5 best VPNs for personal use
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Key notes
- A personal VPN is different than a corporate VPN which allows you to remotely connect to your office. Using a private VPN, you can hide your IP, spoof your geo-location, hide browsing from ISP, unblock streaming, access restricted content, and more.
- Discover the 5 best VPNs for personal use that can improve your entire Internet experience. Carefully compare their advantages and disadvantages to decide which service is better.
- Check out our Business VPN section if you're an entrepreneur.
- Join our VPN Hub to learn everything there is to know about VPNs.
Most corporations set up a VPN to allow employees to remotely connect to the workplace. It’s an ingenious method for securely accessing the company’s intranet and using all its resources just as if you were actually sitting in front of the office PC.
However, you can also get the best VPN for personal use. It’s different from a business VPN because you don’t connect to a VPN server to access another network’s resources.
Instead, you reroute your entire network traffic through VPN, thus bypassing your ISP. What does it mean? Your ISP will no longer be able to see what websites you visit, what torrents you download, or what movies you watch online.
Even if you’re not concerned about your online privacy, a VPN stops your ISP from throttling your bandwidth based on your type of activities, like streaming or downloading. In turn, this results in a stable Internet connection that doesn’t slow down.
Here’s what else you can do with a VPN for personal use:
- Access blocked websites and defeat government censorship
- Unblock Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Prime Video, and other streaming services
- Protect your anonymity when torrenting so that you won’t get DCMA letters
- Secure your laptop when connecting to public, unencrypted Wi-Fi hotspots
- Watch geoblocked live streaming on YouTube and other video sharing platforms
- Find cheaper flights and get better deals while shopping online
- Defend your router from hackers and your gaming sessions from DDoS attacks
- Reduce ping when gaming in multiplayer mode
Although it’s tempting to use a free virtual private network solution, you shouldn’t. They are notoriously dangerous for monitoring and sharing your VPN traffic with others. Simply said, you just can’t trust a free VPN with your data.
However, premium VPNs are different because they are actually designed to serve your interests. But not all of them are good, so here are the 5 top VPNs for private use.
What’s the best VPN for personal use?
Private Internet Access
Made by Kape Technologies, Private Internet Access (PIA) is a secure VPN that delivers high-speed connections. Optimized for torrenting and streaming, PIA comes with a vast network of more than +3,300 VPN servers in 48 countries.
You can use it to secure your web browsing sessions, host game servers for you and your friends, watch Netflix US, hide your browsing history from your ISP, as well as set up native port forwarding without router setup.
Private Internet Access supports OpenVPN and WireGuard, Shadowsocks and SOCK5, an ad and malware blocker, split tunneling mode, and a kill switch. It runs private DNS servers to protect your DNS requests, and it allows 10 simultaneous connections.
More about PIA:
- No logs or leaks
- 24/7 live chat support
- 30-day money-back guarantee (no free trial)
Private Internet Access
Get PIA for personal use to improve your whole Internet experience.NordVPN
Created by Tefincom & Co., NordVPN is one of the most secure VPNs on the market, ideal for personal use. It has a network of over 5,100 VPN servers in 59 countries, which you can use for torrenting, streaming, gaming, and secure browsing.
NordVPN uses the OpenVPN protocol to encrypt your data traffic without taking away from the network connection speed. It comes with a malware and ad blocker called CyberSec, made to protect your browsing sessions from phishing and other Internet dangers.
You can set up NordVPN on all major operating systems, as well as protect up to 6 devices at the same time. It’s capable of unblocking many Netflix libraries, including Netflix US. The tool supports Double VPN, Onion-over-VPN, and obfuscated servers.
More about NordVPN:
- No logs or leaks
- 24/7 live chat support
- 30-day money-back guarantee (no free trial)
NordVPN
Raise your laptop’s security level using one of the best VPNs for personal use.Surfshark
Developed by Surfshark LTD, Surfshark is a highly secure VPN for personal use, especially if you’re not willing to pay too much money. It’s the most affordable virtual private network service on this list, which comes bundled with some cool safety options.
It supports OpenVPN, WireGuard, and Shadowsocks, private DNS on each VPN server, multi-hop connections, split tunneling, kill switch, P2P support, together with an ad and malware blocker for web browsers.
The tool features unlimited simultaneous connections, which means that you can protect your entire household devices with a single Surfshark account. Plus, you can set it up on all major operating systems and platforms.
More about Surfshark:
- No logs or leaks
- 24/7 live chat and email support
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 7-day free trial for iOS and Android
Surfshark
Protect all devices in your family using a single subscription to this top VPN for personal use.CyberGhost VPN
Also owned by Kape Technologies, CyberGhost VPN is the best free VPN for personal use. You can install it on all popular platforms and protect up to 7 devices at the same time. The app has the largest network of servers on this list: more than 6,500 in 89 countries.
CyberGhost VPN can defend your router from hackers and connect you to trusted Wi-Fi networks without VPN. It supports exclusive DNS servers and DNS leak protection, split tunneling, and a kill switch.
Furthermore, you can use CyberGhost VPN to watch the most popular Netflix catalogs, including Netflix US, UK, and Canada. It’s the best free VPN for Netflix, delivering a streaming experience with zero buffering.
More about CyberGhost VPN:
- No logs or leaks
- 24/7 live chat support
- Up to 45-day money-back guarantee
- 1-day free trial for Windows and Mac
- 7-day free trial for Android and iOS
CyberGhost VPN
Take advantage of the best free VPN for personal use at a discounted price.ExpressVPN
Made by Express VPN International LTD, ExpressVPN is a popular choice in the VPN community and one of the top VPNs for private use. It has a network of more than 3,000 VPN servers in 94 countries.
The tool runs zero-knowledge DNS servers to preserve your online anonymity and make sure that no information is written about your Internet traffic through VPN servers. Plus, it uses OpenVPN with 256-bit military-grade encryption.
You can install the VPN client on all popular devices, including routers. It also comes with a MediaStreamer feature that allows you to watch Netflix US on devices without native VPN support, such as gaming consoles or Smart TVs.
More about ExpressVPN:
- No logs or leaks
- 24/7 live chat and email support
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 7-day free trial for iOS and Android
ExpressVPN
Unblock streaming services and download anonymously using one of the top VPNs for personal use.In conclusion, you can use one of the best VPNs for personal use to significantly improve your Internet connections when it comes to online security and privacy.
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