Best Android VPN 2023

• Latest assessments: No leaks detected, 2% velocity loss in spring 2022 assessments
• Network: 3,000-plus servers in 160 areas throughout 94 international locations
• Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands
• Price: 5 simultaneous connections for $13 per thirty days, $60 for six months or $100 for a 12 months (present low cost: 3 months free). 2-year subscriptions accessible.

Despite battling main upheavals by the tip of 2021, ExpressVPN clinched our Editor’s Choice Award for finest VPN in 2022. One of the 2 largest suppliers globally, the VPN titan has been in enterprise since 2009 and as soon as once more aggressively raised the trade bar for service transparency this 12 months. 

In the previous 12 months, ExpressVPN elevated its unbiased third-party audit depend, revealed particulars about its TrustedServer deployment course of, joined the i2Coalition to name for improved VPN trade ethics, and launched an open supply Lightway encryption protocol.

After a setback in 2020, ExpressVPN is once more at present in first place because the quickest VPN we have examined. While most VPNs will trigger you to lose half or extra of your regular web speeds, ExpressVPN precipitated us to lose simply 2% of speeds in our 2022 velocity assessments. It additionally unblocks Netflix and different streaming providers extra reliably than most different VPNs, and seamlessly surpasses geo-blocking for entry to worldwide gaming servers and torrenting websites. 

Lightway’s versatile nature permits it to tackle each TCP and UDP connections, seamlessly balancing velocity and stability. It’s an excellent selection for a default protocol on Android gadgets, since it is so conscious of various connection varieties and strengths. 

All of our top-rated VPNs have huge compatibility throughout platforms and working methods, however ExpressVPN’s assortment of setup guides, detailed FAQs and troubleshooting articles give it a transparent benefit for customers. So do its round the clock buyer help and its no-questions-asked, 30-day money-back assure.

While you may get a greater month-to-dollar cut price with ExpressVPN’s two-year subscription, we do not advocate anybody buy any two-year VPN subscriptions at the moment as a result of general market volatility. ExpressVPN’s finest plan gives 5 simultaneous connections for $100 a 12 months (which incorporates three additional months, for a limited-time deal totaling 15 months of service). You also can go for a $13 month-to-month plan, or pay $60 for six months. 

Read our ExpressVPN overview.

• Latest assessments: Zero information leaks and 19% web velocity loss in fall 2022 assessments
• Network: 3,200-plus in 99 international locations
• Jurisdiction: Netherlands
• Price: Unlimited connections for $48 for the primary 12 months (then $60 yearly) or $13 per thirty days. 2-year subscriptions accessible. 

Surfshark boasts a powerful suite of privateness and safety features, limitless simultaneous connections, easy-to-use interface and expansive international community. And it is nonetheless considerably cheaper than most of its opponents. That’s what helped Surfshark earn CNET’s Editors’ Choice for Best Value VPN in 2022.

Along with normal VPN options reminiscent of a kill swap and DNS leak safety, among the extra notable Surfshark options embrace camouflage mode (which hides the actual fact you are utilizing a VPN), split-tunneling, NoBorders mode (which helps you to use Surfshark in areas the place VPNs are restricted) and multihop VPN connections. You’ll additionally get entry to Surfshark’s ClearWeb expertise, which blocks adverts and malware and helps you keep away from phishing assaults. 

One innovation we’re excited to see Surfshark roll out over the subsequent 12 months is its Nexus community, which connects the VPN’s total community of servers collectively and lets you select a number of servers to route your connection by. The performance is considerably much like Tor, however Surfshark says it is sooner. With its Dynamic MultiHop, IP Randomizer and IP Rotator features, the Nexus community can provide you a number of additional layers of safety when you use the VPN — which will be notably useful to customers with vital privateness wants. 

Surfshark says it would not log any consumer exercise. And though no-logging claims are nearly not possible to show with 100% certainty, German cybersecurity agency Cure53 declared Surfshark’s safety to be “solid” in its 2021 safety audit of the VPN. Surfshark says a brand new audit is forthcoming by the tip of this 12 months. 

As of February 2022, each Surfshark and NordVPN have the identical company father or mother (Tesonet), however Surfshark mentioned it’s legally sure to not share any data between the entities that might go in opposition to its privateness coverage or phrases of service. We did not discover any language in both doc that might point out Surfshark has any obligation to share consumer information with its father or mother firm or any sibling firms, which embrace NordVPN. 

Surfshark charges persistently as one of many quickest VPNs accessible, which is why we had been stunned that one of many solely points we had with Surfshark got here in our velocity take a look at. While it nonetheless ranks as one of many quickest VPNs we have examined — with an web velocity lack of simply 19% — we had been disillusioned with the inconsistent velocity outcomes we bought to sure areas. Speeds to Europe and Singapore had been erratic (dipping as little as 9Mbps to Singapore), whereas speeds to New York had been slower than speeds to the UK and even Australia. Surfhark is within the means of considerably increasing its server community, now providing greater than 3,200 servers in 99 international locations. The continued enlargement of its server community might probably assist convey some extra consistency to the VPN’s speeds. 

In our assessments, Surfshark had no issues unblocking Netflix and Amazon Prime Video content material, however we did run right into a good bit of hassle accessing Disney Plus. After testing varied servers within the US and different international locations the place Disney Plus is on the market, we had been lastly in a position to entry the content material after we linked to a server in Boston. You might have to check a number of servers your self earlier than getting access to Disney Plus content material with Surfshark.

Surfshark gives cheaper introductory costs that leap after the primary billing cycle. Even so, Surfshark manages to maintain its costs decrease than most different VPNs — serving to it earn CNET’s Editors’ Choice for Best Value. The yearly plan begins out at $48 for the primary 12 months, then jumps to $60 for any extra years of service. If you go for the two-year plan, you will pay $60 up entrance for the preliminary two years mixed, then $60 per 12 months for any extra years. Surfshark’s month-to-month plan stays fixed at $13 a month. If you are not happy with the service for any cause, Surfshark gives a 30-day money-back assure.

Read our Surfshark VPN overview.

• Latest assessments: No leaks detected, 13% velocity loss in summer time 2022 assessments
• Network: 5,600-plus servers in 84 areas throughout 59 international locations
• Jurisdiction: Panama
• Price: 6 simultaneous connections for $12 per thirty days or $60 for a 12 months (present low cost: 3 months free). 2-year subscriptions accessible. 

NordVPN is among the most acknowledged manufacturers within the VPN discipline. Part of that model recognition relies on its distinct, simple design. Nord’s app for Android is simply as straightforward to work together with as its desktop VPN consumer, with the same design. It poses no studying difficulties for a first-time consumer seeking to transfer from desktop to cellular.

Just because the desktop consumer does, Nord’s app opens to a well-recognized blue-scale landing-screen map the place customers can choose to both choose a rustic, connect with the quickest server mechanically or browse specialty servers like Onion over VPN, Double VPN or these optimized for P2P. Nord will get bonus factors for its split-tunneling characteristic, which lets you choose different apps that you do not need to run by your encrypted VPN connection.

The VPN service supplier gives a beneficiant simultaneous connection depend, with six connections allowed by its community — practically all different suppliers supply 5 or fewer. NordVPN additionally gives a devoted IP choice, for these on the lookout for a special degree of VPN connection. NordVPN gives a kill-switch characteristic and the power to VPN into Tor. We detected no privateness leaks throughout assessments, and located its speeds to be reliably quick. 

NordVPN’s pricing construction is much like that of its sister firm Surfshark, however its longer-term plans are costlier. A two-year plan carries an introductory value of about $79, however that value will increase to a bit of beneath $100 yearly for every subsequent 12 months of service. However, we do not advocate committing to a single supplier for greater than a 12 months at a time, given how fickle the VPN trade tends to be. If you go for the yearly plan, you will pay $60 for the primary 12 months of service, then simply shy of $100 a 12 months for any extra years. NordVPN’s month-to-month plan is a greenback cheaper than Surfshark’s, although, at $12 a month. And like most different VPN providers, NordVPN gives a full 30-day money-back assure in case you are not happy with the service. 

While NordVPN has lived on our high VPNs record for a very long time, we moved it to the penalty field in October 2019 to re-evaluate the advice after a report emerged that one among its rented servers was accessed with out authorization in 2018. Nord’s actions following the invention included — ultimately — a number of safety audits, a bug bounty program and heavier investments in server safety. 

While we might have most well-liked if Nord had self-disclosed the difficulty a lot earlier, the truth that the breach was restricted in nature and concerned no user-identifying data served to additional confirm that NordVPN retains no logs of consumer exercise. As a consequence, Nord stays on our record as a really helpful vendor.

Read our NordVPN overview.

• Latest assessments: DNS leaks detected, 58% velocity loss in spring 2022 assessments
• Network: 2,000-plus servers in 75 areas throughout 52 international locations
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Price: Unlimited connections for $11 per thirty days, $16 for 3 months ($30 quarterly after the primary 3 months) or $48 for a 12 months ($90 yearly after the primary 12 months). 

A giant win for IPVanish is its enjoyable, configurable interface, which makes it a perfect consumer for individuals who are desirous about studying tips on how to perceive what a VPN does beneath the hood. With its newly redesigned app for Android, IPVanish manages to pack the identical in depth suite of digital knobs and dials right into a refreshingly clear cellular interface to spectacular impact. 

If you need to do some precision tuning to your VPN connection, the IPVanish VPN is a strong guess. With a bevy of switches controlling issues just like the kill swap, cut up tunneling, VPN protocol and LAN connection allowance, IPVanish is an app for the methodical tech tweaker who enjoys having actual management over their cellular web site visitors. 

Its multiplatform flexibility can be ideally suited for folks targeted on discovering a Netflix-friendly VPN. 

While IPVanish is not the quickest VPN, the 58% velocity loss we measured in our most up-to-date velocity assessments is about on par with most VPN suppliers. However, we seen that IPVanish’s Quick Connect characteristic would not all the time join you to the most effective accessible server, so you might have to optimize your speeds by connecting manually to a server exhibiting a lighter load. In IPVanish’s Android app, you possibly can verify the present load of every server by tapping on Locations, choosing Cities and tapping the quantity subsequent to every metropolis.

IPVanish’s yearly plan is on sale now at $40 for the primary 12 months. However, the plan greater than doubles in value to the common $90 annual fee for any subsequent years of service. You also can select a quarterly plan that begins at $13 for the primary three-month interval and will increase to $30 for every three-month billing interval afterward. IPVanish’s month-to-month fee is priced at $11 a month, which is about on par with different suppliers’ month-to-month charges. The supplier gives a 30-day money-back assure, however provided that you get the yearly plan — which may very well be a disappointment to anybody who purchased a month-to-month subscription and determined they did not just like the service. That mentioned, the corporate will get kudos for permitting limitless simultaneous connections. We additionally preferred its connection kill-switch characteristic, which is a should for anybody critical about remaining nameless whereas browsing.

Read our IPVanish overview.