VPN: The best VPN services in 2024

Specs

In our opinion, NordVPN is the best VPN in the world, sufficiently protecting you and your information. This provider offers apps for almost every imaginable device, and you can have up to six devices connected to the VPN at a time. Just log in to the app, connect to a server, and relax, knowing that the military-grade encryption makes it all safe. Very easy and very smart!

Extra Safety 

As something unique, NordVPN allows you to send your internet traffic through not just one but two VPN servers. It is probably not something you have a great need for every day, but it can be useful if you need to exchange extra sensitive information. 

And you can safely do that. NordVPN is based in Panama, where neither US nor European authorities have any powers whatsoever. The company does not store any logs at all and cannot see which websites you have visited, etc.

Functionality at the First Front

Some VPNs pack their programs with a truckload of features that the average user will never need. NordVPN has taken a deliberate opt-out of this kind of “noise.” It provides a very user-friendly experience with few settings to decide. Some stored in some sub-menus, while others are completely gone.

Overall

There is a lot to like about this product. With the best speeds among all the other VPNs we’ve tested, superior security features, double encryption, and responsive, very helpful customer service, we couldn’t imagine rewarding any other VPN with the first spot.

The only real minus we can think of when it comes to this VPN is the fact that it only offers up to 6 simultaneous connections, which is less than some of the other competitors in this review.

Specs

CyberGhost gets our silver medal. It has all the features you can expect from the best VPN, and the price is reasonable. Use it on all your devices: Windows computers, Mac, Android phones, iPhones, tablets, and gaming consoles. No matter the device, you are connected to a VPN server with a single push of a button. 

Vast Network of Servers 

What we liked about this VPN is the fact of how simple it is to connect to servers optimized for different things, for example, streaming from US Netflix and Hulu. CyberGhost has a vast network of servers around the globe, ensuring you can always get a fast server, no matter the purpose.

When connected to a server, you are protected by 256-bit AES encryption so no one can intercept the data and information you send and receive.

Maximum Protection

The company is based in Romania, and as far as we were able to learn, no logs are kept or shared. The number of connections to each server is logged, but none of it can be traced back to a specific user. Information about which websites you have visited, your search history, and your IP address are not saved. All of this information is available to your internet service provider if you don’t use one of the best VPNs.

Automatic Connection and Split Tunneling

As we mentioned, it’s children’s play to connect to a fast server with this VPN. Additionally, it’s full of stellar features we like to see in any quality VPN provider. With “Smart rules,” you can set it up so your device automatically connects to a VPN when booting. You can protect your wifi, and choose which websites are not to be visited through VPN servers.

It can be a useful feature if you want to watch videos from your home country. Some of them are blocked when you don’t have a local IP address. Remember that your privacy is not protected when you have excluded a website from the VPN server.

Covering the Tracks and More

In “Connection features,” you can enable ad block and block attempts to track your digital footprints. You can also enable a data compression feature to minimize the number of bytes downloaded when browsing the internet.

If there is any trouble, the friendly CyberGhost support team is available round the clock. We reached out to them twice and we can attest – the support agents are fast-typing ninjas!

Overall

We really liked CyberGhost for its ease of use, a very intuitive app filled with great features like split tunneling, and their 45-day money-back guarantee. If you can ignore slightly lower but still sufficient speeds, then this VPN might be a great choice for you.

Specs

With Ivacy, you get one of the cheapest solutions on the market (especially if you sign up for a longer deal), which you might as well do, as this comprehensive tool combines great speed, effective security measures and great usability!  

Here’s what we found out about Ivacy during our tests!

Stellar Speeds

Speed is top of our mind with this solution and it’s not only us. In several different tests, including at proprivacy.com, Ivacy comes in first place in terms of speed when compared to the other major players in the market. So it is a quick VPN you get here for a very low amount of money. Moreover, they have apps not only for Mac and Windows but also for iOS, Android, PS4, and Linux so everyone can join.

One VPN for Your Family

Another thing we found very useful is the fact that you can be connected to over 100 different locations and have up to 10 devices online at the same time, which provides an opportunity for the entire household to use a VPN simultaneously.

Streaming with Ease

Ivacy also gives you access to BBC iPlayer, Disney +, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, as well as the 7 major Netflix regions USA, France, Japan, UK, Australia, Germany, and Canada, among others. There are no limits to the capabilities of Ivacy, and also, they have a sufficient no-logs policy implemented, which makes it safe and anonymous to use.

Affordable 

In addition, they have a 30-day money-back guarantee, which ensures you can get your money back if the product does not work as intended.
All this you can get for less than $1,5 a month if you sign a long agreement. If you only want to pay month to month, it costs $7,5 per month.

Overall

We definitely consider Ivacy one of the best VPNs available to use in 2024. It offers amazing connection speeds, great safety tools, plenty of streaming options and low prices. 

Specs

In recent years, there have been a lot of tests that compared the speed of VPN servers. In all of them, ExpressVPN gets a high score, and that is one of the reasons why we call ExpressVPN one of the best VPN providers in the world. Regardless of what you use the VPN for, it’s got you covered.

Always Connect with the Best Server

With ExpressVPN, you’re in for a treat! Among other things, we love their built-in speed test, which tells you which of the many servers you should connect to. If you, for example, want to stream US Netflix, you choose the United States from the server list and run the speed test. A moment later, you get a list of the fastest American servers, so you can connect to the fastest of them all and get a lag-free Netflix experience.

Easy to Set Up and Use

The simplicity of the software is terrific. Users don’t face endless complicated choices. When combined with the fast servers, it makes a big difference between ExpressVPN and the competitors. It is simple and straightforward.

ExpressVPN is easy and quick to set up on every device. It protects you and your information. There are no logs on your internet activity or the servers you are connected to. The connection between you and the servers is encrypted, so no information or data can be compromised.

8 Devices in One Plan

ExpressVPN offers you the ability to connect up to 8 devices simultaneously, which is an industry standard. 

Overall

We are slightly disappointed by the price of this VPN, as it is higher than some competitors from this list that offer similar quality of service. However, it is not enough to change the overall review: If you want a fast and easy-to-use VPN, choose ExpressVPN. You can get your money back in the first 30 days if you’re not satisfied.

Specs

What can we say about PureVPN after our tests? It’s an excellent basic, value-for-money VPN that is easy to set up. With more than 2.000 servers in more than 140 countries, PureVPN has a lot of use cases. You can pretty much use it for all the VPN tricks in the book.

Good Speed

Like all their competitors PureVPN claims to have the fastest servers. We have not done a comparable speed test, but we know the servers are fast enough, maybe a little below the industry average.

The Hong Kong-based VPN provider makes it a piece of cake to connect to servers optimized for streaming. Under “Popular Websites,” you can choose Netflix US, Hulu, and BBC, among others. PureVPN is available on most devices, and a subscription covers up to ten devices, which is pretty generous. 

Features

This VPN is equipped with all the essential features one would like to find in a reliable tool. We have a good kill switch, which is enabled by default, split tunneling (however, only limited to Windows and Android apps, which we consider a bit of a letdown), and an obfuscation feature, which allows you to hide your VPN traffic, making you undetectable and unable to be blocked when accessing various sites.  

We love PureVPN’s comprehensive set of features to increase your security and the quality of your browsing experience. Considering their pricing, you’re getting a nice deal.  

Messy App

We have to say that one thing we didn’t appreciate as much is PureVPN’s interface. The layout of apps is messy. It’s confusing that the features depend on the selected VPN mode (streaming/internet freedom/security/file-sharing). That is something to keep in mind – this VPN may not be suitable for everyone, especially those who look for convenience above all else.

Overall

We still think that PureVPN is a quality option. It comes with decent speeds, a large network of servers and quite affordable prices. However, it’s not a product devoid of flaws, messy app design being one of the most considerable ones.

Specs

Surfshark VPN is a fairly serious player on the market, who focuses on safety and entertainment! If you have a Netflix account, you can use Surfshark to access the Netflix library in 15 different countries. So if you need a VPN for streaming, Surfshark offers you everything you need to access content that you don’t have the opportunity to see in many locations.

But that’s not all there is to this VPN.

Robust Features

Surfshark VPN offers a kill switch, which performed without any issues in our tests. It also comes with multi-hop connectivity, which works by connecting you to a server and then bouncing your traffic to a second VPN server. This increases your security, making your moves undetectable. It’s good to see this feature in Surfshark’s offering, as not so many VPN providers in this price range have it.

However, if we wanted to get picky, we could mention that Surfshark currently does not offer access to Tor, which can be disappointing. 

Still, this VPN service excels in its efforts to create the most privacy for users and their successful attempts to block censorship in multiple countries.

Unlimited Connections 

Of course, one of the biggest selling points of Surfshark is the fact that it offers unlimited simultaneous connections (which only excludes their antivirus). If you’re after a robust, efficient VPN for the whole family, this one should be high on your list.

Privacy Policy

In our opinion, the company’s privacy policy could be a little clearer on the details. While they state they don’t collect IP addresses, browsing history, or network traffic (all of which is true), they also claim they don’t log connection timestamps. 

However, we found that to be only partially true, as Surfshark claims further in their privacy policy that they do, in fact, collect connection timestamps with your ID, delaying it 15 minutes after you’ve terminated your connection. This data is later deleted, but it is something to keep in mind. 

Overall

We were quite happy with how this VPN performed in most of our tests. Surfshark VPN offers some nice, advanced features and opens up a lot of geo-restricted content for a very decent price. With their unlimited number of devices you can connect at one time, it is a terrific solution for families.  

Specs

The name of this company tells us a lot. Privacy is one of the most essential things for Private Internet Access. It is a great starting point for a VPN provider, as privacy is a primary reason to buy a VPN.

But is it worth your money?

Split Tunneling and Multi-hop

Some changes were introduced to PIA’s offering in the last years, making it a comprehensive VPN that can successfully compete with some of the companies we mentioned above. 

It protects and anonymizes your internet activity, and it does that with tools like split tunneling and multi-hop. What we consider a good cherry on top was PIA’s own ad and tracker-blocking feature – MACE. 

One minus of this tool, however, is that technically, it can’t be used on Androids, and working around this limitation through sideloading, per PIA’s recommendation, can bear its own risks.  

Unlimited Connections 

It’s a plus that you can use Private Internet Access on an unlimited number of devices with a single subscription. The number and complexity of tools PIA offers surprised us in a positive way, however, features like port forwarding are not particularly useful for everyday users.

Your Information vs US Law Enforcement

As far as privacy goes, PIA uses a lot of reassuring words. Your information is not stored or shared. But the fact is that the company has to comply with American legislation. We have no reason not to believe PIA, but why take the risk? We all know that digital privacy isn’t the main focus for agencies such as the FBI, CIA, and Homeland Security. 

What can they get after a visit to Private Internet Access with a warrant and ramblings about national security? It’s not entirely clear. 

The company has a track record of pushing against sharing whatever information they have about its users with law enforcement. Still, there are a lot of other VPN providers based in countries where authorities don’t have those kinds of snooping powers.

Overall

PIA can be a good choice if you like a slightly more comprehensive product to work with. Thanks to features like MACE, multi-hop, and the option to customize the VPN protocol configuration, among many more, this VPN is really worth its price.

However, it comes with a learning curve, so if you’re after something rather straightforward and easy to use, PIA might not be for you. 

Specs

This is an atypical VPN that has privacy protection as the primary focus. For years, Proton has delivered perhaps the world’s best-known encrypted email service. In other words, it is a company that lives and breathes privacy.

But how did it fare in our tests? 

Super User-Friendly 

Proton VPN is available in different price ranges. But no matter which subscription you choose, the software is easy to use. The main reason is that all servers are shown on a world map, which makes it easier to understand how your device is connected to one of the servers. And it makes it simple to see which servers you can connect to.

Additionally, Proton comes with a really nice free plan that offers no limits on the amount of data you can use (a pretty nice advantage, as many other competitors don’t have free plans or put data restrictions on them). 

Paid plans give you access to less crowded servers, so if speed is your priority, you may want to consider that.

Strong Security Measures

Proton is a Swiss-based company, so due to the stringent privacy laws, you can be sure that your privacy will be protected no matter what.

The “Secure Core” feature sends your internet traffic through multiple servers. Grear from a privacy and security standpoint, but, as our reviewers experienced themselves, not so much from a speed point of view. 

Still, with this feature disabled, the speeds are decent enough, so this VPN does not lack on that particular front.

Overall

ProtonVPN is a strong competitor, with a great number of advanced features, slick and functional apps, and secure email and storage functions. Their new pricing structure is much better than what they had before, so that’s another plus in our books. 

Specs

An easy-to-understand name for a simple VPN. What did we like about the IPVanish? 

Solid Apps’ Design

First of all, the apps have an excellent design that makes it fast and easy for users to connect to servers. Click on a button, and you are connected – knowing that you can browse securely and privately.

Security Measures

IPVanish is based in the US, and even though the company promises there are no logs, we are a bit worried. Essentially, we have the same reservations here, as we did with Private Internet Access.  It is nice to know that IPVanish will fight for privacy, but overall, it’s not enough for us.

We might be paranoid, but why choose an American VPN provider when there are a lot of alternatives where privacy is protected by law?

Advanced Storage Feature

What we found unique about this VPN provider was their SugarSync feature, which allows you to benefit from advanced encryption to protect your files online. Super useful and functional, this tool can be a great addition to your security measures. 

Speed

IPVanish claims to have the fastest servers in the world; however it was not what we experienced. The connection speeds varied with this VPN, but they were not anything above the norm. Depending on your location, you might experience some issues streaming movies and other video content. 

Overall

Is IPVanish the best VPN in the world? Maybe not, but with what it has in store, it’s still a valuable option. Features like SugarSync were a nice surprise for us, however other important features like kill switch and split tunneling were limited, which is why we placed IPVanish lower on our list.

It’s not a waste of money, but it’s also not the best VPN out there, either.  

Specs

Hide My Ass (HMA) is a British VPN company with a bold claim to be the best in the world. However, there are warning bells against that statement. 

Here is what we learned about this VPN during our review process. 

Privacy Policy

HMA has been around for quite some time. Recently, the company introduced some important enhancements, creating a VPN that is more modern and safer. This especially pertains to their privacy policy, which now states they don’t collect user data such as IP addresses, users’ browsing history, and their DNS requests. A big plus for us. 

This change is somewhat overshadowed by the fact that the company still collects IP addresses, timestamps, and browser history from their free proxy browser plug-in, which they claim to delete after 30 days. Compared to other VPN providers, a lot of personal information is logged, and ultimately, it can be handed over to the authorities, and that we don’t like at all.

Servers

The number of servers isn’t that impressive, but they work as intended. A bigger case for concern is the fact that the company doesn’t actually have physical servers. While they do offer servers in territories that are not so often covered by other VPN providers (like Africa and South America), these are, more often than not, virtual locations.

On one hand, the company is pretty transparent about its use of virtual servers, which is a good thing. But, users don’t know the locations of servers, so they have little control over where their traffic is actually routed. 

In our opinion, that is a disadvantage of this VPN, as you can’t select servers that are near you for better performance. 

Overall

We wouldn’t recommend HMA as your first choice. This VPN has some good features and offers good connection speeds, however their privacy policy leaves a lot to be desired. 

You’ll find better options when it comes to an affordable VPN on our list.