10 Best VPN Services in the World

When it comes to surfing the web, everyone occasionally faces the need to protect personal identity, securely share sensitive information or access content that’s restricted by geo location. It doesn’t actually matter whether you use your home network or connect to public Wi-Fi – at the point you decide to encrypt the data, you won’t go without a trusted VPN.

As an online marketing expert with a solid background, I’m sure that using a quality VPN service is a must for everyone involved in regular web browsing. What’s interesting, many top providers now include extra layers of security, built-in anti-malware protection, blazing-fast speeds and other advanced features that go beyond simple anonymity. These are only a few reasons to go for a trusted VPN that will cover all your web browsing needs.

With over 2,000 VPN providers competing in the market, choosing the right one can feel quite challenging. That’s where I come in. I’ve spent over 10,000 hours rigorously testing and comparing the most interesting brands to provide an optimal solution for you. Below, you’ll find my carefully curated list of the top 10 VPN services that truly stand out in today’s industry.

NordVPN

The most consistent service is NordVPN, with over 7400 servers across 118 countries. What makes this solution the #1 choice for millions of users is its full-power VPN functions combined with advanced security features.

Pros

NordVPN has a long list of vital advantages:

• 6 devices for one account.
• No logs policy.
• WireGuard protocol supported.
• An excellent price/value ratio.
• Built-in malware & ad blockers.
• Impressive speed regardless of distance.
• An extended package of security and better-performance features.
• VPN for routers.
• A dedicated IP address.
• No IP/DNS leaks detected.
• US Netflix unblocked.

Add to this quality support available around the clock. The NordVPN team is ready to help you with any difficulty competently and fast.

Key Security Features

Not only 256-bit data encryption and abundant blockers to malicious sites and agents serve to ensure the highest level of security from NordVPN. The service includes several next-generation features like Multihop (the double VPN feature), diskless servers, Killswitch, malware scans for downloads, leak alerts, a cross-platform password manager, and many others.

NordVPN is Panama-based. Unlike the 5-Eyes Alliance, the country has privacy-oriented legislation. So, the service does not collect personal web activity logs.

Cost

The service offers three plans available for a month, one-year, and two-year subscription. While the cheapest monthly subscription is $12.99, a one-year offer will cost you $4.99 a month. Ready to deal with NordVPN during the next two years? Your monthly payment will be $3.39.

Express VPN

The main competitor to NordVPN that can compare with it in the scale is Express VPN. It offers a much lower number of servers (over 3,000) but covers 105+ countries. The service is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, a jurisdiction with privacy-friendly legislation.

Pros

Dealing with Express VPN is beneficial in many respects, but the key benefits are as follows:

• High speed for all locations.
• 256-bit encryption.
• No logs are collected.
• RAM-based, diskless servers.
• Lightway protocol.
• An app for routers.
• a Location Picker.

Express VPN is an excellent tool to unlock various Netflix locations, HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, etc. It offers an app for Fire TV, as well as Smart DNS tools for game consoles.

Key Security Features

Express VPN offers its own Lightway VPN protocol, with encrypted DNS for every server. Its advanced security tools include Kill Switch, a Password generator, Leak Test tools for DNS and Web RTC, and more.

Cost

A standard monthly subscription to Express VPN is $12.95. If you’re ready to order a yearly subscription, one month will cost you $6.67, and you’ll get three months for free. Plan to use the VPN for a long time? Then go ahead to opt for the 2-year plan. Its cost currently constitutes $4.99 per month plus you will get 4 months for free. Whatever option you go for, you will have the opportunity to test the selected subscription for 7 days at no cost. You can make the payment upon the end of the trial period.

Strong VPN

A small company from California, Strong VPN, offers a simple but reliable VPN that will hide your identity, unblock streaming and torrenting services for you and many more. The company offers 950+ servers in over 30 countries.

Pros

Let’s view the key advantages of Strong VPN:

• Apps for all OS.
• Proxy extensions.
• WireGuard protocol.
• 12 devices/account.

Strong VPN doesn’t offer mind-blowing speed or complex sets of features, but this is an easy-to-use VPN with enough functionality for personal use.

Key Security Features

Strong VPN allows users to choose between several protocols (WireGuard, IKEv2, and IPSec.) It employs 256-bit encryption and provides an automatic Kill Switch to all servers. Advanced security tools include Strong DNS, DNS Leak Test, and Strong VPN IP. The Split Tunneling feature works only on Android devices.

Cost

There are two subscription models at Strong VPN, for a month and for a year. Their prices are $11.99 and $3.97 a month, respectively. The company doesn’t offer either a free trial or a free version.

Proton VPN

One more top-class VPN service is Proton VPN. It was launched in Switzerland, and its initial goal was to let journalists bypass any sort of censorship. Now, the VPN belongs to the top popular services thanks to its excellent speed and a massive number of useful security features.

Pros

Proton VPN provides these features to its customers:

• About 3,000 bare-metal-only servers in 65+ countries.
• A Free version.
• No logs.
• VPN Accelerator to raise speed by up to 400%.
• 10 devices per account.
• WireGuard protocol supported.
• Loads of security tools.

Proton VPN apps are regularly audited by independent companies. The service always shares the results openly, so the platform is one of the most transparent VPN companies in the world.

Key Security Features

Proton VPN offers a number of advanced security toolkits. An example is NetShield, which incorporates various anti-malware instruments, ad blockers, etc. Pay also attention to the service’s Forward Secrecy feature ensuring a new encryption key for every new session.

The VPN employs AES-256 and ChaCha20 encryption methods. It offers WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols. Other features include Secure Core, Double Hop, Tor Over VPN, Kill Switch, and more.

Cost

It’s enough to sign up to get a free version of Proton VPN. A one-month subscription to the prepaid plan is €9.99. Twelve months will cost you €4.99/mo. Twenty-four months are €4.49/mo.

Tunnel Bear

An easy-to-use VPN with a funny interface is TunnelBear. However, take its functional possibilities and security tools seriously. The VPN service is an advanced platform with over 3,000 speedy servers in 45+ countries.

Pros

TunnelBear’s strong points are as follows:

• A free plan.
• Affordable prepaid plans.
• No logs.
• Unlimited devices per account.
• WireGuard included.
• Reliable security features.
• Regular audits run by independent companies.

TunnelBear is fun to use. The VPN offers quality customer support.

Key Security Features

The service employs the advanced encryption method of AES-256. The choice of protocols includes OpenVPN, WireGuard, IPSec, and IKEv2. There are such tools as VigilantBear (a sort of an extended Kill Switch), GhostBear (the obfuscation feature), SplitBear (that is, the Split Tunneling feature), and many others.

Cost

Besides a free version, TunnelBear has two prepaid plans. The Unlimited plan is available for $3.33/mo, while the Teams package will cost you $5.75/mo. Both prepaid plans cover a huge number of tools and support unlimited devices.

Hotspot Shield

An excellent choice for torrenting and streaming is Hotspot Shield. The VPN service has a free version and allows for truly fast connections. Its only drawback is that it’s US-based, which means logs are kept, and you cannot expect complete privacy of your web activities.

Pros

Consider the following strengths of the Hotspot Shield VPN.

• Ultra-speedy servers (over 3,200 in 125+ locations).
• A free version.
• Good security features.
• 45-day money back.
• 5 devices per account.

Hotspot Shield is a good tool to unlock websites in “tough” areas like China. Be sure your VPN server will work there truly fast.

Key Security Features

Since speed is the key priority of Hotspot Shield, it employs less powerful AES-128-CBC encryption instead of the most advanced AES-256 cipher. Yet, the former is also seen as secure and unbreakable. The service offers a secure Hydra VPN protocol, Kill Switch, and other features.

Cost

Hotspot Shield is available in a free version. The prepaid plan has two variants dispensing on the subscription duration. If opting for month-to-month billing, you’ll have to pay $9.99 a month. The one-year subscription will cost you $6.66 a month. The system offers a money-back guarantee that lasts for 45 days since the moment of registration.

FastVPN

Looking for a secure and affordable VPN? Then don’t pass by FastVPN – a reliable choice for secure web browsing, streaming, torrenting and other related needs. The software allows protecting your devices from all kinds of online threats, letting you securely access web apps, websites, gaming sites and streaming platforms.

Pros

The list of FastVPN advantages that make it stand out from the crowd includes:

• Secure shopping both at home and on public Wi-Fi;
• High-speed servers (over 1,000 in 50+ locations);
• Opportunity to hide your IP address;
• No-logs VPN guarantee;
• 30-day money-back guarantee;
• Unlimited devices per account.

FastVPN generally features high efficiency, when it comes to bypassing geo-restrictions, being a handy tool for accessing content in restricted locations and streaming services.

Key Security Features

FastVPN uses AES-256 encryption, which is the custom industry standard for security and privacy. The service also grants access to the Kill Switch feature, which does not allow for data leaks in case your VPN connection disappears for some reason. In addition, FastVPN supports OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols. As a result, you get a stable and safe connection with no breaks.

Cost

Currently, FastVPN offers two types of premium subscriptions. These are: monthly and annual plans. If you wish to test the system before deciding on its further use, you can go for a monthly plan at $0.99/mo (the renewal prices will increase to $7.88/mo). The annual plan, correspondingly, starts at $1/mo. The price for the whole year will constitute $12 (the renewal price will increase to $34.56). The service additionally offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, letting users test it risk-free.

UrbanVPN

Meet UrbanVPN the service that positions itself as the only “100% free, 100% fast and 100% anonymous VPN in the world”. The software stands out due to its peer-to-peer (P2P) network system. As opposed to many traditional VPNs, it relies on a decentralized approach, thus being a unique option for users looking for free and unlimited VPN access.

Pros

With UrbanVPN, you can access the following features:

• Servers in over 80 locations worldwide;
• Blazing VPN speeds;
• No registration required;
• Free tools like Random Password Generator, WebRTC Leak, IP location and Chrome Proxy Settings;
• Supports all major platforms, including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS;
• Allows P2P connections for sports streaming, gaming and torrenting.

Key Security Features

As mentioned above, UrbanVPN uses a peer-to-peer model, letting you share bandwidth with others. This allows bypassing geo-restrictions, offering in addition basic security tools like an ad blocker and anti-malware protection. At the same time, UrbanVPN lacks a few features that have a notable impact upon your online security. These include Kill Switch, Secure Core, Tor Over VPN etc.

Cost

UrbanVPN presents itself as a completely free service. And it really is! You won’t encounter any premium plans or hidden costs here. On the one hand, this is an advantage in itself, but, on the other hand, the software presents potential security-related risks associated with unclear data handling policies and reliance on a P2P network, for example.

Windscribe

Windscribe is a top destination for users looking for a reliable tool to encrypt web browsing activity, block ads and unblock entertainment content. Known for its advanced security features and generous free-tier data allowance, the system also grants access to other must-have features. Let’s review them below.

Pros

Among the undeniable strong points of Windscribe VPN, it makes sense to mention:

• No identifying logs;
• Team accounts with centralized billing and management;
• Blocking of LAN traffic;
• Proxy settings and gateway;
• Free version with a 10GB monthly data limit;
• Supports Netflix and streaming services;
• Allows for unlimited simultaneous connections.

Windscribe actually has more notable advantages yet there are also a few concerns about it. The major one is related to the number of countries where the company servers are located. It is less than that offered by other systems.

Key Security Features

Windscribe prioritizes user security with AES-256 encryption, a strict no-logs policy and support for multiple protocols, including OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard. It also includes a built-in ad blocker, split DNS, firewall, a customizable server-side ad-blocker ROBERT and a “Stealth Mode” used to bypass censorship in restrictive regions.

Cost

Windscribe offers three types of plans to come up to various needs. Premium subscriptions start at $9.00 per month for a monthly plan, while an annual plan costs $5.75 per month. Additionally, there is a unique option letting users customize their plans by paying $1 per location per month, making the VPN a flexible solution for diverse user needs.

Touch VPN

Last but not least on my list is Touch VPN – the VPN service that keeps your phone, tablet and desktop secure and private whatever connection you use. Just like UrbanVPN, the service is completely free, being an attractive solution for users who are pressed for budget or just do not have the intention to invest in a paid VPN. At the same time, the software is associated with a few drawbacks like slow speeds and limited security features.

Pros

If you decide to use TouchVPN, consider its major advantages:

• Grants access to any website is any country;
• Completely free to use;
• Protects the data from hackers;
• Extensive server network (over 5900 servers in 90+ countries);
• Available on multiple platforms.

Combining functionality, affordability and reliability, TouchVPN wins popularity of users worldwide.

Key Security Features

Unlike premium VPNs that generally use reliable AES-256 encryption, TouchVPN applies somewhat weaker encryption protocols, which may pose a threat to your online security. Likewise, there is no Kill Switch and other advanced security features like multi-hop connections or custom protocols here. Thusm, TouchVPN cannot be considered a completely safe service.

Cost

TouchVPN is completely free, being quite a good solution for users who occasionally use VPN without a subscription. This is enough to cover baseline web browsing security needs yet if you expect to avail advanced security features, it makes sense to look for a better alternative.

Conclusion

Based on my personal experience, each of the above-mentioned VPN platforms offers excellent services, and it’s up to every user to pick their favorite among them. If you need the overall best VPN, however, I recommend using NordVPN. Surely, you might be looking for a cheaper, faster, easier or even funnier alternative to it. You can find them in my review, too. However, no matter which product you opt for in the end, you’ll deal with one of the top secure and high-quality VPN services in the world.