Don't let it go to your head, but everybody wants you — more specifically, your browsing data. Personal information about the links you click on and the sites you visit is highly valuable to third parties, including your internet service provider (ISP) and Google, who may want to share or monetize it. Certain government and law enforcement agencies may also be eager to peek at your activity online for their own surveillance purposes.
One way to reclaim some of your digital privacy is by getting a virtual private network, or VPN, a service that creates an encrypted connection between your device and one of the VPN provider's private, remote servers before spitting it out onto the open web. In plain English, a VPN lets you browse the internet more stealthily than usual.
Why do you need a VPN?
Even the best VPNs can't make you totally anonymous on the web. The VPN companies themselves can still see what you're doing while you're using their servers. But they can secure your personal info and hide your true IP address from prying eyes on the outside. The most trustworthy VPN providers operate transparently and abide by independently verified no-logs policies to prove that they don't collect or store user data in this process.
Because VPNs conceal your real IP address, they're also useful for spoofing one's location. By connecting to a VPN server across a border or ocean, users can bypass geo-restrictions on content that's not available in their own country or region. (This is pertinent intel for folks in France, the UK, and 22 U.S. states where sites with explicit content are restricted by age verification laws.)
Best VPN 2025: Our top picks
After extensive testing, I believe Proton VPN is the top VPN for most people. It's the most privacy-forward VPN I've tried, with open-source apps, a proven no-logs policy, and a history of supporting digital freedom efforts. It's also a stellar value: Paid Proton VPN users get full access to its huge fleet of reliable servers and useful features like multi-hop and split tunneling (on some platforms), with up to 10 simultaneous VPN connections per account. The free version of Proton VPN is extremely limited in comparison, but it's the only free VPN I've encountered that doesn't have any data limits. For all these reasons, Proton VPN is the first (and only) VPN to win a Mashable Choice Award.
My runner-up is TunnelBear, a veteran VPN service with a simple, adorable app that offers unlimited simultaneous connections with a paid subscription. (It also offers a free tier, but users are capped at 2GB of data per month.) TunnelBear supports some form of split tunneling on all platforms, and it's been undergoing security audits longer than any other consumer VPN. It wasn't able to unblock regional content in my testing, but it was sufficient for everyday browsing. Overall, I think it's the best VPN for beginners and casual users.
Read on for Mashable's guide to the best VPNs of 2025. FYI: Prices for most VPN providers' long-term plans change frequently. The rates listed here were accurate at the time of publication.
What didn't make the cut
NordVPN has the same core security features as Proton VPN, including an anti-censorship protocol, multi-hop, Onion Over VPN, and split tunneling on all platforms. It also supports up to 10 simultaneous connections. However, its server network is smaller than Proton VPN's, its plans are more expensive, and its record isn't as clean. In 2019, NordVPN didn't tell users about a security breach at one of its third-party data centers until allegations of it circulated on X. (In its defense, the company implemented network upgrades, better security standards, and bug bounty program in the aftermath.) I also don't love that users need a NordVPN account to read the results of its no-logs audits.
ExpressVPN is often recommended for streaming and travel because of its servers' geographic diversity, but Proton VPN's network is even more widespread (and its plans don't cost as much). Also, ExpressVPN doesn't offer multi-hop, supports two fewer connections, and restricts its split tunneling tool to Windows and older Macs with macOS 11 from 2020. Its ownership by Kape Technologies is a slight cause for concern — in a previous life, the company made software that bad actors used for adware injection — but it helps that Kape doesn't touch ExpressVPN users' personal information.
CyberGhost VPN is a cheaper option with a large server network, including locations optimized for streaming, torrenting, and gaming. It only offers split tunneling on Android, and multi-hop is a no-go across the board. Most egregiously, CyberGhost is also owned by Kape — and unlike ExpressVPN, its privacy policy states that it may share users' personal data with its parent company. It's pretty new to independent audits, too, which you can only read by requesting a copy via email, filling out a contact form, or creating a CyberGhost account.