A VPN (Virtual Private Network) can be most useful while surfing the internet today. If you are concerned about your online safety or worried that someone might access your data, then a VPN is definitely for you.
VPN encrypts your data, hides your IP address and obscures your current location from hackers and ISPs by bouncing your network activity to a different server anywhere in the world. A VPN also allows you to access data on the internet that is not available in your location. This includes streaming websites, any games or files you need to download, etc.
Since a large number of internet users already use a VPN service, the VPN market is often crowded, making it difficult for a service to work. What makes a VPN ideal to use is if it offers strong encryption protocols, DNS leak protection and kill-switch technology, which is considered to be an excellent tool that instantly disconnects your device from the Wi-Fi if it loses VPN connection due to any reason.
Let’s now take a look at the best VPN services available in 2021 that are fast, secure, easy to use and mobile friendly.
Table of Contents
1. ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN is the most secure VPN service. It has strong encryption and online security, and an exceptionally speedy connection. It has servers in ninety-four countries, offering world-class security features, allowing you to download torrents, and prevents any data-logging.
The one month plan is for $12.95. For six months, it is $9.99 per month and for 12 months, it’s $6.67 per month with which you get free services for an additional three months. Although it is a little overpriced, it is worth every cent. Its security can be ensured by no IP or WebRTC leak being detected, while it uses encryption protocols like PPTP, L2TP/IPSEC, IKEV2, OPENVPN, and WIREGUARD.
ExpressVPN offers a free smart DNS, an .onion web address, DNS and WebRTC leak protection, a firewall-based kill-switch, five simultaneous connections, and stealth servers in Hong Kong, making ExpressVPN your first pick for a VPN service.
2. NordVPN
NordVPN comes second to ExpressVPN. It is just as outstanding and comparatively cheaper than ExpressVPN. The one month plan costs $11.95 where 12 months can cost $4.92 per month. NordVPN implements PPTP, L2TP/IPSEC, IKEV2, OpenVPN and WIREGUARD, providing an exceptionally strong OpenVPN encryption. NordVPN maintains anonymity while logging data and usage, and has outstanding security features and high speed, making it the second best VPN service of 2021.
The only downsides of are that the onion router (TOR) doesn’t always function which makes connection unavailable at certain times. Since NordVPN has a double-hop feature, it can slow down speed too. Furthermore, NordVPN is inaccessible since it is a closed-source.
3. Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access must be your third priority for a VPN service. Ensuring remarkable security, Private Internet Access keeps data usage anonymous and there has been no IP or WebRTC Leak detected. Private Internet Access also implements PPTP, L2TP/IPSEC, IKEV2, OpenVPN and WIREGUARD. It offers an excellent OpenVPN encryption, and additional features like kill switch and complete DNS leak protection.
When it comes to pricing, it Internet Access costs $11.95 for a package of one month, $3.33 per month for 12 months and $2.69 per month for 26 months. A unique feature about Private Internet Access is that it accepts Bitcoin, unlike most VPN services.
4. PrivateVPN
PrivateVPN is the most affordable VPN we are going through. It doesn’t compromise on your online security. It offers military grade OpenVPN encryption and does not log your data usage at all. If you want to unblock streaming-sites that aren’t available in your area, then PrivateVPN is for you.
It’s cheaper than ExpressVPN and NordVPN; the one month plan costs $12 and 3 months cost $6 per month, but here is the most tempting offer: $2.49 per month for 12 months, at which you get an extra 12 months using PrivateVPN free! PrivateVPN also offers a 7 day free trial. However, unlike Private Internet Access, PrivateVPN does not accept cryptocurrency.
There is great value using PrivateVPN as it’s the cheapest on the list yet while following encryption protocols like PPTP, L2TP/ISPEC, IKEV2 and OpenVPN, there is no IP or WebRTC leak detected, establishing a private and secure network.
A downside of PrivateVPN is that its kill-switch feature is only available for Windows, and it has a relatively small network of servers. However, since it is comparatively cost effective and offers military-grade security, it qualifies as the top-five VPN service available.
5. Surfshark
Surfshark follows strong military-grade encryption protocols like L2TP/ISPEC, IKEV2, OpenVPN and WIREGUARD. It has unlimited simultaneous connections, unlike ExpressVPN which can only allow 5 at a time. Surfshark offers wonderful security and has no IP or WebRTC leak detected, and also keeps data logging anonymous.
Surfshark comes pretty cheap with its packages; it costs about $12.95 for a month, $6.49 per month for 6 months and $2.49 per month for 24 months. However, most find the one month plan a little overpriced. Surfshark also does not offer connections that are as fast as the rest of the VPNs we have discussed, and it also isn’t fully supported on macOS.
In conclusion, VPN is a crucial tool nowadays to help ensure online security, hiding our IP address from service providers or hackers, and also to enable access to data unavailable in our country.
