We test, compare, and review—so you can choose with confidence. No bias, no sales desk, just measured guidance.
9.4 Ignore the noise and fanfare — we’re yet to find a better VPN service than ExpressVPN. It’s incredibly easy to use, its impact on your internet speeds is negligible, and it keeps your connection private and secure at all times. While ExpressVPN is slightly more expensive than many of its rivals, it’s absolutely worth the extra cost.
9.2 NordVPN is the jack-of-all-trades VPN. It costs a little less than ExpressVPN, has leading privacy and security features, and it’s packed with features that are useful for both beginners and power users. While its usability has room for improvement, if you’re on the fence about which VPN to get, NordVPN is a great choice.
9.0 Private Internet Access (PIA) offers the best value for money of any VPN we review, including NordVPN and ExpressVPN. It costs just $2.03 per month on a two-year plan, which is 49% cheaper than the industry average, without compromising on quality. At this low price, you get access to a proven no-logs, highly customizable VPN that can be used on an unlimited number of devices for streaming, torrenting, and gaming. Its only noticeable flaws are a faulty Smart DNS tool and limited access to global streaming platforms.
8.8 Overall, Surfshark is a great VPN that’s rated 8.8 based on our criteria. Its most notable strength is its value: despite its low price, the VPN has excellent security standards, an audited privacy policy, and many extra features. It even unblocks 9 Netflix regions. However, in our tests its speeds were slower than some similar VPNs, and it does not reliably bypass strict censorship.
8.8 Let’s be absolutely clear: IPVanish deserves to rank among the very best VPNs. It continues to improve year after year with faster download speeds, an ever-growing server network, and a stronger commitment to privacy. While we have few criticisms, its limited device compatibility is disappointing, and its apps could use some fine-tuning for a smoother user experience.
8.3 Proton VPN is a well-rounded VPN service that’s highly secure, easy to use, and delivers excellent connection speeds. Its biggest strength is privacy and security: it keeps no logs, is independently audited, and its apps are open-source. While the premium plan is pricey, Proton VPN is the best free VPN available: it’s safe, extremely fast, and has no data limits — though it doesn’t work with Netflix or torrenting.
8.2 Overall, PrivateVPN is an excellent VPN, scoring 8.2/10 in our tests, especially given its low price ($2.00/month over 36 months). It’s a strong choice for accessing geo-blocked video content, unblocking 10 Netflix regions and services like Hulu and BBC iPlayer. Its apps are also extremely user-friendly and ideal for beginners. However, we did experience server congestion, so long-distance speeds may not always be fast enough for smooth HD streaming.
8.2 Hide.me is a long-standing independent VPN. It’s built a reputation as a fast, safe, and affordable service that can also unblock a range of streaming platforms. It’s well known for its free plan, Hide.me Free. The free version offers encryption and unlimited data, but its performance is deliberately reduced: speeds are slow and streaming sites are blocked.
8.2 CyberGhost is safe, affordable, and offers an excellent free trial. It’s a good VPN if you want to keep costs down. However, it isn’t the complete package and can’t compete with the top five VPNs.
8.1 Windscribe Free is one of the best no-cost VPN options, offering strong privacy and security alongside the ability to unblock UK Netflix, HBO Max, and BBC iPlayer. However, it’s held back by a 10GB monthly data cap. The paid version, Windscribe Pro, excels at streaming — it unblocks more Netflix libraries than any other VPN — but its dated app design and limited country coverage keep it from the top spot.
7.6 Mullvad is an excellent choice if your priority is online privacy and anonymity. It excels thanks to WireGuard, ChaCha20 encryption, and a strict no-logs policy. However, it cannot reliably unblock streaming services, bypass heavy web censorship, or offer features like dedicated IP addresses or port forwarding.
7.3 Astrill VPN is a strong all-around service, and the very best for bypassing internet censorship in countries like China. It’s fast, private, and works with US Netflix, but it’s also more expensive than its competitors. We recommend Astrill for users in heavily censored countries. If you’re a beginner or casual user, consider a cheaper and simpler VPN.
7.1 StrongVPN’s main selling points are its long-standing reputation, an excellent Smart DNS tool, and support for up to 12 simultaneous devices. However, these strengths don’t justify its high price. The VPN has never verified its no-logs policy, and its feature set has barely changed in five years. We recommend its sister product, IPVanish, instead—it’s audited, feature-rich, faster, and easier to use.
7.0 IVPN is a safe choice if you want an affordable VPN that protects and anonymizes your web traffic, but it’s not recommended if you’re interested in streaming or extra features.
6.9 VPN.AC is fast, private, and works in China. It has a strong privacy policy and a secure server network that’s great for torrenting and unblocking international streaming services. VPN.AC isn’t perfect, but it’s a safe and affordable VPN with helpful advanced features.
6.8 Mozilla VPN is an excellent service from a trusted name in tech, using the same server network and technology as Mullvad VPN. In our tests, it delivered fast, secure connections across its entire network. Its main drawbacks are limited success unblocking streaming services and modest device support, but it’s a strong choice for torrenting thanks to its strict no-logs policy.
6.8 PrivadoVPN has an impressive free version, but the premium plan is underwhelming and doesn’t stand out in any single area. Despite fast speeds and solid streaming performance, it’s overpriced and lacks extra security features and server locations compared to competing VPNs. Both versions are safe to use, but only the free plan is clearly worth it.
6.7 TunnelBear has never impressed us compared to other VPNs. We like its design and UX, but the core performance is lacking. It isn’t bad, yet in most areas TunnelBear is only average. We appreciate the free version as a safe, no-cost way to protect your privacy, but its data allowance is very limited.
6.7 TorGuard is an excellent VPN choice for torrenting. It maintains a strict no-logs policy that’s been proven in court, features an automatic kill switch, supports port forwarding, and allows P2P traffic on nearly all servers. The service offers apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Fire TV, and router compatibility. However, its standard plan isn’t suitable for streaming, and users must pay extra for dedicated or residential IP addresses to access streaming content effectively.
6.7 Thanks to its lifetime deal, FastestVPN is one of the best-value VPNs around. It works well for streaming and is user-friendly for beginners. However, it needs improvements in key areas: it leaks DNS requests and IPv6 data on Windows, and bugs can make the experience frustrating. FastestVPN is a flawed but inexpensive option for reliable streaming.
6.7 ZoogVPN is a solid mid-tier service, scoring 6.7/10 in our tests. It’s fast, private, and easy to use. It’s extremely cheap on a 2-year plan — under $2 per month — and there’s a free version if you want to try before you buy. However, in our tests, it didn’t unblock many streaming services, and its kill switch was faulty on macOS.
6.6 HideMyAss (HMA) is a safe, user-friendly VPN with servers in 195 countries. Its intuitive apps, seven-day free trial, and fast speeds make it a solid choice for most casual users. However, it struggles to unblock most streaming platforms, including Netflix, and it lacks some advanced features, device support, and customer service found in top-tier VPNs.
6.5 PureVPN offers affordable web traffic encryption but lacks standout features. It trails competitors in privacy protections, streaming capabilities, and connection speeds, while bombarding users with upgrade prompts and locking key features behind paywalls. Only the entry-level Standard plan delivers reasonable value.
6.5 Hotspot Shield stands out for its remarkably fast speeds and large server network. Its free and premium versions both offer an easy-to-use interface and strong security, but most features are reserved for premium users. In our testing, we also found concerns about the VPN’s logging practices and unblocking performance. Overall, Hotspot Shield earned a rating of 6.5/10.
6.2 VyprVPN is an unremarkable VPN with a rating of 6.2/10. It secures your data without leaks, is fast, and has a notable network of self-owned servers. However, it falls short in several key areas, including a subpar privacy policy and an inability to unblock streaming services. Overall, VyprVPN’s high price is hard to justify.
5.8 We don’t recommend using Bitdefender VPN, even if you get it through an antivirus bundle. Although it’s fast, it temporarily logs your IP address and its kill switch is unreliable. It fails to unblock most streaming platforms, including Netflix, and it isn’t safe for torrenting due to its privacy shortcomings.
5.5 VPN Unlimited from KeepSolid is a mediocre VPN, scoring 5.5 on our testing methodology. It provides decent local speeds and can bypass censorship in China. It also unblocks US Netflix, HBO Max, and BBC iPlayer, and it’s easy to use. However, it’s not the most trustworthy service: it temporarily logs your real IP address and hasn’t been independently audited. We also don’t recommend it for torrenting.
5.5 Perfect Privacy is underwhelming. It’s not inherently bad, but it falls short in nearly every test category. Its main strengths lie in privacy and security, backed by an audited no-logs policy, a reliable kill switch, and secure OpenVPN encryption. However, its inability to bypass streaming platforms, lack of an iOS app, and tiny server network make it impractical for most users.
5.5 AirVPN is a great VPN if privacy and torrenting are your priorities. It uses robust encryption and runs exclusively on OpenVPN. The apps are fast and secure, but they’re visually outdated and can be hard to use — especially for beginners. AirVPN is a safe choice for advanced users, but it’s not recommended if you’re an iOS user or if you’re interested in streaming.
5.4 X-VPN is an underwhelming freemium VPN service, despite a large network of 8,000+ servers. Its website, logging policy, and overall transparency have improved significantly, but we can’t ignore its ties to China, reliance on closed-source VPN protocols, and poor speed test results. To be blunt, X-VPN isn’t worth your time when better alternatives are available.
5.3 Avast SecureLine earned an underwhelming 5.3/10 in our tests. It logs too much user data, isn’t secure enough for torrenting, and doesn’t unblock US Netflix. Although it’s very fast and easy to use, there are more private, secure, and effective VPNs available for a lower price.
5.3 Kaspersky VPN offers impressive speeds, but it isn’t secure enough to trust with your personal data. We can’t recommend it due to its ties to Russian authorities, intrusive activity logging, and limited streaming performance.
5.3 Overall, we don’t recommend AVG Secure VPN and rate it only 5.3/10. It logs and shares connection data, has a small server network, and fails to unblock most streaming services. It’s also expensive and lacks advanced features like split tunneling. Despite its reasonably fast speeds, we don’t think AVG Secure VPN is worth using unless you already use AVG’s antivirus software.
4.6 Norton Secure VPN is not recommended for privacy or security. While it has fixed earlier security issues, it offers very few features, has limited device support, and its logging policy remains among the worst on the market. It’s fast enough and very cheap, but overall it isn’t a strong product.
4.3 VPN Proxy Master is not a safe VPN. The software logs too much user data, it’s slow, and the company has disappointing customer support. The VPN fails to properly encrypt your traffic, and we detected dangerous functions and malware in its Android app.
4.2 Avira Phantom VPN is available as both a paid and free service, but both versions log and store your IP address. For this reason, we cannot recommend Avira Phantom as a safe or private VPN. Neither the Pro nor the free version unblocks any streaming services, and both are unpleasant to use. We recommend avoiding Avira Phantom VPN entirely and rate it 4.2/10.
3.7 McAfee Safe Connect is a US-based VPN service with apps for Windows, iOS, and Android. It’s surprisingly fast, but it suffers from weak security, an invasive logging policy, and poor customer support. It also fails to unblock streaming services like Netflix. Ultimately, this VPN doesn’t meet the basics and should be avoided.
3.3 Touch VPN is an unsafe free VPN that performs poorly across all testing categories. Its intrusive logging policy, US jurisdiction, and weak security make it too risky to use. It also fails to work with streaming services, blocks BitTorrent traffic, and enforces a 500MB daily data cap. Put simply, you should not install Touch VPN on your device.
3.2 Hola is one of the worst free VPNs we’ve reviewed. It logs your online activity, shares your information, and doesn’t encrypt your connection. It’s categorically unsafe, and we do not recommend downloading or using it if you value your privacy, personal information, or online security.
2.7 Thunder VPN achieved a rating of just 2.7/10 in our tests. Its speeds are extremely slow, and its logging policy is invasive. Although it’s free to use for Android users, Thunder VPN isn’t worth trying: its encryption is unsafe, it doesn’t support torrenting, and it fails to unblock Netflix and most other streaming services.
2.7 Betternet VPN isn’t a safe or reliable VPN, despite recent improvements. It has only 3 server locations, logs identifying data, and can’t unblock streaming services or support torrenting. We also found it frustrating to use due to a restrictive 500MB daily data cap and unskippable ads. Betternet is fast, but it’s not private or functional, and we don’t recommend it.
2.3 Snap VPN is untrustworthy, slow, and missing important safety features. It is one of the worst VPNs we’ve tested, even compared to other free Android VPNs. It doesn’t work for streaming or torrenting, has vague ownership, and should not be trusted to protect your online anonymity.
2.1 VPN 360 is a free, mobile-only VPN for iOS and Android. We don’t recommend using it: its security and privacy are weak, its speeds are slow, and it doesn’t work with Netflix. The app is also filled with advertisements. There are much safer and more reliable VPNs available.
2.1 FreeVPN by FreeVPN.org is one of the worst VPNs we’ve tested. It’s unpleasant to use, provides no information on its security or encryption methods, has a vague privacy policy, and has been implicated in a data breach. The company behind the VPN may no longer exist, and we’re unsure how much longer the service itself will operate. It does offer unlimited data, but there are much safer free VPNs available.
1.8 Turbo VPN is an unsafe free VPN. It’s filled with invasive third-party ads and has questionable links to China. We also detected DNS leaks, unsafe permissions, and malware. Using Turbo VPN poses a serious risk to your privacy and security.
1.7 Psiphon is a free tool designed to bypass internet censorship in heavily restricted regions. Curiously, the free proxy version performs slightly better than the paid VPN option. However, both versions suffer from severely limited speeds that hinder basic browsing, track users’ IP addresses, and display intrusive advertisements. While the proxy allows limited server selection on Android devices, neither service provides adequate protection for online privacy or security. For these reasons, we don’t recommend Psiphon’s proxy or VPN for sensitive activities.
1.5 SuperVPN is one of the most dangerous and untrustworthy free VPNs we’ve reviewed. It has an invasive logging policy, weak security features, worrying links to China, and it can’t unblock any web content. We strongly discourage using this VPN. If you already have it installed on your Android smartphone, we advise uninstalling it immediately.
1.2 VPNBook is one of the worst free VPNs we’ve reviewed, scoring just 1.2 according to our testing methodology. It logs your real IP address and leaks DNS requests, meaning your web activity can be visible and the VPN offers virtually no protection. It’s extremely slow and works with almost no streaming sites. It also only has servers in five countries.
1.1 SkyVPN Free is one of the worst free VPNs we’ve tested, ranked #61 out of 61. It’s an untrustworthy VPN that logs your IP address, fails to encrypt web traffic, and cannot unblock any Netflix region. In recent speed tests, we recorded an atrocious 90% drop in local and international speeds. SkyVPN is not safe enough to use even temporarily and should be avoided at all costs.
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