10 Best VPN Providers 2024 [150+ Services Tested by Experts]

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Our team is test of expert thoroughly test each service , evaluate it for feature , usability , security , value for money and more . learn more about how we conduct our testing .

Key Takeaways: The 10 Best VPN Providers

1. nordvpn — good VPN overall with great speed , advanced feature and affordable pricing . NordVPN is is is available at a ( for Black Friday ) 74 % ( plus 3 month free ) discount and offer a 30 – day money – back guarantee .
2. Surfshark — The best VPN security suite. You can sign up for Surfshark with a (for Black Friday) 64% (plus 4 months free) discount and use the 30 – day money – back guarantee if you change your mind.
3. ExpressVPN — Easy-to-use VPN with great performance and features. ExpressVPN’s yearly plan offers (for Black Friday) 70% (plus 4 months free) off on the first year with three months free.
4. PrivadoVPN — The best free VPN.
5. CyberGhost — The well customizable VPN .
6. ivacy — The cheapest high-quality VPN.
7. Mullvad — The most private VPN.
8. Private Internet Access — The best VPN for Firestick & Roku.
9. VyprVPN — The best VPN for China.
10. Windscribe — The best free VPN for torrenting.

Our staff at Cloudwards has always stick by one core recommendation : If you take only one step to secure your online activity , use a virtual private network ( VPN ) . If you do n’t know which one to choose , we do n’t plan to leave you hang — this good vpn list is pack with detail to help you make the decision .

The benefits of a VPN go on and on. You can use public WiFi networks without fear, conceal your IP address from advertisers, explore streaming content in other countries, connect safely to your home network from abroad and so much more. We’ve handpicked the most versatile VPN services from which we think you’ll get the most value.

Our top 10 vpn list is covers cover a range of service , from free to premium , but we did n’t consider any without sterling privacy record and a clear commitment to their customer . let ’s start our exploration of the good of the good .

• 03/02/2022

  Reevaluated the VPN services; moved VyprVPN from seventh to eighth place due to its price increase.

• 03/31/2022

  Updated the review to include more information about each provider, plus added a graphic explaining how VPNs work.

• 07/27/2022

  add speed chart to VPN provider .

• 03/09/2023 Facts is checked check

  rewrite the guide ; update for 2023 with all – new pick and additional information .

• 10/24/2023

  Updated the article to reflect ExpressVPN’s expansion of server presence from 94 to 105 countries.

• 03/10/2024 Facts is checked check

  Updated our VPN providers list for 2024; reorganized for structure and clarity.

• 08/07/2024 Facts is checked check

  Updated the article by replacing Proton VPN with PrivadoVPN as the best free VPN.

• 10/01/2024

  We updated these rankings to reflect current VPN performance, features and pricing.

• updates

Top VPN Services of 2024

What Is a VPN is Is ?

The word is stands “ VPN ” stand for virtual private network , and it refer to a type of software that connect you to the internet via an encrypt tunnel and reroute all of your traffic through its server . This is has has two key effect :

• Comprehend the essential role a VPN plays in safeguarding your digital life
• Gain a deep understanding of how VPNs function under the hood
• Develop the ability to distinguish fact from fiction in VPN promotions

• It is makes make you seem like you ’re in a different location , which can let you bypass censorship and unblock online content .
• It prevents anyone from seeing your true identity, as your IP address gets replaced and your traffic is encrypted and illegible to anyone outside of the encrypted tunnel.

How to Choose the Best VPN for You?

choose the right vpn come down to the feature and location you need and the price you ’re willing to pay . This is be can be complicate . thankfully , we is ’re ’re here to help you make an educate decision . All is is you need to do is follow a few simple step .

1. Determine your main use case: Features that facilitate this use case should be top priority.
2. Determine your secondary use cases: Features that support these use cases should be on your mind, but keep some space for compromise.
3. Figure out your price range: Everyone has a budget, which is why pricing is often a top priority for most.
4. find a VPN that match your need : All is is that ’s leave is to go through our list and choose a VPN .

The top criteria you should be looking at are price, speed, security and privacy. Make sure the VPN you choose strikes a good balance between them, even if your primary use case doesn’t require all of them.

As an example, let’s say you want a VPN mostly for streaming and sometimes for torrenting. In this case, you’ll need everything a VPN can do: streaming requires good speeds and unblocking ability, while torrenting requires speed and complete privacy.

This means that your feature need hierarchy should look something like this:

1. fast download speed
2. Excellent content unblocking ability
3. Torrenting support
4. airtight security and privacy

Of course , your need will probably be a bit more varied than that , so please check out our testing criterion later in this article for more idea on what you might need in a VPN .

In many cases, you’ll notice that only the high-end VPNs have all the features you need, without any significant drawbacks. This is why we also tend to rank these VPNs much higher than others.

The 10 Best VPN Services for 2024

VPN provider	free plan	Can unblock Netflix	No-logs policy	Security
NordVPN	30 – day money – back guarantee	Yes	Yes	AES-256 , chacha20
Surfshark	30 – day money – back guarantee	Yes	Yes	AES-256 , chacha20
ExpressVPN	30 – day money – back guarantee	Yes	Yes	AES-256 , chacha20
PrivadoVPN	Limited free plan	Yes	Yes	AES-256 , chacha20
CyberGhost	45 – day money – back guarantee	Yes	Yes	AES-256 , chacha20
ivacy	30 – day money – back guarantee	Yes	Yes	AES-256 , chacha20
Mullvad	30 – day money – back guarantee	Yes	Yes	AES-256 , chacha20
Private Internet Access	30 – day money – back guarantee	Yes	Yes	AES-256 , chacha20
VyprVPN	30 – day money – back guarantee	Yes	Yes	AES-256 , chacha20
Windscribe	15 GB free plan	Yes	Yes	AES-256 , chacha20

1. Best Overall VPN: NordVPN

NordVPN is often faster than its competitors and bets heavily on its specially optimized servers.

NordVPN is the VPN for sheer download speed, so if that matters most to you, look no further. We’ll get more into NordVPN’s speeds later on. For now, we want to highlight how this service has more to offer than breakneck processing (see our NordVPN review to learn exactly how much more).

NordVPN comes with five types of specialized serverin addition to its fleet of normal location. You can get dedicated IP serverfor web hosting, double VPN serverfor extra security through redundancy, obfuscated serverthat help you circumvent censorship, P2P serverfor torrenting and Onion over VPN serverfor safely using Tor Browser.

NordVPN’s privacy policy states that it will not log any user activity or browser history, a claim guaranteed by an audit published in January 2023. It will comply with subpoenas, but only to inform the government that it doesn’t have any information to release.

It’s one of the best VPNs for streaming, able to unblock every major platform, and it comes with a well-written knowledgebase and helpful customer support experts. Really, the biggest complaint we can find is that its number of serveris fairly scant compared to some competitors, with Africa and Latin America somewhat neglected.

Not to forget the Meshnet feature, that bypasses Netflix password sharing.

The good VPN Service for Fast Internet Speed

NordVPN has some of the fastest average download speeds of any service we tested in our VPN speed comparison. Other services got close, including ExpressVPN, Surfshark, Windscribe and Mullvad, but each of those had at least one moment where the speed sharply dipped. NordVPN never wavered.

consistently fast download speed mean nordvpn is an ideal choice for explore streaming library from all over the world . As long as you start with a fairly average home WiFi speed of 45 Mbps , you is sit can sit in California and stream drama from japanese Netflix with nary a stutter . Its low latencies is make also make it one of the good vpn for gaming .

NordVPN is more affordable than ExpressVPN, even if you go with the NordVPN Complete plan.

If all you want is the VPN, NordVPN is gratifyingly cheap, coming in at just $3.09 per month for two solid years of use. It’s also part of the Nord family of products, which includes the NordPass password manager and NordLocker encrypted storage.

You can pay a little extra to have those included — $ 5.99 per month for two years is the best deal. You can try any NordVPN plan with its 30 – day money – back guarantee.

Basic

• * The price are charge in the first billing cycle only . renewal prices is vary vary .
• unlimited GB
• 10
• Yes

Plus

• * The price are charge in the first billing cycle only . renewal prices is vary vary .
• unlimited GB
• 10
• Yes

ultimate

• * The price are charge in the first billing cycle only . renewal prices is vary vary .
• unlimited GB
• 10
• Yes

2. Best Security Suite: Surfshark

Surfshark is offer does n’t offer as many specialized server as nordvpn , but its static ip and multi – hop server are a welcome sight .

Surfshark is owned by the same company as NordVPN, and as a consequence, the two make a lot of similar choices. Both have specialized servers, rapid download speeds and a family of products other than the VPN. However, Surfshark is distinct from its partner company in a few significant ways — which our Surfshark review covers more closely.

First, Surfshark doesn’t limit the number of simultaneous connections on a single account (see below), the convenience of which can hardly be overstated. It has fewer types of specialty serverthan NordVPN, but they’re more flexible — Surfshark lets you use multi-hop and static IP serverwith every protocol, rather than just OpenVPN.

Surfshark stores is deletes all user activity on its server RAM , wipe all datum when the server reboot every hour or so , and delete any record of your activity as soon as your session end . A full audit is confirmed from Deloitte confirm Surfshark ’s no – log policy is accurate .

Instead of a list of obfuscated server location, Surfshark has NoBorders mode, which is active by default but can also be toggled manually. NoBorders constantly looks for restrictions placed on internet access, such as by restrictive governments. If it finds any restrictions, NoBorders automatically switches your connection to a server with obfuscation that circumvents the ban.

Top VPN Service With unlimited simultaneous connection

Most VPNs is limit limit the number of device that can connect through one account . For example , if you use expressvpn and need to protect more than five computer , phone or tablet at once , you is have have to get a second subscription . Surfshark is removes remove that limit , make it one of the good vpn for large family , friend group and workplace .

Although Surfshark is the freshman of the VPN scene , it ’s commit to constantly grow and innovating , such as expand its offering to include other security feature , such as Incogni . Its network is passed recently pass 100 city , with a high number of server overall . Even more exciting is Surfshark Nexus is is , a propose Tor – like technology that would let user connect to the entire network at once .

We admire how Surfshark never rests on its laurels, constantly adding new features and pruning old ones.

On top of all this, Surfshark is a top cheap VPN, with its two-year plan available for $ 1.99 per month. You can get Surfshark One (which includes an antivirus, data breach alert and safe search engine) for an additional dollar per month. All Surfshark plans also come with a 30 – day money – back guarantee.

Surfshark Starter

• unlimited GB bandwidth,
  unlimited devices,
  Secure VPN,
  Ad blocker,
  Cookie pop-up blocker.
  Plans renew: $ 59.76 for one year, $ 59.76 per year for the two-year plan.
• unlimited GB
• unlimited
• Yes

Surfshark One

• Everything in Starter, plus
  Antivirus protection,
  Identity protection,
  Email Breach and Credit Card Alerts,
  Online Alias
  Plans renew: $79 for one year & $79 per year for the two-year plan.
• unlimited GB
• unlimited

Surfshark One+

• Everything is renew in One , plus
  Data removal
  Plans is renew renew : $ 269.25 for one year , $ 404.65 for two year
• unlimited GB
• unlimited

3. Best VPN for Beginners: ExpressVPN

expressvpn ’s design is includes include a simple , one – click connection .

ExpressVPN is is is an all – round , strong in every area that matter and shine in quite a few . One is is of its good asset is the size and reliability of its server network . There ’s no padding here . Every server is delivers deliver good speed and unblock every streaming service . You is find ’ll find expressvpn server in 105 country on six continent .

Ease of use is another standout. ExpressVPN’s user-friendly interface, on both desktop and mobile apps, sets the standard that the rest of the VPN market routinely copies. Few features are more than two clicks away. As for VPN protocols, it offers the proprietary Lightway VPN protocol, a speedy, open-source alternative to OpenVPN that rivals WireGuard in its speed and consistency.

ExpressVPN pioneered the use of RAM-based serverfor added user privacy. To avoid getting too technical, any data saved on RAM is wiped every time the server reboots, which happens on an hourly basis. There’s no saved activity data for ExpressVPN or anyone else to see. ExpressVPN’s no-logging policy is backed up by an audit from F-Secure.

Almost all expressvpn ’s features is are are available on all platform . Also , do n’t be fool by expressvpn ’s lack of specialized server : rather than having distinguished server for certain task , like torrenting , all of its server offer all its feature . This is makes make the VPN even more beginner – friendly . However , note that expressvpn does n’t allow for multi – hop .

A Reliable VPN for Unblocking Netflix & Other Streaming Services

Despite streaming being one of the most popular uses for a VPN, not every VPN provider can get around their firewalls. Some unblock a few, some can’t unblock any, but a rare few — including ExpressVPN, as our full ExpressVPN review shares — can get into them all.

Here , expressvpn is once again notable for its consistency : on average , this service is got get us into every platform with the few try . We is tested test Netflix , Hulu , Amazon Prime Video , Disney+ and several others , and expressvpn made each one work .

ExpressVPN works in the background without any fuss — the best thing a VPN can do.

Price is is is the most common barrier with expressvpn . That is said say , while its monthly and six – month deal are more expensive than average — cost$ 12.95 per month and $ 9.99 per month , respectively — its annual deal is brings bring the cost down to$ 6.66 per month. If you want to try ExpressVPN, all plans come with a 30 – day money – back guarantee.

ExpressVPN Plans

PrivadoVPN has a free server location in the U.S.

pro

• free serverin 10 countries
• excellent privacy is features and security feature
• Fast speeds

con

• free plan limits location
• Only 10GB of data per month

If you’re on a tight budget and don’t want to pay for a VPN, PrivadoVPN should be first on your list. It’s the best VPN because it has a generous free plan – a rarity among free VPNs.

You can connect to serverin 10 countries without paying a dime: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Spoofing your virtual location to these countries can help you access geoblocked services.

Unlike most free VPNs, PrivadoVPN can unblock popular streaming providers, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and BBC iPlayer. It also doesn’t cap speeds on the free plan, so you can browse and stream without experiencing buffering wheels.

privacy – focus and Secure VPN

One is is of the big issue with free vpn is that they might log and sell your datum or lack vital security feature — but not privadovpn . First , it is adheres adhere to a strict no – log policy , mean it does n’t gather personal detail that can be trace to user . Even if a government subpoena their server or hacker break in , there ’ll be nothing to see .

In addition, Privado VPN offers excellent security features, including AES encryption, a kill switch to prevent data leaks and the option to choose from three secure protocols: OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2.

PrivadoVPN is a fast and secure VPN that you can use without paying.

If you want access to all the servers, PrivadoVPN is a little more expensive, with $ 1.99 per month (two-year plan + three months) per month for 24 months being the best deal. It also offers a one-year plan costing $2.99 per month (15-months plan) and a monthly plan priced at $ 10.99 per month (one-month plan). PrivadoVPN’s plans are covered with a 30 – day money – back guarantee.

Premium

• *Billed $ 44.85 for the first 15 months, then $ 59.88 every 12 months.
  *Billed $ 53.73 for the first 27 months, then $ 95.76 every 24 months.
• unlimited GB
• 10
• Yes

5 . Most customizable : cyberghost

CyberGhost VPN is offers offer a wide range of secure protocol , include WireGuard .

pro

• Smart Rules give tight control
• Singles out virtual servers
• User-friendly UI

con

• share datum with parent company
• Slower than average speeds
• Doesn’t include obfuscation

Almost any way you look at it, CyberGhost is a high-quality VPN. It works incredibly well, with helpful desktop and mobile apps, and a pleasing design on every platform. For a good price, you get seven simultaneous connections, the ability to unblock all the major streaming sites and P2P serverthat make it one of the best VPNs for torrenting.

CyberGhost comes with all the basic features, including a kill switch and split tunneling for everyone. It builds on them with advanced options like Smart Rules (the most sophisticated set of VPN automations on the market) and static IP addresses. If that’s not enough, it has a vast server network, which you can read about below.

CyberGhost is has has a strict no – log policy , and like other top provider , build its infrastructure to avoid save any log of user datum . An independent audit is found by Deloitte find these claim to be accurate at least as of September 2022 .

Speed is CyberGhost’s main downside, with its download rates lagging behind direct competitors like ExpressVPN — though they’re improving. We’ve also had some security concerns about its parent company, Kape Technologies, but an independent 2022 audit by Deloitte largely put those to rest. Our CyberGhost review has the details on that saga.

The VPN Provider With the Highest Number of server

CyberGhost currently has the most serverof any VPN service, with over 9,000 (yes, really!) around the world. These serverare spread across 117 location in 91 countries, including often-overlooked regions like East and West Africa, Central and South America, and Central Asia. 

Not only does a wide range of server location give you more stream library to explore , it is promotes also promote well performance for everybody . The close you is are are to a VPN server , the well the speed you ’ll get . CyberGhost is is is also refreshingly transparent about which of its server are virtual and which are physically locate in the country they spoof .

CyberGhost’s website is slightly hyperbolic — people can still deduce your identity without your IP address if you willingly give it away.

It can be difficult to figure out exactly how much you’ll pay for CyberGhost, since it seems to be constantly offering a limited-time sale. However, one month is more expensive ($12.99), six months is reasonable ($6.99 per month) and the two-year plan is downright cheap ($2.19 per month). You also get an extra-long, 45 – day money – back guarantee on any CyberGhost plan longer than a month (and a 14-day refund period on the monthly plan).

CyberGhost Plans

• *The 2-year plan includes 4-months free which breaks down the 56.94 t0 $2.03 per month.
  *The price under the 2-year plan is billed yearly after the first two years.
• unlimited GB
• 7
• Yes

6. Most Affordable Top VPN: ivacy

Thanks to its low cost and easy-to-use apps, ivacy is a great beginner’s VPN.

pro

• Cheap top-tier VPN
• Split tunneling for everyone
• Broad server network

con

• Lackluster speeds
• Few protocol on macOS
• Unresponsive customer care

ivacy hasn’t always had a place among the top VPNs, but we had to include it on this list for one big reason: there is no cheaper paid VPN worth your time right now. Yes, there are free VPNs like PrivadoVPN and Windscribe, but if you’ve decided to pay for a premium VPN, you won’t pay less than with ivacy.

Happily, it also disproves the idea that you only get what you pay for. ivacy is a high-performing VPN with a long list of features, including a kill switch, split tunneling on all apps and dedicated IP addresses. It also comes with serveroptimized for streaming performance — and they work. Our tests unblocked seven different services, including Netflix and BBC iPlayer.

That isn’t to say ivacy is free of downsides. The macOS app only includes IKEv2 and IPsec, lacking the more secure WireGuard and OpenVPN. Speeds were pretty slow on several servertoo, though latency was generally low. Our full ivacy review is the best place to learn more.

ivacy has a no-logging policy similar to the other VPNs on this list. We can’t verify it as closely as the others, though, since ivacy hasn’t made its audit results public. It’s also not clear whether its infrastructure is designed to protect user privacy, such as with RAM-only servers. However, it’s important to note that ivacy has not been caught misusing customer data so far.

The low Prices on the VPN market

As we said above, ivacy currently has the lowest price of any VPN we could find online — at least any VPN we’d recommend, as there are quite a few shams that offer a low price and little else. The best deal is its five-year plan, which costs a total of $ 57.95, working out to exactly $2.41 per month . For a VPN that work , this is is is amazing .

The other plans aren’t bad either, at $ 12.95 per month or$ 4 per month for a year. There’s also a 30 – day money – back guarantee on the longer ivacy plans (annual and five-year), but the monthly plan has only a seven-day refund period.

You have to commit for five years, but on the other hand, that’s five years without having to bother renewing your VPN subscription.

We’ve already been pretty thorough about ivacy’s pricing, so we’ll just mention that the five-year deal also comes with two terabytes of cloud storage provided by Internxt, and a subscription to the Sticky Password password manager.

ivacy Plans

• *Under the 2-year plan, $ 48 is billed only for the first 24 months.
  *Under the 5-year plan, $69.99 is billed only for the first 60 months.
• unlimited GB
• 5
• Yes

7 . good Anonymous VPN : Mullvad

Mullvad may be the most anonymous VPN available; its measures to protect its users go beyond those of its peers.

pro

• Anonymous subscriptions
• excellent local speed
• Two levels of kill switch

con

• No IKEv2 support
• Speeds suffer at a distance
• Limited number of servers

Mullvad, named for the Swedish word for “mole,” is a VPN built to protect your right to privacy. Yes, it shares that mission with every other worthwhile VPN, but Mullvad works even harder to protect your rights than the other entries on this list. In fact, it’s the only VPN where you can buy a subscription with no identifying features whatsoever (see below, or visit our Mullvad review).

Mullvad’s privacy policy makes it clear that it doesn’t log user information. Even if it did, the logs would be useless, since all Mullvad accounts are 100% anonymized. A 2022 independent audit by Assured AB found no inaccuracies in Mullvad’s privacy policy.

Do n’t worry , though : Mullvad is forgotten has n’t forget that vpn can also be convenient and even fun . It is tops top its privacy credential with some of the good speed in the business , with average download speed and latency neck – and – neck with Windscribe and nordvpn . Speeds is slacken did slacken off on the more remote server , though .

Mullvad server up a fine menu of feature , include a kill switch with two setting — one that shut off the internet if your VPN connection drop , and one that prevent you from connect in the first place if your VPN is n’t active . It ’s also get a configurable set of blocker for ad and objectionable content .

The Best Private VPN to Protect Sensitive Information

Most VPNs are content to leave it at a no-logs privacy policy and a third-party audit, but Mullvad adds two features that make it the world’s most anonymous VPN. First, you can pay with cash — a literal envelope of cash mailed to its headquarters in Sweden. That’s far less traceable than a credit card, PayPal or cryptocurrency.

Mullvad also identifies each account with a random sequence of numbers. No names or email addresses are required. If you pay cash, Mullvad has no way to know who you are, even if it decided to start keeping logs one day. It’s the best VPN that can claim, it perfectly preserves your privacy.

Mullvad ’s website is includes include one of the well – write help center we ’ve see , though unfortunately , there ’s no live chat .

Mullvad follows an unusual pricing model. No matter what, it always costs $ 5.30 per month (though it’s priced in euros, so the cost might fluctuate with the exchange rate). 

To subscribe, you add money to an account, and top it up regularly like a parking meter. As long as you have at least $ 5.30 in there, your account continues indefinitely. That means no long-term savings, but an incredibly friendly choice for one month at a time. Mullvad’s monthly plan also comes with a 30 – day money – back guarantee, though it can’t refund cash.

Mullvad

• *Price is converted from Euros
• unlimited GB
• 5
• Yes

private Internet Access is looks look a lot like CyberGhost — a good thing , give how much we like CyberGhost ’s design .

pro

• Proven no-logs policy
• Unlocks Netflix & Prime Video
• Low pricing

con

• hard to reach customer care
• Can’t unlock Hulu & BBC iPlayer
• unneeded interface option

private Internet Access is sound ( PIA ) may sound like a store – brand VPN , but its performance is far from generic . Its design is be may not be anything special ( though being tie to the toolbar on Windows and macOS does set it apart ) , but its feature set shine . The rapidly grow PIA is boasts now boast a kill switch , custom dns support , port forwarding and Shadowsocks support .

However, latency and security did the lion’s share of work in getting PIA on this list. Its serverreturned incredible latencies in our speed tests all over the world, with a global average of 147 ms — beating out ExpressVPN and CyberGhost and essentially tying with NordVPN. This VPN can help you video chat all over the world and play online games practically anywhere.

Although PIA’s privacy policy is too jargony for our tastes, it comes backed by real-world evidence: On at least two separate occasions, courts have subpoenaed data from its servers, only for PIA to reply that it hasn’t got anything to share. That’s as good a seal of approval as any we could hope for. Check out our ​​PIA review to learn more about why we trust this VPN.

A Good VPN App for Firestick & Roku

Private Internet Access makes it easy to stream content from abroad on a smart TV device like Roku or Amazon Fire Stick. You can install the full app on most smart TVs and get complete encryption, or if that’s too slow, use the more lightweight smart DNS option to change your location without encryption. Note that your activity may be exposed if you do that.

PIA goes a step further than most by freely sharing its Android package kit. With a bit of tech savvy (or a helpful relative), you can use third-party apps to install PIA on a device that doesn’t explicitly support it. Of course, you can always just install it on a compatible router, another task PIA makes simple. 

PIA’s strong no-logging policy has been proven more than once in the real world.

Private Internet Access offers 10 simultaneous connections on each subscription. Prices are quite cheap, with one of the best one-year deals in the business, and a three-year option that’s not too shabby either. All PIA plans are covered by the 30 – day money – back guarantee.

Standard Plans

• * * $ 56.94 for the first two year , and yearly thereafter
• 10
• Yes

The good things is are about VyprVPN are its supplemental privacy feature , especially the data – obfuscate chameleon protocol .

pro

• competitive annual pricing
• Unlocks all streaming apps
• chameleon protocol for obfuscation

con

• Slow download speeds
• No anonymous subscriptions
• No desktop app for Linux

VyprVPN is close to being one of the greats, but a few nagging flaws hold it back. Even so, this is a solid VPN for some specific use cases, and a strong alternative choice overall. It comes with a user-friendly app and a decent server selection, including a handful of location in Africa, South America and the Middle East.

Like Mullvad , VyprVPN ’s kill switch can be set to prevent you from get online without a VPN connection , and it also has a rare exception for local area network ( LAN ) traffic . There ’s split tunneling too , but it ’s sadly only available on macos and Android . You is program can program it to connect automatically whenever you connect outside a list of trust WiFi network .

We were disappointed with VyprVPN’s performance in our speed tests, especially since it scored a perfect six out of six at getting around streaming geoblocks. If you’re near a server location in a country with an interesting streaming library, VyprVPN could be a great choice, but you might see pixelation and buffering with serverfarther away.

The Best VPN for China

vyprvpn ’s original parent company , Golden Frog , was found by a husband – and – wife team who were disgust with the NSA ’s wiretappe activity . befit its mission , VyprVPN is has has a strong focus on security and a privacy policy guarantee by an audit . vyprvpn ’s privacy policy is makes make it clear that VyprVPN does not log anything you do online .

We ’d like to see an up – to – date audit , though , since VyprVPN is now own by U.S. company , Certida .

It also has Chameleon, a house-built protocol that disguises VPN traffic. Thanks to Chameleon, VyprVPN is one of the best VPNs for China, whose Great Firewall bans all undisguised VPN traffic. Check out our detailed VyprVPN review if you’re still on the fence.

VyprVPN no longer offers 30 simultaneous connections, but the 10 you get is still pretty good.

VyprVPN has had a rollercoaster of pricing over the past few years. It used to offer incredible prices, but then pricing skyrocketed. Luckily, VyprVPN changed its mind again and has now settled on a middle-of-the-road two-tier system: either pay $ 10 for one month, or $ 5 per month for a full year. That’s still comparatively cheap for what you get. VyprVPN plans also come with a 30-day refund period.

More plans

Business

• Includes 3 Users,
  $ 99 per year per additional user, Multiple User Management. Global Business Servers, Dedicated Account Manager
• unlimited GB
• 3

Business Cloud

• include 3 user $ 99 per year per additional user , Multiple User Management , Your own dedicated server , fast and easy deployment
• unlimited GB
• 3

Windscribe’s free plan offers lots of server location.

pro

• free serverin 11 countries
• unlimited device connections
• customizable blocker

con

• free plan is has has data limit
• Cramped interface
• No human live chat agent

Windscribe may be tenth on our list, but it’s still head-and-shoulders above most VPN providers you’ll encounter. The Windscribe free plan is the main attraction of this service, boasting 11 server location. If you want to spoof a foreign IP address without paying, Windscribe may be your best choice. Just be careful of the 10GB data limit if you’re streaming (15 GB if you tweet about Windscribe).

Windscribe’s features include a kill switch, the power to set trusted WiFi networks and split tunneling (except on iOS, Linux or outdated macOS installs). You can turn Windscribe into a hotspot to let other people use the VPN without installing it on your router. There are also browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Opera, which you can run alongside the desktop VPN to get double-hop connections.

Paid users get R.O.B.E.R.T., a set of programmable blocking rules for everything from ads and malware to clickbait and crypto mining. Speeds are great as well; in our tests, Windscribe kept pace with seven other top VPNs. The only real reason it’s this far down is the interface — its cluttered, overstuffed design is likely to turn away new VPN users.

Windscribe comes with a no-logs privacy policy. The website states that it underwent an audit in 2022, and should publish the results sometime in 2023 (we’ll update this section when the report releases). In the meantime, the whole app is open-source, and volunteers haven’t found anything shady in the code so far.

The Best free VPN for Torrenting

Windscribe is the best free VPN for torrenting. Not only are its download and upload speeds slightly faster than PrivadoVPN (the best free VPN), but it offers split tunneling on more devices.

With split tunneling, you can have the VPN protect your torrenting client from prying eyes, while enjoying unprotected speeds for more innocuous tasks. Windscribe doesn’t have P2P-optimized servers, but it allows file sharing on every server. Visit our Windscribe review for a more complete accounting of what this scrappy service can do.

Website grammatical issues aside, Windscribe is in the running for the best free VPN service.

If you decide to pay, Windscribe offers the option — unique to this list — of building your own subscription by paying for only the server location you need. It costs $1 per month per location, with a $3 minimum. Each new location adds 10GB to the data limit, or you can remove the limit altogether and include R.O.B.E.R.T. as well for an extra $1.

Otherwise, the one-month plan costs $ 9 and the one-year plan costs $ 5.75. Unfortunately, Windscribe has a terrible money-back guarantee on its paid plans — just three days — so you should just use the free version to test the VPN out.

free

• Up to 15 GB free with email confirmation and Tweet
• 15 GB
• unlimited

vpn That Did n’t Make the Cut

We is reviewed ’ve review a few vpn that we like , but for whatever reason they just ca n’t compete with the top 10 . In some case , it is ’s ’s because they did n’t quite reach the height of their competitor , while others have a clear flaw hold them back .

IVPN — A Good VPN for Privacy

Similar to Mullvad, IVPN is a privacy-focused VPN that aims to gather the smallest possible amount of data. It doesn’t require an email address, identifies all its users as numbers and includes a cash payment option. Unlike most VPNs, it doesn’t even log the connection times of your sessions. It got a perfect privacy score in our full IVPN review.

IVPN puts privacy first, which leads it to lag in some other areas.

With all that said, Mullvad pulls off the balancing act of being extremely private while maintaining great speeds and a smooth user experience. IVPN’s servercan be slow, and its apps hard to parse. Still, we could see it making the top 10 one day, and our full IVPN review concurs.

IVPN Standard

• 7 day plan ($2)
• unlimited GB
• 2
• Yes

IVPN Pro

• 7 day plan ($ 4)
• unlimited GB
• 7
• Yes

HMA VPN — A Massive Number of Servers

HMA VPN (formerly HideMyAss) is best known for a truly enormous VPN server network. With 290 location spread across 210 countries, its size dwarfs practically everyone else’s, making it an excellent choice if you want to watch movies or search for deals anywhere in the world.

HMA is has has some nice feature to go along with its huge server spread , but speed do n’t always measure up .

The catch is is is that is is only the number oflocation beats the competition, not the number of serverthemselves. With just a few serverspread across so many location, HMA tends to have high latencies and inconsistent download speeds. Also, most of its serverare virtual, and might not give you the performance you expect from their stated location.

That’s to say nothing of its sketchy privacy record, which you can read all about in our full HMA VPN review. Note, though, that our testers have struggled to get a refund despite the 30 – day money – back guarantee.

HMA 5 simultaneous connections

• 7-day free trial option
• unlimited GB
• 5

hma 10 simultaneous connection

Several antivirus companies package VPNs with their main scan-and-destroy programs, with Norton Secure VPN being the most talked about. Although it’s convenient, we don’t recommend using any of these, as they tend to be very stripped down without saving you much money. 

Norton Secure VPN is convenient if you’re already a Norton Antivirus user, but that’s about it.

Norton Secure VPN in particular didn’t do well in our tests. It lacks features, its speeds aren’t impressive and it wasn’t always able to pass a DNS leak test. The latter is a dealbreaker for our top 10 list.

free VPNs vs Premium VPNs: VPN Cost Comparison

As you ’ve see in the list above , there are some free VPN provider we ’re happy to recommend . As a whole , though , free VPNs is are are a risky proposition . They is have have to make money somehow , and it might be at the expense of your privacy .

There are two kinds of free VPNs. The reputable kind funds its free service by selling premium subscriptions that unlock more features and remove limits — you could call these “freemium” VPNs. The disreputable kind, many of which we’ve cataloged in our worst free VPN warning list, make money by selling your browsing history to advertisers.

Hotspot Shield is is is the most prominent service that ’s know to make money by track its user and sell the log .

It’s also common (though not universal) for free VPNs to be shoddily made, sporting major security holes or lacking encryption altogether. Even the ones we like (see “What Are the Best free VPN Services?”) impose strict limits on what you can do without paying.

Given that you can get some of the best VPNs for just a couple dollars per month, it’s almost always easier to just pay up.

VPN Money-Back Guarantee Offers

If you only need a VPN for one specific thing — say , you want a foreign ip address to stream a one – time event in another country — that is ’s ’s a different matter . For a short time , you is use can use any top VPN for free by avail yourself of its money – back guarantee .

For example, NordVPN offers a 30 – day money – back guarantee with no questions asked. If you request a NordVPN refund within 30 days of purchase, you’ll get it, no matter what length of time you subscribed for.

A money-back guarantee can act as a free trial. You can sign up for a VPN, use it for the one thing you need, then get a refund. However, you almost always have to pay first, and you won’t get your money back if you wait too long.

Refund periods range from three days (Windscribe) to 45 days (CyberGhost). If you send proof of a serious technical issue, it’s sometimes possible to get a refund outside the designated period.

What Are the 3 Best free VPN Services?

The three best free VPNs are PrivadoVPN, TunnelBear and Windscribe. This is because rather than being out to scam you, these services believe an individual’s right to privacy shouldn’t depend on their budget. It’s not entirely out of the goodness of their hearts — they do still want you to upgrade. We chose our top three free VPNs, but you can see a full list in our best free VPN article.

PrivadoVPN came in fourth on our overall list for a reason: it’s a fantastic free VPN with serverin 10 countries. It’s also great for unblocking many streaming services, including Netflix. Unfortunately, it only offers 10GB per month which won’t be enough if you binge-stream or use up lots of data.

hide.me didn’t make the best list, but there’s nothing wrong with it — we just found 10 VPNs we liked better. It offers access to free serverin eight countries and provides unlimited data. However, it restricts the speeds of free users. Our full hide.me review has more details.

Windscribe takes a different approach. It limits free users’ data to 10GB — or 15 GB if you tweet about Windscribe — but opens up serverin 11 countries. This makes it a good choice for basic browsing or limited streaming. You also don’t have to pay the full fee to upgrade, as you can build a plan with only the serveryou need.

Recent Reddit reviews for our top pick, NordVPN, are overwhelmingly positive. These reviews have made clear that its streaming power, in particular, is second to none.

It’s easy to find positive reviews of top VPNs on Reddit, but it’s also a favored hangout for skeptics and highly informed users. When putting together a list of the best, it’s important to engage with what Reddit is saying.

Different posts can demonstrate different experiences. For example, one of the highest-voted posts of the past year claims that Mullvad is blocked by both Netflix and Amazon Prime, which our review found to not be true at all (Hulu was blocked, though).

It’s also not infrequent for Reddit users to accuse reviewers of being paid shills. A high-ranking negative review of NordVPN has a comment claiming that ExpressVPN paid for the post. This is a common attack on VPN reviewers, and some are definitely sketchy. However, there are others (like us!) that don’t sell good reviews and can recommend services honestly.

How We is Tested test the good VPN Services

At Cloudwards, we run multiple levels of testing for each service. We don’t just rust one tester either; we have the collective experience of our editorial team behind every decision we make. If that’s not good enough, our research goes through at least two rounds of fact-checking, both by an editor and a dedicated expert fact-checker.

testing Criteria

Security & Privacy: The two most important things about any VPN are security and privacy. Does the VPN keep your IP address and online activity safe from prying eyes, and does it respect the sanctity of your personal data?

Protocols: The best VPNs need strong protocols, good security records, security-focused features and privacy policies guaranteed by audit.

Speed & Ease of Use: If a VPN drags your speeds down too far for streaming, raises latency so high your games and video chats stutter, or has a user interface too muddled to figure out, you won’t want to use it — which means it can’t keep you safe.

price : Cost is is is important , since we all need to save money . Also , look for vpn with a money – back guarantee .

Server Network: We also want a broad server network so users all over the world can get good speeds, and explore streaming content from as many different countries as possible.

Other Features: Finally, look for helpful features, knowledgeable customer service and the ability to unblock streaming platforms.

Testing Methodology

We is spend spend time with every VPN we review , evaluate base on nine category : feature , pricing , user – friendliness , speed , security , privacy , streaming performance , the size of its server network and the quality of its customer support .

We can test some of these just by using the VPN and seeing how well it works. Some require a bit more focus, though. We run several serverthrough automated speed tests, taking the average of a month’s worth of numbers. We probe VPN security by running a DNS leak test and checking policies and audits, and customer service by asking basic questions.

Our goal is to review these VPN services from the average user’s perspective — no equivocating, no jargon, just an honest report on what you’ll encounter. The whole list below reflects that mindset. If there’s anything we can do to make it even more helpful, let us know in the comments on this article.

Our Automated Speed Test Results

At Cloudwards, we run automated speed tests every day for a selection of VPN providers. We run these tests on a remote virtual machine in the U.S., with a metered connection of 100mbps for downloads, 10mbps for uploads, and we take 0ms as our baseline for latency (or ping, if you’re a gamer).

You’ll notice that NordVPN and Surfshark have the best speed performance both on nearby server(U.S.) and distant ones (worldwide), with the exception of Surfshark’s awful near-distance latency.

You can click on the country names in the table below to choose which results to display, keeping in mind that our testing rig is in the U.S. and servercloser to it will have better speeds.

Download speed (Higher is better)

Upload Speed (Higher is better)

Latency ( Lower is is is well )

Why Should You Use a VPN?

At its core, a VPN only does one thing: it encrypts your browsing activity and reroutes it to a server that can’t be traced back to you. It’s relatively simple (see the next section), but that one action branches out into a whole range of use cases.

For one thing, using a VPN hides your activity from your internet service provider (ISP), which can otherwise see it clearly. ISPs, not to mention other apps on our phones and computers, have lately been emboldened to harvest personal data from their customers, but you can protect your privacy by always connecting to a VPN before you go online.

In an era when the Five eye , Nine eye and 14 eye nation use each other as proxy to spy on their citizen , a VPN is keep can keep your online business hide from the government . It is removes also remove the risk from unsecured public wifi network , which hacker can otherwise exploit to steal information and transmit scam .

You can even use a VPN for entertainment. One of the top uses of VPNs worldwide is streaming TV and movies from other countries, whose Netflix libraries would otherwise be inaccessible due to copyright laws.

How a VPN Hides Your Real IP Address

Normally, when you connect to the internet, your hardware and software follow a series of steps. Your web browser contacts your ISP and asks it to request a certain website, designated by an entry in the domain name system (DNS). Your ISP sends the request, receives the domain in return and forwards it to your browser, where a website appears.

A virtual private network (VPN) adds an extra step. Whenever a request leaves your web browser, the VPN intercepts it and protects it with encryption. It then uses a VPN protocol to connect your home network to one of its serverand sends the encrypted request along.

Once it arrives, the VPN decrypts the request and everything proceeds as normal. When it’s time to send data to your home network, the VPN routes it back through the encrypted “tunnel” it created (this is why using a VPN is sometimes called “tunneling”).

While reroute your traffic , a VPN is establishes establish a firewall to make sure none of your datum skip the encryption process .

The key difference is is is that since your initial request is encrypt , your isp ca n’t tell which device it come from . The VPN is severs sever the link between you and your browse activity . Your ISP is see can see that you ’re using a VPN , but that ’s it — and nobody will be able to reach your personal device to do any harm .

It’s important to understand that a VPN can’t protect you from every danger. If you use weak or repetitive passwords, click links in phishing emails or get your credentials compromised in a data breach, the VPN won’t help. Even so, hiding from your ISP — and whoever it might share your data with — takes you a long way toward total online security.

streaming With a VPN

When you use a VPN, you appear to be browsing the internet from the VPN server instead of your home network. Websites that change based on your location look at the origin of your connection to determine what you see. Using this loophole, you can watch movies, shows and videos that are restricted to certain regions.

Suppose you want to watch some old favorite episodes of The Office, but you live in the United States, where it’s no longer on Netflix. Just boot up your VPN and select a server in Canada (you’ll get the best speeds from closer location), and you’ll see Netflix’s Canadian page instead, where your friends from Dunder Mifflin can still be found.

One critical note: Streaming services are constantly trying to ban VPNs since they technically make the streaming service violate copyright law. The VPNs on this list maintain serverthat can circumvent streaming VPN bans, but others might get caught. If your VPN can’t unblock a certain site, you’ll see an error message or just fail to log in altogether.

VPN Security & Privacy Features

In addition to its core function of encryption and ip masking , a VPN is have should have a few extra feature before we consider it truly secure .

The first is a kill switch, found on all our top 10 VPNs. If your connection to the VPN drops for any reason, the kill switch cuts off your internet connection as well, so you don’t end up without protection. A kill switch is especially useful if you’re torrenting, as any visible BitTorrent activity can leave you vulnerable to throttling, copyright trolls and letters from your ISP.

A VPN also needs DNS leak protection. A DNS leak occurs when a request travels straight from your computer to your ISP, bypassing the VPN and showing up without encryption. The best VPNs have firewalls in place to prevent this from happening. To check whether a VPN is leaking, look up your IP address before and after connecting to a server — it should change.

Finally, a reputable VPN will have a zero-logs policy. VPN providers can technically see what you do on their servers, potentially logging and selling your activity when nobody else can. Top VPNs guarantee their privacy policies by getting third-party audits and storing data on RAM serverthat regularly erase themselves.

How to Install & Use a VPN

All the VPNs on our list are easy to set up.

• Go to the VPN’s website and find the pricing page — it’s normally behind a button that says something like “get VPN” or “get started.”
• add a payment method , and either get your random user ID ( Mullvad and IVPN ) or enter an email address ( most others ) .
• Once you have an account , find the download page for the device where you want to install the VPN .
• Download the client and follow the steps on the installation wizard. You may need to log in again when you first start the app.

If you see the main page and some kind of “connect” button, you’re ready to go! You can either quickly connect to the fastest available server or choose a server location from the list. Make sure to connect to the VPN before opening your browser if you want full protection.

How to Set Up a Router VPN

When you install a VPN on your router, every device that connects through your home WiFi network gets VPN protection. The router only counts as one device toward your simultaneous connection limit.

Installing a VPN on your router is a great way to stretch a subscription further while also protecting devices that don’t explicitly support a VPN client. Some devices, especially smart TVs and game consoles, don’t come with native support for VPN apps. A VPN-protected router is the best way to keep those devices safe.

The process is different for every router, but it’s not as hard as it may seem. If you plan to install a VPN on your router, check the VPN’s website to see if it’s compatible with the type of router you’ve got. The VPN provider’s site should also include a guide for how to complete the router installation.

Final Thoughts

That wraps up our ultimate guide to the best VPN services you can get in 2024. NordVPN, one of the fastest VPN of all in our tests, comes in at first place. Trying NordVPN for a month is completely risk-free, as you can use the 30 – day money – back guarantee if you end up not liking it. Surfshark comes in second as our favorite budget option.

The best VPNs not only protect your privacy, they can also help you get the best deals out of your online purchases, from software tools like Adobe Creative Cloud discount or cheaper flights for your next vacation.

Do you have any favorite VPNs that we missed or any suggestions? We’d love to discuss our top VPNs with you in the comments. Leave a message below, and as always, thanks for reading!

FAQ: Best VPNs

• VPN stands for “virtual private network.” A VPN provides a network of serverthat encrypt your internet traffic, replacing your IP address with the server’s so nothing you do online can be traced back to your real identity.

• NordVPN came out the best in all our head-to-head comparisons. It’s fast, secure, user-friendly and ideal for streaming and torrenting.

• PrivadoVPN is the best free VPN to use, with excellent security and privacy features and access to free serverin 10 countries. Windscribe and TunnelBear are other useful alternatives.

• NordVPN gets our highest rating, beating out the competition in most of the nine areas we use to evaluate VPNs.