Apple may indeed be more secure than Windows, but this way of thinking can lead to a sense of safety when using a Mac, and that's not always a good idea. Read on to find the best Mac VPN for.
Show More With the internet abuzz with and the potential changes coming to, 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. 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.
If nothing but the best will do, check out our routinely updated list of category leaders. 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 our full list of reviews below. Best VPN overall. On NordVPN NordVPN is a compelling option for VPN service due to a well-rounded set of features and mostly competitive pricing.
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.) 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. VyprVPN’s connection speeds are less than spectacular, but the company’s commitment to online user security, privacy, and maintaining an open internet for its clients is admirable. While its server connection times won’t win any speed records, owns rather than rents its servers and writes its own code. Along with its parent company’s long history of online-privacy advocacy and the fact that its offices are located in a country with strict privacy laws, this approach to service makes VyprVPN an excellent choice for journalists, activists, or anyone else who considers digital privacy and online access a paramount concern. (Read our full review.) Fastest VPN overall. 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.
While we have some concerns about ’s recent change in ownership, its overall average connection speeds are untouchable by any other VPN we’ve tested so far. If you’re interested in connecting to VPN servers located within the continental United States, this Romania-based company is currently the one to beat. 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: 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 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 gets top marks when it comes to connecting to servers in Asia. Oceania: If you want to connect with VPN servers down under, 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. 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. IDG Ookla Speedtest 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.
Perhaps you've already seen our list of the options out there? Now you may want to narrow that down for your Apple Mac. You've come to the right place. Apple may indeed be more secure than Windows, but this way of thinking can lead to a sense of safety when using a Mac, and that's not always a good idea. There are still potential threats out there on the deepest darkest interwebs and you need to stay protected.
On a less ominous note you probably also want to roam freely online, region free that is. Both of these problems are fixed with a trusty VPN. From to logging into sketchy public Wi-Fi, a VPN can keep you protected and let you pick your region. This is also great if you're travelling and want your MacBook to login as if you're still in the UK – perhaps to a work system or just good old BBC iPlayer. Whatever the need there's a perfect VPN out there waiting to help.
Read on to find the best Mac VPN for you. Also be sure to check out our for your mobile experience. More VPN guides:. The best VPN for Mac 2018. Is our top recommendation for a Mac VPN. This is the premium option for those that want nothing but the very best VPN for safety, reliability, app quality and customer support.
Express gives you round the clock 24/7 support so you don't need to worry about problems, though they'll likely not occur with this VPN. As such you'll be able to take your MacBook anywhere and enjoy safe, region free viewing but also stay secure in the knowledge that at home on your desktop Mac you're also super safe. Express lets you watch Netflix from any region you like, login to public Wi-Fi, check social media on an otherwise limited connection, or just enjoy good old BBC iPlayer when outside the UK. While this is a perfect VPN for your Mac, it'll also work across devices including your iPhone, Android device, smart TV, Amazon Fire Stick and more with up to three devices in use at the same time. There is also a 30-day no-questions asked refund policy so you can effectively try before you buy. How to set up ExpressVPN on your Mac device.
If you want to save some money by skipping the tip-top VPN but retain many of the best features. This VPN has stood the test of time meaning it's matured into a really impressive and reliable service over the many years it's been running.
Nice touches like auto IP switching, a kill switch, OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP support plus P2P all make this a really impressive Mac option. While paying more for ExpressVPN gets you things like more servers in more countries, a slightly better app, an enhanced user experience and that superb customer service, IPVanish will be more than enough for most needs. Plus the IPVanish bosses claim this is the world's fastest VPN, we did find it to be rapid.
Within the limits of varying connections based on location, signal strength, device and plenty more besides that will change from time to time, it pays to make sure the VPN is quick to start with. This works brilliantly on Mac to ensure maximum connection speeds and also works across other devices with five able to use the login at once. You also get a 7-day trial with money-back guaranteed. VyprVPN is the ideal VPN for Mac if you want to save money by going for a less known name but still get a fast and reliable service. By fast we mean blisteringly rapid, making it perfect for powerful Mac machines that don't want to be slowed by their connection. This Swiss based service takes advantage of all the privacy laws that country offers but also runs a tier-1 network meaning it's solely in charge of its own servers for maximum speeds.
We found this actually more than doubled our download speeds compared to a normal non-VPN connection. So if nothing else, use this for a speed boost. A really nice and unique Mac addition is the option to manage VPN connections for each app separately. Plus the security is excellent with VyprDNS, OpenVPN (160-bit and 256-bit), L2TP/IPsec protocols, as well as VyprVPN’s own Chameleon protocol for avoiding VPN blocking – perfect for Netflix. Get a 3-day free trial and see how it works for you.
Basic app For the ultimate in security on your Mac go for the. The Nord specific security uses two layers of encryption meaning your data goes through not one but two VPN servers for an even more hidden IP. This also means extras like web proxy extensions and encrypted chat as standard. The macOS and iOS clients are minimal and simple, which can be great as a great beginner platform that also offers P2P-friendly zero logs access with decent performance. Plus you get a 3-day free trial to decide for yourself if this is for you. Still not sure? Start one of the payment options and you get a further 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test it for even longer, worry-free.
No free trial -Some refund restrictions This Singapore based provider doesn't scrimp on speed, in fact you'll get comparable speeds to running without a VPN thanks to more than 450 server locations globally. The Mac service even offers specific modes to suit what you're doing from torrenting to website unblocking – just select your need and Ivacy will optimise to suit. That's all with security peace of mind thanks to protocols like PPTP, SSTP, L2TP, OpenVPN, IKEv2 and a 256-bit encryption. Despite this being a more affordable option you do get features like split-tunnelling, IPv6 leak protection and a kill switch. All that and Ivacy keeps no logs at all. While there is no free trial and no refund for cryptocurrency, there are plenty of affordable options to pick from.
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