We’ve all joined a public Wi-Fi network before without thinking, whether it’s in a coffee shop, subway, library, or airport lobby. Many of us don’t pay much attention to it, but connecting to a public Wi-Fi network isn’t the safest thing to do. It can lead to the theft of some of our sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, bank account information, and more. The truth is that public networks don’t offer much protection, and since anyone can easily connect to them, hackers can use these networks to hijack the data of other public Wi-Fi users.
As more and more people’s work and personal lives go digital, online privacy and security are becoming more and more important. While a virtual private network or VPN isn’t a complete solution to protecting your online privacy, it can be a useful part of your security toolkit. To meet their needs in daily life and work, more and more people choose to buy VPNs.
There are many VPN services out there. Counting free and paid services, you can see over 1,000 different options to choose from. They all share many of the same features, many of which look and sound similar, and they all promise to keep your online connections anonymous and secure. So how can you find the best VPN for you?
Now, let’s get down to business and highlight the world’s true value-for-money VPN services.
Quick List of Value-For-Money VPN Services
1. NordVPN — Best VPN for Privacy ($3.29/mo)
2. Surfshark — Best Secure VPN ($2.49/mo)
3. ExpressVPN — Best Encrypted VPN ($8.32/mo)
4. Private Internet Access — Best privacy-oriented VPN($2.03/mo)
5. IPVanish — Affordable, feature-packed VPN option ($3.99/mo)
6. PrivateVPN — Superb VPN for streaming ($2.00/mo)
#1. NordVPN — Best VPN for Privacy ($3.29/mo)
During our use, we discovered that NordVPN uses a service called “Double VPN” which takes two different servers and merges them into one. This gives you twice the encryption and enables an ultra-secure connection. There’s even a VPN kill switch, which ensures that if a leak is detected in your browsing session, you’ll be automatically alerted and logged out. This greatly increases privacy and security.
Pros:
+ Fast servers(5656)
+ Torrenting/P2P allowed
+ Works with Netflix
+ Strict no logging policy
+ Easy-to-use VPN apps
+ Double data encryption
+ No IP/DNS leaks found
Cons:
– Discounts are only available for longer subscriptions
Compatible with: Windows, iOS, Android, Linux
#2. Surfshark — Best Secure VPN ($2.49/mo)
Surfshark allows us to easily download and download movies and TV shows without fear of retaliation. When it comes to your online privacy, Surfshark takes a lot of steps to ensure you have a secure and 100% secure connection.
Pros:
+ Strict no logging policy
+ Unlimited device connection
+ Torrenting
+ Plays Netflix
+ Secure system
+ Good addons like Multihop and Ad-Blocker
Cons:
– Average speeds
It’s no secret that we love streaming, and the great thing about Surfhsark is that we don’t have to try a bunch of different servers to stream on different platforms. Let’s take an example. For obvious reasons related to Nick Cage, we’d love to watch National Treasure on Disney+. Usually, with a VPN, we have to try connecting from a few different servers before we can find a server where the streaming service isn’t blocked, but Surfshark does that for us, automatically finding the right server for the right streaming service.
Compatible with: Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, Mac
#3. ExpressVPN — Best Encrypted VPN ($8.32/mo)
It uses a large number of high-quality VPN protocols to ensure continued privacy. This includes OpenVPN, IPSec, IKEv2, etc. All of these protocols are supported by the AES-256 encryption standard, which has been proven to be completely uncrackable. If it weren’t for its higher-than-usual price point, ExpressVPN could easily be considered the king of the VPN mountain. Founded in 2009, it is a relatively new addition to the VPN world, having been around for just over a decade.
Pros:
+ Supports ALL devices
+ Fast servers with minimal speed loss
+ Unblocks Netflix in the USA
+ Torrenting and P2P are allowed
+ No IP leaks or DNS leaks found
+ Simple and easy to use
+ No logging
Cons:
– More expensive than its chief rivals
You can pay with a credit card, PayPal or Bitcoin according to your preference. There are also Alipay, UnionPay, IDEAL, Klarna and so on. ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee with every purchase.
Compatible with: Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, Mac
#4. Private Internet Access — Best privacy-oriented VPN($2.03/mo)
Private Internet Access (PIA) is located in the United States, so it’s not the provider they’re more afraid of the NSA. However, it does not keep any logs, which have actually been proven in court! In addition to being customizable, it’s also very well protected by security.
Pros:
+ No logging
+ Unrestricted torrenting
+ Reliable kill switch
+ Highly configurable
+ Great OpenVPN encryption
+ Client features kill switch and full DNS leak protection
Cons:
– Average speed results
At maximum settings, OpenVPN encryption uses AES-256 cypher with HMAC SHA256 for authorization, RSA 4096 handshake for the data channel, and AES-256 cypher with HMAC SHA384 authentication for the control channel. Perfect Forward Secrecy is secured via Diffie Hellman Exchange (DHE) to provide an RSA handshake (or ECDHE+ECDSA for ECC handshake).
Compatible with: Windows, iOS, Android, Linux
#5. IPVanish — Affordable, feature-packed VPN option ($3.99/mo)
IPVanish has versatility – protection, torrenting and streaming. If none of the previous best VPNs has scratched your itch in the right way, then maybe IPVanish will be the VPN of your dreams.
Like all other best VPN services, IPVanish uses military-grade AES-256 encryption and SHA-512 hash functions. There is also an audited no-logging policy and a functional kill switch.
Pros:
+ No log policy independently audited
+ Connect unlimited devices simultaneously
+ DNS leak protection
+ Free SOCKS5 proxy
+ Secure cloud storage solution available
Cons:
– No Linux app
IPVanish offers split tunnels to determine which applications use VPN tunnels. You can also get a free SOCKS5 proxy to download seeds quickly. Like Surfshark and NordVPN, IPVanish offers obfuscated servers that allow you to connect to their servers in countries where VPNs are usually blocked.
Compatible with: Windows, iOS, Android
#6. PrivateVPN — Superb VPN for streaming ($2.00/mo)
Although PrivateVPN is not as popular as the best VPNs we mentioned before, it is actually a very good privacy tool that more people should know about.
In terms of features, PrivateVPN has a few advantages. Namely, HTTP and SOCKS5 proxies, as well as support for port forwarding for faster online connections.
Pros:
+ Unblocks many streaming websites
+ P2P-compatible
+ Port forwarding
+ HTTP and SOCKS5 proxies
+ Customizable encryption
Cons:
– Limited tunneling protocol selection
– 14 Eyes business location
– Modest server fleet
PrivateVPN implements highly respected AES-256 encryption, which is the security standard in the VPN world. It also allows you to configure the encryption as needed. You can choose the more lightweight AES-128, or even choose between CBC and GCM modes. There’s also a high-quality termination switch that passes all our tests.
Compatible with: Windows, iOS, Android
Worth The Price, Be sure to keep this in mind before buying!
