Nearly half of Americans are using a VPN. Are you one of them? You should be. The mechanics behind VPNs are murky to most people, but think of it like the way you think of your car.
You can still use one without knowing all the nitty gritty details of how it works. They’re that easy to operate. And you don’t have to be Jason Bourne to enjoy the benefits of using one: vastly improved privacy from digital snoops, criminal creeps, and invasive websites and trackers.
VPN stands for virtual private network. Acting as a middleman, it routes all the information exchange between you and other websites’ servers on the internet, in both directions, through a server owned by the VPN service.
Should a website or a bad actor try to follow you across the web, they won’t see your unique, identifiable IP address, only that of the VPN server you’re connected to. Since these are shared servers—any decent VPN will have thousands of servers to choose from—you disappear into the crowd if a data thief or snoop tries to eavesdrop on your digital trail.
quick look at the best vpns
- Best VPN Overall — NordVPN
- Best Free VPN — Proton VPN
- Best VPN for Anonymous Sign-up — Mullvad VPN
how i evaluated
Don’t use VPNs that don’t explicitly say they don’t collect user information. Look for one that has a no-logs policy. I also consider it vital that any VPN worth using is regularly, independently audited. That level of transparency demonstrates that a service has nothing to hide and isn’t lying about its privacy guarantees.
There are three international surveillance alliances in particular to watch out for: Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes.
These alliances enable sharing of citizens’ online data, so a person using a VPN service located in one signatory country—even if they’re not physically in that country or a citizen of that country—can have their data logs handed over to one of the other signatory countries by request.
It’s important for a VPN service to be based in a country that isn’t a member of any of these “Eyes” security alliances. Being based elsewhere removes a potential lever of control these countries would happily deploy.
best vpn overall
NordVPN
NordVPN Plus (opens in a new window)
Available at NordVPN
Buy Now (opens in a new window)
Some VPNs I’ve used slow my connection down in unavoidable ways. NordVPN’s servers have been plenty fast for me all over the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia. If there’s a slow, overloaded server, it’s a cinch and a second to reconnect to a faster one. I’ve no complaints when watching movies in 4K or downloading large files.
Though founded in Lithuania, NordVPN is based in Panama, which is not a member country of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes international surveillance alliances. NordVPN also says it doesn’t log user information. If a government agency or court were to try to compel them to turn over user data, they couldn’t because they don’t collect it.
NordVPN was just reviewed again for the fifth time, turning up another clean bill of transparency. Hot on the heels of that welcome bit of news, they also just released NordWhisper, a new protocol developed specifically to outwit the VPN blockers that websites have begun to deploy.
You can choose from more than 6,200 servers in 111 countries on any of the plans that are available. Basic, for $15 a month, is all you need. It’s a lot cheaper if you spring for an annual plan for $60, though. Check out my full review here for more details.
best free vpn
Proton VPN (opens in a new window)
Available at Proton VPN (Free)
Buy Now (opens in a new window)
Available at Proton VPN (Paid)
Buy Now (opens in a new window)
Uniquely for a credible VPN, there’s a free version, with no ads and no logs kept by Proton VPN. You can only use it for one device, and you don’t get the full list of VPNs servers to use or the fastest speeds, but just the fact that there’s a sketch-free VPN for free puts it ahead of the competition. Like any worthwhile VPN, it has a no-logs policy.
Using the free version of Proton VPN, you don’t get to choose which server you connect to, or even which country. You have just one choice, whichever is the fastest at the moment. Upgrade to Proton VPN Plus and you can select from 11,802 Proton VPN servers (in “110+ countries”), of which 8,732 are for Plus users only.
You also gain compatibility with streaming services, faster speeds (up to 10 Gbps), split tunneling (which lets you specify which websites and apps are protected by the VPN), using the Tor network over VPN, P2P/BitTorrent support, and the ability to connected up to 10 devices.
Proton VPN has freely released the results of its latest independent audit, and it’s based in Switzerland, which isn’t a member of Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes. Aside from the free tier, Proton VPN Plus costs $10 per month if you choose a monthly plan, $5 per month on a one-year plan, and $4.50 per month on a two-year plan. Read more details on Proton VPN in my full review.
best vpn for anonymous sign-up
Mullvad VPN (opens in a new window)
Available at Mullvad VPN
Buy Now (opens in a new window)
There’s just one subscription plan for Mullvad VPN, and it costs five euros per month ($5.24 at the time I’m writing this). You can pay in Bitcoin or Monero cryptocurrencies, if you prefer that to PayPal or a credit or debit card. You can even send cash if you want anonymity without boarding the rollercoaster of cryptocurrencies.
While Mullvad VPN is based in Sweden, which is a member of 14 Eyes but not Five Eyes or Nine Eyes, there are protections in Swedish law regarding VPNs specifically, and Mullvad’s explanation satisfies me enough that I’d use it. It’s also shown good faith by releasing the results of its independently requested audit.
Even if a government agency or court were to try to compel Mullvad VPN to turn over user data somehow, Mullvad VPN would have nothing that could even be handed over, since it says it doesn’t log user information.
Uniquely, to sign up for Mullvad VPN you don’t need to input an email address, phone number, or any personal information. To create an account, you just click a button to generate a random account number.
Not having to provide any of that information is a major bonus for those seeking to erase every connection between themselves and not just their internet activity, but also the tools they use to shield that internet activity.
Mullvad VPN currently has only 697 servers spread across 49 countries. That’s few. Very few. Compare that to NordVPN’s 6,900 servers in 111 countries or Proton VPN’s 11,000 servers in “110+” countries. You can find further detail on Mullvad VPN in my full review.
alternatives
- Webroot Total Protection, a cybersecurity service, is a smart upgrade from basic VPNs. It offers antivirus scans that won’t slow your device, dark-web monitoring of your personal info, identity theft protection with up to $1 million in reimbursement, a built-in VPN, password manager and unlimited cloud backup. For shoppers facing slicker scams and phishing attacks, it acts like a digital bodyguard protecting your data while you browse, shop and stream.
- TunnelBear: Meh. It’s owned by the major security software company McAfee and based in Canada, which is a member of the Five Eyes Alliance. You can read TunnelBear’s latest independently commissioned audit, but while I’d use it over Private Internet Access or ExpressVPN (see below), I’d prefer NordVPN, Mullvad VPN, or Proton VPN because of TunnelBear’s link to Canada.
vpns to avoid
- Private Internet Access and ExpressVPN: Ages ago, I used Private Internet Access (PIA). Then when it was bought by Kape Technologies, I switched over to ExpressVPN, which went well for a few years. Then that, too, was bought by Kape.
Kape’s shadowy origins are as a company called Crossrider that, as CNET put it, “produced software which previously allowed third-party developers to hijack users’ browsers via malware injection, redirect traffic to advertisers and slurp up private data.”
A series of devastating public relations disasters, such as being named in the Panama Papers, sparked a name change to Kape Technologies in 2019. Then it went on a buying spree of the very types of VPNs that people had relied upon to protect themselves from malware and spyware. Simply put, I don’t trust either of them.
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