With the internet abuzz with privacy concerns and the potential changes coming to net neutrality, you’ve likely heard about virtual private networks, better known as VPNs. When used correctly, a VPN can greatly strengthen your online privacy, assist in keeping your personal information secure, and even spoof your location in the world—allowing you to access websites or services that would otherwise be off limits due to region-locking.
What Makes a VPN the Best For Mac. Some built-in features on macOS, such as Time Machine, are nice to have, but can be improved upon, as our best cloud backup for Mac article shows. Cloud storage. Best VPN for Mac - Spots Awarded Based On User Votes. Check Out A Short Review Of The Top 4 VPN Services For Mac.
With the increased popularity of VPNs has come an increased number of VPN providers vying for your business. That makes finding the best one to suit your needs difficult. To help you sort out the right provider for you, we’ve committed to extensive research and testing of VPN services that cater to Mac owners.
Best VPN For Unblocking Netflix After countless hours of testing and with the cat and mouse game of Netflix blocking VPN providers we have determined that ExpressVPN is the most reliable and has had the least downtime of providing geo-restricted access to USA Netflix.
The Best VPN for Mac OS With hundreds of VPN providers on the market today, it can certainly be a difficult task to choose a VPN for your Mac. No need to be discouraged, however, because we’ve thoroughly reviewed and tested over 100 of the most popular VPNs on the market and have outlined a comparison of the best VPNs for Mac in the comparison table below. Best VPN for the Newbie: TunnelBear. There's no VPN that's simpler to use than TunnelBear, whose logo is a cute cartoon bear.He pops up out of a jar at your location on TunnelBear's connection map. The Best VPN for Mac OS With hundreds of VPN providers on the market today, it can certainly be a difficult task to choose a VPN for your Mac. No need to be discouraged, however, because we’ve thoroughly reviewed and tested over 100 of the most popular VPNs on the market and have outlined a comparison of the best VPNs for Mac in the comparison table below.
If nothing but the best will do, check out our routinely updated list of category leaders.
The best VPN services for Mac 2019
NordVPN: Best overall [nordvpn.com]
Mullvad: Best for security/privacy [mullvad.net]
CyberGhost: Fastest VPN [cyberghost.com]
If you prefer to do your own shopping, we’ve got your back there, too: Each of the VPNs we test is thoroughly reviewed, allowing you to make an informed decision on which one to throw your money at. See complete summaries of our picks, and our full list of reviews below.
Update 8/28/19 to include our review of Mullvad, which excels in terms of privacy and anonymity, and earns our pick as the best VPN for privacy/security. Scroll to the bottom of this article for links to all of our VPN reviews.
Best VPN overall for Mac
NordVPN is a compelling option for VPN service due to a well-rounded set of features and mostly competitive pricing.
NordVPN is the best all-around VPN service for most Mac users. While it isn’t the fastest VPN service that we’ve tested, it’s not particularly slow, either. (Read our full review of NordVPN.)
NordVPN offers above-average data encryption to keep their subscribers’ data safe while tunneling. It’s got a large network of servers, too: over 3,000 servers spread across more than 60 countries, allowing you to spoof a wide number of locations and avoid server congestion.
Moreover, its software interface is easy to use, making even new VPN users feel like online-privacy experts. While it’s not perfect, NordVPN gets more right than any of the other VPN providers we’ve tested so far.
Best VPN for security/privacy on a Mac
Sweden-based Mullvad is an excellent choice for anyone whose top priorities from a VPN are privacy and anonymity. Mullvad makes it a point to not learn anything about you, with no email or password requirement. While it doesn't offer any special features, this no-nonsense VPN is a solid choice.
Mullvad is the ultimate choice for users who want to remain as anonymous as possible online. Mullvad runs its own VPN network and wants to know as little about you as possible. Users don’t supply a name and email address to create an account, and you can even pay in cash if you like. The service’s privacy policy is also top notch. You won’t find any special features such as a promise to work with Netflix. Regardless, anyone who cares about privacy and anonymity should seriously consider Mullvad. (Read our full review of Mullvad.)
Fastest VPN overall for Mac
CyberGhost's connection speeds make it a great VPN option for most people, but users who deal in sensitive information may wish to look elsewhere for greater privacy from government actors.
The latest version of Romania-based CyberGhost maintains its edge in overall average connection speeds, making it superior to any other VPN we’ve tested so far. If you’re interested in connecting to VPN servers located within the continental United States, CyberGhost is the one to beat. (Read our full review of CyberGhost.)
Fastest VPN for other countries
If you are interested in connecting to servers in other countries, we’ve found the following to be fast options:
UK: TorGuard welcomes P2P file sharing on its VPN servers with open arms and offers the best connection speeds to servers in the United Kingdom that we’ve seen so far.
Europe: While TunnelBear gave us pause in the areas of user privacy and its ambiguous server numbers, the Canadian VPN provider takes first place when it comes to European connection speeds.
Asia: While we weren’t thrilled with its logging policies and the fact that it only allows P2P file sharing on a single server, Israel’s SaferVPN gets top marks when it comes to connecting to servers in Asia.
Oceania: If you want to connect with VPN servers down under, CyberGhost is the way to go.
How we tested VPNs
For each VPN service we review, we conduct tests at three different times of the day: morning, afternoon, and evening, using Ookla Speedtest. We start by measuring the speed of our unprotected internet connection before testing the upload/download speeds of the VPN service. These tests are conducted to servers located in North America, the UK, Europe, Oceana, and Asia over an ethernet connection with a service provision of 100Mbps.
To test upload and download speeds, I closed down all background internet processes on my Mac, using TripMode. The only traffic on my system able to upload or download any data was Ookla. I used this setup to ensure that the numbers that Ookla produced were not stymied by anything else that my computer may have been doing at the time. The speeds Ookla captured were then averaged, providing us with a final numeric score.
I then used those scores to calculate a percentage of difference in speeds, which is what you’ll see in our reviews. Since internet speeds change constantly based on server load, how fast your connection is, and a gazillion other factors, we feel this provides a better picture of what you can expect from a service, on the whole, than merely quoting the exact upload/download speeds we encountered during testing.
Speed isn’t the only quantifiable metric that we look at. The number of countries that a VPN offers servers in, total number of servers worldwide, and how much it’ll cost you to connect to those servers on a monthly or annual basis are also taken into consideration when recommending a VPN service to you.
Additionally, we conduct hours of research into the VPN providers to find out who owns them, where they’re based, what they do with subscriber information, and whether the provider has a track record of questionable business practices.
Even if you think that your Mac is completely immune from online security threats (they're not, by the way, as ZombieLoad recently once again proved), there are loads of reasons why downloading and installing a Mac VPN is becoming an ever more popular thing to do on Apple computers.
Whether it's because you're trying to use your Mac to access websites that are blocked by your office, school or ISP (or even your government!) or just want to watch foreign TV shows, getting a Virtual Private Network makes sense.
And because Apple’s desktop computers and MacBooks are being increasingly targeted by cybercriminals, it never pays to let your guard down. Getting the best Mac VPN you can is a good option to help give you extra online security.
As well as competent antivirus, folks with a Mac need a quality VPN just as much as anyone on Windows – although not every one of the best-rated VPN options provides a client or satisfactory support for macOS users. However, if you’re stuck as to which provider to go with, help is at hand with TechRadar's dedicated best Mac VPN guide.
Best Vpns For Mac
Check out our guide to the overall best VPN service of the year
The best Mac VPN 2019
1. ExpressVPN
Number of servers: 3000+ | Server locations: 160 | IP addresses: 30,000 | Maximum devices supported: 3
12 months
$6.67
6 months
$9.99
1 month
$12.95
Easy to use Mac app
Fantastic Mac-dedicated support
Only 3 simultaneous connections
ExpressVPN is our top choice for the best all-round VPN on the Mac. The firm's dedicated app is intuitive and very user-friendly, featuring a one-click option for connecting, as well as some advanced options.
It uses 256-bit encryption over OpenVPN UDP by default and the app comes with a kill switch and split tunnelling functionality.
There’s also a very good iOS app and Safari browser extension, so you get a complete Mac VPN experience. More than that, Express's advanced features (and their in-depth tutorials) are great for Apple users. For instance, if your Mac connects to the internet by a wired connection, you can set it up as a wireless hotspot for your local devices, allowing them to connect via the VPN without having to be set up for ExpressVPN themselves.
ExpressVPN includes fast VPN servers across 94 countries and unlimited bandwidth. That makes for a solid choice for anyone using the VPN for P2P traffic or unblocking content on streaming services like Netflix.
The provider is a tad pricier than most other VPNs, but may be a great fit for those who want the best experience for Mac. ExpressVPN doesn’t come with a free trial, but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee for reassurance.
The company offers three price plans, with the 12-month plan offering the best value (you get an extra three months into the bargain). The packages available are:
Get the best Mac VPN 2019: $6.67 per month (with 3 months FREE) You can tell that we really rate Express - it's the VPN we'd choose if we were getting one and it's hard to argue with the provider's 30-day money-back guarantee. And the good news is that TechRadar readers can get a little perk when they sign up, too. ExpressVPN has agreed to give readers three months extra FREE when they sign up for a year.
2. CyberGhost
Number of servers: 3,600+ | Server locations: 60+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 7
36 months
$2.75
12 months
$5.99
1 month
$12.99
Clients have plenty of smart features
Torrents are supported
Slow connection from some servers
We found that Mac VPN provider CyberGhost certainly has the smarts to easily back up its claims. Let's start with the basics: more than 3,600 servers spread across 60 countries, no bar on torrents and some really handy live chat support if you ever run into difficulties.
Guaranteed no logs, rigorous encryption and a trigger-happy kill switch for any breaches in security mean it's certainly strong. But it's the added little extras that make CyberGhost stand out from the rest. Wanting to unlock Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, YouTube or something else? No worries, as CyberGhost will automatically connect you to the server best poised for the purpose. It can also block ads, trackers and malicious websites.
CyberGhost has recently improved its interface - previously one of main gripes with this Mac VPN. Now that only gives us room to moan about the odd bit of clogging, which lead to reduced speeds from servers in the far reaches of the globe. There's still room for improvement on website-based support pages, too - an area where ExpressVPN has everybody else licked.
CyberGhost VPN subscription options:
12 month plan - $5.99 per month ($71.88 total cost)
1 month plan - $12.99 per month ($12.99 total cost)
3. NordVPN
Number of servers: 5400+ | Server locations: 60+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 6
36 months
$2.99
12 months
$6.99
1 month
$11.95
Double data encryption
Looooads of servers
When it comes to security, NordVPN does it like no other. Its own ‘Double VPN’ technology encrypts data twice – in other words, it passes your data through two separate VPN servers to make things even more secure – while there are additional security extras such as encrypted chat, web proxy extensions and so on.
NordVPN’s clients for both macOS and iOS are rather basic compared to others, but keeping things simple can be advantageous for novices.
That's not to say that you don't have options...NordVPN gives Mac users more choice than the average provider, with an IVEv2 version of its client available on the App store, and an OpenVPN version available directly from the NordVPN website. And that's not all-- you can also manually set up to use OpenVPN without installing either of the clients.
This provider is also P2P-friendly and has a strict ‘zero logs’ policy. Performance was slightly above average in our testing.
There's a free 7-day trial, and otherwise NordVPN is one of the most affordable VPN options for your Mac. The packages available are:
NordVPN subscription options:
36 month plan - $2.99 per month ($107.64 total cost)
12 month plan - $6.99 per month ($83.88 total cost)
1 month plan - $11.95 per month ($11.95 total cost)
4. IPVanish
Number of servers: 1300+ | Server locations: 60+ | IP addresses: 40000+ | Maximum devices supported: 10
12 months
$4.87
3 months
$6.75
1 month
$7.50
Fantastic performance
Split-tunnelling function
The Mac app from IPVanish features a nifty design and a few welcome options like a kill switch and automatic IP switching. The US VPN is blazingly fast, and it’ll automatically hook you up to the fastest server available, a nice touch on the convenience front. Not only are download speeds fast with this VPN, it allows P2P.
OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP protocols are supported, and there’s also decent iOS support and a wide coverage of servers, with no logging of the user’s activities.
IPVanish doesn’t have a free trial, sadly, although there is a 7-day money-back guarantee with all three available plans. The 1-year subscription is clearly the best choice in terms of outright value. The packages available are:
IPVanish subscription options:
12 month plan - $4.87 per month ($58.44 total cost)
3 month plan - $6.75 per month ($20.25 total cost)
5. Hotspot Shield
A great option for online privacy
Number of servers: 2,500+ | Server locations: 50+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5
36 months
$2.99
12 months
$5.99
1 month
$12.99
Low price
Super-easy to use
Logging?
The premium offering from Hotspot Shield is a great mix of price and privacy. The prices start low and we found in our tests that its encryption was strict in ensuring your anonymity online will be protected.
Plus, thanks to its pretty cool sounding Catapult Hyrda protocol, it recorded some of the fastest times of any VPN as well. So if the main reason for installing a VPN on to your Mac is for gaming or streaming, then you shouldn't be dogged with laggy interruptions that some lesser Virtual Private Networks can cause.
And then there's the numbers. For a start, you can connect up to 5 devices simultaneously from one account - so that's your Mac, smartphone (iOS or Android), Smart TV and games console with room for something else on top. Hotspot Shield has access to more than 2,500 servers across 25 countries and offers 24/ 7 support. The 7-day trial and 45-day money back guarantee makes Hotspot even more attractive to try, and these are its current plans in full:
AnchorFree Hotspot Shield subscription options:
36 month plan - $2.99 per month ($107.64 total cost)
12 month plan - $5.99 per month ($71.88 total cost)
1 month plan - $12.99 per month ($12.99 total cost)
How to choose the best Mac VPN
It’s not always easy to find a Mac-friendly VPN. Obviously enough, it’s important to choose a provider that offers a pre-configured client for its service. Having a good Mac client is a huge boon in terms of simply making things as easy as possible. Solid iOS support is also a welcome feature if you’re heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem and have an iPhone as well as a Mac.
Next, you need powerful security with strong encryption, which goes without saying, and an easily understandable privacy policy that makes it perfectly clear what data is kept by the provider. Good performance levels obviously don’t hurt, either.
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