VPN testing – the latest results from our team of experts

3 hours ago

0 58 11 minutes read

VPN testing – the latest results from our team of experts

Hundreds of hours spent testing the biggest and best virtual private networks (VPNs) have all boiled down to this: the latest VPN rankings in 2024. Our experts regularly pick apart mobile and desktop apps to test out speed connections, features, security, overall performances, and, most importantly, their value for money. All this work is to suggest just the best VPN services on the market today.

The previous round of testing saw NordVPN stealing the crown as a top recommendation from ExpressVPN. While the latter remains a reliable and secure VPN choice, we thought NordVPN offers more value for money thanks to its ever-growing mass of features, reliable content unblocking, and customizable pricing which means you only need to pay for what you want to use.

This time, ExpressVPN lost another ranking position as Surfshark jumped from third to second. Other changes in rankings include Proton VPN replacing Private Internet Access (PIA) at number four.

Read on to find out more about the reasons behind these changes, and how each VPN compares in our rigorous testing.

The 5 best VPNs in 2024

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NordVPN test results:
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Design	Apps have a novelty that provides a more visually entertaining user experience	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	Good for new users, but more work is needed to make it easier to set up advanced configurations	⭐⭐⭐
Performance	One of the fastest VPNs on the market, maxing out my testing line	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Unblocking	Unblocked everything we threw at it, every time we tried	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Security and privacy	A privacy-first approach that’s supported with clear investment in improving the security of its apps	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Customer support	Friendly, supportive and professional	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price	Fantastic value for money	⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Surfshark test results:
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Design	A simple app with a clear layout	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	A comfortable middle-ground between NordVPN and ExpressVPN	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Performance	One of the fastest providers around	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Unblocking	Another full house—Surfshark keeps getting perfect scores in our unblocking tests	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Security and privacy	A much-improved antivirus tool, but the Windows kill switch can fail under very extreme circumstances	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Customer support	Support site has come a long way	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price	So much for so little—no one else can match the value	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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ExpressVPN test results:
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Design	Elegant and simple, there’s no clutter and everything has its place	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	An automated one-click connect means you get the safest, fastest protection possible – without having to configure it yourself	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Performance	Fast enough for streaming, online gaming, and torrenting, with a big focus on low-latency bandwidth	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Unblocking	While consistently unblocking every site and region we test, ExpressVPN has some small hiccups this time	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Security and privacy	ExpressVPN’s teams are constantly improving the industry, but a recent DNS leak (now fixed) caused a stir	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Customer support	Always available, friendly, and helpful	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price	An expensive option, but if you want something you can stake your life on, it’s worth every penny	⭐⭐

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Proton VPN test results:
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Design	Dark and edgy, it’s good if you want that “hacker” vibe	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	Simple and clear designs make it good for beginners	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Performance	Incredibly fast WireGuard speeds	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Unblocking	Unblocked everything we threw at it	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Security and privacy	Audited and open-source so anyone can verify its claims	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Customer support	Support articles are helpful and usually have plenty of images	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price	Expensive compared to Surfshark and PIA, but still reasonable	⭐⭐⭐

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Privado VPN test results:
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Design	Some usability issues across its apps and configuration options not as flexible as some competitors	⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	Easy-to-use apps with a big connect button to get you online, and your current location and new IP address on display	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Performance	Good speeds, especially when connected with OpenVPN	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Unblocking	Unblocked almost everything we tried (expect Netflix Canadian library), but with more issues than most VPNs	⭐⭐⭐
Security and privacy	Built-in ad-blocker, kill switch and split tunneling, but it lacks some extra security features	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Customer support	Decent email support, but not a lot of of on-site help	⭐⭐⭐
Price	The best free VPN on the market, but its paid offering doesn’t match the top competitors	⭐⭐⭐⭐

Our latest test results

As mentioned earlier, this round of testing saw some pretty big shake-ups to our best VPN list.

While NordVPN managed to keep its crown as top pick, ExpressVPN slid down yet again to third place, with Surfshark gaining a silver medal for the first time. Proton VPN climbed the ranking a little, too, moving from the fifth to fourth position.

PIA had to finally say goodbye to the top 5 VPNs, moving to #6 as it was replaced by PrivadoVPN, the best free VPN service on the market right now.

IPVanish mantained its seventh place in our rankings, followed by Windscribe, CyberGhost and Mullvad. The latter is surely a decent service and a popular choice for privacy purists, but the clunky apps and lack of unblocking capabilities leave it feeling dated and buried in the shadow of the industry leaders.

Do you know?

Black Friday VPN deals with VPN apps running on multiple devices — (Image credit: Future)

Black Friday is the time of year to subscribe to a new VPN service as some of the top providers axe their pricing during the biggest shopping season. Check out our Black Friday VPN deals hub to get the most out of today’s sales before it’s too late.

Mike Williams, our lead VPN Tester, puts it best: “A great VPN isn’t necessarily about having the longest feature list or the highest possible speeds. What really matters is quality, attention to detail, and the kind of consistency that says not only can you trust this provider with your privacy right now, but you can be confident it’ll stay that way for the foreseeable future.”

I agree with him – you’re not just buying a VPN in the here and now, you’re investing in it for the next few years. It’s one of the key reasons ExpressVPN held the crown for so long. We had so much confidence in what Express was doing.

However, with ExpressVPN’s recent DNS leak issue compounding our anxieties after the Kape layoffs, we knew that NordVPN was the right choice for the top spot this time around. With its enormous wealth of features and fantastic value for money, it had finally overtaken its biggest rival.

Stream unblocking results

VPNs regularly claim they unblock all of your favorite shows, but which ones really do? Check out the results from our testing below to see whether a service can access global streaming services:

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VPN Provider	Netflix libraries	US services	UK and Australian services
1. NordVPN	US, UK, AU, CA, JP	Amazon, Disney	iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play
2. Surfshark	US, UK, AU, CA, JP	Amazon, Disney	iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play
3. ExpressVPN	US, UK, AU, CA, JP	Amazon, Disney	iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play
4. Proton VPN	US, UK, AU, CA, JP	Amazon, Disney	iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play
5. PrivadoVPN	US, UK, AU, JP	Amazon, Disney	iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play
6. PIA	US, UK, AU, CA, JP	Amazon, Disney	iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play
7. IPVanish	US, UK, CA, JP	Amazon, Disney	iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now
8. Windscribe	US, UK, AU, CA, JP	Amazon, Disney	iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 Play
9. CyberGhost	US, UK, AU, CA, JP	Amazon, Disney	iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play
10. Mullvad	US	Failed	iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now

Malware, tracker, and ad-blocking results

Many VPNs say they have built-in ad, tracker, and malware blocking, and most reviews just take it for granted that these work and deliver useful results. Our lead tester aimed to measure this feature for each provider, and see how they compare to each other.

The tests included the following:

A custom tool that tries to access a selection of URLs (300-600-ish) from a daily updated curated list of malicious URLs, like GitHub, and records what happens
A phishing test attempting to open 100 brand new malicious URLs from anti-phishing experts OpenPhish (https://openphish.com)
Running a couple of ad-blocking testers (including AdBlock Tester) and recording the score.

Without further ado, lets see which VPNs give you that little bit extra, and which ones are only offer lip service:

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VPN Provider	Malware blocked	Phishing blocked	Ad blocking score
CyberGhost	0%	0%	83%
ExpressVPN	0%	98%	90%
IPVanish	N/A	79%	34%
Mullvad	74%	85%	91%
NordVPN DNS Filtering	16%	10%	84%
NordVPN Threat Protection Pro	79%	87%	84%
PrivadoVPN	2%	6%	65%
PIA	N/A	2%	81%
Proton VPN	11%	19%	79%
Surfshark	6%	7%	84%
Windscribe	18%	8%	98%

These tests aren’t large or precise enough to generalize from them, and only offer insight that the services will provide some additional protection. I would recommend taking the results with a pinch of salt. These built-in features are never a substitute for a dedicated antivirus/security app, and I would recommend using the best antivirus and a reliable ad-blocker to further shore up your security.

When we test the ad blocking capabilities, we were testing using only the app, and not any additional browser extensions as these should operate system-wide. However, it is worth noting that using the browser extension for a provider can greatly increase the level of protection it offers, and some providers, such as Surfshark for example, find their ad blocking capabilities are greatly enhanced through the addition of their browser extensions.

VPN speed testing

It’s a well-trodden sales technique for VPN providers to claim they have the fastest speeds – but they clearly can’t all be the fastest. That’s why we test the speeds on offer from all the top VPNs across different global servers and on a variety of protocols.

Below are the speed results for the top VPN services, during our latest tests:

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VPN Provider	WireGuard or proprietary	OpenVPN
1. Surfshark	over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing)	460 Mbps
2. Mullvad	over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing)	410 Mbps
3. NordVPN	over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing)	173 Mbps
4. Proton VPN	over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing)	220 Mbps
5. CyberGhost	over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing)	165 Mbps
6. PrivadoVPN	over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing)	N/A
7. ExpressVPN	898 Mbps	176 Mbps
8. Windscribe	785 Mbps	365 Mbps
9. IPVanish	770 Mbps	230 Mbps
10. Private Internet Access	436 Mbps	257 Mbps

TechRadar’s VPN rankings

There are hundreds, if not thousands of VPNs out there, and you’ve likely heard the names of countless services. Check out our rankings below of popular services and see some honorable mentions that can’t currently compete with what’s on offer with our top services.

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VPN service	Rating	Summary	Reviews
1. NordVPN	⭐⭐⭐⭐½	The best VPN overall, it’s perfect for streaming, gaming, and even comes with a whole security suite	Check out our NordVPN review
2. Surfshark	⭐⭐⭐⭐½	The best cheap VPN, and also the fastest in our tests	Check out our Surfshark review
3. ExpressVPN	⭐⭐⭐⭐½	The best VPN for beginners, and great for streaming content	Check out our ExpressVPN review
4. ProtonVPN	⭐⭐⭐⭐	A popular free and paid VPN service with a history of advocating for the freedom of the internet	Check out our Proton VPN review
5. PrivadoVPN	⭐⭐⭐⭐	The best free VPN – it even unblocks Netflix	Check out our PrivadoVPN review
6. Private Internet Access (PIA)	⭐⭐⭐⭐	The best Linux VPN with a dedicated GUI for Linux, and a no-logs policy that was proven in court twice	Check out our Private Internet Access review
7. IPVanish	⭐⭐⭐⭐	An up-and-coming provider that supports Linux	Check out our IPVanish review
8. Windscribe	⭐⭐⭐⭐	A fast service with a popular browser proxy	Check out our Windscribe VPN review
9. CyberGhost VPN	⭐⭐⭐⭐	A popular and easy-to-use platform that’s great for beginners	Check out our CyberGhost VPN review
10. Mullvad	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Good for Linux, and you can even pay in cash	Check out our Mullvad review
11. PureVPN	⭐⭐⭐⭐	One of the cheapest premium VPNs on the market	Check out our PureVPN review
12. Hide.Me	⭐⭐⭐⭐	A speedy service with plenty of customization	Check out our Hide.me review
13. Hotspot Shield	⭐⭐⭐	A popular free VPN with lots of great features	Check out our Hotspot Shield review
14. VyprVPN	⭐⭐⭐	A reliable VPN with a dedicated protocol for bypassing even the most severe censorship	Check out our VyprVPN review
15. PrivateVPN	⭐⭐⭐	A cheap service that offers plenty of support for streaming and torrenting	Check out our PrivateVPN review
16. TunnelBear	⭐⭐⭐	A reliable free VPN but no support for content unblocking	Check out our TunnelBear review
17. Atlas VPN	⭐⭐⭐	A new player in the VPN industry that’s already making waves	Check out our Atlas VPN review
18. Mozilla VPN	⭐⭐⭐	A well known brand with a VPN that currently underperforms	Check out our Mozilla VPN review
19. Norton VPN	⭐⭐⭐	Known for its popular security suite with a lacklustre VPN	Check out our Norton VPN review
20. FastestVPN	⭐⭐⭐	Making its way up the list, but not yet living up to its name	Check out our FastestVPN review
21. StrongVPN	⭐⭐⭐	Another mid-range VPN that continues to improve	Check out our StrongVPN review
22. AirVPN	⭐⭐⭐	Built by hacktivists, for hacktivists	Check out our AirVPN review
23. AstrillVPN	⭐⭐½	A mid-range VPN that’s popular for bypassing Chinese censorship	Check out our Astrill VPN review
24. Goose VPN	⭐⭐	An incredibly cheap mid-range VPN	Check out our Goose VPN review
25. TorGuard	⭐⭐	A torrent-friendly VPN that’s good for accessing foreign content	Check out our TorGuard review
26. UltraVPN	⭐⭐	Fast and secure with plenty of server locations	Check out our UltraVPN review
27. Le VPN	⭐⭐	Lots of locations to choose from and integrated SmartDNS technology	Check out our Le VPN review
28. VPNArea	⭐⭐	A mid-range VPN that struggles to hold up against the industry leaders	Check out our VPNArea review
29. ZoogVPN	⭐⭐	A fairly underwhelming VPN from Greece	Check out our ZoogVPN review

How we test VPN services – our review methodology

While our experts use the top VPNs every day, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the top 30 VPN services every 6 months with the help of Mike Williams and Anthony Spadafora. This allows us to keep track of who’s really the best, and for which use cases.

TechRadar’s VPN reviews begin at the provider’s website, where we analyze the claims it makes, its privacy policy, its support options, and any other elements of note. We look for any tracking cookies on the site and if/when they activate to see if the service tracks people using the site.

Next, we ask ourselves the following questions: what security tools does the provider offer? Does it promise the world, or is it more realistic? Does the privacy policy clearly say how your data is handled? Are there any catches in the small print? Is the pricing open and honest? Ultimately, we’re considering not just what the provider says it gives you, but what it really gives, and whether you can trust it with your data.

We don’t take a service at face value

There’s more to a VPN than just what its marketing says. Where possible, we try to go behind the curtains and look at what’s really going on and doing our own testing to see whether the apps really work as claimed.

In order to make sure our reviews are as honest and realistic as possible, we make every effort to sign up for the services anonymously, so our results aren’t skewed by the services knowing they’re being tested by us.

After signing up for a plan, we install and test the Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux VPN apps, as these are the most popular platforms. Then, we move on to testing the features within those apps, like the kill switch, checking for data leaks, and generally confirming everything works as advertised.

As we do this, we play around with the different encryption protocols on offer, connect to different servers, throw malware at it, and generally look for any way we can stress test the service. If anything breaks under any of our tests, we report it back to the provider so they can fix the issue, but we make sure to include both the issue and the provider’s response in our results where appropriate.

We test every VPN provider’s speeds at least 120 times across two sessions, and use both a US home connection and a 1 Gbps UK data center to show us a provider’s potential versus the real-world application. We measure using different encryption protocols, speed test websites, and features and use the average of the best session as the provider’s peak speed. In doing so, you get a better understanding of what you can really expect when you use the service, and not just an arbitrary figure of its fastest speed.

nPerf performance benchmark for VPNs testing a VPN server in London

Our VPN speed testing in progress (Image credit: nPerf)

A good VPN should be able to unblock multiple streaming services. To check this, we try to access geo-exclusive content from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, and BBC iPlayer, repeating the test from three different locations around the world to get an idea of how the service performs in real life.

In our day-to-day testing, we take a more focused approach depending on the needs of the specific use cases we’re writing about. Such as how easy it is to set up the VPN, how much attention to detail there is in the design, and whether a beginner can pick it up easily. We carry out constant real-world testing to make sure our analysis is always accurate and relevant.

However, I don’t just trust what I see on the surface of a VPN provider’s website. I’ll take a peek behind the curtains of the software – view the contents of its RAM, even decompile and browse its source code (if I can) just to find out what’s going on under the hood. Ultimately, I want to know whether the service gives you genuine protection or just a false sense of security.

Want to know more about how we test VPNs? We have a much more in-depth explanation on our VPN testing methodology page.

Our VPN testing panel

Meet the experts behind our VPN deep dives:

Andreas Theodorou

A privacy purist at heart, Andreas is a VPN expert that believes that the best VPN doesn’t have to be the most expensive—it’s about what’s right for you.

Anthony Spadafora

Anthony helps us test real-world VPN speeds in the US so we get a more accurate view of what a service is really like to use around the world.

Mike Williams

Mike regularly reviews our top picks, and loves looking behind the curtains to see how a VPN works in the background. If there’s a skeleton in the closet, he’ll find it.

3 hours ago

0 58 11 minutes read