Evaluation of cell viability dyes in antiviral assays with RNA viruses that exhibit different cytopathogenic properties.

•Nine antiviral compounds were evaluated against chikungunya, dengue and Junin viruses using different dye indicators.•AlamarBlue, neutral red, Viral ToxGlo and WST-1 dyes performed similarly in quantifying antiviral effects.•Alamar Blue underestimated the cytotoxicity of some of the test compounds compared to the other dyes.•Viral ToxGlo uptake into dengue-infected cells was nearly twice that of other dyes and data generated were more variable.•Certain dyes could be used sequentially in the same cell cultures.