A VPN (virtual private network) hides your IP address, encrypts your connection and makes it look as though you’re browsing from anywhere in the world. If you want to avoid nosey internet activity trackers or just watch shows while abroad, a VPN service will have your back.
While VPNs are now used by almost everyone, including remote workers and everyday users trying to keep their data secure, not all VPNs are made equal. While the idea of a free VPN is nice, paid ones usually offer better protection, privacy, support and speed, and services tend to throw in free trials so you can test the waters before diving in.
Still, it’s hard to choose between the onslaught of services. There are new providers launching every year; big players like NordVPN and Surfshark are teaming up; and companies like Kape Technologies are gobbling up the competition. It’s a lot to keep track of.
Thankfully, we’ve been reviewing VPNs for years here at The Independent, and have done the homework to help you cut through the noise. Whether you want privacy or security, we’ve got the best picks for every device.
How we tested
We put these VPNs to the test across a range of devices, including an iPhone 15 Pro Max, an Android Nothing Phone (2a), a MacBook Pro laptop and a Windows laptop. Our main goal was to see how they performed in real-world scenarios.
We measured each VPN’s speed – how quickly they connected and streamed content compared to their competitors – along with the level of security each one provided and whether any logs of our browsing data were kept. We also dug into the features each VPN offered, such as split tunnelling support, which allows you to choose which apps or websites use the VPN and which don’t, multi-hop, where your connection is routed through multiple servers for extra privacy, and the inclusion of a kill switch, a feature that cuts your internet connection if the VPN drops, ensuring your data isn’t accidentally exposed.
We were particularly interested in how well these VPNs held up under pressure, such as in locations where there was spotty wifi or public hotspots with heavy internet usage. This wasn’t just about speed; we wanted to understand how they balanced performance with privacy. Our testing also looked at ease of use across different devices and the kind of user experience each VPN provided.
Why you can trust us
With more than eight years of experience testing and writing about tech and cybersecurity – including VPNs – Alex Lee knows what makes a service worth your time and money. He’s personally used VPNs for everything from streaming UK shows while travelling abroad to keeping his online activity private, so he understands which features actually matter. His recommendations are based on hands-on testing, detailed research and comparisons of key essentials such as speed, security and pricing. Having also written extensively about cybersecurity, he knows what to look out for and is here to help you find the best VPN for your needs.
The best VPN services in 2025 are:
NordVPN
If you’re after a VPN that ticks all the boxes, NordVPN is our top pick. It’s fast, affordable compared to rivals, private and packed with features that actually make it feel worthwhile.
We’re not the biggest fans of its map-based user interface – it’s far easier to navigate on a laptop or desktop than on the mobile app – but the search box usually gets you to the right server. That was really our only gripe.
NordVPN currently offers the widest range of server locations among all the VPNs we’ve tested, with 118 countries and more than 7,150 servers. Last year alone, it added new locations, including Greenland, Bermuda, and the Isle of Man.
You can also connect up to 10 devices simultaneously – the highest number of multi-device connections on a single account among the major VPN providers. It was perfect for juggling a phone, laptop and tablet while working abroad.
It was no slouch when it came to speed either. It uses its own NordLynx protocol, built on WireGuard. Running speed tests on our 67 Mbps fibre broadband with NordVPN’s recommended UK server, we only saw a four per cent drop in download speeds. The US server was just nine per cent slower. That’s impressively fast, and we had no issues streaming content on BBC iPlayer or Channel 4. However, OpenVPN connections were noticeably slower, so we mostly stuck with NordLynx.
All the standard privacy and security features are checked off – AES-256 encryption, an automatic kill switch and split-tunnelling support. But NordVPN goes beyond the basics with advanced features that give it an edge over the competition.
Double VPN routes your traffic through two servers instead of one, and you can even combine a VPN server with the Onion network, meaning you don’t need to use The Onion Router (TOR) separately – it hides your use of the Onion network from your ISP and encrypts your traffic before it enters the network. Meshnet is another clever feature that lets you create encrypted private networks between devices, essentially letting you share secure files privately.
For the full cybersecurity suite, you’ll need to pay a bit more. The basic plan includes a lite version of Threat Protection, blocking phishing and malware links. But NordVPN Plus and Ultimate plans unlock Threat Protection Pro, a password manager, encrypted cloud storage and even cyber insurance to cover you if you get scammed online.
In November 2024, NordVPN also introduced NordProtect, an identity theft protection tool that constantly scans the dark web, marketplaces and forums, alerting you if your email or phone number appears in a data breach.
NordVPN offers a 24-month subscription, and the cheapest will effectively see you pay £2.59 per month. It has a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you’re not impressed, you can cancel within the first month for a full refund. It’s the best VPN around right now – it provided us with the speed, features and security we need from a VPN, just make sure to cancel within your renewal period – we’ve seen users get caught out by NordVPN’s auto-renewal process before.
Read the full NordVPN review now
Buy now £2.59, Nordvpn.com
Surfshark
If NordVPN is a bit too expensive to justify splurging on, Surfshark is a great alternative that offers great value for money. Owned by Nord Security, but it runs independently, you can often find it for half the price of NordVPN without missing out on key features or a superior level of security.
One of Surfshark’s biggest selling points is its unlimited device connections. That means you can connect every single device in your household without worrying about hitting a limit – something most other VPNs don’t offer, making it perfect for families or anyone with multiple devices.
We also really like how clean and approachable the interface is. The server list is super easy to read, with handy buttons for recommended locations and quick connect. And while Surfshark used to be a bit rubbish on iOS – missing some of the features you’d find on Windows and Android – in late 2024, it finally added split-tunnelling to the app, giving us way more control over which apps use the VPN and which don’t.
Surfshark is now one of the fastest VPNs we’ve tested. After lagging behind in previous years, it’s finally caught up. Using the WireGuard protocol, Surfshark’s UK servers only dropped download speeds by around five per cent, and even servers further afield saw just an 11 per cent drop. Streaming UK content on Disney+, iPlayer and Disney+ was seamless, with no buffering or lag.
Surprisingly, connecting via OpenVPN was just as fast. It was especially handy when we wanted to use Camouflage Mode – an OpenVPN-exclusive feature that hid the fact we were using a VPN.
In terms of privacy and security, Surfshark covers all the essentials. It offers AES-256 encryption, a recently improved kill switch (though it still needs to be toggled on) and split tunnelling for more control over your traffic. MultiHop is another standout feature, routing your connection through two servers instead of one for an extra layer of security. In theory, CleanWeb is a good feature, acting as an ad and malware-blocker, but we still noticed ads when browsing. It’s only really effective with the Surfshark browser extension.
Like other VPN providers, Surfshark wants to be a cybersecurity suite. The Surfshark One bundle includes antivirus protection, data breach alerts and a secure search tool, offering more all-in-one protection for those willing to pay a little extra.
While it doesn’t have as many servers as NordVPN, with more than 3,200 servers across 100 countries. there are enough options, and it added Ghana, Saudi Arabia and Puerto Rico in 2022.
Surfshark offers 24-month subscriptions, and right now, prices effectively start from £1.69 per month. If you’re not completely sold, Surfshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you subscribe via the website, and has a seven-day free trial if you subscribe through the App Store or Google Play Store. It’s a fast and cheap VPN.
Read the full Surfshark review now
Buy now £1.69, Surfshark.com
ExpressVPN
A former top pick, ExpressVPN is still one of our favourite VPNs, but it has been edged out by the likes of NordVPN, which has evolved more quickly and now offers more features, a larger selection of server locations and support for more simultaneous device connections.
Where ExpressVPN truly shines is in its user interface – it’s still the best-looking and easiest VPN we’ve used. If you’re new to VPNs, ExpressVPN is a no-brainer, with its UI consistent across all devices. All you have is a big, round on/off button in the centre and a simple button that takes you straight to the server list. It’s intuitive and straightforward – you really can’t go wrong.
Performance-wise, ExpressVPN delivers solid speeds. The provider’s proprietary Lightway protocol is fairly fast and stable, even on long-distance servers. In our tests, UK servers only dropped download speeds by around 12 per cent, while US servers saw a 15 per cent dip – still fast enough for smooth streaming and browsing. It worked well when it came to unblocking BBC iPlayer and ITVX, and while its range of servers isn’t as extensive, we like that ExpressVPN serves the Asias well.
It’s got security and privacy at its core, with AES-256 encryption as standard, as well as an automatic kill switch, split tunnelling support and RAM-based servers, so data isn’t written to hard drives.
In a major security upgrade in January 2025, ExpressVPN integrated the newly established standard for post-quantum encryption into its Lightway protocol, making ExpressVPN one of the first major VPN providers to do so. Built on Kyber’s foundation, the enhanced encryption should deliver stronger, future-proof security designed to withstand quantum computing threats into the years ahead.
While ExpressVPN started to fall behind the competition as other providers boosted their cybersecurity suite and launched new features, the provider has been catching up in recent years. It’s boasted a password manager, ad blocker and threat manager for a while, but in late 2024, ExpressVPN launched an Identity Defender feature, which includes a neat data-removal service that searches for and requests the removal of your personal information from data-broker sites. It also added a dedicated IP add-on in December 2024.
Although ExpressVPN is expensive, there’s just one price tier – so you get all those premium features included. If you know you’ll use the extras, it’s a worthwhile investment. But the downside is that you can’t pick and choose which features you want as with NordVPN – it’s all or nothing.
The cheapest way to get ExpressVPN is to opt for its 24-month plan. Right now, you can effectively subscribe for just £3.98 per month. There’s a seven-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. A very simple, beginner-friendly VPN.
Buy now £3.98, Expressvpn.com
Proton VPN
Proton is a company known for taking a strong stance on privacy, and its VPN offering is no exception – it’s been designed with security and transparency in mind.
Like many providers, Proton VPN has a strict no-logs policy – something it successfully passed in an independent audit for the third time last year. On top of that, all of its apps are open-source, so it’s really transparent. Its Secure Core feature takes things even further by routing your traffic through servers in privacy-friendly countries like Switzerland and Iceland before it leaves the Proton VPN network, adding another layer of security.
While Proton VPN’s free tier offers unlimited bandwidth – a rarity among free VPNs – you won’t be able to access streaming services while abroad, and you only get access to a handful of servers, which offer slower speeds. What you get, though, is peace of mind knowing you’re using a fully-audited, no-logs VPN provider with some serious security credentials.
You really need the Proton VPN Plus plan to get the full experience. It includes split tunnelling support, the ability to connect up to 10 devices at once, and NetShield – its ad-blocker and malware protection tool, which is the best we’ve tested on any VPN service. Plus, it comes with a double VPN feature that routes your traffic through multiple servers for even stronger security, and the VPN Accelerator, which significantly improves speeds over long-distance connections.
Just as fast as NordVPN, we found our speeds only dipped by around seven per cent when streaming over the WireGuard protocol – successfully unblocking BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and Channel 4. The vast number of servers is a real bonus, giving us plenty of options for a smooth and reliable connection.
While ProtonVPN isn’t the cheapest – it costs slightly more than NordVPN – it’s still more affordable than ExpressVPN and offers just as many features. The user interface, though easy to navigate, isn’t the sleekest and can feel a bit confusing at times. But for what it offers, we think it’s worth it.
For those wanting the full Proton experience, you can upgrade to Proton Unlimited for just over £8 per month. This bundles Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, Proton Pass, and ProtonVPN into one comprehensive privacy suite. Both Plus and Unlimited subscriptions come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, giving you time to decide if it’s the right fit. A two-year plan currently starts from £3.59 per month.
Buy now £3.59, Protonvpn.com
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access (PIA) has been in the VPN game for more than a decade. If you hung around internet forums in the late 2000s, you probably saw PIA popping up in every conversation about online privacy. Sure, flashier names like NordVPN and ExpressVPN are now our go-to’s, but that doesn’t mean PIA has fallen off.
It’s still going strong and is still the VPN provider we recommend if you’re a techie. Catering more towards advanced users, the application, when fully expanded, displays server locations, connection details and real-time performance metrics, but when in its original, compact view, it’s just as clean and simple as ExpressVPN. Its advanced settings are where things get really interesting.
There are roughly more than 20,000 servers spread across 91 countries – that’s one of the largest server networks out there, though a chunk of those are in the US.
While you get access to the basics, such as a kill switch and split tunnelling, for the more tech-savvy out there, PIA lets you toggle between AES-128 and AES-256 bit encryption, letting you choose between security and speed. There’s also port forwarding, which improves P2P connections, handy if you’re torrenting online.
Speeds also remained consistent – though not the fastest out of the bunch (NordVPN and Surfshark were still the speediest) – and it let us access UK streaming services when connected to UK servers. While there aren’t many fancy cybersecurity features in the package, PIA’s small monthly price tag is attractive, especially with its strong privacy credentials, as is the fact that you can use it with an unlimited number of devices.
One thing we really didn’t like was that PIA gives you a username that can’t be changed – you can’t log in to the service with an email address, just the gibberish username.
A three-year plan starts from just £1.67 per month. You can try it out, and if you’re not happy, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Buy now £1.67, Privateinternetaccess
Windscribe
If you’re after a free VPN, Windscribe is a good option. Based in Canada (which might raise privacy concerns for some due to local data laws), Windscribe offers 10GB of free data per month if you sign up with an email. You can also sign up without entering an email address – a rarity among VPN providers – but you’ll be capped at 2GB of data per month, which is still reasonable. While some free VPNs offer more data, few can reliably unblock streaming services abroad – it performed admirably when accessing BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4 and more.
It’s also the only VPN with an actual sense of humour – there are funny names for its server locations, such as “custard and biscuits” for its London datacentre, making it an easy VPN to fall in love with, even if the user interface can feel a bit cluttered.
Yegor Sak, founder of Windscribe, tells us that it deliberately chooses not to expose the individual servers within its creatively-named datacenters, with users only interacting with the datacenter as a whole. And while he doesn’t disclose the exact number of physical servers, he says that there are well over 1,000. Plus, with the exception of Fake Antarctica, all of its servers are hosted on location (no cheeky virtual locations).
The free version lets you switch between multiple protocols, including IKEv2, WireGuard, and OpenVPN (TCP and UDP). However, you’re limited to servers in 10 countries: the US, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Switzerland, the UK and Hong Kong. Like PIA, you use a username to log in rather than an email address, but at least you can customise it.
Windscribe’s “R.O.B.E.R.T.” tool lets users block malware, ads, trackers, gambling sites, social networks, adult content and even “fake news and clickbait”, with customisable filters you can toggle on or off. Free users can create up to three custom rules, while Pro users can set up to 1,000. Other free features include split tunnelling support, a kill switch and a decoy mode to generate fake traffic.
You can also connect an unlimited number of devices, which is rare even among paid VPN services. While Windscribe says it doesn’t store logs, it does keep a record of the last time a user used the service and the total amount of data used in 30 days. The company also published a third-party independent audit of its service last summer.
The question is – is the Pro version worth the price of admission? Starting at £4.82 per month, it might seem pricey compared to its competitors, but Nord’s renewal rates can jump dramatically, making it far more expensive over time. Windscribe, by contrast, offers much cheaper and more consistent monthly pricing, with Windscribe offering a £2.41 per month Build-a-Plan. And while it doesn’t boast as many servers, all of them are hosted physically, which can be risky.
For casual users, the free version delivers unthrottled speeds and generous limits, but the Pro version offers unlimited data and a transparent subscription plan.
Buy now £4.82, Windscribe.com
VPN FAQs
What is a VPN service?
In simple terms, a virtual private network is a bit of software that masks your identity, hiding your data in a virtual tunnel. A secure, encrypted connection is formed between your device and a server somewhere in the world. Doing this hides your public IP address and tricks websites into thinking that you’re actually browsing from a different location.
It works a bit like a filter, converting all your internet traffic and browsing data into nonsense. Third-party websites and even your internet service provider won’t be able to see what websites you’re visiting because everything is rerouted through a remote server that’s run by the VPN provider.
Why use a VPN?
When you connect to the internet, your internet service provider (ISP) can see everything you do through your IP address. While it might not seem likely, your ISP could sell your browsing data to advertisers or share it with authorities. A VPN hides your IP address and encrypts your data, keeping your online activity private and secure.
If you’re abroad and want to catch up on your favourite shows or watch football, you’ll need a VPN to access services like BBC iPlayer, which are usually restricted to UK viewers. A VPN lets you connect to a UK server, making it look like you’re browsing from home—so you won’t miss a match or the latest episode.
How do I use a VPN when I’m abroad?
A VPN lets you access blocked websites. For example, you can use a VPN to access restricted sites. Just make sure to download and set up the VPN before you travel as some countries block VPN websites, making it harder to install one once you’re there.
What are the benefits of a paid VPN vs a free VPN?
Free VPNs often come with heavy restrictions. They typically cap your data usage, limit the number of servers you can access, and throttle your speeds to push you toward upgrading to a paid plan. Worse still, many free providers make money by tracking and selling your browsing data to advertisers. You’re also unlikely to unblock streaming services like Netflix or BBC iPlayer with a free VPN.
Paid VPNs, on the other hand, offer full access to thousands of servers, faster speeds and stronger privacy protections, including strict no-logs policies. Many also come with advanced security features like malware protection and ad-blocking. If you’re curious, it’s worth trying a paid VPN that offers a free trial—you’ll get a much better experience and avoid the risks that come with trusting a free provider.
Are VPNs legal in the UK?
Yes, using a VPN is completely legal in the UK. And while it’s also legal to access geo-restricted streaming services, like Netflix or BBC iPlayer through a VPN, it can breach the streaming service’s terms of use, meaning they could restrict or block your access if they catch you.
Some people use VPNs to hide their identity when torrenting or engaging in illegal activities online, including accessing the dark web. While using a VPN itself isn’t illegal, using it to break the law is—and VPN providers won’t protect you if you’re caught doing something illegal.
The verdict: Best VPNs
NordVPN is our go-to VPN for a reason. It nails the balance between lightning-fast speeds, security and apps that just work – no faffing about. Threat Protection and Double VPN are great security features, and it unblocked UK streaming services successfully. Its suite of cybersecurity features also gives it an edge over its rivals, who often focus purely on the VPN side of things.
If you’re after something a little cheaper, Surfshark is a great shout. It’s affordable, offers unlimited device connections (which is rare) and still holds its own where security is concerned. ExpressVPN, on the other hand, is a perfect VPN for anyone new to VPNs and wants a beginner-friendly interface.
