The Best VPN Services 2019

Best VPN services

In this review, you will find regularly updated information on the ‘’VPN’’ topic.

Several radical changes occurred in the VPN market in 2019:

• Security vulnerabilities were found in many VPNs.
• The positions of several previously leading services ‘’have been shaken’’.
• Prices have been dropped.
• A new, powerful VPN service has been uprooting all competition aggressively.

The difference between quality VPNs and those that rely on old-timey methods is growing rapidly. Today, not only the IP address changing is required from a VPN but also privacy protection, streaming support, high speeds and functional apps on all platforms, support of TV, and game consoles.

Speaking of security, even renowned VPN providers can have privacy issues.

IP address leak with a popular VPN (read more in this review)

To discover it, I modeled the harshest conditions possible in real life to test all the VPNs.

I offer you this list of the best VPN services of 2019 based on the test results. It is composed of 10 short reviews put together. They describe the functions and prices of the providers whose service quality is the best today.

The best VPN for 2019

Taking all the factors, test results, and customer review analysis into account, the best VPN is NordVPN. Surfshark comes second, and it’s a close competition.

Now, I will examine every VPN service, describe their main features, pros and cons, and analyze their implementation areas.

1. NordVPN – The best multifunctional VPN

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NordVPN is an absolute leader in the VPN market. It’s the best all-round VPN with the largest number of servers. Upon that, it has an excellent price-quality combination. NordVPN is suitable for any tasks, and it’s especially good for bypassing censorship.

Servers. NordVPN has a record number of VPN servers – more than 5500 servers in 59 countries (Update for 25 October, 2019). It’s amazing, isn’t it? There’s no another big VPN with a similar network. It’s just impossible to check them all, but those we tested were fast, and their IP was as claimed.

Apps. Stability and quality of VPN apps aren’t a new problem. But NordVPN doesn’t have problems like that. Its software interface is simple and intuitive. Any important connection characteristics are configured by default. You just need to choose a location and turn the VPN on. We believe that NordVPN has the most user-friendly apps.

Platforms. You can use NordVPN on any platform. We tested their apps on Windows 10, Android, iPhone, and Mac, but NordVPN is also available for older Windows versions (even for Windows XP), and Linux. There are configurations for routers and other internet-enabled devices. Besides, they have Chrome and Firefox extensions.

No-Logging. NordVPN is Panama-based VPN founded in 2008. The service has been successfully running for 11 years. We haven’t found any reports about incidents connected with collecting and disclosing of users’ personal data. NordVPN doesn’t collect logs, and you can trust them.

Torrenting. We tested their P2P servers (you’ll easily find them in the app). We managed to torrent via all those servers, and the speeds were high. You can always use torrents and not to worry about your security. NordVPN reliably hides the fact of torrenting from your Internet Service Provider.

Besides, we didn’t detect that NordVPN would block or compromise its users who download torrents.

Netflix. We say ‘’Thanks’’ for SmartPlay technology to NordVPN. Thanks to it, we have an opportunity to unblock Netflix for the US, UK, Netherlands, Canada, and Japan. In spite of the tremendous load and constant countermeasures of Netflix, NordVPN copes with the task. Of course, not all servers are good for Netflix, but about 9 out of 10 servers successfully unblocked Netflix. Besides, SmarPlay technology lets unblocking any of geo-restricted streaming services, including Hulu, Amazon Prime, BBC, Pandora, and others.

IP and DNS leaks. Like most of the paid services we tested, NordVPN doesn’t leak the information about your geo-location, while free services do it. Besides, we tested the efficiency of Kill Switch that blocks your connection if a VPN channel fails. All tests are successfully passed.

CyberSec. Thanks to this new function, NordVPN can block ads. Without any doubt, you can always use plugins like AdBlock, but the advantage of CyberSec technology is that it blocks ads for all apps. Most users who set up a free VPN, and now they are ‘’tired’’ of advertising, will like this function.

Money refund. It’s a great opportunity to test an excellent VPN free of charge for 30 days. But bear in mind that after you cancel the subscription, you will have to wait for money refund for about a week or month.

Tor-over-VPN and double encryption. Those users who are ‘’crazy’’ about anonymity will love these two NordVPN functions. It seems there aren’t more anonymous ways to access the Internet than TOR over VPN or Double VPN (a chain of two VPNs). But the speeds will be slower, and the number of available locations is a bit limited. Still, if you just want to bypass blocking or unblock Netflix, you won’t need this function.

Independent audit. Some VPN services invite third party experts for doing an all-round audit the company’s business to check if the claimed opportunities correspond the real ones. NordVPN is one of them.

Thus, what do we know about NordVPN? It’s a powerful modern VPN service that is perfect for any task and will meet any user’s needs.

Tariffs:
1 month – $11.95 per month
12 months – $6.99 per month
2 years – $4.99 per month

Get 70% Off ($3.49 per month)

Read our detailed NordVPN review.

2. Surfshark – New powerful VPN service

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This year’s real breakthrough is the transformation of Surfshark from a rookie service into one of the leading VPNs. The reason for it is its high level of service, apps, and support alongside the lowest price among all professional-grade VPNs (starting from $1.99 per month).

Just a year ago, hardly anyone has heard about Surfshark whereas today it has a reputation to match those of NordVPN and ExpressVPN (as the analysis of Reddit posts shows).

Price. Surfshark offers the best pricing policy among the competitors. For $1.99 per month if subscribing for two-year plan, you’ll get a powerful VPN with an excellent speed in most locations.

Servers. Surfshark is a startup company, but there have been 1000 servers in 61 countries around the world. It’s a good start to become a leader in the VPN market.

Multiple devices. It is usually allowed to use 5-7 devices simultaneously per one subscription. But Surfshark doesn’t limit your opportunities. Connect everything you want to VPN, even your iron (if you know how to do it).

Apps. Stable app performance for a long period of time is a difficult task. It’s especially difficult to do for Android. Dozens of apps with good technical characteristics fail to be in top lists just because of software bugs. Surfshark doesn’t have problems with it. Their apps passed our tests on stability.

Platforms. You’ll be able to set up Sufshark VPN on Windows, Mac OS, Android, iOS, and Linux. There are configurations for such devices as a router, Xbox, PlayStation, FireTV, and Apple TV. You will also find plugins for Chrome and Firefox.

No-Logging. In its Privacy Policy,  Surfshark claims that logs aren’t kept. The company is registered in the British Virgin Islands which is an offshore territory. That means it is far away from 14 eyes and not under the jurisdiction of laws that allow surveillance after citizens.

Torrenting. Surfshark is not the most popular VPN. And that’s good. Thanks to it, the bandwidth of their servers is very high, which is good for torrent speeds.

Netflix. The fact that this VPN is not very popular gives you another opportunity – convenient watching of Netflix. All tested servers in the US, UK, Canada, and the Netherlands worked well with Netflix. That’s incredible!

IP and DNS leaks. Surfshark security is good as well. No leaks were detected and AES-256 encryption along with the tunneling protocols like OpenVPN and IPsec (the same are used by other best VPN providers) will protect your data.

Money refund. You will have an opportunity to refund your money after 30 days, but only if you subscribe for a 2-year plan.

Speed. Excellent speeds in all major locations. After testing some servers, they showed even better speeds that NordVPN’s ones. But no all servers were so good. Some unusual locations and Hong Kong servers were a bit slower.

Additional features. Surfshark is a good VPN with a set of all functions necessary for most tasks. You won’t find special servers Netflix, torrents, Double VPN, but they offer an ad-blocker and Whitelister technology. This technology lets the apps bypass VPN, when it’s necessary.

Finally, is Surfshark really good? We believe it is. It’s the first company that attracted our attention in the last few years. It managed to develop a good reputation and be included in the tops of many 2019’s reviews.

Tariffs:
30 days -$ 11,95 per month
1 year -$ 5,99 per month
2 years -$ 1,99 per month

Get 83% Off ($1.99 per month)

Read our detailed Surfshark review.

3. CyberGhost – All-round VPN with dedicated servers for streaming and torrenting

*you can use our link to get an extra 8% discount

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It’s another dynamic VPN with its history. CyberGhost has recently updated its pricing policy and now a free trial period is not offered (check what VPNs offer a VPN plan with a free trial), but the servers for Netflix and torrenting work far better now.

Servers. CyberGhost has 5300+ servers in 90 countries around the world. More than 50 000 people use this VPN simultaneously. All in all, there are about 15 million CyberGhost users. The number is not so large in comparison with NordVPN, but it’s quite enough to assess the extent of this VPN.Still, the speeds of some servers we tested leave much to be desired. It’s not that speed we expect from a paid VPN. But it refers only to a certain number of servers, often located in ''exotic'' countries.

Still, the speeds of some servers we tested leave much to be desired. It’s not that speed we expect from a paid VPN. But it refers only to a certain number of servers, often located in ''exotic'' countries.

Apps. An interesting design of CyberGhost apps leaves a good feeling. The interface is divided in categories and has extended functionality. Depending on the category you choose, you can:

• Surf anonymously on the Internet;
• Unblock streaming services;
• Protect yourself when using public Wi-Fi;
• Torrent anonymously;
• Unblock sites;
• Choose a VPN location.

In early 2019, on Play Market there were complaints of their Android app work.

But now we haven’t found out those problems from the users’ reviews.

Tests on Windows, iOS, and Mac are successful as well.

No-Logging. CyberGhost was based in 2011 in Romania. The service has an active promotional campaign of its no-logging policy. It seems that they tell the truth and don’t keep logs. Anyway, CyberGhost is located out of 14 Eyes, which means your data won’t be passed to the authorities of other countries.

Torrenting. It’s the only large VPN service which is not afraid to claim that the most comfortable conditions for torrenting are created by the provider. They have special P2P servers for unlimited torrenting. There is a button for choosing such servers on the apps’ menu. It makes using torrents easier and saves the time you might spend on searching an appropriate server.

Netflix. The function for watching and unblocking Netflix and other video streaming services works the same way – there is a button that lets you connect to special servers configured for unblocking geo-restricted content. When the servers’ IPs are blocked, the system changes them, and you don’t have to look for a new working server.

IP and DNS leaks. This VPN keeps your confidentiality, by means of hiding your IP (proven – we didn’t find out IP leaks when we tested its servers). DNS, that defines your country and city, was hidden as well.

Money refund. The best money refund policy in the industry. CyberGhost is so confident that will refund you the money after 45 days of your subscription.

TOR. If you need maximum anonymity for personal tasks, there’s good news for you – CyberGhost works with Onion browser. You’ll be able to combine the anonymity of VPN and TOR.

Speed. CyberGhost has some difficulties connected with the speeds of VPN servers located in some Asian and ‘’exotic’’ countries.

But it doesn’t mean that it’s too slow like a tortoise. The speed is quite enough for common use. You may feel uncomfortable only when doing specific tasks that require maximum bandwidth of a VPN channel (online gaming, 4K video, and others).

Additional functions. CyberGhost offers quite a wide choice of functions, but some competitors may offer even more. It would be great if they added DoubleVPN, dedicated IP or any new technology.

Thus, what’s the bottom line?

This VPN is not good enough to be an all-round VPN as NordVPN, but it’s better at prices and tasks than the competitor, it is not behind in security, usability and unblocking Netflix.

Tariffs:
1 month – $12.99 per month
12 months – $5.99 per month
2 years – $3.69 per month

Get 79% Off ($2.75 per month).

Read our detailed CyberGhost review.

4. Private Internet Access – Advanced American VPN

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Asked about maximum speed and security? This VPN service is for you. Private Internet Access (PIA) shows excellent results in those locations where other VPNs fail to do it. Besides, PIA provides encryption configurations for incredible security!

Security. In comparison with the competitors, Private Internet Access offers an opportunity to configure the encryption of your data transferred through the network. In default configurations, we only see AES-128, SHA1 и RSA-2048, but wait… It’s just a basic level for common use. Upgrade your security up to AES-256, SHA256 and RSA-4096 through gateways in Switzerland just in one click! Your data will be out of any supercomputer’s depth!

Speed. The stronger the encryption, the slower the speed. That’s why the level of security is lower than competitors’ in default configurations. The competitors use stronger encryption for marketing purposes, which leads to slower speeds. But it’s quite enough for 99% of users! But that’s not all. You can turn encryption off and get faster speeds limited just by your Internet.

Servers. (Last visit on October 25, 2019)

Multiple devices. You can use up to 10 devices connected to VPN simultaneously.

Useful tip: When using VPN on devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network, for example, at home, it’s easier to set up VPN on a router. Each paid VPN offers configurations for routers (read how to configure DD-WRT for PIA) and instructions. Thanks to it, all your network devices will access the Internet via this VPN by default.

Apps. PIA apps are professional and stable for all platforms. In 2018 users complained about their Kill Switch (drop of connections in case a VPN channel doesn’t work so that user’s IP address is not leaked).

By the moment, we haven’t detected the problem.

Platforms. It’s compatible with all platforms (Windows 7+, Mac OS 10.11+, Linux, Android 4.1+, iOS 9+), there are plugins for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.

No-Logging. Private Internet Access doesn’t keep logs, but the US jurisdiction (5 eyes and 14 eyes alliances) doesn’t let us confirm it for 100%, at least, for US and CA servers.

IP and DNS leaks. They passed all our security and anonymity tests.

Firewall. Interesting ‘’goodie’’ from PIA. Having set up and started VPN, you launch a firewall that protects you from any undesired interference to your devices. It’s especially important while using public Wi-Fi.

Torrenting. PIA allows torrenting, but we don’t recommend doing it because of their US jurisdiction.
Netflix. It is not mentioned on the official website that you can unblock Netflix. It was proved by our tests as well. Only 2 out of 10 servers, unblocked access to Netflix. Here is what Reddit users say about it:

Money refund. 7 days… It’s better than nothing, but…
Thus, what can I say about PIA in brief? They emphasized on security, privacy, and speeds. And they do it 100%.

Their activity is not limited in VPN. Private Internet Access is also a sponsor of 44 companies working in the field of IT technologies and security.

Tariffs:
30 days -$ 9.95 per month
1 year -$ 5,99 per month
2 years -$ 3.49 per month

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Read our detailed review of Private Internet Access.

5. ExpressVPN - “Premium” VPN

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I suppose I should say ‘’His Majesty, ExpressVPN’’. Until quite recently, it was both the best and one of the most expensive VPN services. Currently, it has the same pros and price, but as far as its functionality in 2019 is concerned, it lags behind the cheaper VPNs.

What ExpressVPN is the leader in is the number of countries where its servers are located - 94 states.

It’s also worth mentioning about its browser extensions which are full-fledged VPNs, but not proxies, like others have.

What other features make ExpressVPN so outstanding?

• Great DNS protection. Like with Surfshark, requests go to the same server used to access the Internet.
• Kill Switch. ExpressVPN was among the first providers using the function of traffic blocking when a VPN connection is dropped.
• Split Tunneling. Selection of apps for using with/without VPN.

Servers. ExpressVPN has 3000 servers in 160 locations in 94 countries. 94 countries are the record number among the VPN services with their own servers.

Speed. ExpressVPN is traditionally among the leaders of speedy VPNs. There’s a stable high speed on most server locations.

Apps. While using ExpressVPN, it feels that the apps are quality. They aren’t too much visualized but user-friendly and convenient. All functions are the same for any platform.

We tested apps for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, extensions for Chrome and Firefox. The software works fine.

No-Logging. ExpressVPN  is one of the few providers that have the proven “No Logging” policy.

It allows using it when a high level of confidentiality is required.

Torrenting. Torrenting is allowed by ExpressVPN, and there’s no information that any server is not suitable for it. The issue of torrenting is not advertised on the website, but there are no sanctions of using it.

Netflix. 9 out of 10 servers tested (5 of them are located in the United States) unblocked the Netflix content.

IP leaks. ExpressVPN has the reputation of a service with great security and privacy protection. That is not entirely true. I discovered an IP address leak and an encryption problem in its Android app. It happens when the device changes its IP address; for example, when it autoconnects to any Wi-Fi or changes a network. Normally, the kill switch must kick in on such occasions to protect the user’s privacy. It doesn’t happen with ExpressVPN, though. The real location and other data remain unprotected and no message about the VPN connection failing is displayed. You can read more about this issue in our ExpressVPN vs NordVPN article.

Security.  Traffic is encrypted with the most “bulletproof” standards – AES-256. It is combined with the most reliable OpenVPN and IPSec, DNS configured on servers and absence of logs, which lets you feel secure when information and personal data, including your real geo-location, are transferred. Nobody will know what you do and what sites you visit.

Split Tunneling. What if you use VPN for entertaining and you need to use your real IP address for work? Or without your local IP, you can’t access a client-bank system? In these and other cases, you need to turn your VPN off or use the Split Tunneling function.

This function will allow you to choose the apps that should be used with VPN (for example, one of the browsers) or without it (for example, your e-wallet connected to your IP address).

It’s worth mentioning that Split Tunneling is also available for MacOS, which is quite rare.

Jurisdiction. ExpressVPN is based in the offshore Virgin Islands. This jurisdiction protects it from possible legal and sanction intervention. It’s a big plus to the protection of users’ confidentiality.

Money refund. ExpressVPN guarantees money refund for 30 days. The procedure will take about a week.

No server selection. Yes, ExpressVPN has more than 3000 servers, but there’s no direct access to its selection. On the selection menu, there is an opportunity to choose locations. You can’t choose a server situated in the location you need. Let me explain with the screenshot:

High price.  Read further.

Tariffs:

The intense competition often makes providers lower the prices. For example, IPVanish, one of the most expensive VPNs, has cut the price in half recently. But ExpressVPN is not going to leave the ‘’Premium’’ category of providers. Its price has been high for years:

1 month – $12.95 per month
6 months – $9.99 per month
1 year – $8.32 per month

The bottom line:

ExpressVPN is a large professional VPN service that can help you solve almost any task related to the VPN technology. Its apps have a full functionality for any operation system. But be on guard with its Android version. Still, you have to pay 2-3 times more than for another VPN with similar functions.

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Read our detailed ExpressVPN review.

6. IPVanish – High Speed VPN

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IPVanish is a very fast VPN service based in the United States.

One of the distinctive features of IPVanish is the fact that they are the owners of their servers in comparison with other VPNs that  use virtual servers at rent or just IP addresses of hosting companies.

IPVanish offers really high speed due to the fact that they don’t share IP addresses with other companies (later it was found out that they share them with another VPN owned by its associated company).

At the same time, it has a wide infrastructure in 48 countries, which is quite good.

From the point of view of the functionality, IPVanish has an average set of functions, but the ‘’invisibility’’ Scramble mode is quite interesting.

Read further about the other opportunities and prices.

Servers. IPVanish has 1300+ servers in 48 countries in the world. It’s quite a large network of more than 40.000 IP addresses.

Due to the fact that IPVanish is the owner of its servers, the tested speed is really high in most of the locations. The exceptions include the countries where the technical capacities of datacentres are inadequate to provide wide enough tunnels for a VPN technology. 

Apps. IPVanish developed very stable multifunctional apps for all operating systems. You can use the VPN on:

• Windows
• MacOS
• Android
• iOS
• Linux

The major pros of the apps:

• Informative visualization of VPN traffic;
• Selection of locations both from the list and interactive world map;
• Opportunity to choose cities and servers in Data Centers you choose.

Scramble mode. Sometimes you may need to hide the fact that you use VPN from the network admin or the authorities. Some VPNs offer traffic obfuscation for this, for example NordVPN or Surfshark.

IPVanish also offers such an opportunity when the “Scramble” mode is on.

No-Logging. In 2016 a scandal took place that revealed the fact that the IPVanish company registered and kept the IP addresses of their users, though they claimed about ‘’No Logs’’ policy.

But since 2017 the provider is owned by another company that claims about the guaranteed absence of the registration of the actions on their servers.

So, the claims sound quite convincing. Anyway, we have to believe them as only a few VPN services managed to prove that they don’t keep logs, for example, Private Internet Access and ExpressVPN.

Torrenting. IPVanish allows torrenting on their servers:

Still, taking into account its jurisdiction in the United States where copyright infringement is punishable under the law, and the fact that there are no special servers for P2P, you shouldn’t rely on those claims.

Choose VPNs for torrents with a secure jurisdiction, for example, NordVPN (Panama) or Surfshark (British Virgin Islands).

Netflix. IPVanish doesn’t work with Netflix perfectly. Some of its servers can unblock geo-restricted content, but some of them can’t. It means that you won’t be able to use 10 out of 10 streaming servers for Netflix as you can do it with CyberGhost.

Our tests showed that to find an appropriate IPVanish server, you need some time and change 3-4 IP addresses.

IP leaks. IPVanish doesn’t have IP leaks. It was proved on one of the levels of VPN selection based on the ‘’VPN Spiral’’ technique. What’s more, it has the Kill switch function that provides an additional protection of the IP address when locations are changed.

Money refund. IPVanish offers the shorter period for money refund than the providers from our top 3. 7 days vs. 30 and 45.

Servers are simultaneously used by different VPN services (updated).

While testing, we found out that some of the IPVanish’s IP addresses are owned by another VPN service – StrongVPN.

It turned out both services are owned by the StackPath company.

The most interesting part is that the 2 VPNs exist on the same infrastructure (or even more as StackPath is the owner of two more VPNs). So, the IPVanish company doesn’t lie when claims that they own their servers. Still, it’s not an advantage as you may think.

US jurisdiction. The US laws allow the authorities to get access to any private information by court order. What’s more, the US is the member of the spying FVEY alliance. These two facts aren’t the direct danger to your confidentiality, but under unfortunate circumstances, they may lead to surveillance after you.

For example, if you use the IP address of IPVanish previously misused by criminals.

That’s why we recommend you to choose secure jurisdictions (outside the spying alliances and others). Typically, they are Panama, Romania, Switzerland, offshore countries, and others.

Tariffs:
Recently IPVanish cut the price in half. The most profitable tariff in comparison with other providers is a 1-month plan.

1 month – $5.00 per month
3 months – $4.50 per month
1 year – $3.25 per month

Thus, here’s about IPVanish in brief:

IPVanish is a large VPN service with fast servers that supports traffic obfuscation, selection protocols and has an informative quality app, but it’s based in the US and works together with at least one VPN provider and doesn’t work perfectly with Netflix. The prices are average.

Visit IPVanish

Read our detailed review of IPVanish.

7. ZenMate - Simple VPN for torrenting

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ZenMate has everything you need to watch free video content and use torrents. What I especially appreciate about ZenMate is its combination of professional software for all platforms with a low price (starting at $2.05 per month).

The hallmark of ZenMate is that it’s a scaled-down version of CyberGhost. Both VPNs are owned by the same company, Kape Technologies. Thanks to this fact, trusted technologies and the technological infrastructure of the giant CyberGhost are the basis of ZenMate.

Servers. ZenMate provides servers in 27 countries and 35 locations. Mostly, those are the most popular countries. There are special location lists in the app menu dedicated to torrenting and streaming. The torrenting servers have good speeds – upwards of 20 Mbps.

Apps. ZenMate’s apps for every platform are of the highest quality. I’ve noticed that they are slightly modified CyberGhost software. Settings and features are about the same for all OSs.

No-Logging.  The provider claims that it doesn’t keep logs of the VPN users’ activity.

Torrenting. ZenMate offers a separate location list for P2P networks. Speed tests returned good results.

IP leaks. My tests haven’t shown any IP leaks. It’s worth noting that ZenMate only has the kill switch on its Windows version. It doesn’t mean, though, that other platforms lack the IP address protection: the tests have proven that it works in all apps.

Refund. You can get a refund within 30 days.

Netflix. ZenMate offers some servers that are specifically set up to unblock geo-restrictions imposed by Netflix, HBO, and Amazon. During a week of testing, however, I was only able to use them on Android. All the other apps either lacked popular locations for streaming or, if they were present, they did not work.

Tariffs:

ZenMate’s price is one of the lowest on our list, surpassed only by Surfshark.

1 month – $9.99 per month

1 year – $3.99 per month

2 year – $2.05 per month

There is a 7-day free trial on all OSs. It doesn’t require a credit card.

Moreover, you can get a refund within 30 days of purchase.

Let’s sum it up with ZenMate:

We have chosen this provider for our Top 10 VPN list thanks to its low prices, good speeds, and professional-grade software made by the developers of CyberGhost. It is well-suited for:

• Website unblocking;
• Accessing free video content (Popcorn Time, Kodi, torrents).

On Windows and Mac, there were some issues connecting to servers. Popular locations for streaming would disappear for a while. There are no VPN protocol settings but that’s understandable because ZenMate bills itself as a simple and cheap VPN.

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8. ProtonVPN - Swiss quality

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ProtonVPN is a Swiss service that combines three main advantages:

1. Has a good free version;
2. Is made for the highest level of privacy and security;
3. Its price depends not only on the subscription period but also on the number of features.

ProtonVPN has been providing VPN service since 2017. By that time, it had accumulated a lot of experience working on its other service, a secure email called ProtonMail. Thanks to their professional approach and that experience, ProtonVPN has become one of the best VPNs in these 2 years. People talk about it, experts praise it.

Pros and cons of ProtonVPN:

ProtonVPN’s features depend on the plan you choose: the pricier it is, the more features are available. I won’t talk about the free version here because VPNs with limited features are discussed in the article about free VPN services.

Servers. ProtonVPN has 500+ servers in 42 countries. While not the biggest infrastructure, it offers good speeds on its Plus and Visionary plans.

Apps.  ProtonVPN’s software is very respectable. Every available function works without issues. Everything is arranged in a very informative way and the quick location choice can be done from the list as well as is on the map. The speed and load of each server in a selected location are shown. There are some drawbacks, though:

• The Mac version has no settings and only works with the built-in IKEv2 protocol;
• The kill switch is only present on PC.

Servers with extra security. ProtonVPN has a special feature called the Secure Core. It provides access to extra-secure VPN servers that are located in a data center 1 km deep inside the mountain. Only the employees of the company can go there.

No-Logging. The provider proclaims that it doesn’t keep user activity logs. However, we can’t prove it because too little time has passed since 2017 to make a judgment on it based on the absence of any scandals in the media.

Streaming. ProtonVPN unblocks Netflix on its Plus plan with no problem. However, it can only do so for the US content.

Torrenting. Paid plans of ProtonVPN do not limit the use of torrents in any way. But be careful torrenting on mobile devices and Mac as those lack a kill switch.

IP leaks. I found no IP leaks with ProtonVPN. However, the lack of the kill switch (except on Windows) can endanger one’s privacy if the Internet connection is unsteady or if a VPN server is changed.

Refund. You can get your money back within 30 days. But how does it really work? In fact, only the unused part of the money can be refunded. So, for example, if you have used ProtonVPN for 15 days after buying a 1-month subscription, only half the price can be refunded.

Governmental funding. In March 2019, ProtonVPN received extra funding from the EU government with the official purpose of developing cryptography and security tools. But we can’t be sure as to what the EU government has got in return. In any case, no collaboration between a private-owned company and the state happens without being beneficial to the state.

Tariffs:

As I’ve mentioned earlier, ProtonVPN offers a 7-day free trial. After it ends, it is automatically turned into a highly limited free plan:

• slower speeds,
• torrenting is not allowed,
• no streaming support.

This provider also has varying prices depending on the features and the subscription period. There are 2 options based on the duration:

1. 1-month subscription;
2. 1-year subscription (20% benefit).

And now for the prices:

1 month:

            $5 – the Basic plan

            $10 – the Plus plan

            $30 – the Visionary plan

1 year:

            $4 – the Basic plan

            $8 – the Plus plan

            $24 – the Visionary plan

There is a 30-day partial money-back guarantee.

To sum it up:

ProtonVPN has a lot of advantages and a few substantial drawbacks. On the one hand, it has extra-security servers and high speeds but on the other, it doesn’t pay due attention to the kill switch technology and is only suitable for US streaming. One way or another, ProtonVPN’s paid version accomplishes the main tasks that VPN technology must solve well enough.

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You can also read our detailed review of ProtonVPN

9. Perfect Privacy – Simple but robust VPN

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At first sight, Perfect Privacy may seem like a weak VPN: it doesn’t have apps for all platforms, its interface is “cheap”, the country selection is small. But on the flip side, it offers features that even the largest and most well-known providers don’t have:

• Multi-Hop VPN (a chain of 2 and more VPN servers);
• NeuroRouting (automatic Multi-Hop VPN when the system calculates the most secure server chain on its own).

Besides, Perfect Privacy has the “invisible” Stealth VPN protocol and supports IPv6.

This service also provides other, more regular functions. However, since it has no in-house apps for iOS and Linux and costs quite a lot, it is unfeasible to use Perfect Privacy for torrenting or watching Netflix.

It’s another matter entirely when you need to obscure your location super-reliably or bypass state censorship, which other providers can’t do. In this case, the ability to create unique chains of encrypted connections that Perfect Privacy has is indispensable.

For example, if a state firewall in your country blocks the IP addresses of VPN servers, you can connect to a Perfect Privacy server located in your country and create a chain towards the location you need. This method is incredibly effective!

Pros and cons of Perfect Privacy:

Servers. Perfect Privacy doesn’t disclose the total number of its servers. We only know that they are situated in 26 countries. It isn’t much compared to most other VPNs on this Top 10 list but it’s enough to complete most tasks.

Stealth VPN. This mode obfuscates the “traces” of the OpenVPN protocol and makes it invisible to scanners and firewalls.

Multi-Hop VPN. As I have said before, Perfect Privacy allows customers to create any VPN connection chains easily as they see fit. It can be done right in the app and helps to bypass censorship effectively (this feature is compatible with Stealth VPN) and hide one’s location and transmitted data as dependably as possible.

No-Logging. This provider doesn’t keep logs.

Streaming. Perfect Privacy doesn’t specialize in Netflix or other video streaming services support.

Torrenting. P2P is allowed in all locations save for France and the US.

IP leaks. From the security point of view, Perfect Privacy gives a great account of itself. It doesn’t leak its users’ IP addresses and has a reliable kill switch with different modes of operation on Windows and macOS.

Money-back guarantee. You can get your money back within 7 days after the subscription’s start.

Apps. You won’t get any pleasure from using the Perfect Privacy software. Though its functionality is great, its layout and design are pretty low-quality. Moreover, its Android version doesn’t have the necessary settings to create VPN chains. On other platforms, Perfect Privacy can only be used with a third-party VPN client or by changing system settings.

Tariffs

Perfect Privacy is more expensive than its competitors. Its prices start at $8.95 per month. That’s how much the unique Multi-Hop VPN configuration feature and the increased level of privacy cost.

1 month – $12.99 per month

1 year – $9.99 per month

2 years – $8.95 per month

It can be paid for with cryptocurrencies.

There are no free plan or free trial.

Perfect Privacy has a 7-day refund guarantee if you pay with a card.

Visit Perfect Privacy

10. VyprVPN: Try 3 days for free

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VyprVPN combines the pros of the VPNs reviewed above with the opportunity to use a trial version free of charge for three days.

It has a good speed, wide choice of countries, apps for all platforms, Netflix support, traffic obfuscation, configuring of the encryption standard. And a trial period in addition.

So, why isn’t it the best VPN?

Because not all its pros work in an ideal way, it doesn’t support torrenting and the price is high above average.

Read further about its opportunities and prices.

Servers. VyprVPN has 700+ servers in 64 countries of the world. And the overall number of IP addresses is more than 200.000! It’s a very developed infrastructure and one of the biggest in the world.

The server speeds are high. They use the platforms of such giants as Digital Ocean and Amazon that’s why they have good equipment and communication channels.

Apps. We liked the apps for all platforms. The functionality is quite similar for Mac, iOS, and Android. It’s quite a good common functionality. Kill Switch, Connection Per App, and protocol selection are available.

The app for Windows is quite different both by design and opportunities. In addition, the app for PC allows you to configure the parameters for the OpenVPN protocol:

• Route Delay
• TAP adapter
• Vebosity
• MTU

You don’t need these configurations in 99.9% of situations where you need a VPN, but they say about the professionalism of the developers.

You can set up the VPN on:

• Windows
• MacOS
• Android
• iOS
• Router
• TV

Chameleon mode. In some countries (China, Iran, and others) VPN connections are monitored by technical characteristics of the tunneling protocol. But VPN services now can implement the changes into the traditional OpenVPN protocol to make it invisible.

The Chameleon mode of VyprVPN is that function.

With it, you can hide the fact of using Virtual Private Network in a reliable way.

No-Logging.  The Switzerland company Golden Frog (the owner of VyprVPN) claims that it was founded in response to an incident when the NSA illegally spied illegally after the citizens with the help of AT&T (2003-2006).

How does it relate to the logging policy?

These facts prove the honesty and seriousness of the Golden Frog’s intentions. They claim that since 2019 they don’t keep logs and we believe them (they kept the information about connections for 30 days before).

Netflix. While testing, we managed to unblock Netflix via out of 5 servers. It’s not bad but not good as well. The opportunity to unblock geo-restricted content is one of the major parameters of the modern VPN. That’s why the poor level of the streaming video support made us rank VyprVPN lower in our rating.

IP leaks. VyprVPN doesn’t have IP leaks. Besides, Kill Switch is available on all platforms (disabled by default). If you enable it, you’ll make the VPN more reliable.

Money refund. You can refund the money for 30 days.

Torrenting. VyprVPN doesn’t ban torrenting but doesn’t promote copyright infringements. Moreover, their accounts have been known to be blocked in response to the complaints of the right holders. That’s why VyprVPN is not appropriate for torrenting.

Tariffs:
Tariff plans are different from the others from our Top 7. Unlike with them, the price depends not only on the period but also on the features included.

There are two types of VyprVPN subscriptions:

1. Basic subscription: 3 devices
2. Premium subscription: 5 devices, Chameleon protocol, VyprVPN Cloud (use of cloud servers)

1-month basic subscription– $9.95 per month
12- month basic subscription – $5 per month

1- month premium subscription – $12.95 per month
12- month premium subscription – $6.67 per month

And about VyprVPN in brief:

VyprVPN is a Switzerland premium VPN service with wide opportunities and very developed infrastructure. It can work when VPN is blocked, available for most platforms, but it’s not appropriate for torrenting and doesn’t support streaming well.

Visit VyprVPN

Selecting VPN with “VPN Spiral” Technique

There are more and more reviews of VPN services on the network. Some of them look professional, others are quite amateur, and the others are simply out of date.

The quality of information depends on the technique used to select and test VPN services and their apps. It’s very important to take into account all the details and toss out a low-quality product.

We developed an innovative technique ‘’VPN Spiral’’ that solved a lot of problems while analyzing VPN.

It is based on the long-term experience of using and configuring of VPN for different tasks and levels. We divided the process of selecting and testing into the whorls of the spiral, each of them tosses out weak and at the same time it adds the definite number of points to the rest of them.

At the end of the selection process, there’s the number of VPNs, and each of them has its score that defines the position of the service in the rating.

The whorls of the spiral can be configured for multifunctionality or any possible VPN task. That’s why we can create unbiased ratings for any VPN task.

Thanks to the ‘’VPN Spiral’’ technique, we published many specific ratings on our website. Here are some of them:

FREE VPN SERVICES:  New review (Top 7)
Free and best VPNs for Netflix: how to find and where to download them?
Cheap VPN providers for 2019

Answers to FAQ

How to choose the best VPN?

You aren’t the first who asks this question. Users can’t understand on their own what VPN is the best. In fact, a user doesn’t even know what to look at and what to take into account. That’s why there are so many reviews on the network. ‘’Honest and unbiased’’.

So that we could answer this question, read the next two parts of this section.

Why isn’t free VPN included in your list?

Let’s compare the process of choosing VPN and choosing a rental car. Let’s say that you have never done it before.

What will you start with?

The first thing that comes to your mind is going to a rental place and speaking with its consultants.

When we deal with VPN, that’s us, the authors of reviews. We have long-term experience of using different cars VPNs.

So, you will be asked what cars you prefer. You’ll answer: ‘’What’s the difference?’’ They say to you: ‘’In prices and opportunities’’. ‘’Really?''  - you’ll be offended, - ‘’I need a car for free!’’. You’ll be sent to the bus stop. And they will be right.

Now imagine a bus travel on dirt roads; it’s rush hour, and you are constantly shown different ads; the bus stops from time to time. There are few routes, and buses simply don’t go to many locations.

And now imagine you are going in a speedy comfortable sedan along a wide smooth road. You can arrive at any location; the speed is much higher; music is without ads.

The difference between a free and good paid VPN is the same. Using a free VPN, you are limited in speeds, choosing locations, you watch ads, minimum security or VPN simply doesn’t run when you need it.

So what means of transport VPN is better?

• fast;
• reliable and secure;
• convenient;
• anonymous;
• able to perform your unique tasks;

In reality, we haven’t found such free VPNs (to find out more, read what users say about free VPNs  on Reddit).

What tasks does VPN perform?

When choosing an ideal VPN service, you have to define what tasks you need to perform.

Here is the list of all opportunities of VPN services:

1. Masking your geo-location (hiding your IP and DNS).
2. Data protection – encrypting and tunneling of information to bypass devices that can intercept it. (For example, in public Wi-Fi networks criminals can intercept your logins, passwords, and other sensitive information; your Internet Service Provider (ISP) probably collects and keeps information about all sites you visit; in some countries the authorities can monitor your activities on the Internet).
3. Privacy Policy (No logs are kept on servers, no registration).
4. Unblocking sites on the Internet (Bypassing geo-restrictions and censorship).
5. Bypassing geo-restrictions of streaming services (For example, watching Kodi or US Netflix from other countries, and others.)
6. Anonymity when using torrents (P2P).

If you know about these opportunities, you can ask an exact question and make a decision. We’ll answer them one by one.

What VPN is the best for hiding IP address?

Masking IP address is the main opportunity of Virtual Private Network. But the best ones are those VPN providers which have developed apps to prevent:

• IP leaks (via WebRTC technology and IPv6).
• DNS leaks (via DNS requests from your computer to DNS server of your Internet Service Provider and further to the network).
• leaks of your geo-location when a connection to a VPN server is dropped (Kill Switch technology).

The VPNs from our list hide user’s IP to the maximum.

What VPN is the best for data protection?

Another major opportunity of VPN is encrypting of traffic. The best ones are those VPN providers which:

• encrypt data with the most advanced methods (As a rule, it’s AES encryption).
• pass it via a VPN tunnel created based on the best technology (OpenVPN or IPsec).

In this guide we collected VPNs only with AES-encryption and OpenVPN or IPsec tunneling protocols.

You can find more information on how VPN works, encryption methods and protocols on our home page.

What VPNs are better for privacy?

Protection of clients’ personal data is not limited in masking IP addresses. It’s obvious that the VPNs at least know about your geo-location and what sites you visit. Good VPNs don’t have to keep this kind of information about you.

Unfortunately, we can’t directly influence it. In most cases we have to trust everything we are promised. That’s why you need to carefully read the Terms of Service.

Besides, there are 2 factors that influence (but not directly) whether the service keeps logs about users’ activities or not.

Jurisdiction. Depending on the laws of the country where a VPN provider is registered, it may be obliged to collect and hide logs in a transparent or secret way. That’s why if confidentiality is important to you, we don’t recommend using VPN services located in 14 eyes.

Background of a VPN service. Mass media sometimes publish reports about VPNs which are suspected of compromising their users’ data. (Such services aren’t included in our vpn list.)

Important: Free services always collect and keep all possible information about you with the purpose of maximum efficiency of advertising or selling it to advertising networks and other third parties.

What VPN is the best for for unblocking sites?

On the one hand, any VPN that hides your IP can bypass blocking. But in practice, there are 2 factors that are too much for some VPNs.

1. There are many resources containing blacklists of proxy servers and IP-addresses of free and some paid VPN providers.
2. Sites are often blocked by the authorities, and they use special devices to monitor connections to VPN and block them. There is such a problem, for example, in China and Egypt. It is more difficult to find a VPN that works in China, and similar countries (or doesn’t work, like GreenVPN).

To consider the 2 factors, you need to analyze hundreds of reviews left by users who faced problems with unblocking. We have done it instead of you, but we can’t guarantee that the situation won’t change while the review is published.

What VPN is the best for watching Netflix?

We provided a detailed answer to this question in each of the five VPN reviews from our vpn list.

Almost, all of them can help you, but some of them will do it better, the others – worse.

The conflict between VPN services and video streaming services is quite challenging. Currently, only paid VPN services cope with this task (and some ‘’free’’ of paid tariffs). And the situation won’t probably change in the near future.

The list of streaming services you will be able to unblock (not complete):

• Netflix
• Hulu
• Amazon Prime Video
• HBO
• BBC
• Pandora

What VPNs are the best for torrents?

Using torrents is connected with two important factors:

• Possible (even unintentional) copyright infringement;
• laws that ban torrenting in some countries.

You can be unaware of it, or suppose that you don’t break law, but you want to be on the safe side. Anyway, you should always use VPN with torrents.

The services themselves avoid this issue. That’s why there are services that ban P2P via their servers, and there are those that allow it only via the safest locations.

The best ones are those VPNs which either provide special VPN servers for torrenting or allow torrents on most their servers (this variant will be better as speeds will be higher).

In our reviews there is all necessary information on the issue of torrenting.

Is using VPN legal everywhere?

Millions of people and companies have been using VPN for many years. The technology itself is legal and used everywhere, but there are countries where it’s banned to use VPN for bypassing censorship, for example, in the UAE or China.

VPN plays an important role for many companies’ security, including state-owned ones, that’s why this technology is going to be developed and widely used, including the countries where VPN is ‘’banned’’.

In China, the UAE, Oman, Iran, and Russia you can also use VPN approved by the government, but you won’t see the ones with servers located abroad in the list.

In Egypt VPNs aren’t banned, they are technically blocked.

In what countries are there restrictions in using VPNs?

To learn in what countries using VPN is restricted, read our ‘’Definitive guide to VPN’’.

At the same time, in all countries where VPNs are ‘’banned’’ or blocked, people keep on finding the ways out and actively using VPN.

Comparison of VPNs for different tasks

Finally, we provide a table in which we combined the major characteristics mentioned in the guide. 1 – minimal score, 5- maximum.