10 Best VPN Services of 2021: Premium Tools For Extra Security!

VPNs are great tools that, apart from protecting your online privacy, also help you access websites that are blocked in your region. They also help you remotely access company resources, and bypass censorship, etc. In this article, we’ll be reviewing and listing some of the best VPN services and their best features to help you make an informed decision to spend your money on the tool that suits you the best.

Top 10 Best VPN Services for 2021

1. Surfshark VPN: Editor’s Recommendation

Surfshark is one of the best and cheapest VPNs that you’ll find on this list. It offers plenty of security features to secure your IP address and digital footprints.

It is the only VPN on this list offering unlimited simultaneous connections. As far as the no-logs policy of this VPN is considered, Surfshark VPN is one of the few VPNs that gets audited by an independent organization.

Number of servers	3200+
Protocol	OpenVPN, IKEv2, Shadowsocks
VPN Jurisdiction	The British Virgin Islands
Unblocks streaming service	Yes, dedicated servers
No. of simultaneous connections	Unlimited
Additional features	Whitelist, CleanWeb, Camouflage Mode, Multi-hop, NoBorders Mode, Torrent-friendly servers
Anonymous payment options	Yes
Download link	Download Surfshark VPN

Supported platforms

•  Windows
• iOS
• Mac
• Android
• Linux
• FireTV
• Chrome, Firefox extensions

Surfshark VPN Pricing

All the plans are available with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It also has the cheapest plans compared to any other VPN on this list.

• Monthly plan: $12.95/mo
• six months plan: $5.99/mo
• 2-year plan: $2.49/mo

2. Private Internet Access (PIA): Editor’s Recommendation

Could this article be complete without mentioning one of the most popular VPNs in the world, Private Internet Access? Of course not.

PIA is operated by London Trust Media Holdings based in the United States. One of the main reasons why it’s one of the best is because its browser extensions and desktop clients are completely open-source. This ensures that the VPN is completely safe to use. PIA has a user base of over 15 million users and that speaks for itself.

Number of servers across countries	3292+ servers across 78 countries
Protocol	OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec
VPN Jurisdiction	United States
Unblocks streaming service	Yes
No. of simultaneous connections	10
Additional features	DNS leak protection, Port forwarding, Blocks ads, trackers, and malware
Anonymous payment options	Yes
Download link	Download Private Internet Access

Available Platforms

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux
• iOS
• Android
• PIA Chrome Extension
• Firefox Extension
• Opera

PIA subscription cost

While checkout, you can also use Bitcoin as a payment method. The affordable pricing of Private Internet Access is as follows:

• Monthly plan: $9.95/month
• Yearly plan: $5.99/month
• Two Years: $3.33/month

3. NordVPN – Best VPN Service

If you consume content on YouTube, you might’ve seen your favorite content creators promoting NordVPN, and we have to admit that its standards are definitely up there with some of the best VPNs of 2021.

NordVPN claims to be one of the fastest in terms of speed, has a strict no-logs policy, lets you connect up to six devices, offers multi-factor authentication, gives you a dedicated IP address, blocks ads, also comes with the Onion Router.

Number of servers	5141 servers across 60 countries
Protocol	OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPSec, TLS v1.2
VPN Jurisdiction	Panama
Unblocks streaming service	Yes
No. of simultaneous connections	6
Additional features	Anti-DDoS, Double VPN, CyberSec, DNS leak protection, Automatic Kill Switch, Onion over VPN, P2P, SmartPlay
Anonymous payment options	Yes
Download link	Download NordVPN

Supported platforms

• Windows
• Linux
• iOS
• Firestick
• Xbox
• Play Station
• Nintendo Switch
• macOS
• Android
• Raspberry Pi
• Routers
• Browser extensions

NordVPN pricing

With 30-day money-back guarantee, you can rest assured that NordVPN will turn out to be useful for you. They also accept Bitcoin as a payment mode. The pricing is fairly cheap for the number of features it offers.

• Monthly plan: $11.95/month
• Yearly plan: $4.92/month
• 2 Year plan: $3.29/month

4. IPVanish

The fourth entry on our list of best VPN services is Florida-based IPVanish. With 40,000+ shared IPs and 1300+ VPN servers spread across 75+ nations, this private VPN service lets you access censored apps and websites by taking the advantage of the unlimited bandwidth.

With this no-log VPN, you can use any of the widely supported protocols, including PPTP, OpenVPN, IPsec, etc. From the app, you can switch different protocols as well. It has great features but NordVPN provides a better experience and more features at lower prices.

Number of servers	1300+
Protocol	IKEv2, OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec
VPN Jurisdiction	United States
Unblocks streaming service	Yes
No. of simultaneous connections	10
Additional features	Unlimited bandwidth, unlimited P2P traffic, anonymous torrenting
Anonymous payment options	Yes
Download link	Download IPVanish VPN

IPVanish pricing

Different available plans for IPVanish are:

• Monthly plan: $10.99/month
• Yearly plan: $4.50/month
• 3 months plan: $8.99/month

IPVanish comes with a 7-day money-back guarantee

Supported platforms

• Windows
• iOS
• macOS
• Android
• FireTV

5. ExpressVPN

When it comes to speed and support, you can’t get better than ExpressVPN. It’s one of the top-rated VPN providers with servers spanned across 160 locations in 94 countries.

Thanks to its features like zero-knowledge DNS and kill switch, you can rest assured on the privacy front. Moreover, there are dedicated servers for Nextflix streaming help you unlock an unlimited library of content to binge-watch, making it one of the best VPN services of 2021.

Number of servers	3000+
Protocol	OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec
VPN Jurisdiction	The British Virgin Islands
Unblocks streaming service	Yes, dedicated servers
No. of simultaneous connections	5
Additional features	Kill switch, Zero-knowledge DNS, VPN split tunneling, Onion website
Anonymous payment options	Yes
Download link	Download ExpressVPN

Supported platforms

• Windows
• Linux
• Mac
• iOS
• Android
• Routers
• ExpressVPN extensions
• ExpressVPN MediaStreamers for consoles like PlayStation, Apple TV, Xbox, and Fire TV.

ExpressVPN Pricing

ExpressVPN plans come with a 100% money-back guarantee for the first 30 days. Bitcoin is also an accepted payment method these days by most VPN service providers. Here are the plans ExpressVPN has on offer.

• Monthly plan: $12.95/month
• Yearly plan: $8.32/month
• 6 Months: $9.99/month

6. CyberGhost VPN

If you want a VPN that is committed to your privacy, CyberGhost VPN should be your choice. It is a Romania-based VPN provider which promises a strict no-log policy.

You get all the premium features like kill switch, ad-blocking facility, unlimited bandwidth, and 256-bit AES encryption that you’d expect from a top-rated VPN.

CyberGhost offers dedicated servers for streaming and P2P torrenting. If you want a VPN for unblocking Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, CyberGhost has a dedicated section in its app for it. Also, you can have a look at our list of VPNs for unblocking Netflix.

Number of servers	7493+ across 91 countries
Protocol	OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP
VPN Jurisdiction	Romania
Unblocks streaming service	Yes, Dedicated servers
No. of simultaneous connections	7
Additional features	Wi-Fi Protection, Unblock streaming services, Torrenting optimized servers, automatic kill switch, DNS and IP leak protection
Anonymous payment options	Yes
Download link	Download CyberGhost VPN

Available platforms

• Windows
• macOS
• iOS
• Android
• Amazon Fire Stick
• Android TV

CyberGhost VPN Pricing

CyberGhost VPN offers a free trial of 24-hours which is by far the least free trial time period offered by any VPN in this list of the best VPNs 2021.

• 1-month subscription with 14-days money-back guarantee: $12.99
• 1-year subscription with 45-days money-back guarantee: $5.99/month
• 2-years subscription with 45-days money-back guarantee: $3.69/month.
• 3-years subscription with 45-days money-back guarantee: $2.75/month

7. TorGuard

As the name suggests, a specialized VPN for torrenting and P2P downloads, the US-based TorGuard finds its place at #7 on this 2021 best VPN list. Some of you might be connecting the dots to the Tor browser, but that’s not the case here. Users can take advantage of a large number of servers spread across the world. With the license, you get to use this TorGuard VPN service on 8 devices.

Number of servers	3000+ in over 50 countries
Protocol	OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, SSTP, WireGuard
VPN Jurisdiction	United States
Unblocks streaming service	Yes
No. of simultaneous connections	8
Additional features	Secure NAT firewall, Stealth VPN, advertisement, and malware blocking
Anonymous payment options	Yes
Download link	Download TorGuard VPN

TorGuard Supported Platforms

• Windows
• Mac
• Linux
• Android
• iOS

TorGuard VPN Pricing

• Monthly plan: $9.99/month

8. VyprVPN by Golden Frog

VyprVPN comes from Golden Frog, whose founders are internet veterans and have been working to provide secure services to users since 1994. VyprVPN is one of the most popular VPNs offering more than 700+ servers spread across 6 continents.

The impressive technology that sets them apart from others in this best VPN list is their homegrown technology named Chameleon, which promises to defeat VPN blocking and throttling. It makes Vypr a great VPN for China as well.

Number of servers	700+
Protocol	OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, IKEv2, Chameleon
VPN Jurisdiction	Switzerland
Unblocks streaming service	Yes
No. of simultaneous connections	5
Additional features	Secure NAT firewall, Chameleon for unblocking geo-restrictions, VyprVPN Cloud
Anonymous payment options	No
Download link	Download VyprVPN

Supported Platforms

• Windows
• Android
• iOS
• Mac
• Routers
• Anonabox
• Blackphone
• QNAP
• Blackberry
• VyperVPN pricing

VyprVPN Pricing

• 2 months plan: $6.47/mo
• 18 months plan: $2.50/mo
• 3-years plan: $1.81/mo

9. HMA (HideMyAss) VPN

In terms of the number of the sheer number of countries where its servers are installed, HMA could be the best VPN service around. It has more than 1080+ servers spread in 190+ countries. HideMyAss has three modes to suit your needs: Instant, Location, and Freedom. It claims to have servers that operate at 20Gbps, avoids trackers by shuffling your IP, and collects zero logs. All in all, it’s definitely one of the best VPNs worth giving a shot.

Number of servers	290
Protocol	OpenVPN, OpenVPN-TCP, PPTP, L2TP
VPN Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Unblocks streaming service	Yes, Dedicated servers
No. of simultaneous connections	5
Additional features	Smart Kill Switch, Split-tunneling, DDoS protection, P2P optimized servers
Anonymous payment options	No
Download link	Download HMA VPN

HideMyAss Supported Platforms

• Windows
• Mac
• Linux
• iOS
• Android
• Apple TV
• Play Station
• Xbox

HMA VPN Pricing

Its plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

• Yearly plan: $4.99/month
• 3 Years plan: $2.99/month

10. TunnelBear – Best VPN Services

TunnelBear is one of the most user-friendly VPNs out there. One of the distinctive features about the same is that it also has a free and popular option that comes with a bandwidth cap of 500MB per month. However, if you choose to tweet about them, they’ll raise the limit to 1GB.

The number of countries where servers are located is just limited to 22 countries. Most of the features available in VPNs mentioned in this article are also available on TunnelBear. If you’re looking for a simple, user-friendly VPN, TunnelBear is a great option. However, one of the major drawbacks of the same is, it’s limited to only 5 devices per plan.

Number of servers	In 20+ countries
Protocol	OpenVPN, IPSec
VPN Jurisdiction	Canada
Unblocks streaming service	No
No. of simultaneous connections	5
Additional features	Vigilant mode, Safe Wi-Fi protection, GhostBear to tackle VPN blocking
Anonymous payment options	Yes
Download link	Download TunnelBear VPN

TunnelBear VPN supported Platforms

• Windows
• Mac
• Android
• iOS
• Browser extensions for Chrome, Opera

TunnelBear VPN Pricing

• Monthly plan: $9.99/month
• Yearly plan: $4.99/month
• Three-year plan: $3.33/month

Reddit Recommended VPN: What Do Redditors Like?

While searching on Reddit we found out that a lot of users recommend Cyberghost VPN. NordVPN was the second most popular VPN followed by ExpressVPN, TunnelBear, and Surfshark.

Surfshark was recommended because of its cheap monthly price, TunnelBear for its clean IPs, and ExpressVPN for streaming, NordVPN for faster downloads, and Cyberghost for torrenting.

What are the Limitations of a VPN?

Just like everything in the world, VPNs are also not perfect. For example, they don’t protect you against ransomware on the internet, so do make sure to be mindful of what you download or where you’re downloading from.

Similarly, while most VPNs do follow the no-log policy, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be 100% anonymous on the internet. Over the years ISPs have figured out ways to track you even with a VPN. Hence, most suggest using the Tor network over the same. If you want to learn more about Tor, click here.

TL;DR, think of Tor as a network of servers spread across the world. When you make a request to visit a webpage on the Onion router, it bounces you off multiple servers and makes it harder for anyone to track you. The end result, however, is slower retrieval of a webpage, but it’s completely worth it as you’re sure that no one is tracking you, unlike on VPNs.

How to Choose the Right VPN?

Choosing the right VPN can be a difficult task. You could narrow down the choices based on the features you need and would still be left with at least three choices. But don’t worry, we’re here to help you choose the right VPN. Some of the VPNs on this list are great for Streaming and if you want to use one VPN on many devices.

Similarly, make sure to decide on the budget, the nearest servers (impacts speed), and multi-factor authentication for an extra layer of security. Last but not the least, make sure to check the platforms that are supported if the VPN would run on most of your devices.

Our Recommendation

If you don’t want to spend much without compromising speeds, Surfshark is our recommendation for the best VPNs of 2021 due to its price to performance ratio and no bar for the number of devices. It provides incredible value for money.

However, there are instances like in Torrenting where other VPNs like Cyberghost outshine Surfshark, and other VPNs outshine Cyberghost in different areas. Hence making the right call depends on what you want the most from a VPN.

Useful VPN Services FAQs:

What is a VPN? How does it work?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network; it’s a personal network created over the internet for encrypted communication and privacy. Using it, the website you visit will only see the IP address of your VPN rather than your actual one. Find more details and work here.

I’m not doing anything illegal. Should I use a VPN?

This is a common myth. VPN lets you secure your digital life from notorious players, bypass restrictions put by your ISP or network owner, and a lot more. Here are different reasons why you should consider using a top-class VPN like IPVanish or PIA.

Can’t I just use a proxy server and remain protected?

While both are a little similar, they have differences as well. Unlike a VPN, a proxy server doesn’t guarantee complete safety as it doesn’t use encryption techniques.

Is it worth paying for a VPN service?

Absolutely. It’s very well worth paying for a VPN service as it saves you from the privacy-thirsty hell that the internet has become. Also, a VPN also has other benefits such as unblocking websites that are blocked in your country.

Should I use VPN for torrenting?

Yes. Even if you aren’t using BitTorrent to grab some illegal content, you can get red-flagged for using P2P filesharing. Using the best VPN services unblocks torrent sites, and lets you hide your activity.

Can a VPN bypass net neutrality rollback and throttling?

Using a VPN, you can bypass restrictions and throttling put by your ISP. In a way, it can be used to defeat the Net Neutrality rollback. However, if your ISP decides to block the VPN traffic itself, you won’t be able to find it useful.