As frustrating as it is that governments and businesses are running roughshod over our online freedoms, at least we have plenty of good VPNs to choose from to keep us protected online. There are so many fast, intelligently designed, full-featured and affordable services on the market that the biggest problem is picking one. For any use case, you can bet at least two providers will be neck-and-neck for first place.
On the other hand, the VPN world is still the Wild West in some ways. It’s easy enough to slap a cheap VPN together that the market is flooded with low-quality apps that put more money into advertising than infrastructure. They may look good, but it’s all styrofoam under the hood.
I built this list of the best VPNs after intensive testing to help you reorient your focus on the providers that actually deserve your time and money. Which one truly fits your needs is dependent on who you are and what you do online, but if you pick any of my seven recommendations, you can’t go too far wrong. If you’re interested in a service you can use without paying, head over to my list of the best free VPNs — and if you’re willing to pay but want to save money, I keep a list of the best VPN deals updated weekly.
For each VPN on this list, I’ve shared which platforms it works on, how much it cuts into your download speed, where it offers servers, what other features are included and how much the best available deal costs. At the end, I’ll list some honorable and dishonorable mentions, then answer some of the most common questions I hear about VPNs.
Editor’s note: This list is up-to-date as of January 2026. We intend to revisit this list every three months at a minimum, at which time our picks may be adjusted based on changes in pricing, features, testing results and other factors.
Table of contentsWhat to look for in a VPN
Best VPNs for 2026Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromebook, Chrome, Firefox, Android TV, Apple TV, Firestick, routers | Average download speed drop: 12.5 percent | Server locations: 154 in 122 countries | Notable features: NetShield ad blocker, Secure Core servers, Tor over VPN | Best price: $107.76 for 24 months
Read our full Proton VPN review
Proton VPN clinches the top spot for one simple reason: it does everything right. All its closest competitors have one area in which they fall short — ExpressVPN doesn’t have as many features, NordVPN can be irksome to use, Surfshark’s pricing forces you into a long-term deal, and so on. Proton VPN isn’t perfect, nor is it the best in every individual area, but it’s the one VPN where I can’t find a serious weakness no matter how I poke and prod.
Proton’s winning run starts with its excellently designed apps. If you don’t know how to use a VPN, it’s easy for VPN apps to feel cluttered or aggravating, but Proton never puts anything in your way. Every feature is where you expect it to be, never demanding any digging or leaving you perplexed about what a certain setting is for. There’s no drop-off in quality between platforms, either: Proton has clearly paid equally close attention to its clients for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
That ease of use extends to Proton VPN’s impact on your browsing speeds. In my tests, it reduced my download speeds by an average of 12 percent worldwide and my upload speeds by only 4 percent, factors that are only noticeable on a connection that’s very slow to begin with. Even more impressively, it held the global average ping below 300 ms — latency always increases with distance, but Proton’s infrastructure keeps that number low.
It’s also a VPN uniquely devoted to security and privacy. As the only competitive VPN majority-owned by a nonprofit, Proton can focus on guaranteeing the rights of its users without being bought out or misusing its access to customers. Not only did it pass my leak tests without a scratch, but it’s also a leader in physical VPN security — its Secure Core servers connect you through locations fortified in the real-world. All its servers use full-disk encryption, ensuring privacy from both hackers and Proton itself.
Proton VPN also commits to its privacy mission in one more important way: offering a free plan with unlimited data you can use to stay anonymous online for as long as you want. You can’t choose your server location, so it’s no good for (as an example) unblocking a specific streaming service, but it’s ideal if you just want to take security precautions without paying.
Pros
Keeps internet speeds fastPhysically secured data centersFree plan with unlimited dataCons
High proportion of virtual server locationsLive chat support only for paid users$3.39 per month for 24 months at Proton
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromebook, Chrome, Android TV, Apple TV, Firestick, routers | Average download speed drop: 6.9 percent | Server locations: 164 in 105 countries | Notable features: Threat Manager tracker and malware blocker, Ad blocker, Parental controls, Aircove router | Best price: $97.72 for 28 months
Read our full ExpressVPN review
ExpressVPN is a high-performing VPN service with very few flaws. The only real issue keeping it from the top spot is that it remains a bit overpriced for the functionality it offers. That’s why I’ve named it the best premium VPN — not the best overall, but worth paying extra for if you have the cash. That designation stands even after the new tiered pricing plans introduced in September 2025, which offer better value in the past, but are still generally pricier than equivalent plans from Proton and Surfshark.
The best reasons to pick ExpressVPN are its apps, its speeds and its global server network. Let’s take those in order. Each ExpressVPN client is stripped down to be as simple as software ever comes. The most complicated thing you’ll do on any of them is pick server locations — everything else is a matter of clicking a button on or off. For a VPN beginner, or anyone who wants their service to run unobtrusively in the background, it’s paradise.
Speeds are even better than Proton VPN’s, another way ExpressVPN earns its slightly higher price. In multiple daily tests across six different locations, my speed dropped an average of just 6.9 percent and my mean latency remained below 300. Upload speeds went down a miniscule 1.6 percent. It’s hard to get much better than this (although Surfshark manages it).
With 164 server locations in 105 different countries and territories, ExpressVPN has the largest server network of any VPN on this list. It’s perfect for changing your virtual location, whatever reason you have for doing that. Closer servers grant better speeds, but a bigger network also increases your range of options for spoofed IP addresses — you’ll be able to unblock streaming sites in more than half the world (and have plenty of fallback options in case one server fails).
ExpressVPN doesn’t have many additional features, but that’s hard to complain about when it’s so good at its most important job. Besides, it’s not like there’s nothing. You’ll find a kill switch, malware detector, ad blocker and parental controls on all platforms, plus split tunneling on Windows, Android and macOS 10 and under. The Aircove router is also worth mentioning — as the only VPN router with its own interface, it’s easy to operate and provide whole-house VPN coverage without technical knowledge.
Pros
Fast download and upload speedsUnblocks Netflix everywhereEasy-to-use appsCons
Few extra featuresExpensive plans$3.49 per month for 28 months at ExpressVPN
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromebook, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Apple TV, Fire TV, routers | Average download speed drop: 5.4 percent | Server locations: 141 in 100 countries | Notable features: Dynamic MultiHop, Everlink, IP rotator, unlimited simultaneous connections, CleanWeb, NoBorders mode | Best price: $53.73 for 28 months
Read our full Surfshark review
Since “the fastest VPN” is such a popular superlative for VPNs to tout about themselves, I want to make it clear what I mean. The fastest VPN is the one that reduces your speeds the least — it’s exceedingly rare for a VPN to make your internet faster than it is normally. As a result, if you don’t have a fast internet connection to start, you can’t have a fast VPN. Also, there’s no guarantee that Surfshark will always be the fastest, as the race at the top is continually close.
With the disclaimer out of the way, here are the facts: Surfshark beat out every other VPN on the list in my speed tests. For each VPN, I pick six servers spaced evenly across the world and test them on several consecutive days. Surfshark dropped my speed an average of 5.4 percent across all six test sites. Without an outlier in South Africa (which still only dropped my speeds by 11 percent), the average would be 4.3 percent.
Upload speeds only dropped by an average of 3.6 percent. That’s all outstanding, and makes using the internet with Surfshark feel completely seamless, no matter where you are in the world. From Oregon, I got a negligible slowdown on a server in Indonesia — and yes, I did make sure it was actually encrypting my connection.
Beyond being fast, Surfshark is an envelope-pushing VPN with several features you won’t find anywhere else. Nexus lets you rotate your IP address constantly as you browse and pick your own starting and ending points for a multi-hop connection. It’s also highly secure, with no slip-ups anywhere in my leak testing and no loopholes in its privacy policy (plus a clean bill of health from a June 2025 audit).
The few issues that keep Surfshark from the top spot can be annoying, but none of them are dealbreaking. Its app design relies a bit too much on popups, and its monthly plans are the most expensive in the game, making it a better choice for long-term use.
Pros
Very fast speedsSplit tunneling on all appsUnlimited simultaneous connectionsCons
Single-month pricing is excessiveLots of popups on desktopNoBorders Mode useful but can turn on needlessly$1.99 per month for 27 months at Surfshark
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromebook, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, AndroidTV, tvOS routers | Average download speed drop: 6.4 percent | Server locations: 153 in 117 countries | Notable features: Double VPN, Onion over VPN, obfuscated servers, P2P servers, Threat Protection, Dark Web Monitor | Best price: $83.43 for 27 months
Read our full NordVPN review
NordVPN distinguishes itself with the features it offers to boost the usual VPN experience. Even though the ahead-of-its-time Meshnet is sadly shutting down this year, there’s a great menu of options. A basic plan comes with double VPN connections, Onion Over VPN servers, P2P servers, Threat Protection antivirus and a kill switch, plus split tunneling on Windows and Android.
Innovating on features doesn’t mean NordVPN sleeps on the fundamentals. Its speed speaks for itself. Watching videos takes a lot of download capacity, especially in 4K UHD. In my tests, NordVPN only dropped my download speed by 6.4 percent, which puts it ahead of everybody except Surfshark. Performance on individual servers ranged from a high drop of 10.4 percent (still great) to a low drop of 3.4 percent. That’s fast enough for high-quality streaming on almost any home network.
NordVPN’s server list includes 153 cities in 117 countries, which translates to a huge range of options for checking out alternate streaming libraries. It also changed my virtual location with near-perfect precision. In tests of five server locations, Netflix never once managed to block NordVPN, and only once (in Nigeria) failed to change the content that turned up.
In the area of security, the NordLynx protocol is a tuned-up version of WireGuard that’s both fast and safe, and NordWhisper hides your VPN usage from censors without too much speed loss. It also passed all my leak tests without issues. Its privacy policy is a little less watertight, since there’s not a full list of all the third-party processors it works with — so it might not be ideal for sensitive tasks. However, any information provided to a third party would almost certainly be aggregated and anonymized.
Pros
Excellent download speedsUseful exclusive featuresExtensive server networkCons
Clunky interface choicesCollects device info by default$3.09 per month for 27 months at NordVPN
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Firefox, Amazon Fire Stick, Android TV, routers | Server locations: 125 in 100 countries | Notable features: Smart Rules automation, streaming-optimized servers, NoSpy servers, ad blocker | Best price: $56.94 for 26 months
Read our full CyberGhost review
There’s a lot to recommend with CyberGhost. Its streaming-optimized servers meet a high standard for playback quality and its Smart Rules offer some of the most customizable VPN automation on the market. The ad blocker works well, and the NoSpy servers are a neat idea — CyberGhost keeps them under lock and key near its Romania headquarters and carefully fine-tunes all their settings.
CyberGhost has also worked hard recently to bring its apps up to scratch. I already liked the designs on paper, but the actual experience has improved as well, with interfaces built to be welcoming to new users while carefully organizing a deep well of features. Once connected, you’re likely to enjoy fast download and upload speeds, and low latencies on average.
There are still some problems: there’s often lag when connecting to a VPN server. Also, the kill switch can be overactive, sometimes blocking internet access even when the VPN is working perfectly. I also have some concerns about how it handles user information, since its privacy policy retains the right to share your personal data with its parent company, Kape Technologies — although there’s no direct indication of misuse, I’d be careful about using CyberGhost for anything deeply private.
But with all those flaws acknowledged, I have to admit this VPN is fantastic for the price. With Private Internet Access having fallen in my esteem lately (see its entry below), CyberGhost is the obvious choice to replace it. Its 26-month plan may not be quite as cheap as PIA’s three-year option, but it’s not that much more expensive month-over-month — and you get a lot more for the money.
Pros
Deep automation featuresLarge server networkHighly affordableCons
May share data with parent companySometimes lags on connection$2.19 per month for 26 months at CyberGhost
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, routers |Server locations: 89 in 49 countries | Notable features: IPv6 support, Bridge Mode multihop, ad and tracker blocker | Best price: 5 Euro per month
We’re in the process of re-testing Mullvad for a full review.
