Which are the best VPN apps to use in 2023? Good question. The internet is full of massive corporations who are just waiting in line to grab a big ole’ spoon and plunge it into your internet data so and then – slurp, slurp, slurp – sell it all off to the highest bidder. Since we do so much of our browsing on our phones, it makes sense that you’d want to protect yourself from this with a VPN that has a decent app.
The best VPN apps will give you the features of leading VPN providers in the palm of your hand. If a VPN provider is forward thinking enough to ensure that all of their services are mobile-friendly, then that also sends a message that they might be forward thinking enough to protect your privacy even as the internet landscape changes and evolves over time.
Of course, there are an awful lot of VPNs these days, and to make your life easier, we’ve picked six top VPN providers who all offer their services through an app. Our top pick is ExpressVPN (for reasons we’ll get into below), but each of them offers a great service, each with a slightly different list of benefits, like the fastest VPN, the best free VPN, and more.
ExpressVPN is our choice for the best VPN app and its pricing works out as $8.32 USD or £5.70 GBP per month.
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As we mentioned above, our choice for the best VPN app is ExpressVPN, and that’s because it’s an all-round fantastic service, with a great app to match. With servers in 94 countries around the world, it offers a range which very few of its competitors can match.
NordVPN is the fastest VPN app and its pricing works out as $4.19 USD or £2.99 GBP per month.
NordVPN has been able to cement itself as one of the most recognisable VPN brands since it was founded ten years ago. The reason it’s become so popular, is because it genuinely offers a really solid service and is definitely one of the fastest VPN providers you’ll find, with an average server speed of 65.79Mbit/s. It is noticeably faster than ExpressVPN (though what it makes up for in speed, in lacks in server locations, covering only 60 countries, compared to ExpressVPN’s 90+).
CyberGhost is the best streaming VPN app and the pricing works out as $2.19 USD or £1.92 GBP per month.
CyberGhost features
Locations 7,400+ servers in 91+ countries
Services unblocked Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, Prime
Free trial length Card-free for 1 day
Money-back guarantee 45 days
Simultaneous connections 7
Router support Yes
Next up, we have CyberGhost. We consider it as the best VPN for streaming, due to its compatibility with so many major platforms. Using spilt-tunnelling, you’ll even be able to set some apps to connect through the VPN, while others connect locally. After all, nobody wants to access their banking app through a server halfway around the world.
Private Internet Access (PIA) is the best cheap VP app and its pricing works out at $2.19 USD or £1.69 GBP.
Private Internet Access features
Locations 35,000+ servers in 78+ countries
Services unblocked Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, YouTube
Free trial length No free trial
Money-back guarantee 30 days
Simultaneous connections 10
Router support Yes
Private Internet Access is a great choice for anybody looking for a cheap VPN, because not only are its rates a little cheaper than you’ll find with certain other providers (thanks in no small part to the exclusive deal for our readers), but its a top notch service too. Don’t fool yourself into thinking this is a second rate VPN because its cheaper, because it’s easily one of the best.
Surfshark is the best VPN app for unlimited devices and its pricing works out as $2.30 USD or £1.90 GBP per month.
Is Surfshark called Surfshark because it’s the cool surfer dude of the VPN community? Well, that’s probably not what they had in mind, but it has to be said that they’re offering something that’s pretty special – in part because it allows you to have an unlimited number of simultaneous connections. That’ll cover even the largest households, and with a seven-day VPN free trial, customers have plenty of time to get to grips with it before they enter their payment details.
TunnelBear is the best free VPN app.
TunnelBear features
Locations over 2,600 servers in 49 countries
Services unblocked None
Free trial length Has a free version that can be used indefinitely, but limited to 500MB of data per month
Money-back guarantee None, refunds assessed on a case by case basis
Simultaneous connections 5
Router support No
TunnelBear is pretty great if you’re looking for a free VPN, except that it limits you to 500MB of data per month. While this might be too small an allowance for some people, if you only want to use it when you’re out and about, using public wi-fi, then this may be more than enough.
