features are acceptable, though not outstanding in any way. Avira Phantom VPN is secure but short on features (and has two countries less than the Windows edition); the simple password manager gets the job done, but can’t begin to match top competitors such as Dashlane; and although the performance tools are useful, they’re far behind the tools available on Windows.

Overall, Avira Prime for Mac isn’t a bad security app, but it’s not a great one, either. If you’re not committed to Avira,. Bitdefender offers better protection and extras such as webcam protection, while Norton includes cloud backup and a firewall.

Avira Prime: Avira Prime for Android

Avira Antivirus Security and VPN for Android has a decent free version with some useful features: basic antivirus, a limited 500MB a month VPN, data breach monitoring, device cleanup to find and delete junk files, and an app locker to prevent others running sensitive apps unless they know the PIN.

Signing up for Prime delivers a much better version, though. The antivirus gets more frequent updates for improved protection; Safe Browsing keeps you safe from phishing and other malicious sites; you can use the full unlimited Avira Phantom VPN app; Camera and Microphone protection stops apps spying on you without your knowledge, Avira’s Password Manager automates your logins, and you get access to customer support if you’ve any questions.

The app got off to a good start. We didn’t have to create an account, hand over our email address or provide any personal details at all to try the free version. And if you’d bought the paid version, the app’s opening Profile screen displays Cancel, Refund and Renewal settings right at the top of the screen, a refreshing change from providers who bury them deep in the menu system.

The app does a fair job of the security basics. The app and web protection automatically protected us from threats; the VPN connected quickly when we needed it, and a straightforward interface ensures most features are no more than a couple of taps away.

Avira Antivirus Security and VPN doesn’t excel in any area, either, but it’s generally good enough. It was behind Avast in AV-Comparatives’ last mobile test, for instance, but only by the smallest margins: both apps blocked 100% of test threats, but Avira had one more false positive (3 vs. 2.) 

Put it all together and Avira’s Android offering has plenty to offer everyone. Casual users get a decent app that will keep them safe, while also staying in the background and causing as little day-to-day hassle as possible. And experts get plenty of security features to play with, allowing them to lock down their device for the maximum possible privacy.

Avira Prime: Avira Prime for iOS

IOS security apps are generally light on features, and Avira Security is no exception. Only web protection, data breach monitoring, the password manager and VPN have made it from the Windows edition across to your iDevice.

There’s still some value in these, of course, and just being able to share passwords or connect to a secure VPN with a tap are benefits worth having.

Avira has padded out its feature set with a handful of smaller iOS-specific options, but they’re generally very basic. For example, an iOS updater checked for, well, iOS updates, something our iPad was perfectly capable of doing on its own. Another option allowed us to back up our contacts to email or our own Dropbox account, but again, iPhones give you better backup features and your own iCloud storage space for free.

There are a couple of worthwhile exceptions. The call blocker could be handy, for instance, and the Photo Cleaner helped us free up more storage than expected by identifying duplicate and similar photos. But otherwise Avira Prime seems a little underpowered, even by iOS standards, and a distinct lack of updates - just two bug fix releases in the last two years - suggests Avira isn’t very interested in taking the app significantly further.

Avira Prime: Final verdict

Avira Prime is a likeable security suite with a lot of features which does an above average job of keeping you safe. If you’re an Avira fan, maybe because you use the free version, it could be a sensible choice. 

Prime hasn’t changed much in the past few years, though, and it now can’t quite match the top competition. Norton 360 Deluxe has major new features for less money, for example, while Bitdefender includes more capable tools and higher rated protection.

We've listed the best cloud antivirus.

In this Intercom review, we outline exactly why this is one of the best helpdesk software solutions on the market today - a feature-rich option with a host of integration options, which is a letdown a little by a higher-than-average price tag.

No business can survive for long without some sort of customer support. Things go wrong and customers encounter challenges. It’s at these points that businesses depend on reliable support options, whether it's a dedicated piece of live chat software or a helpdesk tool like Intercom. 

If your brand has booted for the latter, then you could do a lot worse than Intercom. This is an app that focuses on dynamic real-time communication, promising to connect your company’s inbox, tickets, and help center into one central, AI-enhanced workspace. In this sense, it’s not only great for improving your customer service but also for enhancing the productivity of your support team. 

In fact, now seems like a good time to mention Intercom’s AI capabilities. The platform comes with a Fin AI feature that can automatically summarize conversations in your inbox, personalize your replies, and autofill the relevant ticket information. This ensures Intercom stands out as one of the best AI tools in the helpdesk space. 

It must be said, however, that Intercom is not one of the cheaper helpdesk programs currently available. This means it could be prohibitively expensive for smaller businesses - especially if they want to access some of the most advanced functionality on offer here - as these are often locked away for the exclusive use of more premium customers. 

Having said all that, it’s worth checking out Intercom if your company is looking for a new helpdesk solution. This is an increasingly competitive space, especially with the rise of AI chatbots and other automated tools. Give Intercom a try and it could take your customer service to new heights. 

Intercom Review: Plans and pricing

Let’s address one of Intercom’s less-pleasing features right away - its price. This isn’t one of the cheapest helpdesk tools on the market, with plans starting at $39 per seat, per month for the Essential plan. This is the sort of customer support plan that might be suitable for individuals, startups, and small businesses but is unlikely to meet the needs of a multinational enterprise.

Moving up the pay scale, you’ll find the Advanced plan, which costs $99 per seat, per month. This comes with some additional automation tools and AI features for growing support teams. You’ll gain access to multiple team inboxes, workflows for advanced automation, Fin AI, and a multilingual help center. 

For businesses with larger budgets, meanwhile, there’s the Expert plan, which will set customers back $139 per seat, per month. In addition to all the features you get from the Essential and Advanced plans, you also receive time management functionality, Fin AI Compose, and multiple help centers.

Features

As mentioned, the features that Intercom customers have access to can vary significantly depending on the pricing tier they’re signed up to. All users will enjoy the platform’s inbox view, however, which comes with AI functionality throughout. They’ll find conversations from every channel, including email, phone, and messenger, that can be viewed directly to their inbox to enable faster prioritization and resolution.

In terms of the ticketing process, support agents can use Intercom to resolve complex issues more efficiently with each ticket designed to streamline collaboration. The way ticketing works with Intercom is designed to ensure conversations can continue within the same platform. There’s no need to change tools, so the likelihood of things being forgotten or miscommunicated is minimized.

Other features include detailed reporting. For support leaders, Intercom offers them the opportunity to monitor, analyze and optimize their service using AI functionality. They have access to real-time performance data and customizable reports so whatever standard their support operations are at currently, they can always improve them. 

When discussing Intercom’s features, it’s also worth drilling down into its Fin AI functionality in greater detail. The Fin AI Agent helps with the resolution of customer queries using conversational answers. It boasts a customizable setup and is self-improving so you should see your resolution rates improve with time. Fin AI also uses a variety of different content sources to come up with its AI-generated answers, including external content like public URLs, your personal intercom help center, PDF files, and more. 

For subscribers to the Expert plan, there’s also Fin AI Compose, which can re-write your replies in your unique tone of voice based on your previous responses. Collectively all the features that make up Intercom’s Fin AI Copilot are already showing that they can make a significant difference to a company’s helpdesk offering. On average, Fin AI increases agent efficiency by as much as 31%.

Integrations

As with many other digital tools, integrations play an important role for Intercom. Digital transformation has been adopted widely in many organizations, so to ensure workplace silos don’t develop, many solutions connect seamlessly with other third-party tools. A look at any of the best CRM software solutions or cloud storage offerings illustrates that integrations are essential in the modern business world. Fortunately, this is an area where Intercom performs well. 

The Intercom app store hosts more than 300 pre-built apps, making integration with many of the most popular business solutions seamless. This includes several apps for marketing like Mailchimp, Google Analytics, and Typeform. Connecting with these apps helps Intercom users create more positive customer experiences, boosting loyalty.

Other Intercom integrations include several that are specifically geared toward optimizing sales. Applications, such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive, all straightforwardly with Intercom so every part of the sales process covered by your CRM is closely aligned with your help desk. 

Intercom also offers users the chance of creating their own custom integration, using its unique API. This enables customers to seamlessly integrate Intercom with their own product, tech stack, or other tools. This adds a layer of customization that you don't see with many other helpdesk solutions.

Interface and ease of use

While Intercom’s bespoke interface isn’t bad by any means, the platform’s UI really shines in terms of customization options. In the platform’s Help Center Settings, a number of different customization options are displayed, which means you can design how it looks and operates to better suit the needs of your support team and customers. Any changes you decide to make to the UI can also be previewed before they are implemented.

Intercom has also taken care to ensure it is equally accessible to mobile users, by making it easy for them to include their Help Center directly in their mobile app. In order to do so, users have to first install the latest version of the Intercom mobile SDK. This means that, whichever presentation method you use to present your help content, customers won’t have to leave your mobile app.

Although Intercom’s UI may look great, it’s not been universally praised for ease of use. Some have complained of a somewhat steep learning curve, but this shouldn’t put you off. The Intercom website does offer webinars, guides, and other resources so if you do encounter any difficulties, you will hopefully be able to resolve them.

Support

Of course, you would assume that any help desk solution would come with its own robust support package. After all, “help” is front-and-center for what they do. With Intercom, one of the best places to start for assistance is the Intercom Community page. This lets users connect with customers, partners, developers and other members of the Intercom team to resolve any issue. There’s a product Q&A, a range of user tips, and several groups you can join to help with more bespoke challenges.

There’s also an Intercom Academy to provide additional support across several topics. For instance, the academy can help users get started with Fin AI, learning how the platform can automate repetitive tasks, and many other potential issues. There’s even the option of making your Intercom knowledge official through certification. 

Security

Intercom promotes its security credentials through membership of a number of different groups and an impressive list of credentials. This includes adherence to Service Organization Controls (Soc2) (Type II) Trust Services Principles, being a member of the Cloud Security Alliance, and compliance with ISO 27001:2022 Certification.

In addition, all of Intercom's infrastructure and data are spread across three AWS availability zones, which provides the necessary failover to guarantee continuity of service even if one of those data centers fails. All data sent by Intercom is also encrypted in transit using 256-bit encryption. 

The competition

The helpdesk and livechat software space is becoming increasingly competitive, with Zendesk, Tidio, and many others providing support for customers. Although Intercom may compare unfavorably with some of these in terms of cost, most premium subscriptions do deliver a large range of functionality for the money. Ultimately, whether Intercom is with the price will depend on your needs and budget.

Intercom review: Final verdict

Not many other helpdesk software solutions will offer the same degree of AI integration as Intercom. This ensures this is a platform that not only looks the part today but which is likely to remain relevant for a number of years yet. 

The Brother Workhorse MFC-L8395CDW (Brother MFC-L8390CDW in Europe) is a feature-packed four-in-one aimed at a busy home office or small workgroup, though it can be expanded to serve a pretty large shared office. It’s an LED printer, which is to say that it uses an LED array to guide the toner particles onto the drums rather than a moving laser, but it still sits happily in our best laser printer category because in all other respects, the print technology is the same. 

We’ve tested many of the best small business printers, and being a business-oriented Workhorse model at the upper end of Brother’s product range means it has an impressive spec sheet. It prints quickly at 31ppm (pages per minute) and can automatically scan two-sided documents using its 50-sheet ADF (automatic document feeder). With its NFC reader, touchscreen display, front USB Host port and fax modem, this premium printer leaves nothing out. So, let’s find out if the performance measures up to expectations.  

During this review, we'll use the American name Brother MFC-L8395CDW, but Europe's Brother MFC-L8390CDW is the same model.

Brother MFC-L8395CDW: Design and build

The Brother MFC-L8395CDW looks similar to the more expensive and rather good Brother MFC-L8690CDW and has an almost identical specification. It’s the technology that’s different because the older model is a traditional class 1 laser product, while the new model is using electrophotographic LED. The first thing you notice is that it’s significantly smaller in every dimension. That’s mostly down to good resign and partly because LED printers use fewer moving parts to apply the toner. The form factor is the same and there’s still room for the same 250 sheets of Legal or A4 paper in the main tray and a further 50 in the multipurpose tray, while the out-tray holds 150 sheets. The design is expandable and you can add a lower paper tray that will take another 250 sheets. The ADF is also slightly smaller so the new model looks less top heavy, but also holds the same amount of paper — 50 sheets. 

The control panel jutting out at the front offers a color touchscreen and this too is slightly smaller than the laser model, but it’s still an easy-to-read 8.8cm. The multipurpose tray opens directly above the main paper tray, providing a useful shortcut for feeding headed letter paper or envelopes. Power, USB, Ethernet and fax modem cables all plug into the rear panel, while a USB Host port for walk-up printing from a thumb drive is located at the front. One visible difference from the laser model is that you now have an NFC logo, indicating where you can tap your smartphone or security card to call down a secure print job.  

Brother MFC-L8395CDW: Features & specifications

As the uppermost model in Brother’s LED line-up, the MFC-L8395CDW has a high specification and all the features you can think of. It can auto-duplex print and auto-duplex scan, send and receive a fax, copy a stack of 50 pages using its ADF and print or scan wirelessly via the Brother Mobile Connect companion app. It has a 3.5-inch color touchscreen interface and an NFC reader for secure printing by specified cardholders, which could be useful in a shared office. Connections include Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi and a USB Host port.

There’s plenty of room for paper, even without the optional lower paper tray, and a decent amount of toner comes in the box. The setup cartridges are good for 1,400 color pages and 3,000 mono, but super high yield carts are available that’ll give you up to 4,000 color pages and a whopping 11,000 mono. The print speed of 31ppm for simplex pages is pretty fast and it doesn’t slow down much for duplex printing, which is given as 12 sides per minute. Like many of the best laser printers, with this rapid print speed and a high capacity for paper and toner, the MFC-L8395CDW can handle a heavy workload. Brother suggests an average monthly duty cycle of 4,000 pages which should satisfy most SMBs (small to medium-sized business). In other words, this smaller and less expensive LED model matches the Brother MFC-L8690CDW laser printer for features and raises it by one NFC module, while only lagging one page-per-minute behind in terms of print speed. 

Brother MFC-L8395CDW: Setup & operation

Setting up any Brother laser/LED printer involves extracting the four toner cartridges, removing the transport packaging and reinstalling them. This is easy enough to do and the two-page quick setup guide is there to help you. After loading some paper and turning it on, you can then turn to Brother’s Mobile Connect app to complete the setup. The printer’s own touchscreen interface is sensitive and the menu system is logical enough, but it’s still easier to use a smartphone to get connected to your Wi-Fi network. With its prompt print speed and two paper trays to choose from (main and multi-purpose), the Brother MFC-L8395CDW is an easy printer to operate. 

It's only a pity the operational cost is not lower. Replacement cartridges, even the super high-yield carts, do not bring the CPP (cost per page) down as low as most premium laser printers manage. It’s also worth considering the other replaceable items. You won’t need to buy four new imaging drums, a transfer belt or waste toner bottle any time soon, but they’re an expense you don’t have with inkjet printers. 

Brother MFC-L8395CDW: Performance

The Brother MFC-L8395CDW put in a solid all-round performance without suffering any crashes or paper jams. Plain text documents are turned out in both simplex and duplex modes at the claimed prompt print speeds and the quality was consistently good. The characters appeared sharp and clearly legible down to the smallest point sizes. Mixed color documents print at the same speed, as with all laser printers, and showed a bright color palette. The image quality is fine, but not quite as bright as Brother’s equivalent laser printers. It’s the same story with photographs, which look detailed enough, but could be a little more vivid. 

The ADF proved itself to be a good one by drawing in a stack of test documents and copying both sides automatically. Duplicates made in this way, or by using the glass scanner bed, looked faithful to the original and only slightly softer in their detail. It copies quite quickly making this a suitable printer-cum-copier in a shared office. One thing it is not so good at is printing on heavy paper or card because the rollers turning it around tightly inside the machine tend to leave the documents curled when they emerge.

Brother MFC-L8395CDW: Final verdict

This exceptionally well-equipped MFD (multifunction device) has enough functionality to meet the varied print demands of a shared office and has the toner capacity and print speed to handle a heavy workload. With room for 250 sheets of paper in the main tray and scope to add a second lower paper tray it’s clearly designed for a high monthly duty cycle. The 50-sheet automatic document feed is a cut above the average ADF thanks to its single-pass dual-side scanning feature, while an integrated NFC module is a real bonus for any business where the staff are issued with NFC-enabled ID cards. It might not be the best printer we’ve ever tested, but given the decent overall print quality of this LED all-in-one, the fairly high purchase price and running cost is justified.  

Looking for your next printer? We compared the best Brother printers 

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