The Best VPN Services to Protect Your Online Privacy

Are you searching for the best VPN services available on the web? Well, I’ve been there too, desperately attempting to stream a Netflix series from my location, only to encounter obstacles.

Furthermore, considering the prevalence of fraudsters and scammers on the internet, it becomes imperative to exercise caution when choosing any of the top-notch VPN tools.

What is VPN?

VPN stands for “Virtual Private Network,” refers to the ability to establish a secure network connection while utilizing public networks. VPNs encrypt your internet traffic and conceal your online identity, making it more challenging for third parties to monitor your online activities and pilfer your data. The encryption process occurs in real time.

A VPN is referred to as virtual because it creates a digital tunnel, eliminating the need for a physical cable connecting your device directly to the VPN server. It is private because it encrypts your data and conceals your IP address. Additionally, a VPN is a network because it establishes a connection between multiple computers, such as your device and the VPN server.

Although strictly speaking, the term VPN solely pertains to the private network connection itself, the software application responsible for managing your device’s VPN connection is commonly referred to as a VPN client. These two cybersecurity terms are often used interchangeably.

What are the benefits of a VPN connection?

A VPN connection masks your data traffic online and safeguards it against unauthorized access. Unencrypted data can be viewed by anyone who has network access and the inclination to intercept it. However, with a VPN, hackers and cybercriminals are unable to decipher this data.

Secure Encryption: To decrypt the data, an encryption key is required. Without it, deciphering the code through brute force attack would take millions of years. By utilizing a VPN, your online activities remain concealed even while connected to public networks.

Concealing your Whereabouts: VPN servers function as proxies on the internet, obscuring your actual location by providing demographic location data from servers in other countries. As a result, your true location remains indeterminable. The best VPN services refrain from storing logs of your activities, although some providers may retain your behavior data without sharing it with third parties. This ensures that any potential records of your user behavior remain perpetually concealed.

Access to Regional Content: Not all regional web content is accessible from every location. Certain services and websites feature content that is only available in specific parts of the world. Standard connections rely on local servers to determine your location, preventing access to content from your home while traveling or international content from your home. VPN location spoofing enables you to switch to servers in different countries, effectively altering your perceived location.

Secure Data Transfer: If you work remotely and require access to vital files on your company’s network, a secure connection is necessary to ensure the confidentiality of information. VPN connections often serve as the gateway to accessing such networks. The best VPN services connect you to private servers and employ encryption methods to minimize the risk of data leakage.

How does a VPN work?

To truly comprehend how a VPN operates, it’s beneficial to first grasp how your internet connection functions without one.

Without a VPN

When you access a website without the protection of a VPN, your connection is routed through your internet service provider (ISP). Your ISP assigns a unique IP address that identifies you to the visited website. Since your ISP handles and directs all your internet traffic, it has the ability to monitor the websites you visit. Furthermore, your activities can be traced back to you through the use of your unique IP address.

With a VPN

In contrast, when you connect to the internet using a VPN, the VPN app on your device establishes a secure connection with a VPN server. While your traffic still passes through your ISP, it becomes unreadable to them, concealing the final destination of your online activities. The websites you visit no longer have access to your original IP address; instead, they only see the IP address of the VPN server, which is shared among many other users and regularly changes.

Exploring The Best VPN Services

Now that we possess a comprehensive understanding of how VPNs function, let us delve into the realm of the best VPN services accessible. To cater to diverse needs and preferences, Best SaaS Tools have conducted meticulous testing and curated a list encompassing the leading contenders across various categories. Whether you prioritize anonymity, streaming capabilities, optimal speeds, or competitive pricing, we have recommendations for each category.

Below, you will discover our selection of the top VPN providers. Additionally, we will provide insights into our testing methodology and offer guidance on choosing the most suitable VPN service based on your specific requirements.

HMA VPN

Established in 2005, HMA has functioned as a subsidiary of the Czech cybersecurity company Avast since 2016. Headquartered in London, a part of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, this provider assures its customers of secure and trustworthy the best VPN services through a strict no-logs policy independently audited.

While HMA maintains a good standard of cybersecurity measures, it lacks some of the additional privacy features offered by its competitors.

HMA offers downloadable desktop and mobile apps, which our researcher found user-friendly. The login process is simple, and connecting to one of its servers is straightforward.

All privacy features can be accessed within the app, and there is even an option to test individual server speeds, a rare feature among VPN providers. HMA is undoubtedly the VPN service you need to utilize.

Security

HMA follows a strict no-logs policy that has been independently audited. Its VPN servers employ AES-256 encryption, the highest level of encryption used by the military and governments.

When it comes to VPN protocols, HMA provides only one option per device, such as OpenVPN TCP, OpenVPN-UDP, or IPSec, which is fewer than most other providers. Furthermore, split tunnelling is available only for Android, which is a drawback for the provider. Nonetheless, it is the best VPN service for Mac, Windows, and Android devices.

User Experience

HMA’s desktop and mobile apps are straightforward, although the design could be improved compared to other providers’ apps. The user experience may vary depending on the device used, and our opinion is influenced by the limited availability of privacy features across all devices.

Performance

Our researchers tested HMA’s performance by first measuring our non-VPN download speed, which was around 74Mbps.

When testing a UK VPN server, we observed minimal speed reduction, with neither our download nor upload speed dropping below 10%. However, testing the US server yielded mixed results, as our download speed remained above average while our upload speed dropped by 10%.

The worst performance was observed with an Australian server, where our download speed was only 6% as fast and our upload speed decreased by 35%. HMA also excels as the best VPN service for iPhone and Android.

NordVPN

When it comes to streaming purposes, NordVPN stands out as the best VPN services. With its vast network of over 5,500 servers in 60+ countries, NordVPN offers excellent streaming capabilities and unrestricted access to popular platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.

Security and Privacy

NordVPN is based in Panama, a privacy-friendly country with no mandatory data retention laws. This allows NordVPN to uphold a strict no-logs policy, ensuring that your online activities are not monitored or recorded.

In terms of security, NordVPN offers robust features such as AES-256 encryption, a kill switch, and a Double VPN option that routes your internet traffic through two different servers for enhanced privacy.

User-Friendly Interface

NordVPN provides user-friendly applications for various devices, including desktops, mobile devices, and even smart TVs. The apps are well-designed, intuitive, and offer a seamless experience for both novice and advanced users.

Performance

During our testing, NordVPN demonstrated impressive performance. It maintained fast and stable connections, with minimal impact on download and upload speeds. Whether we connected to servers near our location or ones located in different countries, NordVPN consistently delivered reliable and high-speed connections.

Customer Support

NordVPN offers excellent customer support, including 24/7 live chat assistance. Their support team is knowledgeable and responsive, ensuring that any issues or queries are promptly addressed.

Proton VPN

Proton VPN stood out as a strong option due to its overall security and ease of use. Proton VPN is part of the Proton Technologies suite of services, which includes mail, calendar, drive, and a VPN known for its end-to-end encryption. This makes it a strong contender for overall security, and its VPN service specifically is well-rounded and independent.

Proton VPN’s no-logs policy has passed audits, and the company has proven not to comply with law enforcement requests. Based in Switzerland, there are no forced logging obligations, according to the company. Plus, it’s based on an open-source framework and has an official vulnerability disclosure program, along with clear definitions of what it does with personal information.

While Proton VPN offers a free version, it’s limited compared to other options, with access to server networks in just three countries. Its paid version, starting at about $5.39 per month, includes access to VPN server locations in more than 65 countries on 10 devices at a time. For dedicated Proton Technologies users, they can pay closer to $8.63 for a monthly plan to access the entire suite.

Proton VPN passed our geoblock, streaming, and gaming tests with only a very small toll on connection speeds. It also comes with malware-, ad-, and tracker-blocking as an additional service, plus it has a kill switch feature on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and the latest version of Android. It’s available on most major operating systems, routers, TV services, and more, including Firefox, Linux, and Android TV.

IPVanish VPN

IPVanish is another one of the best VPN services due to its versatility in protection, torrenting, and streaming. If none of the previous services scratched your itch the right way, then maybe IPVanish will be the VPN of your dreams.

Security and Privacy: Like all the best VPN services, IPVanish uses next-gen AES-256 encryption with SHA-512 hash functions. There’s also an audited no-logs policy and a functional kill switch. Although it’s based in the US and belongs to a 5-Eyes alliance, it claims to treat your data with respect.

Performance: This VPN provider supports multiple tunneling protocols, including WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2. IPVanish will also provide you with decent download speeds, retaining around 80-90% of the original connection speeds. The speediness drops with OpenVPN and other protocols, so pairing a close server with WireGuard gives the best connection.

Features: This VPN offers split tunneling to decide which applications use the VPN tunnel. You also get a free SOCKS5 proxy for fast torrenting. Just like Surfshark and NordVPN, IPVanish offers obfuscated servers that allow you to connect to servers in countries where VPNs are usually blocked.

Streaming: IPVanish works perfectly fine when unblocking Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and YouTube. However, it may struggle with other streaming services, so keep this in mind if you want a VPN for the sole purpose of unblocking movies and shows.

Compatibility: In terms of device coverage, IPVanish has you covered. The application is compatible with Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS operating systems. While the apps offer an extensive range of features, we feel this can lead to a cluttered interface, and the desktop editions have some usability issues. They’re not major problems, but they lack the level of polish we would ideally like to see.

Pricing: When it comes to price, you can get unlimited simultaneous connections and pay as little as $3.33/month with a long-term subscription. And, like all good VPNs, IPVanish has a 30-day money-back guarantee for its long-term plans in case it doesn’t fit your needs.

Surfshark VPN

Surfshark is one of the best VPN services due to its all-rounder mix of features, security, privacy, customer support, and user-friendly interface. Surfshark promises to keep your data safe and secure while you browse the internet and offers a wide range of features to help you do so.

The service appeals to a wide user base, with a feature set designed for individuals, families, and businesses of all sizes who are looking to secure their online activities and protect their personal information from prying eyes. Surfshark’s selling points include AES 256-bit encryption, a no-log policy, multi-hop VPN, automatic kill switch, unlimited simultaneous connections, and a large network of 3,200+ servers in more than 63 countries.

Its user-friendly interface and affordable pricing make it a popular choice for people who want to enjoy a secure and unrestricted internet experience without breaking the bank. Additionally, Surfshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 customer support, making it a reliable VPN service for those looking for peace of mind.

ExpressVPN

We have carefully selected the best VPN services for travelers, gamers, and streamers, considering their access to numerous high-speed connection locations and minimal latency. Among the VPN providers we tested, ExpressVPN effortlessly met all these criteria and emerged as one of the swiftest VPNs we encountered.

Unveiling an extraordinary upload and download speed surpassing the performance achieved without a VPN, ExpressVPN astounded us with its unparalleled results. However, we acknowledge that this exceptional outcome could be attributed to the VPN service skillfully bypassing traffic shaping mechanisms imposed by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or other anomalous factors, as even the most reputable VPNs may marginally affect connection speeds.

Boasting an extensive global presence with 2,000 servers scattered across 160 cities, as per the company’s claims, ExpressVPN offers an expansive network. In addition, it excelled in our rigorous tests evaluating geoblock circumvention, streaming capabilities, and gaming performance.

Remarkably, ExpressVPN conducts regular security audits, ensuring the utmost protection for its users. Notably, Network Lock, its sophisticated kill switch feature, guarantees data security even in the event of a disconnection from the VPN. Subscription costs for ExpressVPN range from $8.32 to $12.95 per month, depending on the selected plan duration, and include a robust password manager.

While ExpressVPN permits simultaneous connections on up to five devices, this allocation is relatively conservative compared to the best VPN services. Nonetheless, it extends compatibility to a wide range of devices, encompassing smart TVs and game consoles, unlike certain alternatives that primarily support smartphones and laptops.

FAQs about VPN

Conclusion

In essence, the best VPN services lies in their ability to deliver utmost security, privacy, and flexibility. Whether your objective is to safeguard your data while traversing the globe or gain access to restricted content in your country, these distinguished services will indisputably fulfill your requirements.

We have meticulously reviewed all of the best VPN services, you can choose any VPN based on your specific needs and consider your budget. If you don’t mind, join our Facebook community to stay up to date with the latest news.