So you’re after the best laptop VPN? Well, we’ve got some recommendations for you. The internet landscape is a barren landscape filled with crushed self-esteem and data-hungry vultures that’ll gobble up every little bit of information about you that they can so that they can steal your identity (if they’re criminals), or manipulate you into spending disposable income you don’t have on products you don’t need (if they’re respectable members of society).
We’ve picked out eight of the most reliable VPN services which will be great if you want to use them on your laptop specifically. In addition to our pick for the overall best VPN, we’ve picked out a number of other options to cover different users’ needs, for example, listing the best VPN for streaming, as well as the best gaming VPN. Before long, you’ll be able to tell your Surfsharks from your CyberGhosts, as we give you the what’s what of the VPN world.
Here are the best laptop VPNs:
- ExpressVPN – best VPN for laptop
- Ivacy VPN – the best budget choice
- NordVPN – best for gaming
- CyberGhost – best for streaming
- Surfshark – best with a free trial
- PureVPN – best for privacy
- Private Internet Access – biggest server selection
- AtlasVPN – best free VPN
1. The best laptop VPN
ExpressVPN is the best laptop VPN and its pricing works out as $8.32 USD or £5.70 GBP per month.
ExpressVPN overview:
Feature | Details |
Server totals | 3,000+ servers in 94 countries |
Compatible services/games | Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, FIFA, Minecraft, Netflix, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and more |
Free trial | No free trial |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Simultaneous connections | 5 |
Router support | Yes |
Pros:
- Uses the speedy Lightway protocol
- Spans a decent range of countries
- Extra privacy with TrustedServer system
Cons:
- On the expensive side
- Overall server count a little low
- No free trial
ExpressVPN is one of the giants of the VPN world, and it’s managed to achieve huge levels of recognition and respect by offering a genuinely top-notch service. It has servers located in a long list of countries, which allows you to connect to the internet as if you were in any of those other regions. On top of that, this provider has the TrustedServer system in place, so it’s actually impossible for its servers to write any information about your activities online and you don’t need to worry about anyone finding out you searched for “Is it normal to eat toothpaste for breakfast?”
If you’re using one of the best laptops, it makes sense that you’d want to pair it with one of the best VPNs, right? Well, just as there is no truly perfect laptop, there’s also no truly perfect VPN, and for all its benefits, this provider does also have its weaknesses: namely, a higher price tag than you’ll see with other providers, a lack of a free trial, and a smaller selection of servers than others provide.
Still, despite its shortcomings, we still recommend it as the best option. In addition to the benefits we mentioned above, we’re also impressed with ExpressVPN because of its use of the Lightway protocol. With this in place, it is able to encrypt your data (and ensure your privacy) much more quickly than most of the other services on this list. It’s a comprehensive package, and it definitely does a lot to earn the higher price.
2. The best cheap VPN
Ivacy VPN is the best cheap VPN and its pricing works out as $1 USD or £0.80 GBP per month.
Ivacy VPN overview:
Feature | Details |
Server totals | 5,700+ servers in 100+ countries |
Compatible services/games | Dota 2, Call of Duty: Warzone, Minecraft, Overwatch, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, Hulu, Netflix, and more |
Free trial | $0.99 week-long paid trial |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Simultaneous connections | 10 |
Router support | Yes |
Pros:
- Most affordable rates
- Servers span 100+ countries
- Uses military-grade 256-bit encryption
Cons:
- No free trial
- No Apple kill switch
For a lot of people, the cost of ExpressVPN may make it a prohibitive choice, so if you’re after something that goes a little easier on the bank, then we recommend you use Ivacy VPN. While it may not be one of the most well-known VPNs, that in no way means that it isn’t offering a truly top-tier service. Notably, it has server locations in over 100 countries (and a fairly decent total number of servers too), which exceeds many of the other providers on this list.
Having said that, if you’re somebody who always has the best Macbook, then there’s something you need to know about it. This provider doesn’t have a kill switch on Apple devices, and that means that you will be slightly less private online than you would with other VPNs. A kill switch severs your connection if the VPN drops even for a second, meaning none of your private data leaks have – maybe this is fine, but it’s a bit like going swimming in an old swimming costume that’s prone to tear; you never know what might be exposed.
That aside, there’s a lot to admire about Ivacy VPN. When worked out by the month, this provider is much cheaper than all of the other VPNs by quite a bit. Meanwhile, it doesn’t skimp on privacy either, with military-grade 256-bit encryption that makes it just as hard to see what you’ve been Googling as it is to sneakily hack in and launch the nuclear missiles (well, almost).
3. The best gaming VPN
NordVPN is the best gaming VPN and its pricing works out as $4.19 USD or £2.99 GBP per month.
NordVPN overview:
Feature | Details |
Server totals | 5,300+ servers in 60+ countries |
Compatible services/games | Dota 2, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty: Warzone, GTA Online, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Prime Video, and more |
Free trial | No free trial |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Simultaneous connections | 6 |
Router support | Yes |
Pros:
- Exceptional speeds
- Compatible with most games and streaming services
- Uses the excellent WireGuard protocol
Cons:
- No free trial
- Servers span fewer countries than others
- Slightly more expensive than average
If you’re after a laptop VPN, then there’s a good chance that you’re a gamer. VPNs can be fantastic for gaming because they can help to keep you safe from players who might launch DDoS attacks against you, and by masking your activities from your internet services provider (ISP) you eliminate the risk of them slowing the game down if you’re using a lot of bandwidth. NordVPN does these things exceptionally and is a great gaming VPN.
When tested against the other providers on this list on the OpenVPN protocol, we found that NordVPN offered the fastest average download times of all of them. Of course, results may vary based on the time of day that you use the service, or indeed, based on how many other customers are using it at the same time, but it’s a very good indicator of its prowess. On top of that, it also has the WireGuard protocol, which allows for even speedier encryption.
While it does connect via fewer countries than the other providers on this list, that it is the fastest VPN certainly negates any disappointment. This is, perhaps, the most well-known of all the VPN providers, and with a decent selection of privacy features in place (kill switch, no-logs policy, etc), plus a fantastic VPN protocol, it’s easy to see why so many people choose NordVPN.
4. The best streaming VPN
CyberGhost is the best VPN for streaming and its pricing works out as $2.19 USD or £1.92 GBP per month.
CyberGhost overview:
Feature | Details |
Server totals | 7,400+ in 94+ countries |
Compatible services/games | FIFA, PUBG, GTA Online, Overwatch, Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime Video, Hulu, and more |
Free trial | 24 hours |
Money-back guarantee | 45 days |
Simultaneous connections | 7 |
Router support | Yes |
Pros:
- Compatible with all the major streaming platforms
- Decent pricing
- 45-day money-back guarantee
Cons:
- A little slower than other top providers
- Free trial could be longer
There’s something especially cozy about curling up in bed with your laptop and watching one of your favorite movies or TV shows before drifting off for the night. If that sounds exactly how you like to end each day, then we recommend you go for CyberGhost, which offers compatibility with all the major streaming platforms that you’re likely to use.
We’ll admit that CyberGhost can occasionally be a little slower than other providers, but that’ll mostly be negated by the fact that it has a pretty generous selection of servers to choose from. With over 7,000 of the things, the risk of server congestion (slowdown caused by too many users on the same server at once) is significantly reduced, giving you a smoother experience while streaming things.
Annoyingly, the CyberGhost VPN free trial is only 24 hours long, so it doesn’t give you all that much time to get a feel for it. However, another thing that sets this VPN apart from others is the fact that it gives you a 45-day money-back guarantee (most only give 30). This means that you will have a whole month and a half to test it out on all the platforms you like streaming on and within that time, you’ll be entitled to a full refund. It’s definitely the biggest grace period you’ll get from any of the VPNs.
5. The best VPN free trial
Surfshark has the best VPN free trial, and the pricing plans work out as $2.30 USD or £1.87 GBP per month.
Surfshark overview:
Feature | Details |
Server totals | 3,200+ servers in 65+ countries |
Compatible services/games | Fortnite, League of Legends, Counter Strike: GO, Overwatch, YouTube, Hulu, Prime Video, Netflix, and more |
Free trial | One week |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Simultaneous connections | Unlimited |
Router support | Yes |
Pros:
- Seven-day free trial
- Use on unlimited devices
- One of the cheaper options
Cons:
- Smaller number of servers
- Spans fewer countries than others
You want to find the best VPN for your laptop, we get that. It’s much easier to get an idea of whether or not a VPN is right for you if you have a chance to test it out, and unfortunately, most big VPNs don’t let you have a free trial. Fortunately, Surfshark is the exception, with a week-long trial available to you completely commitment-free, giving you plenty of time to get to grips with what it has to offer.
Of course, the free trial isn’t the only jewel in its crown. This provider is one of very few that also allows you to have an unlimited number of simultaneous connections, meaning that you can easily protect your whole household (and your friends too). You can keep your laptop secured, your friend with the best Chromebook, your mother and her iPad, your cousin and his smart fridge (maybe), and anyone else you know who doesn’t want old Uncle ISP leering over their shoulder and noting down everywhere they go online.
It is true that Surfshark has fewer servers than some of the others on this list (and covers fewer countries), but it is also one of the cheaper VPNs too, so there’s very little to complain about. The infinite simultaneous connection allowance alone is a big selling point, so the fact that you can try it for free and it’s not very expensive just make it even more of an appealing option.
6. The most private VPN
PureVPN is the most private VPN and its pricing works out as $2.08 USD per month.
PureVPN overview:
Features | Details |
Server totals | 6,500+ servers in 78+ countries |
Compatible services/games | New World, Counter Strike: GO, League of Legends, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, and more |
Free trial | $0.99 seven day free trial |
Money-back guarantee | 31 days |
Simultaneous connections | 10 |
Router support | Yes (PPTP and OpenVPN only) |
Pros:
- Regular third-party privacy audits
- Decent allowance on simultaneous connections
- Decent server range
Cons:
- Not so good for Linux
- No across-the-board router support
- No free trial
If you’re after a VPN, there’s a good chance that you are very conscious of privacy on the internet. There’s also a good chance that you may be thinking “What makes any of these scummy businesses any more trustworthy than my ISP?” Well, they do all have no-logs policies, but if that alone isn’t enough for you, you’ll be pleased to know that PureVPN in particular submits itself to regular third-party privacy audits to confirm that it really isn’t keeping tabs on you, and to find ways to become more privacy-focused as technology improves.
While this is a really fantastic VPN, it’s worth noting that its Linux support is rather limited, so if you have your laptop set up to run on Linux, then you might want to take a look at one of the other VPNs instead. It can also be a bit limiting if you want to try and connect through your router (with various roadblocks), but we suspect that many of you will be planning to install and run it primarily on your laptop/Chromebook/Macbook.
PureVPN is quite good for simultaneous connection too – while it’s not quite infinite, it does let you use ten devices on your plan at the same time, which is pretty handy. This is another one where you could protect all the members of your household, or perhaps just have it installed on all of your own devices. It doesn’t have a truly free trial for you to test out, but if you want to take it for a spin, there’s an option to use it for a week for just $0.99.
7. Most VPN servers
Private Internet Access (PIA) has the most VPN servers and its pricing works out as $2.03 USD or £1.69 GBP per month.
Private Internet Access overview:
Feature | Details |
Server totals | 35,000+ servers in 78+ countries |
Compatible services/games | League of Legends, Halo Infinite, Valorant, PUBG, YouTube, Disney Plus, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and more |
Free trial | None |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Simultaneous connections | 10 |
Router support | Yes |
Pros:
- Over 35,000 servers to choose from
- Decent pricing
- Up to ten simultaneous connections
Cons:
- A little slower than others on the list
- No free trial
While all of the VPNs on this list have quite an impressive selection of servers, none of them boasts an array as impressive as that of Private Internet Access. Indeed, while others tend to have around 5,000 on average, PIA has 35,000, which is fantastic (although, ironically, it doesn’t cover as many countries as some of the others).
As we mentioned under CyberGhost, if too many users are on the same server, you run the risk of encountering server congestion, which makes everything go more slowly. On PIA, the huge number of servers means that you’re less likely to face that problem than you are with any of the other VPNS on this list.
Meanwhile, it also offers moderately affordable pricing (which will be a blessing if you’re building a new setup around an expensive new laptop), and is one of the providers that allows you to have up to ten simultaneous connections. The only real downside of PIA is the fact that it can sometimes be a bit slower than some of the bigger VPNs, but really, there’s more to love than there is to complain about.
8. The best free VPN
AtlasVPN is the best free VPN.
AtlasVPN overview:
Feature | Details |
Server totals | 750 servers in 37 countries (paid) 3 servers in 2 countries (free) |
Compatible services/games | FIFA, Overwatch, Dota 2, Halo Infinite, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, Hulu, and more |
Free trial | Free plan with limited servers and 5GB monthly allowance available |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Simultaneous connections | Unlimited (paid) Two (free) |
Router support | No |
Pros:
- Free plan available
- Unlimited simultaneous connections (paid)
Cons:
- No many servers even if you pay
- Limited to 5GB per month
Not everybody can afford a VPN. As much as we should all have the right to that level of privacy, that’s just a fact of our corporate dystopian lives… or is it? There are actually some VPN providers that you can use for free, among which, is AtlasVPN. While some free VPNs make their money back by accumulating data on you themselves and then selling it, AtlasVPN actually keeps its no-logs policy in place on the free plan.
The biggest limitation of this free package is that you’re only allowed up to 5GB of internet data with it per month, which for a lot of users, won’t be enough. However, if you only plan on using it for certain sensitive searches, you’ll be fine. For example, if you don’t want your spouse to know that you’ve been looking at pawn websites (hoping to surprise them with a present), then just switch the VPN while you do that and leave it off the rest of the time.
You never know, you might find yourself deciding to upgrade to the paid plan at some point down the line, though we should mention that it has a pretty small server selection even if you do pay. Having said that, it’s also one of the rare few VPNs that actually lets you have an unlimited number of simultaneous connections, so it has its strengths and its weaknesses – either way, you’ve nothing to lose by taking the free version for a spin.
How we chose the best laptop VPNs
We didn’t just put this give together without putting any thought into it – what do we look like, politicians? When curating this list of the best laptop VPNs, we carefully considered the following qualities:
- Pricing: VPNs can be quite expensive, and we thought it important to include options for everyone (regardless of their budget)
- Free trials: a free trial gives you a feeling of trust and reassurance. We understand that some readers won’t be comfortable paying for a service without a free trial
- No-logs policy: a no-logs policy assures you that your VPN isn’t accumulating data on you. We didn’t want to include any VPNs that didn’t have one
- Servers: if a VPN has servers in lots of different countries, that’s lots of different potential connection points for you, and if it has lots of servers overall, that reduces the risk of server congestion troubles
- Speeds: a bad choice of VPN could really kill your download speeds. We made sure only to look at options with swift average download times and speedy protocols to boot
In the process of building your laptop setup? Read our guides on the best laptops under $1,000 and the best laptop brands for more guidance.