Best VPN Companies (In-Depth Reviews & Comparisions)

Best VPN Companies for 2023, VPN providers allow users to enjoy the best content and entertainment from around the world. They do this by offering secure browsing by hiding user identity on the internet. 

Whether it is streaming services like Netflix and BBC iPlayer, downloading and torrenting, or even gaming, the best VPN companies will help you take your entertainment to the next level. 

However, before choosing a VPN company, there are a few factors you need to consider. How safe is it and will it protect your traffic data and keep you anonymous? Does it suit your interests whether it’s gaming or streaming? Does it suit your budget? How fast are the speeds? 

Here, we have done all the hard work for you and compiled a list of the best VPN companies to check out in 2021. Without further ado, let’s find out more!

Best VPN Companies – Quick Look

NordVPN

NordVPN is a Private Virtual Network commercially run by Tefincom SA. It is based in Panama. By downloading and installing NordVPN, you can direct all your internet traffic through their network.

This allows you to hide information that shows up on your internet connection such as your destination and location.

We know one of the key features that NordVPN is its speed. But how does it fare among other VPNs available in the market? This is what we are here to find out!

Safety and Security

NordVPN is among the safest VPNs available in the market. The company is very transparent and has been around for a long time. One of the key features that enable the company to offer such high standards of security is its location in the British Virgin Islands.

This offshore location means that the company is not subject to high surveillance, as is often the case with inshore companies.

Pricing Options

Nord VPN has one pricing option. However, this comes at multiple price points. They are:

• 1 Month Plan
• 1-year plan
• 2-year plan
• 3-year plan

The monthly plan sits at $11.95 each month. However, the price drops significantly when you choose the 1-year plan. This will come down to $5.75 per month. If you went for the 2-year plan, you will pay $4 per month. Unlike other competitors, NordVPN offers a free trial.

You can test out the software for three days and find out if it works for you. You also have the option of paying for a single month and if they do not satisfy you with the service, you can get a 30-day money-back guarantee.

There are several payment methods including:

• Debit and credit cards
• PayPal
• Bitcoin

Ease of use

NordVPN scores high on the sign-up, setup, and installation process. All users need is a valid email address. You can also quickly create an email address specifically for your VPN for extra privacy. Another option is to use Bitcoin for payment if you want to keep your data private.

Signing up is as simple as clicking the confirmation email in your account. One of the best features of NordVPN is its user interface, which is user-friendly and intuitive.

On the downside, however, this simple interface also means that NordVPN lacks advanced features. It limits the number of customization options compared to other VPNs available in the market.

Customer support

NordVPN has excellent customer support. It is available 24/7/365. You can contact NordVPN in case of any queries via email, online ticket system, or live chat. The live chat feature is especially efficient and you will receive an instantaneous response. You can also get In touch via their social media, including Twitter and Facebook.

One downside that we found is that you cannot get in contact with NordVPN via phone call on a landline phone service.

SaferVPN

This is SaferVPN’s strong point. Their pricing is among the most budget-friendly with any VPN that you will find in the market.

However, it’s important to note that you will need to pay upfront for 2 or 3 years.

Also, all their packages are the same. The difference is in how long you get to use the package.

Basically, the SaferVPN pricing plans are as below:

1 Year plan

• $4.99 / month
• $59.88/ year
• 55% savings

2 Year Plan

• $2.99/month
• $35.89/year
• 73% savings

3-year plan

• $2.99/month
• $27.42/year
• 80% savings

Users can try out the 24-hour free trial and they also offer a money-back guarantee of 30 days. Other than paying for their packages using PayPal or a Credit card, you also have the option of using Bitcoin and a Payment wall. This offers you an extra layer of security and allows you to remain anonymous.

Speeds and Performance

One of the striking features of SaferVPN is its download speed. The VPN is super-fast. While any VPN expert will tell you that the download speeds depend on several factors and variables, the bottom line is that overall, a safer VPN is among the fastest VPNs available.

Many people will expect the most expensive VPNs out there to also offer the best speeds. However, with SaferVPN, you would be surprised at their payment plans. More on that later on!

Installation and ease of use

One of the most annoying features of many VPNs is the need to restart your device after installation. The significant thing with SaferVPN is that once installed, you will not need to restart your device. SaferVPN is incredibly user-friendly and intuitive. Even the most novice user will find their way through the interface.

On the flip side, however, the sample user interface also means that there are a few features compared to other more advanced VPNs on the market.

Netflix

Some Safer VPN servers will access Netflix. However, this number is only down to about 30%. The remaining 70% simply cannot access Netflix. This is because Netflix is doing its best to restrict access from certain locations and uphold its geo-restrictions.

Security

SaferVPN is affordable, yet provides a level of security that is like most premium VPNs out there. You can install SaferVPN on multiple devices including desktops, mobiles, routers, and some browsers. That said, SaferVPN will struggle with DNS leaks. This can be a serious issue when looking to access region-blocked content while still hiding your location.

Customer support

We found that there are other more reliable VPN services out there with customer service. That said, SaferVPN will offer decent customer support. As soon as you send a query to the SaferVPN customer support team, you will be notified within minutes and have your issue quickly addressed.

TunnelBear

TunnelBear is a popular VPN that is owned and operated by McAfee—a US cybersecurity company. Part of the reason TunnelBear is its user-friendly interface.

The total number of servers that TunnelBear has all across the globe is 1800. More established VPNs will boast upwards of 3000 servers, while others may have up to 5000 servers.

Let’s inspect TunnelBear and find out if it is worth your consideration.

TunnelBear Pricing

TunnelBear also has budget-friendly plans while still offering quality VPN service. Their cheapest plan starts at $9.99 per month. TunnelBear allows for longer-term subscriptions. These start at $59.88 per year or $120 for three years. You can make payments with Bitcoin and use major credit cards.

Privacy and Security

TunnelBear offers an open VPN protocol. This is a reliable protocol that ensures greater security and open source. Most advanced and up-to-date VPN services offer the WireGuard VPN Protocol. The downside with TunnelBear is that it still doesn’t offer WireGuard.

TunnelBear may have its drawbacks but offers a remarkable stance on user privacy. Unlike many VPNs that claim to not collect user data but end up doing so in the end, TunnelBear has a well-laid-out, clear privacy policy that states exactly the type of information that they collect.

It bases the company headquarters in Toronto, Canada. Note that for Canada and the US, there are no mandatory data retention laws. As a result, the company is subject to data requests.

Ease of use

TunnelBear has an incredibly simple-to-use and intuitive user interface. It offers clients on iOS, Mac, Android, and Windows. All you need to do is choose the desired location and then turn on the protection.

You will see a bear tunneling from your location on the screen. Since all the tunnel bear apps are designed similarly, you can easily switch over from one app to the next without the need to learn how the new app works. On the flip side, the TunnelBear apps haven’t been updated over the years.

Netflix

Netflix and other streaming companies will strive to uphold geo-restrictions. The downside with TunnelBear is that it doesn’t help to unblock Netflix. You will still get blocked even while being connected to a TunnelBear server.

Customer support

TunnelBear doesn’t score high marks with its customer support. The website doesn’t offer live chat. Second, when you go to their help section, you will be directed to the FAQ sections. Users also don’t get to submit help tickets. Customers have also complained that their email support isn’t as effective.

Private Internet Access

Otherwise known as PIA, Private Internet Access is owned by the Private Internet company. These are the same guys who own Zenmate and CyberGhost.

With clients for Windows, Android, iOS, and Mac, is Private Internet Access really as capable as the owners claim?

Plans and Pricing

Users have the option of the monthly plan, which starts at $9.95. However, if you paid upfront for the entire year, the price drops significantly to $3.33. And it doesn’t end there, there is also a two-year plan which comes down to $2.65 a month for the initial term.

You will then pay just $2.91 on renewal. You can also choose between an array of payment options which include Bitcoin, gift cards, PayPal, and other support cards.

Privacy

Private internet access takes privacy to another level via a combination of features. First off, it uses WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols. To help prevent the chances of DNS leaks, Private internet access uses its own DNS. In case the VPN drops, users can use the skill switch to disconnect from the VPN.

Logging

Private Internet Access claims to be the only verified no-log VPN in the market. Users can access a Transparency Report, which provides details on official information requests and data handover. PIA claims to not keep logs of any kind.

They also say that it sends any logs that may otherwise be kept to the null device and never to the hard drive. This means that the logs simply disappear.

Performance

Private Internet Access offers fast connection times of 2-3 seconds using the OpenVPN protocol. It is even faster when using the WireGuard protocol at 2 seconds, regardless of location distance.

That said, OpenVPN download speeds are usually at 65-75 Mbps. This is slow compared to other VPNs such as Surfshark at 100MBPS and HotSpot Shield at 360Mbps.

Netflix

PIA does well to access Netflix, even with the user in a geo-restricted area. You can get into the US and the UK with relative ease. That said, there was a challenge in getting into Netflix, Japan, and Canada. Simply put, while there were unblocking issues with Private Internet Access, it is relatively easy to access Netflix US and UK.

Clients

We found it simple to install the Private Internet Access Windows client. It is also simple and intuitive to use. With a simple press of a button, you can connect to the nearest server instantly. Tap on the button again to disconnect.

You also have the option of using Private Internet Access’s DNS or customer servers of your choice. We also liked that you also get some cool advanced features with the client.

Customer support

Users get access to a web knowledge base that they can use to find the information that they need. There is also a guides section where you can access tutorials and setups. There is a news page. For more personal support, you can raise a support ticket. On the flip side, there is no live chat.

Speedify

Speedify is developed by Connectify and is relatively new in the market compared to other VPNs. Through the use of channel bonding technology, users can connect multiple channels. This allows for faster speeds while not worrying about loss of connectivity.

let’s look at some of Speedify’s features, pricing, speeds, and performance to find out if it is the ideal VPN for you.

Plans and pricing

Speedify offers a free 2GB per month plan. That said, if you find you need extra bandwidth you can opt for their premium plan at $9.99 per month.

Privacy and security

One of the major advantages of the Speedify privacy policy is that it is transparent and simple to understand. On the flip side, users will not remain completely anonymous.

This is because it will log some of your user data, which includes logging time, Wi-Fi Network, how long you have connected, and the bandwidth that you used. Speedify uses the AES-128 custom protocol. This also means that it is not possible to manually install Speedify on other platforms.

However, the protocol improves performance and speeds, especially on older devices.

Speed and performance

Users, especially those in the Americas, will not be disappointed with the speeds here. Speedify can reach 250mbps and sometimes even 3000mbps. That is much faster than a lot of VPNs available in the market.

In the best speeds, Hotspot Shield is the gold standard offering to 400Mbps. That said, you are unlikely to notice any slow speeds when using Speedify.

Streaming and torrenting

Speedify claims to enable users to access content with geo-restrictions. However, we found it was not possible to access Netflix, Disney+, or Prime Video. That said, we could access BBC iPlayer and YouTube videos with regional blocks.

If you are planning to use Speedify for streaming, note that it is not the best VPN for Netflix. You can try out the free monthly plan and find out if it works with the platforms that you plan to use.

Speedify apps

The Speedify client is simple and easy to understand. It is also fast to use. This is good news for anyone trying out a VPN for the first time. Desktop apps and mobile apps work the same, and users can interchange between them with no issue.

Customer support

Speedify doesn’t offer the best knowledge base, and many users have complained that it doesn’t answer their queries. Speedify doesn’t have any life support. The best way to access customer support is via email. The good thing is that you will receive fast and reliable responses every time.

There is no 24/7 customer support, however.

PureVPN

PureVPN is one of the older VPNs available in the market. It is based in Hong Kong and has been around since 2017. With over 2000 servers in over 140+ countries. Pure VPN has a large following. It offers dedicated apps for Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, and Android, and Firefox and Chrome extensions.

But does PureVPN live up to the hype and is it worth considering? Let’s find out!

Pricing and plans

PureVPN offers a 60-month plan at $1.32 per month ($79.20 total cost). While this is a substantial offer, the prices are not the best when paying monthly or yearly. For instance, you will pay $11 for the monthly subscription and $8. 33 for a 6-month plan. You will also pay $5.82 for the annual plan.

Privacy and logging

PureVPN initially had a zero-log policy. However, the fine print says that it will log certain data such as the time of logging, your incoming IP address, and the total bandwidth you use. Now the company has a well-laid-out straightforward privacy policy and claims to not log any user data.

Apps

One of the major advantages of PureVPN is that the company supports Credit Cards, PayPal, Bitcoin, Alipay, and even assorted gift cards. This makes paying for your desired plan a breeze. You can download clients for Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Android and extensions for Firefox and Chrome.

The apps look pretty similar and you can easily shift from the Windows app to the Android app with little difficulty.

The features are similar, and users can access a kill switch, port forwarding, and split tunneling. You can also choose your protocol including IKEv2, OpenVPN, TCP/UDP.

Performance

PureVPN can do 190-250mbps on a 600mbps connection. That said, there are plenty of VPNs available in the market that are much faster. Hotspot Shield for instance can reach between 460-580mbps.

Some customers however have also reported extremely low Speeds in the evening. High traffic could cause this. Either way, this still raises a few questions.

When you are testing out PureVPN, do multiple speed tests on different servers and at different times to give you an accurate idea. This will help you decide whether PureVPN is the right VPN for your needs.

Customer support

Users can access a rich support page with plenty of tutorials and user guides. PureVPN has also taken steps to update old content. If you don’t find what you are looking for, you can raise a support ticket while in the client. You can get a response in as fast as 30 minutes.

You can opt for the live chat feature for an even faster response.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN International is the company behind ExpressVPN and is in The British Virgin Islands owns ExpressVPN. This service has been available since 2009. The company however remains private and discreet to help keep user information private. It has over 3000 servers in 160 countries around the world.

The major benefit of its location is that it can bypass various jurisdictional restrictions.

Let’s find out if this is the perfect VPN for you.

Plans and pricing

There are there several plans that you can subscribe to with ExpressVPN. All the plans have similar features. The monthly plan is the most expensive at $12.95 per month. There is also the six-month plan at $10.18 per month and the annual subscription at $8.48 per month.

The 15-month plan costs $.6.65 per month. While it is expensive compared to other VPNs in the market, it offers users excellent value for their money. You can pay for your preferred plan via PayPal, Union Pay, Credit Card, Bitcoin, and AliPay.

While there is no free trial with ExpressVPN, you can get a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Speeds and performance

Express VPN is among the fastest VPNs available. The average download speeds are 85mbps when using a server that is located nearby. Its performance is remarkable. Whether you select a server that is nearby or one that is on the other side of the globe, the speeds and performance remain consistent.

In fact, one area where ExpressVPN really shines is connections to distant servers in different areas of the world. If you have a high-speed internet connection and are looking to torrent extensive files, ExpressVPN is a superb choice.

Torrenting

There are no restrictions across the ExpressVPN server networks on torrenting and P2P traffic. There are also no bandwidth restrictions. While there are no servers optimized for torrenting, you can use any server to keep your P2P activity private. This also results in fast download speeds.

On the flip side, there is no port forwarding, resulting in slow torrent upload speeds.

Privacy and security

Express VPN uses top-notch encryption to keep your data safe. In fact, it is one of the safer VPNs available on the market.

Users can access a kill switch, split tunneling, and its own private zero-knowledge DNS servers.

Customer support

ExpressVPN offers live chat on its website. There are representatives ready to offer help 24/7. You will hardly need to wait over 5 minutes to get a response on live chat. There are plenty of guides and tutorials on their help page.

Users also get email support and online ticketing.

IPVanish

IPVarnish is a US-based VPN. According to their claims, they say they are the world’s best VPN. They have plenty of endorsements and sponsorships. They offer a variety of cool features.

IPVarnish has over 1300 servers in 75 countries around the world. Most of these are in North America and Europe. But are they really what they claim to be? Let’s take an unbiased look and see what features pricing plans and performance IPVarnish offers.

Pricing and plans

With IPVarnish pricing plans, you will get similar features whether you subscribe to the 1-month, 3-month, or 1-year plans. You will pay $10.00 for one month, $26.99 for two months, and $77.99 for a year.

Which is well above the industry average of 5. You can pay for your desired plan with a credit card and PayPal. Bitcoin is no longer an option.

Privacy and security

IPVarnish privacy policy is quite lengthy. It is not the easiest-to-read policy. However, once you go through the print it is understandable. The company claims to not knowingly log the details of users, and in case there is a log, the company removes the information.

This is something that users simply may not know by just reading the privacy policy. However, with its 256-bit encryption, IP varnish will keep your identity hidden. That said, IPVarnish lacks some advanced features such as malware blocking.

Speed and performance

One of IPVarnish’s top features is its speed, and it is ranked among the fastest VPNs available in the market. That said, IPVarnish will cause an increase in latency by around 60%.

Testing different servers in various locations gave average download speeds of 76Mbps. IPVarnish will also boost download speeds while most VPNs reduce download speeds.

Torrenting

While none of the servers are torrenting optimized, all of them support torrenting. You can experience fast speeds while keeping your privacy protected when downloading P2P. IPVarnish also features a SugarSync app. This offers users 250GBs for free cloud storage, which they can use to store their torrent files.

IPVarnish proves very effective at unlocking regional-based content including Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+. If you plan on watching Netflix, IPVarnish is an excellent choice for VPN.

Customer support

IPVarnish claims to offer 24/7/365 support. You can access support from a representative via their live chat or phone. You cannot access email support. However, there is also a rich knowledge base where you can find tutorials and user guides.

The live chat however is automated, so you may not get one-on-one user support for your query.

HideMyAss

HideMyAss has been in operation since 2005.

HideMyAss has dedicated servers that allow for streaming Netflix, Hulu, and other geo-blocked content.

But with such excellent features, HideMyAss also has some cons. Let’s look at some features to determine if HideMyAss is the best VPN provider for you.

Pricing plans

There are 3 main subscription plans with HideMyAss. All of them offer similar features, and the major difference is the duration of the subscription. The yearly plan costs $4.99 per month while the three-year plan costs $2.99.

If you want to get a feel of how HideMyAss works without paying for a year or three-year plan, you can opt for their 7-day free trial plan.

You can also get a 30-day money-back guarantee if you pay for a subscription but are not satisfied with the VPN provider. As for the payment options, you can pay for your plans using either union pay, AliPay, PayPal, or major credit cards.

Speeds and Performance

HideMyAss is among the fastest VPNs available. There is a minor loss of download speeds, especially when users connect to a server that is located nearby. After connecting to servers in different locations around the world, the speeds remained optimum at 70Mbps, which is fast compared to other servers available.

Thanks to its stable performance, HideMyAss allows users to engage in data-intensive tasks such as streaming and torrents.

Privacy and security

There are other more secure VPN providers available. That said, HideMyAss is still safe to use. It uses AES-256 encryption to conceal your IP and DNS requests. You also can choose between various tunneling protocols which include OpenVPN, IKEv2, and L2TP.

Initially, HideMyAss didn’t offer a kill switch and is now only getting around to adding one. This is not the best thing considering most top-rated VPNs now offer a kill switch.

Torrents

While you can use HideMyAss for torrents, it is not advisable, as it has a history of sharing information with law enforcement. There are many users who have had their privacy suspended because of a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Therefore, you cannot trust HideMyAss to keep your user information well protected when P2P downloading.

Customer support

All the HideMyAss clients are simple and intuitive to use. In case you need customer support, you can access it in various ways. First off, there is an enormous knowledge base where you can find FAQs, tutorials, and user guides. While it offers live chat, this is not 24/7 and is only available between CET 9 am and 11 pm.

You can also get email support through an online form. Finally, you can contact their social media team or submit an online ticket.

CyberGhost

CyberGhost is a Romanian-German-based VPN company that boasts a following of over 10 million users. It has well over 6638 servers distributed in over 89 countries and in over 110 locations around the world.

CyberGhost offers clients for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and more. One of the major benefits of CyberGhost is that on top of offering the basic VPN functions, it also comes with a load of extra features such as blocking ads, trackers, and malicious websites.

With the ability to connect seven devices, let’s find out if CyberGhost is really worth the hype, shall we?

Plans and pricing

CyberGhost monthly plan starts at $12.99. While this is on the higher side of the industry standard, you can pay for the annual plan where you will get a 6-month free offer.

You will end up paying $2.75 a month. Then renew the annual plan at $4.13 a month. You can then choose any of the various payment options. These include PayPal, Credit cards, and Bitcoin.

While there are free trials, they also come with their own requirements, which makes opting for the free trial a bit confusing.

Privacy and security

Performance and speeds

CyberGhost delivers solid speeds at 160-180Mbps. This places CyberGhost in the same caliber as other quality VPN providers such as ExpressVPN and IPVarnish. However, it is still behind other top-notch VPN providers such as NordVPN. That said, this is sufficient for most people.

Users can access geo-blocked content while still enjoying deceit speeds.

Torrents

CyberGhost users cannot access P2P downloads in all locations. The significant thing however is that there is no need to remember all supported P2P locations. You can simply check the torrent list on your CyberGhost app.

Files from malicious websites can leave you open to attacks. Luckily, with the CyberGhost malicious URL filter, you are protected from cyberattacks.

Customer support

One of the best features of CyberGhost customer support is the knowledge section. It is well organized and you can easily find guides on your desired topic. That said, the quality is still not up to par with ExpressVPN and some information is not in-depth. On the upside, you will find useful content for basic questions.

While the chat feature is difficult to spot on the site, one click and a support agent will be with you in a moment. The agents are also highly knowledgeable, and they will help with your query.

Hotspot Shield

Hotspot Shield VPN is a commercial version of its VPN that is ad-sponsored. It is a premium service and offers some great speeds and an excellent user interface. With the optimum version, you will access all of its locations and features.

Its servers are in over 80 countries and in 122+ cities around the world. Let’s discover more about Hotspot Shield and why it could be the perfect VPN provider for you.

Plans and pricing

The monthly plan which includes Hotspot Shield premium and its call blocker is priced at $12.99 per month. While there are other cheaper VPN providers, Hotspot Shield comes with extra bundles. If you choose the annual plan. You will pay $7.99 a month.

Again this could be expensive but is great considering the extra features. That said, if you are searching for a great deal, consider the 3-year plan valued at $2.99 a month.

Privacy and security

Hotspot Shield supports the IKEv2 protocol. It relies on its Catapult Hydra technology. The downside is that users cannot see how it is offering protection. This is unlike Open VPN, which is an open source. Any developer can look at the code.

A kill switch helps prevent DNS leaks in case the connectivity dropped suddenly.

Speed and performance

Users can expect above-average speeds of about 210mbps with a 600mbps internet connection. This is faster than even ExpressVPN. Some of the US servers produce even faster speeds of over 340mbps.

Hotspot Shield also produces consistent performance so users don’t have to worry about data leaks and loss of speed, at least not significantly.

Torrents

For torrenting, Hotspot Shield is a brilliant choice. It offers excellent P2P support on all of its servers. You can start downloading after connecting to any of Hotspot Shield clients which could be Windows, iOS, Android, Mac.

Regardless of the type of client or your preferred method, users will not experience any limits on bandwidth.

This allows you to make use of the service for as long as you want. For streaming users can access BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, and Even Netflix, which is among the most difficult streaming services to access with a VPN. Hotspot Shield has no problem bypassing Netflix’s geo-restrictions.

Customer support

While you can get plenty of articles and support from their website, the articles are unfortunately not well-arranged and in-depth. They cannot match the support center on ExpressVPN.

That said, if you can’t find the information you are looking for, you have the choice of email support or live chat. However, clients have reported being on Queen when accessing the live chat.

TorGuard

TorGuard is not the most popular VPN service, and there are still many who are unfamiliar with the VPN. Often VPN providers will market their business as a VPN. However, with TorGuard takes things a step further and brands itself as a provider of online privacy protection.

TorGuard boasts over 3000 servers in 55 countries around the world. It offers users multiple security features helping to keep their location and login details private. But is TorGuard the right VPN provider for you? This is what we are here to find out.

Plans and pricing

TorGuard offers some of the best prices in the market. The monthly plans stand at $9.99 while the quarterly plan at $6.66. Users can also opt for the 6-month plan and the yearly plan, all of which cost $5 a month. One of the major areas where TorGuard excels is add-ons. Users have the option of streaming and residential IPs.

This allows users to unlock almost any type of media from their destination country. For those living in the UK, US, and Canada, there is the option of the 10GB premium network which TorGuard claims to offer faster speeds.

This costs an extra $7.99 per month. Servers can pay using multiple options including bitcoin, credit cards, and gift cards. There is no option of paying via PayPal.

Privacy and security

With most VPNs that we reviewed, the privacy policy is usually long. With TorGuard the privacy policy comes down to a single sentence that says, TorGuard doesn’t collect or log any data from its virtual private network (VPN) or Proxy Services. At least the policy is simple to read and understand.

There are several stealth obfuscation technologies that allow users to gain access even in countries that will block regular VPNs such as AES-256, CBC, and GCM algorithms.

There is also an inbuilt WebRTC and IPv6 leaks that help keep your connection secure and from leaking information. And a kill switch just in case the connection drops.

Speed and performance

Streaming and Torrents

TorGuard says that it enables its users to access any content from any location around the world. However, it could not access Netflix and other popular streaming channels such as Disney+ and BBC iPlayer. If your goal is streaming and torrenting, you will be better off with a premium VPN.

Customer support

TorGuard’s support site has a knowledge base, a user forum, and a video guide on how to make the best use of the VPN. The downside however is that the information contained here is not extensive and well laid out. That said, TorGuard allows users to contact support view online ticketing, live support, and phone.

Buffered VPN

Buffered VPN is not very popular. This Hungary-Based company will offer VPN services in some countries but will not do so in others.

The servers are in 37 countries which are small compared to some more well-known VPNs. You can use a buffered VPN on Windows, iOS, Android, and Mac. If you have a few VPN demands, could this be the ideal VPN provider for your needs? Let’s discover!

Prices and plans

It would be easy to expect that the pricing would be much more affordable compared to premium VPN providers. However, the buffered VPN monthly plan goes for $12.99. The annual plan will cost $6.95 while the two-year plan costs $4.12.

Privacy and login

Buffered VPN claims to not track any of the user’s online traffic. While this is all right, it is not specific on which levels of traffic Buffer VPN does or doesn’t track. The privacy statement is not laid out well and seems to miss out on information. What it does mention is that it collects data on app errors.

While Buffered VPN is not stating that it does anything bad, it also doesn’t say much about what it is doing.

Speed and performance

While Buffered VPN may not be what comes to mind when you are talking about fast speeds, we found that it actually offers decent speeds. This was especially the case with servers near Europe.

Even the servers that were more distant from Europe still offered decent speeds. That said, servers that are in locations such as Argentina that are very far from Europe had distant server times.

Streaming and tormenting

Buffered VPN is a wonderful choice when looking to stream a few services and content. However, you cannot access BBC iPlayer. However, by accessing a US-based server, we found we could easily unblock Netflix, a service that has many other VPN providers baffled.

Customer support

The buffered VPN support resources contain FAQs, tutorials, and user guides. On the flip side, the information here seems is at its limit, and it’s possible to find the answer that you are looking for. If you cannot find the information that you are searching for, Buffered VPN offers 24/7 support.

You can always contact them through live chat or email. Their response times are fairly decent. The representatives are well-versed and will offer quick support and help. The website is not very navigable and has some issues. The significant thing however is that users can access quick and reliable help.

VyprVPN

VyprVPN is a Swiss-based VPN provider. It has 700 servers that are in 64 countries. Unlike many VPNs that focus their servers in Europe and the Americas, VyprVPN also has servers in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and oceanic.

With VyperVPN unlimited data usage and even a customized chameleon protocol, how does it fare compared to other VPN providers available on the market? That is what we are here to find out!

Prices and plans

At $12.95 per month, VyperVPN is among the more expensive VPN providers in the market. Customers can opt for an annual plan at $3.75 and or a two-year plan at $2.50. On top of this users don’t have to worry about prices doubling with the new year’s plans.

Privacy and security

VyprVPN uses several protocols to keep user data private. These include the AES-256-GCM and the SHA384 HMAC. There is also IKeV2 and Wire Guard support. VyprVPN has dropped the older protocols such as L2TP.

Users can choose the Chameleon 2.0 protocol. This can help users bypass more geo-restricted content. The zero-knowledge DNS is a service by VyperVPN that helps protect users from a man in middle attacks, snooping, and DNS filtering.

Speed and performance

While VyperVPN offers fast connection times, there may be connection errors. With a 600mbps connection, the speeds were not the best at around 30mbps for UK servers. The US servers averaged 30-70mbps.

You can however improve performance by switching to the WireGuard protocol. The UK speeds increased to up to 180Mbps. This meant that VyprVPN could match the speeds of some popular VPN providers like SurfShark.

Streaming and torrenting

Streaming is important for VPN users, and many providers could not bypass services such as Netflix and Disney+. VyperVPN however will quickly and easily bypass Netflix restrictions after accessing a US-based server.

While there is only one VyprVPN server in the UK, it was also easy to access BBC iPlayer. On the flip side, it is not possible to access Amazon Prime.

Customer support

The VyprVPN website has a knowledge base where users can search articles, tutorials, and guides on various functions and features. However, they lack images, and it limits the information to a few lines on each query.

On the upside, there is a search panel that users can use to find relevant information based on their keywords. This makes it easy to locate solutions to common problems.

If you still cannot find the answer to your question, you have the option of email support or live chat. The live chat feature in Particles is fast, and you will get a representative on the other side within a few minutes.

HideIPVPN

HidelPVPN is not shy to talk about its fast speeds. The service is a combination of Smart DNS and VPN. They only have a server network of a few servers compared to other VPN providers on the market. HidelPVPN offers users a choice of Windows, iOS, Mac, and Android platforms.

While it only offers 3 simultaneous connections, could this be the ideal VPN for you?

Let’s find out!

Plans and pricing

This offers more time to explore and try out the VPN before committing your funds. If you do not want to take too much time exploring the VPN, you can opt for the 24-hour free trial.

You can pay for your chosen plan using credit cards and debit cards. You can also use PayPal, which is a great convenience considering there are plenty of premium VPN providers that will not provide this as a payment option.

Privacy and security

With its privacy policy, HidelPVPN claims like many VPNs do that there is a no-log policy. However, there is little information to back this up which raises questions. A closer look at the privacy policy HidelPVPN says that there is information collected to log into the VPN and the Smart DNS.

To help protect data, however, from leaks and hide user location, HidelPVPN uses AES-256-bit encryption. It supports OpenVPN and IKeV2 protocols. On some clients, it also supports older protocols including L2TP/IP SEC and PPTP.

It is best to avoid using these protocols as they are susceptible to data leaks. On the downside, there is no kill switch, which means there’s a risk of DNS leaks.

Streaming and torrenting

HidelPVPN will not provide users with access to hidden content such as Disney+, Netflix, and BBC iPlayer. That said, users can use smart DNS to gain access to streaming content. The downside is that you cannot run the smart DNS and the VPN on the same device.

Netflix has proven very challenging to access, even while using a VPN. Their geo-restrictions protocol prevents many premium VPNs from accessing content. The significant thing with HidelPVPN is that it is easy and quick to connect via a US server.

Speed and performance

After connecting to a UK server, HidelPVPN scored 60-75mbps on speeds. This is decent compared to many other VPNs on the market. The US servers averaged around 60mbps. Servers that are located further from Europe such as those in Australia only managed 20mbps.

With the servers closest to Europe with the VPN turned on are managed at around 100-130mbps.

Norton Secure VPN

Previously known as Norton Wi-Fi Privacy, this VPN is the company’s first entry into the field of VPNs. Compared to other VPNs that we tested, Norton Secure VPN seems to provide the best information.

There is no factual information on the number of servers that it currently has and in which countries they are located. They will not state the type of protocols used, and whether users get a kill switch. So let’s explore what we could find and see if Norton Secure VPN is worth your consideration.

Plans and pricing

Users can choose between the monthly plans at $7. 99 and the annual plan at $3.33. Note however that the price on the annual plan will rise to $6.66 on renewal. You can also pay for the Norton Secure VPN with the Norton 360 Deluxe bundle.

This will give you antivirus for 5PCs, mobiles, tablets, and even Mac. You will also get a firewall for Mac and PC.

Privacy and security

Norton Secure VPN claims to not log user activity. However, there is a support article that states that they collect information on aggregate bandwidth usage, mobile device data, and subscriber information for communication.

When you look at the privacy policy, it claims that Norton Secure VPN will collect your IP address, device name, type, and version of the operating system.

Netflix

Norton Secure VPN markets itself as an ideal choice for protection against cybercriminals and providing secure Wi-Fi connectivity. However, not much is said about its unblocking capabilities on leading streaming platforms.

We found it couldn’t provide access to Disney+ or BBC iPlayer. However, it did an outstanding job at quickly and easily unblocking Netflix US and Amazon Prime.

Speed and performance

While Norton Secure VPN offers decent speeds, it doesn’t rank high compared to many other premium VPN providers available on the market. With a 75 Mbps internet connection, a UK server performed at 59-66mbps.

This is not bad. The connection was however unstable. On a 600mbps internet connection, it gave up to 85mbps.

Customer Support

Norton Secure VPN has a support site where users can access quick information to common problems. Normally this includes a FAQS section. The information here is short and not very detailed. Alternatively, you could reach an agent via phone call or live chat.

While the live chat feature normally means quick access to support, the front desk is not a VPN specialist and may not offer the best support for more complex queries.

However, they can forward the issue to a VPN specialist. It is always best if the front desk agents had more knowledgeable staff quickly get any problem sorted out.

Surfshark VPN

Surfshark is one of the most popular VPNs available on the market. It comes packed full of features and has decent speeds. It boasts a network of over 1700 servers in 63 countries. Surfshark is incredibly efficient and users can make use of Surfshark regardless of their location around the world.

Surfshark offers clients for Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Android, it also has extensions for Chrome and Firefox. An interesting feature is that it does not limit you to the number of devices that you can connect to simultaneously.

Let’s inspect Surfshark and why this could be the ideal VPN for you.

Plans and pricing

Before committing to any long-term plans, try out Surfshark and see how it performs. For this, you have a free 7-day trial. This is available for iOS, Android, and Mac. You can pay for your plan using PayPal, credit cards, Gift cards, Ali Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and cryptocurrencies.

If you sign up for a plan and find that Surfshark is not for you, then you can claim a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Privacy and security

Surfshark uses basic VPN protocols to provide security to its users. These include OpenVPN, IKeV2, and WireGuard. It also uses AES-256 encryption and there is it drops a kill switch in case connectivity goes down. Surfshark uses its own private DNS. This reduces the chances of spying.

As far as logging goes, Surfshark states in its privacy policy that it doesn’t collect “incoming and outgoing IP addresses, browsing, downloading or purchasing history, VPN servers you use, used bandwidth session information, connection time stamps, Network traffic”.

Speeds and performance

On a UK server, Surfshark managed between 70-90mbps, which is not impressive compared to other premium VPNs available on the market. On a US server and on OpenVPN protocol, it managed 100-105Mbps. With the WireGuard protocol, the UK server speeds doubled to 50mbps. And up to 200mbps on US servers.

Netflix

Surfshark scores high marks for accessing content on lean streaming platforms. For instance, you can access Netflix with ease. You can also access BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime+, and Disney+.

Customer support

Surfshark has a support site where users can access FAQs, tutorials, and guides on troubleshooting issues with Surfshark VPN. Users have the option of a 24/7 live chat. An agent will be with you in less than a minute.

VPN unlimited

VPN Unlimited is a VPN service from KeepSolid, a New York-based software development company. Unlike many of the VPN providers on our list, VPN Unlimited has among the fewest servers. That said, the 400 servers are in over 80 countries which spans a large geographical network.

VPN Unlimited also offers clients for Windows, Mac, IOS, Android, Linux, and Apple TV. It also offers extensions for high Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera. Let’s inspect the VPN unlimited list of features and see if this is the ideal VPN for you.

Plans and pricing

VPN Unlimited has three main pricing plans. The monthly plans start at $9.99. However, this price comes down to $5 for the annual plan and $2.78 for the three-year plan.

You can also opt for the lifetime plan at $199.99. Once you choose your preferred plan, you can pay using credit and debit cards, bitcoin, and PayPal. You will get a $10 discount if you purchase via PayPal.

Privacy and security

The Mac and Windows clients have a kill switch that helps users protect their information in case of a drop in connection. Read through the privacy policy and you see that VPN unlimited will collect and log user information which includes IP addresses, device names, codes, and manufacturers.

Speeds and performance

Unlimited VPN provides fast speeds of 200-300 Mbps on a 600mbps connection. This was on a US-based server. UK based servers also provided decent seeds of 60-70 Mbps. The only really low servers we tested are those in Malaysia, and they produced extremely low speeds of 1-2 Mbps.

The tests were on OpenVPN protocol. Switching over to WireGuard, we noticed that there were times the speeds were fast. Other times the speeds were slow.

Streaming and Torrents

VPN Unlimited offers its users suggestions on the recommended servers to access various geo-blocked streaming platforms. We found that by utilizing the recommended list of servers we could access, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, and Disney+ with no problem. It doesn’t however help with Amazon Prime+.

VPN Unlimited offers P2P support. However, they’re limited to 5 countries which are Canada, the USA, Luxemburg, France, and Romania. Only cutlers in these regions will download torrents.

Customer support

Customers can access a knowledge base on the VPN unlimited website. Here they can access guides, articles, and tutorials. The only downside is that these seem to limit information and are poorly structured.

VPN unlimited also claims to offer live chat. However, clicking on this feature gets you to a prompt where you will type your query and enter your email. The good thing is that their email support is fast and customers can even get a response in less than 5 minutes.

Bitdefender Premium VPN

BitDefender Premium VPN offers its customers an enormous network of servers. It has over 1300 of these distributed in over 30 countries. That BitDefender premium VPN powered by Hotspot Shield gives you an idea of the performance that you can expect from this VPN.

This VPN provider offers access to clients on Windows, Android, Mac, and iOS and allows you to connect to up to 10 devices. This is more than the industry standard of 5 simultaneous connections.

Could this be the ideal VPN for you? Let’s find out!

Plans and pricing

If you create a BitDefender Central account that requires you to provide your email, you can get a 7-day free trial. However, if you still opt for the paid plans and are not satisfied, then you’re protected by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Privacy and security

Since it is run by Hotspot Shield, BitDefender uses the Hotspot Shield’s network of servers. This is a good place to start when looking to understand their privacy policy. Hotspot Shield will log in to the device identifiers, settings, browser types, and other network information.

BitDefender Premium VPN claims to collect data for VPN service only, which includes IP addresses, IDs, and randomly generated tokens.

Speeds and performance

BitDefender Premium VPN claims to unlock content and media from all over the world. However, it cannot unblock BBC iPlayer from a US server. The message it gives is that this content is not available in your location.

The upside is that BitDefender Premium VPN can unblock Netflix, which is the gold standard for most VPNs. Unfortunately, users cannot unblock Amazon Prime+ and Disney+.

Initially, when BitDefender used its OpenVPN protocol, it had some issues with the speeds. However, that all changed, and the speeds improved when it switched over to the hotspot Shield Catapult Hydra, which improved the speeds tremendously.

With the UK servers, speeds could reach 170-190 Mbps on the closest server. With the US servers, the speeds could be as high as 400mbps, which is quite impressive. The speeds were like those offered by Hotspot Shield.

Customer support

BitDefender Premium VPN offers its customer support via phone, email, and live chat. Live chat is the best way to get quick and efficient solutions to any problems that you may encounter.

That said, while you can expect to get a timely response on email, there are some customers who have complained about not being able to reach the BitDefender premium VPN support team via phone. They are however not at par with other premium VPNs providers such as ExpressVPN and NordVPN.

The support also covers BitDefender’s primary business of antivirus so you may not get reliable VPN support as you would with other VPNs.

FAQs

What is VPN and why do I need it?

VPN is short for Private Virtual Network. It enables one to make a secure internet connection to another network. You can use a VPN to access geo-restricted content and hide your browsing activity when on public Wi-Fi.

What does a VPN do exactly?

When browsing the VPN will route your data traffic through an encrypted tunnel which helps disguise your IP and secures against cyber-attacks.

Do I need a VPN for my small business?

Yes, it is important to use a VPN with your business. It can help provide security and even remote access to company data. It is also cost effective.

How much does a VPN cost for a company?

The best VPNs cost anywhere between $9.95 per month to $12 per month. Many of these also allow you to choose between yearly, two-year, and even three-year plans which bring the price down significantly.

Can VPNs be traced?

A VPN changes your IP address and encrypts your online activity, so it cannot be traced.

Should I use VPN all the time?

Yes, it is best to keep your VPN on all the time to help ensure optimum protection against cyberattacks, and data leaks.

Is VPN illegal?

No VPN is not illegal. However, never engage in illegal activity via the use of a VPN.

How do companies use VPN?

Companies mainly use VPNs to ensure that users accessing company information are using an encrypted channel and allowed.

Does Office 365 requires a VPN?

Yes. While office 365 provides effective security and hosted in the cloud, there have been allegations of Microsoft 365 mishandling user data.

How do I set up a VPN for my small business?

Most VPNs require a 5 step process. Get a router that is appropriate for your needs Use the quick start wizard guide Choose your security settings Enable users Connect

What is a free VPN?

This is a VPN service that allows you to access a VPN server network. You will not need to pay for any plans.

Do companies use VPN?

Many companies will use a VPN to allow their employees to access the company’s private system when working remotely.

Who uses VPNs?

Anyone looking to do anonymous browsing, or work remotely by accessing the company private system.

What are the advantages of a VPN?

There are many advantages of a VPN. The main ones include hiding your IP address and keeping your online activities and connection secure.

Is VPN Safe for online banking?

Yes. It is best to use a VPN with your online banking as your information is encrypted and thus remains secure.