The verdict
ClamAV appears in 1 AI-ranked category — best position #5 for malware scanning apis for user-uploaded files.
The open-source standard for on-premises and containerized microservice deployments (via clamd/REST wrappers), delivering zero-cost file scanning and guaranteed data sovereignty with no third-party data egress; ranked on the assumption that privacy-critical or air-gapped environments cannot use third-party APIs.
Claude Free, open-source, runs entirely in your infrastructure with zero data egress, trivially containerized behind clamd, and battle-tested as the default scanner in countless upload pipelines and mail gateways.
Where ClamAV falls short, per the models
- Claude Signature-only detection with materially lower catch rates on modern/zero-day threats, and you own all tuning, signature updates, and scaling — not for teams needing top-tier detection without operational burden.
- Gemini Relies almost entirely on signature matching with sluggish heuristic detection, making it largely ineffective against novel zero-days, targeted exploits, and polymorphic malware.
Poll history — On this board 1 of 2 polls since Sep 7 — off it in the latest
#5 → –
Top alternatives per the models: OPSWAT MetaDefender · Cloudmersive Virus Scan API · Scanii · AWS GuardDuty Malware Protection
Watch ClamAV
Boards re-poll weekly and the models change their minds. One short email only when ClamAV's standing moves — a rank change, a rival overtaking, or new reasoning from the models. Nothing otherwise.
Embed your ranking badge
ClamAV ranks #5 for best malware scanning apis for user-uploaded files by AI-model consensus. Put the badge in your README, docs or site — it updates automatically as the models re-rank.
[](https://modelsagree.com/best/best-malware-scanning-apis-for-user-uploaded-files?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=badge-clamav)<a href="https://modelsagree.com/best/best-malware-scanning-apis-for-user-uploaded-files?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=badge-clamav"><img src="https://modelsagree.com/badge/clamav.svg" alt="ClamAV — ranked #5 for Best malware scanning APIs for user-uploaded files by AI models on ModelsAgree" height="28"></a>Rankings are computed from what the models answer, re-polled on demand · raw reasoning shown verbatim · methodology