How to pick the best VPN
A VPN can encrypt the hop off your device, hide the IP your ISP assigned, and land you in another city’s address space. That helps on café Wi-Fi, with some geo-blocks, and when you do not want the public web to see your home number. It does not stop cookies, logins, or a phishing page you opened on purpose.
Price and a homepage badge are the wrong first filter. Match the feature to the job: a kill switch for public Wi-Fi, enough devices for the household, a country list you will actually use. Know Your IP Address does not sell VPNs and did not run a paid lab ranking. After you connect, My IP is the test that matters.
For the tunnel itself, read what a VPN is. For a wider table, see VPN comparison. For $0 tiers, see free VPNs.
Five names, at a glance
Country and device counts change. Monthly “from” prices go stale in a week. Confirm live terms on the provider’s site. This is not an affiliate ranking.
| Provider | Countries | Devices | P2P | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CyberGhost | 90+ | 7 | Yes | Site |
| NordVPN | 100+ | 10 | Yes | Site |
| ExpressVPN | 100+ | 8–14 | Yes | Site |
| IPVanish | 100+ | Unlimited | Yes | Site |
| Surfshark | 100+ | Unlimited | Yes | Site |
Are VPNs legal?
In much of the world — including the U.S., Canada, and the EU — a personal VPN is ordinary software. Some places restrict or ban unapproved VPNs. China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea are the usual examples, with different rules and penalties. Using a tunnel does not make illegal activity legal. Check the law where you stand before you connect.
Encryption is the point of the product. AES-256 plus a modern protocol (WireGuard, OpenVPN, Lightway, IKEv2) is the baseline. PPTP is old and weak; skip it if an app still offers it.
Criteria that actually matter
Customer support
Live chat around the clock is useful when the app will not connect in a hotel. A ticket queue that replies in a day is the floor. App-store purchases often cannot be refunded by the VPN itself.
Encryption
Look for a named protocol and AES-256 or WireGuard’s own crypto — not the word “military-grade” alone. If they will not say what they use, leave.
IP you can verify
Every real VPN hides the ISP address behind a server IP. Some add extra hops (double VPN) or dedicated IPs. “Shuffle” marketing varies. The check is still: did the public IP change?
Kill switch
If the tunnel drops, the switch cuts internet so traffic does not spill out on your real IP. Turn it on for public Wi-Fi. Pause it if you need the raw ISP path.
Leak protection
This is DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaking your real address beside the VPN IP — not a feature that kicks other gadgets off your home Wi-Fi. Test on this site after you connect.
No-logs policy
A written policy is a start. An independent audit is better. A company still has to obey lawful orders in its jurisdiction if it holds anything. RAM-only servers reduce what can be seized.
Split tunneling
You choose which apps ride the VPN and which stay on the local network. Useful for a printer or a bank that hates VPN ranges. It is not “keep the TV online while the laptop is tunneled” unless those are separate apps on the same device.
Devices and protocols
Count phones, laptops, and TVs. Unlimited-device plans still have fair-use rules. Prefer WireGuard or OpenVPN; treat PPTP as a museum piece.
A VPN does not block tracking cookies by itself. Logged-in accounts still identify you. For why you might want one anyway, see why use a VPN.
Five well-known VPNs
Same five names you will see on every “best of” list. Ownership overlaps: CyberGhost and ExpressVPN sit with other brands under Kape; NordVPN and Surfshark sit under Nord Security. That is not a disqualification. It means two logos are not two fully separate companies.
CyberGhost
Romania-based brand, widely sold as a mix of a simple app, AES-256, and extras such as an ad or malware filter on some plans. Apps cover Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS; routers and other gear usually need a manual setup. Device caps are real — often around seven on one license — unless you put the VPN on the router.
P2P is commonly allowed on selected servers. Money-back windows are often longer than 30 days; confirm before you pay. Speeds vary by city. If gaming or 4K streaming is the job, test inside the refund window. CyberGhost site
NordVPN
Panama jurisdiction. Large server list, kill switch, DNS leak tools, and extras such as Threat Protection / CyberSec, double VPN, and Onion-over-VPN. Those last two add hops and latency; they are not a new IP every few minutes by default. Device limits are typically around ten.
Streaming “SmartPlay”-style features are a cat-and-mouse game with Netflix and others. P2P is generally allowed on the right servers. Support is 24/7 chat in most markets. Nord and Surfshark share a parent; pick on apps and cities, not on the idea that they are unrelated. NordVPN site
ExpressVPN
British Virgin Islands. Usually the premium-priced name on this list. Lightway and AES-256, RAM-disk TrustedServer design, split tunneling, and apps on the usual desktops, phones, and many routers. Device counts have risen from the old five; check the live plan.
Fast, boring reliability is the pitch. It is often recommended for travel and for networks that fight VPNs — including reports of working in China — but no consumer VPN can promise it will keep working against a national firewall. No typical long free trial; a 30-day money-back window is the usual test drive. Bitcoin and other rails are often accepted. ExpressVPN site
IPVanish
U.S. company. Unlimited devices on one plan is the headline, plus WireGuard, OpenVPN, and AES-256. Pre-configured routers exist as a paid extra. Support includes chat and, in some plans, phone.
Third-party audits of the no-logs policy have been published; read the latest, not a screenshot from 2019. U.S. jurisdiction means lawful process still applies to whatever they retain. That is the honest trade against “unlimited gadgets, one password.” Payment options are narrower than some rivals (card and PayPal are the usual pair). IPVanish site
Surfshark
Netherlands HQ, now in the Nord Security family. Unlimited devices, kill switch, extra hops, and tools aimed at filtered networks. A single license covering phones plus a laptop is the practical reason many households pick it. Browser extensions cover that browser only — torrents and other apps need the system app.
Month-to-month is often expensive; longer terms drop the monthly number. Bundles (VPN plus antivirus and alerts) make the price page noisy. App-store billing usually voids their own refund path. They publish a warrant canary; Fourteen Eyes is still the country club the Netherlands sits in — jurisdiction is a factor, not a verdict. Surfshark site
How to use any of them
Install from the official site or the real app store. Connect to a city. Reload Know Your IP Address. If the country matches the server, the review is done. If it does not, you have a leak or a disconnected app. Then try the site you actually care about — a bank, a stream, a work tool — inside the money-back window.
For sale periods, see VPN deals. For gateway cities and a longer provider list, stay on comparison.
Check the IP after you connect