Rankings · tested September 2026

The best VPN of 2026, ranked by results we can prove.

Forty-two services tested, six worth your money. Each score below is weighted 30% speed, 25% privacy, 20% streaming, 15% value and 10% apps and support — the same sheet for every service, partner or not.

Best for Netflix Cheapest Best free VPN For business

NordVPN

Best overall · Editor's choice

7,400+ servers in 118 countries
Audited no-logs policy
10 devices at once
Threat Protection included
30-day money-back

The fastest service in our 2026 speed runs and the one we hand to travellers who just want it to work. It unblocked every streaming library we tried, held 91% of a 1 Gbps line on nearby servers, and its no-logs claim has been audited three times by an outside firm. The apps are heavier than Proton's but nothing else matched this combination of speed and reach.

9.9/ 10

Outstanding

Deal: up to 72% off + 3 months free

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Surfshark

Best cheap VPN

Unlimited devices per account
3,200+ servers in 100 countries
10 Gbps network
Ad and tracker blocker
Best value per month

If you are shopping on price, this is the cheap VPN we recommend without caveats. One subscription covers the whole household, speeds sit within a few percent of Nord on nearby servers, and the two-year plan lands under two euros a month. Support is chat-only and slower than the leaders.

9.8/ 10

Outstanding

Deal: from €1.99/mo + 3 months free

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Proton VPN

Best for privacy · Best free VPN

Swiss jurisdiction
Open-source, audited apps
Free tier with unlimited data
Secure Core multi-hop
Stealth protocol

Run by the Proton Mail team in Switzerland, with open-source apps anyone can inspect. It is also the only free VPN we are comfortable recommending: no ads, no data selling, no logs, in exchange for three server countries and lower priority at peak times. Streaming is the weak spot at seven of nine regions.

9.7/ 10

Excellent

Free plan available · paid from €3.59/mo

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ExpressVPN

Best VPN for Netflix

105 countries covered
9 of 9 streaming libraries
RAM-only server network
Router app included
24/7 live chat

Our streaming rig re-checks nine Netflix regions every week, and Express was the only service to pass all nine on the first try each time this quarter. It is the most expensive pick here and the renewal price is steep, but if streaming is the whole reason you are buying, it is the least fiddly option.

9.5/ 10

Excellent

Deal: 61% off + 4 months free

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CyberGhost

Best for first-time users

11,000+ servers worldwide
One-click connect apps
45-day money-back guarantee
Dedicated streaming servers
Regular transparency reports

The friendliest apps in this list and the longest refund window anywhere, which makes it a low-risk first VPN. Speeds on distant servers trail the top three by roughly 20%, but for everyday browsing and catch-up TV you will not notice the difference.

9.2/ 10

Very good

Deal: €2.03/mo · 45-day refund

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IPVanish

Best for small business teams

2,400+ servers in 90 locations
Unlimited connections
Independently audited
Split tunnelling everywhere
Static IP add-on

Unlimited simultaneous connections and a static IP option make this the practical pick for a team that needs one account across laptops, phones and a shared office router. US jurisdiction will rule it out for some, and its Netflix record is the weakest of the six.

9/ 10

Very good

Deal: €2.19/mo on the 2-year plan

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Buttons above are affiliate links. Your price is the same or lower than going direct; the commission funds the testing. Scores are set before commercial terms are discussed.

Streaming table

VPN for Netflix: what worked this week

Re-tested every Monday from a clean device on a residential line. A pass means the regional library loaded in HD within 30 seconds on the first server we tried.

Last run: 8 September 2026. Results expire fast — check the date before you buy.
Service	US	UK	Japan	Germany	Canada	iPlayer
ExpressVPN	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
NordVPN	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
Surfshark	Pass	Pass	Blocked	Pass	Pass	Pass
CyberGhost	Pass	Pass	Blocked	Pass	Blocked	Pass
Proton VPN	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Blocked	Blocked
IPVanish	Pass	Blocked	Blocked	Pass	Pass	Blocked

Speed runs

What you actually lose by switching a VPN on

Percentage of a 1 Gbps line retained, averaged over twelve daily WireGuard runs from Amsterdam, Chicago and Singapore.

91%: NordVPN, nearby server — fastest in the group
88%: Surfshark, nearby server, on the cheapest plan we tested
74%: Best result across an ocean, Amsterdam to Singapore
12%: Typical loss on a mid-range service you would never notice

Before you buy

Five minutes that save you a year of the wrong plan

Which plan length is worth taking?

Two years if you are confident, one month if you are not. Monthly plans cost three to four times the headline rate, but they cost nothing to leave. Never take a plan longer than two years: pricing and performance in this market change faster than that.

Do I need a VPN at home, or only when travelling?

At home the main benefit is keeping your browsing away from your internet provider and reaching services from other regions. On hotel, airport and cafe networks it is closer to essential, because you have no idea who runs the router.

Is NordVPN worth more than a cheap VPN?

About €1 a month more than Surfshark, for roughly 3% more speed, better streaming consistency and faster support. If you travel often, yes. If you mostly browse at home on one or two devices, the cheaper pick is the rational choice.

How do you know a no-logs claim is true?

You cannot know for certain, which is why we weigh three things instead: an independent audit published in full, a jurisdiction without data-retention demands, and a court record showing the provider had nothing to hand over. All three of our top picks clear at least two.

What makes a service lose its ranking?

A DNS or IPv6 leak, a logging policy change, an unexplained ownership change, or a price rise at renewal without notice. Two services dropped out of this list in 2026 — both for failed leak tests after an app update.

Our pick

Still undecided? Take the one that won on every axis but price.

Fastest, best streaming record, audited three times. Thirty days to change your mind.

Get NordVPN — 72% off