The best VPNs tried and tested: Price, value, usability and security
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We spent nearly a year with the best VPNs on the market to find which one you should buy
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It is a tool you can buy online to protect your privacy by encrypting your data and hiding your IP address. While it can be used for security it can also be used to access streaming services in other countries.
It allows you to hide you actual location and choose another, meaning you can set your location to the UK to access your subscriptions even if you are in another country.
For example, if you have a Netflix subscription but you are on holiday out of the UK you can use a VPN to join a UK server and access the service. It also means you can access services such as Sky Go, BBC iPlayer and others even if you are out of the country.
The VPN is also a useful tool for when you access public WiFi and helps to keep you secure from any security threats.
We spent over a year testing the best VPNs on the market and have found three options that we highly recommend.
Best for price: Surfshark VPN
Surfshark is our pick of the VPN providers thanks to its low prices, 30-day option to cancel if it does not suit your needs, and the ability to use it on unlimited devices so that smart TVs, laptops and phones can all use the VPN to add security.
Having used the service for six months, Surfshark has proved to be a reliable and affordable VPN provider.
The basic starter package starts at £1.69 per month but we would recommend the £2.19 because it adds on breach alerts and it comes with a private search tool, which can be fantastic for searching for things like flights where your search history can sometimes impact the results you see.
Best for security: ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is one of the best-known VPN names on the market and one of the more popular options. ExpressVPN offers a month long trial which means if you are not satisfied after that time you can get your money back.
You can choose a server from 105 different countries and it works on Android and iOS, as well as Windows, Linux, Mac and more. You can use the VPN on up to eight devices at once.
We used ExpressVPN for a year and the quality of service and user experience is excellent. It is the easiest of the three to set up and customer service is superb.
It costs £10.46 if you pay monthly or £6.72 per month if you commit to a 12 month contract. You can sign up here.
Best all-rounder: NordVPN
NordVPN offers a VPN service for up to ten devices, two more than ExpressVPN.
The basic VPN is available for £2.79 and that gets you the standard VPN service. You can pay £3.49 per month and that includes advert tracker blocker. The Ultimate package includes £5.49 and adds 1tb of cloud storage.
After using NordVPN for a year we can recommend it. The low cost is excellent value for the level of service and NordVPN is relatively easy to set up and edit the options for optimum performance.