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We evaluate some of the most popular VPN services right now. VPNs have grown in popularity due to increased cyber security risks and the fact that most people are looking for extra protection when they do their online banking, pay bills and access medical services.
Whilst a good basic VPN can mask your IP address and geographical location, a premium VPN offers enhanced protection with: superior data encryption, split tunnelling and improved security when connecting to public wifi services.
A VPN also allows you choose a server location so you can access geographically restricted content or websites when you are overseas. A VPN enables you to watch online services like BBC iPlayer, Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+ and other services in Europe or the rest of the world, via a UK, EU or US account as if you were at home.
Check out our top VPNs below, make use of a 30 day money back trial to find the best VPN for you.
Trustpilot rating 4.7
Pure VPN – provides fast connection speeds, Pure VPN has one of the largest networks with over 6500 servers in 70 countries worldwide.
Price from:
WOWCOMPARE – 83% DISCOUNT DEAL
24 month subscription billed at £45.00 / €82.10 / $54.95
£8.95 / €15.47 / $10.95 (pay per month subscription)
Trustpilot rating 4.4
ExpressVPN provides fast connection speeds across a network of 10Gbpsservers in 94 countries worldwide.
Price from:
12 month subscription billed at £81.53 / $99.95
£10.56 / $12.95 (pay per month subscription)
Trustpilot rating 4.4
Surshark VPN – ONE provides superfast speeds across a network of 10Gbps servers in 100 countries worldwide.
Price from:
24 month subscription billed at £59.54 / €77.56 / $49.08
£12.69 / €15.95 / $17.69 (pay per month subscription).
Trustpilot rating 4.2
NordVPN provides excellent speeds across a network of servers in 60 countries worldwide.
Price from:
24 month subscription billed at £64.62 / €107.73 / $97.35 )
£12.59 / €13.99 / $14.99 (pay per month subscription).
Bitdefender Premium VPN standalone VPN with fast speeds across a network of servers in 49 countries worldwide. It is also included as part of the Bitdefender ‘Ultimate’ & ‘Premium’ security all-in-one subscriptions.
Price from:
£2.50/month (12 month subscription billed at £29.99)
£5.99 (1 month subscription rolling)
Trustpilot rating 2.3
Proton VPN provides fast connection speeds across a network of 10Gbps servers in 67 countries worldwide.
Developed by scientist in Geneva, Switzerland Proton VPN specialises in
Price from:
24 month subscription billed at / €71.88 / $119.76
£5.99 / €9.99 / $5.99 (pay per month subscription)
(Source: WOWCOMPARE – VPN’s comparison details and Trustpilot ratings updated April 2024)
Pure VPN has the highest Trustpilot rating with 4.7 stars, based on consumer feedback. Pure VPN is closely followed by Surfshack & Express VPN each with 4.4 stars. Although Proton VPN has a low Trustpilot 2.3 star rating, PC Magazine (pcmag.com) recently rated the service 5.0 and outstanding, as it proved the best VPN providing the fastest download and upload speeds in testing.
Not sure which VPN to choose, many services offer FREE trials, or money back offers, why not test some VPNs out and see which one works best for you.
There are various reason why you might want to connect to a network using a VPN, key reasons for using a VPN or Virtual Private Network include:
VPNs once thought of as a gimmick, for geeks and techies, are now considered mainstream. VPNs are used by millions of people worldwide and often used with a premium antivirus and online security solution to improve online security and reduce data breaches. VPNs provide freedom to access and view restricted geographical content and popular streaming services.
A competitive market has encouraged VPN services to improve connection speeds and security. Many services have added extra features, Pure VPN recently launched a suite of apps called PureSquare. PureSquare includes PureVPN plus other apps to help anyone working from home or remotely. These include password protected and encrypted cloud storage and encrypted local storage on personal devices laptops and PCs.
7 day risk-free trial for $0.99, see how PureVPN & PureSquare apps can help improve privacy and safety >>
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a technology that provides a secure and private connection between a user’s device and the internet. It creates a virtual encrypted tunnel through which your internet traffic is routed, ensuring that your online activities are encrypted and protected from potential eavesdropping, surveillance, or unauthorised access.
When you connect to a VPN server, your internet traffic is encrypted, meaning it is scrambled and unreadable to anyone who might intercept it. This encryption helps to protect your sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card details, or personal communications, from being accessed by hackers, ISPs (Internet Service Providers), or government agencies.
Additionally, using a VPN allows you to change or mask your IP address, which is the unique identifier of your device on the internet. By connecting to a VPN server in a different location, you can appear as if you are browsing from that location, effectively bypassing any geographical restrictions or censorship imposed by your internet service provider or the websites you visit.
A VPN (virtual private network) could slow down your internet connection. Using a quality subscription based VPN service should ensure internet speeds remain high and reliable.
Experts tend to rank NordVPN, ExpressVPN, PureVPN and Surfshark among the best VPNs, providing consistently fast connection speeds.
One: Run a speed test with your VPN disabled. Note down the results.
Two: Turn on your VPN and run the test again. Note down these results.
Three: Compare the two speeds to see if they are different.
Four: Repeat this process at different times in the day to see how the numbers differ.
Avoid using free or budget VPN services – Free VPNs don’t perform as well as paid VPN services. They tend to have fewer servers and could even try to install bloatware and malware onto your devices.
Change you VPN server location – The best VPNs have servers all over the world. Some servers may perform better than others, depending on where they are located and how many active users they are routing. So try switching your server location if speed is noticeably slow.
Disconnect and reconnect to the VPN – Logging out or disconnecting and reconnecting to the VPN service sometimes helps to improve connection speeds when you are encountering speed issues.
Most VPN services are accessed through an annual or monthly subscription. On average you can expect to pay £2 – £10 (€3 – €10) ($3 – $10) per month.
Note: You still need a live internet connection or wifi connection to use a VPN.
Yes you can connect to a VPN on 4G & 5G mobile or cellular data networks. However using a VPN with mobile data can increase usage by 5-20% (depending on protocol and server locations).
A VPN can’t be used to try and bypass your mobile data cap, in fact it could result in you using more data, faster.
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