The Best VPN Services 2023: Reviewed & Ranked

NordVPN is easy to use, fast and offers lots of servers around the world so you can always connect to one that’s not bogged down with too many other users.

As well as being adept at unblocking streaming services including Netflix and Disney+, NordVPN also ticks the privacy box. Among other reasons for this, it has proven than it sticks by its no-logs policy by carrying out three audits, the most recent in December 2022.

Thanks to NordLynx (a WireGuard-based protocol), it’s one of the fastest VPNs around so shouldn’t slow down your internet connection. It offers a good range of features including a kill switch on its Android, Windows, iPhone and macOS apps. A kill switch is important to keep your data and real location hidden even if the VPN connection stops unexpectedly (which can happen from time to time with any VPN service).

NordVPN may not be the cheapest service, but rarely is the cheapest also the best. It’s great value considering the top-notch service that it offers.

The two-year subscription is the one to go for as it represents the cheapest monthly cost. NordVPN now offers three tiers: Standard, Plus and Complete. Plus adds Nord’s Password Manager and Data Breach Scanner, while Complete also comes with 1TB of encrypted cloud storage.

See all prices and plans at NordVPN.com.

Surfshark is very easy to use and offers a good range of features. It has apps for all popular devices and allows an unlimited number of connections.

With support for WireGuard (meaning excellent speeds), a pretty good track record for unblocking streaming services and its Nexus feature (which adds another layer of privacy), it ticks lots of boxes.

It’s run from the Netherlands which is privacy friendly and – addressing a criticism we’ve had for years – has had an audit of its no-logs policy, which found no issues.

These days, the only real drawback is that the subscription price jumps steeply upon renewal. This is a gotcha with quite a few VPN services (including NordVPN) and one that’s easily missed when signing up. However, as long as you remember to cancel your subscription before it renews, you’re free to sign up for a new deal again.

CyberGhost is a well-established VPN service which is based in Romania. That’s good for privacy, and now you don’t have to blindly trust CyberGhost’s privacy policy as Deloitte has audited it and found no issues.

Even if privacy isn’t top of your wish list for a VPN, CyberGhost has other attractions. One is that when we last checked, it was able to unblock every streaming service we tried including Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer and ITV X (another UK-based service). And since CyberGhost has an absolutely huge selection of servers, if the recommended one doesn’t work, you can try a few others.

The other highlight is performance. With WireGuard available on all its apps, you can expect speedy connections for things like downloading files, streaming in 4K and gaming.

Factor in the tempting deals on two- or three-year subscriptions and the ability to use the service on up to seven devices at the same time, it’s a great option for anyone looking for a capable VPN that won’t break the bank. Just make sure you cancel that subscription before it renews to avoid paying a higher price for the next one.

PIA is an feature-packed VPN service which should appeal whether you’re a gamer, privacy advocate or want to unblock streaming services. It’s good value, too.

It’s not the fastest or cheapest out there, but it does have a heck of a lot of servers, is highly configurable and now has the reassuring Deloitte audit which makes its US location a non-issue.

It isn’t our first choice for unblocking streaming services, but it may unblock everything you need it to.

See the latest deals and plans on Private Internet Access’s website.

If you’re a power user wanting a VPN for privacy and security, Proton might well appeal. Although there is a free tier, that has restrictions on the number of servers you can choose, and the speeds on offer.

Those paying for ProtonVPN get access to excellent speeds, loads of options and can also use ‘Secure Core servers’ which route your connection through multiple servers for better privacy. There’s also support for Tor over VPN. Apps are all open source, and the service is based in Switzerland, which is ideal for privacy.

In 2022, a third party audited Proton VPN and confirmed it does stick by its no-logs policy.

You also get a couple of extras including a NetShield which uses DNS filtering to offer protection from malware-infested websites, and ads and trackers if you want.

ProtonVPN is good at unblocking streaming services, but if you don’t also want or need its privacy features or all the settings such as creating custom profiles for automatically connecting to servers, then there are cheaper options here.

ExpressVPN is the one to choose if you’re looking for a premium VPN service that will reliably unblock streaming content, and you’re not worried about paying a bit more each year.

There are lots of apps, plus browser extensions that actually use the VPN service (and aren’t just proxies) and a router app that’s surprisingly good. In fact, if you want all your home devices to connect via a VPN, ExpressVPN is the best choice for running on a router. It even sells its own Wi-Fi 6 router now.

There’s great tech support if you ever need help, and the proprietary Lightway protocol means you get quick speeds that are unlikely to slow down your broadband connection.

Privacy and security are excellent, and the company carried out almost a dozen audits in 2022, covering its apps and privacy policy.

ExpressVPN does lack a few features, such as double-hop routes which send your connection via two servers instead of one. And if you don’t use the router app, you’re limited to connecting only five devices at the same time.

Even when you sign up for a year (the longest subscription on offer), ExpressVPN costs considerably more than rivals, meaning it’s difficult to recommend it over NordVPN and others here.

Get three months free when you sign up for a year of ExpressVPN

Atlas VPN is another service owned by Nord Security, which also owns NordVPN and Surfshark. Atlas VPN is the cheapest of the three, but that’s reflected in the service you get.

It doesn’t really matter that it has a relatively small number of servers because all the popular countries are covered. A larger problem for anyone needing a VPN for privacy is that it’s based in the USA. Atlas VPN claims not to log any data about its users, but since it has never had a third-party audit, there’s no proof of this.

If you’re happy to give it the benefit of the doubt, given the Nord Security backing, then Atlas VPN is a very tempting option for those on a budget. Oh, and it also supports IPv6 (most don’t) and allows unlimited connections, so you can use it on as many devices as you like.

The bad news is that Atlas VPN isn’t amazing at unblocking streaming services. It’ll let you watch Netflix, HBO Max and other big names, but didn’t unblock BBC iPlayer, ITV X or 9now in our most recent tests.

Hidden24 is different to the other services here. It’s a VPN designed from the ground up to offer ultimate privacy.

The pursuit of privacy above all else means a completely different approach to every other service. There are no apps to download: Hidden24 uses a device’s own VPN capability. That means it will work on Android, Mac, iPhone or Linux as well as Windows, but also means you can’t change servers very easily and there’s no kill switch, unless the operating system has one of its own.

Hidden24 owns and operates all its hardware and currently offers seven location to choose between: UK, US, Germany, Italy, France, Spain & Sweden.

Those servers run custom code – not open source software on top of Linux which is what most rented VPN servers in the cloud use. Not even Hidden24’s staff can access the servers, which is why it’s a solid choice if security and privacy are your top priorities (and why it’s ideal for journalists, who can use the service for free). 

Unlike other ‘no-logs’ VPN services Hidden24 logs literally nothing, not even user sessions or the ‘anonymous data’ you’ll find mentioned in most rivals’ privacy policies. Again, this is great for privacy, but it has a drawback: you’re restricted to using just one device at a time. Connecting to a server on a second device will stop the connection on the first device.

The way to get around this (and the fact some devices don’t support VPNs) is to configure a compatible router with Hidden24 so all connected devices benefit from the VPN.

Despite the focus on privacy, Hidden24 reliably unblocks Netflix, iPlayer and other streaming services which are available in the seven countries it supports.

This alternative approach to VPN certainly isn’t for everyone. But it’s a great choice if you want the best privacy are are happy to forego convenience to get it. It’s also much cheaper than its rivals if you only subscribe for a month. If you prefer a longer subscription, you can get an exclusive deal on a two-year plan.

A decent choice for streaming, thanks to a huge choice of countries and – when we checked recently – actually able to unblock Netflix, iPlayer and others.

PureVPN is registered in the British Virgin Islands these days (more privacy friendly than the previous Hong Kong HQ) and can also be commended for allowing its no-logs policy to be ‘snap audited’ (an unscheduled audit that the company couldn’t prepare for). When this last happened, KPMG was able to confirm it sticks by that policy, which is great news.

There’s decent 24/7 live chat to help sort common problems and the service is competitively priced: you can find the latest deals on PureVPN’s website.

One reason that PureVPN isn’t higher up this list is that, although they’re easy to use, its apps lack some of the features that rivals offer, and we weren’t overly impressed with the speeds it was able to achieve with WireGuard. They may be fast enough if your broadband has a download speed of less than 200Mbps, but for those with full fibre, you’ll notice the drop in performance.

Also, PureVPN caused many websites to question whether we were “human” and meant we had to go through the process of going through those annoying verification quizzes just to visit websites.

Ivacy may not have as many servers as some of its rivals and may be fairly basic overall but it does tick some important boxes. One is that Ivacy unblocked a lot of popular streaming services in our tests, and while only some servers support P2P downloads, we had no issues downloading torrent files from those that do.

Apps are available for a wide selection of devices. They’re not the most polished, but beyond a few hitches installing the Windows app, they do work properly.

Relatively recently Ivacy rolled out WireGuard – later than many rivals, and there’s still no support for it on Macs.

For this super-cheap price you wouldn’t expect the fastest speeds – and you don’t get them. We saw download speeds ranging from just under 200Mbps to almost 400Mbps – fine if your broadband is the same speed or slower. Uploads speeds for anything except the closest sever in London were dismal, though, but this won’t matter to most people.

If you’re after privacy, there are better choices here. Ivacy hasn’t had its privacy policy independently audited so you have to take its word for it that it doesn’t log your data.

However, getting back to the original point: Ivacy’s five-year deal is still a great budget choice for anyone wanting a VPN for unblocking region-locked content, as well as for extra security on public Wi-Fi.