The Best VPN Services for 2020 and Beyond

New York, NY ( TS Newswire ) -- 11 Sep 2020

Online security is probably one of the essential elements of the internet today. To protect yourself online, a Virtual Private Network or VPN comes in handy. Our Recommended VPN Service

It is a software that makes you anonymous online, and encrypts your internet traffic, concealing both your location and data.

This makes it difficult for anyone to snoop your activities via your local network or ISP, and also makes it easy for you to virtually relocate to a different country. The ability to relocate virtually means that you can access websites that are not available in your area. For example, only less than 40 percent of Netflix content can be accessed outside the US, but a good VPN gives you full access.

That being said, finding the right VPN is a big win for you. Unsurprisingly, with the rapid growth in VPN popularity, there are numerous options to download. In this article, we sample the best VPN services based on speed, reliability, and utmost user privacy.

1. Surfshark

Surfshark might look like an animation package due to its branding, but it means business when it comes to your online security. For starters, the basics are already in place, including OpenVPN UDP and TCP, AES-256 encryption, IKEv2 security protocols, and a kill switch to prevent your details from leaking in case of a connection failure. Also, Surfshark has a private DNS plus an additional security blanket courtesy of a double VPN hop. Its logging policy only keeps records of your email address and your billing information.

The most amazing thing that makes Surfshark one of the best VPN services other than its price is that a single subscription will cover unlimited devices. It does not matter whether you intend to apply your VPN on your mobile phone, laptop, desktop, or Amazon Fire Stick, your one account simultaneously covers you.

Pros

• Unlimited device coverage
• High-speed connections
• Reasonable pricing
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• 30-day trial period
• Over 1700 servers

Cons

• Android app a bit unstable

2. NordVPN

Easily a good match for every other product of its kind. With NordVPN, you have a reliable choice of 5000+ servers across 60 countries, standard 6-device support, 2048-bit encryption, reliable DNS leak protection, proxy extensions for Firefox, and Chrome browsers, and convenient payment options including PayPal, Bitcoin, and credit cards.

The updated version of NordVPN has a fast SmartPlay feature that can be used to bypass geo-restrictions, unblocking multiple streaming, and other restricted services.

This VPN offers three payment plans; one-month, 1-year, and 3-year plans. The cost of access drops significantly when you commit to a more extended plan, enabling you to find the best value on the 3-year plan.

One of the notable downsides of the NordVPN is that the list of servers in not alphabetized, making it difficult for you to find the server you would like to connect to.

Pros

• Up to six connections
• Reasonable pricing even for the one-month plan
• Quality device clients
• Remarkable performance in several tests
• More than 5000 servers
• 2048-bit encryption
• 30-day trial period

Cons

• Questionable user experience at times
• Previously compromised

3. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN offers speedy VPN access to 3000+ servers in 94 countries. An excellent way to start, but there is more; ExpressVPN is easy to use, no matter the device. Once you download and install it, it starts working in no time.

Further, Express boasts the most extensive platform support. Besides the native clients of Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, or BlackBerry, it offers DNS content-unblocking for a myriad of streaming devices, a custom firmware for selected routers, and capable VPN browser extensions for all compatible systems.

While newbies might find the above functionality information intimidating, ExpressVPN provides help through its support website. You will find helpful guides and detailed tutorials to get you through every step. A 24/7 live chat support is also available should you run into any trouble.

Pros

• Designed to run on all platforms
• Fast VPN servers across 160 locations
• Enterprise-level encryption
• Reliable 24/7 customer support
• Cryptocurrency payments accepted
• P2P support
• DNS leak protection
• Netflix unblocking
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons

• Fewer simultaneous connections
• Premium price tag
• No free trial

4. IPVanish

IPVanish is another top-ranking performer in VPN tests with quite some impressive stats. It boasts more than 40,000 shared IPs, unlimited P2P traffic, more than 1,400 VPN servers across over 70 countries, and up to ten simultaneous connections. Its 24/7 customer support can be accessed directly from the iOS or Android app on mobile.

The apps are a big deal. With plenty of them for Windows, iOS, Android, Mac, and Fire TV, they include some incredible features and customizable settings in addition to the list of flags, and connection buttons found elsewhere.

More was realized during real-world tests on the IPVanish VPN. Servers connected quickly, and download speeds were quite impressive. Every server supports torrents, and you can unblock US Netflix and BBC iPlayer.

However, there are minor usability concerns associated with this VPNs powerful apps. A few servers are not available in the locations advertised, and the iOS app does not have a kill switch.

Pros

• 40,000+ shared IP addresses
• Unlimited devices connected simultaneously
• Powerful and easily configurable apps
• Impressive download speeds
• Responsive 24/7 customer support
• 250 GB cloud storage

Cons

• Odd usability issues
• No iOS kill switch
• Some server locations advertised missing

5. CyberGhost VPN

CyberGhost is a German and Romanian-based VPN service which has become popular due to its exceptional combination of power and ease of use. The basics are well covered, with more than 6,000 servers across 90 countries and powerful apps for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac. Torrents are allowed, and users can benefit from a speedy 24/7 live chat support.

CyberGhosts task-based app interface is quite straightforward, even for the new user. For instance, youll only need to select a geo-blocked service like BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, among others and the app will connect automatically to the best server.

This VPN service is made for more; it can block ads, malicious websites, and trackers. It has an automated HTTPS redirection that ensures your connections are always secure. When using mobile data connections, an optional data compression feature can save you money.

The few downsides noted with this service, however, are that the desktop interface is a little complicated, the user support site is weak, and a few long-distance connections are not so good. US and European speeds are good, though, consistently reaching above 10Mb.

Overall, CyberGhost offers a lot at a fair price, and its unbeatable 45-day money-back guarantee easily makes it one of the most natural picks for the best VPN services.

Pros

• More than 6,000 servers available
• Automatic matching for servers
• Impressive performance levels
• Torrents supported
• 45-day money-back guarantee

Cons

• Distant connections not so good
• Poor customer support
• Desktop interface less than appealing

6. Hotspot Shield VPN

A fascinating stat about Hotspot Shield its free version is quite decent. However, youll get even more by upgrading to Hotspot Shield Premium. For a few dollars on the monthly plan, you get full access to more than 3,200 servers across 80+ countries, unlimited bandwidth, 5-device support, and zero ads.

The VPNs Catapult Hydra protocol helps deliver incredible download speeds even from distant locations, consistently.

In addition to running the service on multiple devices like Windows, Android, iOS, and Mac apps, Hotspot Shield recently upgraded to support use on Linux, routers, and TV streaming services. A SmartVPN feature has also been added, meaning you can select the websites on which you would like the VPN to be bypassed.

However, a few issues have been linked with this VPN, for example, it does not support Bitcoin payment, it cannot unblock Amazon Prime Video, and the apps have very few configuration options.

If you are looking for raw speed at a low price, Hotspot Shield is worth trying. Its 45-day trial period is more than enough to gauge it for yourself.

Pros

• Over 2,500 servers on the free trial and over 3,200 on Premium
• Incredible download speeds even across distant locations
• Easy to use
• Incredibly low pricing
• Decent free plan
• Unlimited bandwidth monthly
• Fantastic customer support

Cons

• More can be done on mobile apps
• Does not support OpenVPN protocol any more

More VPN services

There are hundreds of other VPN service providers globally, but while most of them have more or less the same attributes, the list above is a cut above them. Ideally, what makes the best VPN services is a combination of download speeds, overall reliability, privacy, and value for money. Other VPN providers worth mentioning include; PIA VPN, PureVPN, TunnelBear VPN, StrongVPN, Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN, Windscribe, VyprVPN, and HideMyAss! VPN.