Overview
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![NordVPN]()
NordVPN
Best Premium Features -
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![Proton VPN (Windows)]()
Proton VPN (Windows)
Best Overall -
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![Surfshark VPN]()
Surfshark VPN
Unlimited simultaneous device connections. -
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![Private Internet Access VPN]()
Private Internet Access VPN
Best for Power Users -
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![ExpressVPN]()
ExpressVPN
Best for Location Spoofers -
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![TunnelBear VPN]()
TunnelBear VPN
Best for First-Time VPN Users -
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![CyberGhost VPN]()
CyberGhost VPN
Best for Smart TV Users -
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![IPVanish VPN]()
IPVanish VPN
Best for Multi-Device Households -
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![PureVPN]()
PureVPN
Best for Streaming Enthusiasts -
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![Mullvad VPN]()
Mullvad VPN
Best for Public Wi-Fi Use
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You probably know that a virtual private network (VPN) is a key instrument in your privacy toolkit, but it's nearly impossible for the average person to determine the best VPN for their needs, much less overall. That's where we come in. PCMag has been reviewing VPNs for more than 10 years and writing about them for more than 25. So when our overall favorite, Proton VPN, gets an Editors' Choice award and a five-star rating, you can trust that it's one of the best. That said, this story has nine other highly recommended VPNs, all of which we've tested, and each is excellent in its own way. Our top picks are below, with links to full reviews of each service.
You Can Trust Our Reviews
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
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![NordVPN]()
NordVPN
Best Premium FeaturesNordVPN, known for innovation in the VPN industry, was one of the first companies to fully embrace the new WireGuard VPN protocol and RAM-only servers. Years later, the service remains a solid product and has maintained a consistent and modern design across all its platforms. That said, be ready to pay a pretty penny for the premium service. NordVPN's subscription costs more than the average monthly price we've seen across the industry.
Why We Picked It
Features and capabilities: The best thing about NordVPN is that it has a little something for everyone. A subscription includes features such as an ad and malware blocker, a kill switch, multi-hop connections, split tunneling, and access to Tor over VPN. You also get access to NordVPN Threat Protection Pro, which scans browser downloads for malware and blocks malicious URLs. The Protection Pro features aced our phishing protection test but failed the vulnerability finding test.
Privacy and security: According to the company's privacy policy, NordVPN does not log customers' browsing history, IP addresses, or traffic. The company also requests code audits from third-party cybersecurity firms, though not as frequently as Tunnelbear's annual audits.
Speed and performance: NordVPN's speed test scores were pretty good. In the most recent evaluation, the app ranked sixth in download speeds. Performance-wise, we tested NordVPN on Android, ChromeOS, iOS, macOS, and Windows and found it easy to download the app and connect to a VPN immediately.
Streaming: People looking to access an otherwise blocked streaming service will appreciate NordVPN's reliable speeds and diverse server selection. If you're a Netflix subscriber, you'll be happy to know that we accessed the entire Netflix library while connected to servers in five locations: Australia, Canada, Japan, the UK, and the US.
User experience and ease of use: NordVPN's apps look great and perform well in testing. A note, however: This VPN is positioned as a "set it and forget it" tool that will run in the background on your device, which may not be ideal for everyone. When you don't want NordVPN to automatically connect to a VPN (like at home or work), tap the Pause button on the dashboard and mark your current network as Trusted.
Who It's For
Frequent travelers: NordVPN has virtual servers in more than 100 countries, though most physical servers are in the UK and US. This means you have a lot of VPN connection choices when you're traveling. It's also easy to quickly connect to a VPN using the app, so you don't have to worry about snoops on public Wi-Fi networks in airports or hotels.
Newbies: NordVPN's interface makes it easy for first-time customers to connect to a VPN right away. We especially like the level of control NordVPN offers customers. For example, if you're new to using a VPN, you may want to let NordVPN choose the fastest connection for you and just stick with it. When you get more comfortable navigating the app, you can choose a server to connect to from a drop-down menu.
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![Proton VPN (Windows)]()
Proton VPN (Windows)
Best OverallProton VPN does it all, and that's why it earns a rare five-star rating. While the core paid VPN service price is average, Proton VPN has the best free VPN subscription we've seen. An account with Proton VPN will also grant you access to other products in the Proton family, including Proton Mail and Proton Drive. This includes free accounts, making the app an excellent value-add.
Why We Picked It
Features and capabilities: In addition to the usual VPN capabilities, including an ad blocker, kill switch, malware blocker, port forwarding, and split tunneling, Proton VPN includes multi-hop connections and access to the Tor network via VPN.
Privacy and security: Proton's commitment to security shows in its apps. Proton VPN is open-source, the code undergoes regular audits, and the company runs a bug bounty program. We were particularly impressed by Proton's Stealth feature, which provides extra security to people in countries like Iran and Russia. The company also uses full disk encryption to store your data, making it inaccessible to law enforcement or government officials. A company representative told PCMag that if one of Proton VPN's dedicated servers ever goes offline due to "unforeseen circumstances," it is immediately wiped and de-provisioned.
Speed and performance: Despite finishing fifth in our download tests, Proton VPN's upload speed testing was the best result we've seen so far. Using any VPN will affect your latency, though, and Proton's result reflects this fact with an increase of 170.31%.
Streaming: Proton VPN works well with Netflix, though the results were not uniform across all servers we tested. Open library access was available on four of the five servers, including Australia, Japan, the UK, and the US. Canada was the only region where we were met with a Limited library.
User experience and ease of use: Proton VPN's slick, streamlined, user-friendly app interface provides a pleasant user experience. The iOS app is an excellent example of intuitive design. Instead of using a dashboard or home screen, all core features are accessible from the navigation menu at the bottom of the screen.
Who It's For
Newbies: Proton VPN's free version is easy to use and full-featured, making it a great choice for new VPN users. Though experienced users are sure to find the features they're looking for, first-timers will appreciate the streamlined interface that makes it easy to connect to a VPN in just a few clicks.
Home users: Proton VPN offers a respectable number of servers worldwide, so you don't need to leave home to watch your favorite shows on a streaming service based in another country. As mentioned above, the paid subscription to the service nets you a slew of productivity integrations, including Proton's calendar, email, and cloud storage applications, making it a great option for your home office.
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Surfshark VPN
Unlimited simultaneous device connections.Why We Picked It
Surfshark is a relative newcomer, but it hit the ground running with a slick product that has iterated quickly. While it doesn't have all the features of its competitors, it does offer multi-hop connections and supports WireGuard. More interesting, though, are the innovative things Surfshark is doing behind the scenes, such as transforming its server fleet into a single network called Surfshark Nexus. This allows you to jump to a new VPN server without completely disconnecting. This, in turn, enables another cool feature, IP Rotator, which assigns you a new IP address periodically without ever breaking your connection.
Surfshark's blue color scheme and higher-than-average monthly cost invites comparison to another blue VPN: NordVPN. That company recently purchased Surfshark VPN, but both continue to operate independently. Surfshark VPN has also expanded and now offers antivirus protection at an additional cost.
Who It's For
Surfshark is a good all-around VPN, with its unlimited device protection, appealing app, and rich collection of privacy tools. But it will be especially interesting to those who are looking for cutting-edge features, not only for the privacy and flexibility they deliver but also because they are just plain cool.
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![Private Internet Access VPN]()
Private Internet Access VPN
Best for Power UsersWhy We Picked It
Private Internet Access used to be known for its bargain-basement pricing and terrible interface. For better and worse, neither thing is true today. Private Internet Access now has a snazzy interface that lets you customize the experience. It has also significantly increased its monthly subscription cost, but to only a hair above the average we've seen across products we've tested.
It also has useful privacy features, like multi-hop connections. The customizable interface comes into play here, giving you easy access to advanced settings or tucking them away out of sight.
Who It's For
With its customizable interface, Private Internet Access appeals to anyone who needs to have their workspace just so. Privacy wonks will appreciate its features, and its unlimited simultaneous connections mean it will cover every device in a household.
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![ExpressVPN]()
ExpressVPN
Best for Location SpoofersExpressVPN has an attractive interface, servers in 105 countries, strong speed test results, and even its own Lightway VPN protocol. This protocol uses the open-source WolfSSL cryptography library and has passed a third-party audit. The downsides? You can't use the VPN for free, and a subscription costs a bit more than average.
Why We Picked It
Features and capabilities: ExpressVPN includes standard VPN features such as a kill switch and split tunneling. There's also a dark web scanner. If you buy the two-year plan, you can use the data removal request service, which sends requests to data brokers on your behalf to clean up your online presence. The multi-year subscription also includes up to a million dollars worth of identity theft insurance, an offer we haven't seen from other VPN companies. An ExpressVPN subscription also gives you access to Express VPN Keys, the company's password manager, and Threat Manager, a malware and tracker blocker.
Privacy and security: ExpressVPN does not keep logs of customer browsing activity or connections, and the privacy policy states that the company does not sell customer data. ExpressVPN undergoes periodic independent security audits and publishes a thorough transparency report on its website that lists the customer data requests from law enforcement, along with any gag orders or national security letters. ExpressVPN also runs a bug bounty program, which gives security researchers a chance to stress-test the company's systems and report vulnerabilities for financial gain.
Speed and performance: ExpressVPN's latency and speed tests were better than the median results. Though ExpressVPN has servers worldwide, choose a server closest to your physical location if you want the fastest VPN connection.
Streaming: During the latest round of testing, we could stream Netflix movies and shows while connected via ExpressVPN. The client can be used to spoof your location and access region-locked media because there are more than 100 servers to choose from in diverse locations, including countries with strict internet policies, like Turkey and Vietnam.
User experience and ease of use: ExpressVPN offers Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows apps. The company also supports linux customers with a command line tool. The interface on all of the apps makes it easy to connect to a VPN quickly. We could also watch interruption-free Twitch streams and YouTube videos while connected to ExpressVPN servers.
Who It's For
Newbies: If you first heard of VPNs or, specifically, ExpressVPN via an ad read by your favorite YouTuber, you're not alone. That's probably why ExpressVPN made the app incredibly easy to navigate. People who aren't familiar with VPNs will appreciate this app's simplicity. Connecting for the first time is as simple as downloading the app, pressing the big connection button, and minimizing the window. That's it!
Location spoofers: ExpressVPN has a lot of server locations around the world, making it a great pick for anyone who wants to spoof their location for any reason. For example, you could use the VPN at home in Canada to route your web traffic through a London-based server. It will obfuscate your true location and give you access to region-locked content on video streaming platforms like BBC iPlayer or Netflix.
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TunnelBear VPN
Best for First-Time VPN UsersYes, TunnelBear VPN has a cute, bear-themed interface, bright colors, and a limited feature set. It also lacks much of the muscle found among our top choices. However, the service is extremely easy to use and features a data-limited free subscription option, making it an easy choice for anyone who wants to try a VPN for the first time.
Why We Picked It
Features and capabilities: TunnelBear VPN offers a totally free version of its paid service. The only drawback? You're limited to 2GB of browsing data each month. The premium version ($9.99/month) lifts this data cap. TunnelBear doesn't offer much beyond VPN connections, though. Always-on mode, a Kill Switch (VigilantBear), and split tunneling (SplitBear) are common features across all platforms. There's also a feature designed to get around VPN blocking called Ghostbear. When active, Ghostbear disguises VPN traffic as HTTPS traffic. TunnelBear VPN is available on Chrome, Edge, Firefox browsers, and Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows devices.
Privacy and security: TunnelBear VPN has one of the best privacy policies we've read, mostly because it's so easy to understand. The company explains exactly what data it collects and how it uses that data in detail. TunnelBear's privacy policy states that it does not collect information about users' web activity or store DNS queries, IP addresses, or timestamps.
Speed and performance: Unfortunately, TunnelBear VPN performed below average during the last round of testing. It slowed download and upload results by 42.6% and 63.3%, respectively, and increased latency by 48.9%.
Streaming: We could stream Netflix content during the latest testing period while connected to a US-based server. That said, if you're hoping to do a lot of location spoofing, TunnelBear may not be your best choice. TunnelBear has servers in 46 countries, which is below average for the VPNs we've reviewed. That said, the collection encompasses a wide range of locations, including countries in Africa, and South America that often get overlooked by other companies.
User experience and ease of use: The TunnelBear app for Windows was snappy and responsive yet cute and colorful. The "cute" we're talking about is in the app's animations. For example, when you connect to a VPN server, a notification appears in the form of a bear wearing a hat representative of that country.
Who It's For
Newbies: Thanks to its simple and friendly interface, TunnelBear VPN is a great choice for anyone new to VPNs. It's also a strong option for anyone who just needs a general-purpose VPN and doesn't need to fuss with too many network settings.
Design lovers: In a category filled with dark, high-tech, or utilitarian-looking apps, it's fun to encounter a bright, cheery-looking app that isn't taking itself too seriously. There's even a Bear Sounds option in the Settings menu. If you turn it on, a roaring sound plays whenever you connect or disconnect from a VPN server.
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![CyberGhost VPN]()
CyberGhost VPN
Best for Smart TV UsersCyberGhost VPN is a pricey but extremely capable service with an enormous collection of servers. In addition to VPN connections, the service includes antivirus protection for Windows and an ad blocker. We also like that CyberGhost has completed a third-party audit.
Why We Picked It
Features and capabilities: CyberGhost VPN isn't available for free, and a subscription is more expensive than most of the competition at $12.99 per month. In addition to standard VPN features like a kill switch and split tunneling, CyberGhost VPN also includes IP masking, which allows you to change your IP address. There's also a content blocker that eliminates invasive ads while you browse.
Privacy and security: According to the company's privacy policy, CyberGhost VPN does not store user IP addresses, DNS queries, browsing history, connection/disconnection timestamps, session duration, bandwidth, or the VPN server with which you connect, all of which is excellent. If you want device-level protection, CyberGhost Security Suite for Windows is an additional $4.50 per month and requires a VPN subscription. The suite includes antivirus access and the company's Security Updater, which alerts you to any apps that need updating.
Speed and performance testing: CyberGhost has servers in 100 countries, which is excellent. Even better, those servers are fast. CyberGhost VPN yielded excellent results in our speed tests, triumphing over much of the competition. The app reduced download and upload speed test results by 13.3% and 26.7%, respectively, while increasing latency by 11.2%.
Streaming: Unfortunately, CyberGhost VPN didn't work well with Netflix in our testing. We could only stream a fraction of available Netflix content while connected to a New York-based VPN server. We encountered a similar issue when connected to one of CyberGhost VPN's servers that was optimized for Netflix streaming.
User experience and ease of use: We like the look of CyberGhost VPN's apps, and found it easy to connect to a VPN server immediately. CyberGhost VPN is available across various platforms, including Android, iOS, linux, macOS, and Windows.
Who It's For
Smart TV users: Want to watch region-locked content on a larger screen? CyberGhost VPN supports more smart TV platforms than other VPNs. You can connect to CyberGhost VPN on the following smart TVs: AndroidTV, Apple TV, Fire TV stick, Google TV, Roku, and Samsung Smart TV.
Frequent travelers: CyberGhost VPN's large and widespread network of servers makes it a top choice for globetrotters. No matter where you are, there's a chance you can use a local CyberGhost VPN server. Local servers provide better average speeds and reduced latency.
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![IPVanish VPN]()
IPVanish VPN
Best for Multi-Device HouseholdsWorried about a VPN app not working on all of your devices? IPVanish doesn't have any device limits, which is helpful for those of us with lots of devices. If that's not enough, the app has expansive global server coverage, high-quality features, and broad platform support, too. It's a little expensive though, as monthly plans start at $12.99.
(Note: IPVanish is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com's parent company. For more, see the ethics policy in our Editorial Mission Statement.)
Why We Picked It
Features and capabilities: Most of IPVanish's offerings are on par with the competition. The VPN app supports double-hop connections, offers an ad/malicious website/tracker blocker, and has a kill switch and split tunneling. If you spring for the higher-priced subscription tier, you can also use the Secure Browser. The browser only exists on IPVanish's cloud servers, so any website traffic (including malware or viruses) never reaches your device.
Privacy and security: We were impressed with IPVanish's privacy policy because it contains clear, easy-to-understand language. There's even a table showing the data types collected by IPVanish and noting why the company collects the data, how long it will be stored, how it's collected, and how long it's retained. Most of your personal data, like your name, address, or email address, is retained for 45 days after you delete your account.
Speed and performance: IPVanish excelled in our speed tests. Results show that IPVanish decreased download speed test scores by 11.5% and decreased upload speed test scores by 13.55%, making it one of the fastest VPNs we've tested. The latency score was a little more sobering, though, as IPVanish increased it by 38.8%.
Streaming: IPVanish is fine for video streaming. We didn't have trouble watching Twitch streams or YouTube videos while connected to the VPN. However, we could only access the complete Netflix library when connected to four of the five servers we tested. When we connected to a server in Australia, Netflix only allowed us to view a limited, region-locked media library.
User experience and ease of use: We didn't have any trouble installing and starting up IPVanish on a Windows desktop, though we found the app's interface, with its graphs and maps, a little confusing. Overall, though, our experience using the app was painless. We quite like that there's a searchable server list with filters for country, latency time, and protocol.
Who It's For
iOS users: Like many VPN apps, IPVanish's features aren't the same on all platforms. Case in point, the company's iOS app has a few interesting tools that aren't available for Android customers. For one, there's the Connect On Demand option, which is helpful when you only want to connect to the VPN in certain circumstances, like when using public WiFi at a coffee shop or an airport. There's also Alternative Connection Mode, which, when turned on, helps you stay connected in places where VPN use is heavily monitored or restricted.
Multi-device households: IPVanish works on a wide range of platforms, which is ideal for someone with a lot of devices. It supports computers, mobile devices, and smart TVs. You can also use the app on streaming devices like Google Chromecast, Nokia Streaming Box, Nvidia Shield, and Onn, which is unique. There's even an app for the Apple Vision Pro! Unlike other VPNs, IPVanish does not offer a VPN browser extension, but the Secure Browser is available as an extension for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.
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![PureVPN]()
PureVPN
Best for Streaming EnthusiastsPureVPN is a well-rounded VPN inside a smartly designed package. The service has a ton of servers worldwide, a transparent privacy policy, and excellent results when unblocking Netflix, all of which make it appealing. The downside? PureVPN is expensive. The Standard plan is $12.95 per month, the Plus tier is $15.95, and the Max subscription is an eye-watering $19.95 per month. The priciest plan includes high-quality features, like personal data removal and dark web monitoring, but Express VPN offers the same options at a lower price point ($12.95 per month on the two-year plan).
Why We Picked It
Features and capabilities: With servers in 71 countries, PureVPN offers thorough global coverage. The VPN app is available for Android, iOS, linux, macOS, and Windows devices, with extensions for Chrome and Firefox browsers. It's a smaller compatibility list than we've seen for most other VPN apps. Features-wise, the Standard PureVPN app includes a tracker blocker, a kill switch, and split tunneling. As mentioned above, buying the most expensive subscription tier gets you access to a data removal service, dark web monitoring, and a password manager.
Privacy and security: PureVPN's privacy policy is fairly easy to read and includes details about the types of data the company collects and how it's used. PureVPN does not store logs containing identifiable customer information. The company also links to a transparency report on its website, but the information hasn't been updated since 2023. We like to see current, updated transparency reports from VPN companies.
Speed and performance: Our tests show that PureVPN reduced download and upload speed test results by just 7.61% and 3.51%, respectively, which is significantly better than the median results. PureVPN also increased latency by just 18.2%.
Streaming: You can use a VPN to spoof your location, so many streaming services attempt to block VPN traffic. Luckily, PureVPN streamed video from Netflix without issues across servers in five countries. The VPN also passed our Twitch and YouTube streaming tests, resulting in clear video without interruptions or lag.
User experience and ease of use: PureVPN has an attractive, well-organized interface that reduces on-screen clutter by keeping your server details all in one place. We found the apps easy to navigate and operate on all platforms.
Who It's For
Streaming enthusiasts: PureVPN's global Netflix compatibility, massive server list, and excellent speed test scores make it an ideal choice for privacy-conscious users who stream a lot of video.
Newbies: PureVPN's simple interface makes it easy to connect to a VPN right away. Just download the app, log into your account, and click or tap the large Connect button. PureVPN will pick the best server for you, which may be a good option for people who are new to VPNs.
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![Mullvad VPN]()
Mullvad VPN
Best for Public Wi-Fi UseMullvad VPN's service is all about knowing as little about its customers as possible, making it the premier option for those who are first and foremost concerned about their privacy on the web. Best of all, Mullvad VPN's service is available at an affordable flat rate and you can even pay your bill anonymously with cash.
Why We Picked It
Features and capabilities: Mullvad's VPN apps include standard features such as a kill switch, split tunneling, and support for multi-hop connections. A helpful bonus: Mullvad VPN includes a content blocker that you can toggle on and off for various web content categories, such as gambling, malware, and porn.
Privacy and security: Mullvad VPN gives customers an enormous amount of information about how their service works in its privacy policy. In the document, the company claims it does not log user traffic, DNS requests, any kind of connection timestamp, IP addresses, or bandwidth use. This transparency is also evident when you try to pay for the service. Instead of using a subscription model that requires the company to hold on to customer information for an indefinite period, Mullvad uses the pay-as-you-go model, where customers pay for accounts on a yearly basis or month-to-month.
Speed and performance: Mullvad VPN performed well in our speed evaluations, remaining near the top of the list in download, latency, and upload categories.
Streaming: Mullvad's excellent speed performance is good news for Netflix subscribers, too. A faster VPN typically means interruption-free audio, gaming, and video streams. During testing, we could access the entire Netflix library of all the five Mullvad servers located in Australia, Canada, Japan, the UK, and the US.
User experience: Mullvad VPN isn't the flashiest or most feature-rich VPN app we've tested, but what it lacks in style, it makes up for in functionality. It's an app that is very easy to install and use right away on Android, iOS, linux, macOS, and Windows devices.
Who It's For
Home users: The interface features an interactive map that makes connecting to a server in your desired location easy. We like that you can also choose a specific server from an expanded list to show countries, cities, and individual servers in an area.
Frequent public Wi-Fi users: There's a lot of privacy baked into Mullvad VPN, which is what you want if you're someone who frequently connects to public Wi-Fi networks at airports, coffee shops, hotels, or in public parks. You don't need to create a password when you sign up or hand over lots of personal information while paying for the service. There are also also few "extras" cluttering up the interface, which makes it easy to connect to a VPN right away.
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Buying Guide: The Best VPN Services for 2025
Is a VPN Worth Getting?
Yes, you should get a VPN. It's a simple way to protect your privacy online and can help circumvent unwanted internet restrictions (like that whole TikTok ban in the United States, for example.) None of the services here are perfect, and there will surely be times when a VPN won't make sense. Take the marketing language VPN providers use when sponsoring your favorite YouTube video or podcast with a healthy grain of salt—they don't make you untraceable, and they aren't a privacy panacea. That said, a VPN is a valuable tool that's becoming even more necessary and is well worth having in your personal security toolbox. Plus, as more and more security suites add VPN services to their offerings, you may have access to a good one if you already pay for a security suite to keep your devices free of malware and spyware.
Why Do I Need a VPN?
A VPN routes your internet traffic through an encrypted connection to a server controlled by the VPN provider. From there, your traffic exits onto the web as usual. If you only connect to websites secured with HTTPS, your data remains encrypted, even after leaving the VPN. It sounds simple, but VPN usage can improve your online privacy.
Think of this analogy: When your car pulls out of your driveway, someone can follow you and see where you're going, how long you spend there, and when you return. They might even peek into your car to learn more about you. With a VPN app, it's like driving from your house into a private tunnel, exiting into a closed parking garage, switching to a different car, and driving out. No one who is trying to follow you can know where you went.
Likewise, no one snooping around your network can see what you're doing when you use a VPN connection. Convenient public Wi-Fi networks are also convenient for attackers. How do you know, for example, "starbucks_wifi-real" is the coffee shop's actual Wi-Fi network? A prank popular among security researchers is to create a network with the same name as a free, popular service and see how many devices automatically connect.
Even if you're trusting, you might not want to fully trust your internet service provider (ISP). In the US, your ISP has enormous insight into your online activities. To make matters worse, congress has decided your ISP is allowed to sell your anonymized browsing history. Selling your data seems egregious since you are already paying for the service. A VPN prevents even your ISP from keeping tabs on you.
Another benefit of using a VPN is that your true IP address is hidden behind the address of the VPN server. This makes it harder to track you. Even dedicated observers have trouble telling which internet traffic is yours because your data is mixed in with everyone else's using the server.
Hiding your IP address has another benefit: It makes it harder for snoops to figure out your location. You can use this to your advantage and connect to distant VPN servers to spoof your location.
It's important to understand that if your VPN connection goes down, the privacy protection you rely on goes with it. For this reason, most VPNs offer a kill switch, which shuts off your network traffic when your VPN connection drops. The only catch? A kill switch is generally turned off by default, so you might want to toggle yours on in your VPN app when you set it up—or at least familiarize yourself with how it works and turn it on when your privacy is critically important. You can read more about this essential security feature in our kill switch explainer.
Note: VPNs are sometimes confused with proxies, but they are different. To learn more, see our explainer on VPNs vs. proxies.
What Can't VPNs Do?
VPN services, while helpful, don't provide every kind of threat protection. A VPN can't help you if you download ransomware or if you give up your data in a phishing attack. We strongly recommend using local antivirus software, enabling multi-factor authentication wherever available, and using a password manager to create and store unique, complex passwords for each site and service you use. Those are all good security measures you should take in addition to using a VPN.
There are also limitations to how anonymous you can be with a VPN. Advertisers have tactics, such as online trackers and browser fingerprinting, to gather data on you and track your movements. We recommend using your browser's anti-tracking features and installing dedicated ad or tracker blockers.
Many VPN services also provide their own DNS resolution system as a security feature. Think of DNS as a phone book that turns a text-based URL like PCMag.com into an IP address computers can understand. Savvy snoops can monitor DNS requests and track your movements online. Greedy attackers can also use DNS poisoning to direct you to bogus phishing pages designed to steal your data. When you use a VPN's DNS system, it's another layer of protection. Read how (and why) to change your DNS server for more.
There's debate among security experts about the efficacy of VPNs. Since most sites now support secure HTTPS connections, much of your online experience is already encrypted. Secure DNS products like Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 exist precisely because some feel VPNs are overkill. Additionally, this assumes that your VPN provider is above board and not spying on you. Still, a VPN covers the information not already protected by HTTPS, places a buffer between you and the people controlling internet infrastructure, and makes tracking your activities online harder for any potential prying eyes.
Some security-conscious industries, like banking, are confused by or suspicious of VPNs. If your bank sees you logging in from what appears to be another US state or even another country—or if it simply detects that a VPN may be in use—it can raise red flags. That's because if a hacker were trying to get into your bank account from another country, they'd use a VPN, too. Expect to see captchas and more frequent multi-factor authentication requests when your VPN is on, or be prepared for your bank to block you from logging in at all.
VPNs vs. Security Suites
Just as antivirus utilities evolved into multi-function security suites, over the past year, we’ve seen VPN services add other types of security features, from password managers to built-in antivirus protection. Norton Ultra VPN Plus, for example, contains most of the same features as the Norton 360 Deluxe suite, though some are hidden. The Threat Protection module in NordVPN Threat Protection Pro is like an antivirus, but it lacks the expected ability to scan local files for malware. Surfshark One’s antivirus component earned good scores against malware and a perfect score against phishing frauds. It ropes in a handful of other security features, but not enough to challenge top security suites.
Coming from the other direction, many traditional security suites have included a VPN component for years. Some are in-house productions, like Norton’s. Other companies, like Bitdefender, license VPN technology from third parties. Mergers and acquisitions muddy these waters further and make it difficult to tell who owns what, who's licensing which technologies, and which tools are developed from the ground up versus bought from someone else. Thankfully, we keep track, and you can find that information in greater detail in our individual reviews. It’s unclear how this collision of security-plus-VPN with VPN-plus-security will ultimately play out in the coming years, but you can be sure we’ll keep a close eye on the matter going forward.
What Is the Best Free VPN?
Not all VPN services require payment. There are, in fact, many excellent free VPNs. But every free VPN we've tested has limitations. Some limit you to a few simultaneous connections or devices. Others restrict your data or limit you to a handful of servers. Still others do all of the above.
Finding the best free VPN is an exercise in balancing those restrictions. Windscribe, for example, lets you use any server on its network but limits you to 2GB per month (10GB if you sign up with your email address). Proton VPN has the unique distinction of placing no data restrictions on free users, but it does limit which servers you can access.
For those willing to put down some cash, we also have a roundup of the best cheap VPNs.
What Is the Best VPN for Mac?
While this list includes the best VPNs we've tested, you may be looking for one specifically for Mac. For complete details, read our roundup of the best VPNs for Macs. Based on our testing, the best options for Apple's OS are Proton VPN and NordVPN. We have a full comparison between Proton and Nord here.
What Is the Best VPN for Torrenting?
When you use BitTorrent, you should absolutely consider using a VPN. Many ISPs and network managers block Torrenting altogether, and a VPN can prevent them from seeing that you're connecting to a peer-to-peer sharing service. Of course, torrenting certain files may get you in trouble, whether they are bootlegged or even banned in your area, and a VPN can protect you here as well. To find the right service for staying safe while torrenting, head over to our roundup of the best VPNs for torrenting.
What Is the Best VPN for Gaming?
Gamers need privacy protection, too. While using a service that can increase your latency and generally interfere with your connectivity may not appeal to you, you might want to play a game that isn't available in your area, or you might not want to expose your real IP address to other gamers. VPNs might even make it more difficult for rivals to use distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to knock players offline. Read our story on the best VPNs for gaming for help picking the VPN that strikes the right balance between productivity and privacy.
What Is the Best VPN for China, Russia, or the Ukraine?
VPNs are useful for improving individual privacy, but there are also people for whom a VPN is essential for their safety. Journalists and activists often rely on VPN services to circumvent local government censorship and safely communicate with the outside world. Check the local laws before using a VPN in China, Russia, or any country with repressive internet policies. Another place people might want to use a VPN is in a war zone such as Ukraine, where hiding locations might well be a matter of life and death.
To comprehensively anonymize your traffic, you can use the free Tor network. While a VPN tunnels your web traffic to a VPN server, Tor bounces around your traffic through several volunteer nodes, which makes it much harder to track. Using Tor also grants access to hidden dark websites, which a VPN cannot do. Some services, such as NordVPN and Proton VPN, offer Tor access on specific servers. However, it's important to note that Tor isn't perfect, either. Read our explainer on the dark web and how to access it for more.
A VPN protects you against mass data collection and casual criminals who vacuum up user data for later use. Still, a determined adversary will almost always find a way to breach your defenses. If this happens to you, read our story on what to do when you've been hacked.
How to Get a VPN
The VPN market has exploded in the past decade, growing from a niche industry to a highly crowded and competitive one. Many VPN service providers are capitalizing on the general population's growing concerns about surveillance and cybercrime, which means it's hard to tell when a company is providing a useful service and when it's selling snake oil. Fake VPNs have even popped up, so be careful.
When you read reviews looking for a good service, don't just focus on connection speed since that's the factor you (and the VPN) have the least control over. Since nearly all VPN companies offer some mixture of the same technologies, consider value when looking for your best VPN service. How can you get the most for the least? Look for extra VPN features like split tunneling, multi-hop connections, and so on. You may not always need them, but they're helpful when you do.
Nearly every VPN service provider has its own app with an interface for managing connections and settings, and we recommend using it. You might dismiss such things as window dressing and prefer manually managing your VPN connections. However, that can be tedious and often doesn't give you access to the additional privacy tools many VPNs provide.
The best way to know if a VPN works is to try it in all the environments you plan to use it, like home, work, and school. Some VPNs provide free trials or even completely free subscription tiers of service, so take advantage of them. Free access to a VPN lets you see if you can access all the sites and services you need and test the speeds in your area to see if they're acceptable.
We recommend starting with a short-term subscription to ensure you are happy with the service before committing to annual, two-year, or lifetime paid plans. Yes, you may get a discount by signing up for a year, but that's more money at stake should you decide the service doesn't meet your needs after the fact.
How Do I Set Up My VPN?
Getting a VPN is easy; setting one up on your machine can be a bear, however, if you don't know what you're doing. What server should you connect to? Should you let the software choose for you? What security features should you enable?
We answer these questions in our story on choosing and setting up a VPN. If you don't like the idea of downloading yet another app, you can also configure Windows 11 to connect directly to the service you choose. You can read how in our story on setting up a VPN in Windows 11—be warned, however, that this is not the easy way to do it.
VPNs protect your data using a variety of publicly available open-source encryption protocols, as well as proprietary ones. The most common open-source options include OpenVPN, WireGuard, L2TP, IKEv2, and others. Meanwhile, some VPNs like ExpressVPN are looking toward the future with the company's "post-quantum encryption" protocol, Lightway.
Can I Trust My VPN to Protect My Privacy?
If you're using a service to route all your internet traffic through its servers, you have to be able to trust that service. It's easier to trust companies that have been around longer because their reputation is likely well-established, and it's what's at stake should the company do you wrong. The trouble is that the VPN industry is relatively young compared with antivirus, for example, and some VPN companies play dirty. Figuring out who to trust is difficult.
At PCMag, we pay special attention to VPN companies' privacy practices, not just the technology they provide. We read their privacy policies as part of our testing procedure and discuss company practices with representatives. We look for a commitment to protecting user information and practices that gather and retain as little user information as possible.
As part of our research, we also determine where the company is based and under what legal framework it operates. Some countries don't have data-retention laws, making it easier to keep the promise of "we don't keep any logs." It's also helpful to know under what circumstances a VPN provider will hand over information to law enforcement and what information it would have to provide (and what it could provide) if that happened. For more, see our story on VPN logging.
The best VPN services have a privacy policy spelling out what the service does, what information it collects, and what the company does to protect said information—ideally in plain English. Some companies explain they collect some information, but don't inform you how they intend to use it. Others are more transparent. We discuss these details in every review we write of a VPN service.
What Are the Best VPNs for Streaming?
Netflix and other streaming services often block VPNs because they can access region-locked content. A service that works today may be blocked tomorrow. That could be an issue for some readers because while many users rely on VPNs solely for online privacy purposes, others use them to unblock streaming from different regions around the globe.
For example, if you're watching Brooklyn 99 on Netflix from a US-based IP address while waiting for your flight to the UK, you may find that the show isn't available on the service when you land at Heathrow. This is down to how local content licenses are distributed by the major studios, where some shows are globally distributed, and others are only licensed for viewing in particular countries.
We test five countries here at PCMag each time we review a VPN: Australia, Canada, Japan, the UK, and the US. The results of those tests are included in the chart below, along with descriptions of how we classify each type of Netflix library we might encounter during testing.
Over the past few years, we've found VPNs have improved their ability to access streaming content. Previously, it was unusual to find a VPN that could stream Netflix content from outside the US. Lately, though, either Netflix has softened its efforts to ban VPNs, the VPNs have gotten better at circumventing those bans, or some combination of both. This means more VPNs can access more streaming content than ever before. However, accessing region-locked streaming content can breach the terms of service for your preferred streaming service, so remember that doing so may risk getting your account terminated.
What Is the Best VPN for Pornhub?
As more states pass age-restriction legislation, another kind of region-locked content that may increasingly require a VPN to watch is porn. In response, Pornhub has blocked access for any users connecting from more than 11 different states in the US. For a guide to watching adult content despite such blocking, check out our guide on how to watch porn safely, as well as our picks for the best VPNs for viewing Pornhub.
What Is the Best VPN for TikTok?
TikTok is another service that may eventually require a VPN to access from the US, depending on how the current administration feels about the company. The bipartisan TikTok ban was scheduled to take effect on January 19, 2025, but got a temporary reprieve after public outcry. However, the ban is still law, and if ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, doesn't sell itself to a US firm, the ban may return. Many die-hard fans and creators are already thinking about how they will keep getting their fix. If that sounds like you, check out our picks for the best VPNs for TikTok.
How Many Devices Can My VPN Protect at Once?
Some important things to look for when shopping for a VPN include the total number of simultaneous connections the VPN service allows, the number of servers it has, and its server location count.
Most VPN services let you connect up to five devices with a single account. Any service offering fewer connections is outside the mainstream. You need to connect every device you wish to protect to the VPN service, so a mere two or three licenses often is barely enough for one person, let alone a connected couple or family.
This paradigm may be changing, however. Many services offer far more than five simultaneous connections, while others have eliminated the restriction entirely, offering protection for unlimited devices. Avira Phantom VPN, IPVanish VPN, and Windscribe VPN all place no limit on the number of simultaneous connections. (Note: IPVanish is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com's parent company. For more, see the ethics policy in our Editorial Mission Statement.)
Of course, there are more than just phones and computers in a home. Game consoles, smart TVs, and smart home devices such as light bulbs and fridges all need to connect to the internet. Many of these things can't run VPN software on their own. To solve the issue, some VPN companies provide instructions on configuring your router to use a VPN, which protects any devices connected to your home network.
Where Are My VPN's Servers?
One key consideration when picking the right VPN is how broadly the company's servers are distributed worldwide. Having numerous servers in diverse locales means that no matter where you travel, you should be able to find an available server nearby. The closer the server, the better the speed and reliability of the connection it offers. Remember, you don't need to connect to a far-flung VPN server to gain security benefits. Depending on where you live, a server down the street is as safe as one across the globe.
We also examine how many virtual servers and virtual locations VPN companies use. A virtual server is just what it sounds like—a software-defined server running on server hardware that might have several virtual servers onboard. A virtual location is a server configured to appear somewhere other than where it is physically located.
While neither approach is inherently problematic, choosing one location and discovering your server is somewhere else entirely is worrisome. Some VPN companies take a smart view of virtual servers, using them to provide VPN support for regions where it might be too risky to house a server physically. When VPNs use these technologies, we prefer they be transparent about it.
What's the Fastest VPN?
When a VPN is active, your web traffic takes a more circuitous route than usual. In most cases, this added hop can result in slower download and upload speeds and increased latency compared with a connection that isn't routing through a VPN. The good news is that using a VPN probably won't remind you of the dial-up days of yore.
When we test VPNs, we use the Ookla speed test tool. This test provides metrics for latency, download speeds, and upload speeds. Depending on your needs, any of these can be an important measurement, but we tend to view the download speed as the most important. We test each VPN ten times and record the median score for each performance category. See our story on how we test VPNs for the full details. (Note: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com's parent company. For more, see the ethics policy in our Editorial Mission Statement.)
In our most recent batch of speed tests, NordVPN came out on top with an increase to our download speeds compared with a base connection with no VPN enabled. You can read more about how a result like this is possible in our full breakdown of the fastest VPNs we've tested.
What Is the #1 Best VPN?
There are many choices when picking a VPN—so many that we have Editors' Choice-winning VPNs for several use cases. Our current favorite is Proton VPN, which gets a rare 5-star rating and an Editors' Choice award. It takes a strong privacy stance, is fast in our testing, and has an impressive collection of advanced tools and an excellent free tier. NordVPN may cost a bit more, but it offers many security tools and extras while blowing away the competition in speed tests, earning it a 4.5-star rating and our Editors' Choice for premium VPNs. Windscribe, another Editors' Choice, ties NordVPN's score thanks to its radical privacy and transparency policies—getting started doesn't even require an email address—along with its feature-packed apps across all the platforms we tested.
Max Eddy and Chris Stobing contributed to this story.
