There are over a thousand VPN services (free and paid) that come and go.
Each one looking the same, sounding the same, offering the same features and promising to keep your connection completely secure and anonymous.
But how do you find the best VPN?
With so many biased VPN reviews filling the web, it can be difficult to discern fact from profit-driven fiction.
At the TheBestVPN.com we’ve been testing and reviewing more than 70 popular VPN services to date. Each review contains background information on the VPN, in-depth look, speed test, and cons/pros.
Here are the most important factors of a VPN that we’ve compared:
- Download speed
- Privacy and security features/flaws
- Jurisdiction and logging policy
- Torrenting and Netflix availability
- Usability and support
- Cost
Best VPNs for Online Privacy and Security.
The best VPNs don’t keep any record of the websites you visit or the files you download. They mask your IP address at a budget-friendly price. And they offer tons of restriction-free servers across the globe so you can stream Netflix content or use torrenting freely.
Without further ado, here are the 3 best VPNs in 2020:
1. NordVPN – The Best “All-Round” VPN ($3.10/mo)
+ Fast servers (5,646)
+ Torrenting/P2P allowed
+ Works with Netflix
+ Strict no logs policy
+ Easy-to-use VPN apps
+ Double data encryption
+ No IP/DNS leaks found
They also excelled in our series of hands-on tests.
It’s safe to say that the connection is rock-solid as zero leaks (no IP/DNS/WebRTC) were found. The service also works well with torrenting and bypassing the geo-restrictions of certain sites like Netflix. Five out of the six servers that we tested were successful in unblocking Netflix.
2. Surfshark – Best “Cheap” VPN ($1.99/mo)
+ Strict no logs policy
+ Unlimited devices
+ Torrenting allowed
+ Unblocks Netflix geo-restrictions
+ Safe and secure
+ Addons: Multihop & Ad-blocker
Surfshark is also one of the few providers we’ve seen that offer unlimited device connections. That means there aren’t any artificial caps that would force you to purchase more than one account.
Torrenting and P2P are fully allowed. The app is very light-weight and simple to use.
The service is available for nearly every device that’s used today. You can use it on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. We ran Surfshark through six different leak tests and we didn’t find any leaks.
Surfshark’s “Camouflage Mode” feature also makes them unique compared to other VPNs. When turned on, Camouflage Mode makes your use of a VPN so stealthy that even your ISP won’t be able to tell that you are using a VPN.
However, no VPN service is 100% perfect. Speeds were inconsistent during our tests, plus their service network is significantly smaller compared to many competitors.
3. ExpressVPN – Best Streaming Performance ($6.67/mo)
+ Supports ALL devices
+ Fast servers (minimal speed loss)
+ Unblocking Netflix USA
+ Torrenting and P2P allowed
+ No DNS/IP leaks found
+ Very simple and easy to use
+ No logs
An ExpressVPN subscription gets you access to more than 3,000 fast servers located throughout 160 different cities in 94 countries.
This VPN provides a plethora of protocols (OpenVPN, IPSec & IKEv2, among others) all equipped with the latest-and-greatest encryption standards (AES-256). That makes ExpressVPN perfect for almost any device. Each city that features an ExpressVPN server provides you with various options as it comes to security standards. There are six different standards to choose from, but not all of them are available in every city.
We couldn’t find any IP, DNS or WebRTC leaks, and their installation files were clean from malware or viruses.
Both torrenting and Netflix works smoothly, without sacrificing performance or speed. In fact, they are one of the fastest VPNs we’ve reviewed to date.
The only downside? It’s a little on the pricey side. The monthly plans offered by ExpressVPN start between $6.67 and $12.95 per month. The price of $6.67 requires a 15-month subscription, and comes with three free months. This is a small price to pay for excellent performance in almost every category.
ExpressVPN is confident in the quality of the service, offering a 30-day money-back guarantee to users who are not happy with the service provided.
Are There Any Risks of Using a VPN?
Only when you are doing something very illegal…
VPNs are mostly safe. Using them is mostly legal.
So you shouldn’t run into any problems or risks.
Unless…
You’re doing one of a few things:
- Using a non-government sponsored VPN in a country that requires one
- Downloading copyrighted information through a VPN and torrenting
- Performing other illegal activities while under a VPN connection.
Obviously, any of those questionable details can land you in hot water no matter what type of connection you’re running.
But for everyone else, you’re mostly risking time and money.
You’re wasting money on a VPN with terrible performance, for instance. So it might take forever to stream something until you eventually abandon it and can’t get your money back.
You’re wasting money on a VPN with terrible performance, for instance. So it might take forever to stream something until you eventually abandon it and can’t get your money back.
We’ve already highlighted some of the ‘spying’ and malware risks with free VPNs, too.
Fortunately, these are pretty rare. But it definitely does happen. So we’ll let you know if we found any potential red flags in each of our reviews on this site.
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