The Best VPN Services of 2023

1. NordVPN - Best VPN for Privacy

Editors Rating:

9.7 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	Yes
Camouflage Mode	Yes
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

NordVPN delivers privacy through a number of features, an automatic kill switch and Double VPN, which as the name implies, doubles the VPN encryption for extra privacy. NordVPN has also stayed true to its promise not to keep IP addresses and VPN usage logs.

Speed

Our speed with NordVPN varied, but overall, NordVPN was reliably fast. Our speed test readings averaged 225 Mbps and 218 Mbps for downloads and uploads, which was about 90-percent of our 250 Mbps fiber-optic internet network. Thanks to its consistency, we consider NordVPN one of the fastest VPNs we tested. It never once let us down when it comes to bandwidth-heavy activities like streaming and downloading torrent.

>> See More: Download Torrent Privately with The Top VPNs

Security

NordVPN’s encryption is beyond reproach. It offers military-grade encryption, a.k.a. 256-bit AES, the highest encryption standard there is. There are additional safety and security measures in place as well. Whenever we connected to NordVPN, for example, it gave us access to a private DNS server, making sure we were not using our internet provider’s public DNS which could lead to IP address leakage.

Why We Picked It

With a NordVPN subscription, we ramped up our online privacy with its advanced features, 256-bit AES encryption, and top-notch VPN protocols, namely OpenVPN and NordLynx. We personally enjoyed using NordLynx on our Android, as we found that it’s about five-percent faster than OpenVPN. We also enjoyed lots of useful extras, like Threat Protection, which kept us out of malicious websites and kept ads out of our browsing experience. NordVPN, in our opinion, is more than just a VPN; it’s a multi-purpose tool for online privacy.

Double The Encryption

NordVPN is a great day-to-day VPN, but if you’re looking for a little extra security, privacy, or anonymity, it’s also the VPN for the job. This is largely thanks to its multihop capabilities. When we selected a multi-hop connection, NordVPN routed our internet signal through at least two separate servers. That not only makes us more difficult to follow but, because each server provides its own encryption, it also meant our data was exponentially more difficult to decode.

Note that you have to choose to use multi-hop, and it will slow your device down a little more than the normal VPN. However, when we needed extra privacy for sending confidential files back and forth to the office we made absolutely sure it was engaged.

OpenVPN and NordLynx

The VPN protocol is everything for a VPN, which is why it’s great that 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.

NordVPN worked well with OpenVPN and NordLynx, but we found the latter more suitable for mobile devices because it’s lightweight, it adds less overhead data (useful for those in a data plan), and it’s faster. Our average Android download speed was 225 Mbps with NordLynx and 216 Mbps with OpenVPN. OpenVPn was still our top choice for privacy though, because it was more flexible and robust in terms of encryption.

Good Price-to-Feature Ratio

Although not exactly a cheap VPN, we got more than our money’s worth from NordVPN thanks to its impressive feature-set. It protected us from malicious websites and trackers, gave us rare VPN features like Double VPN, and we found no fault in its performance. We’d happily pay the $1 per month extra cost of NordVPN compared to its competitors. Take a look at its pricing:

So, which NordVPN plan is best for you? It depends on you. The Plus and Complete plans include extra digital security tools like a password manager and secure cloud backup, but even the cheapest Standard plan gives all the features we mentioned above.

Who It’s Best For:

NordVPN offers best-in-class digital security, making it the ideal option for those who are ultra-concerned about their privacy. That said, even novice and casual VPN users can benefit from NordVPN’s impressive suite of extra features.

2. Surfshark - Best VPN for Security

Editors Rating:

9.5 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	Yes
Camouflage Mode	Yes
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

Surfshark’s recent move to the Netherlands might raise some eyebrows since the country is a known member of the Nine Eyes, a government alliance with laws that could undermine the confidentiality of VPNs. However, we didn’t bat an eye because Surfshark is known for its privacy practices. Just as we were wrapping up our Surfshark tests, Cure53 released a positive audit report on the privacy of the VPN’s server infrastructure.

Speed

The speed we got from Surfshark was a mixed bag. We got excellent download speed readings that averaged 228 Mbps, but in some instances, the upload speed dropped to as low as 91 Mbps – less than half of our internet speed. The average upload speed, however, was 167 Mbps.

Security

Surfshark more than just kept our online traffic private; it also made sure to keep our VPN use a secret through Camouflage Mode. Enabled automatically in our Windows Surfshark app, this mode made our encrypted traffic seem like normal traffic, which is handy if you’re in a country or network that restricts 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 thanks to Camouflage Mode, Surfshark is one of the best VPNs that work in China.

Why We Picked It

Surfshark is a feature-rich VPN that offers beyond what most VPNs provide. In addition to the standard functionalities of VPNs, such as encryption and tunneling, Surfshark delivers a host of useful extras, such as the Camouflage Mode we previously discussed. It’s also one of our favorite VPNs for Firestick, making it easy to stream content from all over the world.

On top of that, Surfshark can be your all-in-one digital security solution with its new Surfshark One offering, which combines malware protection, data leak detection, a secure search engine, and webcam protection for desktops. Head over to our page on Surfshark pricing to see all your payment options and see us take the antivirus software for a spin in our Surfshark One antivirus review.

Camouflage Mode

VPNs encrypt and hide your browsing data, but those who have access to your network can tell if you’re using a VPN based on how your data packets look. This could spell trouble if you’re in a restrictive network (like office or school networks) or country (like China) that monitors the use of VPNs. But like we stated, a colleague was able to use Surfshark in China without any problem because Camouflage Mode made their traffic blend in. In VPN terms, this is also known as obfuscation.

RAM-only Servers

Surfshark’s use of servers that run on random access memory or RAM instead of hard disk drives speaks to the company’s commitment to its no-logs policy. Once a VPN session is closed, all the data related to it is wiped. In fact, we read from Surfshark’s privacy policy that data is wiped automatically 15 minutes after a session ends, which was confirmed by Cure53 in their Surfshark audit.1

All of Surfshark’s over 3,200 servers are RAM-only, and there’s at least a few servers in every continent except Antarctica.

Streaming Services

A nice little side-effect of using a VPN is gaining access to streaming content available outside your country. You can use it to unblock Hulu, for example, if you’re outside the U.S., or access Disney+ shows that are not available in your country.

And it’s not just for Disney’s streaming service — although yes, Surfshark is one of the best VPNs for Disney+. Surfshark works quite well with any streaming service, including Netflix, HBO Max, Spotify, and even YouTube. So the next time you’re shopping for the best Hulu VPN for your travels abroad, consider taking a look at Surfshark.

Who It’s Best For:

Surfshark’s Camouflage Mode is a solid stealth-mode VPN feature for users worried about government restrictions. If you think you might get into trouble if you connect to a VPN — in school, at the office, or countries that are not VPN-friendly, Surfshark is for you.

3. Private Internet Access VPN - Best VPN for Windows 

Editors Rating:

9.4 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	Yes
Camouflage Mode	No
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

Based in the U.S., a member of the Five Eyes alliance, we had reservations about Private Internet Access, but it was immediately cleared after reading its privacy policy and seeing how they operate. We especially liked that users can opt out of providing usage metrics – even though they are anonymous – like device identifiers and connection events. Most VPNs, even our top-picks NordVPN and Surfshark, collect that data automatically.

Speed

Private Internet Access’ Windows speeds were fast during our tests, averaging 236 Mbps for downloads and 223 Mbps for uploads. It’s one of the fastest VPNs for Windows. Its macOS and smartphone connections were also decent (200+ Mbps average), so overall, we’re happy with how PIA’s speed turned out.

Security

By default, Private Internet Access uses 256-bit AES encryption, but it was one of the few VPNs we tested that allow users to choose between 256-bit and 128-bit AES. The latter is less secure, but tends to be faster than 256-bit, which is why we preferred it for less privacy-demanding tasks like streaming Netflix or online gaming.

Why We Picked It

Private Internet Access’ speed on Windows was one of the reasons we considered it one of the best VPNs for Windows, but we also liked how easy it was to customize. The Windows app gave us endless options to personalize how our VPN connected, how it encrypted our data, and how it tunneled our traffic through the VPN. It’s that flexibility that allowed us to optimize our VPN connections for different activities – from simple browsing to work and even online gaming.

>> Related: The Top VPNs for Online Gaming

Encryption Options

Not everything you do online requires Pentagon-level encryption, especially since tougher encryption can slow down your network. With Private Internet Access, we set the balance between speed and security. Fresh off the installation, we got maximum security from 256-bit AES encryption, but whenever we needed faster speeds, we switched to 128-bit AES, which is still secure but significantly speedier. We even found an option to turn off encryption altogether (proxy mode), which came in handy when we just wanted to change our IP address location to access anime from Netflix Japan.

» Read More: Best Proxy Servers

Advanced Split Tunneling

Split tunneling is an often undervalued VPN feature, but Private Internet Access recognizes its importance and even made it more advanced. PIA’s split tunneling allows the creation of rules for both apps and websites. It’s highly customizable, so whatever your reason is for using split tunneling — multitasking, accessing websites that block VPNs, remote work connections, bypassing the VPN for individual hosts, etc. — you can find a way to make PIA’s split tunneling work for you.

Here’s one example: For security reasons, one of the programs we use at work doesn’t allow VPN traffic, so we can’t access it while connected to a VPN. We set the program server’s IP address to bypass PIA’s tunneling, and now, we can connect to it without having to turn off Private Internet Access every time.

Highly Efficient Apps

A VPN’s app can make or break the service. Private Internet Access is a great VPN with just as great an app. The app is highly customizable, as detailed above, allowing you to fine-tune your connections to get the most out of your Private Internet Access subscription.

Private Internet Access’ app isn’t just for networking and VPN experts, though. It’s also very easy to use – even our office intern who’s new to VPNs took no time learning to use it. If you’re not used to tinkering with VPN software, it works out-of-the-box. It’s simple, yet it offers advanced functionalities, which is why we just love Private Internet Access and its software. And we’re not the only ones. Just look at these app ratings.

Who It’s Best For:

While PIA has pretty good mobile apps, the desktop apps offer the best functionalities. So this VPN is best for people who mostly use desktops for work and play.

4. UltraVPN - Best for Day-to-day Use

Editors Rating:

9.2 /10

See Pricing

How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	No
Camouflage Mode	No
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

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, when India passed a law requiring VPNs to collect user data, UltraVPN was among the VPNs that abandoned their India servers. It still offers India IP addresses last time we checked, but those are from virtual servers located in Singapore. That’s a good indication of the company’s commitment to privacy.

>> More Options: The Best VPNs for India

Speed

UltraVPN uses a proprietary VPN protocol called Hydra from its sister company Hotspot Shield, highly-touted for its speed, but UltraVPN’s speed wasn’t exactly top-notch. Our download and upload speed dropped to about 160 Mbps – about 40-percent less than our baseline network speed (250 Mbps). UltraVPN was still fast, but not as fast as NordVPN, that’s for sure.

Security

OpenVPN and WireGuard are the default protocols of many VPNs. We like those options because they are proven and tested, but UltraVPN’s use of Hydra has a unique appeal. This protocol is exclusive to a few VPNs, so cyberattackers have less interest in exploiting it. It may not be as secure as OpenVPN, but in our tests, UltraVPN has proven enough that it encrypts traffic and hides IP addresses well (no IP address leaks whatsoever).

Why We Picked It

VPNs need not be complicated. While advanced and innovative features can be useful for some, especially those that need airtight privacy, a simple VPN that can do the job, is affordable, and is easy to use is the kind of perfect VPN for others. UltraVPN checked all those boxes. That’s why we think UltraVPN is the best day-to-day VPN.

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, bug-free apps for desktops and smartphones, 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.

Strong IP Address Protections

When you’re using a VPN on a day-to-day basis, you need good IP address protection. You don’t want your VPN leaking IP information through WebRTC and DNS vulnerabilities. Otherwise, others would still be able to track your every move online even if you’re using a VPN.

UltraVPN delivered impressively in terms of preventing IP address leakage. We tested it for DNS leaks and WebRTC leaks, and the results were negative, which means it completely blocks out vulnerabilities. We were doubtful at first, because it doesn’t offer the tried and tested OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols, but the Hydra protocol it uses ended up being secure as well.

Hydra Protocol

Speaking of Hydra, we liked UltraVPN’s implementation of the proprietary protocol. Originally developed by Hotspot Shield, Hydra is a VPN protocol that 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.

Flexible Pricing

UltraVPN can be quite flexible in terms of pricing. Even its monthly subscription, which is typically the priciest subscription plan of a VPN, costs only $7.99. Just for comparison, our top-pick NordVPN costs $12.99 with a monthly subscription.

If you’re looking for a VPN for long-term use, UltraVPN’s pricing gets even better. If you sign up for two years, you’ll pay only $47.76 per month. That’s an average of just $2 per month. See the pricing breakdown below.

The bottom line is, whether you’re looking for a short-term or long-term VPN, UltraVPN is a practical choice.

Who It’s Best For:

UltraVPN is a good day-to-day VPN for average users, especially with its affordable pricing and easy to use apps. While it doesn’t offer as many features as other options, UltraVPN is reliable and fast.

5. Norton Secure VPN - Best VPN With Dynamic IP Addresses

Editors Rating:

8.4 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	Yes
Camouflage Mode	No
Kill switch	No
Split Tunneling	Android and Windows only
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	No

Privacy

NortonVPN collects more information from users than other options. For example, while Private Internet Access let us opt out of providing aggregate usage data (bandwidth use, device ID, etc.), Norton logged mobile device data and aggregate bandwidth usage. It’s still a “no-logs” VPN, though, as it did not log which websites we visited and IP addresses we used.

Speed

Norton Secure VPN ranked 12th in our VPN speed comparison, which is still decent considering we tested 35 VPNs in total. The download speed was impressive. It kept the speed loss to less than 12-percent. However, the upload speed (averaged 84 Mbps) and latency (averaged 120 ms) could be improved.

Security

Norton Secure VPN had a particularly nifty feature where it automatically detected whenever we connected to a suspicious Wi-Fi network, such as password-less coffee shop Wi-Fi, and secured our connection with a VPN tunnel. While not rare, features like that one offer good digital security.

Why We Picked It

Norton, perhaps most famous for its LifeLock identity theft protection (read more in our LifeLock review) and its Norton antivirus software, also has a VPN, and it’s not half bad. Every time we connected to the macOS app, we got a different shared IP address, which made it difficult to trace us online. Not only did the IP address change everytime, but the IP addresses it provided us were shared with other users as well. Since online anonymity is what we’re after, we were satisfied with this VPN app.

Affordable Prices

How much does the Norton Secure VPN cost, you ask?

Well, if you only sign up for a month on one device, it’s $4.99. However, for 10 devices for a year, the cost is only $59.99, which amounts to only about $0.50 a per device per month. If you need a VPN for the whole family, this plan is incredibly affordable, and one of the best VPN deals we’ve seen in a while.

Strong Encryption

Norton Secure VPN encrypted our web activity and hid our IP address using AES-256, the same encryption that the U.S. government and military use, so you know it’s secure.

Beyond that, in some locations, the VPN encrypted our web activity and changed our IP addresses multiple times, a process called multi-hop or double hop. That made it that much harder to track us online, from our personal emails to the items we bought on Etsy. No one needs to know about our obsession with vintage cookie jars, after all.

User-Friendly Mobile Apps

With how much we’re on our phones these days — from our commute to work to falling in line for croissants — having a good VPN app is necessary. Fortunately, Norton does mobile apps well, specifically the Norton Secure VPN— Security & Privacy WiFi Proxy Android app and the Norton Secure VPN & Proxy VPN iOS app.

After we downloaded the apps, we connected to nearby servers in seconds without any bugs or glitches. Other Norton customers agree with us, as the Android app has a 4.4 rating and the iOS app has a 4.3.

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.

6. Hotspot Shield - Best VPN for Netflix

Editors Rating:

8.9 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	Yes
Camouflage Mode	No
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	No
Netflix	Yes, but not in all regions
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

You might be getting tired of VPNs that say they have a “no-logs” policy with no data to back it up, but Hotspot Shield actually has proof. In a transparency report, the company released that it received 56 subpoena and government requests in 2018, but that it hadn’t been able to provide any information because, again, it doesn’t log VPN usage and IP address information.

Speed

As you might remember, Hotspot Shield created the Hydra protocol used by UltraVPN. While its supposed fast speeds didn’t materialize when we tested UltraVPN, we saw Hydra’s speed potential from Hotspot Shield. It was the fastest VPN we tested in terms of download speed, averaging 242 Mbps. That’s only four-percent less than our baseline internet speed.

Security

Hydra is Hotspot Shield’s only VPN protocol. It doesn’t use the tried-and-tested OpenVPN or even the newer protocol WireGuard that has been making waves in the VPN market recently. Although it has proven itself in speed, Hydra still has a lot to prove in terms of security. We would have liked to see more VPN protocol options from Hotspot Shield – even NordVPN, which has NordLynx, still offers OpenVPN as an option.

Why We Picked It

Hydra’s speed played a huge part in why we picked Hotspot Shield. When it came to Netflix-watching parties, Hotspot Shield had us covered with fast speeds on our Mac and Windows computers. We also didn’t experience huge delays or lags on Netflix when we used the app on our Android devices, which came in handy during commutes.

Of course, its fast speed was advantageous in more ways than just watching Netflix. Whether for downloading, streaming, or just general browsing, Hotspot Shield kept our data safe without sacrificing speed.

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, the only VPN protocol offered by Hotspot Shield, we notched record-high download speeds during our recent VPN speed testing (more on that below).

Hydra is also plenty secure. It’s actually built around OpenVPN, (which if you can remember is one of the most secure VPN protocols), but Hotspot Shield tweaked it a little to give it a boost in speed without compromising security.

Free VPN

We usually avoid free VPNs because of how prone they are to shady privacy practices. Hotspot Shield, however, is a reputable company with a proven track record, so we had no issues trying out its free VPN.

It still has limits; for instance, only one device can connect at a time, and there’s a 500 MB daily data limit (which we think is generous). But we liked that the free VPN was covered by the company’s no-logs policy, so we didn’t worry that Hotspot Shield would log our activity and sell our data to third parties.

Super-Fast Speeds

We recently tested and compared the speeds of the top VPNs, and even though Hotspot Shield didn’t take the top spot, it was right up there. We were most impressed by the download speed, as Hotspot Shield only made a negative 3.17-percent impact on our regular internet speed. That meant that with our roughly 250 Mbps connection, Hotspot Shield maintained an average download speed of over 240 Mbps.

Who It’s Best For:

Hotspot Shield has strong streaming potential. Plus, Hotspot Shield is affordable, so it’s best for young people looking to expand their entertainment options without spending much.

7. IPVanish - Best Customer Support

Editors Rating:

9.3 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	No
Camouflage Mode	No
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes, with uTorrent

Privacy

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, but what IPVanish provided to law enforcement demonstrated conclusively that the company was making records of user activity. That’s a no-no for any VPN. Since then, IPVanish has taken a page of Surfshark’s playbook. In addition to saying in its privacy policy that it collects no user data–no IP addresses, no timestamps, and no browsing histories, IPVanish’s has also hired independent firms to audit its service and verify that it’s complying with that policy.

Speed

IPVanish was the second fastest VPN we’ve tested overall, considering its impressive upload and download speeds as well as network latency. We measured only four- and five-percent decrease in download and upload speeds, respectively, and the VPN kept our network latency well below 80 ms. We tested IPVanish on a Windows laptop and subsequently named it one of the best Windows VPN because of its speed.

Security

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.

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.

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, apparently due to server maintenance, but it showed us the kill switch in action. Without it, we would have kept browsing thinking IPVanish is protecting our data. But because it halted our device’s network connection the moment IPVanish disconnected, the kill switch alerted us that we were no longer getting protection. We reconnected through a different server and got back online moments later.

Robust Customer Service

IPVanish also wins when it comes to helping customers with problems. Not only do they have 24/7 live chat and a comprehensive FAQ section, but also a phone line, a huge rarity for VPN companies.

We got responses within five minutes, and other customers had similar experiences according to reviews on Amazon and Trustpilot, four out of five and 4.6 out of five respectively.

An Audited Privacy Policy

All of the VPNs we’ve reviewed have privacy policies that outline what types of data they collect, why they collect those types of data, and how they use the data. Not all of them, though, have been audited like IPVanish.

The Leviathan Security Group, an independent security and privacy auditing firm, 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.

Who It’s Best For:

IPVanish has great mobile apps and it’s also affordable, so students looking to improve their digital security and privacy, not to mention access blocked sites on their school’s network, could benefit from this VPN.

8. Ivacy - Most Affordable

Editors Rating:

9.2 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	No
Camouflage Mode	No
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

Ivacy is generally privacy-friendly. We only needed to provide two types of information to sign up: an email address and our payment information. It didn’t ask for anything else. We also liked that there are more anonymous payment options available, like BitPay and Coingate for cryptocurrency transactions. As for the VPN service itself, it has a no-logs policy, but it is yet to undergo an independent audit.

Speed

Ivacy wasn’t super-fast, but it had decent speeds. It slowed down our download speed by less than 15 Mbps (4.5-percent), although our upload speed suffered an 85-percent decrease. We had to leave our Macbook on overnight to upload a 10-minute YouTube video. We’ve seen worse from VPNs like Hola VPN, but the upload speed is definitely something to improve for Ivacy.

» Further Reading: ISP Throttling

Security

Ivacy offers 256-bit AES encryption and the OpenVPN protocol for top-level security, but then again, there are other VPNs on this list that offer the same security features. What set Ivacy apart, though, was the inclusion of a free password manager that let us safely store our passwords. VPNs are only one piece of the digital security puzzle; having a password manager included gives you a more robust security profile.

Why We Picked It

It’s hard to find a VPN that costs just over a dollar per month, but it’s harder to find such a cheap VPN that won’t sell your data to make a little extra cash on the side. With subscriptions as low as $1.00 per month, though, Ivacy was both.

We went through its privacy policy with a fine-toothed comb and found that Ivacy doesn’t keep IP addresses, timestamps, and browsing histories. Plus, its location in Singapore means that it’s outside surveillance bodies such as the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes.

Strict Logging Policy

All VPN companies have to keep some information if only to conduct business. Ivacy VPN, though, keeps as little of our information as possible. Yes, it does keep our:

• Names
• Emails
• Payment methods
• Crash event reports
• Performance data
• Failed connection attempts
• Application usage
• Aggregated bandwidth use

It would be hard to operate a successful VPN without this information, though. More important is what Ivacy VPN doesn’t keep:

• IP addresses
• Browsing histories
• Timestamps

As long as it’s not tracking any of this data, we feel pretty safe and secure.

Smart Purpose Selection

VPNs serve multiple purposes, but Ivacy actually configured servers optimized for specific purposes. It has servers optimized for streaming, downloading, unblocking content, and so much more.

We enjoyed its streaming capabilities the most, as it let us access Netflix uninterrupted. It’s not just for Netflix, though, as we were able to use Ivacy to stream on Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, Kodi, BBC, and other streaming platforms.

Low Prices Plus Discounts

A VPN need not be expensive. With Ivacy, it’ll cost you just $1.00 per month to gain online anonymity. The tradeoff? That’s the rate for the five-year plan, and you’ll need to pay the full amount of $60 upfront. It’s still not bad, considering how much cheaper the monthly rate is compared to options like Norton Secure, which charges $4.99 per month to protect just one device.

That being said, you can always buy a shorter subscription for a slightly lower upfront cost but eventually a higher monthly rate. The one year plan costs $47.76, which is about $3.99 per month.

Who It’s Best For:

If you’re looking for a cheap VPN, this could be it. Because of the long-term subscription, however, it’s best suited for those looking for a solid VPN they could use for the next few years.

9. ExpressVPN - Best Encryption

Editors Rating:

9.1 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	No
Camouflage Mode	Yes
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

Privacy is ExpressVPN’s bread-and-butter, and it made sure to use state-of-the-art technology to remain a top option. It has invested in making its VPN servers run on RAM, which we consider more private than traditional VPN servers that run on hard drives. If you remember, another VPN that offers RAM-only servers is Surfshark, which is number two on this list. That speaks to how high-quality ExpressVPN’s network is.

Speed

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. With ExpressVPN connected, our download speed averaged 230 Mbps while our upload speed averaged around 210 Mbps.

Security

ExpressVPN uses a combination of 256-bit AES encryption and its speedy and lightway VPN protocol called Lightway to protect user traffic. It was a solid pairing. We found no IP address leaks from the Lightway protocol and its speed was well-within the average. We also liked how quickly Lightway established tunnels – less than five seconds on average – which meant we could connect to ExpressVPN anytime without hassle, even when we’re commuting via the subway.

Why We Picked It

ExpressVPN excels at doing the one thing every VPN should be able to execute well: Encryption. It uses 256-bit AES as the standard, and then improves on that by offering a swath of secure VPN protocols. ExpressVPN even came up with its own VPN protocol that is both well-encrypted and agile.

Another reason why we like ExpressVPN is how easy it was to install on our Firestick. With the VPN installed, we were able to stream different media libraries from all over the world.

Sure, the slightly higher cost of ExpressVPN may be a bit hard to swallow, but ExpressVPN is nothing if not one of the most secure VPNs around.

Lightway Protocol

ExpressVPN is at the forefront of VPN technology. In addition to adopting existing VPN protocols, 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:

Strict Logging Policy

Of course, ExpressVPN didn’t keep our web traffic or activity, which is the most basic thing we expect from VPNs meant to give us privacy.

On top  of that, though, ExpressVPN didn’t keep much more of our information than necessary; they only knew which app and version we used, when we used it, the server we connected to, and the amount of data we transferred in MB. Our traffic, metadata, and DNS queries weren’t logged, thankfully.

IP Leak Blocking

There are VPNs that we consider “leaky” because their technology doesn’t effectively block IP address and browsing data leakage. ExpressVPN is far from being that, though. It’s one of the most secure VPNs on the market, capable of blocking DNS leaks and WebRTC leaks.

In fact, once you’re connected to ExpressVPN, you can use its website’s WebRTC leak detector to make sure it isn’t leaking your IP address through your browser’s WebRTC feature. Each time we tested ExpressVPN for those leaks, we didn’t find any — just the result we were hoping for.

Who It’s Best For:

ExpressVPN offers agile data protection, which is particularly ideal for frequent travelers. It has strong privacy features, and its lightweight proprietary VPN protocol also makes it a good travel companion, as it runs fast on most mobile devices and computers.

10. PureVPN - Best Server Base

Editors Rating:

8.9 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	No
Camouflage Mode	Yes
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

Much like IPVanish, PureVPN was embroiled in controversy when the connection timestamps it shared with the FBI helped catch a cyberstalker. Since the incident, PureVPN made changes to its privacy policy, and to verify that its VPN structure conforms with the new policy, PureVPN underwent an independent audit by Altius IT and then KPMG in 2022.

Speed

PureVPN’s speed was solid overall. It ranked the fastest VPN overall because of its consistency in all three speed categories – upload, download, and latency. PureVPN maintained upload and download speeds over 90-percent of our baseline network speed, and the network latency rose to only about 80 ms.

Security

PureVPN offers 256-bit bank-grade encryption coupled with OpenVPN tunneling, which as you’ve probably noticed by now, are the gold standards for VPN encryption and tunneling. We did like that there’s an option to sign up for a PureMax subscription starting for $4.99 per month if you sign a two-year deal, which includes the VPN, a password manager, an encrypted file manager, and a digital well-being app focused on privacy and security.

Why We Picked It

PureVPN is one of the best VPNs for travel, with more than 6,500 servers in over 78 countries including the U.K., Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.

This made it easy for us to travel without joining shady Wi-Fi networks and running into internet censorship. PureVPN hid our browsing history and IP address so we could be more anonymous online.

Huge Global Network

PureVPN has one of the largest global networks of servers and is available in more than 78 countries. Specifically, the VPN has servers in:

No wonder PureVPN is one of the best VPNs for Australia, the best VPNs for France, the best VPNs for Germany, and more.

Strict Logging Policy

While we were jet setting and connecting to international PureVPN servers, PureVPN hid our IP address, along with our browsing history. In fact, the VPN only collected our:

• Names
• Email addresses
• Payment information
• Total bandwidth consumed.

Everything we did online, on the other hand, was ours to keep. And since PureVPN is based in Hong Kong, a Five Eyes non-member, the company can’t be forced, legally, to give any of our information to the government (despite having a history of helping law enforcement in the past). Add in some AES-256 encryption, the highest standard around, and PureVPN is certainly trustworthy when it comes to privacy.

Dedicated IP Address Available

With PureVPN, we got the same IP address every time we connected, shared with thousands of other PureVPN users. That was great for security, since we were lost in the crowd. For some websites that recognize these shared IP addresses, though, that was an issue and we got blocked. That’s why we were happy that, in addition, PureVPN offers dedicated IP addresses for only $2.04 a month with a two-year subscription. Dedicated addresses are just as secure as shared addresses, but we were the only ones using this IP address. That made it easier for websites to remember who we were.

Who It’s Best For:

If you need a VPN to access websites blocked in your country, or to access Netflix libraries in other countries, then PureVPN is for you. With a huge global network and fast servers, PureVPN is great for unblocking websites.

11. CyberGhost - Best VPN for Mac

Editors Rating:

8.9 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	No
Camouflage Mode	No
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	No
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

In our previous tests of CyberGhost, we found that it logged IP addresses in an anonymized format (the IP address is on record, but not tied to a specific user). This raised concerns from us, but fortunately, CyberGhost adjusted its privacy policy. Last we checked, they no longer store IP addresses; just the country of origin of connection requests. That’s an improvement.

Speed

Like many of the VPNs here, such as Norton Secure VPN and Ivacy, CyberGhost provided fast download speeds but significantly slower upload speeds. 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, which is usually what matters most to us because we like streaming, remained high with an average reading of 223 Mbps.

Security

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, while we were eventually able to stream Netflix, two of the 10 servers we tried were detected. 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.

Why We Picked It

CyberGhost has over 7,500 servers in 91 different countries, so although we only tested it out in the United States, wherever in the world you are, you probably won’t have trouble connecting either.

The company is based in Romania, not a member of those international surveillance networks we keep mentioning; plus, Romania as a country has almost no data retention laws of its own, making CyberGhost a great pick for privacy.

Military-Grade Encryption

CyberGhost uses AES-256, which is the current industry standard when it comes to encryption. Whenever we connected, we got an anonymous IP address that we shared with other CyberGhost users on the same server. Combined with the encryption, we felt confident that our identities were hidden when we used CyberGhost to browse the Internet.

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.

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 makes it a VPN-friendly country, as it doesn’t require data gathering 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.

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.

12. Proton VPN - Best VPN for Work

Editors Rating:

8.8 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	Yes
Camouflage Mode	Yes
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

Proton is a privacy-focused company that offers privacy tools like a secure email and calendar, an encrypted cloud drive, a password manager, and of course, Proton VPN. It’s also based in Switzerland, a privacy-friendly country with no data retention laws, so Proton VPN can legally maintain a no-logs policy not just for its VPN, but for all its privacy tools and services.

Speed

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. The average upload and download speed were both 240 Mbps, which is why we mostly used it for Zoom meetings and other work-related tasks that require both solid download and upload speeds.

Security

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, but if not secure enough, these keys can be stolen by hackers to decrypt subsequent traffic. With Proton VPN, it generated a different cipher key for every session. Another VPN that offers perfect forward secrecy is NordVPN, which as you might recall, is our top-pick for privacy.

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.

Regular Transparency Reports

Their transparency speaks tons for VPN companies. It builds confidence and trust in the company. Proton has been releasing regular transparency reports about data requests it receives from governments. In 2019, for instance, we know that the Swiss courts requested browsing data from the company. We also know that Proton didn’t hand over any because of its strict logging policy.

Things like that may seem small, but if you’re shopping for a VPN for your privacy, you’re going to want to know small details like that. And thanks to its transparency report, we know we can trust Proton’s discretion.

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.

Right now, however, Stealth is only available for Android, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS users, but Proton will roll out support for the Windows platform soon.

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.

Proton VPN Speeds

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.

13. Atlas VPN - Best Data Breach Monitoring

Editors Rating:

9.0 /10

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How We Review

Product Specs

Multi-hop	Yes
Camouflage Mode	No
Kill switch	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes
Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Yes

Privacy

Atlas is relatively new to the VPN market, but having been acquired by NordVPN (our top-pick), Atlas must conform with the company’s high privacy standards. We especially liked that it has a Warrant Canary on its website. While it wouldn’t disclose the specifics of subpoenas, gag orders, and warrants received by the company, the Warrant Canary will disclose if Atlas VPN receives any of those, showing commitment to transparency.

Speed

What’s most impressive about Atlas VPN’s speed is that even though it offers a free and premium version, you can expect the same fast speeds from the VPN. In some instances, the free version is even faster. For example, during one of our tests, we recorded a 20-percent decrease in download speed with the free version and a slightly higher 22-percent decrease with the premium version.

Security

Much like its sibling NordVPN, Atlas comes with lots of useful extras focused on digital security. One of our favorites was the Data Breach Monitor, which as the name implies, monitored the web for data breaches and checked if our personal information was on any of them. We don’t normally see this feature in VPNs, but this is a common feature of identity protection services. So just as NordVPN is more than just a VPN, so is Atlas VPN.

Why We Picked It

Atlas VPN is a relatively new player in the VPN market, but we’re already impressed by what it can do.

We got all the security we expect from a top-tier VPN, with AES-256 encryption and a strict privacy policy. In addition, we got tons of extras, like access to multiple streaming platforms, unlimited simultaneous connections, IP addresses that rotate while we’re browsing, and a free data breach monitor. We predict you’ll be hearing lots more about this VPN in the months and years to come.

IP Address Safeswap

We always prefer VPNs that use dynamic rather than static IP addresses because dynamic addresses change regularly. When our address changes every time we log on, we’re harder to track.

» Learn more: Static vs Dynamic IP Addresses

Atlas VPN goes one better than dynamic addresses, though. The company’s Safeswap technology didn’t just assign us a new address every time we logged on. We got new addresses as we browsed, every time we visited a new site. You can’t get much more anonymous than that.

Data Breach Monitor

More and more VPNs have begun offering extra perks to their customers, like free cloud storage or free antivirus. Atlas provides a data breach monitor on all its paid plans. This monitor scans leaked databases looking for your personal information.

While it isn’t quite as thorough as the best ID theft services, it does provide important early alerts so you can change your credentials and lock down your accounts at the very first signs of trouble. Compare Atlas’ data breach monitor and ID theft services below.

Free Option

What’s better than Atlas VPN’s affordable plans? Its free VPN. Unlike other free VPNs, Atlas won’t limit your bandwidth or cap your speed. It also won’t roll you over into a paid plan after a certain amount of time.

With the Atlas free VPN, you’ll have unlimited speeds, unlimited data, and unlimited time to use the product. The only limit is that you can only use up to three of its hundreds of servers. If you’re fine with that, then by all means, don’t ever pay for a VPN again.

Who It’s Best For:

Atlas VPN is a great option for families. The data breach monitor that comes free with a paid plan can provide basic identity protection for kids and parents alike. The VPN itself supports unlimited simultaneous connections for families with lots of devices.