No avast isn't a firewall, so you would need than, but avira hasn't got a firewall either.
However that said avast is working on a firewall, when that is likely to happen hasn't been announced.
Well, it wasn't Avira that i was worried about, just yesterday, my other laptop fell and broke, but luckily, i called PCSafetyPlus(F-Secure), to realize that they will pay us any physical damage that happened to the laptop up to $1000, as tho the other laptop does not have F-Secure, i am still in business with them, so they might be able to help me pay of the damages made.
And to know that Avast is going to have a firewall is great, because i would want a firewall with really good strength that notifies me when an application is trying to access the internet.
Avast is still one of my main Av's on one of my computers, and i am not really thinking to switch to Avira any more.\
Regards
Bluegang6