In all the areas that count, NordVPN beats or matches what’s offered by the competition, which is why it has snagged the second spot in our ranking of the best VPN services. The service has over 5,300 servers in over 60 countries, offers 2048-bit encryption, secure DNS leak protection, and app-specific and system-wide kill switches. It supports up to six devices simultaneously and there are proxy extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Most services provide perfectly adequate internet speed when in use, and can even handle streaming HD video. However, 4K video and other data-intensive tasks likegaming over a VPNare another story.
The latest round of tests found NordVPN speeds to be faster than ever before, nearly maxing out my baseline speeds with all servers (around 150 Mbps). It also continues to role out new security upgrades and features, to include full WireGuard support on Linux.
Ivacy VPN doesn’t come with the most intuitive UI out there, but it gets the job done. This is a highly reputable VPN service that’s coming from Singapore.
You’ll get access to the American Netflix, and if you run into any issues, their support is fast and efficient. In most cases, VPNs will limit your data, bandwidth, connection speed, available server locations, and even block you from streaming services.
With up to six simultaneous connections on a single low-price subscription, NordVPN offers one of the best value plans on the market. Some servers are specialized for faster streaming or added security, including Tor over VPN and double VPN servers.
Every connection is protected by military-grade encryption, a kill switch, and leak prevention. Despite it’s smaller server network, it’s proven to be adept at unblocking various streaming services, including Netflix and Hulu. Speeds are great, fast enough to stream in HD without buffering. Live chat support is at your disposal, though it’s not manned at all hours. Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire TV.
What’s the best VPN service?
NordVPN emphasizes security and privacy above all else, but it won’t let you down when it comes to other features and capabilities. The Panama-based provider operates a blazing fast network of servers in over 60 countries. It uses strong encryption and maintains a true zero-logs policy. It is capable of unblocking Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and other streaming sites that normally block VPN users.
This service offers solid speeds, and it has excellent methods for protecting user privacy. It’s expensive, and the country list is smaller than many services, but its approach to privacy is very interesting and hard to beat. Ease of use and its awesome features justify the price though. It’s reliable and lag-free with a staggering network of servers in 94 countries.
It’s on the expensive side at $84 per year, and the country choice is also limited to 14, with less than 100 servers in the network. The good news is the speeds are much better than they were, it now supports U.S. Netflix streaming, and multi-hop is free for six-month and annual subscribers. NordVPN is one of the most popular VPNs on the market and it works hard to remain the best option available. It excels in all areas, from privacy and security features to streaming and torrenting support.
KeepSolid VPN Unlimited
Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Fire TV, and Linux, with browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome. You’ll rarely, if ever, encounter downtime; speeds are quick enough to watch HD video and even live streams. Torrenting is allowed, and the company keeps no identifying logs of traffic or metadata. Users can unblock Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, and HBO Now on select servers.
- NordVPN emphasizes security and privacy above all else, but it won’t let you down when it comes to other features and capabilities.
- The Panama-based provider operates a blazing fast network of servers in over 60 countries.
Surfshark is another newer provider that competes with larger providers at nearly every level. It excels at unblocking region-locked content like Netflix and other streaming services. Perhaps most notably, Surfshark is the only provider on this list to allow an unlimited number of connections per account.
StrongVPN
If you’re going to use torrents, however, life is easier if you use a VPN—especially if the network you’re on blocks torrenting. There are many VPNs among our top picks that could be used for downloading torrents, but our preferred choice is Private Internet Access. This no-frills VPN has an absolute ton of servers, good speeds, and a nice amount of country locations to remain relatively anonymous. (Read our full review.) The price is right at less than $40 a year, and its privacy policies have been tested in court. Plus, advanced users can adjust their level of encryption for data encryption, data authentication, and handshake.
With 300+ VPN services competing for your attention, choosing the right one is no easy task. If you like Mullvad’s focus on privacy, but want a service with more features take a look at OVPN.
Gibraltar-based IVPN has a small network of servers, but good speeds, and a solid privacy policy. It’s pricier than other VPN services, but for those who want a solid set of privacy features it’s a good choice. OVPN is a relatively small VPN service that takes privacy very seriously.
A process-specific kill switch allows you to choose which apps get cut off from the internet in the event that the VPN connection unexpectedly drops. While you can find some good free VPNs, even the safest free services can’t compete with low-cost premium VPNs. A premium service offers the best security, as well as streaming and torrenting support. And, unlike most free VPNs, premium VPNs offer you unlimited data and bandwidth. You’ll be able to access more servers and enjoy faster connections.
VPN services typically run servers rented from centers all around the world. Ideally (but sadly not common enough), these servers are bare metal (single occupancy) machines that use encrypted hard drives and are configured solely by the VPN provider’s own staff. In other words, the server center staff keep the machine running, but have no access to any data stored on it. And anybody who wants to test the service, can do so risk free thanks to this provider’s 7-day money back guarantee. And because it has live chat support you will be able to ask questions if needed.
Some VPN services, such as NordVPN, have started to roll out specialty servers for high-bandwidth activities. And nearly every service we have tested includes a tool to connect you with the fastest available network. Of course, you can always limit your VPN use to when you’re not on a trusted network.
Although it doesn’t have as many server locations, the speed and security are on par with the veteran providers. It bypasses censorship in China and other countries where internet access is restricted.
Free vs. paid VPN: Which is truly better?
Among its notable features, you’ll find a bulletproof privacy policy, all kinds of data protection, built-in kill switch, split tunneling, and support for a large number of devices and platforms. On top of that, it comes with more than 1,000 servers spread across 100+ locations. A VPN server is a computer that runs VPN server software and acts as a proxy, sitting between your device and the internet. The connection between your device and the VPN servers is encrypted.
But all of the free VPNs we’ve tested have some kind of limitation. Some limit you to just a few simultaneous connections or devices on an account. Others restrict you to a few hundred MBs of data per day or per month. PrivateVPN is a relatively young provider compared to others on this list, but that hasn’t stopped it from offering a competitive service.
ExpressVPN bypasses China’s Great Firewall as well as any other censorship system thrown at it. All connections are protected with bleeding edge security standards, second to none in the VPN space. A kill switch and DNS leak protection are built into the apps. Available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, and Linux, the apps are simple enough for even a complete novice to use. You will have to pay a bit more than the competition to avail of all these great features, but ExpressVPN is well worth the price.