This said, not every VPN service is made equal. Some work better with Netflix or Zoom, while others offer perks like ad blockers that help you stay safe while browsing. Features like a high number of servers and countries can also make one VPN better than another, depending on what you want to do with it. We researched and tested more than 40 VPN companies and settled on ExpressVPN, NordVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access, and Hotspot Shield as our top picks. But are they right for you? Let’s dig in and find out. Look for these features when choosing a VPN service to get the best level of online protection as well as the best streaming and gaming quality while your VPN is turned on. If your VPN provider does keep logs, then there’s a record of you somewhere in the world. That means information about your online shopping habits, your friends’ or family’s contact information, or your personal data could be stolen. If your VPN service is located in a country that’s part of these alliances, its no logs policy could be a false promise because it might be required to share your data with allied countries. Five Eyes: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and the USNine Eyes: Five Eyes countries plus Denmark, France, Holland, and NorwayFourteen Eyes: Nine Eyes countries plus Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden Uhh, yeah. That’s a huge number of combinations. And to crack into your data, a hacker needs to have the exact 256-bit key that was used to encrypt your info. AES-256 is almost impenetrable against brute-force hacking attacks, and a hacker would need a quantum computer to even attempt it. (A quantum computer is a step up from a supercomputer.) Also, while SSTP is very secure, it works with Windows computers only. DNS leak protection: A VPN that prevents DNS (domain name system) leaks ensures that any DNS queries your device makes are securely routed through your VPN. If your DNS queries are leaked, that means third parties, including your ISP, could see which websites you visit, apps you use, and more. Dynamic IP address: Your IP address is assigned to the device you’re using to get online, so it makes sense that a dynamic, or changing, IP address is more secure than a static one. Static IPs are easier to hack and can even allow third parties to find out where you and your device are physically located. You won’t have any trouble finding features while using its friendly looking app. Added features like CyberSec, which blocks malware, ensure your data stays safe. Plus, like many VPNs, NordVPN has a zero logs policy. But unlike some VPNs, NordVPN began upgrading to diskless RAM servers in 2019, which means its servers can’t store any data. Zip, zilch, nada. And now, NordVPN is rolling out colocated servers that are fully owned and maintained solely by NordVPN, so no third parties get close to its servers.1 As for speed, we found slowdowns to be few and far between and all but unnoticeable during our testing. View Plans | Read Full NordVPN Review To select a different server, tap the three dots next to the name of the server you’re currently connected to. It also offers split tunneling in case you’d rather not use your VPN service for a game of Clash of Clans on your phone, but absolutely need it when you check your banking app. As for ExpressVPN’s privacy policy, it doesn’t collect your browser history, website content, or DNS queries. It also doesn’t collect your IP address, connection timestamp, or session duration. But it does collect the minimum amount of data to keep its VPN service up and running: your account info, app diagnostics, and user-registered IP addresses for those that use MediaStreamer. The biggest drawback to ExpressVPN is its price. It’s not as affordable as some of its competitors: NordVPN costs $11.99 a month and Private Internet Access costs $11.95 a month. On top of that, ExpressVPN restricts you to five devices, unlike IPVanish and Surfshark. View Plans | Read Full ExpressVPN Review On top of exceptional specs, CyberGhost offers a low monthly price if you pony up for its over two-year plan. And its 45-day money-back guarantee is also generous—most VPNs offer only 30 days. But if you choose to pay month by month, CyberGhost can be costly. It charges you $13 a month if you don’t pick its six-months or two-year-and-four months plan, which is high compared to the month-to-month prices you’ll see from other VPNs. That whopping 9,700+ server count is another excellent feature. Plus, CyberGhost lets you connect up to seven gadgets, a (small) step up from NordVPN’s and ExpressVPN’s limit of five each. If you’d rather not commit to a full six months or two plus years of CyberGhost service, you can sign up for its free trial. But be aware that your free trial lasts only 24 or 48 hours, depending on whether you sign up for the trial on desktop or your cell phone. You can also connect only one device while on the trial. As for logs, CyberGhost says it doesn’t store traffic logs, but it does collect various bits of personal data that includes your IP address, country location, billing methods, and a few other items. View Plans | Read Full CyberGhost VPN Review PIA also includes adware and malware blockers to keep you safe online. When you visit a site that could compromise your data, this VPN won’t let you through, thus protecting your connection and personal information. Private Internet Access also has an unusual security feature that lets you pay with a gift card from Walmart, Starbucks, Best Buy, and other locations. That means you don’t have to reveal your identity or share a credit card number. We’re also happy with PIA’s no logs policy. Personal data collected is intended to maintain your user account and manage your payments. Your state or zip code may also be collected, but only to make sure PIA charges you the right amount of tax. Netflix lovers may want to look elsewhere though, since PIA only works with the US Netflix library. And while Private Internet Access defaults to a fairly secure AES-128 encryption, we recommend bumping that up to AES-256 for maximum security. View Plans | Read Full Private Internet Access VPN Review Those speeds make Hotspot Shield a no-brainer if you’re hoping to stream Netflix or do some gaming. Another point in favor of Hotspot Shield: It created its own VPN protocol called Hydra. The Hotspot Shield team noticed that most VPN protocols suffer from high latency, so they optimized Hydra to reduce latency, or shorten the delay between the time you send data (for example, click a link) and the time your device receives data (the link you clicked on loads). One important detail to note with Hotspot Shield is that its parent company, Aura, does collect your personal information. This goes against a no logs policy, and since Hotspot Shield is based in the US, it could also mean your data is shared with third parties. View Plans | Read Full Hotspot Shield Review There’s a laundry list of extra features, like the Surfshark One ad blocker, split tunneling, kill switch, and private DNS on every server. And you can use as many devices as you want with Surfshark. Most VPN apps have a set limit of about 5 devices. The biggest drawbacks with Surfshark are that it uses a static IP address, which is easier to track than the preferred dynamic IP. Plus, we’ve heard Windows users complain that Surfshark’s speeds are noticeably slow. View Plans | Read Full Surfshark Review But if you’re hoping to watch Netflix, you’re limited to the US Netflix library. View Plans | Read Full IPVanish Review PureVPN servers call a mind-boggling 78+ countries home, which gives you a lot of options when it comes to tweaking your VPN connection. That and a fairly low monthly price of about $11 along with 10 simultaneous devices might also tickle your fancy. Advanced VPN users might feel left out in the rain with PureVPN though. You’ll need to pay extra for a dedicated IP or port-forwarding. Granted, the cost is low ($0.99 for both features at the time we’re writing this), but we prefer a VPN that offers all features without holding out its hand for more money. View Plans | Read Full PureVPN Review One super helpful feature is called GhostBear, which can trick websites into thinking you are not even using a VPN. This VPN includes a free ad blocker as well—and you can download it without even signing up for an account. The kicker is that TunnelBear offers servers in only 48 countries, few of which are lenient toward P2P torrenting. On top of that, you won’t be able to access Netflix, only Hulu and YouTube. View Plans | Read Full TunnelBear Review This VPN offers three different plans: 12 months, 24 months, and monthly. You’ll want the monthly or 2-year plan for torrenting, and the monthly plan if you prefer to stream Netflix, Disney+, or other services. The downside? ProtonVPN isn’t cheap unless you go with the (limited) Free plan or yearly plans. Its 1-year and 2-year plans cost $6 or $5 a month—and the monthly plan costs $10 a month. View Plans | Read Full ProtonVPN Review We recommend using a VPN service any time you’re online, but especially if you use public Wi-Fi at the airport, Starbucks, library, or elsewhere. VPNs like NordVPN stand between you and the websites you visit so your data isn’t as vulnerable to leaks and theft. And if you’re at home, it’s a good idea to install your VPN service directly on your router so it protects your entire private network.
Prices and how they compare to similar VPNs Ease-of-use and user-friendliness in the interface Guides and support documentation Logs policies Encryption and VPN protocol Whether you can use the VPN to access Netflix or torrent files Additional features, such as ad blockers, malware security, kill switches, etc.
In the end, we asked ourselves: “Is this a VPN worth recommending?” to be sure that each one of these top 10 VPN services has something to offer. Even if you don’t use the public Wi-Fi at Starbucks or the library, you’re probably already aware that almost everything you do online is tracked. Yup, your internet service provider (ISP) or any company that makes money by marketing ads to you is probably logging everything you do online right now.4 And possibly hackers too. We don’t mean to freak you out. But we want to stress that it’s always a good idea to protect your online privacy. Even if you’re not using public Wi-Fi. The good news is, a virtual private network (VPN) is an easy—and often cheap—way to add an extra layer of security so you can surf the web in peace. It’s always a good idea to protect your online privacy, even if you’re not on public Wi-Fi. And having a VPN is an easy way to add an extra layer of security so you can surf the web in peace. You can think of a VPN like a goalie protecting its turf—in this case, your computer and private data. When another player tries to track your internet activity or gain access to your info, the VPN blocks it. The only ones who get to know what you’re doing online are the VPN and whatever website you’re visiting. A VPN can hide your IP address. But if you’re not using a VPN to hide your IP address, you’ll see all the information that’s shared with websites in our widget here. If you’re creeped out by this, you’re not alone. We are too. That’s why we recommend using a VPN to keep your information safe online. We’ve tested dozens of VPN services to find the best and most affordable ones, and you can see which VPNs made our list by clicking the link below. VPN software can also mask your IP address to give you even more privacy online. Your IP address is assigned to you by your internet provider and is a unique series of numbers that attaches to everything you do online. That means every online place you visit knows exactly where you’re located thanks to your IP address. But a VPN hides your personal IP address. Instead, the IP address of the VPN server you connect to is what shows up online. VPN servers are set up to host users and connect them to the internet, but they’re also configured to encrypt and decrypt the data you send and receive from websites online. (The data needs to be decrypted so your computer or mobile device can read it.) Another way VPN servers are unique is that they’re often located in different US cities—or even different countries, like the UK, Sweden, or Germany. By hosting servers in different cities and countries, a VPN protects you from ads targeting certain geographical regions. What’s more, if a VPN connection can make it look like you’re surfing the web from a flat in England, it’s also possible for you to get around region restrictions on certain websites or apps. One example is cookies. You can think of cookies like a sort of digital ID card that you show to websites you visit online. That ID card includes information about you, like what pages on a website you visit, what’s in your shopping cart when you shop online, and any personal information you’ve volunteered, like your name. With ad companies, the cookies you create can contain information about multiple sites you’ve visited if those sites all contain ads that are managed by one advertising company. There is good news, though. Cookies don’t give these ad companies or websites access to your computer or any personal information you haven’t purposefully shared online. And cookies can’t infect your computer or device with viruses or malware. Also, you can easily delete cookies whenever you want. And if you choose a server that’s located far away from your current location, it takes more time for your internet connection to travel there and back. It’s likely you won’t notice much of a change if you’re on DSL, cable, or fiber internet. But this is the main reason we don’t recommend using a VPN with satellite internet—because your internet connection already needs to travel thousands of miles above the Earth and back. But there are some countries where VPNs are totally banned—mostly countries with super-restrictive governments like Iraq, China, and Russia. It’s also important to know that, while a VPN is legal, it doesn’t make illegal acts okay. This includes illegal activity like downloading copyrighted information, such as songs or movies, cyberstalking, and hacking computers or networks. Also, using a VPN to get around geo-restrictions, like streaming a TV show that’s not available in the US, is still likely a violation of the streaming app’s Terms of Service and could result in your account getting banned. Here’s a current list of countries where VPNs are illegal5:
Belarus China Iran Iraq North Korea Oman Russia Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates
We also mentioned that VPN providers have to follow the laws of the countries they’re located in. For example, if your VPN provider is located in a country where the government could legally make VPNs hand over information, then your VPN could potentially hand over your personal information to a foreign government. Even if you personally don’t live in the same country as your VPN provider, your info could still be compromised.
NordVPNExpressVPNSurfsharkTunnelBearPureVPNProtonVPN
Each of these features AES-256 encryption, OpenVPN or WireGuard VPN protocol, and an independently audited no logs policy.
