Best VPN Service

The need for secure, anonymous connections to the Internet has increased considerably in the past few years, as more and more users come to realise the importance of not being seen and followed online.
We’ve compiled a list of what we consider to be the best Virtual Private Network (VPN) service providers, grouped by premium, free, and torrent-friendly. We’ll be updating this list regularly, so leave your feedback in the comments for services we should add (or even remove).
Last updated: December 1, 2014
These VPNs offer solutions that will mask your online presence to keep you safe.

Premium VPNs

Intended for the heavy user, these professional VPN services offer the basic required privacy alongside a range of additional features, from increased encryption and mobile support to unlimited bandwidth and “zero records” keeping a log of what you’re browsing.
The following VPN services offer these features and others besides.

HideMyAss Pro

128-bit encryption for just $11.52/month or $138.24/year isn’t a bad deal, although only two simultaneous connections are permitted with HideMyAss Pro. Support for Windows, OS X, iPhone and Android.

TunnelBear

For Android, iOS, Windows and Mac OS X, pricing is reasonable at $4.99/month or $49.99/year. With unlimited tunnelling and a mobile-only plan, note that TunnelBear is offering 256-bit encryption. As we discussed previously TunnelBear is a particularly good way to enjoy US-only web content, including video and audio.

CyberGhost Premium

One of the few VPN services available for Linux alongside Windows, Mac OS X, Android and iOs, CyberGhost Premium offers two payment options for its unlimited bandwidth and traffic, 256-bit encryption service. Just $6.99 a month ($5.83 if billed annually) will get you premium access to the ad-free VPN, along with a choice of Android and iOS apps. Note that CyberGhost Premium option is only for one device, however.
You can find out what we thought of Cyberghost Premium by checking our review of its features.

SurfEasy Total

For just $4.99, SurfEasy Total gives monthly access to its VPN service with unlimited data and ad tracker blocking to users of Android, iOS, Mac OS X and Windows. For those only requiring a VPN for their mobile device, a $2.99/month service is available, along with a free plan.
Our review of SurfEasy Total explains these features in more detail.

Torrent-Friendly VPNs

Useful for encryption, anonymity, and reliability when downloading and sharing on P2P networks, torrent-friendly VPNs are slightly more expensive than the premium options, offering as they do a specialised service for a narrow group of users.

Privacy.io

A torrent-friendly service that doesn’t block any protocols, Privacy.io has a collection of different prices for its two services, PPTP and OpenVPN. These can be accessed individually or as part of a dual package, which costs $1.40 a day, $14 a month or $140 a year.

Private Internet Access

Costing $6.95/month or $39.95/year (Bitcoin accepted), this secure VPN service offers P2P and VOIP support, as well as the ability to use 5 devices simultaneously and unlimited bandwidth!
A popular choice and recommended by PCMag.com, the fact that it provides VPN for torrenters makes Private Internet Access a particularly attractive choice.
Available for Windows and OS X, our evaluation of Private Internet Access revealed some good features.

Torguard

Offering access to a logless network, 256-bit encryption and unlimited bandwidth, Torguard is ideal for private P2P use, and enables the use of five devices simultaneously. Costs $9.99/month or $59.99/year. Bitcoin is accepted as a payment option.

BTGuard

For $9.95 a month you can sign up to BTGuard, whose 10 GBit servers offer unlimited download speeds and anonymous P2P torrent traffic. BTGuard runs with Windows, OS X and Linux, and accepts Bitcoin.
What’s not to like?

Free VPNs

Not all VPNs are paid services. If you have only an occasional need to access the web or other online service via a VPN, then signing up with a free service makes sense, especially if you’re concerned about payment privacy and don’t have a Bitcoin wallet.

Hotspot Shield Free

The free service from Hotspot Shield is ad-supported, and offers good speeds. Available for Windows, OS X, iOS and Android, Wi-Fi and malware security are among its features, as is data compression for mobile devices.
As well as giving the paid version of Hotspot Shield our attention, we’ve also previously looked at Hotspot Shield Free, and Dave LeClair was particularly impressed with the free service.

CyberGhost Free

Unlike the premium service, free access to CyberGhost is ad-supported and works only with Windows, Mac OS X and Android. Speed is capped, sadly, but you get the same good service.

TunnelBear Free

With a monthly allowance of 500 MB a month, TunnelBear’s free option is potentially limiting to your VPN requirements. However, you can get a bonus 1GB of data by taking part in the company’s Twitter promotion. TunnelBear free is compatible with Windows, OS X, iOS and Android.

OkayFreedom

Like TunnelBear’s free service, OkayFreedom caps your VPN allowance at 500 MB a month, which means you will need to use it sparingly in most cases, even with an extra 100 MB available per referral. This free service is ad-supported.

Our Top VPNs – What Are Yours?

We’ve compiled this list over the course or several years. This means two things: one, that we’re satisfied that the services we’ve included are worthy of their continued presence on the list, and two, that we might have missed a VPN service that you think should be included.
Use the comments section to let us know which VPNs deserve to remain on the list, or be added.