Fines for downloading movies and series (which are often not legally available), the introduction of a draconian 'sleep law' and countless companies eager to know what you're doing online - all are reasons to buy a good VPN. to take. Fortunately, there is plenty of choice: there is a good VPN for every purpose. These are the 15 best vpn services!
What should you pay attention to?
It is not always easy to choose a VPN, but for the average user two things are especially important: price and speed. You would prefer to pay as little as possible for a VPN that is as fast as possible, but there are a few other considerations you can make. The number of servers to choose from, the maximum number of devices you can connect, the encryption used, a possible data limit, and whether apps are available for desktop or mobile. Also important: get a vpn that doesn't log usage data!
1 Private Internet Access
For years, Private Internet Access (PIA) has been a firm favorite among VPN users, mainly due to its dirt-cheap price that few competitors can match. Despite the low price, you hardly have to compromise on anything: speed, servers, ease of use – they are all there. In addition, Private Internet Access is one of the few companies that can demonstrate that it does not log usage data. Not that other VPN services necessarily do that, but PIA proved during a lawsuit with the FBI that it doesn't keep track. One of the best picks for… well, everyone actually!
2 TorGuard
TorGuard has nothing to do with Tor, but has been developed specifically for torrent downloaders. In the meantime, (almost) every VPN is allowed to download via p2p and TorGuard is no longer very unique. Yet it is still one of the most advanced torrent programs with a range of configurations that only the real pros can handle: different SSL protocols, different keys and encryption standards, and many ways to implement. However, the desktop client is quite dated and there are many different, confusing packages for sale. Anyway, if you know what you're doing and want, that's no problem!
3 WindScribe
You should never trust a free vpn, but sometimes there are free trials that are not wrong at all. WindScribe distinguishes itself as a vpn in two ways: a free version with a generous 10 gigabytes that you can use (only on one device and not for bittorrent traffic), and a paid version that you can use on an infinite number of devices at the same time. The price of this vpn is also fine, although we have to say that it certainly does not get the fastest connections on American servers that we would want from a vpn.
4 NordVPN
NordVPN is one of the most expensive VPNs in our overview, but for that you also get the best of the best. Not only is NordVPN particularly extensive in terms of options and servers, the company also puts an extraordinary amount of thought into its security. Where most VPNs only support pptp and l2tp protocols, NordVPN is now rolling out the new (and better) IKEv2. You can also select servers for specific needs, such as servers with extra protection against DDoS attacks or with which you can surf via the Tor protocol. NordVPN has a lifetime subscription available.
5 TunnelBear
TunnelBear, a cheerful program that cheers you up with animated bears that are hidden here and there through the software, proves that VPNs don't have to be boring. Of course we want more than that, but TunnelBear is mainly suitable if you are looking for a VPN that you can quickly turn on or that you can recommend to family members who 'just email from the campsite'. The problem with TunnelBear is that you can't download torrents with it. The Bittorrent protocol is blocked, so if you want to use your vpn for that, you better look further.
6 Freedome
What is striking about Freedome is not so much the service itself, but the price packages. Unlike most VPNs, with Freedome you can only choose one period to purchase the service (twelve months), but the price varies per number of devices. There are packages for three, five or seven devices that you can support with Freedome, so a family package for several family members can quickly become an attractive deal. In addition, the service is excellent, with plenty of servers to choose from and speeds that are almost unaffected. The Freedome Android app is unfortunately misused to force an unnecessary virus scanner on your device.
7 Express VPN
Express VPN differs from other VPNs in one very important part: you can still watch American Netflix with this at the time of writing! Since the streaming service started blocking VPNs last year, you can unfortunately no longer increase the offer by viewing the American catalog, but with Express you can still do that. On the other hand, you pay a lot of money and can only set up a meager three connections at the same time. In addition, there is no free trial available. There are many articles online about how to manually install Express on other devices, such as your smart TV.
8 PureVPN
VPNs may be nice and safe, but they do reduce your internet speed considerably and that is often quite frustrating. Fortunately, many VPN services have taken many measures in recent years to boost that speed, but a slow VPN can still be a source of annoyance. If that's your main problem, Pure VPN is the place to be. This service may not have the largest number of servers, but time and time again it comes out fastest in tests and we also barely noticed that this vpn was running in the background. woosh!
9 Hotspot Shield
In terms of price, Hotspot Shield is slightly above average, but we are happy to pay that for a VPN with these speeds. But what makes Hotspot Shield really interesting is the 'lifetime subscription', with which you can use this VPN for the rest of your life for € 139.99. That is quite a dedication, but think of it like this: if you use the vpn for more than a year and a half, you are already cheaper than if you take out the annual subscription. And if you still don't like it, you can always request your money back within 45 days.
10 ZenMate
A VPN is not only suitable for power users, but also for your less tech-savvy family members. If you have to recommend a VPN that is immediately clear how to use it, then ZenMate is a good option. No nonsense, simple menus and few complicated options. This does mean that anyone who wants to get more out of their VPN than just a fast connection can't do much with ZenMate. Choosing your own security protocol, for example, is not possible, but if you don't need that sort of thing, ZenMate is just the thing for you.
11 Cyber Ghost
Some VPNs don't really stand out in any way, but that doesn't mean they aren't good. CyberGhost is such a service, where you do not get extras or separate functions, but you do get a decent VPN at a good price. Especially if you go for the two-year option, you're in the right place with CyberGhost; it will then be a lot cheaper than many competitors. Combine that with a healthy number of servers in many countries, many different options, a kill switch and autostart... Don't trust it? Then you can read a bio of every employee in the company, including the cleaning lady, at cyberghostvpn.com/team!
12 Mullvad
One weakness of many VPN services is the payment system. You can be as well secured, if you pay for your vpn with a personal credit card and an email address, you can often still be traced. If you are afraid of that, you can go to Mullvad. There you can pay with a whole range of anonymous payment methods such as bitcoin, and you can even send cash to the company by post. You also do not need an email address to create an account. For 5 euros per month you get a VPN service with a good speed (but not the fastest) and a large number of options.
13 SurfEasy
SurfEasy is the VPN service that was acquired in 2015 by Opera, the browser maker that has focused on privacy in recent years. The technology behind SurfEasy is now also used in Opera's free proxy service, but you can also use it as a standalone paid VPN. There are different subscriptions available, where you can use the VPN on one or five devices at the same time and where you can choose a different number of servers. Please note, because only with the most expensive package you can also download torrents.
14 VyprVPN
Vypr is a VPN from the American GoldenFrog and is especially interesting for those who are looking for a lot of different servers. With VyprVPN you can connect to more than 200,000 different IP addresses, spread over more than 700 servers around the world. Besides that, there's not much to mention about VyprVPN, but maybe that's its strength: no hassle, easy to install, no problems with speed and clear apps for desktop and mobile. That's also nice sometimes.
15 Tor
Okay go ahead, we're cheating a little bit with this one, but no vpn list is complete without the (free!) Tor protocol. This was developed by privacy activists and has been seen for years as virtually uncrackable: to this day, investigative services cannot circumvent the encryption. The downside of Tor is that it sends your internet traffic through half a dozen proxies and makes your connection extremely slow, so you'd better look elsewhere for streaming. But if you want to make sure that you really don't suffer from snoopers, there is no better alternative.
