The most recent round of VPN testing is complete, and after rigorous analysis and comparisons, we have a new top five best VPN services.
While ExpressVPN has maintained its number one spot, it’s a closer call than ever seen before—NordVPN continues to close the gap on ExpressVPN thanks to its ever-growing mass of features, budget-friendly pricing, and consistent content unblocking. Plus, it even claimed the crown for the fastest VPN in our speed tests—maxing out our gigabit line.
In a surprise twist, IPVanish jumped up to fifth place, knocking CyberGhost all the way down to ninth. We’ve seen some pretty amazing things from our recent testing, but for now, here’s a quick breakdown of the cream of the crop.
The 5 best VPNs in 2023
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Design | A clean and simple design that gives you everything you need, exactly when you need it | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Ease of use | Intuitive apps with auto-connect functionality make life easier | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Performance | Fast enough for anything you could throw at it, but slower than NordVPN and Surfshark | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Unblocking | Effortlessly gives you access to content around the world | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Security and privacy | Express offers state of the art protection for total peace of mind | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Customer support | Always available, friendly, and helpful | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Price | More expensive than leading competitors | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Design | A fun design that can be a little busy for some people | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Ease of use | Everything is easy to find, but the map interface can be off-putting, and there isn’t much attention to detail | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Performance | The fastest VPN in our latest round of tests | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Unblocking | Perfect for Netflix and other streaming sites | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Security and privacy | Every bit as strong as ExpressVPN | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Customer support | Friendly, supportive and professional | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Price | Fantastic value for money | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Easy to use and elegant | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Ease of use | Connecting only takes a few clicks—ideal for newbies | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Performance | One of the fastest providers we tested | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Unblocking | Unblocks virtually everything you’ll need | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Security and privacy | Not a comprehensive antivirus or ad-blocking solution, and some kill switch ossues | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Customer support | Browsing support articles isn’t as intuitive as I’d like | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Price | Real value for money | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Lots of customization, but could do with some attention to detail | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Ease of use | Not the best for beginners, but great for advanced users | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Performance | Good speeds, but generally average compared to industry leaders | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Unblocking | Dedicated streaming servers and an enormous global network help you unblock anything and everything | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Security and privacy | The latest and greatest in VPN tech, and a proven no-logging policy | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Customer support | A mass of knowledge online and expert support on-hand at all times | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Price | Budget-friendly and offering plenty of value for money | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Dark and edgy, but generally complicated | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Ease of use | Some usability issues and a complex interface | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Performance | Incredibly fast WireGuard speeds | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Unblocking | Decent unblocking with a couple of hiccups | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Security and privacy | Thoroughly audited and reliable encryption | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Customer support | Support articles aren’t as helpful as they should be and generally say the same thing | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Price | Generally cheap, but renewal prices are quite a sting to users that get caught out | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Our latest test results
This round of testing saw some movement around the top players, but much of our best VPN list remains unchanged. NordVPN and Surfshark still stand strong to round out our top three, while PIA sits nicely in fourth.
The biggest mover, IPVanish, has some major app updates and new features to thank for the jump. In contrast, CyberGhost dropped to ninth place—decent speeds aren’t enough to stand out in this competition, I’m afraid. Proton VPN also dropped to seventh place while PrivadoVPN climbed to sixth to take our best free VPN title.
Going a step further
It’s not just about which VPN provider has the most to offer, it’s about maintaining a reliable, high-quality service.
Mike Williams, our lead VPN Tester, puts it best: “A great VPN isn’t necessarily about having the longest feature list or the highest possible speeds. What really matters is quality, attention to detail, and the kind of consistency that says not only can you trust this provider with your privacy right now, but you can be confident it’ll stay that way for the foreseeable future.”
I’d definitely agree. It’s one of the key reasons ExpressVPN has held the crown for so long—the difference in quality between ExpressVPN and NordVPN is significant. There’s so much attention to detail, even with the little things, so I know I can trust it with my life.
That said, with the recent Kape layoffs, I’ll be watching ExpressVPN, PIA, and CyberGhost like a hawk, as I’m deeply concerned as to whether this will affect the quality of service on offer.
Stream unblocking results
VPNs regularly claim they unblock all of your favorite shows, but which ones really do? Check out the results from our testing below to see whether a service can access global streaming services:
| VPN Provider | Netflix libraries | US services | UK and Australian services |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressVPN | US, UK, AU, CA, JP | Amazon, Disney | iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play |
| NordVPN | US, UK, AU, CA, JP | Amazon, Disney | iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play |
|
PIA |
US, UK, AU, CA, JP |
Amazon, Disney |
iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play |
| Proton VPN |
US, UK, AU, CA, JP |
Amazon, Disney |
iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play |
|
PureVPN |
US, UK, AU, CA, JP |
Amazon, Disney |
iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play |
|
Surfshark |
US, UK, AU, CA, JP |
Amazon, Disney |
iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play |
|
Hide.me |
US, UK, AU, CA, JP |
Amazon, Disney |
iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now |
|
CyberGhost |
US, UK, AU, CA, JP |
Amazon |
iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now 10 play |
|
Windscribe |
US, UK, AU, CA, JP |
Disney | iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play |
|
Hotspot Shield |
US, UK, CA, JP |
Amazon, Disney |
iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now |
|
IPVanish |
US, UK, JP | Amazon | iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now |
|
PrivateVPN |
AU, CA | Amazon | iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now |
|
PrivadoVPN |
US, UK | Amazon | iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now |
| Atlas VPN | US, UK | Disney | iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now |
|
Astrill |
US, UK | Failed | iPlayer, ITV, C4, 9Now |
|
FastestVPN |
US, JP | Failed | ITV, C4, 9Now, 10 play |
|
VyprVPN |
US |
Amazon, Disney |
iPlayer, ITV, 9Now |
|
Norton |
AU | Amazon | ITV, C4, 9Now |
|
TunnelBear |
Failed | Disney | ITV, C4, 9Now |
|
Mozilla |
Failed | Failed | ITV, C4, 9Now |
|
Mullvad |
Failed | Failed | ITV, C4, 9Now |
|
|
Failed | Failed | Failed |
Malware, tracker, and ad-blocking results
Many VPNs say they have built-in ad, tracker, and malware blocking, and most reviews just take it for granted that these work and deliver useful results. Our lead tester aimed to measure this feature for each provider, and see how they compare to each other.
The tests included the following:
- A custom tool that attempts to access 156 common trackers (Facebook, Twitter and so on), and records whether it’s still available.
- A custom tool that tries to access a selection of URLs (300-600-ish) from a daily updated curated list of malicious URLs, like GitHub, and records what happens
- Running a couple of ad-blocking testers (including AdBlock Tester) and recording the score.
Without further ado, lets see which VPNs give you that little bit extra, and which ones are only offer lip service:
| VPN Provider |
Trackers blocked |
Malware blocked |
Ad blocking score |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Atlas |
69% |
21% |
97% |
|
CyberGhost |
96% |
55% |
79% |
|
FastestVPN |
57% |
87% |
41% |
|
Mozilla |
74% |
99% |
90% |
|
Mullvad |
74% |
99% |
91% |
|
NordVPN |
64% |
32% |
56% |
|
Norton |
69% |
100% |
40% |
|
PrivadoVPN |
90% |
43% |
90% |
|
PIA |
96% |
74% |
96% |
|
Proton VPN |
81% |
95% |
71% |
|
Surfshark |
65% |
26% |
52% |
|
Windscribe |
94% |
100% |
93% |
These tests aren’t large or precise enough to generalize from them, and only offer insight that the services will provide some additional protection. I would recommend taking the results with a pinch of salt. These built-in features are never a substitute for a dedicated antivirus/security app, and I would recommend using the best antivirus and a reliable ad-blocker to further shore up your security.
What is the fastest VPN?
It’s a well-trodden sales technique for VPN providers to claim they have the fastest speeds—but they clearly can’t all be the fastest. That’s why we test the speeds on offer from all the top VPNs across different global servers and on a variety of protocols.
Below are the speed results for the top VPN services, during our latest tests:
| VPN Provider | WireGuard or proprietary | OpenVPN |
|---|---|---|
| 1. NordVPN | over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing) | 140 Mbps |
| 2. Surfshark | over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing) | 130 Mbps |
| 3. IPVanish | over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing) | 225 Mbps |
| 4. Windscribe | over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing) | 330 Mbps |
| 5. Hide.me | over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing) | 260 Mbps |
| 6. Norton VPN | over 950 Mbps (maxed out our testing) | 240 Mbps |
| 7. Mullvad | 900 Mbps | 530 Mbps |
| 8. PrivadoVPN | 880 Mbps | 130 Mbps |
| 9. Atlas VPN | 860 Mbps | N/A |
| 10. ExpressVPN | 750 Mbps | 230 Mbps |
| 11. FastestVPN | 730 Mbps | 170 Mbps |
| 12. PureVPN | 650 Mbps | 140 Mbps |
| 13. CyberGhost | 630 Mbps | 360 Mbps |
| 14. Private VPN | 610 Mbps | 110 Mbps |
| 15. Hotspot Shield | 570 Mbps | N/A |
| 16. TunnelBear | 500 Mbps | 310 Mbps |
| 17. Proton VPN | 460 Mbps | 350 Mbps |
| 18. Private Internet Access | 360 Mbps | 310 Mbps |
| 19. Mozilla VPN | 360 Mbps | N/A |
| 20. Google One | 345 Mbps | N/A |
| 21. VyprVPN | 325 Mbps | 105 Mbps |
| 22. Astrill VPN | 390 Mbps (inconsistent testing results) | N/A |
TechRadar’s VPN rankings
There are hundreds, if not thousands of VPNs out there, and you’ve likely heard the names of countless services. Check out our rankings below of popular services and see some honorable mentions that can’t currently compete with what’s on offer with our top services.
| Provider | Rating | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 1. ExpressVPN | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | The best VPN overall and our top pick for most use cases. |
| 2. NordVPN | ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ | The fastest VPN, plus a full security suite with ad-blocking and malware protection. |
| 3. Surfshark | ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ | The best cheap VPN, and also the fastest in our tests. |
| 4. Private Internet Access | ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ | The best Linux VPN. A dedicated GUI for Linux, and a no-logs policy that was proven in court twice. |
| 5. IPVanish | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | The best of the rest. An up-and-coming provider that supports Linux. |
| 6. PrivadoVPN | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | The best free VPN. It even unblocks Netflix. |
| 7. ProtonVPN | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | A popular free VPN service with a history of advocating for the freedom of the internet. |
| 8. Windscribe | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | A fast service with a popular browser proxy. |
| 9. CyberGhost VPN | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | A popular and easy-to-use platform that’s great for beginners. |
| 10. Mullvad | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Good for Linux, and you can even pay in cash. |
| 11. PureVPN | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | One of the cheapest premium VPNs on the market. |
| 12. Hide.Me | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | A speedy service with plenty of customization. |
| 13. Atlas VPN | ⭐⭐⭐½ | A new player in the VPN industry that’s already making waves. |
| 14. TunnelBear | ⭐⭐⭐½ | A reliable free VPN but no support for content unblocking. |
| 15. Mozilla VPN | ⭐⭐⭐½ | A well known brand with a VPN that currently underperforms. |
| 16. Hotspot Shield | ⭐⭐⭐½ | A fast VPN service with lots of great features. |
| 17. VyprVPN | ⭐⭐⭐ | A reliable VPN with a dedicated protocol for bypassing even the most severe censorship. |
| 18. Norton VPN | ⭐⭐⭐ | Known for its popular security suite with a lacklustre VPN. |
| 19. PrivateVPN | ⭐⭐½ | An excellent cheap service that offers plenty of support for streaming and torrenting. |
| 20. AstrillVPN | ⭐⭐½ | A mid-range VPN that’s popular for bypassing Chinese censorship. |
| 21. FastestVPN | ⭐⭐½ | Making its way up the list, but not yet living up to its name. |
| 22. StrongVPN | ⭐⭐ | Another mid-range VPN that continues to improve. |
| 23. AirVPN | ⭐⭐ | Built by hacktivists, for hacktivists. |
| 24. Goose VPN | ⭐⭐ | An incredibly cheap mid-range VPN. |
| 25. TorGuard | ⭐⭐ | A torrent-friendly VPN that’s good for accessing foreign content. |
| 26. UltraVPN | ⭐⭐ | Fast and secure with plenty of server locations. |
| 27. Le VPN | ⭐⭐ | Lots of locations to choose from and integrated SmartDNS technology. |
| 28. VPNArea | ⭐⭐ | A mid-range VPN that struggles to hold up against the industry leaders. |
| 29. ZoogVPN | ⭐⭐ | A fairly underwhelming VPN from Greece. |
| 30. Google One | ⭐⭐ | Google’s history with data doesn’t give us much faith in the service. |
How we test VPN services — our review methodology
While our experts use the top VPNs every day, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the top 30 VPN services every 6 months with the help of Mike Williams and Anthony Spadafora. This allows us to keep track of who’s really the best, and for which use cases.
TechRadar’s VPN reviews begin at the provider’s website, where we analyze the claims it makes, its privacy policy, its support options, and any other elements of note. We look for any tracking cookies on the site and if/when they activate to see if the service tracks people using the site.
Next, we ask ourselves the following questions: what security tools does the provider offer? Does it promise the world, or is it more realistic? Does the privacy policy clearly say how your data is handled? Are there any catches in the small print? Is the pricing open and honest? Ultimately, we’re considering not just what the provider says it gives you, but what it really gives, and whether you can trust it with your data.
We don’t take a service at face value
There’s more to a VPN than just what its marketing says. Where possible, we try to go behind the curtains and look at what’s really going on and doing our own testing to see whether the apps really work as claimed.
In order to make sure our reviews are as honest and realistic as possible, we make every effort to sign up for the services anonymously, so our results aren’t skewed by the services knowing they’re being tested by us.
After signing up for a plan, we install and test the Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux VPN apps, as these are the most popular platforms. Then, we move on to testing the features within those apps, like the kill switch, checking for data leaks, and generally confirming everything works as advertised.
As we do this, we play around with the different encryption protocols on offer, connect to different servers, throw malware at it, and generally look for any way we can stress test the service. If anything breaks under any of our tests, we report it back to the provider so they can fix the issue, but we make sure to include both the issue and the provider’s response in our results where appropriate.
We test every VPN provider’s speeds at least 120 times across two sessions, and use both a US home connection and a 1 Gbps UK data center to show us a provider’s potential versus the real-world application. We measure using different encryption protocols, speed test websites, and features and use the average of the best session as the provider’s peak speed. In doing so, you get a better understanding of what you can really expect when you use the service, and not just an arbitrary figure of its fastest speed.
A good VPN should be able to unblock multiple streaming services. To check this, we try to access geo-exclusive content from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, and BBC iPlayer, repeating the test from three different locations around the world to get an idea of how the service performs in real life.
In our day-to-day testing, we take a more focused approach depending on the needs of the specific use cases we’re writing about. Such as how easy it is to set up the VPN, how much attention to detail there is in the design, and whether a beginner can pick it up easily. We carry out constant real-world testing to make sure our analysis is always accurate and relevant.
However, I don’t just trust what I see on the surface of a VPN provider’s website. I’ll take a peek behind the curtains of the software—view the contents of its RAM, even decompile and browse its source code (if I can) just to find out what’s going on under the hood. Ultimately, I want to know whether the service gives you genuine protection or just a false sense of security.
Want to know more about how we test VPNs? We have a much more in-depth explanation on our VPN testing methodology page.
Our VPN testing panel
Meet the experts behind our VPN deep dives:
A privacy purist at heart, Andreas is a VPN expert that believes that the best VPN doesn’t have to be the most expensive—it’s about what’s right for you.
Anthony helps us test real-world VPN speeds in the US so we get a more accurate view of what a service is really like to use around the world.
Mike Williams
Mike regularly reviews our top picks, and loves looking behind the curtains to see how a VPN works in the background. If there’s a skeleton in the closet, he’ll find it.
Mo Harber-Lamond
One of our leading VPN experts, Mo tests VPN services every day to see what providers say they do, and what it’s really like as a day-to-day user.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
