How to Choose the Right VPN

There’s a lot of information to take in when comparing VPN services, and not all of it will be 100% relevant to you. If you’re just looking for a VPN that excels in all categories, take a look at our recommendations for the best VPNs overall.

If you’re using our tool to weigh up between a few VPNs, we want to help you make a responsible and informed buying decision. To help you do this, here’s a more detailed explanation of the attributes included in the comparison tool:

Pricing

While there are plenty of free VPNs on the market, the best VPN services cost money. Whether that cost is paid on a rolling monthly contract or a single up-front fee is up to you.

Our tool lists each VPN’s free trial period (if there is one) and how long the money-back guarantee period is. Every reputable VPN will be happy to refund you if you aren’t satisfied with the product, so buying a VPN is extremely low-risk.

If you don’t need a full suite of features, then there are also a handful of trustworthy free VPNs we recommend.

Security & Privacy

No matter why you need a VPN, it’s vital you can trust it to keep your data encrypted and private.

Our comparison tool keeps it simple by listing only the most important privacy and security features. You can see the type of data each VPN logs, where the VPN is incorporated, how it encrypts data, and whether it has suffered any data leaks in our testing.

Speed & Servers

Download speeds are important for a VPN, but they rely heavily on the service’s server network. Always check our full VPN reviews to make sure there is a server in or near your country as well as the country you want to connect to.

We list average local download speeds in the comparison tool above. We test from London, UK, but if you connect to a server near your location then you should expect similar results.
If you plan on mostly connecting to distant servers, we cover international speeds in our reviews and our VPN speed comparison tool.

Streaming & P2P

Streaming and torrenting are two of the most popular reasons to use a VPN.

We put particular emphasis on whether or not a VPN can access the US Netflix library because of its popularity and huge range of content, but we don’t stop there. You can also see all of the other streaming services each VPN unblocked in our testing.

As for torrenting, you can see whether P2P traffic is allowed by the VPN, and on how many servers it is permitted.

Compatibility

Good VPNs have applications for as many platforms and devices as possible, but even the best might not support the specific platform you’re looking for.

In the comparison tool, you’ll find the devices each VPN makes a bespoke application for, as well as the devices that are supported by installing the VPN on your router. Smart DNS lets you stream foreign content libraries, but it won’t protect your traffic.

Advanced Features

Every VPN has a different set of features. Here you can see some of the more common extras that we think are particularly useful or important. The VPN kill switch is vital for keeping your connection secure, while the ability to work in China is critical if you live in any country with a censored internet.