Best VPN service 2022 | PCGamesN

You don’t need any old virtual private network: you need the best VPN possible because in our modern times, it seems like all the world’s massive corporations are queuing up for their chance to leer through the digital peephole at all of your private data.

Thankfully, as our internet privacy has eroded more and more over the years, the best VPN services have risen to challenge the invasive nature of certain algorithms and cookies. Nowadays, if you’re looking for a VPN provider, you’re almost spoiled for choice, with so many options and each of them providing a slightly different package.

If you’re struggling to figure out which one will be best for you, you’ve come to the right place. We give ExpressVPN our highest recommendation for reasons we’ll get into below, and we’ve got eight other top picks for you too, including the best cheap VPN, the best free VPN, and many others.

Our choices for the best VPN in 2022 are:

1. The best VPN

Our choice for the best VPN is ExpressVPN, which works out at $6.67 USD/£6.03 GBP per month.

Pros

• Servers in 94 countries
• TrustedServer system gives extra privacy
• Lightspeed protocol provides speed

Cons

• More expensive than other providers
• Fewer individual servers than other providers
• Smaller number of simultaneous connections allowed

With servers in 94 countries around the world, compatibility with most major streaming platforms, superb download speeds, and countless other benefits, ExpressVPN is our choice for the best VPN service overall. As it is a giant of the VPN world, there’s no doubt that many readers will already have heard of it.

If privacy is a top concern, is TrustedServer system will appeal. What this does is prevent servers from being able to write any information about your browsing habits when your VPN is on. It’s a good reassurance that it’s no guzzling your data to the same extent as your internet service provider (ISP).

It’s great for gamers trying to find better lobbies, it’s great for movie fans who want to access the libraries of their favourite streaming platforms while abroad, and it’s excellent for keeping all of your internet activity private and discreet. The main drawback are that it doesn’t allow quite as many simultaneous connections as some other providers and it’s definitely one of the most expensive VPNs, but all things considered, it’s a great service and you get what you pay for.

2. The best streaming VPN

Cyberghost is the best streaming VPN and it works out as $2.29 USD / £1.79 GBP per month.

Pros:

• Low price
• Broad streaming service compatibility
• 45-day money-back guarantee

Cons:

• No third-party privacy audit
• Slower than some other top providers

Fans of streaming services know the pain of region locked content – thank goodness CyberGhost gives you a way to get around that. With more than 7,400 servers in over 91 countries, you can potentially gain access to a lot of film and movie content that would otherwise not be available.

CyberGhost is compatible with all the major streaming platforms, including Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, and Netflix, so you shouldn’t have any trouble accessing these services when your VPN is switched on. On top of that, it has a 45-day money-back guarantee, so if there’s one show you really want to watch and that’s it, you could watch it within those 45 days and then get your money back.

This is also one of the few major VPN providers that lets you test it out with a free trial. Admittedly, it only lasts for a day (and the other providers with a trial give you longer), but that’s still an opportunity to take it for a spin and make sure it does what you need it to.

3. The fastest VPN

NordVPN is the fastest VPN and will set you back $3.36 USD / £2.89 GBP per month.

Pros:

• Fastest VPN
• Works with most streaming services

Cons:

• Servers in fewer countries than other providers
• On the slightly more expensive end of the price spectrum

Like ExpressVPN, you’ve probably heard of NordVPN before, as it is easily one of the biggest names in the VPN arena. When tested on the OpenVPN encryption (with the ProPrivacy VPN Speed Testing Tool), it had an average server download speed of 65.79Mbit/s, making it the fastest VPN on this list.

When a certain activity uses a lot of bandwidth, your ISP will artificially slow down the connection speeds for it. Not only will NordVPN mask your activities and stop your ISP from being able to slow things down, but you might even find things generally run a bit faster when you have it switched on.

With over 5,000 different servers across 60 countries, you’ve got tons of connection points, and with its WireGuard protocol, it encrypts data much more quickly than many of its competitors too. Whether you use Windows, macOS, iOS, or Android, you’ll find that it offers dedicated support to your platform of choice, making it a great all-round choice for anyone seeking a speedy VPN.

4. The best cheap VPN

Private Internet Access is the best cheap VPN and will work out as only $2.19 USD / £1.69 GBP per month.

Pros:

• Low prices (with exclusive deal for PCGN readers)
• Largest selection of servers
• Up to ten simultaneous connections

Cons:

• One of the slower providers on this list
• No third-party privacy audits

If you’re on a tight budget, but don’t want to go for a free VPN, then Private Internet Access might be a good choice. We’ve partnered with them in order to provide PCGN readers with an exclusive deal: for $79, you get 38 months’ worth of VPN cover, which works out as just $2.03 (£1.67 in the UK) a month, and then you don’t need to worry about internet privacy again for over three years.

The VPN service itself is pretty great too. It’s got an enormous 35,000+ servers in 78 countries and it’s compatible with all the major streaming platforms. Although the range of countries is rivalled or surpassed by other providers, its sheer number of servers puts it quite far ahead of any other providers when the overall total is considered.

You can also enjoy up to 10 simultaneous connections, the security of a kill switch and a no-logs policy, plus built-in ad-blocking functionality. The only real downside is that its download speeds aren’t quite up to the level of  the speedier providers on this list.

5. The best VPN for multiple devices

Surfshark is the best option for anybody who wants to protect multiple devices in their home, and it works out as $2.30 USD / £1.99 GBP per month.

Pros:

• Allows unlimited simultaneous connection
• Lower price
• Offers a free trial

Cons:

• Smaller server selection
• Fewer server locations

If you live in a household with lots of children and other family members, all of whom access the internet from different devices, then Surfshark will be an appealing option due to the fact that it allows for an unlimited number of simultaneous connections.

On top of that, it is compatible with a number of streaming services, including Amazon Prime and Netflix. If you need to keep the kids occupied, this’ll let you access the regionally exclusive content from 65 different countries, meaning they’ll have plenty of stuff to binge on, and with speeds of 2x10Gbps per server, you won’t have them moaning about buffering either.

If you want to take it for a spin, then you’ll be pleased to hear that it has a week long free trial, which should give you plenty of time to make sure that it does everything you and need it to do.

6. The best new VPN

PrivadoVPN is the best new VPN on the market and it works out at $4.99 per month.

Pros:

• Free plan available indefinitely
• Allows up to ten simultaneous connections

Cons:

• No router support
• Smaller server selection
• Fewer server locations

While it isn’t as well established as some of the other businesses on this list, we wanted to take a moment to acknowledge PrivadoVPN. With its no-logs policy and IP leak protection, it does a fantastic job of keeping all of your private data, well, private.

Meanwhile, being able to use it with up to ten simultaneous connections means that it should be able to protect the privacy of most households. Even the bigger, well established providers often only allow up to five or six connections at a time.

If you don’t use the internet all that often, you might want to give the PrivadoVPN free plan a go. Its biggest limitation is only allowing you to use 10GB of data a month, but that shouldn’t be a problem if you only want to use it for certain sensitive searches, or if you don’t go online too often. It might be more limiting than the paid packages, but it’s certainly worth a look if you’re working to a budget.

7. The most private VPN

Ivacy VPN is the most private VPN and works out as just $1 USD per month.

Pros:

• Military-grade  256-bit encryption
• Affordable prices
• Loads of server locations

Cons:

• No Apple kill switch
• Trial only available at a cost

Ivacy VPN is another of the less well-known providers that we wanted to cast a light onto. Lesser brand-recognition does not equal lesser quality, especially not in this instance. In addition to the military-grade 256-bit encryption that will keep your internet search activity as private as possible, Ivacy VPN also boasts an impressive 5,700+ servers in more than 100 countries around the world. It’s an easy choice for the most private VPN.

They have a no-logs policy, and the optional additions of a dedicated IP and port forwarding for those who need them. Founded in 2006, Ivacy VPN builds on top of decades of experience and is a real ‘hidden gem’ of the VPN world.

The only real chink in its privacy armour is its kill switch. If you’re using Window devices, it will be absolutely fine, but if you’re an Apple user, you’re out of luck. For whatever reason, the kill switch is not available on Apple devices, and that’s a bit of a let down.

8. The best free VPN

AtlasVPN is the best free VPN.

Pros:

• Free to use indefinitely
• No data limitations on free plan

Cons:

• Small server selection even on paid plan
• No router support available

Though it isn’t the only VPN on this list to offer a free package, it certainly has the most appealing option for anyone who is unable to make a financial investment just now. Not only does the free version of Atlas VPN allow you to use an unlimited number of simultaneous connections, but it also lets you use as much data as you want.

The main limitation of this free version is that it only has three servers for you to choose from. Even so, it’ll keep your online footprint private, and that’s what you want, after all. You could always upgrade to a paid option at some point down the line too.

Although if you did ever upgrade to the paid version of Atlas VPN, you’d find that it does come up short when next to other providers on this list. It’s a little on he expensive side, and it’s small number of servers don’t cover many countries either.

9. The best VPN for encrypted storage space

IPVanish is the best VPN for encrypted storage space and it works out as $3.33 USD per month.

Pros:

• Options for up to 250GB SugarSync encrypted storage space
• Unlimited simultaneous connections

Cons:

• Small server selection
• Limited server locations when compared to others

Have you got a lot of media you want to keep safe on your computer? In that case, you might want to take a look at IPVanish, because it can provide you with up to 250GB of SugarSync encrypted storage and backup – allowing you to protect huge amounts of content.

Though it may not have quite as many servers as some of its competitors (1,600+ in 52 countries), it does allow for an unlimited number of simultaneous connections and is compatible with the majority of streaming services. If you have trouble streaming through your native connection, IPVanish might just hold the solution.

It’s also a rare example of a VPN provider that allows its users to have an unlimited number of simultaneous connections. This will definitely be appealing to anybody who has a large household full of devices that need to have their privacy protected.

We’re confident that at least one of these options will cater to the needs of any of our readers. While we would recommend ExpressVPN as the best VPN provider, we recognise that not everybody has the same circumstances, which is why we created this list. By carefully weighing up the pros and cons of each service, we were able to identify what we perceived as the unique strengths of each service, and then put this list together.