Best VPN of 2018

NordVPN does the basics incredibly well – even if it lacks the full package offered by ExpressVPN. It’s very fast, secure and one of the very few services to reliably work with both Netflix and iPlayer. Downloads on local connections peak at 314Mbps while uploads top 180Mbps, making it one of the fastest on the market.

The apps are slick and user-friendly but limited to only the most popular platforms, however you can protect up to a generous six devices at once. Manual VPN protocol selection and no city-level servers are a minus but we do like privacy features such as the VPN killswitch and the strict zero-logs policy.

The quality of customer support may be excellent but responses can be slow. It’s not the best option for China either. So while NordVPN falls a little short of ExpressVPN overall, on a two-year subscription, it works out a lot cheaper at $3.99 per month. So if you want to keep monthly costs down or only care about core performance, NordVPN is the ideal choice.

IPVanish is a top pick, especially for Kodi and torrenting, due to excellent speeds, zero logging and extensive privacy tools. It’s ultra fast on local connections but less consistent internationally across a network that’s mid-sized for locations but super-sized for servers and IP addresses. Netflix is working but iPlayer is currently blocked, which is a shame as it’s otherwise fantastic for streaming.

The desktop apps could be more user-friendly but make up for it with powerful privacy features, including IPv6 leak protection and a killswitch. The Amazon Fire TV native app is a big plus although IPVanish does lack browser extensions or support for other streaming devices.

It can be made to work at a push in China but there’s better options available. Customer support is improving. IPVanish isn’t cheap but it only requires a 2-year commitment to slash the monthly price by 69% to a reasonable $3.74. If P2P is your priority then IPVanish really is a superb VPN for both privacy and performance that will also cover many other needs.

Cyberghost is easily the best budget VPN on the market. Not only is it very cheap but it also competes with its more premium rivals on several key fronts, especially streaming and privacy.

Access to Netflix and other streaming services is rock solid thanks to dedicated streaming servers. Torrenting/Kodi performance is equally good except on US servers, where P2P traffic is sadly banned. Download speeds on local connections are typically over 140Mbps and while they drop off on international servers, it’s always enough for HD streaming.

A strict zero-logs policy and first-party DNS servers make CyberGhost a top privacy pick, along with the automatic killswitch and other useful extras. The apps are mostly user-friendly but there are slicker alternatives out there. At $3.50 on an 18-month plan though, it’s incredible value and easy to overlook the shortcomings.

PrivateVPN is one of our top picks for providers that offer both robust privacy features and excellent global performance. It is also one of the cheapest options on the current market if you opt for the annual plan. If you’re looking for seriously fast speeds and super-easy access to a range of streaming services including Netflix and BBC iPlayer, look no further. Fantastic upload speeds on local connections combined with low latency make it a great option for torrenters, keen Kodi users and gamers alike.

On the privacy side of things, PrivateVPN couldn’t really get much more secure. Loads of advanced privacy features and a strict zero-logs policy more than make up for the fact it’s based in privacy-unfriendly Sweden, as even if a third-party requested your details there would be nothing to show them.

We really like PrivateVPN’s user-friendly desktop client but the mobile apps leave a lot to be desired when it comes to configurable options, although this probably won’t affect the majority of users. It can be made to work in China at a push, however there are much more reliable options available for that purpose. In terms of striking a balance between privacy and performance, PrivateVPN does a brilliant job.