Best VPN Services for Privacy, Reliability, and Everyday Use

Choosing a VPN means trusting the provider

A VPN can route your internet traffic through its servers, but the privacy you get depends on the company running them. Hundreds of services advertise huge networks and strict no-logs policies. Those claims aren’t all equally credible. The central question in this guide is which providers have a track record that gives you reason to trust them. Demand is rising as age-verification rules take effect in the UK and in several US states. Some people may find they need a VPN even if they hadn’t planned to use one. The hesitation makes sense: VPN providers have been caught misrepresenting their logging practices, turning over data they said they didn’t keep, and providing cover for major cybercrime groups. A VPN shifts trust from your internet provider to the VPN company; it doesn’t make trust irrelevant. I looked for services that perform reliably and stand by their privacy promises, including when faced with legal pressure. Some recommendations here may be unconventional, and some services I advise against may draw disagreement. These are the VPNs I’d choose for everyday use. For related advice, see [how to set up a VPN on your router](https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-set-up-a-vpn-on-your-router/) and [how to use a VPN to watch Netflix while traveling abroad](https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-use-a-vpn-to-watch-to-netflix-when-you-travel/).

Black Friday deal: Proton VPN

Proton, the guide’s top pick, is offering an early Black Friday promotion: [75 percent off its regular price for two years](https://cna.st/affiliate-link/VDkSwjASRpoWbh7jFFq7H1EGwVjShzD22fmppo1hRHX5MmtKR7XuHmt35NnkTGuHp7daf6ywPKCFekKoZHSkof3JFP6XfugH5iA8SSEjAWvt8PjTA47MdEk8TZe7itzFF9mw29QvAjZMyAHLNzkxQWVG2BEhmMurauKGKuTWALK63HCfhkgbSrsycy1TusL5kSQYkWqyJrrhobsBfprKBveVhLxQBuXxWkEbnYuYqC1vWJDmGTixTt1SuWL4TRLN3BRB6nzPYgXsNAUX6sNL4). VPN Plus costs $2.49 a month, down from $10, with $60 billed for 24 months. It covers up to 10 devices and includes access to more than 20,000 servers, plus ad, tracker, and malware blocking. Proton Unlimited costs $6.50 a month for a year, billed at $78; it adds Proton’s email, calendar, and password manager, along with 500 GB of cloud storage. The end date hasn’t been announced, though the deal is expected to run through Cyber Monday.

What a VPN changes

VPN stands for [virtual private network](https://www.wired.com/tag/vpn/). In a typical setup, your traffic travels first to a VPN server, then onward to the wider internet, instead of going directly through your internet provider’s servers. A VPN protocol encrypts traffic before it reaches that server. That can help protect data on untrusted public Wi-Fi, such as at an airport or coffee shop. At home, it offers less protection unless someone else can access your network. The privacy benefits are real but easy to overstate. Routing traffic through a VPN can hide the sites you visit from your internet service provider, and using a server in another location can help you get around regional restrictions, such as differences in Netflix libraries or product availability. But a VPN doesn’t erase tracking: cookies and [browser fingerprinting](https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-browser-fingerprinting/) can still identify or follow you. For many users, privacy and access to region-restricted content are more practical reasons to use one than a broad promise of security. A VPN is also useful when you’re doing sensitive work on public Wi-Fi; see these [public Wi-Fi safety tips](https://www.wired.com/story/public-wifi-safety-tips/).

Prices and features to understand

Monthly plans from established providers commonly cost about $10, while longer subscriptions often reduce the monthly price. Bundled security suites from companies such as Nord Security and Proton make comparisons more complicated. Long plans can be cheaper, but some VPN providers have faced [class-action lawsuits over auto-renewals](https://wittelslaw.com/cases/wmp-files-100-million-class-action-lawsuit-against-nordvpn); lawsuits alone don’t establish that a company acted illegally. Free plans from Proton and Windscribe can be useful, but most free VPNs deserve skepticism ([here’s why](https://www.wired.com/story/free-vpn-android-ios-privacy/)). A few terms will help make sense of the recommendations: - **Double-hop:** Routes a connection through two or more VPN servers. It can add privacy if someone traces the network path, but it can also cut speed substantially. - **Split tunneling:** Lets you choose which apps use the VPN. You might route a browser through it while leaving other apps on your regular connection. - **Kill switch:** Cuts internet access if the VPN connection drops, helping prevent traffic from leaking outside the tunnel. - **IP and domain block list:** Blocks specified addresses or domains inside the VPN tunnel. Some services also use DNS filtering to block ads from particular servers. - **Static IP:** Gives you an unchanging IP address. This can be necessary for external access to a network running through a VPN. - **Port forwarding:** Opens a route to a port on your private network, which can help with external access to services such as a media server. - **NetShield:** Proton VPN’s ad and tracker blocker. Windscribe and NordVPN offer comparable tools. - **Dark web monitoring:** A feature offered by providers including NordVPN and ProtonVPN that checks whether your email address or other personal information appears on the [dark web](https://www.wired.com/tag/dark-web/) or in a breach. - **DAITA:** Mullvad’s feature that adds background noise to a connection to resist AI-assisted network analysis. Windscribe, NordVPN, and ProtonVPN offer similar features.

Where VPNs are legal

VPNs are legal in most countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, the EU, South Africa, and much of Central and South America. North Korea and Turkmenistan are among the places with VPN bans, though censorship makes it difficult to confirm exactly how those rules work in practice. Local requirements can also affect which services operate in a country. India and Russia require providers to comply with government demands, prompting companies such as NordVPN to [remove servers from India](https://nordvpn.com/blog/indian-servers-removal/). And a VPN doesn’t make illegal activity legal. *Updated November 2026 to include Proton VPN’s early Black Friday offer.*

Featured VPNs

- **Best VPN Overall: Proton VPN Plus** — [Read more](#65ca4a71b42999e7954e5c63). Listed offer: $48 for Proton’s yearly plan. - **Best VPN Upgrade: NordVPN Plus** — [Read more](#6217c9fc3a14d44656b0c884). Listed offer: $117 for NordVPN’s two-year plan. - **Best Free VPN: Windscribe VPN** — [Read more](#68b08b9531caed0ed4d9d880). Listed offer: $69 for Windscribe Pro, yearly. - **Best No-Logs VPN: Mullvad VPN** — [Read more](#62165cf5a523ee472bdb9a54).

Best VPN Overall: Proton VPN Plus

[Proton VPN (9/10, WIRED Recommends)](https://www.wired.com/review/proton-vpn/) is the strongest all-around choice in this guide. Its Plus plan was the fastest service tested across the US and UK, and the free plan offers a way to try it before paying. Proton’s feature set and pricing are especially appealing when bundled with Proton Unlimited. After testing the services, the reviewer uses Proton personally. The case for Proton rests heavily on evidence of accountability. It has published a [transparency report](https://proton.me/legal/transparency) since 2017, commissioned [annual third-party audits](https://protonvpn.com/blog/no-logs-audit) since 2022, and [open-sourced its apps](https://protonvpn.com/blog/open-source/) five years ago. Open code lets outside researchers inspect potential security flaws. Proton also includes split tunneling, port forwarding, and double-hop connections, while keeping the app easy to use. Those signals make its privacy claims easier to assess than marketing promises alone. The Black Friday offer cuts the regular two-year price by 75 percent. Proton VPN Plus supports 10 devices and, according to the listed specifications, more than 17,000 servers. Its apps cover Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Google TV, Apple TV, and Fire TV. Features include a kill switch, split tunneling, NetShield, port forwarding, double-hop connections, and P2P servers.

NordVPN

NordVPN’s appeal is the breadth of what it offers: a network of more than 7,400 servers, a long record in the VPN market, and a feature set that goes well beyond basic tunneling. Speeds are decent, though not the best in this group, and the service costs more than I’d like. You’re paying for that scale and those extras. The Basic plan covers the VPN. I’d look at Plus, which adds an ad blocker and NordPass, a password manager included among the [best password managers](https://www.wired.com/story/best-password-managers/). Nord also supports its privacy and security claims with [independent audits of its no-logs policy and security](https://cna.st/affiliate-link/3j63gbMkR4nGMuSRMwguPdV3kwEyuAFfzkGMagPn5Tp6UyGxDx76MQCy9Hs48wtEbPUhyGfF1gESPHKrUYgZzGmEZd69p7cemyW3FY7zzg3DPtKs42G1M5cfGYk8uWkyst6LcdA3sXw4umwUxHTifqjVa6TT7M3egBCS16zfR5CN1MM2PutW7tKvmF7GreZoBH855kHgB9DKEHWkwa57Bd28DYkuLSXs4AVVXzVDX18mWEvi5XBRDZiJDUxR9esC41Nort5DLPjeLGhtkm5pnqjjtuqins1ksBrYEgBG7kLJ48AvRUoMUGRXizJo1pYCcg9tnFk9vcAxcE3poqPvwa9XC9bcjTF4z5TAx2HKUMhtoqSkJtcDSWuwypwn). There’s a meaningful difference in emphasis between Nord and Proton: Nord leans into security add-ons, including encrypted cloud storage, NordProtect identity theft protection, and Incogni data removal. Proton puts more weight on privacy-oriented productivity tools. Those extras help, but the VPN itself is the main reason to consider Nord; its security features have kept pace with the service’s long history. **Specs:** 10 devices; 7,400+ servers. Apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Google TV, and Apple TV. Features include a kill switch, split tunneling, double-hop connections, dark web monitoring, and P2P servers.

Best Free VPN: Windscribe

Free VPNs usually deserve caution, but Windscribe is one of the few I’d consider. Its free plan includes 10 GB of data across 10 server locations and unlimited connections. You can earn more data by referring friends or posting about the service on social media. Proton offers similar incentives, but Windscribe makes for an unusually easy first step toward a paid plan. That paid plan is flexible. Unlimited data costs an extra $3 a month, and each additional server location costs $1 a month. If you only need a few locations, you don’t have to pay for a full bundle that includes places you’re unlikely to use, such as Ghana, Cambodia, or Peru. An all-location option is available at a discount. The pricing gets attention, but the service has substance too. Windscribe includes packet obfuscation to hinder network analysis, along with split tunneling and port forwarding. In my US speed test, it reduced speeds by 15.6 percent. Its privacy record has a particularly telling detail. The company has had a third-party audit, and CEO Yegor Sak was charged with a crime in Greece over a user’s activity on Windscribe-operated servers. The case was dismissed. VPN providers receive subpoenas regularly; in this instance, Windscribe couldn’t produce logs even while its CEO faced prosecution. That says more about the company’s logging practices than a policy page alone could. In December 2025, Windscribe [added random hashed logins](https://cna.st/affiliate-link/8fESWYnFUrhpZ81wpBmy5DGUUSnmJQGU7s3tEfzymc6o1bkmAD5QLyVP7DyzQQsPNWDAEmsnUtm5nr9jy47M3JWTMJDvwebfgns1A61h4K3tjbdqY9YmzANMG87S1tRqmCEhcZzs9Dg2GtjHiJpvSvmqSpTteroc7rGjjvJuDpFcuh1MhjFEU6x5r2VM5D7qLQmXhqJMoRfR3Y8vqv4bdkhmhokMNYVnu5ehaMjz6h8K7et5bBJA35SvHfyz7zn3Q16VqLYiyerYvf5BniJAUZcUuqjnUDT9xyHCmqZXD4f2Rspikk), allowing people to create accounts without supplying conventional identifying details. Windscribe doesn’t retain the hash, so losing it means losing access to the account. The approach resembles Mullvad’s and IVPN’s account systems. Cryptocurrency payments are also accepted. **Specs:** Unlimited connections for personal use; server count unknown, with 69+ locations. Apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and Chrome. Features include a kill switch, split tunneling, port forwarding, IP and domain blocking, P2P servers, and random hashed logins.

Best No-Logs VPN: Mullvad

Most VPNs that promise no logs still retain some account information, such as an email address or payment details. Mullvad’s setup avoids that: you generate an account number, then add time using a credit card, PayPal, cryptocurrency, or cash sent by mail. It offers no multi-year subscriptions, referral links, or social sign-on. If you’re willing to use cash and manage the account number carefully, you can keep your identity out of Mullvad’s hands. The company [says Swedish police searched its premises](https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/4/20/mullvad-vpn-was-subject-to-a-search-warrant-customer-data-not-compromised) and left without obtaining customer data. Mullvad trades some speed and features for that privacy focus. It was about 24 percent slower in my US testing, compared with 19 percent for Surfshark, and it doesn’t offer port forwarding. The price is straightforward: €5 a month regardless of location, roughly $6 depending on exchange rates. Its technical choices reinforce the same focus. Mullvad began building RAM-only servers in 2022 and introduced [defense against AI-guided traffic analysis (DAITA)](https://cna.st/affiliate-link/2xoTpiFhHURJG3khGq2KwPkTAuWKgr9XnGvqE3KPXPFthbWVZZeseYHHtK7MWC5i3xN7q4AvLhCtB3PY5QsBrU26YRzFjuBdEbAb4Zx4cdaoTmZVNoSBoYyWwhrXnwjQSio2xDwx82fmcQLQSdHAfdpSWqmkMLAfpK8pTV93b1ckVF4KyU4si52i4ZBSyAYm6zCwoz5GN7XNNikXhgwZ8GiTdpCHfRLStQxG6SDugQ26X7q9tqEnc3hPf9wmmSP9yt7z2xLc) last year. DAITA adds network noise and keeps packet sizes consistent, making encrypted traffic harder to analyze. **Specs:** 5 devices; 500+ servers. Apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Features include a kill switch, split tunneling, DAITA, double-hop connections, and WireGuard obfuscation.

Best VPN for Beginners: Bitdefender

Bitdefender’s free VPN can serve for light use, but its data limits make the paid tier a better fit for most people. Bitdefender VPN Premium supports up to 10 devices and offers reliable performance without those limits. Its first-year price is $30, or about $2.92 a month; after that, it rises to $70, somewhat more than ProtonVPN. The low introductory price makes it an accessible way to try a paid VPN, though the renewal cost deserves attention. Reviewer Matthew Smith liked the straightforward app on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. The layout puts key information, including the kill switch, in easy reach. Linux and TV apps are missing, and the service lacks some advanced privacy features. It’s a dependable, approachable option with a strong first-year price, rather than a specialist privacy tool. [Bitdefender VPN Premium](https://www.wired.com/review/bitdefender-vpn/) costs $30. *—Luke Larsen* **Specs:** 10 devices; 100+ locations. Apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Features include a kill switch, anti-switching, and an ad blocker.

Best VPN for Multiple Devices: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN’s ownership history has been messy. Kape Technologies, which also owns CyberGhost and Private Internet Access, bought it for nearly $1 billion a few years ago, followed by a series of executive departures. Its leadership now seems settled enough to recommend. The service itself has held up: it remains fast, feature-rich, and easy to use on desktop and mobile. The reason to consider ExpressVPN here is its revised membership lineup. Basic still provides 10 simultaneous connections and access to the full network; Advanced raises the limit to 12, while Pro allows 14. Advanced looks like the practical middle ground: it adds a password manager and [50 percent off an ExpressVPN AirCove router](https://cna.st/affiliate-link/fE2NNhSSqA4Vayc6cbXXsQTytBGf43mp6xCgqjF6ZQXbELXDRSvd8srEqYHwvZXcKhs7GsUuE8sLAErwh2s424fxF7tUE87Y34x8rCxT1f3biCyvpp4o6hXPT9Z6frhwkP9vYguypyK8RYaxZUVPbZmps92iLz4Sfz6Sr4B57udtro6QD98X56wc7b6x8jMUeCCtxiMEqYFtP4G2Py4f5a6T3gDwNnZ2EN6xQUx2cBT3dVgpaDWkQ8hwpg8PhgMbLhc1jBbbkp). **Specs:** 10 devices on Basic, 12 on Advanced, and 14 on Pro. Server count is unknown, with 170+ locations. Apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Google TV, and Apple TV. Features include a kill switch, split tunneling, and an ad blocker.

VPN feature lists can make six services look interchangeable. They aren’t. The table below shows where they differ in device limits, server locations, and privacy tools: Windscribe allows unlimited devices but has no double hop; Mullvad limits you to five devices; and ExpressVPN supports 14 while lacking packet obfuscation. Proton’s double hop is called Secure Core, and its ad and tracker blocker is NetShield. NordVPN’s WireGuard-based option is NordLynx; ExpressVPN’s protocol is Lightway.

	Number of Devices	Number of Locations	P2P Support	Kill Switch	Split Tunneling	Double Hop Connection	Ad/Tracker Blocker	Packet Obfuscation	WireGuard Support
Proton VPN	10	127+	Yes	Yes	Yes	Secure Core	NetShield	Yes	Yes
NordVPN	10	178+	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (NordLynx)
Windscribe	Unlimited	69+	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bitdefender VPN	10	100+	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mullvad	5	50+	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (via Extension)	Yes	Yes
ExpressVPN	14	170+	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes (Lightway)

Other VPNs We’ve Tested

Surfshark has been my everyday VPN for years, and it would likely still be if Proton hadn’t won me over. It connects quickly and stays out of the way. A two-year Starter subscription costs around $54. There’s plenty to explore beyond the simple interface: double hop, split tunneling, ad blocking, and email masking are among its features. Higher-priced plans add antivirus and dark web monitoring. Surfshark also publishes a transparency report and a warrant canary, and it says it follows a no-logs policy. The tradeoff is that its apps aren’t open source, so users have less opportunity to inspect the software themselves.

EventVPN tries an unusual model: it’s a free, ad-supported VPN from ExpressVPN. The company says Apple’s App Tracking Transparency and Identifier for Advertisers let it serve ads without collecting personal data. That claim doesn’t make the experience pleasant. A banner stays on screen, and connecting or disconnecting means watching a 30-second ad—especially frustrating when some servers are very slow. The idea is distinctive, but ProtonVPN and Windscribe offer free plans that are better choices in practice.

IVPN takes an anonymity-first approach similar to Mullvad: instead of asking for a username, password, and email, it issues a random login ID. It also accepts Bitcoin and Monero. Its plans include one, two, and three years, plus a weekly option: IVPN Standard costs $2 per week, which may suit a short trip and can undercut Mullvad’s monthly fee. But Mullvad has features IVPN lacks, including RAM-less servers. IVPN had scheduled a security audit for 2025; as of January 2026, its results still hadn’t appeared. Standard covers only two devices, while Pro raises the cap to seven for $10 a month—more than Mullvad’s five-device plan, even compared with IVPN’s multi-year options. IVPN remains a reasonable pick if annual billing matters to you, and I find its app more attractive and easier to use than Mullvad’s. —Matthew S. Smith

Private Internet Access (PIA) has a notable record of withholding useful identifying data when authorities came calling. In 2016, Florida filed a criminal complaint against Preston Alexander McWaters over online threats. He was later convicted and sentenced to 42 months in prison. Investigators traced the threats to PIA servers and subpoenaed the company. The complaint says, “A subpoena was sent to [Private Internet Access], and the only information they could provide is that the cluster of IP addresses being used was from the east coast of the United States.” McWaters was identified through other activities, but PIA’s records weren’t among them. That’s persuasive evidence of its no-logging policy in practice. Performance was another story: PIA had the slowest results in my testing, cutting speed by more than 50 percent on the closest US server. Windscribe’s drop was 15.6 percent.

MysteriumVPN is the decentralized VPN that stands out to me. The model routes traffic through residential IP addresses, which can help users avoid the block lists increasingly aimed at VPN server addresses. Mysterium builds that network with MystNodes: people buy crypto nodes, earn cryptocurrency, and contribute them to the service. There’s a real appeal to that setup, but sending traffic through a single residential IP raises questions. Mysterium was also slow in my testing and offers no audit, warrant canary, or transparency report.

PrivadoVPN offers a workable free tier: a few full-speed servers and 10 GB of monthly data. Signing up takes patience, though; the process presents four subscription prompts. The bigger concern is the lack of a transparency report or audit. Its speeds are decent, but they trail Proton, Windscribe, and Surfshark. That leaves little reason to choose it over the comparable free plans from Proton and Windscribe.

VPNs to Avoid

Free VPN claims deserve scrutiny. Many services promise privacy without giving users enough evidence to trust them; these two examples have specific reasons for concern.

Hola still operates on the peer-to-peer model that made it controversial nearly a decade ago. The free service relies on users’ devices, and Hola owns Bright Data, formerly Luminati, a data collection company. In 2015, Hola sold access to its free users’ network through Luminati; that network was used in a distributed denial-of-service attack on 8chan. The incident is old, but the basic arrangement persists: free users may serve as exit nodes in Bright Data’s network. Hola’s privacy policy also says it logs usage data, including IP addresses, visited pages, and timestamps.

X-VPN hasn’t been shown to do something as overt as Hola, but there are enough open questions to make it a poor recommendation. It mainly targets mobile users through Apple’s App Store and Google Play, and it uses a proprietary protocol whose details are obscured in the app. NordVPN’s NordLynx and ExpressVPN’s Lightway are also proprietary branded protocols, but they’re based on existing open-source protocols. X-VPN was included in a Tech Transparency Project report about free VPNs with links to the Chinese government, and the company is based in Hong Kong. That report doesn’t establish wrongdoing. Still, X-VPN’s speeds are weak, it lacks basic split tunneling, and its paid prices match top providers.

How We Test VPNs

A VPN has two core jobs in my evaluation: keep browsing speed usable and protect the data passing through the connection. A polished app and extra settings matter only after those basics hold up.

Speed results vary with the time of day, the network, and the server, so I measured an unprotected baseline immediately before each test. I ran three tests on US and UK servers, then repeated spot checks at different times over the course of a week to see whether the speed loss stayed consistent.

For security, I checked DNS, WebRTC, and IP leaks after each server connection using Browser Leaks. I also used Wireshark for brief packet checks, confirming that transmitted traffic was protected by the VPN protocol in use. For privacy, the services I recommend have independent audits and publish some form of transparency information. Windscribe’s evidence, for example, comes through legal proceedings rather than a conventional report.

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