Want to boost your privacy? Or just watch Netflix when you’re away? You need a VPN!
VPN shield, laptop on background
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The Best VPN Overall: NordVPN
Top Paid VPN: ExpressVPN
Top Free VPN: PrivadoVPN
Best Mobile VPN: Surfshark
For Speed: NordVPN
For Torrenting: Private Internet Access
Best VPN For Streaming on Netflix: NordVPN
Key Takeaways
NordVPN is the best overall VPN, with over 6,000 servers worldwide and fast connection speeds, offering a range of extra features to enhance privacy and security.
PrivadoVPN’s free version offers 10GB of data per month and access to a range of VPN protocols, making it a viable choice for those who don’t want to spend money on a VPN service.
Surfshark’s easy-to-use app, extensive server options, VPN kill switch, and DNS leak protection make it one of the best mobile VPN options.
A secure and anonymous internet connection is vital to many folks worldwide. Who wants to be tracked and followed around the internet, anyway?
The easiest way to boost your online privacy is with a VPN, but with so many VPN services, which is the best, and how do you choose?
The Best VPN Overall: NordVPN
NordVPN takes our top spot as the best VPN, checking all the relevant boxes that a good VPN needs.
List of countries in NordVPN
Allowing NordVPN to create a VPN Connection on Android
Available servers in different cities in the US on NordVPN
Server locations: 6,000 servers in 60 countries worldwide.
Encryption: AES-256.
Price: Varies based on plan (from $3.36/month to $14.99/month).
No-log policy: Yes.
Legal jurisdiction: Panama.
NordVPN has over 6,000 servers in 60 different countries worldwide across all continents. Most locations support the PPTP, L2TP, and OpenVPN protocols, and all data is encrypted twice for tighter security. Despite this, NordVPN still offers fast connection speeds for users.
On top of its numerous VPN locations, NordVPN also offers useful extra features, including a VPN kill switch, dark web data monitoring (checking if your private info is found on the dark web), malware and tracking blockers, and private DNS. Additionally, you can use its Onion Over VPN feature while using the Tor network and keep yourself safe with NordVPN’s DNS leak testing.
NordVPN’s pricing is a little complex, as it offers varying tiers on top of varying contract lengths. Here’s a breakdown of the current prices (January 2024):
Plan
Monthly
Yearly
Two Years
Standard
$12.00
$67.35
$80.73
Plus
$13.99
$82.35
$107.73
Complete
$14.99
$97.35
$134.73
You can also try NordVPN’s 30-day trial before upgrading to the full subscription.
Top Paid VPN: ExpressVPN
what does the express vpn service look like
Server locations: 3,000 servers in 163 locations across 87 countries.
Encryption: AES-256.
Price: Varies based on plan (from $8.32/month to $12.95/month).
No-log policy: Yes.
Legal jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands.
Intended for the heavy user, ExpressVPN offers everything you’d expect from a VPN, alongside a range of additional features, from increased encryption and mobile support to unlimited bandwidth and a “strict no-logging policy.”
Furthermore, with over 3,000 servers in 163 locations across 87 countries, ExpressVPN gives users as much choice as they need. ExpressVPN offers privacy on top of this with PTP, L2TP, and OpenVPN protocol support. What’s more, ExpressVPN doesn’t heavily impact connection speeds when active.
For $8.32/month on a 12-month plan ($99.84 in total) with three months free, you get a wide range of top VPN features, no logging, and Tor support (ExpressVPN has a .onion site, too). There’s also a six-month plan that comes in at $9.99 monthly ($59.94 in total). If you don’t want to commit to a long contract, you can opt for the $12.95 monthly subscription, which you can cancel anytime.
ExpreessVPN is also great for Netflix, allowing you to bypass geo-blocking and access content on other countries’ Netflix platforms.
Top Free VPN: PrivadoVPN
screenshot of privadovpn main app screen
screenshot of privadovpn app server list page
screenshot of privadovpn app favorites page
Server locations: 330 servers in 63 cities across 48 countries worldwide.
Encryption: AES-256.
Price: N/A
No-log policy: Yes.
Legal jurisdiction: Switzerland.
You don’t always need to shell out for a VPN provider. Sometimes, a free VPN service does the job, and PrivadoVPN’s free version may be the perfect fit for you.
PrivadoVPN offers its free users 10GB of data per month while connected to any of its 12 free server locations. PrivadoVPN’s current free server locations include the UK, four US states, India, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.
With PrivadoVPN’s free version, you can access its kill switch and auto-connect features and choose between various VPN protocols if you don’t want the protocol selected automatically.
Best Mobile VPN: Surfshark
switching server locations using a VPN
Server locations: 3,200 in over 100 countries worldwide.
Encryption: AES-256.
Price: Varies depending on plan (from $2.49/month to $15.45/month).
No-log policy: Yes.
Legal jurisdiction: The Netherlands.
If you want to use a VPN on your smartphone, consider Surfshark.
Surfshark offers its paid VPN service for Android and iOS devices, which can be downloaded for free. The app is easy to use, even for tech novices, and allows you to connect and disconnect your VPN seamlessly.
The monthly fee is marginally pricier than the other providers listed here, coming in at $15.45/month. You can reduce this cost by signing up for a one- or two-year plan, costing $47.88 ($3.99/month) and $59.76 ($2.49/month), respectively.
Surfshark’s additional features, including its kill switch and DNS leak protection, are also available via the smartphone app. Note that Surfshark offers unlimited device usage with one subscription, so you don’t need to buy an additional subscription for your phone if you already have one active on your PC.
Download: Surfshark for Android | iOS (Premium)
For Speed: NordVPN
Some VPNs seriously affect your connection speeds, but this isn’t the case with NordVPN. NordVPN is hailed as one of the fastest VPNs out there today.
According to VPNRanks, using a New York-based server in Chicago only reduced the download speed by 1.85 Mbps, while the upload speed fell by 0.66 Mbps. When connected to a London server, the download speed only fell by 2.84 Mbps, while the upload speed improved by 7.55 Mbps.
A YouTube video by Geekman (see below) also revealed that, even with low download speeds, NordVPN didn’t have a negative impact when active. When connected to a Madrid-based NordVPN server, it was found that the download speed decreased by 10.68 percent, while a decrease of just 8.75 percent was seen when connecting to a German-based server. When connected to a New York-based server, a decrease of 12.61 percent was seen.
Of course, your internet speed relies mostly on your provider, location, obstructions, and network congestion, but having a VPN that has minimal effect on this is desirable.
For Torrenting: Private Internet Access
Server locations: 65,000 servers in 91 countries worldwide.
Encryption: AES-256
Price: Varies depending on plan (from $3.29/month to $11.99/month).
No-log policy: Yes.
Legal jurisdiction: The US.
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a great VPN for torrenting. This paid VPN client combines high speed with strong privacy to make torrenting safe and convenient.
Incredibly, Private Internet Access has more than 65,000 servers worldwide in 91 countries, which includes all US states and the six major continents.
Costing $11.99 monthly with no contract, $39.95 for one year, and $79 for two years, this secure VPN service offers P2P and VOIP support, the ability to use five devices simultaneously, and unlimited bandwidth. Private Internet Access’s torrent support makes it an attractive choice over many other VPNs.
Best VPN For Streaming on Netflix: NordVPN
This isn’t the first time we’ve mentioned NordVPN in our best VPN list, but this is for good reason. Along with being our best overall and fastest pick, NordVPN is the best VPN for Netflix streaming.
With Nord’s high speeds, you can stream Netflix without constant buffering or quality issues, but things don’t stop there. You can use NordVPN to bypass geo-blocking and access content unavailable in your country of residence. In terms of Netflix, this means that you can access the Netflix content catalogs of other countries, meaning you can watch films, documentaries, and TV series that would otherwise be unavailable.
For good reason, NordVPN is the world’s most popular VPN service. It combines nearly all the features you want in a VPN in a single package, delivering privacy, speed, and extensive server choices. Other VPN services like ExpressVPN, PIA, and Surfshark also offer excellent packages; in truth, you can’t go wrong with any of these selections.
Your final decision will likely come down to whichever VPN service is fastest and most secure for your specific set of uses and circ*mstances, so it’s worth trying out a few of these VPNs to find the one you like most.
