Until a few years ago, choosing the best VPN service was relatively easy. There were only three main applicants, and they offered almost the same thing. Today, there are hundreds of VPN services, and each VPN has its own strengths and weaknesses. Luckily, we’re here to make the decision to choose the best VPN service for you easy.
Why use a VPN?
When it comes to VPN services, there are a number of options for using them. Even though it is a relatively simple technology, an encrypted connection and access to servers around the world can have many uses. However, there are three main reasons why people use VPNs.
Stream around the world
Due to copyright and contractual reasons, streaming content varies considerably by country. For example, Hulu is only available to US citizens, while BBC iPlayer is only available to UK citizens. In addition, Netflix libraries vary considerably by country.
With a VPN, you can access all of your favorite streaming services.
This means you may be missing out on a huge range of streaming content. While US citizens have access to the largest streaming libraries, even they can be missing out on content.
By changing your location with a VPN, you can end up in a different country and therefore access their streaming libraries. However, there are two small (but, fortunately, fixable) problems with this theory.
Some services actively try to block VPNs and proxies. This is to fulfill our obligations. Fortunately, VPNs have better network engineers than these streaming services. Therefore, any decent VPN service, including those listed in this list, will be able to overcome such limitations.
The second issue is that most services require a local payment method. While you might think that they are difficult to reproduce, you would be surprised.
Protect your privacy
By hiding your IP address and encrypting your connection, you get an extra layer of privacy. This has many advantages, but most people like the fact that it will be harder for governments and corporations to track you. This means that your activities will be more private and secure.
However, don’t think for a second that VPNs provide you with complete privacy. Staying private online is much more difficult and requires many more steps. So while a VPN doesn’t provide complete privacy, it’s a step in the right direction.
Protect your internet connection
Because the VPN tunnel creates an encrypted connection between you and the VPN server, everything in between is secure. This is useful as it helps secure your internet connection and reduces the chance of someone hacking you.
Overcome local geo-blocking
VPN providers can also help you overcome local blockades.
The most common scenario for this is the infamous Great Firewall of China. The Chinese government blocks access to a lot of content for its citizens. Here is how you can try to influence their views and control them. Although it is the most infamous country, it is not the only country to do so.
In addition, your ISP may also block access to some content. For example, in the UK, many of them block pornography, and in other countries — torrents. By connecting to a VPN server, you can overcome these blockages.
Best VPN in 2023 for privacy, streaming and torrenting
With hundreds of VPN services on the market, how do you find the best VPN to use? Let’s take a look at the best VPNs for 2023.
ProtonVPN (Best Free VPN in 2023)
| Price: From $4.99 per month | |
|---|---|
| Free plan: Yes (1 VPN connection, access to blocked content) | Torrenting: P2P file sharing and torrents allowed (not on free plan) |
| Based in: Switzerland | Streaming: Stream Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Hotstar, and more. |
| Servers: 1200+ servers in 55 countries | Features: Built-in support for TOR, Kill-switch. Unlimited bandwidth. Up to 10 devices. Adblocker (NetShield) DNS filtering |
| Protocols / encryption: IKEv2 / IPSec and OpenVPN. AES-256 with 4096-bit RSA | Current Deal: 33% OFF 2 Year Plan - Save $2 |
| Entry: No Logs Policy | Website: www.protonvpn.com |
| Support: 24/7 chat and email. 24 day money back guarantee |
| ProtonVPN Pros | ProtonVPN Cons |
|---|---|
| Strong encryption and protocols | No support for WireGuard |
| Torrenting | Prone to VPN blocks |
| No leaks and logging policy | Servers are sometimes slow |
| Supports Tor browser and P2P | |
| Comfortable in using | |
| Flexible Low Cost Plans |
ProtonVPN has the best free membership levels we’ve come across, and its premium tiers give you access to various privacy features at a fair price.
The thing is, ProtonVPN is based in Switzerland, which gives them an immediate advantage in terms of privacy over the competition. The country has strict privacy regulations, is independent of the US and the European Union, and is not a member of the 5 Eyes Intelligence Surveillance Alliance.
Atlas VPN (Best Free VPN)
| Price: From $1.99 per month | |
|---|---|
| Free Trial: Free VPN (No speed limits, but limited to 3 locations) | Torrenting: P2P file sharing and torrents allowed (not on free plan) |
| Based in: Delaware, USA | Streaming: Watch Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Disney+ and more. |
| Servers: 750+ high speed VPN servers in 37 countries. | Features: Unlimited devices, unlimited bandwidth. Safeswap servers, split tunneling and ad blocker. Super fast 4k streaming |
| Protocols/encryption: WireGuard, IKEv2, L2TP/IPsec. AES-256 and ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption | Current Deal: Get 82% off Atlas VPN (from $1.99 per month). |
| Entry: No Logs Policy | Website: www.atlasvpn.com |
| Support: 24/7 chat and email. 24 day money back guarantee |
| Atlas VPN Pros | Cons of AtlasVPN |
|---|---|
| 100% Free VPN | Small network of VPN servers |
| Great budget option (one of the cheapest VPNs right now) | Sometimes the emergency switch does not work |
| Excellent security and privacy features (AES-256 and ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption) | |
| It comes with a built-in ad blocker, SafeSwap servers and MultiHop+ servers. | |
| Unlimited simultaneous connections to any number of devices |
This is one of the most affordable VPN services on the market. They offer many advanced privacy and security features that go beyond the basic features of a VPN. For example, WireGuard, SafeSwap servers, and Ad Tracker Blocker, which blocks malware, third-party trackers, and ads. Atlas VPN offers all the basic features that users can expect from a VPN service and more. To ensure the privacy and security of their users, they use world-class IPSec/IKEv2 and WireGuard® protocols, as well as AES-256 encryption.
Ivacy VPN: Online Privacy Made Easy
Ivacy VPN is arguably the best VPN service in the world. Mudhook Marketing Inc. has developed a VPN application which is one of the oldest. It provides its users with secure and private connections as well as high speed connections so that they can enjoy the open internet.
| Price: From $1.00 per month | |
|---|---|
| Free Trial: No (but 30-day money-back policy, no questions asked) | Torrenting: P2P file sharing and torrents are allowed |
| Based in: USA (Five Eyes - FVEY - alliance) | Streaming: Stream Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc. (May go unnoticed when unblocking popular streaming services like Netflix) |
| Servers: 1600+ servers in 75+ countries | Features: Kill Switch, Split Tunneling, SugarSync Storage, OpenVPN Encryption |
| Protocols / encryption: IKEv2, OpenVPN, L2TP / IPSec. 256-bit AES encryption | Current Deal: Limited Offer, Save 65% On Annual Plan |
| Entry: Zero log policy | |
| Support: 24/7 phone, chat and email. 24 day money back guarantee |
| Ivacy VPN Pros | IPVanish Cons |
|---|---|
| Convenient apps for all your devices | Lack of optimized servers. |
| Zero traffic logs | |
| Access to censored apps and websites | |
| IKEv2, OpenVPN and L2TP/IPsec VPN protocols | |
| Protect any personal data connection with unparalleled security | |
| Protect every device you own with no connection limits |
PotatoVPN
| Price: From $5.99 per month | |
|---|---|
| Free Trial: 7-Day VPN Trial (Credit Card Information Required) | Torrenting: P2P file sharing and torrents are allowed |
| Based in: Sweden (14 eyes alliance) | Streaming: Stream Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, BBC iPlayer and more |
| Servers: 100+ servers in 63 countries | Features: 6 simultaneous connections. Unlimited bandwidth and server switching |
| Protocols/encryption: OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP, IKEv2 and IPSec. 2048-bit encryption with AES-256 | |
| Entry: No Logs Policy | |
| Support: 24/7 chat and email. 24 day money back guarantee |
| pros | Minuses |
|---|---|
| Unblocks Netflix and other sites and is considered the best VPN for streaming. | Small network of servers |
| The highest level of security - whether you're connected at home or on a public Wi-Fi network | Performance issues, especially with mobile clients |
| Freedom from monitoring and registration; your personal data is never shared with anyone | |
| Online chat and remote control support | |
| OpenVPN 2048-bit encryption with AES-256 |
PotatoVPN is a premium VPN service provider. With an easy-to-use interface, it provides maximum anonymity, extremely secure connections, and lightning-fast connections.
PureVPN
| Price: From $2.29 per month | |
|---|---|
| Free Trial: No (but 30-day money-back policy, no questions asked) | Torrenting: P2P file sharing and torrents allowed (not on free plan) |
| Servers: 700+ servers in 70 countries | Streaming: Stream Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, BBC iPlayer and more |
| Protocols/encryption: WireGuard, OpenVPN UDP, OpenVPN TCP, IKEv2, Chameleon. AES-256. | Features: Chameleon™ VPN protocol, VyprDNS™ security, VyprVPN cloud storage. Public WiFi Security, Kill-Switch |
| Entry: No Logs Policy | Current Deal: Save 84% + Get 12 Months FREE |
| Support: 24/7 chat and email. 24 day money back guarantee |
| Pros | Minuses |
|---|---|
| Provides robust security features | Relatively small server network |
| Offers a 30-day money-back guarantee | |
| Well able to unblock services and sites! | |
| Torrenting | |
| No DNS leaks | |
| Own DNS servers | |
| Split tunneling on macOS |
PureVPN is an easy-to-use service with a user-friendly interface that packs a lot of features into a compact package. It has a stunning interface that adapts to any device/operating system screen without affecting the size or layout of the elements.
NordVPN (best VPN service in 2023)
| Price: From $3.29 per month | |
|---|---|
| Free Trial: No (but 30-day "no questions asked" policy) | Torrenting: P2P file sharing and torrents are allowed |
| Based in Panama | Streaming: Stream Netflix US, Hulu, HBO, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and more. |
| Servers: 5300+ servers in 59 countries | Features: Private DNS, double data encryption and Onion support, ad and malware blocking, Kill-Switch |
| Protocols/encryption: NordLynx, OpenVPN, IKEv2. AES-256 encryption | Current Deal: Get 65% Off Now - Hurry Up |
| Entry: Zero log policy | Website: www.nordvpn.com |
| Support: 24/7 chat and email. 24 day money back guarantee |
| NordVPN Pros | NordVPN Cons |
|---|---|
| Kill Switch prevents privacy violation | Torrent is only supported on some servers |
| Incredibly fast download and upload speeds | Static IP addresses |
| 5000+ servers in 60 countries | Customer service could be improved |
| Premium Design | |
| Double VPN protection feature |
NordVPN’s success is mainly due to its feature rich web design. NordVPN caters to a wide range of consumer requirements, including the ability to unblock Netflix, access to BBC iPlayer, Bitcoin support, and even malware protection.
NordVPN’s unlimited torrenting is a definite plus, and there’s a lot to like about privacy, with plenty of smart features to keep you safe and anonymous online.
Must-Have VPN Features You Should Pay Attention to
VPNs, like many online services, are not created equal. You wouldn’t want them to be like this because we all have different needs. Some need privacy over streaming capabilities, others need speed over server locations. Since people’s use cases vary considerably, it’s great that there are plenty to choose from. So, when it comes to the best VPN services, here are the features to look out for.
As we stated, use cases can be different. Therefore, some of them may be more important to you than others.
Speed and performance
No matter what you want to use a VPN service for, speed is important for everyone. A slow connection will prevent you from streaming, torrenting, or actually using the Internet in any useful way.
Therefore, speed is above all. Luckily, all of the top VPNs listed above have excellent speeds.
However, keep in mind that VPN speed depends on many factors. For example, where you are, where you are connecting, your device, encryption standard, etc. So if you are reaching bad speeds, it may not necessarily be a VPN fault and you will get a bad connection with others. VPN too.
If faster speed is your top priority, you can run speed tests with tools like TestMy.Net and SpeedTest.Net.
Price
In an ideal world, VPNs would be free due to the positive benefits they bring to the public. However, free VPNs are rarely good — more on that later.
Making Your Decision Even Harder VPN prices range from $2 to $20 per month. and higher. Assuming that a $2 service will give you the same level of service as a $20 service is outrageous. However, to suggest that a $20 a month service is automatically superior is also outrageous.
At $8.32/month, you can probably figure out that ExpressVPN is one of the most expensive VPNs on this best VPNs list. However, he is still in 2nd place. This is because, in my opinion, price is a very small factor.
Sure, Surfshark is $2.49 cheaper, but drink less beer or coffee for a month and you’re in the same place. Also, most VPNs tell the truth — you get what you pay for.
In most VPNs, the annual plan will be the cheapest compared to the monthly plan. However, some offer two-year and even three-year plans. We recommend avoiding them as technology and companies move so fast that you never know what the situation will be like three years from now.
Luckily, all VPNs also offer a 14- or 30-day money-back guarantee or a free trial to try them out. This way you can test different services and decide which one suits you best.
Supported protocols and security
When it comes to VPNs, security can be extremely important. Of course, if you’re only using it to access geo-restricted content and stream, this will be less of a concern to you. For everyone else, it’s important to check the security details of the VPN service you choose.
How we test VPN services
Unfortunately, there are a huge number of VPN comparison sites that do not test any VPN services, but simply spew information from the entire website. Even worse, we’ve heard of some who have never even used a VPN service!
We think it’s fair and fair that we test every VPN service we’ve listed. Therefore, you will not find one on our site that we have not tested and carefully studied.
Our testing is relatively simple, but at the same time extremely time consuming. We study in detail all the features mentioned above, and, if possible, not only take the word of the VPN provider, but also test them for ourselves. To get a better idea of how deep we go into our reviews, take a look at one of our reviews.
