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What you use it for
The best VPNs for streaming
The services that ship a named tool for reaching a streaming library, rather than a claim on the pricing page that it usually works.
The best VPNs for torrenting
Port forwarding is the feature that separates a VPN you can seed through from one that only downloads. Seven services here have it.
VPNs that work where VPNs are blocked
Twenty services here disguise the traffic so a network cannot tell a VPN is running. On a filtered connection that is the only feature that matters.
VPNs with unlimited devices
Seven services here place no cap on simultaneous connections. For a household with phones, laptops and a television that is the whole decision.
VPNs with a built-in ad blocker
Eighteen services here filter ads and trackers at the DNS level, which covers apps a browser extension cannot reach.
Devices
The best VPNs for Linux
Twenty-three services here ship a Linux client the company maintains. Eleven leave you configuring WireGuard or OpenVPN by hand.
The best VPNs for Firestick
Fourteen services here ship an app you can install on a Fire TV directly, rather than one that has to be sideloaded or run at the router.
The best VPNs for Apple TV
Nine services here have a native Apple TV app, which only became possible in 2023 and most of the market still has not built.
VPNs with a browser extension
Seventeen services here ship an extension. On several of them it is a proxy for the browser only, and on others a switch for the desktop app.
Privacy
The most private VPNs
Ranked on what each service can know about you, who can compel it to say, and whether anyone outside the company has checked.
VPNs outside the intelligence-sharing alliances
Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy are all Fourteen Eyes members, which most VPN comparisons never mention. These services answer to countries in neither group.
VPNs based in Five Eyes countries
Fifteen services here answer to a government that routinely shares what it collects with four others. Here is what that changes, and what it does not.
VPNs with a recent independent audit
Ten services here have been examined by an outside firm recently enough to still describe how they run today. What each audit covered is the part to read.
VPNs with a kill switch that actually works
Six of the thirty-four VPNs here ship a kill switch that a lab got to leak after a reboot when tested. These are the ones that hold.
Open-source VPNs
Seven services here publish the source of the software you install, so somebody who does not work there can check what it does.
VPNs you can pay for in cash
Four services here accept cash or cryptocurrency directly, so the payment does not tie a name and a card to the account.
Speed
Price
The cheapest VPNs
Ranked on what a month actually costs rather than the number on the advertisement, which for half of these is a rate that expires.
VPNs that renew at the same price
Half the VPNs here advertise a rate that covers 27 or 28 months and then renews far higher. These charge the same at renewal as they did at signup.
The best free VPNs
A free plan that expires is a trial with better marketing. These five charge nothing on an ongoing basis, and each gives up something different for it.
Ease of use
The best VPNs for beginners
Ranked on how much you have to understand before you are protected — at signup, at install, and the first time something does not work.
VPNs you can buy without an email address
Five of the thirty-four services here let you subscribe without handing over an email address. It is the cleanest split in this directory, and not the one you would guess.
Alternatives
NordVPN Alternatives
NordVPN renews at more than three times its advertised rate. These are the VPNs worth moving to, ranked on what they cost over the whole term.
ExpressVPN Alternatives
ExpressVPN is quick and renews at roughly triple. These are the VPNs that hold the speed without the second-year bill, ranked on value and speed.
Surfshark Alternatives
Surfshark's kill switch let traffic through after a restart and it does not support IPv6. These are the alternatives whose protective features hold.
Proton VPN Alternatives
Proton VPN is the slowest here to start loading a page. These are the alternatives that keep the privacy record without the wait, ranked on speed.
Mullvad Alternatives
Mullvad stops at five devices, has no port forwarding and nothing for a television. These are the alternatives that keep the privacy standard higher.
CyberGhost Alternatives
CyberGhost has no obfuscation and never names its parent company. These are the alternatives that work on filtered networks, ranked on privacy.
Private Internet Access Alternatives
Private Internet Access is a US company inside the five-country agreement, and its kill switch leaked after a restart. These are the alternatives.
Windscribe Alternatives
Windscribe is in Canada, inside the five-country agreement, and its last server review was June 2024. These are the alternatives, ranked on value.
IPVanish Alternatives
IPVanish handed a US agency a subscriber's connection records in 2016 and costs $99.99 a year after the first. These are the alternatives.
TunnelBear Alternatives
TunnelBear has no Linux app, nothing for a television, and a kill switch a lab found leaking. These are the alternatives that stay as easy to use.
PureVPN Alternatives
PureVPN supplied a customer's connection records to the FBI in 2017 while advertising no logs. These are the alternatives, ranked on value first.
Explainers
How to Choose a VPN
Most VPN advice starts with features, which is the wrong end. Start with what you actually want it for, because that eliminates most of the market in one step.
What Five and Fourteen Eyes Actually Mean
Every VPN comparison mentions the Eyes alliances and almost none explain them. Here is what the terms mean, and how much they should change your decision.