Best VPN 2024: Top 10 Most Reliable VPN Providers

In today’s day and age, safe, anonymous, and secure web browsing has become more than an afterthought. With hundreds of geo-blocks and harsh censorship in certain countries, the only option is to use a Virtual Private Network – or a VPN, as we’ll mainly call it.

A VPN is a tool that lets you change your IP address to another country, thus encrypting your connection. That way, it not only lets you unblock restricted websites but also to stay off the radar of your ISP and the authorities.

In essence, this is the best tool for online security. However, not every provider functions the same, hence, many people make mistakes when choosing the one for their needs.

But, our task in this guide is to give you the 10 best VPN providers in 2024 and give you their pros and cons. We’ll also talk about our criteria for this list and provide a few useful tips that will minimize your chances of making a mistake when choosing a provider for you.

Top 10 Best VPN Providers for 2024

So, before we start this list of the favorite VPN providers, we need to clarify one thing. Namely, all of the VPNs you’ll see below are premium choices, so we’re talking about paid but affordable providers.

Paid providers are much better than free ones given their superiority in terms of overall security and performance. We also have a special article about the best free VPN for 2024, so if you want, make sure you check it out as well.

And now, here’s the list of the best providers we tested and compared for you:

1. NordVPN

NordVPN is undoubtedly one of the greatest VPNs you can get – the greatest, in fact. It manages to perfectly balance price and performance, giving you one of the best experiences for the money. For the start, NordVPN gives you blazing-fast 6,300+ servers in 11+ countries globally.

Sure, these numbers are impressive and so is NordVPN’s focus on privacy and security. Starting with servers and their types, you get Onion Over VPN, P2P, Double VPN, and obfuscated servers in every subscription plan.

While Onion Over VPN servers are great for browsing the dark web safely, Double VPN servers are here for doubling your level of encryption. Much like ExpressVPN, NordVPN works in censored countries thanks to obfuscated servers, while P2P servers are here for torrenting.

As this is one of the best VPNs on the market, other security features are here, too. Apart from a proprietary NordLynx protocol, you’ll enjoy bank-grade encryption, split tunneling, a kill switch, and CyberSec, a reliable ad-blocker.

NordVPN is based in Panama, hence, it has a no-logs policy audited by PwC and Deloitte several times. And, as you might expect, it’s great not only for torrenting but unblocking Netflix and BBC iPlayer as well.

Furthermore, thanks to great speeds, streaming even in 4K will be buttery-smooth on all devices. It has native applications for all popular platforms, and with great router support, you can connect it to any device in your household.

Finally, I will mention its 24/7 support and 10 simultaneous connections, which is more than CyberGhost and ExpressVPN. Plus, NordVPN gives you a 30-day money-back guarantee for all plans, so you can test it out risk-free.

If you don’t mind location-dependent value-added taxes and a bit of complicated app design, NordVPN is going to give you a lot without taking too much money. That’s why it’s at the very top of this list.

Secure Your Connection With the #1 VPN: NordVPN

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2. ExpressVPN

The number 2 provider on the list is ExpressVPN. This VPN boasts more than 3,000 servers in 105 countries, covering most countries you could be interested in. ExpressVPN is, in many cases, the solution that people like the most, and apart from a big server fleet, there are more reasons for that.

This VPN offers rock-solid security, giving you 256-bit AES encryption and features like a kill switch and IP/DNS leak protection. Furthermore, its Lightway VPN protocol grants exceptional performance, making ExpressVPN the fastest VPN you can get and one of the reasons it is our favorite VPN provider for 2024.

Perhaps the best thing about ExpressVPN is the level of privacy. Besides, it’s based in the British Virgin Islands, which is a VERY privacy-friendly jurisdiction. With a certified no-logs policy, ExpressVPN’s logging practices are minimal and transparent.

What about unblocking restricted websites? Well, ExpressVPN works with Netflix US and many other libraries (Japan, the UK, and Canada, to name but three). Moreover, you can use it to unblock BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, and many other streaming platforms.

Important for many users are P2P servers. The entire server fleet is P2P-friendly, making ExpressVPN one of the best VPNs in 2024 for this purpose.

Another reason why it’s the best VPN is its device support. Apart from Windows and macOS computers, this VPN works with any other platform. You can, therefore, install it on iOS and Android phones, Android TV, routers, gaming consoles, and many other devices.

ExpressVPN supports 8 simultaneous connections on a single account as well. On top of that, we also must address its 24/7 round-the-clock support through live chat, which is perhaps the best in the business.

The only “downside” of ExpressVPN is its pricing. However, that shouldn’t be an issue for you, as a reader of this article. That is because you can get its 49% discount and 3 months free for the 1-year plan, along with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

So, not only will you save money but you can also get it back if you don’t like it… which definitely won’t happen. Don’t wait any longer and try one of the best VPNs out there risk-free.

Check Out This Amazing VPN – ExpressVPN

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3. CyberGhost

CyberGhost is yet another of the best VPNs for 2024. This is one of our favorite providers because of its cheap prices and great overall performance. CyberGhost comes with 12,000+ servers in 100 countries, which is more than what ExpressVPN gives you.

On top of that, there’s a myriad of dedicated servers – streaming, torrenting, gaming – you name it! Since this VPN isn’t all about size, we need to take into consideration its security. Needless to say, you’ll get features like military-grade encryption, a reliable kill switch, and IP leak protection.

Also, like any top-quality VPN provider, CyberGhost offers split tunneling and even an ad-blocker for blocking out annoying ads. Indeed, a welcoming addition is WireGuard. This VPN protocol boosts performance additionally, giving you the best possible speeds. Not faster than NordVPN and its NordLynx protocol, though.

Still, CyberGhost’s Romanian jurisdiction does wonders for privacy. That’s why it offers an audited no-logs policy and transparency reports published every 3 months. In terms of streaming, CyberGhost isn’t as great as NordVPN, albeit, it will work with a few Netflix libraries.

But, you’ll definitely like its gaming and torrenting servers that will make these activities safe and anonymous. Being one of the top VPN providers in 2024, CyberGhost won’t disappoint in terms of device support,

It works with a plethora of devices and platforms, supporting 7 simultaneous connections on one subscription. As if this wasn’t enough, you also get 24/7 live chat support in multiple languages, making CyberGhost a versatile, yet affordable choice.

Now that we mentioned it, CyberGhost is the cheapest premium VPN of this caliber. And, if you decide on a plan longer than one month, you’ll get a whopping 45-day money-back guarantee. Sure, CyberGhost isn’t the fastest VPN, it doesn’t work in China, and isn’t as great for streaming as NordVPN.

But, for just over two bucks a month, we think it’s hard to beat CyberGhost at its game and it therefore really deserves to be one of the best-rated VPNs out there. You can read more in our CyberGhost review here.

Enjoy the Cheapest Deal on CyberGhost

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4. Surfshark

Surfshark is a favorite choice for budget-oriented users. If you like CyberGhost, you’ll like that Surfshark is priced more or less the same. However, it gives you 3,200 servers in 100 countries, which is a lot less than its Romanian counterpart.

Still, this Netherlands-based Virtual Private Network has a lot to offer. Namely, it has the highest level of encryption coupled with an automatic kill switch, IP/DNS leak protection, and Whitelister (you can read our article that explains what split tunneling is for more details). Moreover, Surfshark has CleanWeb, which is a great ad-blocker.

WireGuard support aside, this VPN offers a suite of useful cybersecurity features. They include a true incognito mode and an antivirus, for cleaning your PC from malicious apps. As it’s based in the Netherlands, you can expect Surfshark not to store any logs, which is confirmed in its security audit by Cure53 and Deloitte.

Some users are worried about Surfshark’s relocation to the Netherlands but we can assure you it’s nothing to worry about. The provider still adheres to the no-logging policy and it even received an independent no-log audit by Deloitte, which proves our point.

Arguably, this VPN is very easy to use. You can easily choose from MultiHop or normal servers, which you can use for torrenting and streaming. Surprisingly, Surfshark is really good for Netflix and it works with platforms like Disney+, HBO Max, and Hotstar effortlessly.

Moreover, native apps for all popular platforms are present and here, I must mention its highlight. Unlimited simultaneous connections. This means that one subscription covers ALL your devices, without the need to spend more money.

As said, Surfshark is very cheap and its plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. All of them. Even better, this VPN works in China thanks to its NoBorders mode based on the Stealth VPN technology. An IP Rotator is here as well, and it’ll rotate your IP periodically to help you avoid getting tracked by your ISP.

However, I will point out that it’s not the fastest choice on the list. And while its short-term plans are a bit more expensive, its cheap long-term plans make up for it. So, if you ask me, I think that this is easily the best VPN for the price, along with CyberGhost.

Protect All Devices With Surfshark

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5. Private Internet Access (PIA)

Private Internet Access is a very popular option among users on Reddit. If you take a look, people really love it for its humongous server fleet, security, and cheap prices. PIA, as we’ll call it, claims to have almost 30,000 servers in 90+ countries, trumping every other VPN on this best VPN service list.

Not only that, but it is under the same parent company as ExpressVPN and CyberGhost, which further increases its credibility. Needless to say, PIA comes with all sorts of security features. You get 256-bit encryption, an automatic kill switch, OpenVPN, and WireGuard support.

I like its PIA MACE as well, which is a fancy name for an ad-blocker. Furthermore, PIA VPN gives you lots of customization options, making it great even for advanced users. While the company is based in the US, considering its 5 Eyes location, it’s surprisingly secure.

It comes with a clear zero-logging policy, which it never violated, despite its jurisdiction. Much like CyberGhost, which is almost its equivalent, Private Internet Access is P2P-friendly. Even better, it can unblock Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+ with relative ease.

We can say that it’s not faster than NordVPN or ExpressVPN and that can be a problem. Also, PIA’s device support isn’t the greatest when compared to its brethren. But, you’ll be happy with unlimited simultaneous connections and fast 24/7 live chat support.

Private Internet Access is also reasonably easy to use, even on iOS and Android devices. Yet, do note that on macOS, the app is not the most user-friendly, compared to others. And yeah, it doesn’t work in China, much like CyberGhost. However, when you look at its prices, you’ll easily forgive these minor downsides.

After all, PIA is even cheaper than CyberGhost and gives you the ability to pay using crypto. If you want, you can also include a cheap dedicated IP address and get a 30-day money-back guarantee for your purchase.

Therefore, if you thought that all US-based VPNs are bad… well, think again! PIA is a go-to choice for many users and deserves to be among the best VPN providers in 2024. After all, it’s tested by our team of experts who won’t recommend a VPN that isn’t secure and reliable!

Visit Private Internet Access

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6. ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is a choice for many users who want impeccable security and maximum privacy. While a bit pricier option, this VPN won’t skimp on any features. For the start, ProtonVPN is a bit shy of 4,800+ servers in 90+ countries.

These numbers aren’t impressive when compared to PIA or CyberGhost. However, being among the best VPN services on the list, you can expect the strongest encryption, a kill switch, and split tunneling, should you ever want to use it.

Apart from OpenVPN, ProtonVPN uses WireGuard as well, granting stable performance across the board. Albeit, its forte is privacy and that’s because it’s based in Switzerland. And, as some of you know, Swiss privacy laws are among the most stringent in the world.

This means that ProtonVPN will not store any logs, which is indeed proved through its external audit by SEC Consult. Moreover, ProtonVPN packs other features like SecureCore servers i.e. MultiHop, as well as dedicated P2P servers for torrenting.

Admittedly, this is not the best streaming VPN, although it can unblock Netflix US occasionally. But, its software is open-source, which leaves a lot of room for improvement in every sense. Not to mention that its applications are very easy to use, so every feature is within your hand’s reach.

Furthermore, ProtonVPN will give you its Accelerator for boosting the speed, plus an ad-blocker. This will help you block out annoying pop-ups and ads in a split second. On a bad note, its speeds are nothing to write home about and its prices are a bit higher.

I mean, it’s even more expensive than ExpressVPN if you want to get a full server list and all the other features I mentioned. Luckily, a 30-day money-back guarantee is in place and the VPN offers special discounts several times during the year.

Given its level of privacy and security, paying a bit more is a smart decision in this case. That is if you aren’t a passionate streamer and you don’t mind slower speeds and weaker device support. Read our ProtonVPN review for more info about the service.

Visit ProtonVPN

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7. IPVanish

Speaking of US-based providers, we also must mention IPVanish. IPVanish isn’t often a favorite choice of many people but given its overall quality, we think it deserves a place on this list. With 2,400+ servers in 90+ locations, this provider surely won’t reinvent the wheel.

However, it is security and privacy that IPVanish aims for. If you take a look at its application, you’ll see standard security features. They include 256-bit AES encryption, a very reliable kill switch, and IP/DNS leak protection.

Much like every modern provider, IPVanish supports WireGuard, which makes sure that performance is stable all the time. Now, this provider had some privacy issues in the past. Namely, under its previous company, IPVanish actually violated its no-logging policy.

This incident was quickly swept under the rug when J2 Global bought it and since then, no such problem appeared. Nevertheless, this provider is P2P-friendly. Moreover, it occasionally works with Netflix, albeit, it’s all but a dependable solution for streaming.

IPVanish doesn’t have any dedicated servers, though. On the flip side, it’s very easy to use and its device support is surprisingly good. Besides, it supports all major platforms, with the addition of routers, Linux, and Firestick TV.

What’s more, IPVanish gives you unlimited simultaneous connections, much like Surfshark. You also get 24/7 live chat support that responds fast. In terms of pricing, IPVanish is surprisingly cheap, especially because it offers just monthly and annual plans.

A 30-day money-back guarantee is available only for the annual plan, so be careful when getting a refund. Overall, we’re talking about a very good choice with some downsides that shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.

Given its inability to work in censored countries, IPVanish isn’t for users with the highest demands. If you’re an average user and you just need a cheap, dependable provider, IPVanish will scratch your itch.

To learn more, check our IPVanish review.

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8. VyprVPN

VyprVPN is ProtonVPN’s neighbor because of its Swiss jurisdiction. This VPN isn’t known for blazing-fast speeds or thousands upon thousands of servers – and neither is ProtonVPN. In fact, it has around 700+ of them in 70+ locations, which has been the case for years at this point.

What VyprVPN is known for is its external audit. Namely, this is the first VPN to get an external audit on its no-logs policy, by no other than Leviathan Security. Coupled with Swiss privacy laws, you get a Virtual Private Network with rock-solid security and privacy.

Its security features tell exactly the same story. Apart from bank-grade encryption and a kill switch, VyprVPN brings some amazing features to the table. First, you get the Chameleon protocol for bypassing DPI, meaning that it works in censored countries (China).

Then, you get a proprietary VyprDNS. Basically, it gives you much-needed DNS protection, eliminating the possibility of man-in-the-middle security attacks. VyprVPN supports OpenVPN as well and this is somewhat mandatory given OpenVPN’s reliability.

If you’re looking to get VyprVPN for unblocking restricted sites, know that this isn’t the greatest option. I mean, it’s great for torrenting, but you’ll find it hard to unblock Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, or Hulu outside of their respective countries.

The good thing is that this provider is meant for users with a lot of devices. With 30 simultaneous connections, it’s hard not to be at least slightly impressed. Furthermore, its device support is robust, so you get apps even for, mighty I say, obscure platforms.

For example, you can connect it to Anonabox and Blackphone, but also QNAP. Router support is downright impressive, as VyprVPN supports all firmware versions. The main downside is its very expensive pricing which spans over to the one-year plan as well.

Luckily, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee. So, if you don’t like it, you can get a refund and not lose a single cent. Check out our full review of VyprVPN for more information.

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9. Hide.me

Hide.me is one of the best VPNs in 2024 for privacy-oriented users. This provider spent a lot of time on the market, only to drastically improve in the past few years. Even its server fleet is now larger, boasting 2,400 servers in a little over 89 worldwide locations.

As I said, privacy and security are Hide.me’s strengths. Therefore, you’ll be able to enjoy military-grade encryption, a kill switch, and IP/DNS leak protection. Bonus features are here, and Hide.me gives you a solid ad-blocker, WireGuard support, and MultiHop servers.

I especially like Stealth Guard. As you can guess, it’s a feature that uses Stealth technology to help you bypass censorship. What about its privacy policy? Well, as you can guess, it’s a no-logs policy, which is further backed up by amazing Malaysian jurisdiction.

It’s a very privacy-friendly country, with no data-retention laws and excessive surveillance. This allows Hide.me to never store any compromising logs of its users, granting maximum privacy. A few years back, Hide.me was a terrible option for streaming – that’s not the case now.

In fact, it works reliably with a few Netflix catalogs and you can use it to unblock BBC iPlayer and Hulu if you want. Moreover, it’s P2P-friendly, and with great speeds, torrenting will be fast and smooth.

If you subscribe to this provider, you can expect fairly easy-to-use apps as well as amazing device support. Hide.me gives you 10 simultaneous connections on one subscription, too. This is better than what NordVPN or ExpressVPN will give you.

Overall, this provider doesn’t have any noticeable downsides. It’s fast, secure, and great for streaming, which is what every user values. Perhaps, its only downside is pricing, which is a bit more expensive even in long-term plans.

On the other hand, you get a 30-day money-back guarantee and a free subscription plan. Logically, its free plan is just a fraction of the paid one but it’s great that you can at least test it out without paying a dime.

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10. Hotspot Shield

Surprised to see Hotspot Shield on the list of the best VPNs for 2024? We’re not. Hotspot Shield is a subsidiary of Pango, a brand renowned for its ownership of multiple VPN companies, including UltraVPN and Betternet – the latter isn’t great, though.

Don’t get us wrong. This provider is nowhere near the other 9 VPNs but it has some great features we would like to mention. For example, its server fleet of 3,200 servers in more than 70 locations sounds obsolete compared to PIA. But, if you add to that excellent streaming support, things start to change.

There are servers optimized for torrenting, along with split tunneling that routes only specific apps through the VPN, increasing your level of security in these apps. Furthermore, there’s Hydra VPN Protocol support coupled with a reliable DNS Filter and 256-bit encryption.

Even better, Hotspot Shield offers unlimited traffic, plus a kill switch that never fails to do its job properly. What if we told you that Hotspot Shield has a security audit by AV-Test? While this audit doesn’t apply to its no-logs policy, it still won’t store any personal information on its servers.

In our tests, this VPN showed decent, albeit not the best performance. Torrenting is going to be with reasonable speed losses while streaming is buffer-free for the most part. Beware that Hotspot Shield isn’t going to work with Netflix reliably, though, despite the presence of streaming servers.

On a good note, the best thing about it is unlimited 10 connections. This means you can protect 10 devices, and given the VPN’s great compatibility, even routers and Fire TV Stick devices can be covered. This can be handy for streaming on a big screen.

Finally, we need to mention its expensive prices. The VPN costs around $8/mo for the longest, one-year plan and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for both annual and monthly plans, so getting a refund will be easy in case you dislike it – thank God!

Even though Hotspot Shield is not ranking first in this top 10 best VPN listing, it’s still totally worth a try. Curious to learn more? Read our Hotspot Shield review.

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How Did We Choose the Best VPN Providers

Choosing a great Virtual Private Network became increasingly hard, as there are more than 300 of them on the market. Thus, to determine our favorite VPN providers, we had to test all of them, only to come up with the 10 best choices.

Along the way, we used a lot of important criteria that you can see below:

Reputation and Good Image

Whenever you want to buy something, the first thing you do is check the product review online. When choosing the best VPN for your needs, this is extremely important. To be honest, pretty much every VPN claims the same – security and privacy, and, of course, being the best one available.

But does every Virtual Private Network offer the same level of quality? Absolutely NOT. Otherwise, every provider would be good and worth buying, so this list would make no sense.

With dozens of choices on the market, you must recognize great and not-so-great providers. On this list, you won’t find names like PureVPN or Hola VPN, for example. These providers have terrible reputations for their logging practices.

You also don’t see names like HMA VPN – a UK-based VPN with a history of leaking user data to the authorities. VPNs like these are immediately discarded by your team and cannot compete for the title of the #1 VPN in 2024.

However, you will find NordVPN or ExpressVPN which are among the most loved VPNs by users. Their reputations are excellent, as they never violated their no-logs policies or in any way endangered the privacy of their users.

That said, we made sure to immediately discard providers with shady pasts (or present). By doing so, we guarantee that any VPN you choose from the list will be a great solution to keep your online activities away from prying eyes.

Security and Privacy

Reputation and a good image are in direct correlation with security and privacy. You will notice that providers don’t get a bad reputation for not working with Netflix or not including an ad blocker. Instead, they get hated because of weak security and the lack of care for privacy.

The best VPN providers for 2024 need to be the polar opposite – and they are. We made sure to include the providers that fulfill more than the basic criteria in terms of security. Therefore, all choices on the list have military-grade 256-bit AES encryption.

A kill switch is VERY important as well. It basically prevents IP and DNS leaks by shutting down your internet connection in case the VPN connection drops. That way, even if you lose a connection to the VPN server, your privacy won’t be jeopardized.

If we take NordVPN, which is a creme de la creme of the VPN market, we’ll see exactly that. However, this VPN takes things to another level by introducing cutting-edge RAM-based servers for the highest level of privacy.

With this technology, NordVPN can store information on RAM servers, so every time the server restarts, all information is lost. Thanks to this way of functioning, no one can get their hands on the information that NordVPN stores – because there’s nothing to see!

Privacy Policy (No-Logs Policy)

Now that we touched on it, I think that a no-logs policy deserves its own paragraph. Our favorite VPN providers MUST have a no-logs policy in place. The whole purpose of using a Virtual Private Network is to preserve your privacy and enjoy online security.

Thus, if a VPN provider stores too many logs, it immediately fails the test and is deemed untrustworthy by our team. What do we mean by logs? You may ask.

Well, to be perfectly clear, there’s no such thing as a 100% no-log VPN. Some information must be stored for the service to work properly, and this usually includes billing information, the email address of your account, and a few other tidbits. All this information is not considered dangerous and won’t infringe on your privacy.

Information that includes your browsing history, IP address, timestamps, DNS requests, geolocation, device information, browser type, ISP, and other similar information is very dangerous and can be traced back to you.

Luckily, our top 10 VPN services for 2024 won’t store any such information and most of them are based in privacy-friendly jurisdictions. This is yet another important factor, as the jurisdiction dictates how a VPN will handle your information.

VPNs based in the British Virgin Islands, Romania, Bulgaria, Panama, Malaysia, and Switzerland are considered privacy-friendly. On the contrary, VPNs based in the 5/9/14 Eyes countries are not privacy-friendly and are known for excessive government surveillance.

Some of these countries include the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, and a few others. Beware that some US providers are extremely safe, like PIA VPN, so it’s important to evaluate each VPN’s privacy policy and read it carefully.

Determining a VPN’s safety solely on the jurisdiction is wrong. However, the jurisdiction might be an indicator of how your personal information will be treated and the credibility of a no-logs policy.

For example, HideMyAss, a UK provider, violated its privacy policy. IPVanish from the US did the same, and there are a few more examples. On the flip side, NordVPN and ExpressVPN never had any similar scandals – and probably never will.

Performance

If you hate slow internet speeds, you’re not the only one. And, because of strong encryption and other security features, VPNs do tend to decrease your connection speed. Those who say otherwise are lying to you.

Logically, the speed decrease depends on the VPN. If a VPN is fast, your speed reduction will be barely noticeable. Moreover, your distance to the VPN server has a huge impact on the performance you’ll get.

If you’re from Germany and you connect to a server in Australia, your performance will decrease. And if you connect to the server in your country or a country next to you, the performance will most likely stay untouched.

The fastest VPN you can get is undoubtedly NordVPN. It provides the most stable performance, so losing a connection to the server is almost never going to happen. That is one of the reasons why it’s #1 on the list of the top VPN providers for 2024.

Visit NordVPN

Generally speaking, speed and stability are the two main factors when determining performance. You want not only stable connections but also great upload/download speeds and low ping. The latter is especially important when trying to play games online.

If these parameters are great, you can enjoy 4K streaming, lag-free gaming, and blazing-fast torrenting. Although we recommend NordVPN for the best performance, its cheaper alternative, CyberGhost, is also going to satisfy your needs.

Unblocking Websites (Streaming)

A Virtual Private Network service lets you change your IP address to another country, which lets you unblock geo-restricted websites. Usually, we’re talking about streaming websites and platforms, but really, this applies to ANY website that is geo-restricted (bookmakers, TV channels, etc).

Just for your information, a geo-restricted website is available only in certain regions. Therefore, it’s restricted based on your geographical location, hence this term applies.

A typical example of a geo-blocked website would be Netflix. Sure, it’s available pretty much everywhere but its catalogs are different in each country. In that case, some movies and shows will be available only in particular countries and you won’t be able to access them.

You will then use a VPN to unblock them, but not every VPN will work. The best VPN for this purpose is NordVPN, although Surfshark and ExpressVPN work well too. CyberGhost, as an affordable provider, also represents a great solution because it offers dedicated streaming servers.

All of them will let you unblock Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Prime Video, Sky TV, and many more platforms. If you’re curious, we have a guide that explains how to use Netflix with a VPN.

Bypassing Censorship

Speaking of unblocking restricted sites, we need to briefly mention bypassing censorship. Countries known for heavy internet censorship include China, Russia, and the UAE to some extent.

Sadly, these countries also block many VPN providers, so the vast majority of them won’t work – especially in China! China has a so-called Great Firewall that effectively blocks more than 90% of providers and very few of them will reliably work there.

In this country, even basic platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram are blocked, and the only way to access them is with the help of a VPN. The best VPN services in China and other censored countries include NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark.

So, if you ever find yourself in a censored country, you want to make sure that you have the right tools to overcome excessive censorship.

P2P/Torrenting-Friendliness

If you often use torrent sites like The Pirate Bay, YTS, or 1337x, you absolutely need a great VPN for torrenting. The best VPN services in 2024 will give you unlimited P2P file-sharing, providing unlimited bandwidth, great speeds, and rock-solid security.

Without these factors, a Virtual Private Network can’t be considered safe for torrenting. NordVPN is, therefore, a great P2P VPN, followed by ExpressVPN and its fast and numerous P2P servers.

Servers and Server Locations

The number of servers and server locations plays an important role when choosing a great VPN provider. For that reason, you want to have as many servers in as many countries (locations) as possible.

Having a big server network will usually improve performance. If a server network is small, it tends to be overcrowded. As a result, the network is under serious load, which results in worse performance and connection stability.

Conversely, a large server network akin to the one in CyberGhost, PIA, and NordVPN will provide a much more stable connection and better speeds. Even if many users are connected simultaneously, the network will rarely, if ever be overcrowded.

Visit CyberGhost

As said, you also need to have many server locations at your disposal. Servers in the US, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the UK are important for unblocking Netflix libraries and popular streaming platforms.

However, we also value servers in less popular locations like Africa and some censored countries like Russia, China, Turkey, and Iran. Simply put, having more countries means that it’s highly likely that you’ll find a VPN server close to you.

And, as you can guess, connecting to that server will yield the best possible performance, stability, and speed.

Ease of Use

When talking about the top VPNs on the market, feature-richness always comes to mind. Not many people address the ease of use, which is crucial for many people. Let’s admit it – not all of us are tech-savvy and some of us barely know how to install a PC application.

With that in mind, we intentionally avoided VPNs that are complicated to use. We want a simple, plug-and-play workflow that allows you to open the app, choose the server location, and connect to it in less than 5 or 10 seconds.

NordVPN is a good example of that but VPNs like Surfshark, CyberGhost, and ExpressVPN allow for one-click connections. Not only that but their apps look beautiful and welcoming, and finding each feature is easy through the Settings menu.

Number of Simultaneous Connections

When subscribing to the best VPN provider, you want to get the most out of your money. And sometimes, that means having the most simultaneous connections per subscription.

Six is considered an industry standard and NordVPN lets you protect 6 devices simultaneously. However, we have Surfshark, PIA, and IPVanish which now give you unlimited simultaneous connections, which is undoubtedly better.

If you have a lot of devices and you want to protect them all, your choice must depend mainly on this factor. However, by connecting a VPN to your router, you can protect all devices in your household if you have enough technical knowledge.

NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and CyberGhost all offer amazing router support and easy-to-follow instructions for this device.

Customer Support

The best VPN providers in 2024 must have reliable customer support. It’s a staple and the backbone of every quality service. For that reason, we made sure that each VPN has at least 24/7 support available primarily through live chat, and then email.

You’ll find the fastest support team in NordVPN and ExpressVPN. They’re both available through live chat and email, while another option, CyberGhost gives you multi-language support.

Sometimes, you can also find phone support. Although, this commodity is usually available in VPNs that come from big companies like Avast, BitDefender, and Kaspersky.

Free VPNs also provide poor support that’s available through email and is very slow to respond. However, our favorite VPN providers are the polar opposite, and apart from helpful support, they offer comprehensive knowledge bases for self-help.

Pricing

Finally, we wanted to include pricing as an important factor for the best VPN in 2024.

You’ll agree that some VPNs on the list are more expensive than others. While ExpressVPN and VyprVPN are more expensive, NordVPN, CyberGhost, Surfshark, and PIA represent the best cheap VPN providers on the list.

We made sure that, despite pricing differences, ALL providers are in what we call “the realm of affordability.” Moreover, pretty much every provider on the list includes some special discounts and some free months on top of their standard subscriptions.

With NordVPN, you can get a 60+ percent discount and some free months for the 2-year plan. In CyberGhost, you get 3 months free for the 2-year plan, and so forth.

One is sure and that is the fact that none of these VPNs are very expensive. In the end, we covered all pricing segments, so according to your budget, it’s up to you to decide which one will fit the bill.

Conclusion

In the end, it’s up to you, as a user, to pick the best VPN for your needs. I know – this answer is kind of cliche, but the VPN you’re going to choose will depend on your needs and financial possibilities.

If you need the absolute best VPN provider, NordVPN is the top recommendation. If you don’t mind paying more, ExpressVPN is also a solid option. CyberGhost and Surfshark are also our favorite VPNs because of their affordability and flexible pricing, which many appreciate.

Visit NordVPN

Based on everything we said, as well as the parameters we used, I think you already know in which direction you want to go. One is sure, and that’s the fact that every VPN on this list IS safe and secure.

So, if your needs revolve around security and privacy, you already have many solutions. And if you want much more than that… well, don’t look further than the first four choices on the list.

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FAQ

To wrap up our list of the top 10 best VPN providers for 2024, we need to answer a few frequently asked questions.

⚖️ Is a VPN legal?

This is a common question that many people ask and the answer is YES – it IS legal!

In some countries like the UAE, Turkey, Russia, and China, using a VPN is somewhat frowned upon because it disrupts online censorship imposed by the authorities. However, even in this so-called grey area, no one will ever arrest you for using a Virtual Private Network.

⏩ What is the fastest VPN on the list?

If you’re looking for a VPN with solid performance, you might want to check out NordVPN. NordVPN is currently the fastest provider on this list, offering exceptional speeds and connection stability thanks to NordLynx- an in-house protocol.

NordVPN offers 10 Gbps speeds on paper, but in reality, it’s capable of delivering much more. ExpressVPN is also very fast thanks to Lightway support and CyberGhost’s WireGuard protocol comes with excellent speeds on pretty much every server.

All in all, the fastest VPNs on this list include NordVPN,  ExpressVPN, and CyberGhost – quite logical because they’re also our favorite VPNs for 2024.

🛡️ Are VPNs safe to use?

Yes, they are indeed safe to use but only the quality ones. Usually, we talk about paid VPNs that have enough resources to provide substantial performance and security (NordVPN,  ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, …).

Free VPNs don’t have enough resources so they resort to different tactics to earn money. They’ll, more often than not, collect and sell your personal information to third parties, which violates your privacy and ruins the purpose of using this service.

Therefore, if you want guaranteed safety, you should pick some of the best VPN providers in 2024 from the list we presented.

🆚 Free vs paid VPN – which one is better?

What do you think? If you answered “PAID”, you’re definitely right.

As said, free VPNs don’t have the same resources as paid VPNs, meaning that they’re instantly at a disadvantage. With not much money, they can’t have many servers, great speeds, rock-solid security, and great customer support.

The only way to earn money for them is to implement annoying ads and/or sell your personal information. Furthermore, they often give you limited monthly bandwidth, so enjoying the internet with them will be very limited.

Premium providers are a completely different story. If you’ve paid attention to the list of the top 10 VPN services above, you’ll easily figure out that free providers offer just a fraction of the features we mentioned – and that’s me being generous.

📱 Can I use a VPN on my Android/iOS phone?

Yes, of course. Every provider on the list is mobile-friendly and works exactly the same on mobile devices. You can also install any of them on your tablet and laptop without any issues. To make the right choice, feel free to check out our comparison of VPN services on Android and our list of the best iOS-compatible VPNs.

🧰 Is a VPN easy to install and use?

It usually is. Once you get a subscription, you’re transferred to the download page where you can download the installation file for your device.

The installation process is simple and involves clicking on “Next” a few times. On smartphones, all VPN apps are available in the Apple/Google Store. Upon installation, you need to sign in through the app by using the same credentials you used when subscribing. And that’s pretty much the process for 99.99% of the VPNs.

As for the ease of use, it all depends. VPNs like TorGuard and ibVPN are more advanced and they’re harder to use due to different parameters that you can tweak. NordVPN and ExpressVPN, for example, simplify this process drastically.

Generally speaking, a vast majority of providers are easy to use, even for persons with almost zero technical knowledge.

🤑 Are VPNs expensive? How much does a VPN cost?

As you can see in our list of the top 10 VPNs for 2024, all providers are priced rather similarly, with a few exceptions here and there. Of course, some are pricier than others but generally speaking, every VPN costs a few dollars a month.

If you go for a long-term plan, which we recommend, you’ll pay the price upfront and be able to save quite a lot of money. Take NordVPN as an example – this provider will cost you around $12 a month but if you go for the two-year plan, you get a special discount.

As a result, the price drops to under $3.5 a month and you get 24 months to use this best VPN. The same can be said about ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Surfshark, and all other providers that give special discounts on long-term plans.

If you’re asking how much will a VPN cost you, let’s just say it’s anywhere between $2 and $7 a month (the cheapest price) but that can vary depending on the subscription plan you’ve chosen. Either way, VPNs are affordable and even if you’re on a budget, there are great options for you.