The best VPN services of 2024, tested and reviewed

UPDATE: Apr. 5, 2024, 5:00 a.m. EDT We’re in the process of overhauling our VPN coverage based on stricter criteria and additional hands-on testing. As such, this guide to the best VPNs will continue to evolve as we review more services.

Don’t let it go to your head, but everybody wants you — more specifically, your browsing data. Personal information about the links you click on and the sites you visit is highly valuable to third parties, including your internet service provider (ISP) and Google, who may want to share or monetize it. Certain government and law enforcement agencies are also eager to peek at your activity online for their own surveillance purposes, as horny Texans learned earlier this year.

One way to reclaim some of your digital privacy is by getting a virtual private network, or VPN, a service that creates an encrypted connection between your device and one of the VPN provider’s private, remote servers before spitting it out onto the open web.

Why do you need a VPN?

While the best VPNs won’t make you totally anonymous — VPN providers can still see what you’re doing while you’re using their servers — they can secure your data and hide your true IP address from prying eyes on the outside.

While not its primary purpose, a VPN’s ability to conceal your real IP address also makes it useful for spoofing your location. This will allow you to bypass geo-restrictions on content that’s not available in your country or region. (If you’re someone in the U.S. who wants access to streaming services like BBC iPlayer and ITVX, for example, a VPN can make it happen.)

Deciding which VPN to trust with your privacy and your money can be tough, especially if you’re not familiar with the technology, which is why we’re testing (and re-testing) a slew of popular VPN services. Keep reading for a rundown of the best VPN services we’ve tried so far.

Note: Prices for most VPN providers’ long-term plans change frequently. The rates below were accurate at the time of publication.