The most secure VPN 2024 (2024)

Let's face it, the digital world isn't always a safe place to be. Fortunately, the best VPNs protect your data by masking your real IP address and encrypting your online activity.

Finding the right tool for the job can be a daunting task, though, and that's partly down to the fact that security and privacy are often confused.

Privacy is the act of keeping what you do on the internet confidential and anonymous. That includes avoiding invasive practices like website or social media app tracking. As a rule of thumb, you should try to limit the 'legitimate' use of your data as much as you can – whether that's for marketing, advertising, consumer research purposes, and the like.

Security, on the other hand, is how you're protected from malicious threats. That means preventing cybercriminals from intercepting your internet traffic or stealing your identifying information.

The most secure VPN is likely to be a very private VPN, too, but the opposite might not be true – so how can you tell? The Tom's Guide team regularly put VPNs through their paces, and I've shortlisted the 5 most secure VPNs in the industry today. Keep reading for my full analysis, or check out the top 3 below if you're in a hurry.

Top 3 most secure VPNs at a glance

The most secure VPNs of 2024

ExpressVPN: The most secure VPN overall

If you're serious about protecting your data and browsing habits, then you'll want to check out ExpressVPN. The provider claimed the top spot in my latest round of hands-on testing, scoring top marks in key areas like security, unblocking power, and customer service.

Pivoting back to security, ExpressVPN is one of a handful of providers to undergo regular independent security audits to prove its no-logs claims. More impressively, these audits have held up in practice – in 2017, a Turkish ExpressVPN server was seized by the authorities, but no data was either stored on the server or handed over by ExpressVPN itself. That’s what I call a good track record.

TrustedServer is another excellent addition to Express’s arsenal of security features. In essence, this means that all ExpressVPN’s servers run on RAM, not traditional hard drives, and all data is wiped after a reboot. This means that your information can't be stored by design, which is a massive step up from servers running on hard drives that can be difficult to fully erase, and therefore pose a threat to your security.

However, maybe the best thing about ExpressVPN is how easy its apps are to use. The VPN incorporates state-of-the-art security features, but connecting to a server is as easy as opening the app and tapping 'connect.' You have the option to tweak the settings behind the scenes, of course, but you can go with the recommended settings with confidence.

It's worth noting that ExpressVPN's speeds were in the middle of the pack when I tested them. At around 560 Mbps, you'll have more than you need to stream and game online, and on a domestic line of around 100 Mbps it's impossible to tell the difference.

All in all, ExpressVPN is the easiest and most effective way of keeping yourself secure online. It's a pricey option, but your subscription gives you access to tools like robust AES-256 encryption, a kill switch, and secure DNS – which is a pretty sensible investment.

NordVPN: solid all-rounder with a full security suite

NordVPN is another VPN titan, and a great pick for anyone who wants to keep their data safe from snoopers and cybercriminals – and all for a very reasonable price.

A big name often comes with notoriety, however, so let's address the elephant in the room – 2018’s server hack and NordVPN’s response to it. A security company being hacked is a grim situation all around, and NordVPN was somewhat slow to react. However, four years later the firm has undertaken two independent audits, demonstrating its servers’ privacy to be solid and its no-logging claims to be true.

I'll let you decide whether past events should color your current impression of the service, but I think NordVPN has taken substantial steps to rectify what went wrong.

The VPN's toolkit shouldn't be ignored, either. NordVPN offers excellent encryption, and a kill switch that'll protect your data if the connection happens to drop. Features like Double VPN and Onion over VPN, which uses the Tor Onion network, add an extra layer of security to your browsing sessions, and the new Meshnet tool is perfect for those who want to secure multiple devices at once, effortlessly, and for free.

NordVPN is the fastest VPN, too, which means you'll have no trouble streaming HD content from around the globe – particularly as it's also a fantastic VPN for Netflix. In fact, the service achieved a perfect 100% unblocking score.

You'll be able to install NordVPN on just about every device you own, thanks to a range of apps for every platform, and I've always found them incredibly easy to use. The only downside here is that they can feel cramped in comparison to the likes of ExpressVPN and Surfshark – and the interactive map, while fun at first, is often quite fiddly.

Proton VPN: great for accessing censored content

In my Proton VPN review, I found that the Swiss provider offered a huge amount of security for its users – which is exactly what you'd expect from the team who also brought the highly regarded anonymous email service, Proton Mail, to life.

With the recent rebrand, gone are the convoluted payment plans. There are no more tiers, and all subscriptions will now bag you 10 simultaneous connections and, more importantly, access to the Proton VPN Secure Core servers.

These are ultra-secure, underground servers in Sweden, Switzerland, and Iceland, countries known for good data privacy laws.If you use them, your traffic will be routed through one of the Secure Core servers first before heading to your destination. This is kind of like NordVPN's Double Hop, and a big draw for the most security-conscious users.

Other security features include a MultiHop VPN function that adds an extra encryption layer for maximum security and an effective kill switch to keep your anonymity safe even if the VPN drops. I also liked Proton VPN's Netshield, and found it very useful for blocking trackers and malware.

The service's commitment to digital privacy is underscored by its dedicated Deutsche Welle servers. The unbiased news outlet is a hugely important resource for folks living with strict censorship laws – and now, Proton VPN has ensured that anyone can access its wealth of articles and video content that might otherwise be blocked.

Proton VPN is an impressive streaming VPN, too, so don't worry about sacrificing fun and games for total security. I was able to access Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime without any hiccups. Bear in mind that this streaming functionality (and other features) aren't available to users on the free plan.

The best of the rest

Mullvad doesn't disappoint when it comes to privacy and security, but the Swedish-based provider does drop the ball when it comes to unblocking foreign streaming catalogs. Oh, and it you want a VPN with advanced apps and tons of settings, Mullvad's are on the more basic end of the spectrum.

Fortunately, Mullvad's commitment to user privacy is apparent right away – the service doesn't even ask you to fork over any personal details to create an account. This is bolstered by a transparent no-logging and independently audited policy. What's more, Mullvad has even recently axed recurring subscriptions to retain even less information about its customers.

After my last round of testing, the provider earned extra points on the security front, too, with a new DNS server audit and excellent blocking of malicious URLs. I also found zero trackers across its website and Android apps, which is another good sign that the provider takes user privacy seriously.

Mullvad also boasts high-quality encryption to preserve your online anonymity and audited, open-source apps. This means that absolutely anyone can check the code for any vulnerabilities. Despite the Mullvad server network being quite limited compared to its competitors (with fewer than 900 servers worldwide), I enjoyed peak speeds of 770 Mbps with WireGuard and 600 Mbps with OpenVPN.

You'll also notice that Mullvad's pricing structure is rather unique. You'll always pay €5 (or the equivalent currency) per month, regardless of whether you sign up for a month or a year. This keeps things fair and uncomplicated, which is nice, but it does mean that there aren't any offers to take advantage of. Alternatively, you can trial the service for free thanks to its 30-day money-back guarantee – unless you've paid with cash (to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.)

Surfshark is a staple of many Tom's Guide best-of articles and one of the most affordable secure VPNs you'll find on the market. At less than $2.50 a month it's incredible value, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's some second-rate knock-off – my full Surfshark review found that the bargain provider is the real deal.

Surfshark provides a few features that you don’t often see together – especially at this price point. That includes Multi-Hop (using two or more separate servers to further obfuscate your traffic), a kill switch, split tunneling, and ad blocking to name a few.

It is worth mentioning that I was able to break the kill switch, and cause it to leak, during my testing (and under extreme conditions.) This only occurred on Windows, however, and won't affect its Mac counterpart – so, in most cases, you can count on the kill switch to protect you without a hitch.

Performance-wise, Surfshark doesn't disappoint when using WireGuard, with staggering peaks of 950 Mbps. Speeds with OpenVPN were still below average, though. These blistering speeds, and its great unblocking power, make Surfshark an ideal Netflix VPN.

If you run into trouble, or need help picking a server, the Surfshark customer service team is a click away via live chat. But don't worry if you'd rather do your own troubleshooting – there are plenty of articles on the dedicated support site that cover everything from FAQs and tutorials, and in-depth techy guides.

Surfshark also addressed one of my major concerns by undertaking a full independent audit of its server infrastructure. Audits are becoming more and more important (and a great way to signal to customers that a VPN takes their privacy seriously), and I'm glad that Surfshark has taken the time to go through the process. For the price, I really can’t fault Surfshark, and if you’re looking for a cheap VPN to keep you secure, it's a great option.

How we test VPN services

When it comes to recommending a product that users will entrust with quite possibly every byte of their online life, I have to be absolutely sure that my choices are correct, and thoroughly tested.

Unlike some sites, we don't simply reel off a spec sheet and declare the provider with most impressive claims the winner. Instead, we have a dedicated team in-house that gets hands-on with all the providers listed (and more).

Every 6 months, after scouring the website for new claimed features or changes in policy, we sign up to a plan and install it on a range of devices. The Windows app sees the most rigorous testing, and it's here that we'll try to break the kill switch, ensure any leak protection is working correctly, and measure connection speeds.

The other apps, including the Mac VPN, iPhone VPN, and Android VPN also see comprehensive testing, and we'll check every available setting in every app to make sure it's functioning as promised by the provider.

As we use the apps, if anything appears to be behaving strangely we'll investigate that. We might dig into the source code, or view the contents of its RAM. This general usage stage is also how we make decisions on aesthetics and ease of use – although these are admittedly more subjective.

Then comes the streaming testing. We'll test each VPN with all the big streaming sites from a number of locations to ensure it's working as claimed. As Netflix is still hugely popular and somewhat troublesome when it comes to VPNs, we test the biggest providers every month to make sure my recommendations are still relevant.

Secure VPN FAQ