Is It Really Worth Getting a VPN?

Whether a VPN is worth it depends on your needs, but there are several clear and proven benefits to having one, as explained in this video:

Below are the six reasons why I think a VPN is worth getting:

1. Protecting Your Online Privacy

First and foremost, VPNs are internet privacy tools. Even if you use HTTPS websites, your ISP can still see which websites you visit.

By encrypting your traffic and and tunneling it through a remote server, a VPN hides your online activity from snoopers like your ISP, which can no longer see what you’re doing on the internet.

A VPN also hides your IP address from every website you visit, which makes it much harder for advertisers to track, profile, and target based on your location. It won’t stop every kind of tracking though – more on that below.

2. Accessing Geo-Restricted Web Content

Another popular use of VPNs is to access region-locked entertainment around the world.

By changing your IP address, a VPN can make it appear as if you’re located in a different region or country, unblocking streaming content that you wouldn’t normally be able to access.

For instance, if you’re subscribed to Netflix, a good VPN will allow you to change your Netflix region and access titles only available in other countries’ content libraries.

I’ve used VPNs to access 120 streaming services around the world, but not all VPNs are good at this.

Streaming services like Netflix and BBC iPlayer actively try to block VPN traffic, and in my testing, only the best VPNs for streaming can get past these restrictions with consistently.

3. Unblocking Websites in Highly Censored Countries

VPNs are essential if you live in a country with high levels of online censorship, since they will allow you to bypass the country’s strict firewalls, and access blocked websites and apps.

If you’re traveling or moving to countries like Turkey, Russia, or China, I strongly recommend you use a VPN with obfuscation technology to keep access to your usual internet services. Without it, I’ve watched otherwise excellent VPNs fail to connect at all.

4. Getting Cheaper Deals and Subscriptions

VPNs make it look like you’re in another region, so you can sometimes pay for services at local prices.

For example, you can use a VPN to get a Ukrainian or Brazilian IP address and get a cheap Netflix account.

I’ve also used VPNs to stream live sports for substantially less.

5. Securing Public WiFi Networks

Using public WiFi is a lot safer than it used to be, now that almost every site is encrypted with HTTPS. However, there are still risks from hackers and malicious actors on the same network, and that the WiFi owner can see your internet activity.

A VPN for public WiFi allows you to connect securely to free WiFi networks , hiding your activity from the network owner and stopping third parties from injecting malicious content into your traffic.

Although the risks today have shrunk, it’s still worth using a VPN for peace of mind when using public WiFi, especially if you’re doing something sensitive like online banking.

6. Hiding Your Torrenting Activity

If you torrent without a VPN, your IP address is visible to other peers in the swarm, and the files you download are visible to your ISP.

Accidentally downloading copyrighted material would put you at risk of legal penalties pursued by copyright trolls, licensing companies, or your ISP itself.

By using a secure VPN that doesn’t log what you do online, you can stop your internet activities from being traced back to you. And if there was a legal request for information about you, there wouldn’t be any records to hand over.

If none of the points above are important to you, then a VPN isn’t worth it. There are other disadvantages to VPNs to consider before you subscribe, too.

Below are the three situations where I’d tell you not to bother:

1. Achieving Complete Online Anonymity

VPNs are excellent at improving your online privacy, especially against your ISP and the governments that mandate data collection. However, VPN software alone won’t make you fully anonymous online.

Any tracking that happens inside your browser are untouched by a VPN. It doesn’t block cookies, and it won’t stop fingerprinting based on your screen size, browser type, browser extensions, and how your graphics card works.

The same goes for anything you’ve logged into. If you’re signed in to any social media accounts while you browse, those platforms know exactly who you are no matter what server you’re connected to. Your VPN still hides your traffic from your ISP, but it does nothing to hide you from the companies you’ve given your identity to.

You also have to trust a VPN service with your data. You’re really choosing between a VPN company or your ISP handling your data, so it’s vital to know whether the VPN service itself is trustworthy.

Plenty don’t. Many VPNs are themselves a threat to your online privacy and security. They’re usually the free ones, like Hola, but even some subscription-based providers have been caught in scandals, like Avast SecureLine harvesting user data.

VPNs can also expose user data through accidental data leaks, and I’ve found these in apps that should know better. If you’ve already subscribed to a service, run it through our VPN leak test tool to check for vulnerabilities.

2. Comprehensive Security Protection

VPNs improve your online security, but they aren’t perfect. While some VPNs include ad blockers and malware protection, our tests show that they’re not as effective as dedicated ad blockers or antivirus software.

If your primary goal is to protect your device and your data from digital attacks and viruses, then it’s worth investing in another type of security software.

It’s also worth remembering how most attacks actually work. The majority use some form of social engineering, convincing someone to install something or visit a website that has been weaponized to attack vulnerabilities in their device.

Similarly, while a VPN’s encryption can prevent attackers from inserting malware into your web traffic, it can’t stop you from downloading malware through the tunnel if that’s what you choose to do. Nor will a VPN scan any incoming emails or files to check whether they’re safe.

3. Prioritizing Internet Speed

VPNs slow down your internet connection, due to the additional routes your internet data has to take.

Your traffic is encrypted and routed through a remote server before reaching its destination – essentially taking a longer, more secure path to websites.

Even the fastest VPNs will slow down your internet to some degree. I recorded an average download speed loss of 13% with ExpressVPN and NordVPN, and 15% with Surfshark.

If you don’t plan to use a VPN very often, it might not be worth investing in a paid service.

Be careful which free app you pick though, because most free VPNs are unsafe to use.

There are a few free VPNs that I do trust, such as Windscribe, Hide.me, and Proton VPN, but every one of them is limited in some way, be it a monthly data cap, a much smaller choice of servers, or slower speeds.

The table below shows the differences between the paid and free versions of Windscribe and Proton VPN, two trustworthy VPN services:

	Windscribe (Paid)	Windscribe (Free)	Proton VPN (Paid)	Proton VPN (Free)
Countries with Servers	69	10	148	10
Monthly Data Cap	Unlimited	10GB	Unlimited	Unlimited
Netflix Libraries	32	5	6	0
Torrenting	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

In short, for any regular VPN use, it’s worth paying for a high-quality paid service. Every free app I’ve tested compromises somewhere, and the annual plans from the best providers are relatively cheap enough that I don’t think the trade-off is worth making.