The Best VPNs for Multiple Devices

Put simply, no other VPN comes close to ExpressVPN’s broad device compatibility.

All its apps are extremely well designed and maintain the same level of usability across platforms. We love the compact nature of its desktop and mobile apps, and how quickly the VPN connects to a server.

Its Fire TV and Apple TV apps have also been designed with the user in mind, with thoughtful grouping of server locations to avoid the endless scrolling you experience with other VPN apps.

But the key to ExpressVPN’s superior compatibility is its router app. While a number of VPNs allow manual router configuration, none have a developed an actual app for the device.

It only took us a few minutes to set up ExpressVPN’s router app and connect our Xbox.

Once you’ve set up the VPN router app, you can control it via your web browser and assign each device on your network a different VPN location.

Not only does the router app allow you to bypass the service’s device policy, but it also lets you easily use the VPN on devices that don’t support VPN software, such as game consoles and Roku.

ExpressVPN ticks all the key boxes from a privacy and security standpoint, but its pièce de résistance is its ability to bypass most streaming geo-restrictions around the world.

Out of 120 streaming services we regularly test with VPNs, ExpressVPN unblocks 95% of them, including 18, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.

Streaming BBC iPlayer with ExpressVPN from outside the UK.

We had the same flawless experience across all its software, including its VPN apps for Firestick, Apple TV, Android TV and its browser extensions.

Videos loaded instantly, without any buffering or sudden picture degradation that you can get with other (slower) VPNs.

For only $1.99/mo over 27 months, Surfshark represents phenomenal value.

Alongside all the non-negotiable privacy and security features we expect from a VPN service, Surfshark’s standard subscription comes with a wide selection of extra tools for free.

The most noteworthy of these free extras are: multi-hop servers, IP rotator, ad blocker, cookie pop-up blocker, and even a GPS spoofer in its Android app.

Some of Surfshark’s advanced settings.

The overall device compatibility of Surfshark is comparable to PIA’s, although the desktop apps take up a lot of screen space and feel cluttered. We actually prefer using Surfshark’s mobile apps, which are more streamlined.

The sluggish server connection times were also frustrating, with some server locations taking over 5 seconds to connect. While it’s not the end of the world, it’s still a lot slower than ExpressVPN.

One of Surshark’s unique benefits is that you can trial it for free through desktop or mobile. For context, most VPN services only offer free trials via iOS and Android.

Once you’ve signed to the free trial, you can use your free account on any device you want. If you don’t cancel the free trial, it will upgrade your account to a paid subscription, at which point the 30-day refund policy kicks in.

This means that you can use Surfshark on all your devices for up to 37 days for free.

The VPN service has one of the best app ranges available, covering Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Fire TV, Android TV, and Apple TV.

There’s even a full GUI VPN app for Linux and browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.

All the apps are easy to use, and we really like the effort that’s been made to keep their appearance and usability consistent across all platforms.

More advanced VPN users will also enjoy the very large set of advanced settings for you to tinker with.

These settings include custom DNS, port forwarding, two types of kill switch, an ad and tracker blocker, dedicated IPs, split tunneling, multi-hop servers, and more.

You can customize your VPN connection down to its minute details.

PIA’s device compatibility could be even better if it fixed its Smart DNS proxy, which doesn’t work with several geo-restricted services.

The absence of a dedicated VPN router app is also a handicap, since it makes it trickier to use PIA on devices that don’t natively support VPN software.

While PIA is a good VPN for bypassing streaming geo-blocks, it’s even better at hiding your Internet activity, especially the files you share.

Its large P2P-friendly server network of 18,651 endpoints continues to deliver exceptional download speeds, and it’s been proven to never log activity data either.

Combined with PIA’s privacy and security excellent features, the VPN is ideal for anonymous torrenting and file sharing no matter where you are.

If you’re a serious torrenter, you’ll also enjoy the fact that PIA comes with free port forwarding to speed up uploads.

We downloaded multiple test files without any issues.