Best VPN Service – The Top Virtual Private Network in 2021

This is our in depth review of the best vpn service. A vpn or virtual private network is a software that allows you to surf the internet anonymously. Indeed, you can hide your real location with a vpn tool thus taking advantage of some online services that are restricted by location.

You can also play online games while protecting your privacy. Thus, choosing the best vpn service will help you surf the internet safely.

With so many options on the market, vpns have become mainstream and affordable to the average internet user.

We have tested some of the top vpn software on the market and share below our results and recommendation for picking the one that best fits your needs.

What is the best vpn for 2021?

1. Expressvpn – renowned best performer overall across the board

We have tested so many vpn software providers and expressvpn is by far our first pick. It has worldwide servers, fast connectivity and so easy to use! The best part is that you can test drive it for 30 days. If you are no happy by then, get your money back no question asked.

2. Nordvpn – well known player on the market

NordVPN is our second choise when it comes to best virtual private network service. Incredible features, boat loads of online services you can use for, not to mention audit logs and much more. The price is fair for a 12+ months contract

3. Surfshark – simple and user-friendly tool

When it comes to a cheap yet efficient software, surfshark is a must. Starting from $2.5 per month, you can enjoy all the privacy and safety that a vpn provides.

1. Express VPN

We have given ExpressVPN a whopping 5 stars out of 5 in our testing. It’s fast, safe, private and unblock so many online services.

It's already been voted the fastest VPN by many experts - and we've just confirmed that. You will see further down on this page the tests we used to determine the number 1 position of this software.

This VPN provider, created in 2009, is one of the pioneers in the industry and from the start it clearly stated its objective: to provide high-end service to all its users, with optimal security. To do this, it brings together several elements that make its strengths today: a connection that is stable, reliable and fast.

ExpressVPN has over 3,000 servers spread across 94 countries around the world. The ExpressVPN network brings together the two criteria mentioned above, namely quantity and quality.

Thus, your daily browsing will not be impacted by ExpressVPN. You will even manage to watch streaming contents and download large files without any problem since its servers have no bandwidth limitation.

What we like about ExpressVPN is the uninterrupted connection it offers, which is rare enough to be emphasized.

2. Nordvpn

We can’t talk about top vpn ranking without mentioning NordVPN.

NordVPN's infrastructure spans 59 countries around the world through more than 5,100 servers. By selecting any server you should be able to browse the internet as you normally would - without any major change in speed.

Activation via the “Quick Connect” button allows you to connect intelligently since it is the VPN algorithm that finds the most suitable server for you. Simply put, it's a great way to get the best speed and fastest VPN regardless of the country. And since its tool is also suitable for other activities such as streaming and P2P, it's all beneficial.

Thanks to its good performance and slight slowdowns, NordVPN is among the VPNs offering the best speeds. If you want to know more about its offer and its speed, here is the link to its site:

3. Surfshark

We usually shy away from VPNs with too low prices. However, Surfshark is a real exception. Indeed, it is undeniably one of the best VPNs in our comparison despite its very low prices (around $2.49 per month). It's clearly a premium VPN, and it tries to make up for its relative youth with ultra-competitive rates. In just two years, it has made a name for itself in the market.

Arrived on the market in 2018, it has carved out a place among the greats in record time. Its offer has grown at high speed to today offer more than 3,200 servers in 65 countries. In terms of the quality and security of its service, Surfshark VPN is quite exceptional. It has nothing to envy to the giants such as ExpressVPN.

In terms of value for money, you can’t go wrong with Surfshark.

What we particularly like about Surfshark VPN (besides its unbeatable prices) is its ability to unblock 15 different Netflix libraries. Also, the ease of use of its applications makes it really accessible to everyone, which, obviously, is a very good thing.

If we love Surfshark and place it among the best VPNs, it's also because it works great at bypassing censorship. Its only weakness, for the moment, remains its speed, which still needs to be improved a little.

That said, if you have a correct connection by default, Surfshark VPN will not give you any problems. You will not have any latency, nor any feeling of slowness on the web.

4. CyberGhost VPN

With more than 6,500 servers in 89 countries, CyberGhost VPN is impressive. In addition to the quantity of servers available, the quality is also there. If CyberGhost is very well ranked in our top 3 fastest VPNs, it's because we had the opportunity to verify it in our tests. It is also a VPN that we use on a daily basis, and it has proven its worth over the past few years.

Faced with this multitude of servers, the CyberGhost VPN application has been designed to help you achieve even better speeds. Indeed, for each server, you have access to their geographical distance from your physical location, and also to their charge. This can help you select the most suitable. As you can imagine, a server that is closer to you and less overloaded is more likely to be fast.

With its “Best Server” feature, CyberGhost can also automate the process for you. Of course, this is applicable if you don't have a country preference. It's a good way to have the fastest VPN from your location, while being protected and anonymous on the internet.

5. Private Internet Access (PIA)

In fifth position in our comparison of VPNs is Private Internet Access. Although it is not (in our opinion) the best VPN, it is among the best known in the United States. The leading quartet is far ahead of the others, we recommend that you go on one of these instead.

Its offer is simple, clear, and its application is certainly one of the most pleasant to use, regardless of the medium. It’s very large network of servers (3400) is impressive but there is also something to be disappointed with when you realize that it is only present in 44 countries. That's 50 countries less than ExpressVPN, the best VPN in our opinion.

Although this is a VPN which, technically, does not keep logs, we can still blame it for its location: the United States. As a member of the “5 Eyes” alliance (a group that cooperates in security matters), there are reasons to be concerned about the security of your data if you entrust it to PIA. If you want to be as discreet as possible, we can't really recommend it.

If Private Internet Access is part of our ranking of the best VPNs, it's because it has very attractive prices. This is particularly the case with its 1 year package which will cost you less than $40. It's as competitive as other players, like CyberGhost VPN or NordVPN. That said, Surfshark is even cheaper, and it gives you even better anonymity.

How we tested the VPNs

Now that you know the ranking of the fastest VPNs, you might want to know how we did it, which is totally legitimate. First of all, it is important to distinguish the download speed (downloading and uploading), two values that we have measured in turn.

download speed is the flow of traffic coming from the internet to your device. For example, when you watch HD movies or download files or when you are just browsing the internet.

the upload speed (in sending or up speed) is what you send from your device to the internet network. This is the case with photos or e-mails that you can send on the web.

Obviously, the higher these speeds, the better the internet connection. Now let's see what the VPNs we tested and what stood out for us have in store. Note that the values obtained are indicative and may vary depending on your basic connection. In other words, the fastest VPN is not the same for everyone, although there is still some consistency.

All about VPN software

Now that you know the 4 VPNs that stand out, we'll show you what you need to know about VPNs.

What is a VPN?

If you've made it this far, we'll assume you already know what a VPN is, but if you don't, we'll very quickly explain it.

A VPN, Virtual Private Network is software that creates a secure tunnel between you and the internet by replacing, in a way, your internet service provider.

Understand that the VPN does not replace the ISP (you will still need an internet subscription to use a VPN), but it makes your connection secure.

When you connect to your VPN, you are connecting to one of the providers' servers. The software then encrypts your data, making it unreadable to people trying to spy on you.

In the end, a VPN is just another software, easy to install and use, and offers a wide variety of benefits.

What are VPNs for?

This is one of the first questions you ask yourself before you even want to find the best VPN. What can it be used for?

A VPN will not only encrypt your data, but also hide your IP address. Thus, you will be able to:

browse anonymously

protect yourself against hackers

unblock content not available in your region

bypass private network firewalls

improve your internet gaming experience

bypass censorship in China, Russia, Turkey, ...

A VPN is therefore used for a lot of things.

Should you pick a free or paid VPN?

This is a question you are certainly asking yourself! Should we take a free or paid supplier? The answer is clear: Free VPNs are dangerous. Indeed, they have to finance themselves somewhere and all too often this involves the resale of your data. If you want the best VPN, you absolutely have to be prepared to pay for the service. This is the case for ALL online services without exception, whenever you want quality, you have to pay for it.

We will tend to say that this is even more true for VPNs. As this is a software directly related to your online security, you should not sacrifice your anonymity for $2-$3 per month.

Free VPNs are limited, dangerous and not very functional. Furthermore, they don't have responsive customer support and don't have a lot of servers, resulting in poor speed performance.

Do VPN services really work?

This is another perfectly legitimate question for which the answer is not as obvious as it seems. Indeed, if the best VPNs that we shared here are perfectly reliable, serious and secure, this is not the case for all VPNs. In this case, for a VPN to be truly secure, it is necessary that:

it does not keep any log

it has the Kill Switch feature

it uses reliable and verified encryption protocols

it protects you against IPV6, WebRTC, ...

Very few VPNs meet all these criteria. Everyone will claim that they can protect you effectively, but that is not true.

This is the reason why we have made this ranking and comparison of the best VPNs on the market today. Among more than 400 VPNs on the market, only 4 have caught our attention for their seriousness.

Do you lose speed using a VPN?

In 99.9% of cases, the answer to this question is YES! Indeed, the encryption of your data + the addition of an additional server between you and the site you want to visit inevitably generate speed losses.

However, by going for the best VPN (ExpressVPN), you will have negligible speed loss. It really is the fastest VPN and you can feel it while using it.

Is it legal to use a VPN?

In most countries around the world, using a VPN is perfectly legal. In fact, most companies use it to secure the company's internal network and allow employees to access their company's servers remotely.

In a few countries (China, Russia, ...) VPNs are not legal, but they are still heavily used. This is particularly the case in China where all expats (and also many Chinese) use VPNs to access Facebook, Youtube, Google, Whatsapp, Netflix and many other online services.

How to choose the right VPN?

Choosing the right VPN isn't easy. If you are wondering which VPN to choose, the most important thing is to know what you want to do. If you want to watch African TV channels, HideMyAss could be the VPN for you as it has servers in almost every country in Africa (very rare thing among VPNs).

If, on the other hand, you want to unblock US Netflix, download torrents or use your VPN in China, this is another VPN to choose from. In the vast majority of cases, by choosing the best VPN in our comparison, you will be assured of having made the right choice.

How complicated is it to use a VPN?

Absolutely not complicated! Using a VPN is easy as pie. In 2021, installing a VPN is the same as installing an antivirus - or any other application. It takes less than a minute, then all you have to do is identify yourself, choose a server to connect to, press the connect button, and you're done.

The VPNs that we offer in our ranking are delivered “turnkey”. You can start using them right away and don't have to make any special settings.

What devices can I use a VPN on?

The best VPNs are all available in a variety of media. Among them, we can notably mention computers (macOS, Windows , Linux), smartphones (iOS, Android ), tablets (iOS and Android), routers, AppleTV, Smart TV , game consoles (Xbox and Playstation) or even Android TVs. In short, you will really be able to use your VPN on many devices.

We told you earlier about the parallel connections offered by the best VPNs. With Surfshark, for example, you won't have any limits on simultaneous installations and uses. This means that you will be able to use your VPN on as many devices as you want, at the same time. In general, VPNs are limited to 5 or 7 parallel connections at most, Surfshark is a particular model. It also allows you to have a dedicated IP .

Conclusion: ExpressVPN, the fastest VPN

By surpassing the speeds of its rivals, ExpressVPN therefore manages to climb to the top of the first step of the podium without too much difficulty. Note that NordVPN and Surfshark perform well, but that's not enough to be in the lead. They are obviously ahead of all free VPNs, which are very limited at this level.

It's safe to say that ExpressVPN is the fastest VPN of 2021. If you don't believe it, feel free to test it out and perform speed tests yourself. ExpressVPN offers an unconditional 30-day guarantee.

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