Last updated January 2025
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What is a VPN?
Virtual Private Network or VPN for short is a popular technology used to create a secure connection between your computer and the internet.
When connected to a VPN nobody can track your online activity or see which websites you visit, not even your ISP.
You have complete protection from hackers when connected to a VPN because all data passing between your computer and a website is encrypted. This allows you to make worry-free purchases online without fear of your personal data such as passwords and banking details from being stolen.
As soon as you connect to a VPN your IP address changes to the IP address of the VPN server. Which makes your real IP address invisible to the outside world giving you total anonymity.
Premium VPN services let you choose the server location from any in their network. Giving you this freedom means you can appear to be anywhere in the world you like. This allows people to bypass firewalls set up by restrictive governments to access the same online content as everybody else such as youtube and social media sites.
Hiding your real IP address also makes VPN's very useful for accessing geo-blocked content on websites and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.
Which VPN should I choose?
Having a good quality VPN at your disposal is more important now than it's ever been. Whether it's to keep your online activity private, your data secure, or to bypass government censorship.
We've tested and rated over 80 of the most popular VPN services around today. The VPN's in our top 10 are perfect for unblocking websites, accessing geo-blocked Netflix content, and torrenting. They also offer great security, strong encryption, and work with most mobile devices. These are the most important features every good VPN should possess.
It's possible the way we've ranked our top 10 VPN choices doesn't quite match your own requirements. In which case you should decide which specific features you need from a VPN.
For instance, does the VPN service have servers in every country and region you need? Does the plan come with enough simultaneous device connections? Does the plan have any bandwidth limits? Are there apps available for all your required devices? And last but not least, cost, can you afford the monthly payment.
Also worth remembering is most VPN's offer a money-back guarantee. So if you're not happy with a VPN after trying it out, you can always get a refund and try another one.
VPN Features Comparison
Server Locations i | 94 | 59 | 65 | 90 | 75 | 62 | 77 | 40 |
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Server Total | 3000 | 5475 | 3200 | 6300 | 1600 | 150 | 29288 | 202 |
Jurisdiction i | British Virgin Isl | Panama | British Virgin Isl | Romania | United States | Sweden | United States | Seychelles |
Torrenting i | ||||||||
TOR Compatibility | ||||||||
Device Connections i | 5 | 6 | Unlimited | 7 | Unlimited | 6 | 10 | 5 |
Netflix USA i | ||||||||
Block Ads | ||||||||
Kill Switch i | ||||||||
Leak Protection i | ||||||||
No Logs Policy i | ||||||||
Refund Policy | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 45 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 3 days |
Mobile Apps i | ||||||||
Customer Support |
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Cost | $6.67/mo | $3.71/mo | $2.49/mo | $2.25/mo | $2.62/mo | $2.07/mo | $2.69/mo | $2.33/mo |
Frequently Asked Questions
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How do I connect to a VPN?
It's very easy to connect to a VPN. Once you've signed up, you will be given a download link for the VPN services client. Install the client and sign in with your VPN account login details and then choose the country of the server you want to connect to. And that's it you're now using a VPN with a fully encrypted internet connection.
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Can I use a VPN with my smartphone or tablet device?
Yes, most of the top VPN services have apps for Android, IOS, and other popular mobile devices. Before you sign up with a VPN, first make sure they have an app for your device. After you install the app, you simply need to sign in with your VPN account login details, then choose the server and your good to go.
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Will a VPN slow my internet connection?
Your connection will always be a little slower when using a VPN. In part, this is because of the time it takes to encrypt your data. But connection speed also depends on how far away you are from the VPN server you're connecting to. To get the best speeds from a VPN always try to choose a server close to your physical location. Some low-cost and free VPN services also have too many users on their servers, which can grind your connection to a halt and sometimes even make it unusable.
The only time you would see a faster speed with a VPN than without is when your ISP is throttling your connection. An ISP cannot throttle a VPN users connection while torrenting for example, because they cannot see that you are torrenting.
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Are VPN's legal?
In most countries using a VPN is perfectly legal. The fact they provide a secure encrypted network to transfer private data makes them very popular with many of the largest companies and organizations around the world.
Some countries including China, Iran, Oman, Russia, Turkey, and UAE only allow government-sanctioned VPN services to operate in their country. No doubt, these VPN's are forced to log their users VPN activity. Which almost certainly defeats the purpose of using a VPN in the first place. Other countries with a complete ban on VPN's include North Korea, Belarus, Iraq, and Turkmenistan.
A few of the top VPN services still work in these countries, however. Such as NordVPN, which has an 'obfuscated servers' setting containing an alternative server list for users living in restrictive countries.
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Why not just use a free VPN?
It may seem tempting to use a free VPN instead of a paid one, but before you do you might want to consider the downsides of a free VPN.
One of the primary issues with free VPN's is how unreliable they are. Their servers tend to be overloaded with users much of the time which can significantly slow them down. They also have download caps and low data limits so you can't use it constantly without signing up to a paid plan.
The term 'If You're Not Paying, You're The Product' applies to free VPN's too, with some free VPN companies logging your activity and selling the information to advertisers and other 3rd parties. Free VPN companies may also display targeted ads based on your recent searches. And important security features such as a 'Kill Switch' are not usually included with a free VPN.
For these reasons we strongly believe spending a few dollars for guaranteed security each month is well worth it.
Top 3 VPN Services
Disclaimer When our readers subscribe to a VPN service, we sometimes earn affiliate commissions that support our work. The reviews and ratings given to any VPN service on this site are in no way influenced by these commissions.