Best VPNs for travel abroad in 2024: Stay connected and secure

People spend lots of time, money, and mental bandwidth planning a trip abroad. Ideally, you’d arrive in an exciting new country and just be able to focus on relaxing. However, there are a few things that can get in the way. First, you may not be able to access the websites or services you’ve come to rely on. Second, it’s much more difficult to protect your privacy when you’re out and about since you’ll probably be reliant on public networks.

You can sidestep both issues with the right Virtual Private Network (VPN). These tools encrypt your internet traffic, preventing it from being monitored by hackers or unscrupulous hotspot owners. Not only that, but they can hide your real IP address and location, making it as easy as possible to access your usual streaming services and chat apps, no matter where you are in the world. Let’s dive right in with a quick overview of the best VPNs for traveling abroad:

Best VPNs for international travelers:

1. NordVPN: The top VPN for travel. Fast enough to handle any everyday task, with excellent server coverage and a ton of security tools built-in. Works in countries with strict censorship and reliably unblocks most region-exclusive streaming services. In short, it’s perfect for anyone hoping to keep their online activities private as they travel.TIP In our testing we found that the cheapest NordVPN plan (Standard) works perfectly for traveling.
2. Surfshark: The best budget VPN for staying safe abroad. It excels at accessing geo-restricted platforms, has no connection limit, and is currently the fastest service on the market.
3. IPVanish: A beginner-friendly, no-logs travel VPN capable of bypassing many forms of digital censorship. Secures every device you own. Enhanced privacy with Threat Protection tool. Lowest price for a single month on our list.
4. ExpressVPN: Boasts high-speeds, intuitive apps for all platforms, and servers in over 100 countries. Keeps no logs and lets you effortlessly access the wider internet in places like China.
5. CyberGhost: Zero-logs provider with a larger network than any other. Task-specific servers take all guesswork out of the equation. Reliable speeds and 24/7 support but won’t work in high-censorship countries.
6. PrivateVPN: Offers a stealth mode, self-owned servers, and true no-logs policy for maximum privacy when traveling. Works well with most region-locked platforms, though its speeds could be improved.
7. PureVPN: Affordable, no-logs service that outpaces many of its rivals. Novice-friendly settings menu and plenty of additional privacy tools for those willing to pay a little more.
8. ProtonVPN: Freemium VPN with impressive performance. Keeps no logs and is very easy to use, even if you’re a complete beginner. Doesn’t work in China and won’t let you stream unless you upgrade.

How to stay safe while traveling using a VPN

From a user’s standpoint, VPNs can seem overly complicated and a little intimidating. The reality is that they’re fairly easy to use, and a great way to protect yourself against online threats while traveling to other countries. Just follow these steps:

How to browse safely with a VPN during a trip abroad 

1. Start by choosing a suitable provider. We recommend NordVPN; having tested numerous similar products, we can safely say that it’s one of the quickest, most secure services around. Plus it maintains its high standards, even in countries with extreme censorship.
2. Install the app before you leave home and save a copy of the manual configuration instructions just in case (sometimes oppressive governments update their VPN-detection methods, preventing the apps from working as intended for a short time).
3. Log in and choose a server. You’ll generally get the fastest connection from a server located nearby but in real-world scenarios, this may not always be the best option. That’s because if you’re trying to use a region-locked service, you’ll have to choose a server in the required country (using a British server to access BBC iPlayer abroad, for instance).
4. After a moment, the VPN will connect. From this moment on, your real IP address and online activities are hidden, allowing you to browse the internet without worrying about who might be watching.
5. Having problems? As someone who uses VPNs often, I’ve found that trying a different server or connection protocol fixes most issues. Failing this, it’s best to contact your VPN’s support team for free, one-on-one assistance.

Our criteria for choosing the best travel VPNs

Most people aren’t interested in trying multiple VPNs; if the first one they try doesn’t meet their needs, they (understandably) become discouraged and move on. That said, every VPN is different. There’s a huge range of variability in terms of speed, security, and versatility, which means some are great for traveling while others are significantly less so.

Comparitech’s experts have decades of experience testing VPNs, which means we’re perfectly positioned to highlight strengths and weaknesses that the average user might miss. To find the best VPNs for travel, we evaluated candidates on several key criteria, which you’ll find summarized below. If you’re interested, there’s a more in-depth explanation of our methodology at the bottom of this post.

• Network size: Each VPN is assigned a score based on how many countries its network covers. Our team also considers server distribution to make sure that users in high-traffic locations are adequately provided for.
• Speed and consistency: Your VPN has to be fast enough for whatever you throw at it. Some boast great performance in some locations but drastically slower speeds elsewhere, which is why we run multiple tests, across multiple regions, before averaging the results. This way, the average user gets a clearer idea of the speeds they can expect.
• Freedom of use: Several countries (including China, Russia, and the UAE) attempt to block VPN usage entirely. Despite this, some providers have been able to find workarounds. We first check to see whether this is the case, which countries the VPN works in, and how straightforward it is to actually bypass country-wide censorship.
• Security and privacy: VPNs often advertise themselves as “the most secure” but in my professional opinion, that’s not detailed enough for customers to make an informed decision. We rate providers on 15 separate criteria, examining their supported protocols, encryption level, logging policy, audit history, and whether leak protection is included.
• Streaming capabilities: Roughly a quarter of users rely on VPNs to access region-specific content. However, it’s common for VPNs to work with one app but not another. We run dozens of tests, with higher scores for services that work with larger numbers of streaming platforms.
• Value: Our team decides whether a specific VPN represents good value by evaluating it on eight criteria. This isn’t limited to its price either; we weigh up how many simultaneous connections it allows, whether long-term discounts are available, and what it offers relative to similarly-priced competitors.
• Our expert’s professional rating: It’s important to us that our reviews reflect real-world experiences. For that reason, we have one of our experts personally try each VPN and  rate it out of 10. This score, alongside those above, gives us a comprehensive, unbiased overall score for each provider.

Top VPNs for travel: side by side analysis

Best VPNs for traveling: Detailed reviews

It’s time to take a closer look at the best VPNs for travelers. Let’s begin:

1. NordVPN

Dec 2024

NordVPN is the best overall service for international travel. Its network covers 111 countries, which is more than any other major provider, and thanks to its specially-designed obfuscated servers, it’s one of the only VPNs that works reliably in high-censorship locations like China.

While there are faster services on the market, NordVPN delivers impressive speed and remarkable consistency. It delivered average speeds of over 200 Mbps on our test machine, but to get an idea of how well it performs in the real world, we decided to chart average speeds across seven locations using a home broadband connection (which averaged 49 Mbps).

We found that NordVPN delivered the highest speeds in European countries (France and Italy) but that these declined with servers further away from the center of the world. For instance, the Japanese servers were around 12.5 Mbps slower than those in Egypt. On the plus side, speeds remained high enough to watch 4K video, torrent, or play games without interruption.

On that note, NordVPN uses a suite of tools called SmartPlay to ensure seamless access to region-locked services wherever you are in the world. These run in the background, and users don’t have to do anything beyond picking the right server location for the platform they’re trying to use.

During our hands-on testing, we could reliably stream Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and many more, making this one of the most reliable options for travelers who don’t want to miss the latest episode of their favorite shows.

There are a few security tools that are extremely valuable for travelers, too. You can have the VPN connect automatically whenever you use an unsecured hotspot, hide your device from others on the network, or allow certain apps to bypass the VPN entirely. This last feature is great for anyone who’d like to access services from back home without losing access to sites that are only available in their current location. You can even route data from several devices through a single IP address using the revolutionary MeshNet tool.

Most people will be perfectly fine with the Basic plan. However, you can upgrade to a Plus subscription if you’d like additional protection. This comes with anti-malware and tracker-blocking features, plus a data breach alert system and password manager. Alternatively, there’s the Ultimate plan, which offers all of this as well as 1TB of encrypted cloud storage and cyber insurance coverage (for users in certain locations).

NordVPN makes it very easy to protect yourself from common online threats, and offers apps for all major platforms. Not only that, it works with geo-restricted platforms that trip up many of its rivals. Desktop versions can take a little longer to connect but all things considered, that’s a fairly small flaw and one that’s easily overlooked thanks to how beginner-friendly the service is.

BEST VPN FOR TRAVEL:NordVPN is our first choice, and for good reason. Its proven no-logs policy, impressive performance, and anti-censorship tools make it a fantastic option for privacy-conscious travelers. Every subscription includes a 30-day money-back guarantee too, so you can try it out completely risk-free.

Check out our complete NordVPN review.

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2. Surfshark

Surfshark is one of the best options to get long-term, top-tier protection on a budget. This isn’t some cheap VPN that does the bare minimum, though. It actually beat every other service we tested in terms of speed and is one of the few that can reliably access the wider internet in places like China.

This provider’s network spans an impressive 100 countries. We found that there was virtually no impact on performance when using European servers though those in Asian countries tended to be quite a bit slower (though still perfectly usable).

So why is this VPN a good choice for travelers? Well, for starters, it excels at accessing stubborn geo-locked platforms. You’ll be able to continue using services like Hulu, ITVX, or Stan, no matter where you are in the world, and split tunneling support means you can make exceptions in case you’d rather access the local version of certain sites. Best of all, there’s no connection limit. As such, protecting your entire group’s devices with one account is possible.

Surfshark also boasts a strong focus on security. Its standard plan includes a variety of advanced security tools, including the option to change your IP address periodically and block ads automatically. It doesn’t keep any logs either, something confirmed by independent auditors. The latest version actually lets you create custom multihop connections (routing your data through multiple servers for additional privacy); which is something no other provider offers.

If you’re willing to pay a little extra, you can effectively transform this service into a mobile security suite. Its Surfshark One plan comes with a virus scanner, ID breach alerts, a private search engine, malware protection, and a tool that generates fake personas so that you can sign up for services without providing any sensitive information.

This VPN supports iOS, Android, Windows, and MacOS, plus it’s one of the only services with a graphical Linux app. It’s extremely versatile, affordable, and newcomer-friendly, and as if that wasn’t enough, it can be relied upon in places where most other VPNs are blocked outright. There is quite simply, no other service that offers this level of security and performance at such a reasonable price.

BEST BUDGET VPN:Surfshark manages to outshine many of its more expensive rivals. Offers a high level of security, effortlessly unblocks popular streaming platforms, and can keep you safe no matter how many devices you have. Includes a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans.

Find out more in our full Surfshark review.

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3. IPVanish

IPVanish is a phenomenal choice for travelers looking for a versatile yet easy-to-use VPN. Say you’re in a foreign country trying to book a reservation or contact friends back home – the last thing you want is to have your personal information or communications intercepted. That won’t be an issue since IPVanish uses unbreakable encryption, automatically connects when on unrecognized networks, and prevents IPv6 and DNS leaks by default.

It’s quick, too! What really stood out to us was its consistency; there was less than a 10 Mbps difference between the fastest and slowest servers we tested. Now, IPVanish’s network spans around 60 countries, so it’s less ideal if you desperately need to get an IP address from a less-common location. However, if you’re visiting Europe, Asia, or North America, there’ll almost certainly be a server nearby.

As someone who’s been monitoring IPVanish for years, I’m pleased to say that this service has really stepped up its game recently. The latest update introduced a Threat Protection tool that fights back against ads, online trackers, and shady websites, and there’s been a real push to provide reliable access to stubborn geo-blocked sites. For example, we were able to stream content from Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Prime Video, three services that previously caused problems for this VPN.

New to VPNs? No problem: IPVanish tries to be as accessible and beginner-friendly as possible. It does this in a few different ways. Its interface is clutter-free, with short descriptions of what each setting does. Additionally, it offers apps for almost every device, including Amazon Firestick and Apple TV, though you will have to manually install it on Linux systems (don’t worry: the website’s support section will walk you through the process step-by-step). Best of all, users can connect as many devices as they like with a single subscription.

This provider is speedy, novice-friendly, and extremely capable, plus it provides all of the tools you’ll need to protect yourself during a trip abroad. With reasonably-priced long-term plans, a growing list of capabilities, and no connection limit, IPVanish is great for almost any task.

Finally, it is worth noting that this VPN offers impressive value. Not only can you use a single VPN subscription on an unlimited number of devices, but you can opt for the Advanced plan which comes with 1 Terabyte of cloud storage, and a secure cloud-based browser.

The sandboxed browser is particularly handy. By keeping your browsing online, it keeps harmful elements like trackers or malware away from your device. This also allows you to carry out browsing without worrying that local networks or ISPs will find out. This is ideal for users who need more privacy or are browsing in regions with heavy internet restrictions.

In our tests, the sandboxed browser performed well for private surfing, though HD and 4K streaming could be smoother. We also experienced more captchas on Google, which was a touch annoying. This makes the secure browser less useful for streaming than we would have hoped. But it is still an excellent resource for those living in restrictive countries.

All things considered, with both VPN and cloud storage included at a competitive rate, the Advanced plan is well worth considering if you are already in need of both.

IDEAL FOR USE ABROAD:IPVanish is fast and puts your security first. There’s virtually no chance of hackers keeping tabs on your activities once connected, plus this VPN has shown a strong commitment to improving its service. Annual plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read the complete IPVanish review for more info.

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4. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN manages to blend a fairly simplistic interface with a set of privacy tools that many of its competitors struggle to match. As such, it’s a natural choice for travelers hoping to protect themselves while using hotel or coffee shop wifi, as well as anyone visiting places where internet access is strictly monitored.

You don’t even have to do anything to bypass state-wide censorship; just connect using the big power button in the middle of the app and ExpressVPN takes care of the rest.

While you’re at it, we’d suggest taking the time to enable the newly-introduced tracker, malware, and ad-blocking features. You’ll be asked if you want to the first time you connect but can also find them in the options menu later under Advanced Protection.

There are a couple of other advantages to this service too. First off, it has servers in a staggering 105 countries. In short, you shouldn’t run into issues whether you’re trying to watch TV from your home country or renew your passport via region-locked government platforms. It also has its own protocol named Lightway that can keep your connection secure even while switching networks and improve performance over long distances.

Our testing revealed that ExpressVPN generally provides reliable, high-speed connections, though there is a relatively steep falloff the further away your chosen server is. As the table below shows, our staff in Europe reported barely any impact on speeds using servers in France, but the average speed was just 15.5 Mbps while on a Japanese server. In my professional opinion, this will be fine for most day-to-day tasks, though you may experience buffering while doing data-intensive things like streaming 4K video.

As you might expect, ExpressVPN provides apps for all major operating systems. However, it’s the only VPN we’ve seen during our many years in this industry that has its own router app. This means you’ll be able to more easily secure devices that don’t support full VPN software, like game consoles and smart TVs. The support area of its website provides detailed instructions to get you up and running as quickly as possible, but you can also ask the support team to guide you through it via live chat, or simply purchase a router that has ExpressVPN preinstalled.

This is a remarkably straightforward VPN boasting impressive capabilities. While there are more affordable options out there, ExpressVPN’s ease of use may make the slightly higher price worth it, especially if you’re the type of person who hates messing around in the settings menu.

HASSLE-FREE PROTECTION:ExpressVPN has plenty to offer, not least of which is a large network. Delivers steady speeds, handily unblocks most geo-blocked sites, and offers its own router software. Comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Take a look at our in-depth ExpressVPN review.

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5. CyberGhost

CyberGhost has a larger network than any other VPN in this list, with 126 server locations across 100 countries. This all but guarantees you’ll be able to get a speedy, low-latency connection during a trip abroad. Our testing backs this up, too, with the lowest average speed (30 Mbps) still well above the threshold required for day-to-day browsing.

A common issue many users have is discovering which servers are best for accessing region-locked apps. CyberGhost tells you outright which are best for accessing popular streaming platforms, and also recommends servers that are specially-optimized for gaming, torrenting, dedicated IP addresses, or getting the highest level of privacy. This removes all guesswork, allowing you to spend less time messing around and more time actually focusing on enjoying yourself.

Let’s talk about security. This provider has been repeatedly audited to prove that it doesn’t keep any logs of your online activities. Thanks to its powerful encryption, leak protection, and kill switch, there’s minimal chance of having your info stolen while using a public network. There are even special NoSpy servers that are owned outright and stored at CyberGhost’s HQ so that your data never passes through a third-party’s hardware.

Competing VPNs often include automatic wifi protection but this tends to be very simple: it’s either active or not. In contrast, CyberGhost takes a more flexible approach. Using the Smart rules tab, it’s possible to connect right away when on an unfamiliar network, connect after a preset amount of time, set exceptions, start programs, or connect to specific servers whenever you open a particular app.

This VPN offers apps for iOS, MacOS, Windows, Android, and Linux, plus extensions for a few of the most popular browsers. Unlike most other providers, CyberGhost is still able to block ads and shady sites when installed on a router. The only downside is that it can’t be relied upon in places with extreme censorship since it lacks a stealth mode.

CyberGhost is a low-cost VPN with near-unmatched utility. Excels on privacy, streaming ability, and user-friendliness. Customer support staff are friendly and can be reached 24 hours per day over live chat. However you plan to use the internet on vacation, this service can help.

FAST AND FLEXIBLE:CyberGhost knows that travelers need high speeds and a strong set of security tools. Takes the stress out of using geo-blocked platforms abroad and boasts a phenomenal privacy record. All plans feature a 45-day money-back guarantee.

Why not read our full review of CyberGhost?

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6. PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN may not be as well known as some of its competitors, but when it comes to security and privacy, it goes the extra mile. That’s great news for international travelers, especially when you consider tourism is one of the three industries most-targeted by cybercriminals. With just a few clicks, you can activate its stealth mode, raise the encryption level, or enable the kill switch (and it’s even possible to close specific apps when your connection drops).

One key thing to note is that PrivateVPN has just 200 servers worldwide, spread across 63 countries. This means that the entire location becomes inaccessible when certain servers go down for maintenance. However, the entire network is owned and hosted in-house, allowing improvements and fixes to be rolled out more quickly than if the servers were rented. Better still, this approach ensures that user traffic never passes through any other company’s hardware unencrypted.

This VPN bucks industry trends in other ways, too. For instance, it’s also one of the only services we’ve seen that allows you to change the interface based on how involved you want to get. When you first open the app, you’ll be shown a very basic page that just allows you to connect or change server location. Hit the Advanced View button though, and you’ll gain access to key information about your connection and a slew of additional features.

This level of privacy does come at a cost. PrivateVPN is the slowest of our recommendations, averaging just under 21 Mbps on a 49 Mbps connection, with significant variability in speed depending on your chosen server.

You’ll notice a couple of blank spaces in the chart below, where servers simply timed out. Additionally, PureVPN doesn’t offer any Egyptian servers, leading to another gap in the data.

At least you’ll be able to access your usual platforms, though; this VPN rarely encounters a region-exclusive service it can’t unblock. Our team was able to use apps like BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and Prime Video without any issues.

This VPN offers apps for Android, Windows, MacOS, and iOS. It can be manually installed on Linux systems, but we’d have preferred to see a command-line-based app like those offered by other providers in this list. Alternatively, if you’d like to secure more than 10 devices, we’d suggest installing PrivateVPN directly on your router instead (just follow the setup guides on the website for step-by-step instructions).

While it’s not the fastest, PrivateVPN is still a solid recommendation for anyone who travels regularly. It can reliably access a ton of popular geo-blocked sites, refuses to keep logs, and boasts spectacular security credentials. Best of all, it only costs a couple of dollars per month if you pick the multi-year plan.

PRIVACY FIRST:PrivateVPN devotes all of its effort to keeping your online activities hidden. It’s a low-cost service with a strong security toolkit and exceptional unblocking ability, as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Interested? Check out our comprehensive PrivateVPN review.

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7. PureVPN

PureVPN operates more than 6,000 servers in around 65 countries. Better still, it works with most streaming platforms we’ve tested, including Netflix, Max, and Hulu, making it great for users hoping to wind down after a busy day in a foreign country.

The desktop app is pretty easy to use, but there are a couple of questionable design choices. For instance, the connect button and server selection are relegated to a small area at the top, with the bulk of the main page devoted to features that aren’t included with a basic subscription. There are several tabs down the side too, with many of these simply trying to funnel you towards upgrading your plan. The settings menu is neatly-organized, at least, and we liked the ability to contact staff directly via the app.

To its credit, this VPN does provide remarkably high speeds. It was runner-up in our fastest VPN testing, and performed admirably on home broadband connections too. Across seven different server locations, it delivered speeds of around 40 Mbps, with one particularly poor result (South Korea) dragging its average speed down to 35 Mbps. Note that that PureVPN doesn’t operate Mexican servers either, so we were forced to record a speed of 0 Mbps.

If you’re concerned about staying safe online, PureVPN can help. It uses industry-approved encryption, prevents DNS and IPv6 leaks, and offers a customizable kill switch that stops sending data the moment your connection drops. Users can also hide their device from others on the network or tell the app to recommend servers that worked well for you during prior sessions. There’s a tracker-blocking feature built-in but this only works if you chose the Plus or Max plans – these are more expensive but include benefits like a password manager, encrypted storage, or personal data deletion to help justify the added cost.

Apps are available for all popular platforms, plus PureVPN is one of the only major providers with a graphical Linux app. You can protect 10 devices simultaneously or manually configure the service to run on most routers if that’s not enough.

PureVPN gives travelers the opportunity to browse the web safely, no matter where they are. It has a strong focus on speed and security, plus it can access services many competing VPNs can’t. Best of all, it’s been independently-audited so you know its privacy claims can be trusted.

USER-FRIENDLY:PureVPN puts a lot of effort into being accessible to newcomers. With steady speeds, a strong commitment to privacy, and the ability to bypass digital censorship, it’s perfect for international travel. Includes a 31-day money-back guarantee.

For more details, take a look at our complete PureVPN review.

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8. ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is a freemium service, and if you just want to keep a single device secure while on public wifi, you may not ever need to upgrade. After all, the company has a long history of standing up for privacy, and also operates ProtonMail, the choice of activists the world over.

If you’re thinking long-term, though, it’s a good idea to consider paying for a premium plan. For starters, you can’t torrent or access streaming platforms without one, and you’re limited to just a handful of server locations. Once upgraded, however, users gain access to over 6,000 servers in 100 different countries, and can protect up to 10 devices simultaneously.

Speed is another great reason to upgrade. The free servers are decent, and fast enough for most things, but still slower than the paid ones. Our in-depth testing revealed that paid users could expect average speeds of around 43 Mbps on a 49 Mbps connection, with only slight reductions when using very distant servers.

On the plus side, the majority of ProtonVPN’s toolkit is available to everyone. This includes powerful encryption, a kill switch, leak protection, and port forwarding functionality. There’s a strict no-logs policy in place too, and it’s been independently-verified for your peace of mind.

Paid plans come with ad-blocking, malware-protection, and split tunneling functionality, as well as multi-hop servers and the option to use custom DNS servers. Experienced users will appreciate the extra control that these offer but if you’re newer, they may just feel a little overwhelming. Finally, there’s a higher-tier subscription called Proton Unlimited that offers all of this, a password manager, and encrypted file storage.

The apps have a bit of an unusual design but they’re easy enough to get the hang of. For instance, there’s an icon beside each server letting you know if it’s suitable for torrenting or streaming – it’s not clear what these mean at a glance, but you can hover over them for an explanation. Additionally, the kill switch and ad-blocker are on the home screen instead of in the options menu, where most other VPNs have them.

ProtonVPN does a lot of things well, and it’s backed up by a company with a stellar reputation on privacy. Depending on your needs, you may even be able to rely entirely on the free version. Travelers interested in streaming TV shows from back home or getting fine-grained control over their connection would do well to upgrade.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY:ProtonVPN has an impressive freemium offering, with strong speeds and a great set of security features. Its streaming ability is excellent, it works in places like China, and doesn’t keep any logs. Paid subscriptions include a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Learn more with our full ProtonVPN review.

Our methodology: Testing and identifying the best VPNs for travel

You can feasibly use any VPN while traveling, but some are better suited to the unique challenges of this use case than others. To make sure we only recommended the best of the best, we evaluated candidates using the criteria below:

Network size and availability

The more locations a VPN covers, the greater the range of content you can theoretically access. With this in mind, we designed a two-stage approach to scoring. First, we assigned each VPN a score out of 10 based on how many countries it supported, and another score based on how many servers it offered (where this data was available). We also considered whether it worked as normal in high-censorship countries and whether split tunneling functionality was present.

And here’s the raw data used to form the chart above:

Speed

Lab testing allows us to see how fast a VPN can be under ideal circumstances, but it’s not all that helpful for the average user on a day-to-day basis. For a more realistic look at what the providers above are capable of, we ran speed tests on a home broadband connection (which averaged 49.07 Mbps). There were seven tests per provider, each one using a server in a different country (Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Italy, Greece, France, and Egypt).

It’s worth noting that we normalize our data using each provider’s maximum and minimum speeds. This makes it easier to compare performance on a graph, even if two VPNs have wildly different capabilities. Also, we use the desktop version of Ookla’s speed test to avoid any slowdown that the test itself could cause.

Here’s an at-a-glance comparison of each provider’s average performance:

As shown above, NordVPN and ProtonVPN delivered the highest average speeds, followed closely by CyberGhost. The remaining VPNs weren’t too far behind, except for PrivateVPN, which was hampered by timeouts and a lack of Egyptian servers. Despite these handicaps, it still managed to be fast enough for everyday usage.

Security & privacy

The main purpose of a VPN is to keep your traffic secure and hidden from snoopers. If a service fails in that regard, it’s not worth using, no matter how fast it is or which streaming platforms it can unblock.

As such, we have a particularly strict set of judging criteria for this category. There are 15 key factors we look for in the first step; you’ll find these below:

As before, our team assigns each service a score based on their security offering. These are weighted and a perfect performance results in an overall score of 10.

CyberGhost led the pack here with an overall score of 9.6. There was a three-way tie for second place, with NordVPN, Surfshark, and PureVPN all scoring 9.2.

Finally, we verify that none of the services we recommend inadvertently let sensitive data leak out via DNS, WebRTC, or IPv6. This is accounted for in our initial table, but we find it’s better not to take providers at their word if their claims are easily verifiable using services like browserleaks.com.

Ease of use

Realistically, the less time spent fiddling about with your VPN, the better. In a perfect world, it’d just work. That’s why we consider how easy each app is to use, how intuitive it is, and how reliable it is for day-to-day tasks. Here’s a rundown of our criteria:

There are no surprises here: the scores are totaled and normalized to give a result out of 10. NordVPN delivered the highest overall score, with IPVanish coming in a close second.

Value for money

Nobody wants to pay just to avoid having their details stolen by hackers. However, there’s more to VPN pricing than just the monthly cost. We have a total of eight metrics used to determine each service’s value, and you’ll find these below:

Once again, these values are normalized so that they add up to 10, allowing us to show how providers stack up against one another:

Surfshark scored more highly than any other provider, largely due to its long-term discounts, lack of connection limits, and low monthly price point. IPVanish scored well for similar reasons, with NordVPN and CyberGhost tied for third place, at 9.5/10.