The Best VPNs to Protect Yourself Online

A virtual private network (VPN) is like a protective tunnel you can use to pass through a public network, protecting your data from outside eyes. Whether you're worried about hiding your browsing activity from your internet service provider so it doesn't sell your data to advertisers, or you want to stay safe on a public Wi-Fi hot spot to keep nearby digital snoops from capturing your passwords, a VPN can help protect you.

However, while a VPN will keep you safe at your local coffee shop, it comes with a cost. Using a VPN means your VPN provider will know everything about your browsing habits. This makes VPN providers a target for hackers. Be sure you even need one before you read on.

Picking the right VPN service is serious business. Most VPN providers say they keep no logs of their users' activity, but this is rarely verified. You're stuck taking companies at their word. For this reason, we've limited our testing to VPN providers that have been independently audited by security firms and have published the results. We've tested dozens of VPNs; these are the best five we've tried.

To help you sort out when and why you might want a VPN, as well as why you might not, be sure to read through our complete guide to VPNs below. If you're sure you want to use a VPN, here are our top picks among commercial VPN providers.

Updated February 2024: We've added Proton VPN as our top pick for those looking for a free VPN. We've also added some more testing notes and answers to common reader questions.

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After years of testing VPNs for WIRED, Mullvad is the last provider I haven't lost faith in. I know that's not a ringing endorsement, but the world of VPNs is full of shady companies, so trusting any of them is a leap. Mullvad is the only one left.

Part of what I like about Mullvad is its down-to-earth approach that doesn't overhype with its marketing and helps users take additional steps to protect their privacy. For example, the company has an entire page showing you how to disable WebRTC in your web browser. As long as WebRTC is enabled (and it is by default in most browsers), websites can view your actual IP address even when you use a VPN.

Another thing I like is Mullvad's system for accepting cash payments. If you prefer to remain totally anonymous, you can generate a random account number, write that number down on a slip of paper, and mail it, along with cash, to Sweden. In theory, no one will be able to connect you to that account. (The truly paranoid will don a tinfoil hat, wear gloves, print from a public printer, and mail from a remote mailbox.) I have not tested the cash option, but I did recently extend my Mullvad subscription using bitcoin, and it worked without a hitch.

Mullvad offers apps for every major platform, as well as routers. The applications are all open source, and you can check the code yourself on GitHub. The service has been independently audited as well. Advanced users can download configuration files and use them directly with OpenVPN or Wireguard.

In my testing, speeds were very good. I never encountered a situation where I couldn't get a fast connection. Over the years Mullvad remains the VPN I rely on day-to-day.

Proton VPN is part of a suite of privacy tools from Proton, which is most famous for its encrypted email service, ProtonMail. The company is based in Switzerland, which has no data retention laws so Proton VPN can have a no-logs policy. It has been independently audited and maintains a warrant canary page. All the usual features of a good VPN are here, including support for multi-hop connections, a kill switch in the app, split tunneling support, pretty good geo evasion for making Netflix work, and support for torrents. There's also support for ad-blocking, custom DNS, and high-speed streaming.

One thing Proton VPN offers that others do not is a free plan that gets you full access to all the regular plan's features. But it is limited to a single device, and there are only three server locations (Japan, Netherlands, and the US). If your needs are limited and you want to keep costs down, this is a good option.

Proton's pricing structure can be confusing, since you can combine it with other services to lower the rates. For purposes of testing I used a one-year Proton VPN Plus plan that's $6 per month. If you use other Proton services, Proton Unlimited pricing is a better deal ($10 per month gets you access to all five Proton services).

Proton's VPN app is open source and available for macOS, Linux, Windows, Android, and iOS. With the Plus plan, 10 devices can connect simultaneously. Proton VPN uses a mix of IKEv2, OpenVPN, and WireGuard for connections. By default the app chooses for you, but you can select yourself in the settings. I also like the Permanent Kill Switch, which prevents your device from reconnecting to the internet without a VPN even after a reboot.

In my testing over the past few months, speeds on Proton VPN vary considerably by server and time of day. Over all Proton VPN is very fast, dropping my speed by only around 7 to 8 percent versus unprotected speed. I also did not detect any DNS leaks through any of the servers I tried.

Proton VPN costs $5 per month if you buy two years upfront, $6 per month if you buy one year, and $10 per month if you pay monthly.

Surfshark wouldn't be my top pick if my life depended on my VPN, but for most of us that's not the case. If you just want a way to get around some geographical restrictions on content (aka access Netflix) and protect your traffic while using an open Wi-Fi hot spot, Surfshark is a good choice. It's secure, and it provides a great value for the money if you pay for two years up front.

In my testing over the years, Surfshark has consistently had some of the best speeds of any VPN I've used. Yes, it is slower than not using a VPN, but I have never had any problem streaming HD content through Surfshark. It's fast enough that in most cases you won't notice any speed degradation at all.

Surfshark offers a kill switch that automatically stops your traffic if your VPN connection fails, and it supports multihop VPN connects, which means your traffic goes from your machine to a VPN server to another VPN server, and then to the destination server. This provides an extra layer of protection should the VPN itself be compromised, though there is a corresponding speed hit when using a multihop connection. The company also recently added support for manual Wireguard configuration. Most people will be fine sticking with Surfshark's apps, but if you're trying to connect your entire network to Surfshark directly through a router, the manual configuration will be welcome news.