The Best VPN Services for 2021

Online security is more important today than ever before. One common method for protecting yourself online is the use of a Virtual Private Network — or VPN for short. It allows you to safely send information when using public networks via a group of networked computers and faraway servers. Not all VPNs are the same, however, so we took some time to find the best VPN services.

Further reading

That being said, signing up for free VPN services — especially those dedicated to mobile apps — can be a risky business. Know that all “free� services are making money off of you somehow, whether it be from advertisements or something less innocuous, such as selling user activity data. The best VPNs typically promise no activity or user logs … but they come with fees.

We’ve scoured the web for reviews, testimonials, and statistics on which are the best VPN choices. Then we tried out the services for ourselves, taking notes on ease of use and testing network speeds. Keeping all of these factors in mind, these are the services that stood out.

Private Internet Access

If the happy family on the homepage isn’t enough to convince you, maybe the fact that it’s one of the most reliable VPN services on the market is. Private Internet Access does everything you could want from a good VPN. It hides your IP address, protects your information, and scrambles your browsing activity using a variety of encryption methods. It also tends to have one of the best VPN sales for Black Friday and similar events.

We tested Private Internet Services using its Windows installer, which configures the VPN protocols and provides a simple utility in the taskbar to turn the VPN connection on and off. While the interface was spartan, the performance was excellent. Our test system consistently maintained over 110 Mb/s download and 19 Mb/s upload speeds with the VPN connection turned on, very close to our usual 125 Mb/s download and 20 Mb/s upload speeds.

On the downside, Netflix complained about a proxy and Amazon Prime Video wouldn’t play due to a geographical restriction. These errors occurred whether we used the automatic setting or selected a local U.S.-based server. However, Private Internet Access claims they can unblock both Netflix and Amazon Prime.

  • Cost: $12 on a monthly basis, $40 for an annual subscription ($3 monthly), $80 for three years
  • Number of servers: 24,519+
  • Number of server locations: 77 countries
  • Clients supported: Windows, MacOS, Unix/Linux, iOS, Android — several browser extensions
  • Number of simultaneous connections: Up to 10

$7 from Private Internet Access

TorGuard

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

With a name like TorGuard, the software better offer strong protection. The software’s hallmarks lie in its ability to connect to a melange of services for different activities, with four different packages available based on various needs. The VPN service will run you $10 each month, which includes server switching, DPI bypassing, malware blocking, and no activity logs.

Like most VPN services, the program will prevent websites from viewing your personal IP address, thus preventing others from identifying you or your geographic location. From offshore email to unlimited server switching between thousands of servers across the globe, TorGuard offers some pretty impressive scaling. Skilled geeks and professionals alike should take a look at the service, along with the discount bundles that come packaged with hardware.

The TorGuard Windows client was easy to install and made quick work of connecting to a VPN server, including the ability to choose a server location prior to connecting. The internet speed on our test system dropped from our usual 125 Mb/s download to 53 Mb/s, and our upload ran at 17 Mb/s compared to our usual 20 Mb/s. That’s not the best performance in our testing, but all internet services that we tested worked without a hitch, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

  • Cost: $10/month for anonymous VPN; $60 for annual package; $9 for anonymous email/file sharing only; Business plans start at $70
  • Number of servers: 3,000+
  • Number of server locations: 50+ countries
  • Clients supported: Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS (including Apple TV), Android, Wi-Fi Routers
  • Number of simultaneous connections: Up to eight for private users, more for businesses

NordVPN

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

With double, 2048-bit SSL encryption, it’s easy to see that NordVPN values your privacy. But the company has also worked hard to build up its server network to include more than 5,500 server locations in 62 countries around the world. The service also comes with a variety of security tools for encrypted chat and proxy extensions, and you can use up to six devices simultaneously. Like many of the best VPNs, it also supports protocols for split tunneling, which means you can whitelist some activities to bypass the VPN for faster performance.

The theme running throughout this service is personal security. From protected DNS queries to automatic kill switches, NordVPN wants you to know that your information won’t fall into the wrong hands: It’s also one of the most open VPNs about exactly what servers it offers in what countries, and provides 24/7 live chat support for questions. The company has recently improved its platform support, adding in iOS and Android and thus overcoming its one weakness. However, unlike TorGuard, there aren’t really any great business options.

The NordVPN client provided one of the most attractive interfaces, and connecting to a VPN server was straightforward and very quick. We found performance to be somewhat spotty, however, with our fastest connection running at 53 Mb/s down and 26 Mb/s up, compared to 125 Mb/s down and 20 Mb/s with the VPN connection turned off. We did have an issue connecting to Netflix, but Amazon Prime Video ran without issue. Our other internet tests went without a hitch.

  • Cost: $12 per month; $60 for a full year; $90 for two years of service
  • Number of servers: 5,529+
  • Number of server locations: 59
  • Clients supported: Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Wi-Fi Routers
  • Number of simultaneous connections: Up to six

ExpressVPN

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

ExpressVPN’s “#1 Trusted Leader in VPN� claim may be a bit difficult to prove, but the service offers a compelling list of features nonetheless. It also constantly tries to make consistent improvements in speed and simultaneous streaming capabilities, and with support for all major platforms (Windows, MacOS, Android, etc.), you won’t need to worry about compatibility. ExpressVPN shows up on a number of “best VPN� lists, and so its relatively high prices are justified.

The more than 3,000 servers are all well placed throughout common travel destinations and urban centers. Any package will land you unlimited bandwidth and speed, a guaranteed 99.9 percent uptime, and 24-hour customer service. With so many guaranteed features, it’s no wonder this vendor is considered among the best — although note that ExpressVPN only supports up to five simultaneous connections, which is the least of the services on our list.

Setting up ExpressVPN and connecting to a VPN server was easy enough. Performance, when connected to the VPN server, was average at 49 Mb/s down and 16 Mb/s up, compared to our usual speeds of 125 Mb/s down and 20 Mb/s up. Netflix complained about a proxy being in use when we used the automatic configuration option, but it worked fine when we manually selected a local U.S. server. Amazon Prime Video played just fine, and our other internet tests completed without issue.

  • Cost: $8/month when billed annually; $10/month when billed every six months; $13/month when billed monthly
  • Number of servers: 3,000+
  • Number of server locations: 160 locations across 94 countries
  • Clients supported: Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Consoles, Wi-Fi Routers, smart TVs
  • Number of simultaneous connections: Up to five

ProtonVPN

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

ProtonVPN is one of the newest VPN services, and it boasts some star-studded founding members. The company was founded at CERN, the birthplace of the internet, and grew out of the ProtonMAIL service that’s been protecting the email of activists and journalists for years. The service acts as a Swiss company and is thus free from the laws of the U.S. and the European Union. It’s also not a member of the “fourteen eyes surveillance network,� so user traffic isn’t logged and passes through privacy-friendly countries, so you needn’t worry about your true IP address being revealed.

ProtonVPN is a bit pricey, but only the most expensive OpenVPN protocol is used, not the less costly to operate PPTP and L2TP/IPSec protocols. It also offers a free plan that you can use to try out the service, which is limited to three countries, one device, and low speeds, while prices go up from there.

The recent introduction of Linux, iOS, and MacOS clients was a significant enhancement of the service. It’s now available on the full suite of popular operating systems and platforms.

Installing and configuring ProtonVPN’s Windows client was simple enough, and it provided some of the best in-use statistics. The performance was at the lower end of our comparison group at 39 Mb/s down and 18 Mb/s up, compared to our usual 125 Mb/s down and 18 Mb/s up. Netflix was blocked, but Amazon Prime Video and our other test services connected without a hitch.

  • Cost: Free for a limited plan; $4/month when billed annually for the Basic plan (two devices and high speeds, 54 countries); $8/month when billed annually for the Plus plan (five devices and the highest speeds, and access to Secure Core, Secure Streaming and Tor Servers); $24/month when billed annually for the Visionary plan (10 devices, mail account, all other features)
  • Number of servers: Depends on plan (up to 1080)
  • Number of server locations: Depends on plan (up to 54)
  • Clients supported: Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux
  • Number of simultaneous connections: Up to 10 (only one with the free plan)

Editors’ Recommendations






Source link

The post The Best VPN Services for 2021 appeared first on TechFans.

Share