Best VPN services

We’ve reviewed VPN services (member content) to help find the best ones based on criteria including download speeds, ease of use and customer service. We also show you more about VPNs and what to look for in our VPN buying guide.

Do you use a VPN service? If so, leave a review in the comments below and let the Community know your experiences.

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I use TrustZone VPN and VPN.ht as my two go to VPN services both cost me about $4/Mth. TrustZone is based in the Sychelles so not part of the “eyes” and VPN.ht is based out of Hong Kong so again not part of the “eyes”.

“eyes” means groups of countries who share intelligence including unlawful sharing, there are 5 eyes, 9 eyes, and 14 eyes. See this post for a bit of information about it all but disregard the bit of self promotion of their VPN service at the bottom.

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I use Mullvad VPN . Costs about $6.50 a month , depending on the exchange rate with Euro . I have had no problems at all with it . It does what it says which I guess when it all boils down is all you can ask . See how it compares to others in link below .
https://thatoneprivacysite.net/simple-vpn-comparison-chart/

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I have had Private Internet Access (https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/) for a couple of years now and have no complaints about the speed or service.

The VPN works through a simple access program on PC and through apps on IOS and Android. I think it cost me about $50 or so to renew. They have servers all over the world and you can log-on through them if you need to.

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Hmmm will have to cross Hotspot off the list . Worrying to read that .

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Hotspot Shield have not been a good VPN provider security wise for a bit see this one from 2009 about it on a forum I use:

Cons: Sticks an innocuous, removable but nuisance ad over top of each page
After v1.13 update, AdAware scan alerted to a “level 10” trojan keystroke logger
Very difficult to remove once installed

Summary: I found it very useful and was willing to put up with ads which can be clicked off. It’s the only free service that worked with Hulu from Canada - UltraSurf does not. However, this last version triggered an AdAware highest level alert for a keystroke logger trojan. Uninstalling was impossible because Add/Remove and Revo found it always “in use” so I had to log in Safe Mode as Administrator to erase the folder. I hope Anchor Free reads this and fixes the trojan problem as I would like to go back to it.

Cons: Blocks EVERY website with a frame linked to RSS2Search. Clicking on any link and any page loads this frame, making it impossible to use the browser.

Cons: This program put a pornographic banner ad at the top of my screen, I was sitting with my little daughter on my lap and looking at sesame street torrents and all of the sudden I have porn at the top of my page. Unacceptable.

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I use Astrill. I’ve never seen them included in reviews of VPN’s, but I’ve never had any important issue with them over many years. They do what they should. They offer different protocols to suit different circumstances. They offer a large number of servers in a large number of countries. They offer servers optimised for China. They offer servers optimised for BitTorrent.

They offer clients for iPhone, and MacOS (and other operating systems of which I don’t use). All easy to use and configure and install.

Thoroughly recommended.

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I forget who first pointed it out here (@grahroll?) that the Opera browser has a built-in VPN feature. No cost and one can select between the US, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, or Singapore, or ‘Optimal Location’. While free with unlimited use today, someday the feature could be monetised. One can turn the VPN on and off by a simple click in the address bar area.

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I’ve been using CyberGhost for a few months. I’m only using it on a single (Apple Mac) device so far. The app is very easy to use, and the connections seem to be stable, and throughput only slowed very slightly compared to non-VPN.
They have what appears to be a sufficient number of servers in many locations, including locally (Sydney in my case).
When there was a recent issue with an upgrade to the MacOS app, their customer support was easy to access, and very prompt in providing all of the help I needed to set up a workaround VPN connection without the app.

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We’ve updated our VPN services review (member content), see the results for the latest advice.

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From a travel perspective, I recently passed over the GFWoC and can confirm VyprVPN (chameleon mode) worked trouble free, however a device which I’d forgotten to pre-setup (log in) couldn’t connect to do the setup. CyberGhost also couldn’t connect to setup. Android devices were more stable then iOS. I’ve previously used ExpressVPN for this purpose, however VyprVPN’s configuration & GUI are more functional for my needs.
My home router has OpenVPN, & this also worked, though at a very slow pace. It won’t be practical to use until I get NBN’s decent upload speed. I’m ready though!

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I have used multiple VPN’s, including an employer one. The most common issue I’ve had with VPN’s is when one VPN doesn’t shut down completely & blocks the next. How each shuts down varies across platforms. VyprVPN has a specific ‘quit the app’. Cyberghost doesn’t. I’ve had to force stop it. ExpressVPN on Windows needed to explicitly find and quit from. “OpenVPN for Android” (Schwabe) easily backs out.

Incidentally, both VyprVPN & CybrVPN have longer term free versions which may be useful for very occasional use. VyprVPN Free has a one time 1 GB of data. CyberVPN has many options crippled, but no data limit.

Using OpenVPN to my home router doesn’t help with logging protection & that’s not my priority - it’s is for travel & hotspot protection.

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I occasionally use Windscribe to circumvent geoblocks because it is easy and no charge for what I need. I love companies that still have a sense of humour. Their custom installation screen is as shown.

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Initially, I used to use Windscribe and Browsec but later I got to know that it is not safe to use free services. They may manipulate user data (putting the privacy in question). I then tried Nordvpn which is the best, these days I make use of Surf shark, so far so good. a great choice at very low price. Further do find here the best vpns for Australia with servers in sydney, melbourne and perth:

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I’ve been a happy Nord customer for a while now - have it embedded in a router, on the laptop and a phone - works well.

I believe the pricing in the review is the ‘standard pricing’ - look around and check for ‘deals’ - I’ve never paid even half the price listed for Nord, though I know their standard is that …

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Well, the best VPN service I have come across is Ivacy VPN that I have been using for 4 days now. I know it’s too early to conclude that, but keeping in view that I got it for 87% off for This Cyber Monday, I think it was a pretty stellar deal.

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I’m still using Mullvad VPN . Works well but can be a bit quirky on the menu side . Being just a number to them , no email address required , is another advantage .

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I’ve used Windscribe for a couple of years now and I remember doing a take two in surprise when I saw those options on the install window. For the first year I had to pick a server from the US as the Aussie one listed was slow as hell. The Aussie connection has lifted its game in speed now but still suffers from a slight lag. I assume that is probably normal when running through a VPN in any case.

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SInce my comment several months ago, my cable upload is now 5Mbps (no NBN yet) which is faster than most hotel’s wifi during a recent trip to USA. While I have a subscription to VyprVPN, I found "OpenVPN for Android” (Schwabe) to my router’s OpenVPN server faster to connect & less problematic. Easy to shutdown, easy to setup selected apps to use or bypass the VPN. The most difficult part is the initial setup for which there are guides published.
Back to VyprVPN. Last week downloaded 10GB content from UK via the VPN with download speed averaging 30-40Mbps, including sustained bursts at 60-70Mbps. I’m pretty happy with that.

EDIT: Corrected the VPN service I use to VyprVPN. VPN brain damage?

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