How We Test, Rate, and Review VPNs

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are some of the most quintessential digital security products out there. They provide you with a secure bubble of anonymity over your internet connection, allowing you to access geo restricted content and skirt censorship.

Because of the reasons people use them, the best options should value your privacy above all else.

To find the best VPNs for you (and to make sure the software is meeting its own promises), we look at the following features:

Let’s break down each of those categories a little further.

Security and privacy (20%)

One of the most important things a VPN should do for you is keep your information private and secure. There are a number of features in place that we look for to make sure the software is doing its best to keep you and your information safe.

Encryption

What it is: Encryption is when information is scrambled or converted into a secret code so it can be transferred securely without risk of being intercepted or stolen. VPNs should use highly secure, military-grade encryption methods in order to ensure any information that passes through their servers is safe.

How we test it: We check the product specs and what type of protocols the VPN uses.

How we rate it:

• Best: Uses AES-256 or ChaCha20 encryption.
• Worst: Doesn’t indicate or uses any other inferior encryption.

VPN protocols

What it is: VPN protocols are the set of rules used to determine how your information will be securely encrypted when transferred from your device to the VPN’s server.

How we test it: We check the product specs and the app itself.

How we rate it:

• Best: Includes OpenVPN, WireGuard, and more, with an easy way to switch between them.
• Worst: Doesn’t include the top protocols and/or has no option to switch between them.

DNS and WebRTC leak protection

What it is: Domain Name System (DNS) translates website addresses into IP addresses and WebRTC allows browsers to communicate with each other (for things like audio and video calls). A leak for either of these means you can risk your real IP being detected, despite being connected to a VPN server.

How we test it: We use BrowserLeaks.com to test for DNS and WebRTC leaks. If it can’t detect our real IP, we know we’re good to go.

How we rate it:

• Best: Our real IP is not detected by our tests.
• Worst: Our IP is detected, despite the VPN claiming to be leak proof.

Logging policy

What it is: A lot of people use VPNs to avoid their information being spied on, so making sure the VPN itself isn’t spying on them is important too. Logging policies outline what kind of data is collected by the software and how long it's kept for. This also indicates what kind of information they’d have available to give to authorities if requested.

How we test it: We review their logs and privacy policies to make sure they’re upfront and clear about the information they collect and how they make sure it’s safe and protected.

How we rate it:

• Best: They have a clear-cut no logs policy that’s been audited by a third party.
• Worst: They collect logs and try to be sneaky about it in their privacy policy.

Audits

What it is: VPNs can pay independent, third-party auditors to review their data policies and ensure proper security measures are in place. Having this done is entirely optional and indicates how confident the company is in their own policies.

How we test it: We search the VPN’s site to see if they mention being audited anywhere. They do this for public trust, so if they did have it done they’ll make sure it’s easily available. If we don’t find it, we assume they’re not audited.

How we rate it:

• Best: The company gets yearly audits and promotes it openly.
• Worst: The company has never been audited.

Jurisdiction

What it is: Where the headquarters of the parent company is located, which informs what data laws they need to follow. Countries that are part of the Five, Nine, or 14 Eyes Alliance get a hit to their score, since those have laws for national and global surveillance.

How we test it: We check the about page, privacy policy, and other documentation about the VPN’s registration to figure out what jurisdiction they work under.

How we rate it:

• Best: Company is located in a non-alliance country (like Switzerland).
• Worst: Company is located in a Five, Nine, or 14 Eyes Alliance country.

Speed and reliability of servers (20%)

Even the most secure VPNs still need to perform well, or we’ll never actually use them. That’s why we test several different servers within every VPN, completing multiple speed tests and also just using our computer as usual to see how it impacts our day-to-day browsing.

Speed

What it is: How fast our download and upload speeds are when connected to the VPN’s servers.

How we test it: Using SpeedTest.net, we first take our baseline speed without the VPN connected. We then record our speeds when connected to a U.S., Canadian, U.K., and Australian server. If possible, we try different cities within the countries to get a better idea of the average speed.

How we rate it:

• Best: Less than 30% speed lost on average.
• Worst: More than 90% speed lost on average.

Reliability

What it is: Beyond speed, we also look at how often the servers have issues with random disconnections or even problems connecting in the first place.

How we test it: We connect to a bunch of different servers in as many countries as possible and try to use our computer as usual.

How we rate it:

• Best: All servers we connected to were working and stable.
• Worst: More than 75% of servers we tried to connect to didn’t work, and when they did, they kicked us out randomly.

Ease of use (20%)

There are so many important details that exist outside of the technical specs of any type of software, VPNs included. This section of our ratings focuses on how easy the VPN was to figure out, use, and navigate.

It also looks at the important peripherals, like how easy customer service was to reach and if we had any trouble installing the app.

UI functionality

What it is: The user interface (UI) is how the app is laid out and where you can find all the important settings and information you need.

How we test it: We download the apps and sift through everything it offers, including using it like a normal user and trying to find where all the standard preferences live.

How we rate it:

• Best: Well laid out and easy to use.
• Worst: Clunky, outdated, and confusing.

Customer service

What it is: Customer service covers all support methods the VPN has available, including online guides, live chat, phone lines, email, tickets, and more.

How we test it: We scour the support section for each VPN and try out as many of the options as possible, including reaching out to the support team directly and seeing how quickly we get a reply (and how helpful the reply is).

How we rate it:

• Best: 24/7 customer support that’s available in every way possible, super responsive, and run by real people.
• Worst: No way to contact real people, with support requests gone unanswered and only thin guides to rely on.

Extra features (15%)

On top of giving you lots of secure servers to help anonymize your internet activity, there are plenty of additional security features VPNs can offer to take your experience (and privacy) to the next level.

Kill switch

What it is: A kill switch is when a VPN automatically disconnects your internet traffic if you unexpectedly lose connection to their servers.

How we test it: We open up IPleak.net and switch servers while it’s continuously grabbing our DNS address. If our real IP shows up between the first and second server, then the kill switch has failed to cut off traffic when faced with an unexpected disconnection.

How we rate it:

• Best: Our real IP address didn’t show up at all.
• Worst: Our real IP address was always showing, even before we switched servers.

Split tunneling

What it is: Split tunneling lets you choose which apps or websites are connected via the VPN server, and which are using your standard ISP connection. This is helpful for letting high-demand services like streaming have full speed, while also keeping your standard browsing private and encrypted.

How we test it: Search for split tunneling functionality within the app and set it up so our browser doesn’t use the VPN. Check our IP address in the restricted browser to see if it’s still showing the VPN server.

How we rate it:

• Best: The browser is successfully not using the VPN connection even while connected to a server.
• Worst: It doesn’t work or there’s no split tunneling option at all.

Other special features we look for

We always keep an eye out for any extra value a VPN can bring to the table, like:

• Ad blockers
• Specialty servers for streaming, gaming, torrenting, and more
• Torrenting support
• Advanced settings
• Dedicated IPs

Value (15%)

With so many subscription plans already crowding your wallet, making sure the VPN you choose provides the best value for the cost is extremely important. This means everything from price, to the amount of connections you get, and even their refund policies.

Price and plans

What it is: How much the VPN costs, including the different price levels and discounts it offers.

How we test it: Check out the pricing page and scour the site for any additional discounts we can find.

How we rate it:

• Best: Prices are lower than standard and/or offer a lifetime subscription.
• Worst: Prices are high in comparison to other VPNs and comes with extremely middling features.

Simultaneous connections

What it is: How many devices you can have connected to a VPN server at the same time.

How we test it: Check out the product specs and try to connect to multiple devices at once.

How we rate it:

• Best: Allows for unlimited simultaneous connections.
• Worst: Only allows for one device to be connected at a time.

Money back guarantee

What it is: A set amount of time that you can ask for a refund of the subscription fee.

How we test it: We check out the pricing page for indications of a guarantee and also read through refund policies to see what situations they deem as acceptable.

How we rate it:

• Best: 30+ day money-back guarantee with no questions asked.
• Worst: No money-back guarantee or refund policy at all.

Server count and coverage (10%)

Though server quality is arguably more important than quantity, it’s important to have a wide range of options across many countries for maximum reliability and usability.

Number of servers

What it is: The total number of servers available to connect to.

How we test it: Check out the in-app server list and try to connect to several locations to make sure there isn’t a high amount of duds.

How we rate it:

• Best: More than 3,000 servers that work.
• Worst: Less than 10 servers and some that have issues connecting.

Worldwide coverage

What it is: How many countries have at least one working server in it.

How we test it: Check the product specs and the in-app server list. Try to connect to at least one server in most countries to ensure they aren’t just duds.

How we rate it:

• Best: Covers 100s of countries with good quality servers.
• Worst: Only covers a handful of countries, and some of the countries don’t have any working servers.

Bypass geographical restrictions

What it is: How reliably the VPN servers can bypass geographical restrictions, especially for streaming sites like Netflix.

How we test it: Try to stream videos on Netflix from servers in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia.

How we rate it:

• Best: All servers were able to connect and stream Netflix flawlessly.
• Worst: None of the servers were able to bypass Netflix geographic restrictions.

How we calculate our ratings

Once we’ve tested all of the above, we enter the results into our algorithm to calculate a weighted average. These are broken down into the 5 main categories you see above:

• Security (20%)
• Speed (20%)
• Ease of use (20%)
• Features (15%)
• Value (15%)
• Server count (10%)

The resulting number out of 5 becomes our star rating, which we then use to inform our VPN rankings and recommendations site wide.