Best VPN 2022 - Compare & Save Up To 88%

VPNs that do not log are better but be cautious

You may have heard the term "logging". Data logging is a process that companies may use to gather and collect your data into their servers. As you can see, this is not good for privacy. You do not want a company to have your data logged somewhere inside their headquarters.

If you are concerned about the government requesting your data from your VPN service, you should choose one that does not store any logs. You have the right to be anonymous. However, you must be aware that even if a VPN company promises that they have a no-log policy, it is never a guarantee. Do not do illegal things online. You can and will be caught if the data can be traced back to you.

Warrant canaries and transparency are crucial for your data safety

Nearly every VPN service uses a warrant canary to inform their customers if they have been subpoenaed by a government agency. A warrant canary is simply saying to the reader that the government has not issued a subpoena. Most warrant canaries are simply removed once the government serves a subpoena. An example of that would be a statement saying that the FBI had not been there, but it can be something much more subtle.

Just like with no-logging policies, a warrant canary is not a fail-safe precaution so you should always be super careful. Instead of believing the company straight out, a better idea is to check whether the VPN service has been in the news before. Checking if they have had any issues with the government and how they handled the situation is a great start.

The Best VPN in 2020

It is now time to take a look at best VPN services. Most of these services are available on multiple platforms. Windows computers, Macs, consoles, Android phones, and iPhones all have a large spectrum of choices. The most popular VPNs are typically available on all platforms. Bear in mind that some VPNs might be great on one type of device but are not so good on another.

ExpressVPN is one of the fastest and best VPN that you can get. It is also one of the safest. They advertise their safety everywhere. You may have encountered one of their ads or sponsored videos on YouTube. ExpressVPN has many servers in different locations, meaning that you can choose one that is near you for optimal speed. On top of all that, their list of support devices is very long.

ExpressVPN uses something called "TrustServer", which is their proprietary technology that has been created to make sure that the user's data and activity are never logged. There is proof of their claim about no logs. Authorities had requested data, but ExpressVPN had nothing to give to them. Their no-logging policy was proven to be true, at least at that time.

ExpressVPN has a built-in kill switch that is designed to stop any data leakage in case the connection fails. Failing to connect to a VPN can happen even if your internet connection is excellent, so this feature is something that you want to have.

When it comes to pricing, ExpressVPN is unfortunately rather expensive. They do not offer any free tiers or trials. They currently offer three plans:

• 1 month - $12.95

• 6 months - $9.99 per month

• 12 months+three months free - $99.95 first 15 months ($6.67 per month)

Naturally, the annual plan is the cheapest option, but it is quite a bit higher than most other VPNs. If you do not mind paying more for better quality, then this is the right choice for you. Another upside is that they let users pay using BitCoin, which adds another layer of anonymity and security.

ExpressVPN was launched in 2009, which makes it one of the oldest VPNs. This is proof of their quality and reliability.

The biggest reason why you would want to choose Surfshark over other VPNs is the unlimited number of simultaneously connected devices. If you have a large household or need to use a VPN at your company, Surfshark VPN is the cheapest alternative. Another feature that Surfshark VPN has is a built-in adblocker.

It is still a relatively fast VPN, especially compared to some other VPNs from the list. Surfshark has also an anti-malware feature, which protects your devices from malicious programs.

At the time of writing, no leaks whatsoever have occurred with Surfshark. A German security company, Cure 53, has audited Surfshark's Chrome and Firefox extensions. The company gave Surfshark great marks for its security and privacy features.

When it comes to device support, Surfshark is almost as good as ExpressVPN. They have apps for Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and routers. Even game consoles can use Surfshark's DNS settings. You can also whitelist apps to bypass the VPN if you do not need it.

Another excellent feature that Surfshark has created for its users are three different modes:

• Camouflage Mode - You can hide your VPN activity from your ISP

• Multihop Mode - As the name suggests, your connection "hops" around different locations, completely hiding your trail

• NoBorders Mode - Allows you to use Surfshark in regions with strict restrictions

You have to be careful when using these modes. It may be illegal, depending on where you live, and the government can still find a way to catch you. Penalties vary from country to country. Still, there have been no DNS or IP address leaks associated with using Surfshark yet and it is a safe option.

When it comes to their payment plans, they have three offers:

• Billed every month - $12.95

• Billed every 12 months - $59.76 ($4.98/month)

• Billed now and yearly after 24 months - $2.49/month (81% savings)

They also offer a 30-day free trial that can help you decide if you want to continue using Surfshark or switch to a different VPN. The two-year plan is by far the cheapest option and you should seriously consider it if you like their service. They also let you pay using cryptocurrency. You can use either CoinGate or CoinPayments for completing the purchase.

NordVPN is another very popular VPN brand, just like the previous two. It offers their customer to connect 6 devices at the same time, which is 1 more than the average of 5 that most other VPN brands offer (excluding Surfshark). They offer a kill switch that can immediately stop the flow of data. They have an adblocker as well as a track blocker, just like Surfshark.

NordVPN has a feature that allows the user to use a dedicated IP for an added layer of protection and privacy. You can also connect NordVPN to Tor for even more privacy. The lost speed is not insignificant, but it is not devastating, at least for most users. No DNS or IP address leaks have been detected when using NordVPN.

However, a report claims that their servers were accessed without authorization back in 2018. This was followed by NordVPN working hard to make their service more secure and private. They conducted security audits, offered a bounty for bug hunters, and invested heavily in their servers and security.

The breach from 2018 proved that NordVPN does not log user data of their activity. It was not a serious security breach overall since no data has been leaked from it. This is why NordVPN continues to be a good choice.

As far as prices are concerned, NordVPN offers three plans, just like most other VPN companies. They go as follows:

• 1-month plan - $11.95

• 1-year plan - $59.00 for the first year, later $143.40 ($4.92/month)

• 2-year plan - $89.00 for the first 2 years, later $286.80 ($3.71/month)

NordVPN also offers two interesting features that go along with their VPN:

• NordPass - A secure way to store, organize, and access your passwords from any device - $2.49/month

• NordLocker - A secure cloud for storage. 500 GB in an encrypted cloud - $3.49/month

The NordLocker feature is especially interesting and it is not very expensive, especially if you compare it with other cloud storage solutions that are not encrypted. NordVPN also offers a 30-day refund period from the day of your purchase.

ProtonVPN is a premium VPN solution for people who need the best security and speed at the same time. The speed loss is under 10% for most users, which you will probably not even notice. ProtonVPN's speeds are only behind ExpressVPN from the VPNs on the list. And they only have 1057 servers spread across 54 countries. This makes their fast servers even more impressive. Unfortunately, ProtonVPN is a bit more expensive than other offerings, but it may be well worth the higher price.

ProtonVPN is the most transparent VPN company. They are open-source and regularly publish third-party audits on security. The fact that this company is based in Switzerland makes it appealing to users all over the globe. Switzerland is well-known for being neutral. This means that ProtonVPN does not have to hand over your precious data to your country's government.

ProtonVPN also has a unique multihop feature called Secure Core. They use 40 private servers that are located in safe locations, such as a Swiss army fallout shelter that is 1km deep, an underground data center in Sweden, and a former Icelandic military outpost. Multihopping allows you to hide your trail by connecting you through several countries.

They also allow you to connect to Tor servers for additional security. Their mobile app does not use weak security protocols that some other VPNs use, such as PPTP and L2TP. This makes their app one of the most secure of the bunch.

When it comes to pricing, ProtonVPN is not an affordable option. They are one of the most expensive VPNs, which is justified as they route you through underground servers at high speeds. Do not be confused by the fact that they have a free tier and a $4 tier as those plans have very few features. Here are their plans:

• Free - $0.00, 1 device, low speed, 3 countries

• Basic - $4.00/month, 2 devices, high speed, all countries

• Plus - $8/month, 5 devices, highest speed, plus servers, Secure Core, Tor servers

• Visionary - $24/month, 10 devices, ProtonMail Visionary

Visionary has all the features that Plus offers with the addition of ProtonMail Visionary. ProtonMail is a secure and more private mail service that is similar to Gmail. Users find ProtonMail to be a great feature and a secure way to send emails.

The reason why IPVanish is a great choice for beginners is its simple interface. It has many settings that help the user understand how their data is protected when they use a VPN. Just like other VPNs, it has support for multiple devices and it is excellent for people who want to use a VPN to watch Netflix.

Something unique to IPVanish is that it has support for Kodi. For those who do not know, Kodi is an app used to stream different kinds of media, like IPTVs. Kodi was previously known as XBMC. It is open-source and allows you to configure it however you want. IPVanish has created a plugin for Kodi that can be integrated without much hassle. It allows you to access any media you want in the world without region locks.

A generous offering from IPVanish is that you can connect up to 10 devices simultaneously. Most other VPNs offer only 5 or 6 simultaneous devices. They also have a built-in kill switch, just like all the previous VPNs. However, some users have reported that a partial DNS leak can happen when using this VPN. It does not hide that you use a VPN and services that block VPN users from access will easily catch you.

This means that IPVanish is not the safest VPN from the list and that it should not be used in countries where VPNs are strictly prohibited. You can and will be caught if you live in a country that has banned VPN usage.

When it comes to pricing, IPVanish is one of the cheapest VPNs there is. They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee with all of their plans. They also include 250GB of SugarSync Cloud Storage with all of their offers. Here are their three payment plans:

1. Monthly - First billing cycle $5.00, later $11.99

2. Quarterly - First billing cycle $4.50/month, later $35.97 (quarter)

3. Annual - First billing cycle $3.25/month, later $143.88 (year)

Other VPNs

The previous VPNs were the best you can find. Now come the VPNs that are not that great or popular, but you might want to choose them despite that. The following VPNs lack some features or are not as secure.

TunnelBear is one of the most popular VPNs. It has an easy-to-use interface with a switch that goes on and off and a map to choose the location you want to tunnel to. The free monthly plan will let you test it out as much as you want, as long as you do not go over 500MB per month.

Despite all that, it is not a great choice. The safety features are pretty lackluster. And the fact that it is based in Canada and owned by a US-based company called McAfee, it makes it a horrible choice if you live in one of the two countries. Canada is a member of the Five Eyes, an international intelligence-sharing agreement. So, despite TunnelBear's P2P torrenting feature, if you get caught violating the copyright law, you will be punished hard. You should not download illegal torrents, using a VPN or otherwise.

Also, TunnelBear does not claim to use a no-log policy as other VPNs do. They have publicly acknowledged that they do keep limited connection logs. At least TunnelBear is not lying to its users. They are transparent and they publish their audit results that are done by third parties.

Nonetheless, TunnelBear is concerned with privacy. When a third-party security company conducts an audit and publishes the results, TunnelBear does not loiter. They fix all the issues that have been found. When Cure53 conducted its audit, TunnelBear acted fast and fixed the issues immediately.

TunnelBear loses a significant chunk of your speed, making it a pretty bad choice. It loses about 50-60% on average. TunnelBear leaked WebRTC information in the past. It does not have any support for Tor and it cannot unblock Netflix. It is far from a subpoena-proof VPN due to its location. All this creates a poor image for the ursine VPN service.

At least they offer cheap (or free) plans with secure browsing. Here are the plans:

• Free - $0.00, 500MB/month of secure browsing

• Unlimited - $3.33/month, unlimited secure browsing, 5 devices, priority customer service

Teams - $5.75/month, Unlimited plan + dedicated account manager, centralized team billing and management

CyberGhost VPN is a popular choice due to its very low price. It is one of the cheapest VPNs out there, starting at only $2.37 per month for their 3 years + 3 months plan. They have a large number of servers at a very low cost, making it an all right option. However, just like with TunnelBear, it is not the safest VPN ever.

CyberGhost's parent company has raised a few red flags in the past. Testing has shown that they do not hide your VPN use from your ISP. Also, its ad-block feature does some nasty traffic manipulation. Instead of blocking ads, they look at your traffic and modify it to display their ads instead. This is a horrible practice that no VPN should ever do, making it untrustworthy. It also only works on HTTP websites. Websites that use HTTPS are more secure and encrypted, making it harder for CyberGhost to manipulate the traffic.

This seems to be changing in recent years. They have improved their security and speed, but the past cannot be so easily deleted. Despite the VPN's very low price, they are not reliable and may expose you. Do not use this VPN if you are in a country where VPNs are illegal. Your ISP will find out and you will be prosecuted. If you are a U.S. resident, consider choosing a different VPN. Otherwise, proceed with great caution and be aware that you cannot trust CyberGhost.

CyberGhost uses AES-256 encryption and there are no leaks in the most recent tests, so there is that. They also have a kill switch to immediately shut down the connection to prevent it from leaking outside their VPN tunnel. They also offer a split-tunneling option for Windows users that allows you to choose which connections you want to have encrypted.

CyberGhost collects some user data. It claims that it does not log the user's actions, such as the data you used or your server choices. You never know what and when they log your data, but what is known for sure is that they log hardware specifications of your computer. This is most likely to make sure that you are not overstepping the limit of 7 devices.

One of the few upsides of CyberGhost is that it is faster than Norton Secure VPN. It also uses much less processing power. They allow the user to choose which server they want to use. There are servers tuned for torrenting, NoSpy servers, servers for streaming video, and servers with static IPs.

CyberGhost has several payment plans. It is one of the cheapest VPNs out there and it is the primary reason why most people use it. Here are their plans:

• 1 Month - $14.20, 14-day money-back guarantee

• 1 Year - $53.25 ($4.44/month), 45-day money-back guarantee

• 2 Years - $90.59 ($3.77/month), 45-day money-back guarantee

3 Years and 3 Months - $92.30 ($2.37/month), 45-day money-back guarantee

Norton is a familiar brand to many. However, their VPN is not a very good one. Norton Secure VPN is very limited. It does not even have P2P and it is not available on Linux and routers. Its streaming compatibility is not very good either. Also, testing has shown that they compromise the user's data and privacy. What is the point of using a VPN if it does nothing that it is supposed to do?

It seems like the only upside of Norton is that it offers a 60-day money-back guarantee, which you will want to grab as fast as possible and choose another VPN. It is a massive shock that a well-established brand like Norton has IPv6 and DNS leaks all over the place. They do have a kill switch at least to prevent your data from leaking outside the VPN tunnel.

Pricing for Norton Secure VPN has a monthly subscription that costs $4.99 or an annual one that is $39.99. That is for the first year, after that it is $49.99.

PureVPN has a no-log policy. A third-party company called Altius IT conducted an audit that verified their claims. The company was commissioned and paid by themselves, so it is up to you whether you want to believe them. PureVPN is another VPN that lets you pay using BitCoins. They also have plugins for Kodi and Chromebooks.

As far as pricing is concerned, they offer a 7-day trial and a 31-day money-back guarantee. They have three plans:

• 1 Month plan - $10.95

• 1 Year plan - $24.71, later $69.95 ($2.06, later $10.95/month)

• 5 Years plan - $1.32/month

Here is another VPN that has support for Kodi. StrongVPN is also available on Windows, Android, Mac, iOS, Fire TV, and routers. They are another VPN company that has a strict no-logging policy. They have a large number of IP addresses, but you can also get a dedicated IP if you contact them directly.

For now, they are a solid VPN with no DNS leaks. However, they do tell your ISP that you are using a VPN, so be careful. They have only two plans that come with 250GB of SugarSync cloud storage and have a 30-day money-back guarantee:

1 Month - $10.00

12 Months - $69.99 ($5.83/month)

Private Internet Access, or PIA, is one of the cheapest VPNs you can find. They have been around since 2010 and claim to hold no logs. They are a decent option and are continuously becoming more popular.

They offer three payment plans:

• Monthly - $11.11

• Yearly - $44.00

• Two years - $76.90

Hotspot Shield is a VPN that focuses on security and privacy. They have published a privacy canary. They claim that they have malware, spam, and phishing protection built into the VPN. They claim that they do not log your data and IP address. They have support for Linux, Windows, iOS, Mac, Android, and also have plugins for Firefox and Chrome.

They had a security breach back in 2018, but the company quickly fixed it. They also offer a 45-day money-back guarantee for the 3-year plan. Here are their prices:

1 month - $12.99

1 year - $7.99/month

3 years - $107.64 ($2.99/month)

FAQ about Best VPN

What is a VPN?

A virtual private network, or VPN for short, is a relatively new type of technology that allows you to connect your private network to a safer public network. It makes you appear anonymous, protecting your data and privacy. When you connect to a VPN, your device transfers all traffic onto the VPN, making you appear as if you were in another location. This is useful for people who want to, for example, watch a Netflix show that is not available in their country. You simply use a VPN and connect from another country where that show is available and watch it.

What is a remote-access VPN?

A remote-access VPN allows you to connect remotely to a network you want via the Internet. This is useful if you want to access data from your company's network from your home. Due to the global pandemic, this feature is very useful for many companies and their workers. It secures the connection between the worker and the network and authenticates the identity of the device.

What is a site-to-site VPN?

A site-to-site VPN uses a gateway to connect one entire network in a location to a network somewhere else. Most of these VPNs connect over the internet using IPsec. It is also common to use multiprotocol label switching clouds instead of the public internet for data transfer.

What is a mobile VPN?

A mobile VPN is specially designed for mobile devices to avoid data loss and slower speeds. It allows mobile devices to have secure access to all network resources and applications on their wireless network. It is especially useful if you have bandwidth issues, a slower phone, or are faced with coverage gaps.

Mobile VPNs expect the device to move, so they are optimized to take into account when you switch networks or when your connection drops.

Who needs a VPN?

Everybody who uses the internet has several benefits from using VPNs. Your security and privacy will be ensured when you use one. Also, a VPN gives you wider access to media and other websites that are usually blocked by your ISP.

Who needs a VPN?

Everybody who uses the internet has several benefits from using VPNs. Your security and privacy will be ensured when you use one. Also, a VPN gives you wider access to media and other websites that are usually blocked by your ISP.

How to choose a VPN?

Cost

There are some free VPNs out there, but all good options and the best VPN will cost money. Using a free VPN is still better than no VPN.

Reliability

Always use a VPN that has a good standing in the community and is known for its reliability.

Security

Do not use VPNs that do nothing for your security. Choose something that will protect you. Encryption, anonymous DNS servers, and no-log policies are what you want. We make sure that we list only the best VPN in our list.

Bandwidth limits

You may want to have an unlimited limit, which means paying more.

VPNs for phones and tablets

iOS and Android both have a wide range of VPNs available, including popular brands.

VPNs for phones and tablets

iOS and Android both have a wide range of VPNs available, including popular brands.

Using a VPN for streaming services

Netflix, Hulu, and others are notorious for restricting their content. Using a VPN allows you to access that content by rerouting your traffic through servers from other countries.