The Best VPN Services of 2024
Featuring over 6,800 servers in 111 countries, a strict no-logs policy, and P2P servers, we declare NordVPN as the best VPN.
- Strict no-logs policy
- Connect up to 10 devices at once
- 6,800 servers in 111 countries and specialty servers tailored to specific needs, such as P2P or extra security
- No-logs VPN company based in the Virgin Islands
- Allows unlimited connections, double VPN, and split tunneling
- Choice of OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2P2, Shadowsocks & more
- Excellent mobile apps
- Strict no-log policy
- Thousands of servers in 78 countries
- Ultra-fast network speeds on Windows
What makes the “best” VPN? It’s different for everyone – even our VPN experts. Some of us need similar speeds to our usual connection. Others are looking for superior security and privacy features. Then there are those who have run out of stuff to watch on U.S. streaming services and want to see what’s available in other countries.
We took all of these factors into account while testing 60 VPNs. There were even other criteria, such as features, user experience, and the cost of VPNs, we used to rank the top 10. While you can’t go wrong with any VPN on this list, we think NordVPN is the most versatile option as it offers speed, privacy, and obfuscated servers, which you’ll need to get around geo-blocked content. Let’s take a closer look at all our recommendations.
What Exactly is a VPN?
A VPN is a digital tool for improving online anonymity and privacy. VPNs create an encrypted tunnel through which all of your internet traffic is routed. It bypasses monitoring tools such as the ones used by ISPs, government agencies, and hackers. So when you use a VPN, no one besides you will know what you’re doing online.
The Best VPN Services of 2024
- NordVPN - Best VPN for Privacy
- Surfshark - Best VPN for Security
- Private Internet Access VPN - Best VPN for Windows
- Hotspot Shield - Best VPN for Netflix
- Norton Secure VPN - Best VPN With Dynamic IP Addresses
- IPVanish - Best Customer Support
- ExpressVPN - Best Encryption
- CyberGhost - Best VPN for Mac
- Proton VPN - Best VPN for Work
- UltraVPN - Best for Day-to-day Use
How We Chose The Best VPNs
There are so many technical factors to consider when choosing a VPN, like the number of servers offered, encryption and protocols used, compatibility with your devices, connection speed, and so on. And then there are the non-technical factors, like whether or not the VPN logs browsing history and how users’ privacy is treated. We consider all those when comparing VPNs, but when it comes to finding the best options, it all boils down to three crucial factors: privacy, speed, and security.
As we discuss our recommended VPNs, we’ll give you an overview and rate how each of them did in those three areas (Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Bad). We’ll also relay our user experience and detail why we picked each option. To start with, check out the comparison chart below.
Comparison of the Best VPNs
System |
NordVPN
|
Surfshark
|
Private Internet Access VPN
|
Hotspot Shield
|
Norton Secure VPN
|
IPVanish
|
ExpressVPN
|
CyberGhost
|
Proton VPN
|
UltraVPN
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ranking | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
Ratings | 9.7/10 | 9.5/10 | 9.4/10 | 8.9/10 | 8.4/10 | 9.3/10 | 9.1/10 | 8.9/10 | 8.8/10 | 9.2/10 |
Best Monthly Price | $2.99 | $1.99 | $1.98 | Free | $1.67 | $2.19 | $8.32 | $2.03 | Free | $1.99 |
Maximum Monthly Cost | $12.99 | $15.45 | $11.95 | $9.99 | $4.99 | $12.99 | $12.95 | $12.99 | $9.99 | $7.99 |
Encryption | 256-bit AES | 256-bit AES | 128-bit to 256-bit AES | 256-bit AES | 256-bit AES | 256-bit AES | 256-bit AES | 256-bit AES | 128-bit to 256-bit AES | 256-bit AES |
Server locations | 111 countries | 100 countries | 84 countries | 35 countries | 31 countries | 100+ countries | 105 countries | 91 countries | 112 countries | 125 countries |
Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes Member? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
Read Review | NordVPN Review | Surfshark Review | Private Internet Access VPN Review | Hotspot Shield Review | Norton Secure VPN Review | IPVanish Review | ExpressVPN Review | CyberGhost Review | Proton VPN Review | UltraVPN Review |
Pro Tip: We encourage you to pay close attention to the number of server locations a VPN has. While it might sound great to log into servers in Australia and Japan, it can significantly reduce your internet speeds. You want to find a server close to your actual location to reduce the impact on the connection.
Taking A Closer Look at the Best VPNs of 2024
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1. NordVPN - Best VPN for Privacy
View Plans Links to NordVPNProduct Specs
Multihop Yes Camouflage Mode Yes Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes Why We Picked It
Once again, NordVPN earned the highest rating among all VPNs we tested because of its privacy-focused approach, overall reliability, and ease of use. Fresh off installation, it provided us with a secure channel to keep our browsing private; no extra setup required.
We loved that our NordVPN subscription included useful extras. For example, Threat Protection automatically blocked ads and potentially harmful sites. It also detected malware being downloaded into our devices, almost like antivirus software. Almost. Our second pick, Surfshark, offers actual antivirus software though, so give it a glance if you’re looking to bundle VPN and antivirus.
What We Like
- Based in Panama, a privacy-friendly country
- Offers multi-hop/double hop for extra privacy
- Up-to-date encryption and VPN protocols
- Can access blocked website and streaming content
- Strict logging policy
- User-friendly apps
What We Don’t Like
- Steeper prices than the competition
- Hard to reach customer support
- Limited P2P servers (used in torrenting)
NordVPN Privacy – Excellent
NordVPN met all our privacy standards. We didn’t need to adjust any settings – it was a ‘no-logs’ VPN from the very start, and it had the privacy features we were looking for such as an automatic kill switch, private DNS, and double VPN (multihop). If you’re not familiar with those, they are essentially features that make your VPN connection as private as can be.
We also like that NordVPN includes optional add-on services. As NordVPN is part of Nord Security, you can pay for a higher subscription to gain some of its other security products. There’s NordPass, which is its password manager, and NordLocker, the secure cloud storage. The highest plan includes NordProtect, an identity theft protection service featuring SSN and credit monitoring services. No matter which plan you choose, you still get access to the full NordVPN product.
FYI: NordProtect includes identity and credit monitoring, up to $1 million coverage for identity theft insurance, and even cyber-extorsion protection. Those features typically cost about $15 to $20 per month from dedicated identity theft protection services, so the $7.89 package from NordVPN is a sweet deal.
NordVPN Speed – Very Good
Our NordVPN speed tests averaged 89.11 Mbps for downloads, which was a 5.78 percent reduction on our baseline download speed. For uploads, it was 90.72 Mbps, a 4.11 percent reduction. Overall, NordVPN was one of the fastest VPNs. But besides just raw speed, we commend NordVPN’s stability. We didn’t notice any abrupt speed drops throughout our tests, unlike when we tested Atlas, a sister company of NordVPN that has now stopped operations.
Just like the privacy features, we didn’t have to tinker with NordVPN’s settings to enjoy fast speeds. Almost all the servers we connected to were fast, even the more distant ones.
FYI: The one exception was when we used Double VPN. Multi-hopping reduced our speed by as much as 80-percent, which is still not bad considering our 250 Mbps connection. But yeah, only use Double VPN when necessary.
>> See More: Download Torrent Privately with The Top VPNs
NordVPN Security – Excellent
NordVPN is a VPN, but it has security features akin to what we see from some antivirus software. If you try to connect to a malicious website or download a file containing malware, for example, Threat Protection will block it. That’s not something we’ve seen from most VPNs.
NordVPN’s security features also work in the background, so all you need to do is turn on the VPN. It will then encrypt your online traffic using 256-bit AES or ChaCha20 (two of the top VPN encryption standards today). It will also patch you through a private DNS server, preventing IP address leakage. That’s why when we tested NordVPN for DNS leaks, we didn’t find any.
Pro Tip: You can check if a VPN has a private DNS server using a DNS leak test tool. Those tools will try to retrieve your IP address from your DNS queries. If the detected IP address matches your real IP address, your VPN doesn’t have a private DNS. That also means your connection is not secure. NordVPN passed our DNS leak test.
OpenVPN and NordLynx
NordVPN offers two of the fastest, most reliable, and most secure VPN protocols: OpenVPN and WireGuard in the form of NordLynx. Here’s a quick comparison, and for a more in-depth look, here’s our comparison of the top VPN protocols.
OpenVPN NordLynx (based on WireGuard) Up to 400 Mbps Up to 1,200 Mbps Flexible encryption via OpenSSL Non-flexible (ChaCha 20 only) Adds up to 20% overhead data usage Adds up to 4% overhead data usage We used OpenVPN mostly for privacy-sensitive tasks because of its more robust encryption. On the other hand, we used NordLynx mostly on mobile devices. It’s more lightweight, so our phone’s battery could last a whole day while connected. It was also about five-percent faster than OpenVPN, perfect for mobile data browsing.
FYI: Keeping a mobile device connected to a VPN will drain your batteries faster than normal. That’s more true with OpenVPN than any other VPN protocols because it has to keep some network ports open to maintain a VPN connection.
Good Price-to-Feature Ratio
NordVPN isn’t exactly cheap. It costs about a dollar more per month than Surfshark if we compare their best prices. However, NordVPN offers a better price-to-feature ratio because it has more features – some of which are rare in the industry like Double VPN and Onion over VPN. Some people (like us!) would gladly pay the extra buck per month for those.
Take a look at NordVPN’s pricing:
Features and Price Basic Plus Complete Prime Monthly plan $12.99 $13.99 $14.99 $17.99 One-year plan + 3 extra months $68.85 $82.35 $97.35 $142.35 Two-year plan + 3 extra months $80.73 $105.03 $132.03 $213.03 Included features Access to NordVPN Access to NordVPN and NordPass (password manager) Access to NordVPN, NordPass, and NordLocker (secure cloud backup) Access to NordVPN, NordPass, NordLocker, and NordProtect (identity and credit monitoring) FYI: NordVPN runs special offers throughout the year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great times to visit the website. But you should also stop by in February. Prices are discounted to celebrate NordVPN’s anniversary.
User Benefits of NordVPN
NordVPN doesn’t excel in just one particular area – it’s great all around. The speeds were fast and stable; in terms of privacy, it uses recommended encryption standards and has an ironclad privacy protocol; and for security, it has bonus features such as Threat Protection that blocks downloads with malware and malicious sites and a Dark Web Monitor to check for compromised information.
On top of all that, NordVPN performed really well. We experienced pretty fast speeds wherever we were thanks to it having over 6,000 servers in 111 countries around the globe.
>> Related: NordPass Password Manager Review
Who It’s Best For:
With its feature-set, we recommend NordVPN to users who are looking to improve their overall digital security posture. It’s not just a VPN, especially if you sign up for the mid-tier or top-tier plans. That said, even if you’re looking for just a VPN, the Basic plan is an excellent option that can give you a rich selection of security and privacy features for daily use.
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2. Surfshark - Best VPN for Security
View Plans Links to SurfsharkProduct Specs
Multi-hop Yes Camouflage Mode Yes Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes Why We Picked It
Surfshark is a feature-rich VPN, but it’s also an all-in-one cybersecurity tool. With the Surfshark One bundle, we gained access to the Surfshark VPN, one of the top antivirus software, and additional tools like a secure search engine and webcam protection. You can add basic identity monitoring and data removal services with the top-tier Surfshark One+ plan.
Even without those extra features, Surfshark is an impressive VPN. It rivals NordVPN in terms of features while costing a dollar less per month. It also lets you connect unlimited devices at a time, making it a great option for families and teams.
>> Learn More: Surfshark One Review
FYI: Like NordVPN, Surfshark discounts its products throughout the year. We recommend keeping an eye out throughout the holidays and on Prime Day to save even more on Surfshark bundles.
What We Like
- Camouflage mode
- Unlimited devices per subscription
- Low costs with one or two-year subscriptions
- 30-day money-back guarantee
What We Don’t Like
- No phone support
- Have to set up kill switch manually on Windows
- Dedicated IP address costs extra
- Not the fastest
Surfshark Privacy – Good
We weren’t thrilled about the fact that Surfshark records IP addresses at the beginning of sessions, even though it deletes them within 15 minutes after you disconnect. Its Netherlands location – a country with laws that can undermine VPN confidentiality – added to our doubts.
Overall, though, we still think Surfshark offers good privacy to users. It has been audited numerous times by third-party firms, including Cure53. It also has RAM-only servers that ensure all data is wiped after every server reboot. And of course, it has our recommended features such as an automatic kill switch and multihopping. We don’t think it’s the best option if you’re super-concerned about your privacy, but for protecting your data as you do your daily browsing, Surfshark is more than adequate.
Surfshark Speed – Good
Surfshark’s performance was inconsistent. Our download speeds only saw a 7.76 percent drop in performance. But our upload speeds were about half of what we are used to. So we don’t recommend Surfshark for uploading large files or videos.
Surfshark Security – Excellent
Surfshark made sure to keep our VPN use covert through Camouflage Mode. It was a feature enabled automatically on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Camouflage Mode made our encrypted traffic seem like normal traffic. That’s handy if you’re in a country like China and Russia that restricts or monitors VPN usage. A colleague traveled to China recently and used Surfshark with no issues, despite it not being a government-approved VPN. We should mention that Surfshark is one of the best VPNs that work in China because of that.
>> Learn More: Must-Have VPNs for Traveling
User-Friendly Apps
We liked Surfshark’s ease of use, even with its extensive feature set. Connecting to a VPN was straightforward. The Fastest Server option automatically found the quickest server nearby (usually in the same state as ours), while the Nearest Country option connected us to the fastest server outside your location for unblocking websites.
We also appreciated how neatly organized all the VPN features were in the settings menu, unlike the Total VPN app we recently tested. Because that app combined TotalAV’s feature-rich antivirus and VPN, the features were scattered everywhere. With Surfshark, if you need a specific feature, you’ll know where to find it.
Streaming Services
A nice little side-effect of using a VPN is gaining access to streaming content available outside your country. For instance, you can use it to unblock Hulu if you’re outside the U.S. or access Disney+ shows not available in your region. Surfshark made both our lists of the best Disney+ VPNs and best Hulu VPNs. It also worked well with other streaming services we tested, like Netflix, Max, Spotify, and even YouTube. So if you’re shopping for a VPN for any streaming service, consider taking a look at Surfshark.
FYI: Learn more about the best VPNs for Youtube TV. Surfshark is also great for streaming devices. It’s one of the best VPNs for Apple TV and a highly-rated VPN for Fire TV.
User Benefits of Surfshark
Surfshark offers a long list of security features that are readily available to any user. CleanWeb blocks malicious sites and pesky ads just like NordVPN does; there’s an IP rotator feature that changes the VPN address every five to 10 minutes for extra security; you can make your device invisible to other devices in your networks (useful on public Wi-Fi); you can even override your device’s GPS location if you’re using an Android, a feature unique only to Surfshark.
If you’re willing to splurge a little more on Surfshark One, you can also get a full-featured antivirus software plus additional premium features like webcam protection and a secure search engine.
Who It’s Best For:
Surfshark is an affordable but well-stacked VPN in terms of features. We recommend it if you’re looking for a VPN to use day-to-day, but its Surfshark One subscriptions are particularly handy to those looking for a VPN and antivirus software. As an added benefit, Surfshark’s antivirus is one of our top antivirus software right now.
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3. Private Internet Access VPN - Best VPN for Windows
View Plans Links to Private Internet Access VPNProduct Specs
Multihop Yes Camouflage Mode No Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes Why We Picked It
Private Internet Access is a fast, reliable, and secure VPN, but it did exceptionally great in our Windows tests. That’s why it’s one of the best VPNs for Windows.
We also really liked how customizable PIA’s Windows app was. It let us tinker with a lot of settings, something a lot of Windows users are fond of doing. We got to customize which protocols are used to connect to the VPN, the encryption standard, and the auto-connect function. Because of that, we got to customize our VPN for different activities like day-to-day browsing, streaming content, and online gaming.
>> Related: The Top VPNs for Online Gaming
What We Like
- Strict logging policy
- Fast on Windows
- High app reviews
- Netflix access
What We Don’t Like
- Based in United States
- Split tunneling unavailable for iPhones
- Slow on Mac
Private Internet Access Privacy – Very Good
Private Internet Access is based in the U.S.. That’s arguably worse than Surfshark’s location in the Netherlands. The U.S. is far from privacy-friendly. Unlike Surfshark, though, PIA doesn’t log IP addresses.
We also liked that Private Internet Access doesn’t automatically log usage metrics. Most VPNs log anonymized data like device identifiers and connection timestamps to improve their services. Even NordVPN does that, and it’s our top-pick no-logs VPN. With PIA, usage metrics are not recorded by default. You’d have to go to the settings to allow it to log that information. But our advice? Don’t. While usage metrics are usually harmless, the less data collected by the VPN, the better.
FYI: VPNs collect usage metrics to gather data like peak VPN usage hours and amount of bandwidth used in a certain time frame. That information helps them improve their services, so we’re not completely against logging usage metrics as long as IP addresses and websites visited are not logged.
Private Internet Access Speed – Excellent
Private Internet Access’ speeds were fast during our tests, regardless of the device we were using. We know every VPN is going to reduce our normal speeds. But the best ones minimize the impact. With that in mind, here’s our PIA speed test results:
Baseline Private Internet Access Percentage difference Download speed (Mbps) 95.08 90.48 -4.39% Upload speed (Mbps) 94.44 14.86 -84.26% Average ping (ms) – lower is better 3 86.7 2,790% Expert TakeFrom Subbu Sthanu, Chief Commercial Officer of IPVanish“A common issue I encounter is customers experiencing slow speeds due to suboptimal VPN settings. For instance, I had a customer who was using a server that was not only far from their location but also overloaded with traffic compared to other servers available in the same region. After examining their setup, I recommended switching to a nearby, less crowded server and adjusting their VPN protocol settings to match their connection type better. This adjustment improved their speed significantly.”Private Internet Access Security – Very Good
Private Internet Access used MACE to help enhance our online security. It worked pretty much like NordVPN’s Threat Protection, but it was notably better at blocking ads. We’d say it’s about as good as the AdBlocker extension we use on Chrome, but it works faster because MACE is built into the PIA app. That meant our browser wasn’t using extra memory to check each URL.
Besides MACE, Private Internet Access offers an optional Secure Socket Layer (SSL) feature. Enabling it obfuscated our VPN connection, much like Surfshark’s Camouflage Mode. It’s an extra layer of security if you want to hide your VPN use from your network admin or the government.
Encryption Options
One of our favorite things about Private Internet Access was that it let us adjust our encryption. No other VPN on this list has that option. PIA let us choose between 256-bit AES encryption (the default after VPN installation) and 128-bit AES. You can find that option in the settings under the ‘General’ menu. But why would you lower your encryption standard to 128-bit AES?
128-bit AES is less secure than 256-bit AES, but it tends to be faster. According to our measurements, it’s about four-percent faster. That’s why we prefer 128-bit AES for less privacy-demanding tasks like streaming Netflix and online gaming. There’s also an option to turn off encryption altogether (proxy mode), which came in handy when we just wanted to change our IP address location to the Netherlands.
» Read More: Best Proxy Servers
Highly Efficient Apps
Private Internet Access’ app is hands-down one of the most user-friendly out there. It’s easy to learn to use. Even our office intern who was new to VPNs when he started learned to use it in no time. And the app’s ratings back up its user-friendliness.
iOS app rating 4.7 out of 5 Android app rating 4.5 out of 5 macOS app rating 4.4 out of 5 Windows app rating 4.4 out of 5 More than that, Private Internet Access’ app provides flexibility. We got the most out of our Private Internet Access subscription because of that. Just take a look at the split tunneling feature for example. PIA offers standard split tunneling and the less common inverse split tunneling (see our split tunneling guide for a detailed explanation). We used the former to exclude apps and URLs from our VPN connection – like Zoom to improve video call quality. As for inverse split tunneling, we used it to set apps that could connect to the internet only via PIA. For this, we set apps like browsers to make sure we’re always on a secure line whenever we’re browsing.
>> Learn More: Are Private Browsers Really Private?
User Benefits of Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access’ advanced customizability was on full display during our tests. The adjustable encryption and the standard and inverse split tunneling options were the main highlights. There were other convenient features too. For example, you can automate the app. You can set it to connect to the fastest server or a specific server as soon as you turn on your desktop. You can also set it to connect to the VPN when you’re on a public or unrecognized Wi-Fi network. Minor but thoughtful features like that make PIA one of the most user-friendly VPNs.
Who It’s Best For:
We recommend Private Internet Access to folks who mostly use desktops, either for work or play. You can tailor it to how you use your desktop, especially if you’re a Windows user.
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4. Hotspot Shield - Best VPN for Netflix
View Plans Links to Hotspot ShieldProduct Specs
Multi-hop Yes Camouflage Mode Yes Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes, but not in all regions Torrenting Yes Why We Picked It
One of the main reasons we picked Hotspot Shield is its proprietary Hydra protocol. This is a lightweight, performance-enhanced protocol that comes in handy when you’re trying to get around the VPN blockers deployed by some modern streaming services. If you’re looking to stream Netflix in other countries, this might be the right service for you.
Of course, Hotspot Shield is more than just for entertainment. Our DNS and WebRTC leak tests proved that it’s secure. On top of security, our IP address test showed us that it can hide IP addresses well.
Money Saver: To get discounts, sign up for long term lengths. One-year and two-year plans are typically cheaper than monthly plans.
What We Like
- Fast speeds
- Free option
- Netflix access
- Torrenting access
What We Don’t Like
- Five simultaneous connections
- Based in the U.S.
- Unresponsive customer support
- Keeps IP address
Hotspot Shield Privacy – Very Good
A lot of VPNs say they have a “no-logs” policy but with no data to back it up. Hotspot Shield actually has proof in the form of a transparency report. That report shows how many subpoenas and government requests Hotspot Shield receives. It received 56 in 2018, for example. The report also says how many times it released requested data. For the 56 requests in 2018, it released none. That because, again, it doesn’t log VPN usage and IP address information.
Hotspot Shield Speed – Excellent
Hotspot Shield was the fastest VPN we tested, with just a 3.17 percent reduction from our usual speeds. That’s what we like to call a near loss-less VPN speed, as the drop was kept to around three percent. That said, Hotspot Shield’s upload speed didn’t do that well. We lost about 80 percent of our upload speed. So Hotspot Shield is great for downloading large files and streaming videos, but skip it if you’re a regular uploader.
>> Related: What Is ISP Throttling?
Hotspot Shield Security – Very Good
Hotspot Shield delivers security through a number of built-in app features. For one, it has IP leak protection that prevents DNS and WebRTC leaks by offering a private DNS. This was enabled by default. As soon as we connected to Hotspot Shield, it kept our IP address private.
The protocol also plays a big role in Hotspot Shield’s security. It offers Hydra to all platforms (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android), but it also offers WireGuard to Android users. We’d still recommend Hydra in this case though. While WireGuard is secure, it doesn’t support 256-bit AES encryption (it uses the not-as-proven ChaCha20). Hydra does.
Hydra Catapult Protocol
These days, we see a lot of proprietary VPN protocols — VPN protocols made and developed by a VPN company — from the best VPN brands. Not many of them, however, can claim to be as fast as Hotspot Shield’s Hydra Catapult VPN protocol. Thanks to Hydra, we notched record-high download speeds during our recent VPN speed testing (more on that below).
Hydra is also plenty secure. It’s based on OpenVPN, one of the most secure VPN protocols. With a few tweaks, Hotspot Shield made it into a speedy protocol without compromising security.
User Benefits of Hotspot Shield
Hotspot Shield provides useful security and privacy features via its apps. It has IP leak protection, auto-connect, and the Always-On feature on iOS. IP leak protection prevents IP address leakage due to DNS or WebRTC leaks. This ensures your IP address is always private when connected to the VPN. Auto-connect lets you establish rules that, when triggered, will force the VPN to connect. For example, when you connect to a public Wi-Fi or when you connect to mobile data. Lastly, the Always-On feature on iOS is one we’ve rarely seen. It prompts the VPN to reconnect automatically when disconnected unexpectedly.
Who It’s Best For:
Hotspot Shield has strong streaming potential. Plus, Hotspot Shield is affordable. It’s best for folks looking to expand their entertainment options without spending much.
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5. Norton Secure VPN - Best VPN With Dynamic IP Addresses
View Plans Links to Norton Secure VPNProduct Specs
Multi-hop Yes Camouflage Mode No Kill switch No Split Tunneling Android and Windows only Netflix Yes Torrenting No Why We Picked It
Norton is most famous for its Norton antivirus software and LifeLock. (LifeLock is one of the best identity protection services; read more in our LifeLock review). Adding the Norton Secure VPN to the mix makes it even better. It’s not just a VPN app, but an all-in-one digital security app.
We particularly liked the VPN’s dynamic shared IP addresses, which are more preferable than static IP addresses. Dynamic shared IP addresses are shared among multiple users. They also change every time you connect to the VPN. Both of those can give you more online anonymity.
» Learn more: Static vs Dynamic IP Addresses
What We Like
- AES-256 encryption
- Different IP addresses every time you connect
- Affordable
- 10 devices maximum
What We Don’t Like
- Based in the U.S., a Five Eyes member
- No split tunneling on iOS devices or Macs
- Netflix isn’t available everywhere
- Kill switch isn’t available on Macs or iOS devices
Norton Secure VPN Privacy – Fair
We bought out Norton Secure VPN subscription as part of our Norton antivirus bundle (we also tested the Norton antivirus). We loved that we could access both products through the same app. Unfortunately, that also made it more difficult to nail down Norton Secure VPN’s privacy policy. The privacy policy within the app didn’t explain separately what the VPN logs and what the antivirus logs.
Digging deeper though, we found Norton Secure VPN’s logging policy. We found that it collects more information from users compared to other VPNs. For example, it logs mobile device data and aggregate bandwidth usage. It’s still a “no-logs” VPN. It doesn’t log IP addresses and websites, but it collects aggregate data.
Norton Secure VPN Speed – Good
Norton Secure VPN ranked 12th in our VPN speed comparison, which is still decent considering we tested over 50 VPNs. The download speed was impressive. It kept the speed loss to less than 10 percent. However, the upload speed (averaged 11 Mbps) and latency (averaged 125.5 ms) were abysmal. We wouldn’t recommend Norton Secure for activities that require a fast and steady upstream of data, like video conferencing and online gaming.
Norton Secure VPN Security – Very Good
Norton’s app improved our digital security in more ways than one, but we liked one nifty security feature in particular. The app automatically detects if we’re connected to a suspicious Wi-Fi network, such as password-less coffee shop Wi-Fi. It then automatically connects the VPN to the fastest available server.
We do have to point out that Norton Secure VPN doesn’t offer as many servers as other VPNs. It has servers in only 29 countries. That’s less than a third of ExpressVPN’s 105 countries and Surfshark’s 100 countries. Just something to keep in mind.
Affordable Prices
How much does the Norton Secure VPN cost? Well, that depends. The VPN comes complimentary with most Norton antivirus subscriptions. The cheapest antivirus subscription costs $49.99 for the first year, or about $4 per month. That’s one of the best VPN deals we’ve seen.
You can also buy a subscription to just the VPN, but it can be pricey. Weirdly, it costs more to buy just the VPN than to bundle it with other Norton products. One month of Norton Secure for one device costs $4.99. We strongly recommend going for the 10-device plan for one year though. It costs $59.99 in total or about $5 per month.
Maximum number of devices Contract length Amount billed 1 1 month $4.99 1 1 year $19.99 5 1 month $7.99 5 1 year $29.99 10 1 month $9.99 10 1 year $59.99 Strong Encryption
Norton Secure VPN encrypted our web activity and hid our IP address using 256-bit AES. But that’s nothing new. Most VPNs use that same encryption standard.
What we really loved was the fact that Norton Secure offers multi-hop – a feature only the top-tier VPNs like NordVPN and Surfshark offer. By connecting to a multi-hop server pair, Norton Secure encrypted our traffic and changed our IP addresses twice. It’s impressive that Norton Secure even has this feature, considering how small its server network is.
User Benefit of Norton Secure VPN
You get the most benefit from Norton Secure VPN if you get it as a part of Norton’s antivirus bundles. That way, you enjoy all-around digital protections. And really, that’s the only way we recommend using Norton Secure. By itself, it’s not a feature-rich VPN. It offers split tunneling and a kill switch (Windows and Android only), but not much else. If you use it through an Antivirus subscription, you can also keep your devices malware-free.
Pro Tip: Did you forget to activate your VPN and now your data is all over the Internet? Check out our favorite data removal services.
Who It’s Best For:
Norton Secure is best for those who are just starting to utilize cybersecurity tools to protect themselves online. Besides being easy to use, Norton Secure is from a brand most famous for its antivirus software.
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6. IPVanish - Best Customer Support
View Plans Links to IPVanishProduct Specs
Multi-hop Yes Camouflage Mode No Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes, with uTorrent Why We Picked It
What sets IPVanish apart from other companies is its commitment to customer service. We can’t tell you how much trouble we have sometimes getting companies to respond to our technical questions. Many VPNs don’t offer phone support, and a fair number don’t provide answers 24/7.
IPVanish has friendly customer service agents you can talk to any time, via both phone and online chat. Yet, the company doesn’t charge any more than other VPNs. A one-year subscription, for example, is just $2.99 a month.
IPVanish Customer Support Options Availability Email support 24/7 (48-hour response time) Phone support 9 AM to 5 PM (UTC-6), Monday to Sunday Live chat support 24/7 What We Like
- Fast download speeds
- Streaming and torrenting-safe
- Split tunneling
- Unlimited number of connections
What We Don’t Like
- History of sharing customer logs
- Based in United States
- Slow speeds on Windows, but has recently gotten much faster with WireGuard protocol
IPVanish Privacy – Good
Back in 2016, IPVanish faced backlash after providing the U.S. government with data that helped in the arrest of a child predator. Nobody’s saying the company should have helped a criminal. We just want to be clear about that. But the data IPVanish provided showed that it was, at the time, making records of user activity.
Fortunately, IPVanish has updated its privacy policy since then. It now says that it doesn’t log IP addresses, connection timestamps, and browsing histories. IPVanish also enlisted the help of independent firms to audit and verify its privacy policy. The results have been positive.
IPVanish Speed – Excellent
IPVanish was the second fastest VPN we’ve tested overall. It had impressive upload and download speeds plus a very low latency that was kept below 80 ms. We measured a decrease of only four to five-percent in download and upload speeds. We tested IPVanish on a Windows laptop and subsequently named it one of the best Windows VPN because of its speed.
IPVanish Security – Very Good
IPVanish security doesn’t stand out in any particular way, but it’s admirable that it comes complete with all the features we’re looking for in a secure VPN. It has a kill switch, it offers several VPN protocol options, it uses 256-bit AES encryption, and it passed our DNS and WebRTC leak tests. All things considered, it’s a solid and secure VPN.
Kill Switch
All VPNs can fail at any time without warning; that’s just the reality. That’s also why we recommend looking for a VPN with a kill switch just like IPVanish. It’s not that IPVanish is unreliable. It only ever got disconnected unexpectedly once due to server maintenance. But thanks to that, we saw the kill switch in action.
Our internet stopped working right after the VPN got disconnected. That alerted us that something was wrong, so we immediately checked and reconnected IPVanish. If our internet had continued working, we wouldn’t have known we’re no longer secure.
An Audited Privacy Policy
Most VPNs have privacy policies that outline the types of data they collect, why they collect them, and how they use them. Not all VPNs, though, have been audited like IPVanish.
The Leviathan Security Group audited IPVanish’s privacy and security practices just this year. They’ve found that IPVanish’s claim that it doesn’t log browsing and usage data is true. The firm also determined that IPVanish is non-invasive to its users’ privacy, making it a solid VPN for privacy-conscious users.
User Benefits of IPVanish
IPVanish includes thoughtful features that make the app easy and convenient to use. For example, the server menu on Windows shows the speed (measured in latency) of each server location. That can make it easier to pick a fast server when you’re gaming or streaming. Speaking of streaming, you can also connect to streaming-optimized servers, like to access a different Netflix region. You won’t see a lot of features from IPVanish, but those that it does include are designed with user experience in mind.
Who It’s Best For:
IPVanish has great mobile apps and it’s also affordable. Students looking to improve their digital security and privacy and access blocked sites on their school’s network, could benefit from this VPN.
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7. ExpressVPN - Best Encryption
View Plans Links to ExpressVPNProduct Specs
Multihop No Camouflage Mode Yes Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes Why We Picked It
One thing you should know about VPN encryption is that it’s actually contingent on the VPN protocol in use. A lot of our top picks default to WireGuard (like Surfshark) or a WireGuard-based proprietary protocol (like NordVPN’s NordLynx). WireGuard is great, but it supports only the ChaCha20 encryption standard and not our recommended encryption, 256-bit AES.
With ExpressVPN, 256-bit AES was constantly in use even though we were using its proprietary protocol called Lightway. And despite 256-bit AES’ inflexible construction, ExpressVPN was able to incorporate it while keeping Lightway agile and fast. This makes ExpressVPN’s Lightway one of the most efficient implementations of the gold-standard AES encryption in VPNs.
What We Like
- No data retention laws
- Great app ratings
- Netflix access
- Fast speeds on Windows
What We Don’t Like
- No phone support
- Slow speeds on Mac
- Five simultaneous connections per subscription
- No browser extension for Internet Explorer
ExpressVPN Privacy – Excellent
Privacy is ExpressVPN’s main focus. It has invested in state-of-the-art technology, like RAM-based servers that offer better privacy than traditional VPN servers. Very few VPNs offer RAM-based servers, NordVPN and Surfshark being two of them. That puts ExpressVPN in an elite group.
FYI: RAM-based servers are physical VPN servers that run purely on RAM, unlike traditional servers that use hard drives. RAM-based servers don’t store long-term memory. They are wiped after every reboot, which is what makes them more private.
ExpressVPN Speed – Good
ExpressVPN was middle-of-the-pack in terms of speed. It wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t bad. It was speedy enough to let us stream movies in 4K resolution. Our download speed was reduced by 7.57 percent, and uploads were 24.12 percent slower.
ExpressVPN’s balanced upload and download speed made it a great option for video conferencing. It kept our Zoom meetings flowing smoothly, unlike Hotspot Shield, which has lightning-fast download speed but very slow upload speed.
ExpressVPN Security – Very Good
ExpressVPN combines its 256-bit AES encryption with its fast and lightweight protocol called Lightway. It’s a solid pairing. We found no IP address leaks when we did DNS and WebRTC leak tests. The Lightway protocol was also quick to establish VPN tunnels. It takes ExpressVPN less than five seconds to connect, which means you can connect to it anytime without hassle. It’s our favorite VPN to use when commuting because of its convenient quick-connect function.
Lightway Protocol
ExpressVPN is at the forefront of VPN technology. It developed a proprietary protocol that is both secure and fast, called Lightway. This VPN protocol runs on only 2,000 lines of code, much less than protocols like OpenVPN. And as a result, it’s lightweight and it provides a smooth user-experience.
Here’s how it compares to OpenVPN:
Features Lightway OpenVPN Year established 2001 2020 Security Secure Secure Speed Faster Fast Battery consumption Low Mid to high IP Leak Blocking
We’ve encountered more than a few VPNs that have an “IP leak protection” feature, and for some reason, you can turn it off. We’re not sure why that’s even an option. IP leak is something you’d want to avoid at all cost.
With ExpressVPN, though, all connections come with IP leak protection. It efficiently blocks DNS and WebRTC leaks. In fact, once you’re connected to ExpressVPN, you can go to its website to check if there are any WebRTC leaks. We did that, and found no leaks whatsoever – just the result we were hoping for.
User Benefits of ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN offers servers in 105 countries. That alone is a huge benefit to users. It gives you access to numerous locations, making it easier to access content from all over the world. With its impressive speed, privacy features (RAM-based servers, LightWay and OpenVPN protocols, etc.), and encryption, you can use ExpressVPN for pretty much any task. And of course, ExpressVPN is easy to use. The app works fresh off installation and you need not make any adjustments to make it secure.
Who It’s Best For:
ExpressVPN offers agile data protection, which is particularly ideal for frequent travelers. It has strong privacy features. Its lightweight proprietary VPN protocol also makes it a good travel companion, as it runs fast on most mobile devices and computers.
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8. CyberGhost - Best VPN for Mac
View Plans Links to CyberGhostProduct Specs
Multihop Yes Camouflage Mode No Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes Why We Picked It
CyberGhost’s app excelled on Mac. It provided us easy access to top-quality features like split tunneling (Smart Rules), a kill switch, and several auto-connect options. It also features over 10,000 servers in 100 countries – one of the largest networks we’ve seen – to provide secure connections wherever you may be.
CyberGhost can protect seven devices simultaneously and has no limits on bandwidth and traffic. It wasn’t as fast as some of the VPNs on our list, but CyberGhost was able to help us pick the perfect server for our online activities whether it was streaming a movie in 4K or checking our bank balance.
What We Like
- Non-member to Five eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes
- Great customer support
- Affordable costs
- Thousands of servers around the world
What We Don’t Like
- Logging policy
- Split tunneling available for Android only
- Static IP addresses
- Slow performance on Windows
CyberGhost Privacy – Good
CyberGhost provided fast download speeds but significantly slower upload speeds. It’s just like Hotspot Shield and Norton in that regard. Our upload speed went down by 70-percent. Fortunately, the download speed was only reduced by about five percent. Both upload and download speeds are important, but the latter usually matters for streaming and downloading.
CyberGhost Speed – Good
CyberGhost provided fast download speeds but significantly slower upload speeds. It’s just like Hotspot Shield and Norton in that regard. Our upload speed went down by 70-percent, which meant we only got about 75 Mbps from our 250 Mbps network. Fortunately, the download speed remained high with an average reading of 223 Mbps. Both upload and download speeds are important, but the latter usually matters for for streaming and downloading.
CyberGhost Security – Very Good
In terms of security, we liked CyberGhost’s IP address masking in particular. Normally, when trying to access sites like Netflix and Disney+ that block VPNs, they’d occasionally detect that we’re using VPNs. For example, in our X-VPN review, Netflix detected two of the 10 servers we tested. With CyberGhost, we connected to 10 different servers in different locations, and all of them worked. That was, to some degree, proof that CyberGhost was hiding our IP address well.
Discounts Available
CyberGhost offers a wide array of subscriptions to choose from, and this makes the VPN very flexible. You can sign up for a month subscription to try things out, or go all-in on a one-, two-, or three-year subscription. The best part is, you’ll get a discount depending on the length of your plan.
The highest discount is over 80-percent off, which you can get by signing a three-year subscription. All in all, you’ll pay only $56.94 every three years, which breaks down to just over $2 per month.
CyberGhost Pricing 1 Month 6 Months 2 Years Total subscription cost $12.99 $41.94 $56.94 Average cost per month $12.99 $6.99 $2.19 NoSpy Servers
CyberGhost, like most of the VPNs we review, doesn’t keep logs of its users’ browsing data. Bur CyberGhost takes things up a notch with its NoSpy servers. These data centers operated by CyberGhost itself are located in Romania, which is outside the reach of the 14 Eyes alliance.
Romania’s laws also make it VPN-friendly. It doesn’t require data retention and mass surveillance tactics used by other countries. When you connect to one of CyberGhost’s NoSpy servers, you can rest assured that your data is safe.
User Benefits of CyberGhost
CyberGhost offers several features designed to benefit users. It has RAM-based servers like ExpressVPN. It also provides NoSpy servers, as detailed above. It’s also worth noting that CyberGhost has a deep network. It has servers in 100 countries, almost the same as ExpressVPN 105 locations, but the total number of CyberGhost’s servers is over 10,000. A network that large gives CyberGhost users access to content, webpages, and services all around the globe.
Who It’s Best For:
It’s true that the longer subscriptions offer the best prices, but CyberGhost’s flexibility makes it a great-value VPN for pretty much anyone.
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9. Proton VPN - Best VPN for Work
View Plans Links to Proton VPNProduct Specs
Multi-hop Yes Camouflage Mode Yes Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes Why We Picked It
ProtonVPN is now Proton, which seems like an ignorable change, but is actually big for the VPN company. As Proton, it now includes the entire Proton suite of cybersecurity tools. That includes ProtonMail, ProtonCalendar, ProtonDrive, and ProtonVPN. As such, Proton is a good personal VPN to use at work.
What We Like
- Fast speeds
- Free option
- Netflix access
- Torrenting access
What We Don’t Like
- Relatively high prices
- Customer support limited to tickets
- No browser support
- Some features are not available on all devices
Proton VPN Privacy – Excellent
Proton is a privacy-focused company. It offers privacy tools like a secure email (that detects phishing email well) and calendar, an encrypted cloud drive, a password manager. And of course, there’s Proton VPN.
The company Proton is also based in Switzerland. It’s a privacy-friendly country with no mandatory data retention. That means Proton can legally maintain a “no-logs” policy not just for its VPN, but all its privacy tools and products.
Proton VPN Speed – Very Good
We’ve seen a fair share of VPNs with good download speed but disappointing upload speed. If you’re looking for a VPN with fast upload speeds, though, we can recommend Proton. It topped our ranking in terms of upload speed, notching just a four-percent decrease compared to our baseline speed. That’s why we used it a lot for Zoom meetings and other work tasks that require good upload and download speeds.
Proton VPN Security – Excellent
Though fast, Proton VPN was plenty secure as well. Notably, we discovered that it uses perfect forward secrecy encryption. VPNs use keys to decipher encrypted traffic as it passes through a server. If not secured, these keys can be stolen to decrypt subsequent traffic. With Proton VPN, it generated a different cipher key for every session. It’s unlikely, but even If a key is stolen, it can’t be used to decrypt future encrypted traffic. Another VPN that offers perfect forward secrecy is NordVPN, which as you might recall, is our top-pick for privacy.
Stealth VPN
Proton recently joined the growing number of VPNs with their proprietary VPN protocols. Proton’s VPN protocol is called Stealth, and it has one special feature: obfuscation. Basically, it encrypts your traffic, but it also makes it look like regular traffic, hiding it from network, ISP, and government filters. Obfuscation is particularly useful in countries where the use of VPNs is highly controlled or monitored.
Fast Upload Speeds
At work, we need fast upload speeds and low latency so our meeting software works smoothly. There’s nothing more embarrassing than when you laugh at someone’s joke but they don’t hear it until two minutes later. ProtonVPN was one of the fastest VPNs we tested on our Windows and Mac computers when it came to both upload speeds and latency.
User Benefits of Proton VPN
Proton’s main advantage for users is it being an all-around privacy solution. The VPN is just one of the many privacy-focused products from Proton. It also offers ProtonMail, Proton Drive, and Proton Pass. Focusing on just the VPN, Proton offers rarely-seen features such as NetShield (ad-blocker), private DNS, and Tor over VPN. Proton is one of the only two VPNs we tested with Tor over VPN, the other being NordVPN (our #1 pick).
Who It’s Best For:
Digital privacy is Proton’s main priority, with a whole suite of privacy-focused online tools. So if your profession calls for extra privacy, like if you’re a journalist, you should consider Proton.
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10. UltraVPN - Best for Day-to-day Use
Product Specs
Multi-hop No Camouflage Mode No Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes Why We Picked It
VPNs don’t always need to be as feature-rich as NordVPN and Surfshark. Sometimes, a simple option is better as long as it can do the job of protecting your privacy. That’s UltraVPN’s advantage. It’s simple and affordable, making it a great day-to-day VPN for casual users.
While it lacked the advanced features and customizations we saw from Private Internet Access, UltraVPN’s performance as a VPN was rock-solid. It gave us decent speeds, a bug-free app, and a respectable number of VPN servers to choose from (1,000 servers in 125 locations). For its price – $7.99 monthly or $1.99 per month if you sign up for two years – it’s definitely a cost-effective solution for online privacy.
What We Like
- Simple to use app
- Affordable monthly and yearly subscriptions
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Strong IP address protections
What We Don’t Like
- No real kill switch on Android
- Can’t pick VPN protocol on mobile
- Higher-than-average speed loss
- Limited VPN protocol options
UltraVPN Privacy – Very Good
UltraVPN’s privacy policy discusses how it doesn’t log data, but without third-party audits like we saw from Surfshark, there’s no way to concretely prove or disprove it. However, we noticed one thing that seems to indicate UltraVPN’s commitment to privacy. When India passed a law requiring VPNs to collect user data, UltraVPN was among the first to pull out from the country. It still offers India IP addresses last time we checked, but those are from virtual servers located in Singapore.
>> More Options: The Best VPNs for India
UltraVPN Speed – Fair
UltraVPN underdelivered in this area. It should have been fast because it uses Hydra, the proprietary VPN protocol of Hotspot Shield (#3 on this list). And as we saw earlier, Hydra is capable of nearly loss-less download speed. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same about UltraVPN.
Our download speed dropped by around 40 percent compared to our real network speed. This is fine for browsing activities but forget about downloading large attachments and streaming videos. You’re better off sticking with Hotspot Shield.
UltraVPN Security – Very Good
Despite its poor use of Hydra’s speed, UltraVPN used the protocol well to provide online security. It checked for and blocked malware-ridden websites. It also encrypted traffic using 256-bit AES and protected us from IP address leaks. And like our top-pick NordVPN, UltraVPN let us access a private DNS server.
Even just the fact that it uses Hydra makes UltraVPN a secure option. Cyberattackers are more likely to try to target widely-used protocols like OpenVPN and WireGuard. Using a proprietary protocol used by only a handful of VPNs is a good move by UltraVPN.
Hydra Protocol
We’ve mentioned Hydra several times already, but what really is it? Hydra is a VPN protocol much like OpenVPN, but it was developed by Hotspot Shield. Hydra promises to deliver fast speeds, agile connections, and good security. It’s actually one of the best VPN protocols after OpenVPN and WireGuard.
We especially liked UltraVPN’s agility when using the Hydra protocol. It reconnected automatically and swiftly even when we changed Wi-Fi networks or switched from mobile data to Wi-Fi and vice versa on our phones. It left very little opportunity for attack. It also made day-to-day use a little bit easier as we didn’t have to check our connection as often as we did with less agile protocols like OpenVPN.
>> See Also: What Can Someone Do With My IP Address?
Flexible Pricing
UltraVPN can be quite affordable in terms of pricing. Even its monthly subscription costs only $7.99. For comparison, most VPNs cost more than $10 per month. NordVPN costs $12.99 with a monthly subscription and Surfshark costs $10.99.
If you’re looking for a VPN for long-term use, UltraVPN’s pricing gets even better. You’ll pay only $47.76 to sign up for two years. That’s an average of just $2 per month. See the pricing breakdown below.
Duration Total cost Cost per month (averaged) 2 years $47.76 $1.99 1 year $35.88 $2.99 1 month $7.99 $7.99 The bottom line is, whether you’re looking for a short-term or long-term VPN, UltraVPN is a practical choice.
User Benefits of UltraVPN
Features aren’t the only benefits you can get from a VPN. A streamlined user experience is also an advantage, and it’s certainly UltraVPN’s biggest flex. The app is easy to use; it’s not feature-rich, but it’s not lacking anything critical either. It has split tunneling, a kill switch for Windows (and a makeshift kill switch for Android), and one of the best VPN protocols in Hydra. Best of all, it’s affordable. With prices starting at $2 per month and with a 30-day money-back guarantee, UltraVPN offers good value if you’re looking for something more straightforward than NordVPN and our other top picks.
Who It’s Best For:
With its affordable pricing and user-friendly apps, we recommend UltraVPN to students and casual internet users looking for a day-to-day VPN. It’s not the fastest, but it’s reliable for daily use.
How These Top-Rated VPNs Keep You Safe Online
VPNs provide online safety by connecting you to a private server. Normal networks are subject to monitoring by the internet provider or someone with administrative access to the network. In contrast, a private network offers encryption that obscures the content of online traffic. This makes your online activity harder to track.
The top VPNs in the industry (i.e. the ones we tested and ranked above!) offer tried and tested encryption standards. Many of them offer 256-bit AES encryption, while others use the equally secure ChaCha20.
In addition, VPNs hide users’ IP addresses. Any website you visit can see your IP address. That’s not very private. When you connect to a VPN, they’ll see only the IP address of the VPN server. It acts as a stand-in for you, making sure websites can’t easily track your information.
Most VPN companies have servers all around the world so users can connect as locally as possible.The closer the server, the faster the speeds while connected. Some VPNs even encrypt users’ traffic multiple times through multiple servers, a process called “multi-hop”.1
» Check Out: Learn How To Fix Common VPN Issues
The Fastest VPNs On This List
The protection that VPNs provide doesn’t come without tradeoffs, most notably of which is reduced network speeds. Encrypting your network traffic and routing it through a server can cause your internet speed to dip a little. That’s why we make it a point to test and compare the speed of each VPN we recommend.
“Speed” is such a broad term. Objectively, it’s measured using three metrics: The download speed, upload speed, and ping or latency. And we do measure those. However, reliability and consistency also factor in. A fast VPN should be able to produce good speed readings and load websites, download data, or stream videos at a consistent speed.
These were the most consistently fast VPNs we tested:
- NordVPN: NordVPN offered balanced upload, download, and latency, coupled with incredible stability even on distant VPN servers.
- Hotspot Shield: Hotspot Shield provided great speed on desktops and smartphones powered by the lightweight Hydra protocol.
- Private Internet Access: Capitalizing on its app’s customizability, Private Internet Access offered agile connections that could be fine-tuned to get the best speeds possible for different tasks.
- IPVanish: We saw impressive download and upload speeds from IPVanish, making it great for transferring data (e.g. torrent downloads, seeding, etc.).
- ExpressVPN: ExpressVPN excelled on desktops, providing us stable connections with above average download and upload speeds.
How To Get One of These Top VPNs
You don’t need much to get access to a top VPN, or any other VPN for that matter. You simply need an account from the VPN provider and the VPN app on your devices.
First, go to the VPN provider’s website and create an account. Most VPNs require a paid subscription, so make sure to choose a plan that works for you. They typically offer monthly and annual plans.
Next, install the VPN app into your devices. Download VPN apps only from official sources. For example, for smartphones, download from the App Store or Google Play Store. For Windows and macOS, try the Microsoft Store or the Mac App Store. If the VPN’s app isn’t available from there, go to the VPN’s website and look for the “Downloads” page.
Lastly, install the app and connect. The best VPNs really make it that easy, but before you buy just any VPN subscription you could find, take a quick pause and consider this next section.
Can You Trust The Top VPN Services?
VPNs are meant to hide users’ web traffic, but what if the VPN itself isn’t trustworthy? Sadly, not all VPN companies are trustworthy. Remember that they have access to your traffic. While they shield you from external threats, VPNs can actually monitor your traffic if they choose to. You should stay as far away as possible from VPNs that do that.
Here’s how we determine if we can trust a VPN service or not:
- Company headquarters: Where a VPN company is located is one factor, because some countries have laws that could compromise VPN integrity. For example, in India, VPN companies are required to log usage data (IP addresses, websites visited, etc.). In China, VPNs are required to provide the government backdoor access to their server infrastructure. VPN companies based in those countries should be avoided at all costs.
FYI: There’s also an influential surveillance alliance of countries called the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes. These alliances give member countries deep access to digital communications monitoring. But while VPN companies based in member countries are riskier, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not trustworthy. As long as they have a verified “no-logs” policy, VPNs in Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes countries can be trusted.
- Privacy policy: Nearly all VPNs claim they have a “zero logs” policy, but that’s not the case for the majority of them. While most VPNs don’t log web traffic, many log other user information like IP addresses, times and durations of visits, the amount of data used, and more. We read their privacy policy to determine exactly how much data they collect. The best ones only log data necessary to maintain user accounts, like email addresses and payment information.
- Third-party audit: While we can easily access and read a VPN’s privacy policy, we have no way to actually verify its truthfulness. That’s where third-party audits come in. Trustworthy VPNs would submit themselves occasionally to independent security audits to prove that they are following their privacy policy and that their networks and apps are secure. Audit results are often published online.
There’s a lot more to consider besides a VPN’s trustworthiness, though. For more information on how we ranked VPNs, check out the Methodology section below.
The Best VPNs Around The World
We conducted a comprehensive study on how adults in the United States use and shop for VPNs, and we found that 68% of the survey respondents use a VPN. That said, the importance of using a VPN isn’t exclusive to the U.S. or North America alone. Everyone who uses the internet can benefit from VPNs. As such, we made a list of VPN recommendations for specific countries where VPN use is high, such as in Asia Pacific countries where 30% of internet users utilize VPNs2:
- Best VPNs for Spain
- Best VPNs for Japan
- Best VPNs for Hong Kong
- Best VPNs for Singapore
- Best VPNs for South Korea
- Best VPNs for the Netherlands
- Best VPNs for Mexico
- Best VPNs for the United Arab Emirates
- Best VPNs for Australia
- Best VPNs for France
- Best VPNs for Germany
Don’t see your country in the list? No worries; in our experience, you can easily find a good VPN for your locality by looking at three key factors:
- Number of servers: How many servers a VPN has can affect your speed and access to the private network. Look for a VPN with at least a few thousand servers, as those are more likely to provide better speeds where you live. Private Internet Access (12,000+ servers) and NordVPN (6,000 servers) are great options for this.
- Server locations: More than the size of the network, check the location of the servers. You’re most likely to get fast connections if you connect to a server near you, so look for a VPN with servers in your country. However, it’s also beneficial to have servers in other countries/regions so you can unblock content and get around internet censorship. ExpressVPN leads this category, as it has servers in 105 countries around the globe.
- VPN cost: Lastly, consider the cost. VPN subscriptions can cost anywhere from a few dollars per month to over $10 per month. A long-term subscription is more likely to get you the best price. They sometimes cost as low as $2 per month, as is the case with Private Internet Access. If you’re looking to save money, we recommend Private Internet Access’ three-year subscription ($79) or CyberGhost’s two-year plan ($56.94).
Looking at those factors will help you narrow down your options, but if you want to find the best VPN for you, you can use our methodology below as a guide.
How We Test VPNs: Methodology
Testing, comparing, and ranking VPNs is an arduous task, but even if you’re not a VPN expert, it’s not impossible to do tests on your own. Take a look at our methodology, and you’ll be testing VPNs like a pro in no time.
Speed
Speed is a crucial factor. Generally, using a VPN will slow down your device’s internet access. So testing VPN speed is a matter of measuring how much it slows down your network.
To do that, we do a simple comparison of our original internet speed and our internet speed when connected to a VPN. We do all our tests using our 250 Mbps office network as the control. First, we test our current internet speed, and then we connect to the VPN and check our speed again. We use Ookla’s speed test tool for both tests.3 We then compare VPN speeds by converting the rate of the drop into percentage points using this formula:
- (Current Speed – VPN Speed) / Current Speed * 100
- Example: (250 Mbps – 225 Mbps) / 250 Mbps * 100 = 10% speed drop
FYI: The lower the rate of the speed drop, the faster the VPN.
Security
Security is another crucial factor, especially if you’re using a VPN to hide your browsing activity. To see how secure a VPN is, we do various IP address leak tests and check the privacy policy of each VPN.
- WebRTC leak tests: This ensures that the VPN can block IP address leaks from browsers’ WebRTC feature.
- DNS leak test: This checks that VPN is using a private DNS server and not the public DNS server from our internet provider.
- IP address checker: This checks that the VPN has successfully changed our IP address through tunneling. Learn how you can check and find your IP address.
- Privacy policy check: We also dig into the privacy policy to see what types of data do and don’t collect and what they use collected data for.
Pro Tip: Ever get stuck coming up with strong passwords? Head over to another tool of ours, our Random Password Generator, to help you shore up your digital security (and it’s actually really fun to use!).
Performance
Some use VPNs to torrent anonymously, while others use VPNs to access region-blocked Netflix content. While those are far from being the only uses of a VPN, they are two of the most common, so we also test VPNs if they can serve either purpose. For this, we try to download torrent to check if VPNs are compatible with peer-to-peer (P2P) connections and access Netflix U.K., Australia, and Japan to see if they can access different Netflix regions.
Subscriptions
Cost is another notable factor we consider. Besides just checking how much a VPN costs – they range from $2 to $15 per month – we also take into account buying policies like how long subscriptions are, whether or not there’s a free trial for the VPN or a free version, and how easy it is to cancel. Most VPNs offer a money-back option, through which you can get your money back if you cancel within a specified trial period, usually 30-days.
Customer Support
VPNs are simple to use but they’re a complex technology, so it’s vital to know you have access to technical support when you need it. For this, we check which customer support channels are available. Some offer phone support or live chat support that is available instantly. Others offer email support that usually takes days to respond. We prefer the former.
App
Finally, we review the user experience by testing the VPN apps. This is all subjective to the user, so we try to detail our app experience in every VPN review that we make. Essentially, though, what you want to see is a VPN app with intuitive controls, easy access to connection options, and all the necessary app features such as a kill switch and split tunneling. We also take a look at user reviews from the Google Play Store and App Store to see what others think about the apps.
Pro Tip: Connecting to a VPN on your mobile device is easy. Just go to the Apple or Google Play store, depending on the make of your phone, and download the VPN’s app. From there, you just have to sign in and click connect for private browsing.
VPN FAQs
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What is the best VPN?
The best VPNs are NordVPN, Surfshark, Private Internet Access, UltraVPN, Norton Secure, Hotspot Shield, IPVanish, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Proton VPN.
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Is it worth paying for a VPN?
It is worth paying for a VPN. VPNs that are “free” typically limit the time you can use them and the amount of data you can use while connected, which is pretty limiting for most people. If you’re consistently on public Wi-Fi networks or want to access a private server, VPNs are worth shelling out a few dollars a month.
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Are VPNs trustworthy?
In general, VPNs are trustworthy, as nearly none of the companies we review logged our web traffic or activity. However, some VPNs are definitely more trustworthy than others; we prefer companies based in countries that are non-members to Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes, international surveillance alliances. We also look for VPNs with strict logging policies that only keep the minimum amount of customer data to run their services; these kinds of VPNs are more trustworthy than most.
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Can you be tracked if you use a VPN?
Typically, you can’t be tracked if you use a VPN. VPNs hide your web traffic and activity and replace your real IP address with a stand-in. However, some VPN companies do keep your real IP address along with your device type, the times you went online, and more information that could be used to track people. That’s why it’s important to look at the VPN’s privacy policy and make sure that it’s strict.
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Which free VPNs are best?
The best free VPNs, which mostly offer limited versions of their premium VPNs, are Hotspot Shield, Privado VPN, AtlasVPN, Surfshark, and TunnelBear.
Bitdefender. (2023). The Importance of Multi-Hop VPNs in Our Privacy-Deprived World.
bitdefender.com/blog/hotforsecurity/the-importance-of-multi-hop-vpns-in-our-privacy-deprived-world/Statista. (2018). Where Do People Use VPNs? statista.com/chart/16141/top-vpn-region/
Speedtest. (2020). Homepage. speedtest.net/