With increasing surveillance and tracking in modern society, a VPN is a useful tool to protect your privacy. This is especially important for those that live in countries where governments restrict or censor information.

VPNs create an encrypted tunnel for your data from your machine to the VPN server, protecting your browsing, downloading, and uploading activity from government or corporate surveillance.

VPNs also allow you to browse anonymously as your IP is masked by that of the VPN server. This also allows you to change locations which can provide you with better pricing on goods and services.

In this article, we’ll look at the best 5 VPNs worthy of your subscription. We’ll consider price, privacy, security, speed, number of servers, spread of servers, and no-logging policies. The five VPNs are:

1. NordVPN
2. ExpressVPN
3. Surfshark
4. Private Internet Access
5. ProtonVPN

 

NordVPN

NordVPN runs 5,403 servers in 60 countries across the world. It is based in Panama, which has no data retention laws, allowing it to run a no-log VPN service. Panama is also not part of the 5, 9, or 14-eyes countries.

Users will enjoy a secure AES-256 encryption standard with a reliable kill-switch in case your connection drops. It offers double protection by changing your IP twice and even allows TOR tunneling. Their servers use RAM-disks, so there is no long-term storage of user data.

For streaming, NordVPN has functioning servers across the world for your streaming needs, from Netflix, Disney+, and/or Amazon Prime.

The listed price is $11.99 for just one month, $4.99/month for an annual plan (39% savings), and $3.99/month for a 2-year plan (51% savings). NordVPN includes a 100% 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 support.

 

Express VPN

ExpressVPN boasts over 3,000 servers in 160 locations across 94 different countries. Their servers run on entirely on volatile (RAM) memory, so nothing is stored-long term.

Even better, they are incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, which has no data retention laws, ensuring client privacy. It is a separate jurisdiction from the United Kingdom, a 5-eyes country.

ExpressVPN uses a secure AES-256 encryption standard and includes a reliable Network Lock kill-switch if your connection ever drops. This ensures that none of your personal data leaks out inadvertently.

Finally, it includes 24/7 human customer support. The listed price is $12.95/month, or $9.99/month for 6 months, or $8.32/month for a year, a savings of 35%. ExpressVPN accepts Bitcoin for increased anonymity and includes a 100% 30-day moneyback guarantee.

 

Surfshark

Surfshark is an amazing budget option that boasts over 3,200 servers across 65 countries. Based in the British Virgin Islands, there is no legal requirement for records retention. Even still, Surfshark uses RAM-disk servers which does not allow for long-term storage.

Surfshark also uses AES-256 encryption and includes a kill-switch should your connection ever drop, preventing data leaks. One unique advantage of Surfshark is the unlimited connections you may have across all your devices.

A one-month plan of Surfshark will be $12.95, however, a one-year plan is $3.99/month (69% savings), and a two-year plan $2.49/month (81% savings). This is a great budget option, especially considering the unlimited connections it provides. Surfshark also includes a 100% 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 support.

 

Private Internet Access (PIA)

PIA has been around for more than a decade, boasting over 10,000 servers across 84 countries, the widest spread of the examined VPNs. PIA does not maintain logs; however, it is based in the United States, a five-eyes country.

PIA unblocks many streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime. It also includes a kill-switch in case your connection is interrupted.

A one-month plan is $11.99/month, while a 6-month plan is $7.50/month. Their best deal is a 2-year and (2-month free) plan at $2.19/month, it is the cheapest VPN plan we’ve examined. Their plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and 24/7 live support.

 

ProtonVPN

Definitely the quality choice but potentially the most expensive of the VPNs examined. ProtonVPN was brought to you by the same CERN and MIT scientists that created Protonmail, the world’s largest encrypted e-mail service. They use the highest security standards, and their encryption algorithms are open source.

ProtonVPN has a no-logging policy and is based in Switzerland, which is not part of the 5, 9, or 14-eyes countries. Their servers are full disk encrypted securing any data. Their 1,700+ servers in 63 countries can support 10 Gbps speeds.

A reliable kill-switch is included, which protects disconnections from leaking your identifiable data. ProtonVPN is able to stream Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime and many other services reliably.

ProtonVPN is unique in that it offers different service tiers, including a free but limited tier. The service tiers allow different speeds and capabilities such as P2P, server breadth access, or increased simultaneous connections. The first or Basic tier is $5.00/month, the Plus tier at $10/month, and the Visionary at $30/month. If subscribing to an annual plan, you will save 20%, and 2-year plans save 33%. Support is offered as well as a 100% 30-day money-back guarantee.