The best VPN services: Expert tested

VPN is an acronym for virtual private network, which lets you browse the internet privately and connect securely to open or public Wi-Fi networks. A VPN allows you to change your virtual location by redirecting the connection through one of its servers worldwide. A VPN encrypts your traffic, hiding you from hackers, internet service providers, and governments.

If, however, your online activities are being monitored at the ISP level -- say, by a government -- they may recognize the signature of a VPN, even if exactly what you are doing is hidden.

VPNs are useful in unblocking geo-restricted content and can be vital tools for accessing information in countries with repressive governments. They are important services for anyone who wants to maintain a high level of safety and privacy online. Because they are anonymous (or at least should be), they can also be used to hide illegal online activities, such as pirating content.

A fully functional VPN should protect your privacy and mask your location and IP address. If you're unsure if your VPN is working correctly, some tools make checking your VPN's performance easy.

You can find out your IP address and location by using whatismyipaddress.com. Compare the IP address and location when you're connected with and without a VPN. If they are different, then your VPN is doing its job.

It's possible that your VPN is leaking your data and potentially exposing your online activity. You can run tests on a site like DNS Leak Test to ensure your VPN has no issues with DNS leaks or IP leaks. Plenty of tools allow you to test for leaks, but VPN providers own many, and it may not always be clear who developed the tool, which could be a conflict of interest. You may want to run tests using different sites and compare the results.

If you're traveling or using the internet in a public place like a coffee shop, data encryption is critical, since most public Wi-Fi hotspots are open and unencrypted -- which means anyone on the network can see what you send and may be able to eavesdrop on your activities and steal passwords. 

If you're connecting to an existing corporate virtual private network, you may not need an additional service. MacOS comes with built-in native VPN support, although most consumers won't need to tamper with these settings.

If you do, head over to System Settings, then the Network tab, and either import the configuration file you were provided or hit the plus button and add a VPN interface. Here's a handy tip sheet from Apple that will walk you through the process.

If you're connecting to an established corporate VPN, all you need to do is add a new Windows VPN connection. Click the Start button, type settings, then select Settings, Network & Internet, VPN, and then Add VPN. Make sure you have the connection details provided by your work, and then click on "Add a New VPN Connection." Fill in the form and you're good to go. Here's a tip sheet from Microsoft with more information.

Windows also allows you to host a VPN server by creating a new incoming network connection, choosing the users who can connect, and telling Windows that the incoming connection is across the internet. You'll also have to configure your router to allow traffic to your computer. 

If you're using a Chromebook, all you need to do is open Settings, Network, Add Connection, and then choose between OpenVPN and L2TP over IPSec. Google has a handy cheat sheet to guide you through the process. 

See also: The best VPN extensions for Chrome - expert tested

WireGuard is Linux's baked-in VPN capability. Its code is relatively simple and small, making it far easier to maintain, test, and debug.

So what do you need to set up WireGuard? Most VPNs we spotlighted support WireGuard right out of the box. You can download it for Linux. You can also download a package for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and FreeBSD. It's like most open-source products in that you'll need to do some reading and thinking to make it work.

Apple announced support for third-party VPNs on tvOS in 2023. Since then, many top VPN providers have developed native apps for tvOS. VPNs with native Apple TV support include ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark. While some are still in development, check out our guide below for tvOS-supporting VPN options.

See also: The best Apple TV VPNs of 2024 - expert tested and reviewed

We've highlighted paid services in this article, although some offer a free tier or a money-back guarantee during a trial period (check out our picks for the best VPN free trials). In general, we don't recommend most entirely free VPN services because they may not be secure.

Operating a good VPN service requires hundreds of servers worldwide and vast networking resources. If you're not paying to support that infrastructure, who is? Probably advertisers or data miners. If you use a free service, your data will probably be sold. You wouldn't want your data to go to some company to sift through -- it completely defeats the purpose of a VPN.

Before you choose a VPN service, free or paid, know that no single tool can guarantee your privacy. Anything can be compromised. A VPN protects your data from your computer to the VPN service. It doesn't protect what you put on servers. It doesn't protect your data from the VPN provider's VPN servers to whatever site or cloud-based application you use. Privacy and security require you to be diligent throughout your digital journey, and VPNs, while helpful, are not a miracle cure.

That said, if you would like to explore free options, we have compiled a guide of the best free VPNs available.

A VPN's cost can vary depending on your needs. Basic plans are often priced at a few dollars per month, but keep in mind that pricing structures are often displayed as monthly equivalents, so you may have to pay upfront for the full contract at sign-up. Tax may also be added. If you need a specialized VPN, such as one able to circumvent blocks in countries like China, expect to pay more. 

If it's your data, and you want it to be secure, yes. The same choices are valid regardless of what kind of device you use to transmit and receive data over the internet.

Also: The best mobile VPNs

Yes, in most countries, including the US, the UK, and the majority of Europe. In some countries, however, VPNs are illegal, or they are severely discouraged and limited to state-approved software.

At the moment, countries including North Korea, Iraq, and Belarus have reportedly banned the use of VPNs entirely. As noted in NordVPN's country guide, others -- like China, Russia, and Egypt -- discourage VPN use and try to stop new adoption by demonizing VPNs as software widely used for criminal activity.

Workarounds do exist, but they may come with risks.

We recommend that you do, as a VPN provides a blanket layer of protection for your online activities. If speed loss is problematic during some activities -- such as gaming -- at least use one during sensitive activities, such as accessing financial accounts. You should also always use a VPN when connecting to public Wi-Fi hotspots.

Some do. Check when you sign up. For non-free plans, none of the providers we recommended limit the amount of data you can use. Some will limit how many devices you can use at once -- although, for paid plans, VPN providers tend to offer more connections than you will need. 

As a general rule of thumb, free or trial offerings tend to restrict usage, speed, and/or the number of devices you can connect to the VPN, with access and speed increased for paying customers.

Logging is the recording of data about your usage, and it occurs everywhere. Every website, at minimum, records an IP address, time, and data accessed so they can track traffic. All VPN providers have to check credentials against recorded personal data to make sure you paid, but some let you sign up with Bitcoin, allowing you to hide your identity.

When we say a VPN doesn't log data, we mean they don't track which sites you visit and for how long, but they may track how much of their infrastructure you use.

Let's say you're surfing online and suddenly your VPN connection fails. Your phone or computer is likely to immediately try to reconnect and do so directly without going through a VPN. All of a sudden, your data is unprotected.

A kill switch is a feature in your device's VPN app that detects when a connection fails and immediately shuts down network access. Like with everything, it's not a 100% perfect solution, but these days, we wouldn't recommend using a VPN that doesn't offer a kill switch.

When you have multiple devices -- such as a tablet, a laptop, and a smartphone -- and you are using these devices for different tasks, you still want to keep your data and connections secure on each machine.

When you have enabled the VPN on more than one device at the same time, you are using simultaneous connections. It's always best to have this feature in a VPN to ensure your privacy isn't accidentally compromised through one device or another.

Using a VPN can often slow down your connection. That's because your data is encrypted, decrypted, and sent through intermediate servers. Game responsiveness might suffer, for example, or you may notice your streaming service doesn't load as fast as usual.

With many high-quality VPNs now available, however, the negative impact is often unnoticeable, unless there is a problem with the VPN server you connect to. To fix this, try a server in a different location and see if that improves your connection.

If you've been shopping for a VPN service, you've undoubtedly come across a bunch of names like SSL, OpenVPN, SSTP, L2TP/IPSec, PPP, PPTP, IKEv2/IPSec, and SOCKS5. These are all communication protocols. They are, essentially, the name of the method by which your communication is encrypted and packaged for tunneling to the VPN provider. 

To be honest, while VPN enthusiasts can argue over protocols for hours, it's probably good enough to use the default setup from your provider.

You should avoid VPNs without a long-term customer base or strong customer feedback. Shady VPNs may offer you free services, but nothing in life is truly free -- and they may store or sell your information in return. You should also avoid VPN providers with known security problems and a lack of transparency around resolving them.

VPN providers often join in during sales events and offer holiday promotions, reducing the price of a subscription by a few dollars or more. However, the price will often jump after your promotional period ends -- whether this is for an annual plan or a two-year contract. Remember to watch when your subscription ends to avoid costly renewal payments. It might be better to turn off auto-renewal and then sign back up.

A VPN encrypts your traffic. This means the websites you visit and your online communication, as well as your original IP address. However, a VPN may not be able to hide that you are using a VPN, nor does it hide your device's physical details or information you may submit to a service, such as when you make a financial transaction.