The best VPN services: Expert tested

The best VPN is NordVPN, thanks to its fast speeds, wide platform availability, great performance, reliability, and server locations.

That said, there are many VPN options on the market that are worth your time -- and, potentially, your dollar, should you choose to subscribe to them. When you are considering which VPN to choose, keep in mind that the longer subscription you choose, the cheaper the VPN will be.

We ran a series of tests in July 2024 on each VPN's paid service to see how they compared. 

The tests were performed with a broadband connection in the UK with an average starting speed, without a VPN, of 59.3 Mbps download and 18.02 Mbps upload. (Yes, they are terrible, but they are the best the UK currently offers where I live.)

The following speeds are in Mbps. We also tested for the presence of DNS leaks.

Please keep in mind that results may be different for you and vary from country to country, so the below should be considered a snapshot. Your speeds may also be impacted by your ISP provider and broadband subscription. For example, the starting speed is a snail's pace compared to some US offerings. 

The below results are not the exact speeds you should expect. You can instead use these results for a general idea of how your speeds could change with a VPN enabled. You should also remember that the further away the VPN server, the more your speed may be impacted. Speeds will typically be quicker when you connect to a local server, compared to selecting Australia, for example (unless you're in Australia!).

These are the most important factors and pointers to consider when selecting a new VPN service.

• Speed: Every VPN performs differently, and every user experience will differ. Your ISP will offer speeds that are not the same as ours. Your favorite coffee shop has a different network connection than our local haunts. So, when you are testing a new VPN, keep your base speed in mind.
• Trial periods: Before committing to a VPN provider, test them out -- that's what money-back guarantees are for. Remember that most VPN providers will give you 30 days to cancel and secure a refund.
• Avoid free VPN providers: Running a VPN is expensive, and if the VPN provider doesn't make money from your service fees, they're going to make money from your data -- sometimes even by selling your personal information. Stick with the trusted commercial vendors we've tested. There are also cases where "free" VPNs undermine what the software is meant to stand for -- data protection and security. There are a few exceptions that we currently recommend.
• Contract terms: VPN providers constantly offer discounts, typically on longer-term plans, so you need to consider the fine print before you sign up. Remember to cancel before automatic renewal if you're no longer happy with the service, or you want to switch to a cheaper deal elsewhere. 
• Use cases: Your VPN selection should relate to how you want to use a VPN. You may want one specifically for streaming geo-locked content, for example, or you may need a VPN likely to work in restricted countries. Consider these points before making your final choice, and test them out during your MBG time period to ensure the VPN is right for you.

We tested and analyzed the best VPNs in 2024 using the following criteria to help you make an informed decision:

• Performance: Our top VPNs must have a minimum level of performance. After all, there's no point in using a VPN while streaming if your connection continually drops or lags.
  
• Simultaneous connections: Many VPNs limit how many devices you can connect to a service at the same time. If you have a phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, and possibly even a smart TV you want to connect to a VPN, you need a service that allows at least five or six simultaneous connections.
• Security: There's no point using a VPN unless its security protocols and encryption levels are up to scratch. We also ensured the development team behind each recommended VPN cares about making security improvements over time and patching reported bugs.
• Kill switch: A kill switch prevents you from having an unprotected connection. This is an important feature for a VPN, as it protects you by preventing a return to a default Wi-Fi connection should your internet connection unexpectedly drop.
• Geo-blocks and streaming: We know VPNs can be key to accessing local content and services while you're away from home. We ensured that our top recommendations performed well given these factors and are unlikely to slow down your connection while you are streaming. 
• Platforms: What systems and devices can you run the VPN on? Our VPN recommendations have to offer easy-to-use and intuitive mobile apps. 
• Countries and servers: In how many different countries does the VPN have servers? This can include physical and virtual servers, and whether there are enough -- at least 50 or so -- to provide variety.
• Trial length and price: Each VPN we recommend has a solid money-back guarantee, and many will offer mobile users a seven-day trial. 

For a more extensive breakdown, check out our comprehensive VPN testing methodology page.

VPN is an acronym for virtual private network. These services allow you to browse the internet privately and securely connect 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 in play, 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 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 also 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 with several 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 native VPN support built right in.

Head over to System Settings, 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.

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 of the top VPN providers have developed native apps for tvOS. If you have an up-to-date system, VPN options with native support include ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark.

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 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, it's essential to know that no single tool can guarantee your privacy. First, 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.

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. Some countries, however, have made VPN use 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.

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 a few 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 what sites you visit and for how long, but they may track how much of their infrastructure you use.

Let's say you're surfing along 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, this means 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 out 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.

If ZDNET's top recommendations do not appeal to you, there are a number of alternative VPN providers you can consider in 2024.

See also: CyberGhost VPN review: A solid VPN for beginners