Getting your online safety today is more important than ever. Getting the best VPN service is one of the most important things you can do on your PC, Mac, and smartphone.

But choosing a virtual private network seems like a daunting task. There are hundreds of different VPN providers out there – they all claim to be the best when it comes to privacy, security, and online speed – choosing the right provider usually means going back and forth between ease of service and pricing. Anyone looking for a reliable VPN service will want to do their best to find the best.

How do the best VPN services work?

The best VPN service work by tunnelling your connection through your encrypted server. This keeps your activity hidden from your ISP or anyone else you might spy on (including governments or malicious hackers). This can allow you to access restricted sites, stream various programs, or troubleshoot network issues.

For example, if Facebook and YouTube are banned at school, you can access them through a VPN. If you are travelling to the United Arab Emirates or China, you can use a VPN to access the restricted sites and apps that you use daily, such as Gmail or WhatsApp. Also, if you are on vacation somewhere other than your native language, you can use the best VPN to access your favourite Netflix shows as they may not be available abroad.

What is the best VPN?

The competition for the best VPN service is getting fiercer every day, but ExpressVPN is the big winner nonetheless. One of the main strengths of ExpressVPN is that it is very easy to use on any platform, be it your phone, PC or PlayStation. It also performed well in our streaming tests and was able to easily bypass the geo-restrictions of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. More importantly, a 30-day money-back guarantee is also available. This means that you can try the service and over 3000 servers for a month before purchasing.

How to test a VPN?

When testing a VPN service, we check all the aspects that may be problematic. First, the basic functions such as personal information and encryption required for the service are explained. Next, we take a look at the price, whether they offer a money-back guarantee, or whether they are suitable for MacVPN or LinuxVPN and other operating systems like Windows.

In real testing, we tested the speeds of multiple servers, checked for DNS leaks, tested the kill switch and all other add-ons, and measured connection times and whether apps crashed. Finally, we checked the availability of the app and tested the service on desktops and mobile devices.