The Best VPNs for Mac

The ExpressVPN macOS client is the most intuitive and user-friendly we’ve used, and that’s been the case for many years.

The app takes up little screen space and is designed to connect you to a VPN server as quickly as possible, thanks to a big connect button on the home screen.

You can easily find your desired server location by clicking the ellipsis on the ‘Selected Location’ button, which opens up the server list.

What’s simply remarkable, and unmatched in the industry, is how quickly the app connects to a server. It takes literally one or two seconds, even connecting to distant server locations!

Moreover, the VPN’s geolocation accuracy has improved massively, meaning that you often get the actual IP location you wanted, unlike what happens with many other VPNs.

When it comes to picking a VPN for streaming, ExpressVPN is unrivaled, even on Mac.

It’s ability to bypass IP-based content restrictions is phenomenal, particularly those of major streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, and BBC iPlayer.

Almost every server we used unblocked geo-restricted content. This makes it so much easier to stream quickly, rather than having to hunt down a server that works, which can take minutes with some VPNs.

Its US VPN servers, spread across 14 states, were particularly useful to watch out-of-market NFL games and other US sport blackouts.

This superior level of unblocking is paired with quick and consistent long-distance internet speeds.

With a slowdown of just 15%, compared to our standard line speed, ExpressVPN has always streaming at the highest resolutions available.

Despite its simplicity, we have found ExpressVPN’s software to be one of the most reliable to keep your internet activity private and secure.

By default, ExpressVPN encrypts internet traffic using AES-256 / ChaCha20 keys and wolfSSL through a UDP Lightway connection.

We can also confirm that its kill switch, called Network Lock, will indeed stop your IP address from being exposed during VPN connection failures (which almost never happen with ExpressVPN).

Finally, all traffic runs through diskless servers that never write data to disk, but ExpressVPN doesn’t your log internet activity anyway.

The only slight issue that you need to be aware about is that on Mac, the kill switch isn’t effective when you’re changing server locations, but the app does warn you about this beforehand.

You could also argue that ExpressVPN should really offer more security settings (e.g. multi-hop servers), like NordVPN does, but in all honesty most VPN users don’t really need them.

If you want to use the internet more securely and privately, and unblock geo-restricted content around the world, ExpressVPN’s offering is absolutely fine.

Honestly, ExpressVPN’s performance has been remarkable ever since we started testing it in 2016. That said, there’s no escaping the fact that it is more expensive than other VPNs for new customers.

In comparison, Surfshark offers a multi-year subscription at half the cost, but ExpressVPN outperforms both Surfshark and NordVPN in most areas, which in our opinion justifies the higher cost.

In any event, what you should do first it get an ExpressVPN 7-day free trial through either the App or Play Stores and, using those new account credentials, take the macOS app for a test drive.

This way you can be extra sure that ExpressVPN is the right VPN for you, before you fully commit to a subscription plan.

In terms of security, we can confidently say that NordVPN pips ExpressVPN to the post.

The app’s security highlights include ChaCha20 encryption, diskless servers, a fully-working kill switch, and multi-hop servers to encrypt traffic twice by routing it via two VPN servers rather than one.

Threat Protection is also worth mentioning. This is NordVPN’s ad/tracker blocker, which blocked 60% of ads and 66% of analytic trackers in our tests.

However, unlike the ad-blocking features of ExpressVPN and Surfshark, NordVPN’s ad blocker is not included in the base subscription.

While PIA’s MACE, which is also offered for free, outperformed NordVPN’s Threat Protection in our tests, Threat Protection is still a valuable addition to NordVPN’s suite of security and privacy tools.

On the streaming front, NordVPN performed very well and is one of top VPNs for getting around content geo-blocks.

While ExpressVPN works with a few more content platforms around the world, NordVPN did deliver better results for specific platforms in certain countries.

Take Kayo Sports for instance: ExpressVPN couldn’t unblock it while NordVPN did, and very smoothly on all its Australian VPN servers.

NordVPN is also a better VPN for Canada than ExpressVPN, bypassing Fubo TV’s tough VPN blocks.

On the flip side, NordVPN couldn’t access other popular geo-restricted streaming services, like Hotstar in India, NFL+ in the US, and several DAZN regions.

A key difference between NordVPN and ExpressVPN concerns device compatibility. If you want to stream on devices that don’t support direct VPN installation, then ExpressVPN has to be your choice.

This is simply because NordVPN doesn’t provide a VPN router app, which makes it much harder to use on devices like Roku, PlayStation and Xbox.

Our main gripe with NordVPN’s Mac app is that the minimum window size is too large, primarily because of the server map.

You might think that’s not a big deal, and it might not be for you, but for us it made using other apps side-by-side awkward on our MacBook Pro.

If we could collapse the window down to a single column, as you can with Proton VPN for example, then the app would be a lot less annoying to use on a MacBook screen.

We also dislike how many settings, like Meshnet and Threat Protection, are hidden behind generic icons that don’t clearly communicate their function. You have to hover over each one to understand their purpose.

Another annoyance is the significant difference between the app downloaded from the App Store and the one from the NordVPN website.

Without any warning, the App Store version lacks several key features available on the website version, such as custom DNS servers, an app-specific kill switch, and Threat Protection.

Why the VPN provider offers two different software versions is beyond us, and quite frankly bizarre. NordVPN should fix this, and just make one app available for Mac.

Another thing we don’t like about NordVPN is its subscription renewal practices, which are really not consumer-friendly to be completely honest.

NordVPN is certainly cheaper than ExpressVPN for its new customers, but the company’s language is vary vague about the renewal price, which actually jumps to an eye-watering $140.00 per year!

This steep increase in subscription price really needs to be highlighted more clearly during the signup process. We expect a lot more transparency from NordVPN on this.

To avoid any surprises, disable auto-renewal in your account settings by logging in, navigating to Billing > Subscriptions, and clicking Cancel next to Auto-renewal.

You can tell Surfshark is owned by the same company as NordVPN when you see the long list of additional features on offer.

On top of expected security staples like AES-256 encryption, a VPN kill switch, and WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols, Surfshark includes many extra features like Rotating IP, Dynamic MultiHop, a masked email generator, and even a cookie pop-up blocker.

All these extras are included in the basic VPN plan. But, to be completely honest, you probably won’t use many of them. They’re nice to have, but not essential.

We’ve used Surfshark a lot on Mac (we do like our Macs at Top10VPN afterall), and the app is just not as user-friendly as we’d like it to be.

It’s by no means difficult to use, but when you compare it to ExpressVPN’s app, the difference is obvious.

The home screen is fine, you can easily connect to a VPN server, although it takes good few seconds to actually connect.

We also found ourselves using the “favorite” feature often, which pins a specific country to the top of the list for easy access in the future.

The menu bar app was really disappointing, though. As you can see in the screenshot below, it only allows you to connect to a default server. By comparison, you can connect to a specific ExpressVPN or NordVPN using their menu bar apps.

And just like NordVPN, Surfshark’s app window size is too large and can’t be resized, which on smaller MacBook screens is annoying.

The user interface is also very cluttered. The VPN functions are just one of five available on the navigation bar (like Surfshark Alert), which annoyingly are always there even if you aren’t subscribed to them.

The VPN section itself is a little chaotic, with three separate tabs for the different server types you can use. With little information available in the app, here is what the three server types are:

• Locations: The default tab with all 100 server countries.
• Static: The IP address always remains the same when using that server. This is not a dedicated IP address, since multiple users can use that same static IP address. Static IPs are only available via Germany, Japan, Singapore, UK, and US servers.
• Multi-hop: Adds an extra layer of security by routing your traffic through two VPN servers. It slows down your internet speed, but makes you harder to track.

Unlike ExpressVPN and NordVPN, Surfshark offers a 7-day free-trial when you download the app from the Mac App Store.

This quick access to the free trial allows you to test a top-tier VPN on Mac more quickly.

Keep in mind that Surfshark offers two different macOS clients, just like NordVPN. The Mac App Store version is more basic than the .DMG version you can get from the website.

Proton VPN’s Mac app is straightforward to use. Unlike many of the free Mac VPNs we tested, it’s ad-free and even felt premium while using it.

The free app’s design mirrors the paid version, which can be frustrating at times, since you can’t access many features available only to paid users.

As you can see in the screenshot below, despite a large app window, there is limited functionality, with only the ‘Disconnect’ button and the kill switch icon available.

Despite taking up most of the app interface, features like ‘Change Server’, ‘Plus Locations’, ‘Secure Core’, and ‘NetShield’ require a paid account.

Moreover, to use our preferred WireGuard protocol, Proton VPN’s app needs permission to add a Mac system extension, granting it higher privileges. This extra step wasn’t necessary with other VPNs, including Windscribe.

But, arguably the biggest limitation of Proton VPN’s free software is that you can’t decide which server location to connect to. The app automatically connects you to the nearest free server available.

By contrast, Windscribe lets you choose between free servers in 10 countries.

As we already pointed out, Proton VPN is the only safe free VPN that offers unlimited bandwidth. You can leave it running for as long as you want.

That said, you won’t be able to benefit from most high-bandwidth activities while connected to a free server.

Firstly, the free VPN has never got round most streaming geo-restrictions around the world. Secondly, all free servers actively block torrenting and P2P traffic.

This was a great source of frustration for us, and it undoubtedly makes Proton VPN’s unlimited free data allowance less useful.

Proton VPN encrypts traffic with secure ChaCha20 or AES-256 ciphers, authenticates data with SHA-384 hashes, and establishes connections via RSA-4096 handshakes.

The Mac app includes a kill switch, which we’re glad is enabled by default, to prevent IP leaks if the VPN suddenly disconnects.

These settings are supported by privacy-first logging policy and the company’s Swiss jurisdiction, which doesn’t mandate any data-gathering for VPN providers.

All this adds up to make Proton VPN one of the most trusted VPNs for keeping your data both private and secure.

Windscribe is the only safe free VPN that works with UK Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, Prime Video, and HBO Max.

During our tests, we accessed geo-blocked movies and TV shows from all 10 free server locations.

Speeds were good enough for us to stream TV shows and movies in HD, although we did experience sudden speed slowdowns which resulted in fuzzy video quality on occasions.

The only real drawback to using Windscribe’s free plan is its 10GB monthly data cap. For context, this is roughly four hours of HD streaming.

Unlike the vast majority of safe free VPNs, Windscribe is still extremely effective at circumventing internet restrictions in high-censorship countries like China.

We tested the VPN for access in China via our remote server in Shanghai, and it unbelievably worked 85% of the time!

We had to use the ‘StealthVPN’ connection protocol to get access to the open Internet, since it obfuscates VPN traffic to bypass strict internet filters like the Great Firewall of China.

Where Proton VPN disappoints, Windscribe pleases, particularly for anonymous torrenting and file sharing.

Windscribe continues to be an exceptional free VPN for torrenting, delivering P2P traffic on all its free servers with a very respectable average transfer speed (bitrate) of 6.3MiB/s.

Just like Proton VPN, Windscribe also offers a tried-and-tested kill switch, built-in DNS leak protection, and secure AES-256 encryption.

Importantly, make sure you stop torrenting before your data runs out, otherwise your real IP address will leak (even with the kill switch activated).

Windscribe’s macOS app is very easy to use, with a simple layout and large button for easy connections. There are also way more extra settings available compared to Proton VPN.

But, if you experience issues, there is no human live chat support to help unfortunately. You can speak to Garry, an automated chatbot, but we have never found it helpful.

The only other downside to Windscribe is that the Mac app is a basic menu bar app. Menu bar apps are small, limited in functionality, and hard to configure.

Plus, Windscribe’s Mac app doesn’t even behave like a typical menu bar app. When interacting with it, it forces you out of the foremost app and jumps to the desktop.

In the latest version, you can detach the app from the menu bar. But, this simply turns the app into a floating window, which doesn’t really improve user experience.