The Best VPN Service 2021

What is a VPN?

Short for Virtual Private Network, VPNs are a program or app that allows you to use the internet via secure, encrypted tunnels. So for many, getting a VPN service will be all about privacy – you may want to use them to help keep your online life completely anonymous from the prying eyes of your ISP (handy for keen torrents) or even your government.

But because the best VPNs also let you change your IP address to one in a completely different city or country, these services have taken on a much wider use. VPNs are fantastic for streamers, for example, who want to have access to a whole world of shows and films, or want to watch a sporting event somewhere you ordinarily can’t.

While if you’re on holiday and find your favorite app is banned. The VPN will let you use the internet in the way you’ve become accustomed.

Below are VPN reviews of all the best services on the market. It is imperative to know which provider is strongest. While further down the page there are stacks more information about the software.

The best VPN services of 2021 in Review

1. ExpressVPN

The outright best VPN service for speed, privacy, and unblocking

It starts well right from the off. ExpressVPN gives you the choice of over 3,000 servers in 160 locations across 94 countries. Its five simultaneous connections will be more than enough for most subscribers (although admittedly most other VPN services on this list allow more). And in addition to fantastic apps on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS. And Linux (and dedicated extensions for Chrome and Firefox). It’s also really easy to use on the likes of Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, smart TVs, PlayStation and, Xbox.

It is already using industry-standard encryption. And various other choices of protocols (including IKEv2, OpenVPN, and L2TP/IPsec) to keep your data safe. But it is very own open-sourced Lightway protocol is now fully available in all apps and has increased speed and reliability even further.

Away from the numbers and specifications, it’s in our real-life testing where ExpressVPN really shines. We love just how easy to use this service is. That might seem obvious, but not every VPN provider out there has worked out how to make its tools intuitive, regardless of what device you’re using it for. From desktop and mobile to TV streamers and browser extensions, ExpressVPN is a doddle to set up and operate for both pros and inexperienced users.

For many people looking for a VPN, it all comes down to how good a service is at unblocking banned websites/services and getting around TV streaming hurdles. So we check to see whether they can unblock Geo-restrictions that stop you from watching services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+ from abroad.

ExpressVPN unlocks them all admirably and has really risen to the challenge laid down.

2. NordVPN

The biggest name in VPNs isn’t far behind

Probably the most recognizable name in the VPN business. NordVPN more than lives up to its high reputation. It excels in pretty much every area that you’d wish to care about when choosing your new service. And it is only a shade behind ExpressVPN in our scoring.

For starters, the levels of security NordVPN have to offer has been impressing us for some time now. Offering AES-256 as standard. You also have the option to turn on its Double VPN system where all your internet traffic is. It is encrypted not once, but twice. Handy to know where your internet anonymity is predominant like when you’re on public Wi-Fi or, maybe, torrenting.

Like its main competitor above, other features include strong DNS leak protection. Kill switches (application-specific and system-wide), proxy extensions for Chrome and Firefox browsers. And payment options that include Bitcoin, PayPal, and credit cards.

And Nord actually bests ExpressVPN on the pure server count. Cranking things up to an eye-watering 5,000 (in 60 countries), while also allowing for one more concurrent connection at six.

The provider’s custom NordLynx protocol has certainly been an eye-catching development in the last year or so. It has helped to make Nord’s connection speeds some of the fastest we’ve recorded and more reliable, even from servers that are further afield.

3. Surfshark

Don’t be fooled by the cheap pricing – an excellent VPN service

We understand that the prices available for Surfshark are the element that will stand out most. When you’re thinking of a new VPN. And there’s way more to like about Surfshark than mere dollars and cents.

When you first head to its website, Surfshark’s laid-back and playful branding takes software. That may be a bit intimidating to newcomers and makes it really accessible and user-friendly.

So if you’re somebody who is easily confused and, ultimately. Put off by complicated menus and myriad options. Surfshark – like ExpressVPN above – could be the ideal VPN for you. It keeps its connection completely stripped back and free from complications. All you’ll really see are options for ‘Quick connects’ and ‘All locations’. Accompanied by a Settings icon. And nothing else at all really. Whether that level of detail (or lack thereof) is a boon or a drawback entirely depends on your perspective.

That said, when it comes to keeping you and your online identity secure, Surfshark is all business. It has now added the new protocol in town WireGuard to its OpenVPN UDP and TCP and IKEv2 options. In addition, Surfshark boasts a private DNS and an extra security blanket via a double VPN hop. And we found it successfully gets to grips with unblocking geo-restricted access to Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and others.

And that’s for unlimited connections, too. So if you plan to use your VPN on your laptop, desktop (compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux), a tablet, a couple of mobile phones (iOS and Android both covered), and Amazon Fire TV Stick for watching overseas TV, the one account will cover you for all of them simultaneously. And theoretically, you could even let friends and family members use your sub, too.

Surfshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, giving you plenty of time to give it a try before committing for a longer period.

4. Private Internet Access

A strong all-round VPN that keeps on improving

It may not be quite the fastest VPN, or the cheapest, or the most powerful, but Private Internet Access (often stylized as simply PIA) is still a likable VPN provider with more than enough features to justify a place on your shortlist.

Its most notable claim of recent VPN reviews is a huge increase in PIA’s server count.

That sure sounds impressive. But it wouldn’t be worth a thing without quality VPN clients and a wealth of security smarts. Thankfully, PIA offers a healthy mix of privacy features. And security protocols (including WireGuard) – this extends to its first-rate Chrome extension. Which adds in the option to block location access, third-party cookies, website referrers, and more.

Whether you’re intending to use your VPN mostly on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, or maybe a mix, they’re all reliable, easier to use, with more features than most. That’s not just us saying that either, as the user reviews on the App Store and Play Store are generally really positive. And there’s support here for up to 10 simultaneous connections, so it’s easy to cover pretty much all of your devices on one reasonable subscription.

The reason PIA keeps climbing in our rankings of the top VPNs is that it continues to improve. Since our last round of testing, it has added SmartDNS to its features list – another string to its bow in helping you watch region-restricted content.

5. ProtonVPN

The biggest climber in our VPN review charts

Of all the VPNs, we reviewed in our latest tests, ProtonVPN is the one that improved most noticeably. And is deserving of its place within our five top VPN services.

Over the last months and years, Proton has been a VPN provider with a mission. Its server network has shot from a few hundred to nearly 2,000 (still less than most, but heading in the right direction). And it has made notable improvements to its clients and apps, adding new features and support.

The most significant of those in 2021 was WireGuard, which has now been fully rolled out. That bodes well for Proton’s future-proofing. But even if it hadn’t, our speed testing witnessed some of the most eye-catching OpenVPN speeds around. In short, you don’t have to worry about waiting to be connected if you’re in a hurry to turn on ProtonVPN, and then afterward you can just leave it working in the background knowing it won’t slow down your internet connection.

Proton has really improved its streaming skills, too, becoming a reliable provider for getting around Geo-restrictions when you’re abroad. It breezed past BBC iPlayer, aces Amazon Prime Video, and netted us access to foreign Netflix catalogs without much trouble at all – that’s in a year where more reputable providers (ahem, NordVPN) have encountered problems. Although it should be noted that this is only the case if you have a Plus subscription – you won’t get this kind of quality from its free or Basic tiers.

6. CyberGhost

Feature-packed clients and impressive configurability

VPN service CyberGhost has been a firm favorite of ours for some time now. And it’s no surprise that it has a user base of over ten million subscribers. The company covers the basics well, with more than 7,000 servers spread across 90-odd countries, apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, torrents allowed, and speedy live chat support.

CyberGhost shines no matter what device you’re planning to use it on. Beneath its clean, easy-to-follow interface lies a sea of fantastic features and functionality. It will quickly connect you to the right server for you if you’re specifically looking to stream or torrent, for example.

And extra touches like its Smart Rules panel shows that the engineers at CyberGhost have really put some thought into the user experience. It allows you to automatically connect to your preferred server launch a particular app (such as your default browser in incognito mode) when you boot up your computer. A genuinely useful added bonus.

We need to spend just a bit of time mentioning the speeds CyberGhost demonstrated in our most recent tests. When we jumped onto the WireGuard protocol. We witnessed connection speeds that gave the likes of NordVPN and ExpressVPN a run for their money.

Website unblocking has historically been another strong suit of CyberGhost’s. And we’re glad to report that it has upped its game again in our streaming tests. We got access to US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus through its servers. And while we couldn’t get access to exclusive Netflix content in regions like Canada and the UK, that isn’t unusual for VPNs in 2021.

7. Hotspot Shield

A strong VPN service that has been overtaken by others

Hotspot Shield’s premium VPN gives you full access to 1,800+ servers in more than 80 countries support. And connecting up to five devices, 24/7 customer support, and, of course, absolutely no ads at all. It’s yet more evidence that taking the plunge and paying just a few dollars a month gets you a far superior VPN experience.

Performance has been a major selling point for a few years now. With Hotspot Shield’s proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol. It is helping deliver some of the fastest and most consistent download speeds around. That said, it has rather ‘stood still’ in this regard of late. And services with WireGuard or that have their own proprietary protocols (like ExpressVPN’s Lightway or Nord’s NordLynx). It has now overtaken Hotspot when it comes to outright speed.

8. IPVanish

A really solid VPN solution – but streamers should look elsewhere

IPVanish has been a reliable performer in our VPN tests for years. The service has some impressive stats: 40,000+ shared IPs, 1,900+ VPN servers (and growing) in 70+ locations, unmetered P2P traffic, unlimited simultaneous connections, and 24/7 customer support. On the subject of support, we really like that you can access it directly from your Android or iOS app on mobile.

There’s something about IPVanish that just feels comforting when you get started. It’s probably the reassuring graphs and charts in the desktop app that does it. But rest assured, it’s not just about looks as IPVanish has the security smarts (AES-256 encryption, kill switch, DNS, and IPv6 leak protection) to fit the bill as a great choice for the privacy-conscious.

While the Android and iOS, apps don’t seem to get updated or refreshed that often. There’s probably a good reason for that – they function really well. The Android VPN app is a particular feather in IPVanish’s cap. With more settings and options than most of the competition and the ability to really configure it to your ideal setup.

With the likes of Nord, Express, and Hotspot all rolling out their own proprietary security protocols. IPVanish was beginning to look a little bit left behind in terms of modernization and speeds. Enter WireGuard – the service finally added the option and speeds have, predictably, gone through the roof.

So far, so positive. If streaming’s your thing. However, IPVanish doesn’t claim to be your best friend. And it shows: our latest round of testing showed struggles to unblock Amazon Prime Video. Disney Plus, or large swathes of Netflix shows. Which makes it hard to wholeheartedly recommend if you’re looking to uncover a new world of content to watch.

9. VyprVPN

Traditionally solid VPN that feels like it’s getting left behind

VyprVPN is the second Switzerland-based provider on this list and is probably one of the most famous names on it as well. It boasts plenty of the features you’d expect of a modern VPN. It Includes a no-logging policy that’s audited by an outside security company. Instantaneous live chat support, and the WireGuard protocol on its desktop clients and mobile VPN apps.

It may only have 700-odd servers – much less than most of the competition these days. But they’re spread far and wide across 60 plus countries. And are all fully owned by VyprVPN itself. That means it doesn’t have to rely on third-party web hosts. Thus making the whole operation immediately feel more secure. And the other positive upshot is that by developing its own Chameleon protocol. Vypr does a good job of getting you online safely in all corners of the globe.

Android users that are using the VPN frequently on their phones. This is then VyprVPN is a fine foil. Open up the app and it looks just like the full Windows client (that’s a good thing, by the way) and features a handful of handy features. Kill switch, DNS leak protection, start-up and auto-reconnect options, URL filtering. The iOS app doesn’t quite squeeze as much in as the Android version (no kill switch, for example), but it’s still nice to use on iPhone.

10. PureVPN

Worthwhile VPN that delivers fantastic deals

If you’ve seen us talking before about PureVPN. It was probably because this provider really knows how to turn bargain hunters’ heads. With some pretty preposterous offers like five years of VPN use for less than $100! It’s easy to see why a lot of people now use PureVPN.

And on the face of it, the dollar pricing isn’t the only number that looks good on paper. Here. there are over 6,000 servers spread across around 80 countries, 10 simultaneous connections with your account. And a host of servers running at 20Gbps.

That’s a good foundation to build from. And we like that PureVPN functions with such a wide range of devices, too. Other notable perks include payment by Bitcoin. The presence of handy split tunneling tools, and some ability to unblock streaming sites like Netflix and Disney.

You may be wondering, then, why PureVPN only just makes it onto the bottom of our chart. Unfortunately, there are just enough niggles here to put PureVPN down the pecking order. It hasn’t yet adopted WireGuard, for example, and its speeds on OpenVPN are slow enough to make us worried about lagging when we’re using the internet.