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Who’s really watching you when you’re online? These days, it’s virtually impossible to know. So what can you do to protect your privacy and identity? Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service on your computer and mobile devices is a no-brainer, especially when you’re on public WiFi or traveling.
But the VPN market is hot, and in addition to the number of services competing for your business, some work a lot better (and cost less) than others. We bring you the best providers in our comprehensive review.
New To VPN’s?
If you’re new to the world of VPN’s, you may want to browse through our comprehensive VPN guide to get your feet wet first. We cover how they work, why you need them, FAQ’s, setup and installation, interviews with top company CEO’s, terminologies explained, and more.
Article Overview
- Top 3 VPN Services
- Best VPN For Small Business
- Comparison Table
- Services That Didn’t Make The Cut
- Best VPNs For Netflix
- Identity Protection Services
Top 3 VPN Providers
The best VPN services have high encryption levels, solid performance that doesn’t slow down your internet connection, are easy to install and use, and have a transparent privacy policy.
Other factors include reputation, price, customer service and additional features. And if you need help understanding some of the VPN industry lingo, jump to the terminology & protocol section in our main guide.
Winner: ExpressVPN Review
ExpressVPN has become a major contender in the VPN space over the past few years and has a lot going for it, with 3,000 servers scattered across 94 countries, solid security and unlimited server switches. It’s one of the most robust, speedy and user-friendly VPN services we’ve seen. ExpressVPN consistently excels in tests of performance and reliability, speed, no DNS leaks and seamless torrenting and Netflix access.
Their 24/7 customer service has a widespread reputation for being the best in the industry. And their British Virgin Islands location also gives them a leg up. With no data retention laws to follow, ExpressVPN sticks to its no activity or connection logs policy.
The only downside to this service is its higher than average price that only gives you simultaneous connections on 3 devices. But based on its privacy features and unparalleled performance, we think ExpressVPN is worth the investment.
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Pricing
ExpressVPN offers a full-featured 30-day free trial and a 30-day money back guarantee.
- $12.95/month for month-to-month
- $9.99/month for 6 months
- $8.32/month for 12 months
Runner-Up: Private Internet Access Review
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a well-establisged VPN service and the only one in our top ranked companies that is based in the USA (Denver, Colorado). PIA’s reputation is excellent, with top kudos from the likes of Forbes, CBS News, WIRED, and Lifehacker to name a few. They offer more than 14,519 servers (including 56 Gen4 servers) in 74 countries and deliver an impressive 10 simultaneous connections for a ton of different devices. This is the service we have used for several years at SafeSmartLiving.
With an unbelievably simple interface, high encryption level, nearly anonymous sign-up, and much more, PIA lives up to its reputation. In addition to the app’s protection icon, you can visit the website once connected, and it will show your protection status. This service focuses on data security, so if you wish to improve your access to Netflix this may not be the VPN for you.
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Pricing
Private Internet Access offers a 100% money-back guarantee for the first 7 days of service.
- $11.99/ month for month-to-month
- $7.50/month for 6 months
- $2.19/month for 2 years
3rd Place: NordVPN Review
NordVPN is loaded with amazing features and has some of the best security measures on the VPN market. Unique to NordVPN is their double encryption system, which applies military-grade encryption twice, for inbound and outbound data. DoubleVPN, however, is only available on select servers.
This service boasts the most servers in the industry at 5,500 in 59 countries. Having more servers means less load for more reliable performance; however, NordVPN falls in the average range when it comes to speed.
Panama-based NordVPN also offers a strict no log policy and security extras like secret notes, encrypted chat and web proxy extensions.
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Pricing
NordVPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee.
- Starts at $11.99/month for month-to-month
- $4.99/month for 1 year
- $3.29/month for 2 years
Best VPN For Small Business
We recognize that businesses require VPN protection as well to keep their data safe. But, VPN for business services differ from the personal VPN services we review above. Perimeter 81 wins our top spot as the best small business VPN, but there are a variety of options available.
Why A VPN Is Critical For Remote Work
With an increase in mandatory work-from-home time following the COVID-19 pandemic, workers may use less secure WiFI networks, putting company data at risk. Make sure your workforce’s systems are secure. Use a VPN service to encrypt files and lock down your precious information. The last thing we need during a pandemic is another reason to panic due to a digital security lapse.
Comparison Table
| 1st Place: ExpressVPN | 2nd Place: Private Internet Access | 3rd Place: NordVPN | CyberGhost | Hotspot Shield VPN | IPVanish | Ivacy VPN | LimeVPN | PureVPN | StrongVPN | Torguard | VyprVPN | |
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| 1st Place: ExpressVPN | Private Internet Access | 2nd Place: NordVPN | CyberGhost | Hotspot Shield VPN | 3rd Place: IPVanish | Ivacy VPN | LimeVPN | PureVPN | SaferVPN | Torguard | VyprVPN | |
| Monthly Cost (Basic Plan) | $12.95 | $11.99 | $11.99 | $12.99 | $12.99 | $10.99 | $9.95 | $2.49 | $10.95 | $10.99 | $9.99 | $15.00 |
| Annual Cost (Basic Plan) | $99.84 | $90.00 | $59.88 | $51.48 | $95.88 | $47.88 | $47.76 | $17.88 | $38.88 | $43.99 | $59.99 | $100 |
| Free Trial | 30 Days | Free Version | 7 Days | 3 Days | ||||||||
| Money Back Guarantee | 30 Days | 7 Days | 30 Days | 45 Days | 45 Days | 7 Days | 30 Days | 30 Days | 31 Days | 30 Days | 7 Days | |
| Company Location | British Virgin Islands | U.S. | Panama | Romania | U.S. | U.S. | Singapore | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Israel | U.S. | Switzerland |
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| Encryption Level | 256-bit | 256-bit | 2048-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
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| Number of Simultaneous Connections | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 1 (Free Version) or 5 (Paid) | 10 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 to 5 |
| Number of Countries | 94 | 33 | 60+ | 90 | 25 | 60+ | 50+ | 10 | 140+ | 34 | 50+ | 64+ |
| Number of Servers | 3,000+ | 3,200+ | 5,300+ | 6,100+ | 2,500+ | 1,200+ | 1,000+ | 20 | 2,000+ | 700+ | 3,000+ | 700+ |
| Number of IP Addresses | Unlisted | Unlisted | Unlisted | Unlisted | Unlisted | 40,000+ | Unlisted | 6,000 | 300,000+ | Unlisted | Unlisted | 200,000+ |
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| OpenVPN | |
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| Supports Torrent/P2P | |
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| Kodi Compatible | |
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| Unblocks Netflix | |
Unreliable | |
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Unreliable | Unreliable | Unreliable | Unreliable | |
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Requires $7.99/mth for dedicated IP | |
| Customer Support | 24/7 live chat, email ticket | 24/7 email ticket | 24/7 email ticket | 24/7 live chat, email ticket | Email ticket only | 24/7 live chat, email ticket | 24/7 live chat, ticket | 24/7 live chat and ticket | 24/7/365 via live chat, email, ticket | 24/7/365 live chat, email | 24/7/365 via live chat, email, ticket | 24/7/365 via live chat, email |
More VPN Service Reviews (Alphabetical)
Several other VPN services deserve mention that didn’t make it into our top categories. Each has its strengths, and we encourage you to consider all your options.
CyberGhost | Hotspot Shield VPN | IPVanish | Ivacy VPN | LimeVPN | PureVPN | SaferVPN | TorGuard | VyprVPN
CyberGhost Review
Romania-based CyberGhost used to offer the best free VPN plan available, but alas times have changed. With no free plan available, is CyberGhost still worth consideration? Yes; CyberGhost is a reliable option with a long-standing solid reputation. Cyber Ghost offers many of the robust features top VPN’s provide, but their price tag is, unfortunately, higher than most.
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Pricing
CyberGhost offers a 45-day money back policy.
- $12.99/month for month-to-month
- $4.29/month for 1 year
- $3.25/month for 2 years
- $2.29/month for 3 years + 3 months
Read Our In-Depth CyberGhost Review
Hotspot Shield VPN Review
U.S.-based Hotspot Shield gets good reviews from customers who’ve signed up for their free plan for its speed and ease of use. But Hotspot’s free and paid plans have definite limits. Server coverage is low compared to most other VPN services, and, even with their paid plan, you can’t select specific protocols. This means that Hotspot Shield only works on devices where you can run its Windows, Mac, Android or iOS apps.
If you’re looking for an easy-to-use VPN for free, Hotspot Shield could be just your ticket. But their paid plan is expensive compared to many other VPN services that give you a lot more for less money.
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Pricing
Free Plan
Hotspot Shield’s Free plan only gives you access to their U.S. virtual server, and there are daily bandwidth limits. It’s also slower than the paid version, and you’ll have to put up with a lot of ads.
Paid Plan
Hotspot Shield offers a 45-day money back guarantee.
- $12.99/month for month-to-month
- $7.99/month for 1 year
- $2.99/month for 2 years
IPVanish Review
U.S.-based IPVanish claims to be the only tier-one VPN network (which means it owns and operates its own infrastructure) with fast and reliable speed. This VPN service is easy to use, has a robust set of features.
IPVanish ran into an unfortunate period of less-than-stellar service in 2017, but, based on numerous expert and customer reviews, they appear to have resolved their previous problems. Their plans also include 250 GB of storage from SugarSync for sharing files on the cloud securely.
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Pricing
IPVanish doesn’t offer a free trial, but they do have a 7-day money back guarantee.
- $10.99/month for month-to-month
- $5.32/month for 3 months
- $3.99/month for 1 year
Read Our In-Depth IPVanish Review
Ivacy VPN Review
Singapore-based Ivacy VPN has been around since 2007 but remains relatively unknown in the VPN space. That’s a shame because Ivacy is a reliable and feature-rich VPN. In fact, Ivacy pioneered the advanced feature of split tunneling back in 2010. What’s not to like about Ivacy VPN? Unfortunately, Ivacy’s ability to unblock Netflix is unreliable, and speeds can vary for your streaming and gaming needs.
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- $9.95/month for month-to-month
- $3.99/month for 1 year
- $1.19/month for 5 years
LimeVPN Review
Hong Kong-based LimeVPN is a decent choice if you’re on a tight budget and don’t use a VPN regularly. However, you’re probably better off going with another service if you’re a regular user. LimeVPN is bare bones in the feature department and is the only VPN in our reviews that limits your bandwidth. They also are very limited in their global coverage.
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Pricing
LimeVPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee.
Basic Plan
- $2.49/month for month-to-month
- $1.49/month for 1 year
Pro Plan
- $19.99/month for month-to-month
- $14.98/month for 1 year
PureVPN Review
Visit WebsiteAn old-timer (for a VPN service) at more than 10 years old, Hong Kong-based PureVPN continually adds more features and apps, but they’ve fallen in performance and dropped out of our top 3 this year. PureVPN is still a good VPN (just not the best).
You get a lot of features with this VPN, including split tunneling, added security, tons of protocols and even an automatic protocol selection feature. Their “Virtual Router” feature within its Windows application, lets you convert your Windows-based desktop or laptop into a virtual router and use it to connect up to 10 devices.
However, PureVPN’s speeds have slowed when put to the test by many users over the last year. They also claim to unblock Netflix, but, again, multiple user reviews show that they don’t. We also found multiple complaints about features not working in many of their apps. Again, these issues aren’t necessarily dealbreakers, but it’s enough to drop out of our top 3 picks in a very competitive industry.
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PureVPN offers a 100% money-back guarantee for the first 31 days of service.
- $10.95/month for month-to-month
- $3.24/month for 1 year
- $1.99/month for 2 years + 3 months
Read Our In-Depth PureVPN Review
SaferVPN Review (Now StrongVPN)
SaferVPN (now StrongVPN) gets overall excellent user reviews, and they offer a solid, highly encrypted service with good customer service. Another plus — they’re located in Israel, which has very strict privacy laws.
Besides its VPN service, StrongVPN commits itself to freedom of speech and information — so much so, they helped launch an online movement, called Unblock the Web, to give dissidents, who live in blocked societies around the world, uncensored internet access and to help defeat mass surveillance attempts.
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StrongVPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee.
- $10.99/month for 1 month
- $3.66/month for 1 year
Read Our In-Depth SaferVPN Review
TorGuard Review
A solid but basic VPN service, TorGuard’s strengths lie in its other services available for purchase. If you’re a Torrent/P2P user, give TorGuard some serious consideration. For an additional $1.55 per month, you can get a bundle that gives you VPN, BitTorrent optimization, HTTP and SOCKS5 proxies. TorGuard, which is based in the U.S., also offers a secured private email address with unlimited storage as a separate service.
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TorGuard has a 7-day refund policy, but it’s only valid if you don’t go over 10GB.
- $9.99/month for month-to-month
- $19.99 for 3 months
- $29.99 for 6 months
- $59.99 for 1 year
VyprVPN Review
Switzerland-based VyprVPN has some unique features, namely its own encryption technology called Chameleon that uses OpenVPN 256-bit encryption and scrambles the metadata to prevent DPI and VPN blocking.
Their parent company, Golden Frog, owns all their DNS servers, which are built into VyprVPN, so you get even more security and anonymity. Vypr VPN is a solid service, but they didn’t make our top three because they’re not as easy to set up and customer complaints about account blocking.
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VyprVPN offers a 3-day free trial.
- $15.00/month for month to month
- $8.99/month for 1 year
Best VPNs For Netflix
Want to stream your favorite TV when you’re overseas? It’s become much harder in the last couple of years. Why? For two main reasons:
- Netflix is actively blocking most VPNs (ever gotten the dreaded proxy error?)
- Many VPNs are too slow to stream effectively (you’ll experience a lot of buffering and videos timing out)
Here are are our picks for the best vpn service if you want to unblock Netflix:
- ExpressVPN (our #1 pick)
- NordVPN (our #3 pick)
- VyprVPN (read review)
- CyberGhost (read review)
- Private Internet Access (read review)
Tip: The situation with Netflix and VPNs is constantly evolving, so be sure to double check with any VPN service you’re considering to make sure it can still unblock Netflix.
How Else Can You Protect Your Online Privacy?
In today’s troubling privacy climate, it makes sense to protect yourself on all fronts. Even if you have a VPN to protect your online usage, you’re still vulnerable to hackers. That’s where an identity theft protection service can bring you more peace of mind. Check out our reviews of the best ID theft protection services to see how they can protect you.
Tagged With: Comparison, VPN
