10 Best VPN Services for 2022 | The Top Virtual Private Networks

TechKnowableFebruary 5, 2022

1 29 minutes read

When you activate a best VPN service, your web traffic is routed through an encrypted tunnel to a server controlled by the VPN provider. It then continues on its way to the internet as usual. As long as you only connect to websites that are secured with HTTPS, your data will remain encrypted even after it has left the VPN network. This appears to be a simple and perhaps unneeded step, yet it has the potential to have significant implications for your privacy.

As an example, consider the following scenario: If your automobile pulls out of your driveway, someone can track it and determine where you are going, how long you will be at your destination, and when you will return. They might even be able to sneak a peek inside your automobile to find out more about you and your habits. A virtual private network (VPN) is analogous to driving from your home through an underground tunnel, into a closed parking garage, switching to another automobile, and driving out. No one who was originally following you has any idea where you have disappeared to.

Anyone spying over your network can’t see what you’re doing when your VPN is turned on. Even if the snooper has network control, this is true. The ubiquitous and convenient public Wi-Fi networks are unfortunately also incredibly convenient for attackers. How do you know that “starbucks wifi-real” is the coffee shop’s Wi-Fi network, for example? Indeed, a common security researcher prank is to set up a network with the same name as a famous free service and observe how many devices connect automatically.

Even if you have a tendency to trust other people (which we do not advocate), you should not trust your internet service provider (ISP). In the United States, your Internet service provider (ISP) possesses a lot of information about your online actions. Worse, Congress has ruled that your ISP may sell your anonymised surfing history. Selling your data is absurd, given that you are already (over)paying for the luxury of enjoying their (iffy) services. Even your ISP will be unable to track your movements if you use a VPN.

Another advantage of using a VPN is that your genuine IP address is masked behind the VPN server’s IP address. This makes it more difficult for advertisers and others to trace your online activities. Because your data is mixed in with everyone else using the same VPN server, even a dedicated observer would have a hard time determining whose traffic is whose.

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Limitations of a VPN: Best VPN Services

VPN services, while extremely useful, do not provide complete protection against all threats. If you unwittingly download ransomware or are duped into handing over your data by a phishing assault, using a VPN won’t help. We highly advise readers to install antivirus software on their computers, enable two-factor authentication when possible, and use a password manager to create and save unique, complicated passwords for each site and service they use.

There are also limits to how anonymous a VPN can make you. Advertisers can use a variety of methods to collect information about you and track your movements. This includes everything from web trackers to browser fingerprinting. We suggest using anti-tracking tools in your browser and installing specific tracker blockers such as the EFF’s Privacy Badger.

A lot of VPN services have their own DNS resolving system. Consider DNS as a telephone directory that converts a text-based URL such as “pcmag.com” into a numeric IP address that computers can understand. Shrewd snoops can trace your online travels and monitor DNS requests. Greedy attackers can also employ DNS poisoning to lure you to fake phishing pages that take your information. Using a VPN’s DNS system adds an extra layer of security. Secure DNS helps with anonymity, but a VPN takes it a step further.

The effectiveness of VPNs is a point of contention among security professionals. Much of your online experience is already encrypted because most sites now accept secure HTTPS connections. Because some people believe VPNs are overkill, secure DNS products like Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 and Bitdefender’s Yonly exist. Nonetheless, a VPN protects data not already protected by HTTPS, acts as a barrier between you and those in charge of the internet’s infrastructure, and makes online tracking more difficult.

VPNs are great for improving individual privacy, but they are also necessary for personal and professional safety for some people. VPN services are used by certain journalists and political activists to get around government restrictions and connect safely with the outside world. Before using a VPN in China, Russia, Turkey, or any other country with repressive internet rules, double-check the local legislation.

You’ll want to join the free Tor network if you want complete anonymity for your traffic. While a VPN tunnels your web traffic through a VPN server, Tor bounces it around across a number of volunteer nodes, making it far more difficult to track. Tor also gives you access to hidden Dark Web sites, which a VPN can’t provide. However, certain services, such as NordVPN and ProtonVPN, provide Tor access on a limited number of servers. Tor, in comparison to a VPN, will slow down your connection much more.

Remember that a determined opponent will almost always find a way to penetrate your defenses in some fashion. A VPN protects you from mass data collection and casual criminals that scavenge user data for later use.

How to Choose a Best VPN Service

The VPN market has grown in recent years, going from a niche to a full-fledged war. Many providers are taking advantage of the public’s growing concerns about monitoring and cybercrime, making it difficult to determine when a company is offering a helpful service and when it is selling snake oil. In fact, there have been reports of fraudulent VPNs appearing, so be cautious.

Don’t merely look for a VPN based on speed, because that’s the factor over which you and the VPN provider have the least control. Consider value instead of features, as practically all VPN providers offer some combination of the same technologies. How can you get the most bang for your buck? Extra features such as split tunneling, multi-hop connections, and so on should be looked for. You won’t need these all of the time, but when you do, they’ll come in handy.

We recommend that you use the VPN service’s native app, which has a full graphical user interface for controlling the VPN connection and settings. You may reject such features as mere chrome, preferring instead to manage your VPN connections manually. This method works, but it’s time consuming, involves manual updating, and doesn’t provide you access to the extra privacy features that many VPNs offer. Consider whether you can look at a VPN for an extended period of time.

It’s difficult to assess a VPN’s reliability. It’s made much more difficult by the VPN industry’s reputation for backstabbing and false claims. Despite occasional blunders, we’ve discovered that the majority of the main VPN providers aren’t horrible actors, but there’s always space for growth. The best VPN services will be transparent about their strengths and flaws, have a clear privacy policy, and either publish third-party audits, a transparency report, or both.

The easiest method to figure out if a VPN is right for you is to test it out at home. Check to see if you can go to all of the sites and services you require. Check to see if the UI is user-friendly and if the speeds in your location are sufficient. Take advantage of the free trials offered by several VPN services. Check to see if you’re content with what you signed up for, and if you’re not, take advantage of money-back promises.

This is why we suggest starting with a short-term subscription—a week or a month—to ensure that you are completely satisfied. Yes, signing up for a year gets you a discount, but you’re putting more money on the line if you decide the service doesn’t satisfy your performance requirements.

Which is the Best Free VPN?

You do not have to pay for all VPN services. There are plenty fantastic free VPNs available. However, each of the free VPNs we tested had its own set of restrictions. Some services limit you to a certain number of simultaneous connections or devices per account. Others impose restrictions on your data. Others restrict you to a small number of servers. Others engage in all of the aforementioned activities.

Finding the best free VPN requires balancing such constraints. For example, TunnelBear allows you to connect to any server on its network but limits you to 500MB-1GB each month. Hotspot Shield similarly has no device limits, however it does limit you to 500MB per day and only uses US-based servers. Kaspersky Secure Connection does not restrict your devices, but it does not allow you to select a VPN server; instead, the software does so for you.

Winner of Editors’ Choice ExpressVPN is unusual in that it does not impose any data limits on its free customers. You are free to look around as much as you want for as long as you want. You’ll be limited to using the service on only one device at a time, and you’ll only be able to choose from three server locations, but the limitless data makes up for it. It also helps that ExpressVPN, which comes from the same team who brought you the ultra-secure ExpressMail email service, is particularly concerned about security and client privacy.

It’s a different story when it comes to how much our readers are willing to spend. According to a study of TechKnowable readers, 65 percent of respondents expect VPNs to be free, while only 10% expect them to cost $10 or more. We also offer a compilation of the top affordable VPNs for those of you who are prepared to lay down some cash.

List Best VPN Services

NordVPN

NordVPN is one of the best VPN services. We were delighted to try NordVPN because it has over eight million clients worldwide, making it one of the most popular VPNs. Overall, it worked flawlessly; we were able to pirate movies and view Netflix without experiencing any noticeable lag. We also like the fact that NordVPN is based in Panama, which is not a member of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes. NordVPN is a wonderful solution for anyone concerned about privacy because the company can never be forced to disclose over data legally.

Pros

Non-member to Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes
Netflix access
Strict logging policy
High app ratings

Cons

Static IP addresses
Hard to reach customer support
Kill switch doesn’t shut off all applications with iOS app
Limited torrenting support

Netflix Access

On NordVPN, we enjoyed watching Netflix from several locations; did you realize that the TV episodes and movie options vary depending on where you watch? We were able to stream Netflix on Linux, Mac, and Windows PCs using NordVPN. Alternatively, you may watch on Android or iOS smartphones, as we did; it also works on smart TVs and TV devices. However, because Netflix only operates on servers from the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, or Japan, not all users will be able to access it.

Double The Encryption

We go through NordVPN’s encryption methods in detail in our entire NordVPN review. One of the features we loved best about NordVPN is its usage of double-VPN, which encrypts our online traffic twice over numerous servers. This is great for anyone who is concerned about privacy, such as activists, bloggers, journalists, or anyone who works in an environment that is rife with surveillance and censorship.

Low Prices

We signed up for a month of NordVPN to test it out, which cost us $11.95. We could have gotten some great deals if we had signed up for a longer period of time. If we had signed up for a year or two years, the monthly prices would have been $4.92 and $3.33, respectively. That’s up to a 72 percent discount! In the end, it pays to make a long-term commitment.

Surfshark

We were able to torrent and download movies and TV episodes without fear of retaliation because to Surfshark. It is one of the best VPN services. With unlimited devices per subscription, this VPN assigned us a distinct IP address each time we connected, making tracing much more difficult; however, staying with the same IP address was also an option. Surfshark is also based in a country that is not a member of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes, and it offers Netflix in addition to torrenting.

Pros

Based in Virgin Islands outside of surveillance alliances
Unlimited devices per subscription
Low costs with one or two-year subscriptions
30-day trial period

Cons

No phone support
Have to set up kill switch manually on Windows
Static IP addresses
Not the fastest

Virgin Islands Location

Because the Virgin Islands are not members of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes, Surfshark will never be obliged to send over client data. The Virgin Islands are self-governing and have their own laws, while being a British possession. Furthermore, they have no data retention rules of their own, and monitoring, even when carried out by the government, is illegal. In our perspective, it sounds like the ideal location for launching a VPN company!

International Servers

While we were only able to connect to Surfshark from the United States, they have alternatives in over 60 countries, ranging from Vietnam to Albania. There are servers in over 20 cities around the United States, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Boston, and so on. The closer we were to the server, the better our connection would be, thus we were more than delighted with Surfshark’s server placements.

Streaming Services

We love streaming, and one of the best things about Surfhsark was that we didn’t have to try out a number of different servers to stream on different platforms. Let’s look at an example. For obvious and Nick Cage-related reasons, we were dying to watch National Treasure on Disney+. Normally, we’d have to connect to a few different servers before finding one that wasn’t blocked by the streaming service, but Surfshark handled all of the legwork for us, automatically locating the correct server for the proper streaming service. We streamed from Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Spotify, and Youtube in addition to Disney+, however the VPN is compatible with even more services. Find out which VPNs are the best for watching Youtube TV. Surfshark is also compatible with Apple TV, making it one of the top Apple TV VPNs.

Private Internet Access VPN

Look no farther than Private Internet Access if you have a Windows machine. When we tested it on our Vivobook, we received extremely fast speeds, but it also offers excellent iOS and Android apps. Furthermore, we were pleased with their stringent privacy policy. The organization has never been asked to pass up user data, and even if they were, they wouldn’t have any to send over. “We don’t log, period,” the founder claims. However, because the corporation is based in Denver, keep in mind that the United States is a member of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes.

Pros

Strict logging policy
Fast on Windows
High app reviews
Netflix access

Cons

Based in United States
Split tunneling unavailable for iPhones
Slow on Mac

Encryption Options

When it came to encryption methods, authentication mechanisms, and handshakes, most VPNs didn’t provide us many options, but Private Internet Access actually let us modify how their VPN functioned. We had four options: the default, suggested protection, a speed-focused option, a security-focused option, and an option that required no login at all. While we chose the recommended choice, we could imagine the other options being useful if speed and security were not an issue.

Dynamic IP Addresses

Every time we connected to Private Internet Access, we received a fresh IP address, which is more preferable to static IP addresses. This made us more difficult to track, guaranteeing our online anonymity. Consider wearing a mask: if you wore the same mask all the time, people would ultimately figure out who you were. Every time we went on using Private Internet Access, we got a different mask, which kept any potential hackers guessing.

IPVanish

IPVanish performed admirably on our Android devices, with robust encryption, fast download speeds, and split tunneling, all of which came in handy while we worked from home. Plus, unlike many other VPN providers, IPVanish has excellent customer service, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via email, phone, or live chat. Most VPNs only provide email assistance and only react during a limited number of hours each week, thus this is a rare occurrence. Best of all, when we joined up for a one-year subscription, we got all of this for just $3.20 per month.

Pros

Fast download speeds
Torrenting
Split tunneling
Up to 10 simultaneous connections

Cons

History of sharing customer logs
Based in United States
Not all servers work with Netflix
Slow speeds on Windows

Kill Switch

When our IPVanish connection failed at the library one day, the VPN instantly closed all of our Web windows, guaranteeing that no one could see our IP address or web traffic. Although we had to reopen the windows that IPVanish “killed,” this was a lot better than the alternative. Of course, we had the option to turn off the kill switch when we were downloading enormous files and didn’t want to be interrupted even if the VPN failed.

Robust Customer Service

When it comes to assisting clients with issues, IPVanish comes out on top. Not only do they have a live chat option available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and an extensive FAQ section, but they also provide a phone number, which is extremely uncommon for VPN providers. According to Amazon and Trustpilot evaluations, we received responses within five minutes, and other customers had similar experiences, scoring four out of five and 4.6 out of five, respectively.

User-Friendly iOS App

We use our iPhones a lot on public Wi-Fi networks, so we enjoyed being able to connect to IPVanish using their iOS app. We had no problems connecting because it was simple and intuitive, and there were no issues or difficulties. Other IPVanish iPhone customers appear to agree with us, since the app has a 4.5 rating on the App Store with over 42,000 reviews.

Ivacy

Ivacy VPN, of course, kept us safe while we were online. No one could access our IP addresses or surfing histories because to its stringent logging policies. However, we would expect that kind of service from a top-tier VPN. What we didn’t expect was how simple it was to use Ivacy VPN to view Netflix and other entertainment services. We also had no idea how inexpensive Ivacy VPN would be. We had no issues in general.

Pros

Split tunneling
Strict logging policy
Affordable long-term subscriptions
Netflix access

Cons

Poor Mac app
Kill switch only for Mac and Windows
Relatively slow download speeds
Located in Singapore, a Five Eyes member
Strict Logging Policy

All VPN companies have to keep some information if only to conduct business. Ivacy VPN, though, keeps as little of our information as possible. Yes, it does keep our:

Names
Emails
Payment methods
Crash event reports
Performance data
Failed connection attempts
Application usage
Aggregated bandwidth use

It would be hard to operate a successful VPN without this information, though. More important is what Ivacy VPN doesn’t keep:

IP addresses
Browsing histories
Timestamps

As long as it’s not tracking any of this data, we feel pretty safe and secure.

Netflix and Other Streaming Services

Some people are perplexed as to why a VPN is so useful for watching Netflix. You can certainly conceal your “Bridgerton” fandom. A VPN, on the other hand, allows you to access streaming libraries from all over the world. It turns out that Netflix Canada contains a couple titles that we don’t have access to in the United States. When you’re not in the United States, you can access the American library at any time. Furthermore, we had access to:

Prime Video
Disney +
Hulu
Kodi
BBC

That’s a lot of entertainment, all with one VPN.

Low Prices Plus Discounts

Ivacy VPN is one of the most affordable pricing on the market. This is especially true in the case of long-term subscriptions. We spent $9.95 for a month of service, which is fairly reasonable when compared to other organizations. Ivacy VPN also provides a $3.50 one-year subscription and a $2.25 two-year subscription. You can sign up for five years for $0.99 per month if you’re willing to make a long-term commitment.

As if those prices weren’t enough, Ivacy VPN offers a variety of specials and discounts all year long, whether it’s for Christmas, Halloween, Boxing Day, or the Fourth of July. It gave 87 percent off for Green Day last year. That’s a lot of ways to save money.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is also a one of the best VPN services. It’s no surprise that the majority of our digital security experts are iPhone users; after all, we’re young and reside in Brooklyn, where we’re constantly connecting to public Wi-Fi networks. ExpressVPN quickly connected us, and with a kill button, we were still safe if our connection was lost. Apart from our iPhones, ExpressVPN performed admirably on our Mac and Windows PCs, and best of all, we were able to connect to both public and private networks at the same time, which came in useful when we were multitasking, which we were pretty much all of the time.

Pros

No data retention laws
Great app ratings
Netflix access
Fast speeds on Windows

Cons

No phone support
Slow speeds on Mac
Five simultaneous connections per subscription
No browser extension for Internet Explorer

PureVPN

With over 6,500 servers in over 78 countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, PureVPN is one of the best VPNs for travel. This allowed us to travel without having to connect to sketchy Wi-Fi networks or face internet filtering. Our surfing history and IP address were hidden by PureVPN, allowing us to be more anonymous online.

Pros

AES-256 encryption
OpenVPN protocol
Over 6,500 servers in more than 78 countries
Based in Hong Kong, a Five Eyes non-member

Cons

Torrenting doesn’t always work
Static IP addresses
Latency on Windows and Macs
No free trial

Huge Global Network

PureVPN has one of the largest worldwide server networks, with over 78 countries covered. The VPN has servers in the following locations:

Country Servers and locations
U.K. 147 in Manchester, 18 in Gosport, 399 in London, 3 in Maidenhead
Australia 128 in Sydney, 79 in Melbourne, 76 in Perth, 77 in Brisbane
France 24 in Paris, 18 in Roubaix
Germany 63 in Frankfurt, 54 in Munich, 12 in Nuremberg, 54 in Berlin, 18 in Hessen
The Netherlands 316 in Amsterdam
Spain 90 in Madrid
Japan 110 in Tokyo
Korea 14 in Seoul
Mexico 20 in Mexico City
Singapore 142 in Singapore
United Arab Emirates 33 in Dubai

It’s no surprise that PureVPN is one of the finest VPNs for Australia, France, Germany, and other countries.

Strict Logging Policy

PureVPN concealed our IP address and browsing history when we were on the road and connected to international PureVPN servers. In truth, the VPN simply gathered the following information:

Names
Email addresses
Payment information
Total bandwidth consumed.

On the other side, whatever we did online was ours to keep. Furthermore, because PureVPN is situated in Hong Kong, a non-member of the Five Eyes, the company cannot be legally compelled to hand over any of our data to the government. PureVPN is absolutely trustworthy when it comes to privacy, especially with AES-256 encryption, the highest quality available.

Dedicated IP Address Available

Every time we connected to PureVPN, we received the same IP address, which was shared with thousands of other PureVPN members. Because we were lost in the crowd, this was wonderful for security. However, for other websites that detect shared IP addresses, this was a problem, and we were blacklisted. That’s why we were pleased to learn that PureVPN also offers dedicated IP addresses for only $2.04 per month when you sign up for a two-year membership. Dedicated addresses are exactly as safe as shared addresses, but this IP address was ours alone. This made it easier for websites to recognize us.

CyberGhost VPN

CyberGhost VPN is one of the best VPN services. Although we only tested it in the United States, CyberGhost has over 7,500 servers in 91 countries, so you should have no trouble connecting no matter where you are in the world. CyberGhost is situated in Romania and is not a member of the multinational monitoring networks we keep mentioning; also, Romania has absolutely no data retention rules of its own, making it an excellent choice for privacy.

FYI: Split tunneling is only available on Android devices, so if you’re using a Windows, Mac, or iOS device, you’ll only be able to connect to private networks, not public ones.

Pros

Non-member to Five eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes
Great customer support
Affordable costs
Thousands of servers around the world

Cons

Logging policy
Split tunneling available for Android only
Static IP addresses
Slow performance on Windows

Military-Grade Encryption

When it comes to encryption, CyberGhost uses AES-256, which is the current industry standard. We were assigned an anonymous IP address that we shared with other CyberGhost users on the same server whenever we connected. We were certain that our identities were hidden when we utilized CyberGhost to access the Internet because of the encryption.

Discounts Available

We’re constantly on the lookout for a good offer, which is why CyberGhost piqued our interest. While we paid $12.99 for a month, which is quite regular when compared to other VPNs, we could have paid $6.99 for six months or $29.99 for two years plus three free months. Our monthly charges would have dropped to $6.39 and $2.17, respectively, with these programs, which is very amazing. We can connect up to seven devices with limitless bandwidth with each subscription. Not bad at all!

Great Customer Support

We’ll be honest with you: most VPN providers cut corners when it comes to customer assistance, with limited options and unhelpful employees. CyberGhost, on the other hand, does not fit the model in this regard. We got responses in a matter of seconds with their 24/7 live chat, assuming we couldn’t find what we were looking for in their substantial blog and FAQs.

Hotspot Shield

With fast bandwidth on both Mac and Windows laptops, Hotspot Shield had us covered for Netflix-watching parties. When we utilized Netflix on our Android smartphones, we didn’t notice any significant delays or glitches, which came in useful during commutes. Additionally, for those who don’t want to pay for a VPN, Hotspot Shield offers a free version; but, you’ll be confined to a daily data ceiling of 500 MB, which may make watching movies and TV episodes on Netflix and other streaming services problematic. We chose the monthly plan, which cost $12.99 per month, however we may have gotten a better deal if we had signed up for one or two years.

Money Saver: Sign up for long-term subscriptions to earn discounts; often, one- or two-year subscriptions are less expensive than monthly options.

Pros

Fast speeds
Free option
Netflix access
Torrenting access

Cons

Five simultaneous connections
Based in U.S.
Unresponsive customer support
Keeps IP address

Regular Transparency Reports

The fact that Hotspot Shield is situated in the United States clearly irritates us. We were, however, impressed by their annual transparency reports, which demonstrate that they do not hand up customer data even when asked. They were asked to provide over consumers’ data 56 times in 2019, for example, and they refused each time. Hotspot Shield is clearly committed to preserving users’ privacy, as seen by their transparency reports.

Free VPN for Android

There is no such thing as a free lunch, but there is a free option for Android users with Hotspot Shield. It has a daily bandwidth cap of 500 MB, so it’s not ideal for viewing Netflix or torrenting files, but it’ll enough for brief searches and surfing. However, there will be advertisements, which, in our opinion, are a minor price to pay for a free VPN.

Super-Fast Speeds

On both Windows and Mac systems, Hotspot Shield was one of the fastest VPNs we tested. On Mac and Windows, download speeds were reduced by 30% and 18%, respectively, while upload speeds were reduced by 0.2 percent and 26%. Hotspot Shield is a wonderful alternative for torrenting files or viewing Netflix, despite the fact that the latency was a little higher than we would have wanted.

ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is one of the best VPN services. ProtonVPN got us covered with fast speeds on our Mac and Windows machines when it came to using Zoom and other meeting software. Also, when we utilized Zoom on our Android smartphones, we didn’t notice any significant delays or lags, which came in useful during the pandemic while we were working from home. Plus, for those who don’t want to pay for a VPN, ProtonVPN offers a free option. This free plan has no data limits, but you can only connect with one device at a time. We chose the Plus plan, which was $7.49 per month. However, if we had signed up for one or two years, we could have acquired it at a lower price. A year costs $5.99 per month, while two years costs $4.99 per month.

Pros

Fast speeds
Free option
Netflix access
Torrenting access

Cons

Relatively high prices
Customer support limited to tickets
No browser support
Relatively few servers

Regular Transparency Reports

We were impressed by ProtonVPN’s annual transparency reports, which demonstrate that the company does not disclose over client data even when requested. The company is situated in Geneva, Switzerland, and is not subject to the surveillance agreements of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes. Even so, it was comforting to know that the corporation only gathers the basic minimum of information about us, such as our email addresses, payment information, and timestamps. The only notable activity on the transparency report at the time of our last check was a 2019 data request for information from the Swiss courts. ProtonVPN has nothing to turn over because it does not collect IP addresses or online activity information on its users.

Free Version

We were ecstatic to learn that ProtonVPN is completely free and compatible with Android, Windows, macOS, and iOS. It’s even compatible with Linux. There are a few drawbacks to the free version. You can only connect with one device, and there are only three nations with servers: the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands. Even yet, the free version has no speed or data constraints, so you can binge-watch Netflix to your heart’s content.

Fast Upload Speeds

Because more people are working from home than ever before, we require high upload connections and low latency in order for our meeting software to function properly. Nothing is more awkward than laughing at someone’s joke but not realizing it until two minutes later. When it came to upload speeds and latency, ProtonVPN was one of the fastest VPNs we tested on both Windows and Mac systems.

Norton Secure VPN

Norton has a VPN, and it’s not half bad. Norton is best known for its LifeLock identity theft protection (read more in our LifeLock review) and Norton antivirus software, but it also offers a VPN. It is one of the best VPN services. We got a different IP address every time we connected to the macOS software, making it harder to track us online. We were happy with this VPN program because we were looking for internet anonymity.

Pros

AES-256 encryption
Different IP addresses every time you connect
Affordable
10 devices maximum

Cons

Based in the U.S., a Five Eyes member
No split tunneling on iOS devices or Macs
Netflix isn’t available everywhere
Kill switch isn’t available on Macs or iOS devices

Affordable Prices

You might be wondering how much the Norton Secure VPN costs. It’s $4.99 if you simply sign up for a month on one device. However, a year’s worth of service for ten devices costs only $59.99, or around $0.50 per device per month. This plan is one of the finest VPN deals we’ve seen in a long time (and that includes VPN Black Friday and Cyber Monday specials!). If you need a VPN for the whole family, this package is amazingly reasonable.

Strong Encryption

Norton Secure VPN used AES-256 encryption to encrypt our web activity and hide our IP address, which is the same encryption used by the US government and military, so you know it’s safe. Furthermore, the VPN encrypted our web activity in some regions and altered our IP addresses numerous times, a practice known as multi-hop or double hop. That made it even more difficult to track us online, from our personal emails to the Etsy things we purchased. After all, no one needs to know about our vintage cookie jar addiction.

User-Friendly Mobile Apps

We all know that connecting to a public Wi-Fi network directly is a terrific way to get hacked, which is why, while waiting in line for croissants, we always connect to a VPN like Norton Secure. Norton Secure VPN— Security & Privacy WiFi Proxy Android app and Norton Secure VPN & Proxy VPN iOS app are two of the company’s best mobile apps. We connected to nearby servers in seconds after downloading the apps, with no issues or difficulties. Other Norton customers agree with us, with a 4.4 rating for the Android app and a 4.3 rating for the iOS app.

Conclusion

A VPN is a simple solution to secure your online privacy while also allowing you to bypass annoying internet limitations. There are occasions when using a VPN isn’t necessary, and none of the providers on this list are flawless. It is, nonetheless, an important tool to have in your personal security toolbox.

For extensive analysis and performance results, click through the review links for the best VPN services, and feel free to comment in the part below. Once you’ve decided, follow our guide to setting up and using a VPN to get the most out of your new subscription.

4.9/5 - (17 votes)