Our recommended VPNs offer the best balance of performance, privacy, and price. Plus, with a 30-day money-back guarantee from these providers, there’s absolutely no risk in giving them a try.
We broke down the key features that matter most so you can easily choose the right VPN for your needs. Here are our top picks for 2025:
💡 Pro Tip: In my testing, I found that most VPNs offer similar core features. Unless you need something very specific, it’s smart to go with a well-reviewed VPN that’s offering a better deal.
⚠️ Heads Up: Some concerns have been raised about ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access, especially around security practices and company transparency. If you’re considering one of these, it’s worth doing a bit more research first. (Details below.)
After three months of testing top VPNs like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, and CyberGhost, NordVPN came out on top for speed and reliability.
Upload speed difference vs. normal speed
Download speed difference vs. normal speed
Latency (lower is better)
NordVPN
Down 4.11%
Down 5.78%
125.8 ms
ExperssVPN
Down 12.9%
Down 7.57%
78.3 ms
SurfShark
Down 9.96%
Down 6.32%
139 ms
Proton VPN
Down 13.9%
Down 8.2%
129 ms
CyberGhost
Down 17.9%
Down 12.6%
151 ms
đź”’ Our results are backed up by trusted sources like PCMag and CNET, which also rank NordVPN as the fastest VPN available right now.
We’ve been testing VPNs for more than 10 years, and part of that process includes speed tests. In our latest round, NordVPN comes out on top of download speed results, trailed closely by ExpressVPN.
NordVPN is currently the fastest VPN, based on our latest speed tests. Out of the VPNs we speed tested, NordVPN’s speeds were the most consistently fast across the board. NordVPN averaged just an 11% speed loss overall, Mullvad came in second place with a 13% average speed loss and Surfshark followed with a 17% overall speed loss. Proton VPN and ExpressVPN rounded out the list with a 21% speed loss and a 25% speed loss, respectively.
Whether you’re streaming, downloading, or just browsing, NordVPN delivers consistently smooth performance with no buffering or lag. If speed and stability are priorities for you, NordVPN is the clear winner.
⚠️ Be Cautious with ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and PIA
While ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access (PIA) still offer solid performance (ExpressVPN even ranked second in our speed tests), there are growing concerns about their ownership and internal stability. Until these issues are cleared up, we recommend proceeding with caution.
đź”’ All three VPNs are owned by Kape Technologies, a company previously linked to adware distribution. This connection has raised serious questions in the privacy community about whether Kape is truly committed to user protection. (Source: Reddit)
User discussion on Reddit
⚠️ Company Instability：Kape’s recent cuts to core teams could degrade service quality.
Kape recently cut staff from core teams—including engineering and quality assurance. Even ExpressVPN’s Chief Technology Officer for Privacy, Dan Gericke, has left the company. These shakeups have sparked speculation about a potential drop in service quality across all Kape-owned VPNs. (Source: PCMAG)
The Open Letter of Dan Gericke (ExpressVPN’s Chief Technology Officer for Privacy)
🏆 By contrast, NordVPN has consistently prioritized innovation and security:
Here’s what makes NordVPN a smarter choice:
RAM-only servers – your data is never stored, not even temporarily
Independent security audits (by PwC from 2021 to 2024)
No affiliation with adware companies
Advanced features like Meshnet and Threat Protection
Top review sites like Tom’s Guide, TechRadar, and Security.org all named NordVPN the Best VPN of 2024 and 2025—a testament to its leadership in the industry.
TechRadar
The best VPN overall
Our latest testing proves that NordVPN continues to lead the pack in terms of providing the best VPN experience possible. Offering a superbly quick and secure VPN, alongside security tools to improve your overall online and on-computer security, NordVPN offers an impressive security package for a surprisingly low cost.
NordVPN offers the best overall VPN package, with great privacy at a reasonable price. It’s able to unblock just about every streaming service worldwide, and excellent speeds mean it won’t be slowing you down. If you want very simple apps, something like ExpressVPN might be better, but overall, Nord leads the pack.
NordVPN is a popular choice, because it strikes a nice balance between remaining user-friendly and full-featured, all without sacrificing speed on most platforms. Our CNET Labs tests clocked a class-leading 11.1% average internet download speed loss. The service’s focus on privacy means you’ll get niche but useful features like a Double VPN and Tor over VPN for enhanced encryption. In addition, regular no-logs audits foster transparency.
– Reivewd by CNET
PCMAG
What makes NordVPN stand out is that it has continued to grow and respond to an extremely competitive market. After adding just about every VPN feature available, NordVPN diversified its product, adding a password manager, an antivirus, and an encrypted file locker. Its unique set of features helps it stand out from other VPN services by providing cross-platform file-sharing and traffic routing between your devices or rented servers. All these additions help NordVPN justify its high price. So, while it is more expensive than much of the competition, NordVPN is an excellent, innovative product that is well deserving of our Editors’ Choice award.
With its feature-set, we recommend NordVPN to users who are looking to improve their overall digital security posture. It’s not just a VPN, especially if you sign up for the mid-tier or top-tier plans. That said, even if you’re looking for just a VPN, the Basic plan is an excellent option that can give you a rich selection of security and privacy features for daily use.
Every VPN we recommend comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. That means you can try NordVPN (or any other top pick), and if it doesn’t meet your expectations, just cancel for a full refund—no questions asked. It’s the perfect way to find the VPN that’s right for you.
Mavis has over 6 years of experience testing VPNs, particularly their streaming and unblocking capabilities. She specializes in researching how well VPNs work in different countries around the world.
