The Best VPNs for iPhone

ExpressVPN’s internet speeds on my iPhone 17 Pro were superb. Connecting to a nearby server, I experienced a slowdown of just 2%, and only 15% internationally.

These speeds are thanks to its proprietary Lightway protocol, which I found especially helpful on the go as it ensured my iPhone seamlessly switched between WiFi and cellular networks without dropping the connection.

Lightway automatically chooses between AES-256-GCM or ChaCha20/Poly1305 encryption depending on what works best for your iPhone’s hardware.

One drawback, however, is that ExpressVPN lacks a native auto-connect feature for public WiFi, unlike NordVPN.

To ensure you’re protected on open networks, you’ll need to manually activate the VPN and rely on its advanced kill switch to block all traffic if the connection drops.

Enabling ExpressVPN’s advanced kill switch affects your iPhone’s functionality.

While the kill switch is great for unsafe public WiFi, it does block some iOS features, namely AirPlay, and disables ExpressVPN’s split tunneling feature. Don’t let this catch you off guard.

ExpressVPN’s exceptional speeds made a big difference when it came to streaming geo-restricted videos at the maximum resolution.

Not only did the VPN unblock almost every region-locked streaming app, but it also connected instantly, loaded content quickly, and streamed without any buffering.

ExpressVPN worked wonderfully with over 95% of the 120 streaming services I tested, including Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and DAZN.

I also need to highlight how well the VPN works with Netflix: it’s by far the most effective at unblocking the American library on any device, and accessing another 17 regions is a total breeze.

ExpressVPN’s intuitive iOS app couldn’t be simpler to use, even if you’re completely new to VPNs.

A large connect button in the center of the screen makes the app very easy to use, even on smaller or older iPhone screens.

The ExpressVPN app instantly connects to its US servers.

You can change the appearance of the app directly from its settings, which you can’t do with PIA. You can set it to follow your light/dark system settings, or choose from sand, sky, midnight, or twilight.

I’m also a huge fan of ExpressVPN’s iOS integration. Tapping the home screen widget or asking Siri to handle the connection makes the whole process feel effortless.

Most notably, ExpressVPN is the only VPN I recommend that includes split tunneling on iOS, a quality-of-life feature that lets you customize which websites bypass the VPN tunnel.

ExpressVPN also encrypts your Apple Watch’s traffic when the watch connects through your iPhone.

And if you’re an Apple fan, ExpressVPN’s VPN apps for Mac and Apple TV are just as beginner-friendly and satisfying as their iOS counterparts.

NordVPN’s app is extremely well-integrated with iOS, and this is one area where it beats ExpressVPN.

I’m a huge fan of the trusted networks feature, which automatically activated the VPN whenever I connected to any WiFi network other than my home one.

I really missed this feature whenever I switched back to ExpressVPN — especially when overseas, as I connected to various free public WiFi networks.

NordVPN’s iOS widget is also the best I’ve come across. I was able to quickly choose from five recent server locations from my home screen and lock screen. You can also pause or disconnect the VPN in one tap.

NordVPN’s large widget is convenient for switching servers from your home screen.

Honestly, NordVPN’s iOS widget is a lot better than PIA’s, which simply opens the VPN app.

NordVPN’s iOS app also detects whether your iPhone is using light or dark mode, and mirrors the app’s theme accordingly. These little touches show the level of attention the company has paid to its mobile app.

NordVPN has a huge server network spanning 150 countries, with most server locations delivering very high internet speeds.

In my most recent tests, I recorded a mere 4% loss in download speed while connected to a nearby server and 14% slowdown across longer distances.

That said, the app didn’t connect to server locations as fast as ExpressVPN: it only took a handful of seconds, but it wasn’t instant.

Another key difference between NordVPN’s app and ExpressVPN’s is the wider range of advanced security settings you get.

On top of an effective kill switch and ChaCha20 encryption keys (which ExpressVPN also offers), you can access additional settings such as multi-hop (double VPN) servers and dedicated IPs.

These specialist servers are so easy to find and start using, too. Just tap the category you want at the top of the server list to narrow the search.

And thanks to the built-in Threat Protection solution, the VPN app will block ads and malicious domains. It’s not infallible, but it blocks over 90% of ads and trackers.

I general, I found NordVPN’s iOS app busier than ExpressVPN’s cleaner UI. While the extras have been moved to less prominent locations, there’s still a lot going on.

The good news is that NordVPN has addressed and fixed my biggest complaint about the app: you can in fact now disconnect in one tap with the power button next to Pause Connection.

If you pause often, you can also set a default pause time instead of picking one each time.

Another aspect I’m not a great fan of is having usage statistics displayed on the home screen. I don’t see much point in knowing them, and I’d prefer the option to hide them.

Proton VPN lets you use as much data as you want for free so you can leave the app running all the time.

You won’t even notice that the VPN is active, either, with my latest speed tests showing only a 1% drop in download speed.

This is an impressive speed measurement for a free VPN, and is one of the key advantages Proton VPN has over Windscribe.

Rather than imposing speed and bandwidth caps, Proton VPN limits the functionality of its free plan by blocking access to streaming services.

Case in point: the free VPN has never worked with any streaming service I test for, including US Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer.

All of Proton VPN’s apps, including the free ones, use AES-256 or ChaCha20 encryption to secure your iPhone’s connections, and never log identifiable activity data.

Despite not being as feature-rich as the paid product, the free version still provides excellent protection through settings like Always-on, which automatically reestablishes a VPN connection if it drops, and the must-have kill switch.

Proton VPN’s free app has many security features.

Other advanced features that Proton VPN is known for, such as Secure Core servers and VPN Accelerator, are only available if you upgrade.

Proton VPN was also one of the very first VPNs to open source its applications, which are regularly audited by third-party engineers.

The company has published every audit it has undergone, and has promptly fixed any reported vulnerabilities, highlighting the company’s ongoing commitment to its values.

While Proton VPN has free servers in 10 locations, the big problem is that you can’t manually choose any of them. The app will simply connect you to the nearest available server.

You can tap the Change server button to see if the VPN assigns you a better location, but doing so triggers a 45-second countdown, which increases to 10 minutes after repeated attempts.

Moreover, this inability to manually select specific locations essentially prevents you from unblocking your favorite geo-restricted websites and apps.

Windscribe continues to be one of the most effective and consistent free VPNs for evading IP-based blocks on iOS.

The VPN unblocks many streaming apps that most secure free VPNs are unable to access, including 5 Netflix regions, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Prime Video, HBO Max, and Disney+.

Most other free VPNs I tested reserve streaming functionality for their paid plans, so it’s really refreshing that Windscribe provides this for free.

There are some downsides to streaming with the free version of Windscribe, though.

First, it no longer works with the American Netflix content library. Second, despite registering fast download speeds in my tests, I experienced occasional buffering and pixelation, especially during live streams.

These are symptoms of server congestion due to high usage, which Windscribe struggles with on its most popular free servers.

At first glance, Windscribe’s iOS app seems easy to navigate. But it’s got some considerable flaws.

The home screen has a simple button and displays essential information, like your server location and IP address (which can also be blurred for privacy).

But Windscribe’s free servers are mixed in with the paid servers, which I found frustrating to scroll and sort through.

A better approach would be to offer a dedicated tab for free servers, streamlining the user experience, like many other free apps already do.

The app’s small UI elements are also not well optimized for smaller screens. Toggling between server tabs is challenging and requires precision, which is unusual for a top-tier VPN app.

Disappointingly, I couldn’t get the iOS widget to connect to a server on my iPhone. Instead, it would simply open the app.

And when I did connect via the app, the widget wouldn’t update to show the connection was established.

I did get a custom shortcut to work occasionally, but it was slow to respond compared to the main app. I also saw a few error messages connecting this way.

There is one major drawback to Windscribe’s free app, which concerns its data usage limit of only 10GB per month.

I calculated that this gives you roughly four hours of HD streaming time each month. While it’s not nothing, it’ll still frustrate streaming fans.

Also, the 10GB allowance is only available if you create a free account. Otherwise you only get 2GB each month.