Best VPN for Australia

NordVPN is a smart pick for Australia if your budget doesn’t stretch to ExpressVPN but you still want a sleek VPN that’s good for torrenting and streaming. Access to Netflix and other streaming services is fast and reliable.

It’s as fast as it gets on local connections at over 72Mbps down, and you can choose between five server locations spread across the country to access the best possible performance. International connections are best into Singapore (33Mbps) but merely adequate elsewhere. East coast USA speeds are less than those offered by ExpressVPN at 22Mbps: it’s enough for streaming but not multi-tasking.

Local upload speeds are a little below average at 24Mbps, but combined with a strict zero logs policy, VPN kill switch and other privacy features make NordVPN great for P2P.

Changing the VPN protocol requires manual configuration, and customer support is good but can be slow – fortunately the apps are slick and easy to use.

On a three-year subscription, it works out at incredible $2.99 per month, which makes it easy to overlook some gripes.

Cyberghost is a smart budget pick for Australia, particularly for torrenting fans. It has very fast Australian servers and is strong on privacy. It also has reliable access to top streaming services.

You can expect 69Mbps down and 45Mbps up locally, making it ideal for P2P. It does lag behind its rivals on international connections however with London at 19Mbps, but speeds into east coast US have recently massive improved, coming in at an impressive 38Mbps. Speeds like that are good enough for streaming on multiple devices simultaneously.

Access to Netflix and other popular streaming services is rock solid thanks to dedicated streaming servers.

A strict zero logs policy and first-party DNS servers make CyberGhost a top privacy pick, along with the automatic kill switch and other useful extras.

The apps are mostly pretty 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 a great VPN for Australia if you are on a budget but need strong privacy, decent speeds into the US and reliable access to Netflix and other services.

Local speeds are solid but lag behind other top picks at 95Mbps down. Connections into east coast USA (20Mbps) are more than good enough for HD streaming. London connections are very slow at 16Mbps. With uploads at 68Mbps, there’s faster options for P2P in Australia.

A strict zero logs policy and first-party DNS servers means no data exists to identify you even despite a base in privacy-unfriendly Sweden. Desktop apps are great but lack options on mobile.

There are servers in Sydney only but if that works for you, it’s incredible value at just $3.60 on the 17-month plan.

IPVanish is our pick for torrenting in Australia thanks to its raw speed on local connections and strong privacy features.

It’s currently the fastest VPN in Australia with a hugely impressive 92Mbps down and 78Mbps up. Servers are Melbourne and Sydney only so speeds will be lower elsewhere. International connections are much slower and lag behind our other picks with the only adequate speeds into west coast US servers.

The desktop apps could be more user-friendly but makes up for it with powerful privacy features, including IPv6 leak protection and a kill switch combined with a strict zero-logs policy. The Amazon Fire TV native app is also a big plus and the majority of servers are currently working with Netflix.

Customer support is improving now there’s live chat. IPVanish isn’t cheap but it only requires a 12-month commitment to slash the monthly price by 46% to a reasonable $6.49. If P2P or local performance is your priority then IPVanish really is a good choice.