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Final Review Based on VPN Application Test Results
In recent years, VPN services have evolved from basic tools for masking an IP address into multifunctional applications that ensure complete confidentiality, protection of personal data, the ability to bypass geo restrictions and much more, while maintaining control with the click of a button.
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This round-up presents the top 10 VPN services as measured by Cooltechzone. We have checked all the declared (and hidden!) technical characteristics of more than 180 VPN applications for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, as well as TV platforms.
We’ll compare VPN services by the most requested and important parameters, which will allow you to easily determine the most suitable VPN for your situation.
We will also talk about the more advanced features of VPN applications that hackers use to protect themselves.
You can set up a secure VPN in minutes and use it 24/7 without slowing down your internet or reducing battery life.
You’ll also receive additional discounts when signing up for a VPN using our links.
Our specialists have their own VPN research methodology, which has been refined over 5 years and involves repeated testing of applications for each platform. This ensures that only the best VPNs are in the Top 10.
📑 Table of Contents
Further you will learn:
You probably already know that VPN (Virtual Private Network) encrypts and redirects your traffic through a dedicated server.
In fact, this is true and not true.
VPN technology itself was designed to create private networks, which those networks might not even having a gateway to communicate with the rest of the Internet. Computers within the virtual network "saw" each other as if it were a physically isolated network.
This technology formed the basis for the modern VPN.
A tunnel is launched between the user's device and the VPN, which is additionally encrypted. In fact, a network of two devices is used, one of which is also a gateway to the Internet.
This scheme has 3 major advantages:
Due to the fact that VPN services use the same technology necessary for the normal operation of state and many corporate networks, it is practically impossible to prohibit the Virtual Private Network at the legislative level (relevant for countries with Internet censorship).
Today, there are several reliable VPN tunneling protocols, on the basis of which VPN services software works. The most common are OpenVPN and IKEv2. The most technologically advanced and actively implemented is WireGuard.
These protocols also allow data to be encrypted inside the tunnel. The most common effective encryption standard is AES-256, which is used in the vast majority of VPN programs and applications.
AES-256 is recognized as the official data protection standard of the US government (see article on Wiki)
Thus, VPN is a legal, simple and effective technology that has been proven over time.
The previous section outlined the technology. But the weak point of any protected system is in its final performance.
Of course, if you were to set up and configure your own open source VPN server then your system would be quite secure.
But can we trust a third party companies?
Can we be sure that they took everything into account, really applied encryption, implemented protection against leaks, and so on?
It's a difficult question. After all, if we’re just using a VPN to register another free account on a smartphone games, then it’s not a big deal.
But what if we use VPN all the time? Is our personal data or information that we want to hide from the Internet Service Provider (ISP)secure?
In this case, we need choose a VPN that we can trust.
A list of the main tasks you should think about when assessing the quality of a VPN service:
Few VPNs can meet all of these objectives and it’s easy to make a mistake in choosing a service.
What happens if you don't go into details and connect to the first VPN that comes along?
Let's take the example.
Recently, while we’re analysing reviews of VPN on Reddit, we paid attention to one comment to positive feedback about one of the major VPN providers. It said that VPN has a bad service as it didn’t bypass the geo-restrictions on streaming from the Hulu site.
At the same time, the service doesn’t have a specialization for bypassing geo-blocking by popular media materials. But he perfectly bypasses the Great Chinese Firewall and helps the residents of China to gain access to blocked sites outside the country.
So is it good VPN or bad?
The main mistake of inexperienced users is choosing a service at random, without delving into its capabilities.
In the next section, we will list the main characteristics to take in account when choosing your VPN, and in the chapter Top 10 VPN Test Results you will find experimentally obtained parameters to quickly select your VPN.
The main parameters of VPN services in 2021:
Image source - expressvpn.com
The latest testing, conducted in the second half of 2021, identified three leaders. It was difficult to single out the absolute leader, but given the large number of positive reviews and the use of expensive equipment by the service, which excludes the possibility of collecting and storing information about user activity, the best VPN overall is ExpressVPN...
PROSCONS
ExpressVPN was always one of the best, but in the last two years they have done even more to compete for the top spot:
With a combination of blazing speed, 94 country vpns available and support for almost any streaming video service, including Netflix, ExpressVPN is #1 today.
ExpressVPN in a nutshell:
Testing on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS was successful. The results of 20 tests showed that the average speed was 203 Mb/s. Also, during the week there was not a single case of spontaneous disconnection or connection error. No data leaks were detected even when artificial connection interruptions were simulated.
When you upgrade from Cooltechzone, you get an additional 20% discount on your annual subscription.
Learn more about ExpressVPN:
PROSCONS
In second place is the even more technically innovative NordVPN. It is the perfect VPN for permanent use, as it has perhaps the most user-friendly interface and full set of features required in 2021.
NordVPN is fast, has two anti-leak systems, and is capable of running even when VPN is blocked.
Briefly about NordVPN:
We should also tell you that the main researcher of Cooltechzone and the author of this article has been using mainly NordVPN for more than three years, so it comes with that recommendation too!
Learn more about NordVPN:
PROSCONS
The next VPN is interesting because it is ideal for protecting multiple devices at the same time. Combining high speed and powerful functionality, Surfshark does not limit the number of devices used.
Moreover, it is significantly cheaper than most competitors!
In many cases, Surfshark is used to bypass VPN blocking in censored countries.
Briefly about Surfshark:
Testing has confirmed the accurate operation of all the declared functions. Only occasionally were there connection failures after an incorrect exit from the application.
Learn more about Surfshark:
PROSCONS
ProtonVPN is the best VPN with a free plan, which makes it ideal for beginners. After familiarizing yourself with the basic features of VPN for free, you can upgrade to one of three paid options - Basic, Plus and Visionary.
Cooltechzone recommends choosing the Plus option for permanent use. It has a full set of VPN functionalities, differing from the top plan only in the absence of an email account.
ProtonVPN is characterized by having extra protected servers in a special data center in Switzerland buried a 1000 meters deep within the rock!
Briefly about ProtonVPN:
Testing has confirmed the smooth operation of all functions, as well as good data protection when reconnecting mobile devices in public Wi-Fi networks. There were problems with speed on some servers, but changing the location to more unloaded ones (according to the indicator in the control panel) corrected the situation.
Learn more about ProtonVPN:
PROSCONS
Do you trust large companies? Then CyberGhost VPN - For you. Not only is it the largest VPN by server count, it is also operated by Kape Technologies, which also owns two other major VPN services.
CyberGhost is a controversial service. On the one hand, it has a record 7200 servers in 91 countries and specializes in streaming content from popular regions, and on the other hand, it does not use progressive tunneling protocols and has a pretty poor add-on for browsers.
Далее список в сером акценте:
CyberGhost in a nutshell:
Testing revealed both fast and slow servers. It also appears that streaming servers are not available for all countries. Three servers were able to access Netflix however Hulu and BBC iPlayer are not supported.
Learn more about CyberGhost:
PROSCONS
VyprVPN is an example of a relatively weak VPN service that is becoming one of the best. After revising its privacy policy, adding a performance protocol and focusing on streaming support, VyprVPN has been ranked 6th on our list.
The only drawback we identified is the relatively low speed stability. Most likely, this is due to the fact that the service has only 700 servers in 64 countries, and this negatively affects their load.
Briefly about VyprVPN:
Testing has proven to be highly effective in censored countries when using the Chameleon protocol.
Learn more about VyprVPN:
PROSCONS
Hide.me is one of the best VPN services with a free plan. But this is just one of its advantages. Overall, it is a technologically advanced and advanced VPN with support for the rare SoftEther VPN protocol developed by a Japanese university as an improved alternative to standard OpenVPN, IKEv2, and PPTP.
Hide.me is suitable for any purpose, including streaming, torrenting, bypassing censorship and unblocking sites.
Briefly about hide.me:
Testing revealed minor flaws in the free version and low speeds on some paid servers. Another small disadvantage is that the appearance and layout of the applications have not changed for several years and are in some cases outdated.
Find out more about hide.me:
PROSCONS
The first American VPN on our list is IPVanish. This service has been operating for 9 years and during this time has gathered a whole army of fans. It was up till recently the most popular VPN in the US, but has been replaced by the more progressive giants ExpressVPN and NordVPN.
However, it is a time-tested quality VPN. It is suitable for most tasks other than unblocking geo-restricted video streaming and torrenting
Briefly about IPVanish:
Testing revealed low speeds on some servers (less than 3 Mb/s) and an inability to bypass the protection of streaming sites.
Find out more about IPVanish:
PROSCONS
* Testing revealed that most countries are virtual. This means that the IP addresses provided are not physically located on servers in the specified countries.
PureVPN is one of the most controversial VPNs out there today. Many people think it has a dubious reputation, but after running a number of tests, we believe it is reliable.
PureVPN does not have any special advanced features, but it can be indispensable in cases when you need to access IP addresses of almost any country in the world.
Briefly about PureVPN:
Testing revealed incorrect operation of the Kill Switch when used in conjunction with another VPN. This is not a problem under normal conditions, but it indicates that this function is not working perfectly.
There were also some complaints regarding the function of bypassing the protection of streaming sites.
Learn more about PureVPN:
PROSCONS
Private Internet Access (PIA) is suitable primarily in cases where you need to fine-tune the connection. The provider allows you to select not only the protocol and connection port, but also assign DHCP, Handshake in the DNS settings, and use socks5.
PIA is suitable for continuous use for any task except streaming.
Briefly about Private Internet Access:
Testing shows good speed and the correct operation of all options. We failed to unblock any popular streaming service.
Learn more about PIA:
A modern VPN is quite affordable, but there are still many budget and premium services. At the same time, as our experience has shown, their technical capabilities may differ little.
We offer you a price comparison of all VPNs on our list in the same order as they were described in the previous chapter.
Comparison of VPN services prices (including all discounts, per month)
Service1 month6 months1 year2 years$12.95$9.99$8.32 $6.67$8.32 $6.67$11.95$11.95$4.92$3.30$12.95$6.49$6.49$2.49$5-30$5-30$4-24$3.29-19.96$12.99$6.39$6.39$2.25$6.47$6.47$6.47$2.50Hide.me *$12.95$12.95$8.32$4.99$10.99$10.99$3.75$3.75$10.95$10.95$3.74$2.91 $2.88$9.95$9.95$3.33$3.33
* There is also a free plan. Read more in the review free VPN...
Cooltechzone has made agreements with some VPN services, which allows our users the opportunity to get discounts and participate in hot offers.
Current discounts and promotions
Service NameAdditional discountConditions20%When subscribing for 1 year1%When subscribing for 2 years
In recent years, VPNs have evolved into feature-rich tools that literally break boundaries and limits. They are now not simply used for work, but for play as well.
With a VPN, you can virtually change your location and access video and audio content from Netflix and other geo-restricted video services and TV channels.
Video services try to block the IP addresses of VPN servers, so not all services are capable of fully working with popular streaming sites. This is especially true for BBC iPlayer, HBO, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Netflix. Choose only VPNs that have been tested with these video services. Read more in the review VPN for streaming...
VPN is designed in such a way that data protection occurs only inside the virtual tunnel. At the same time, for the user there is no difference in how the traffic flows - in the usual way or through the tunnel.
This is where VPN's weakness lies. You simply won't notice if the VPN goes down for some reason.
Even if it automatically reconnects, some of the data may have been sent without protection.
Leakage can occur through:
But, fortunately, there is an effective way to protect against such leaks - Kill Switch technology. It blocks all traffic outside the VPN channel. There is also a Kill Switch variant that abnormally closes the specified applications. Read more in the review VPN with Kill Switch...
Is using VPN legal everywhere?
Countries with strong censorship may have laws or technical means that prevent anonymizers like VPNs from working.
We have compiled a list of countries and the specifics of their VPN countermeasures. If you are on one of them, it may not be possible or secure to use a regular VPN.
Use the following services to bypass blocking and mask your VPN connection:
VPN restricted countriesPeculiarities Service for circumventing restrictionsChinaVPN services not controlled by the government are legally prohibited. Together with this, the so-called ‘Great Chinese Firewall’ operates in the country. It not only blocks IP addresses, but is also capable of detecting and blocking VPN activity.ExpressVPN (not available in all provinces)NordVPN (with obfuscation enabled)Surfshark (with NoBorders enabled)UAEThe degree of blocking is highly ISP dependent.Russia BelarusThere are laws that prohibit the use of a VPN to bypass site blocking. There are no known cases of their use.Everyone except SurfsharkIran Iraq TurkmenistanBlocked IP addresses + DPI (Deep Packet Inspection)ExpressVPN (not available in all provinces)NordVPN (with obfuscation enabled)Surfshark (with NoBorders included)Turkey EgyptBlocking IP addressesAccess to VPN sites is limited
DISCLAIMER:
Cooltechzone does not call for breaking the law. In cases where the VPN sites mentioned above are legally prohibited in your country of residence, stop using them. Otherwise, we are not responsible for the consequences.
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