The Best VPNs for Reddit: Our Top 5 Picks
Enjoy extra anonymity and privacy on Reddit with these VPNs.
&
Last Updated on Jul 10, 2023
- Conceals your actual IP address so you stay truly anonymous on Reddit
- Maintains its own Subreddit for users looking for technical help
- Double-hop technology makes it twice as hard to follow you to Reddit compared to any normal VPN
- No Borders feature gives you a list of safe servers to use when you’re logging in from a restrictive country
- Camouflage prevents anyone from knowing that you’re using a VPN
- With no leaks, no one can uncover your real identity, even accidentally
- Free Dark Web Manager alerts you if anything you shared on Reddit shows up in the wrong places
- Global servers mean you can remain anonymous when using Reddit no matter where you are in the world
- Split tunneling keeps your Reddit work private and lets you perform less sensitive tasks on the regular internet at the same time
In a world dominated by toxic social media, Reddit stands out to many as a better option. Not only is it one of the best places to get brutally honest opinions on anything, but the platform itself also respects people’s privacy by keeping them anonymous.
Users, however, are expected to take certain measures to ensure their privacy while on Reddit, such as not providing personal information to avoid doxxing and using a VPN, or virtual private network, to protect their online data.
Here, we’ll talk about the best VPNs for Redditors. Our top options aren’t just for Reddit, though, since they can help protect your online data and privacy no matter which social media platform you use. Here are our top five picks.
The Best VPNs for Reddit
- NordVPN - Best online security features
- Surfshark - Best for journalists and activists on Reddit
- UltraVPN - Best VPN with identity protection
- Private Internet Access VPN - Best for smartphone users
- Hotspot Shield - Best free VPN for Redditors
Comparison of the Best VPNs for Reddit
| System |
NordVPN
|
Surfshark
|
UltraVPN
|
Private Internet Access VPN
|
Hotspot Shield
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
| Ratings | 9.7/10 | 9.5/10 | 9.2/10 | 9.4/10 | 8.9/10 |
| Best monthly price | $4.19 | $2.49 | $1.99 | $2.03 | $7.99 (free plan is available) |
| Kill switch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Split tunneling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (except free plan) |
| Server locations | 60+ countries | 100+ countries | 125+ countries | 80+ countries | 60+ countries |
| Multihop/double VPN | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (via proxy servers) | No |
| Under Five, Nine, or 14 Eyes jurisdiction? | No (Panama) | Yes (The Netherlands) | Yes (United States) | Yes (United States) | Yes (United States) |
| Read Review | NordVPN Review | Surfshark Review | UltraVPN Review | Private Internet Access VPN Review | Hotspot Shield Review |
Deep Dive Into the Best VPNs for Reddit
-
1. NordVPN - Best Digital Security Features
Product Specs
Multi-hop Yes Camouflage Mode Yes Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes NordVPN comes highly recommended as a secure VPN for everyday browsing. It comes with advanced features to help secure your online data, such as Threat Protection, which stops malware, web trackers, ads, and other common threats found on malicious websites. It also offers multihop, which lets you connect to two servers at once to make your traffic harder to track.
Whether you’re browsing Reddit or posting your hot takes on controversial topics, NordVPN can keep you safe and anonymous.
What We Like
- Private DNS
- Threat protections
- Multihop and Onion over VPN
- Optional password manager and secure cloud backup
What We Don’t Like
- Hard-to-reach customer support
- Limited torrenting ability
- Pricier subscription options
Why We Picked It
NordVPN is a harmonious meshing of security features intended to give you the highest level of online privacy. The reason we picked NordVPN isn’t just one feature, but all its features working seamlessly with one another.
It uses a private DNS, for example, which essentially means your DNS requests won’t have to pass through your ISP’s DNS server, preventing IP address leakage. That complements NordVPN’s ability to hide your real IP address.
FYI: Reddit stores users’ IP addresses for up to 100 days.1 If you don’t want Reddit to have a record of your real IP address, using a VPN to hide it is your best bet.
You can also double down on your protection by activating Double VPN, also known as multihop. It wraps your internet traffic with encryption twice, making it doubly hard to intercept it in case you’re under monitoring by someone else.
The NordVPN subreddit. If you ever need help troubleshooting NordVPN, there’s a subreddit dedicated to the company2 where you can get answers to any NordVPN-related questions from other Reddit users.
-
2. Surfshark - Best for Journalists and Activists on Reddit
Product Specs
Multi-hop Yes Camouflage Mode Yes Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes Reddit is a rich source for journalists and an outlet for activists. If you’re part of the r/Activist subreddit and you want some extra anonymity when posting, consider using Surfshark.
Besides being an outstanding day-to-day VPN, Surfshark delivers additional features that can make it easier to stay invisible, such as Camouflage Mode and NoBorders Mode. That’s in addition to Surfshark’s strong encryption and best-in-class VPN protocols.
What We Like
- No Borders and Camouflage Modes
- Dynamic MultiHop
- 100 percent RAM-only servers
- Optional antivirus, safe search engine, and identity monitoring
What We Don’t Like
- Based in the Netherlands (under 14 Eyes jurisdiction)
- Not the best speeds
- Pricey month-to-month subscription
Why We Picked It
Surfshark promotes an open internet, and its features support that.
For starters, Surfshark has a Camouflage Mode, also known as obfuscation. Rather than just hiding and encrypting your online traffic, Surfshark can hide the fact that you’re using a VPN at all. That comes in handy if you’re traveling to a country where using a VPN could get you in trouble.
If Surfshark detects that you’re in a restrictive region — behind the Great Firewall of China, for example — it activates NoBorders Mode automatically to give you a list of servers that perform the best from that location.
Surfshark also recently added Dynamic MultiHop. Unlike regular multihop, which presents you with preconfigured server pairings (e.g. USA-Canada), Dynamic MultiHop lets you choose the two servers through which your traffic will be routed. That has the potential to give you better speeds and a more personalized multihop experience.
-
3. UltraVPN - Best VPN With Identity Protection
Product Specs
Multi-hop No Camouflage Mode No Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes Even though Reddit keeps users anonymous, there’s still the risk of identity theft. You could, for example, inadvertently include personal information on your Reddit comments or posts. Besides protecting your IP address from falling into the wrong hands, UltraVPN will monitor potential personal information leaks as well. That is, of course, in addition to keeping your online traffic private and providing all the necessary VPN features.
What We Like
- Identity protection and password manager included for free
- Strong encryption using 256-bit AES
- Proprietary Hydra protocol
- Servers in over 120 locations
What We Don’t Like
- Below-average speeds
- Limited network configuration options
- 10-device limit for simultaneous connections
- Located in the U.S. (under Five Eyes jurisdiction)
Why We Picked It
UltraVPN is a part of the Pango group of digital-security products, which is owned by Aura, an identity-protection company. As such, it places extreme importance on personal information.
If you sign up for a subscription, UltraVPN will give you free access to a password manager, which you can use to secure your Reddit login credentials and other online accounts, as well as a dark web monitor that will scan the dark web for your personal information.
UltraVPN dark web scanner and password manager. Those are, of course, just extras added to UltraVPN’s strong VPN features. From top-notch encryption using 256-bit AES to secure servers in over 120 locations, UltraVPN offers some of the best VPN software in existence today.
Pro Tip: To use UltraVPN’s password manager and dark web monitor, you’ll need to download additional apps and set up the features from there. The UltraVPN virtual private network app will take you to the additional apps once you sign in for a premium account.
-
4. Private Internet Access VPN - Best for Smartphone Users
Product Specs
Multi-hop Yes Camouflage Mode No Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes Browsing Reddit on your mobile phone while connected to public Wi-Fi comes with extra dangers. Public Wi-Fi networks are generally not safe. Others could intercept your traffic, you could get a virus from other connected devices, and hackers on the same network can steal your login credentials and use them for nefarious purposes.
Private Internet Access is one of the best mobile VPNs. It delivers protection on the go with its lightweight and easy-to-use apps. Its connections are fast and its encryption is secure.
What We Like
- Lightweight and easy-to-use mobile apps
- Full network customization
- Affordable subscription plans
- Advanced split tunneling
What We Don’t Like
- U.S. headquarters (under Five Eyes jurisdiction)
- Limit of 10 simultaneous connections
- No real multihop
Why We Picked It
Private Internet Access excels at making software. That’s evident in all its desktop and smartphone apps, but we like the smartphone app in particular because it’s easy to use yet highly customizable.
If you’re new to using VPNs, you’ll find that the app has zero learning curve. Launch it, select a server, and connect. It’s that easy. Nonetheless, you’ll enjoy customizations such as creating split tunnels, which allows you to whitelist apps and have them bypass your VPN connection.
If, for example, you want to get the latest local news without having to turn off your VPN, you can set your news app to use a non-VPN network so your IP address reflects that you’re browsing from your real location.
-
5. Hotspot Shield - Best Free VPN for Redditors
Product Specs
Multi-hop Yes Camouflage Mode No Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling No Netflix Yes, but not in all regions Torrenting Yes Reddit is a great resource for life hacks, and here’s one you’ll find in the r/VPN subreddit quite often: A VPN doesn’t need to be expensive.
Hotspot Shield is a premium VPN with a free option. It offers the same benefits as its premium version, such as IP address protection, encryption, and a zero-data-logging policy.
The only difference is that it limits the amount of data you can use per day and the number of virtual locations you can access. Still, it’s one of the best free VPNs for Redditors that won’t sell your data to other companies.
What We Like
- Free and premium options
- Fast speeds up to 1 Gbps
- No logs, even with the free version
- Streaming- and gaming-optimized premium version
What We Don’t Like
- One-device limit for free version (10 devices for premium)
- Only about 800 servers
- Pricey monthly fees
Why We Picked It
We don’t recommend a lot of free VPNs, but if you’re looking for a VPN to make your Reddit browsing more secure, there’s no better option than Hotspot Shield.
It has several limitations, the biggest of which is that there’s a 500 MB daily limit, but you can surpass it by watching ads. The other limitation is that you can only connect to one virtual location in the United States. There’s no workaround with this one, but if you’re only looking to encrypt your online traffic and hide your IP address, you shouldn’t encounter any problems.
Other than that, the free version of Hotspot Shield offers the same protections and benefits as the premium versions, including speeds up to 1 Gbps, zero device logs, and military-grade encryption.
Tip: Want a VPN for more than just Reddit? Hotspot Shield’s premium subscriptions offer servers optimized for online gaming and streaming starting at $7.99 per month.
Conclusion: Why You Need a VPN for Reddit
Reddit generally respects everyone’s privacy, but using a VPN to encrypt your traffic is always a good idea. No one knows when and how a hacker may attack, and in a place like Reddit, where you can find information about anything (including hacking techniques), it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Of course, it’s wise to use a VPN not only when browsing or posting on Reddit, but also when surfing the internet in general. There’s not a lot of privacy on the internet, so we need to take measures to ensure our privacy is protected.
FAQs
Before you r/Leave, let’s answer some FAQs regarding Reddit and the use of VPNs on the platform.
-
Does Reddit allow VPNs?
Yes, Reddit has no formal rule against using VPNs.
-
Can I access Reddit using a VPN if I’m banned?
If Reddit banned your IP address for whatever reason, you can use a VPN to regain access. If your account is banned and you try to log in, even with a VPN, Reddit will detect you and prevent your access.
-
What is the best VPN according to Reddit users?
There is no consensus regarding which VPN is best on Reddit. Redditors use a wide variety of VPN software, and there are subreddits dedicated to many of those VPNs. NordVPN, which is also the VPN we recommend most highly for Redditors, has one of the largest subreddits (top 5 percent) with over 46,000 members.
-
Does Reddit store users’ IP addresses?
Yes, Reddit captures users’ IP addresses for location tracking, which it uses to recommend hot subreddits based on where you live. Captured IP addresses are stored for a maximum of 100 days from your last visit.
-
Does Reddit know my location based on my phone’s GPS?
Reddit asks mobile users permission to access their location data, but it currently doesn’t store or use location information from devices.
Reddit. (2021). How Reddit Uses Location Data.
reddit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360049845011-How-Reddit-Uses-Location-Data-Reddit. (2023). NordVPN.
reddit.com/r/nordvpn/