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6 Best VPN Services in 2020

6 Best VPN Services in 2020

By Alex Dulcianu

posted on April 13, 2020

When it comes to VPNs, more often than not it’s simply not enough to have a decent provider, since almost every time you have to settle or make tiny compromises.

However, things shouldn’t be like that. Some VPN service providers are here for the long run and they’re here to stay what with all their military-grade encryption, advanced privacy protection features high-speed servers and their ability to unlock various services for your entertainment.

So we’ve decided to line the best of the best. Crème de la crème.

In the following sections, we’re going to rank each VPN after the abilities mentioned above (and many others, of course), so that you can make the right choice when and if the time comes.

Knowing where to look

Surely, you’ve asked yourself that before, since the market is overflowing with a huge variety of security software solutions, ones that promise to keep your privacy and security safe and sound like the crown’s jewels, but you can agree with me on this: many of them are just not what they seem to be.

However, now that you are aware of this, there’s nothing much you can do, since most of these services are premium ones (meaning that you have to pay before you try them), so you can’t know for sure if they’re 100% honest with you until it’s too late. That is after you pay them. Sure, you can ask for a refund, but most of them are processed really slow and your refund usually arrives after a month or so. That’s not an ideal situation, now, is it?

So that’s where we come into action. We’re analyzing each and every single product for you, carry on in-depth analysis of the providers’ services and let you know what’s what.

What makes a VPN a good VPN?

Or, should I say, what makes a VPN ‘the best VPN’, since this is what you should be aiming at. If you’re fine with average, then you might as well stop reading this article altogether, since there’s a ton of average products on the market as we speak and we’re trying to find out the best possible solution for you. The one that has it all.

So, according to the results of our extensive research, we reached the conclusion that the best VPN should have the following features:

  • Absolutely no logging, which implies that no connection logs, IP addresses, connection timestamps should be recorded and no online activity monitoring and/or logging should be performed on customers;
  • The operating base shouldn’t be in a country that’s a member of the 5, 9, 14 Eyes Alliances for obvious reasons;
  • If the base country isn’t a member of the 5, 9, 14 Eyes Alliance, it must have a relaxed jurisdiction regarding Internet freedom and online privacy – Example: British Virgin Islands (BVI), Gibraltar, Cayman Islands, Romania, San Marino, Seychelles;
  • Uses cutting-edge encryption technology such as protocols, encryption algorithms, and authentication encryption keys;
  • Kill switch – in the event of the VPN connection dropping, your computer won’t be able to reconnect to its default, insecure connection, since all traffic would be blocked if the kill switch is activated;
  • Split Tunneling – useful in case you want to access devices on your network, but connecting to a VPN tunnel renders you unable to do so anymore;
  • IPv6 leak prevention – if you have IPv6 and your VPN client doesn’t feature IPv6 support, it’s very possible that your IPv6 address will leak, which defeats a big part of the VPN’s purpose – to protect your privacy and keep your connection secure;
  • DNS leak protection – even if your VPN doesn’t leak your real IP addresses, DNS requests might slip through its fingers, which means that your ISP will be able to monitor you unhindered;
  • Collects as little information from their customers as possible (e.g. during registration);
  • Supports a wide range of devices and a high number of simultaneous connections;
  • Can unblock various websites and services (e.g. Netflix, Hulu);
  • Supports P2P file sharing;
  • Can obfuscate traffic to avoid VPN traffic detection;
  • Has an extended network of servers that covers as many locations as possible (preferably high server count);
  • Doesn’t leak any data including but not limited to IP, DNS, WebRTC and Flash IP data;
  • Has high-speed servers without slowdowns, throttling or imposing bandwidth limitations;
  • Offers a trial and/or comes with a money-back guarantee;
  • Has a fair price;

I think that our list covers pretty much everything anyone could ever wish for from their VPN service provider. With that in mind, let’s crackdown on the top-five VPN services on our list and see which one of them is the best choice for you?

However, instead of lining the said VPN providers up against a wall to see how many features listed above does each have, we’re going to break these ‘perks’ into five different categories so that you can view the results in a more accessible manner.

The five categories will be listed as follows:

  1. Reliability
  2. Jurisdiction and logging
  3. Flexibility
  4. Unlimited content
  5. Security & Speed

1. Reliability

The reliability factor is way too complex to reduce it to a bunch of words, but we’ll try our best to keep it short, just for the sake of not dropping too much weight on your shoulders.

From protocols, connection stability, kill switch and leak protection, these are the things that make a VPN service provider trustworthy. Aka reliable. So which one of them is the top in this case? Let’s find out.

ExpressVPN NordVPN CyberGhost VPN Surfshark Mullvad VPN Private Internet Access
Protocols OpenVPN, SSTP,
L2TP/IPSec, PPTP
OpenVPN
IKEv2/IPsec
OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec,
PPTP, IPSec
OpenVPN
IKEv2/IPsec
Shadowsocks
OpenVPN
Wireguard
OpenVPN
L2TP/IPsec
PPTP
SOCKS5
WireGuard
Encryption AES-256 AES-256-CBC
AES-256-GCM
AES-256 AES-256-GCM AES-256
public key infrastructure (PKI)
AES-128(GCM)
AES-128(GBC)
AES-128(GCM)
AES-256(GBC)
Server Authentication 4096-bit RSA key
SHA-512 identification
2048bit DH key
SHA2-384
PFS
3072-bit Diffie Hellmann keys
PFS, key change every 60 minutes,
4096-bit RSA key, specific IP range
AES-256-GCM 4096 bit RSA certificates (with SHA512)
4096 bit Diffie-Hellman parameters for key exchange
DHE for perfect forward secrecy
AES-256-GCM (default)
AES-256-CBC
BF-CBC
SHA1
SHA256
RSA-2048, RSA-3072, RSA4096,
ECC-256k1, ECC-256r1, ECC-521 handshakes
Kill switch Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes  Yes
Split Tunneling Yes No Yes Yes No  Yes
IPv6 Leak Prevention Yes Yes Yes No Integrated  Yes
DNS Leak Prevention Yes Yes Yes Yes Integrated  Yes

As you can see, the competition is pretty tight, as all the competitors have massively secured their connections by using military-grade encryption and various other algorithms for authentication such as SHA-512, 4096-bit RSA keys, Diffie Hellmann keys, while some of them even went the distance to locking their networks to only a specific IP range.

2. Jurisdiction and logging

It’s time to get even more serious. We were serious before, it’s true, but now it’s time for policies, jurisdiction, logging, privacy protection, the heavy stuff.

While we all strive to find the most secure VPN service, one that doesn’t promise you complete anonymity then goes ahead and shares your data with the nearest government facility, there are a few things you should also take into consideration, such as not breaking the law, to begin with.

However, lawful or unlawful, privacy should be a fundamental right, which is a concept many fail to grasp. In the following section, we’ll see various VPN providers’ views on privacy, their policies and the jurisdiction of the countries they’ve established their headquarters in.

ExpressVPN NordVPN CyberGhost VPN Surfshark Mullvad VPN Private Internet Access
Location British Virgin Islands (BVI) Panama Bucharest, Romania British Virgin Islands (BVI) Sweden U.S.A.
Jurisdiction BVI laws, self-imposed No laws regarding
mandatory data retention
  • VPN legal
  • Gambling websites somehow restricted
BVI laws, self-imposed
  • VPN legal
  • PirateBay blocked
  • VPN legal
14 Eyes Alliance No No No No Yes Yes
Privacy violation Attempted, no logs found No
  • DMCA, Malware Activity and Police requests
  • Transparency report available
No No No
Logging policy No logging No logging No logging No logging No logging No logging
Collected data
  • Activated apps + versions
  • VPN connection dates
  • VPN server chose
  • Mbs transferred per day
  • Registration data
  • Payment data
  • Server load
  • Customer service
  • Cookies
  • Registration data
  • that you offer
  • voluntarily
  • Email address
  • Encrypted password
  • Basic billing details
  • Account number*
  • Cookies
  • Email address

Since these are the best of the best VPN services on our radar (yet), we were expecting such level of dedication in keeping your data safe by all means possible from these providers, whether it’s setting headquarters in a non-14 Eyes Alliance location or keeping your logs empty so that there’s no sensitive data, to begin with.

I know that some VPNs in the table above have some history with privacy violation attempts since third-parties such as government agencies and law enforcement units demanded that they hand out private information about their customers, but that shouldn’t distress you at all.

The fact that they’ve decided to be open about it and reveal that the demands ended up as being pointless (since no logging data was there, to begin with) is actually a positive thing that should add bonus points to their trust-o-meter.

*Mullvad is the only VPN provider that gave up on conventional means of data collection. When you register your account, they give you a long number, and that’s the only mean of connecting to your account, making it the only piece of information they collect about you.

3. Flexibility

And no, we’re not talking about their ability to bend in crazy ways. Or maybe we do, but not literally. What we’re looking for in this subchapter is the providers’ ability to tend to their customer’s needs. Like what provider’s got you covered if you’re looking for a VPN for your router, or one that can be used for unlimited devices, or a service that’s not only cheap but also comes with a trial or a money-back guarantee. That kind of thing. In addition, we are also interested in whether the VPNs provide support for various operating systems, including Windows, Android, or iOS.

ExpressVPN NordVPN CyberGhost VPN Surfshark Mullvad VPN Private Internet Access
Supported devices Windows, Mac,
Linux, Android,
iOS, Routers, Browsers
Windows, Mac,
Linux, Android,
iOS, Routers, Browsers
Windows, Mac,
Linux, Android,
iOS, Routers, Browsers, TVs
Windows, Mac,
Linux, Android,
iOS, Routers, Browsers, TVs
Windows, Mac,
Linux, Android,
iOS
Windows, Mac,
Linux, Android,
iOS, Browsers
Maximum devices 5 6 7 Unlimited 5 10
Trial No No
(recently removed)
Yes (1 day) No No No
Money-back guarantee 30-day money-back
(full refund)
30-day money-back
(full refund)
45-day money-back
(full refund)
30-day money-back (full refund) 30-day money-back
(full refund)
30-day money-back
(full refund)

The competition remains tight since providers who lack in one department (e.g. supported devices) quickly make it up by offering competitive subscription plans, trials or a greater number of devices you can connect at the same time.

4. Unlimited content

Every VPN service strives to be the most popular provider in the business and how it does that is usually limited by the developers’ imagination and current technology.

In this section we’re going to take a look at the ability of these VPN services to remove the virtual boundaries of various services (such as unblocking Netflix) so that you can enjoy them even though you’re not physically in the countries that they’re available in, as well as whether they are good for torrenting.

ExpressVPN NordVPN CyberGhost VPN Surfshark Mullvad VPN Private Internet Access
Netflix/Hulu Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Social media Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
P2P/Torrenting Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
TOR Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Obfuscation Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Extra features
  • Zero-knowledge DNS
  • TrustedServer technology
  • CyberSec(blocks ads, malware, phishing, other threats)
  • Ad blocker
  • Malware blocker
  • Tracking blocker
  • HTTPS redirect
  • Data compression
  • CleanWeb (ad-blocker, anti-malware)
  • SSH tunneling;
  • Shadowsocks;
  • Stunnel;
  • IPv6 tunneling;
  • Teredo (IPv6 over IPv4) leak protection
  • PIA Mace (blocks ads, malware)
  • SOCKS5 proxy
Server Count 3000+ servers
160 VPN Server locations
94 Countries
5669 servers
58 countries
7123 servers
58 Countries
1040 servers
61 countries
588 servers
58 locations
36 Countries
3320 servers
50 locations
30 countries

As you can see, the competition is still tight, as almost all VPN providers that were listed here grant their customers the ability to unlock Netflix/Hulu and other streaming sites, all of them provide them with access to social media in countries where this is not even a luxury, enable them to engage in P2P/torrenting activities and let them use TOR in conjunction with said VPN service. More so, almost all of them offer obfuscation features, in order to hide VPN traffic, so that their service can be used in countries that ban VPN usage.

The extra features that each VPN came up with are not to be ignored, either. You’d probably shrug it off in a regular day, but certain critical times might make you face the importance of having an integrated ad blocker, or a tracking blocker, or data compression (when you have a bandwidth limit), or separate DNS servers for each VPN server.

5. Security & Speed

Ah, the perfect combo. And it’s no coincidence that we’ve chosen to place them in this order. You see, ideally, a VPN service should be able to provide you with both top-notch security and eye-watering fast servers.

However, if you were to choose, I hope you’d go for the great security and not for the speed. You wanna know why? Well, if you’re not concerned about security, then why use a VPN in the first place, right? Your default connection is probably faster, anyway.

ExpressVPN NordVPN CyberGhost VPN Surfshark Mullvad VPN Private Internet Access
IP Leaks No No No No No No
DNS Leaks No No No No No No
WebRTC Leaks No No No No No No
IPv6 Leaks No No No No No No
Flash IP Leaks No No No No No No
Speed range 78 Mbps
270 Mbps
 3.7 Mbps
230 Mbps
 16 Mbps
310 Mbps
 3.6 Mbps
310 Mbps
 120 Mbps
420 Mbps
 42 Mbps
440 Mbps

As you’d expect, none of the VPN services posted here have any sort of trouble with leaks, whether it’s IP, DNS, WebRTC, IPv6 or Flash IP leaks we’re talking about. However, the real battle was on the speed range field. As you can see, Mullvad VPN leads, closely followed by Private Internet Access, while NordVPN is the slowest one in here.

So…what’s the best VPN?

You’ve seen them all, you’ve seen them at their best and you’ve seen them at their worst, but now a question arises: what’s the best one of them? The supreme champion?

Well, this is not an easy question, since you’ve probably noticed as well that many times, the competition is tight and there isn’t exactly a ‘right’ answer to this question. Why?

Well, since a VPN that lacks speed might make it up with absurdly-airtight security, or one that doesn’t have as many servers as the next one might be unbelievably cheap, that’s why.

However, we’ll try our best to satisfy your curiosity. But first, we’re going to describe each product in our rank and also list its power features. Also, you can use the following links to quickly jump to the desired entry:

  • ExpressVPN
  • NordVPN
  • CyberGhost VPN
  • Surfshark
  • Mullvad
  • Private Internet Access

ExpressVPN: Best all-rounder VPN

ExpressVPN is a VPN service established in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) by the company that developed and supports this service: Express VPN International Ltd. The service has been operational since 2009 (10 years ago).

The BVI is a group of islands in the Caribbean that are self-governing, which means that it has a proprietary set of laws that are elected by citizens, national police and an independent judiciary. These laws were enacted in the BVI, so they’re in no way connected to the UK.

ExpressVPN claims to be logging some of the data that you might generate while making use of their services, but also that the data that they DO log can’t be tied to you (activated apps, dates you connected to the VPN, the server you’ve connected to and the amount of data you transferred per day).

Data that ExpressVPN doesn’t log include IP addresses, browsing the history, traffic metadata and/or destination, data content, DNS queries and connection duration (timestamp).

One of ExpressVPN’s servers was reportedly used to tamper with an investigation, and as a result, it was seized, in an attempt to find out who orchestrated the operation. However, due to the lack of relevant data (no-logging policy), authorities were unable to find what they were looking for.

The ExpressVPN can be used on a wide range of devices, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Blackberry, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Apple TV, routers and even media streamers. It allows you to use it on up to 5 devices at the same time, on the same account.

ExpressVPN’s utility belt includes a 4096-bit RSA key, TLSv1.2, SHA-512 authentication, as well as an AES 256-bit cipher and the protocols they rely on include OpenVPN (both UDP and TCP), PPTP, SSTP, and L2TP/IPsec. Among its extra features, you can find a kill switch, split tunneling, traffic obfuscation, TrustedServer technology (servers run exclusively on RAM, data gets wiped at every reboot) and zero-knowledge DNS.

The application is easy to install and configure and can be run on almost any device, regardless if it’s a high-performance computer or a low-end laptop since it doesn’t hog that many resources when running its processes.

ExpressVPN supports TOR and torrenting and also enables you to unblock several entertainment websites (and not only) such as Netflix and its U.S. version, Hulu, Spotify, and Amazon Video Prime.

The service sports over 3000 servers in 160 server locations in 94 different countries. The security tests revealed that ExpressVPN doesn’t leak any critical information such as IP, DNS, WebRTC or Flash IP data and the speed test results were nothing short of impressive.

ExpressVPN doesn’t come with a trial or a lifetime subscription plan, but they offer you a 30-day money-back guarantee (full refund). Although their subscription plans aren’t exactly cheap (I’m looking at you, monthly subscription plan), the quality of their service is top-notch and if you decide to purchase a larger plan, the discounts are generous. Read Review

Pros:

  • No-log policy, trustworthy company;
  • Both secure and high-speed servers;
  • Large server network;
  • Transparent about attempts at privacy violations;
  • No security issues detected during tests;

Cons:

  • A bit pricey;
Save 49% on ExpressVPN now!

NordVPN: Best VPN for streaming

NordVPN is a VPN service that’s been developed by a company that has the same name (i.e. NordVPN) and has its headquarters in Panama. The project came to life as something on a much smaller scale, when four childhood friends developed the service, shared it among their friends and, encouraged by the feedback they received, continued evolving it into something greater.

Panama has no laws regarding mandatory data retention and, most importantly, isn’t a member of the 5, 9, 14 Eyes Alliances, which means it can’t be coerced into handing out data about their customers to other countries’ government agencies, authorities or the such.

NordVPN has a privacy manifesto on their website where they state their case very clearly, claiming that they’re against online surveillance and they’d do anything to prevent it from happening to their customers. They go even further as to promise that they’ll notify their customers about any little anomaly that might occur, even the occasional glitch or server status update.

This VPN service has never been compromised since its runtime, nor was it targeted by data breaches (that were successful). No bit of user information or private key were disclosed and they were never persuaded into installing backdoors in their systems, nor similar demands have been made to them.

Their website lets you know they never received gag orders, warrants or National Security Letters. They enforce a zero-logging policy, which means they never log user activity.

However, they do collect a bunch of data bits, which includes registration data, payment details, server load information, details collected from the customer service and cookie-related data. However, none of this could be used to tie you to your online activity while you’re connected to the service.

The protocols embraced by NordVPN are OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec, but you can also use L2TP and PPTP if you configure them manually. More so, NordVPN relies on the NGE (Next Generation Encryption) technology in conjunction with the IKEv2/IPsec protocol (the default encryption protocol for macOS and iOS devices).

More so, they offer a kill switch, and the service has integrated IPv6 and DNS leak prevention and comes with CyberSec, a smart way of blocking ads, malware, phishing, and other similar threats.

Data encryption is made through AES-256-GCM, combined with SHA2-384 (used for the integrity of the data) and the 3072-bit Diffie Hellmann keys PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy), making their data containers airtight.

NordVPN can be used on computers, mobile devices, routers and browsers (through extensions). You can use it on a maximum of 6 devices at the same time, from the same account. The service used to have a trial, but they got rid of it as a consequence of customers’ rampant abuse. They have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Our security tests picked nothing wrong with NordVPN, as it didn’t leak IP, DNS, WebRTC and/or Flash IP data while we were making use of its services. NordVPN comes with the outstanding amount of 5669 servers located in 58 different countries.

As we’ve mentioned above, they gave up on their trial, but their prices are pretty much accessible, especially if you’re planning on purchasing a larger, discounted one. Read Review

Pros:

  • No security issues detected during tests;
  • No-log policy, trustworthy company;
  • Wide and varied server network;
  • Great support for a variety of platforms and devices

Cons:

  • High month-to-month subscription costs;
Save 70% on NordVPN now!

CyberGhost VPN: Widest network of servers

CyberGhost VPN is a VPN service was founded in 2011 by a 55-member team in Bucharest, Romania. Now, the team counts 77 members and includes two canine members, although we’re not sure if they’re included in the 77 or not.

Romania’s jurisdiction is generally a relaxed one, meaning that there’s almost no restriction and regulation regarding Internet freedom and available online content. I say ‘almost’ because some websites, such as ones that promote child pornography or gambling sites are blocked, respectively regulated in order to prevent abuse.

CyberGhost VPN has a strict logging policy in which they state that data such as browsing history, data content, search preferences, and traffic destination are not logged, monitored, recorded or stored by the company. Furthermore, no connection logs are stored, which means that CyberGhost doesn’t have logs tied to your session duration, IP address or connection timestamp.

You should know that CyberGhost is very transparent about their handling of data and they are the first ones to publish a transparency report which included requests made to the company regarding various claims (DMCA, police, malware activity).

CyberGhost VPN can be run on various device types, including computers, mobile devices, TVs, routers and browsers. The maximum number of devices that you can run CyberGhost VPN on is 7. CyberGhost offers a 1-day trial and has the longest money-back guarantee, 45 days.

CyberGhost VPN supports OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, PPTP, and IPsec protocols, make use of AES-256 encryption and their server authentication protection relies on the following: PFS, key change every 60 minutes, 4096-bit RSA key and specific IP range.

The extra feature they encompass in their applications includes a kill switch, split tunneling, IPv6 leak protection, DNS leak prevention, an ad blocker, a malware blocker, a tracking blocker, HTTPS redirection, and data compression. Unfortunately, they don’t provide you with obfuscation, so currently there’s no way to use CyberGhost VPN from a country that bans VPN usage such as China.

CyberGhost’s server network comprises 7133 servers in 58 countries. Security tests have shown that CyberGhost VPN doesn’t leak any sensitive data, including but not limited to IP, DNS, Flash IP, and WebRTC, but our speed tests yielded some pretty great results.

CyberGhost VPN enables you to unblock several websites, including Netflix, its U.S. version, Hulu, BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime Video. This VPN service also supports torrenting (P2P file sharing) and can work in conjunction with TOR.

As mentioned above, CyberGhost VPN includes a 1-day trial and a generous money-back guarantee (45 days) and although its monthly subscription plan might be a bit pricey, the larger subscription plans’ discounts are plentiful. Read Review

Pros:

  • No leaks detected during our security tests;
  • 45-day money-back guarantee;
  • One-day trial;
  • Non-expensive subscription plans;
  • Zero-logging policy reinforced by Romanian jurisdiction;

Cons:

  • Doesn’t obfuscate traffic (can’t be used in China);
Save 79% on CyberGhost now!

Surfshark: Best VPN for multiple connections

Surfshark, like ExpressVPN, operates in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), which are self-governing, which means that the laws there are not influenced by any outside factors.

Thanks to this, the country is not part of the 14 Eyes Alliance, which means that their government is not going to share your data with other countries if they request it. That is pretty much exactly what you want from a trustworthy VPN.

Speaking of data, Surfshark offers a strict no-logs policy, so none of your activity is being tracked, monitored, or logged while using the VPN. While this is definitely the case for most of the VPNs on the list, some may include a few special circumstances where the company will collaborate with governmental institutions.

In essence, the only data Surfshark keeps about you is the one you voluntarily hand over while creating an account. This includes your associated email address, as well as some basic billing details if you decide to use a credit card in order to pay.

In terms of supported platforms, Surfshark does not disappoint when it comes to variety, since there’s barely any device you can’t use the app with. Hence, whether you are trying to get a VPN for your Windows machine, your Mac, a smartphone running either Android or iOS, or a router, Surfshark has you covered.

Protocol-wise, Surfshark offers enough options to cover every base, including the standard OpenVPN if you are not looking for anything too fancy. Besides that, you also get IKEv2/IPsec to maximize your security, as well as Shadowsocks to help you access the free Internet from heavily-censored countries like China.

As you can expect, all of your traffic is encrypted while using the VPN, and the algorithm Surfshark uses is the AES-256-GCM. This is one of the most popular and well-researched encryption algorithms out there, which means that you can trust it not to be broken anytime soon.

Even if you are a newbie when it comes to VPNs, Surfshark is a breeze to install and configure, especially since it allows you to automatically connect to the best server available when you start the app. Not only that, but the MultiHop feature is also very easy to use if you want additional privacy, and the settings panels are clear and to the point, making it easy to change things according to your personal tastes.

If you are looking for extras like Tor and torrenting support, Surfshark is very friendly toward both options. There are no restrictions in terms of what you can download and how much, which is thanks to the no-limits bandwidth that comes with every subscription.

In terms of servers, Surfshark is not as big as the other power-players in the industry, but it certainly doesn’t disappoint either. As such, you have access to over 1000 servers in more than 60 countries, which is plenty for any kind of use you have in mind for your VPN.

Lastly, Surfshark’s biggest strength lies in the fact that you are free to connect as many devices as you want, regardless of your subscription tier. This is definitely not something you can get from any of the other VPNs on this list, so keep that in mind when making your choice. Read Review

Pros:

  • Unlimited simultaneous connections
  • Multiple protocols supported, including Shadowsocs
  • A decent server network with good spread around the world
  • No logging issues
  • Company based in BVI, which is not part of the 14 Eyes Alliance
  • Includes a CleanWeb feature that filters ads and protects against malware

Cons:

  • Not as many servers as other VPN providers
Save 83% on Surfshark now!

Mullvad VPN: Fastest VPN

Mullvad VPN is a VPN service provider offered to you by Amagicom AB, the company that developed and currently supports this project. They’re located in Sweden, which, unfortunately, is a member of the Nine Alliance, which in turn means that they could be persuaded at any time to hand over sensitive customer information.

The Privacy Policy on Mullvad VPN’s website claim that they have a no-logging policy in an attempt to curb privacy violations. You’d think that this line has been fed to you so many times before by various VPN providers so naturally, you’d have no reason to believe this marketing gimmick, right? But here’s the deal…

Mullvad VPN is the first (and currently the only) VPN provider that doesn’t collect data from you in the traditional way; what they do instead is generate an account number that you must keep safe at all costs, since that’s the one and only way of gaining access to your account. That’s it. No email address, no password, no address, no nothing.

If you insist on paying with your credit card, bank wire, or PayPal for instance, they will also keep some of the payment data and associate it with your account number. However, you can avoid this situation altogether by simply making an anonymous cash payment; you put some money in an envelope, include your account number, and no one will ever know it’s you.

More so, in the event that their servers will be seized, or that they’ll receive a court order that forces them to hand sensitive user data, they won’t be able to comply, since, reportedly, there’s no data there, to begin with.

They’re also offering you a unique price of €5 per month, no discounts, no volume pricing. However, you can give them any amount you want as long as it’s more than €5, and not a single penny will go to waste. An example that’s currently available on their website lets you learn that €17 will buy 100 days worth of service and that’s another nice thing that they have going on. They also offer you a 30-day money-back guarantee.

They support OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols, and provide you with a lot of security features, including but not limited to DNS leak protection, Teredo (IPv6 over IPv4) leak protection, IPv6 tunneling, as well as IPv6, blocking and leak protection, port forwarding, SSH tunneling, Shadowsocks, and Stunnel through their bridge servers and OpenVPN on a range of custom ports (such as 53/udp (DNS), 80/tcp (HTTP), 443/tcp (HTTPS)).

Their data encryption is made possible through AES-256 encryption and they run their own Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Their OpenVPN servers use “4096 bit RSA certificates (with SHA512) for server authentication, 4096-bit Diffie-Hellman parameters for key exchange and DHE for perfect forward secrecy.”

Mullvad VPN provides you with a kill switch that you can use to block all traffic whenever you disconnect from your VPN but also features various leak protection modules. You can connect up to 5 devices to the same account.

Security-wise, we’ve detected nothing wrong with Mullvad VPN, since it didn’t leak IP, DNS, WebRTC and Flash IP data, and the speed values yielded by our speed tests were the best on our list.

Mullvad VPN offers you 588 servers, in 57 locations, in 36 countries and currently, it’s not able to unlock popular entertainment services such as Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer and the such. On the bright side, it features P2p/torrenting support, can be used in conjunction with TOR and obfuscates your traffic so that you can use their services from countries that are heavily blocking VPN traffic. Read Review

Pros:

  • No-logging policy;
  • Numbered, anonymous accounts;
  • Accepts anonymous cash payments;
  • No security issues detected during tests;

Cons:

  • No live chat support;
  • Not the largest network of servers;
  • Can’t unlock certain services such as Netflix or Hulu;
  • Sweden is a member of 14 Eyes;
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Private Internet Access: Best VPN for torrenting

Private Internet Access is one of the oldest VPNs on the market, as well as one of the biggest and most popular privacy providers out there. In addition, in spite of being around for many years, the service has yet to have any major leaks or scandals, which is always great news when it comes to these types of companies.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest drawbacks (for some) is the fact that the company itself is based in the United States, which is one of the founding members of the 14 Eyes Alliance. While it is not mandatory that PIA will share your data with the government, the fact that they operate in a country like the USA can make some people more apprehensive about their services.

With all that being said, Private Internet Access vows to never keep any logs about your connection, which means that your traffic never leaves any tracks while connected to a PIA server. Hence, the idea is that even if the government might try to force PIA to give them your data, the service doesn’t have anything to give anyway, which is good news – in theory.

The other good news is that you do not have to give Private Internet Access any information while creating an account, given the fact that all you need to log in is a special account number that is automatically generated for you at sign-up.

On top of that, you can also use a wide variety of alternative payment options, which can keep you completely anonymous while making a payment as well. These options include cryptocurrency transfers, which are much harder to track than regular credit cards or PayPal accounts, and we definitely recommend using them if you can.

In terms of protocol support, Private Internet Access is a leading name in the industry for a reason. Thus, you get OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, as well as WireGuard and SOCKS5. This variety also means that you can set up PIA on a variety of devices, including some that may not have native compatibility with the native apps.

Speaking of which, there are hardly any devices out there that Private Internet Access doesn’t support. This includes Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, routers, and even Smart TVs. Hence, there’s definitely an app for every kind of device you might own.

There are also no bandwidth caps either, which means that you can easily download as many torrents as you wish through P2P apps. Tor is also supported by the service, which should help you remain completely anonymous while surfing the Web.

As far as servers are concerned, Private Internet Access is up there with the best of them in terms of server numbers and locations. Hence, you have access to over 3300 servers, 50 locations, and 30 countries. Alas, 30 countries is a bit too few when you consider the rest of the services on our list, but it’s also not bad at all for most purposes.

Lastly, while Private Internet Access does not offer any kind of trial, you do get 10 simultaneous connections with every subscription, which is better than any other VPN on our list, except for Surfshark. Read Review

Pros:

  • Impressive server network and great download speeds
  • Supports up to 10 simultaneous connections
  • Great protocol support
  • No logging, and the auto-generated account number keeps you anonymous as well
  • Supported on a variety of platforms and operating systems

Cons:

  • Headquartered in a 14 Eyes Alliance country (U.S.A.)
Save 71% on Private Internet Access now!

Conclusion

In our opinion, the best all-round VPN service would be ExpressVPN, shortly followed by NordVPN. Our top 6 all-around VPN services are as follows:

  1. ExpressVPN – 4.91;
  2. NordVPN – 4.83;
  3. CyberGhost VPN – 4.28;
  4. Surfshark – 4.28;
  5. Mullvad- 4.27;
  6. Private Internet Access – 4.10;

Filed Under: VPN Tagged With: CyberGhost VPN, ExpressVPN, Eyes Alliances, IP Address, IPv6, kill switch, Mullvad VPN, NordVPN, PIA, Private Internet Access, split-tunneling, Surfshark, VPN

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