Best Windows 10 VPN 2023

Since you’re reading this article, we take it you want to know which is the best Windows 10 VPN. It’s a good question, considering just how many of them there are to choose from, and how many benefits they can offer, from improved connection speeds, to additional levels of privacy.

If you were to ask us, the best Windows 10 VPN for PC would be ExpressVPN, and we’ve got an overview of why we think it’s so good below. However, we recognise that this won’t necessarily be the most appropriate choice for everyone, so we’ve also picked out four other providers, all of whom have unique strengths that make them well worth your consideration.

For your browsing convenience, not only have we clearly sign-posted what we think each of these VPN services is best for (e.g. which is the fastest VPN, which is the best free VPN), but we’ve put together easily digestible tables which gives you an overview of each of these services at a glance. We’re just nice like that.

The best Windows 10 VPNs for PC are as follows:

1. ExpressVPN – best for Windows 10
2. Ivacy VPN – best cheap option
3. CyberGhost – best for streaming
4. NordVPN – best for speed
5. AtlasVPN – best free option

1. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is the best Windows 10 VPN.

ExpressVPN overview:

Pros

• Severs available in 94 countries
• Lightway protocol provides terrific speeds
• TrustedServer system provides extra privacy

Cons

• Expensive when paying by month – bigger plans are more cost-effective
• Small overall server count, considering what you pay
• No free trial

As we already indicated, ExpressVPN is our choice for the best Windows 10 VPN. So what makes this service so great? Well, where to begin? First of all, there’s the fact that it has servers available in more than 94 countries, and then there’s the fact that most of those servers will grant you access to most major streaming services. Additionally, it uses its own, private encrypted IP for each server, for an extra level of privacy, and if you want to use it for some apps and not others, it has split-tunneling functionality available too.

For an even higher level of privacy, it uses something called the TrustedServer system. With this in place, it is impossible for servers to write any information about your activity online, giving you further reassurance that there’s nobody snooping on your search history.

The biggest snag is that ExpressVPN is notably more expensive than some of the other VPN providers, so it might be beyond your budget. If you can just about afford it and want to be sure that it’s worth it before investing, annoyingly, there is no free trial to give you a completely commitment-free opportunity to test it out, but there is, at least, a 30-day money-back guarantee.

2. Ivacy VPN

Ivacy VPN is the best cheap VPN for Windows 10.

Ivacy VPN overview:

Pros

• Low pricing with exclusive deal for our readers
• Military-grade 256-bit encryption
• Servers in over 100 countries

Cons

• No free trial
• A little slower than some other top providers

While ExpressVPN may be one of the most expensive VPN options, we thought we’d follow up with a cheap VPN recommendation. When you go for their five-year plan, you’ll make an initial payment of $60 (£48) and then not have to worry about VPN bills again for half a decade. This is a deal that is available exclusively to our readers.

This lower price does not mean lower quality, either. One of the things that makes Ivacy so impressive is the fact it uses military-grade 256-bit encryption that will keep all of your sensitive internet data as private as possible. It also allows you to use up to ten simultaneous connections and even has VPN servers in over 100 countries. If you’re a Windows user who’s concerned about their privacy online and who only has a small bit of room in their budget each month, this would be an excellent choice.

Admittedly, it doesn’t have a free trial, which is likely to be a cause of trepidation to anyone who’s not fully sold on the service, but, like many others, at least it still has a 30-day money-back guarantee for you to use as a safety net. It’s slightly slower than the likes of ExpressVPN or NordVPN, but if you decide it’s not fast enough within the first month, then you’ll be able to get a full refund.

3. CyberGhost

CyberGhost is the best VPN for streaming on Windows 10.

CyberGhost overview:

Pros

• Great for streaming
• Servers available in over 90 countries
• 45-day money-back guarantee

Cons

• Slower than some other top providers
• Could offer more of a free trial

If you use your PC to watch a lot of TV, then we recommend that you use CyberGhost. Not only is it compatible with all of the major streaming services, but it also boasts an impressive 7,400+ servers in more than 91 countries, so it’s very much the best VPN for streaming. No matter where you roam, you’ll almost certainly be able to use CyberGhost so that you can access the content libraries of your native region.

This is one of the few services to offer a VPN free trial, which is pretty good, except for the fact that on desktop, it will only last for 24 hours. It’s still some distance ahead of the services which don’t offer any kind of free trial at all, but there’s no denying that it would be better if you had more time – especially for film and TV fans who might want to take it for a spin on various platforms.

Still, you should find that it works rather well with most of the major streaming services, and it has servers in a decent range of countries to boot. It might be a bit slower than other major providers, but not so much that it should ruin your internet experience.

Read our CyberGhost review.

4. NordVPN

NordVPN is the fastest VPN for Windows 10.

NordVPN overview:

Pros

• Fastest VPN
• Good for most streaming services

Cons

• Slightly more expensive
• No free trial

NordVPN is the fastest VPN for Windows 10. Well, the fastest good VPN that we know of, at very least. We’re sure that you’ve heard of this provider before, and part of the reason that NordVPN has become so popular is that it is genuinely a fantastic option – with average connection speeds of 65.79Mbit/s (when tested on OpenVPN), many customers find that it speeds up their internet, because it stops their ISP (internet service providers) from artificially slowing it down when they use a lot of bandwidth.

In addition to its speeds, it also has over 5,300 servers across 60 countries. This is a decent total and range of servers, but as much as it outdoes many of the smaller providers, it is itself outdone by a number of the biggest ones.

As is a recurring theme with the VPNs in this list, NordVPN does not have a free trial, instead giving you a 30-day money-back guarantee to fall back on. This, combined with its limiting restriction on simultaneous connections, is a pity when you look at the slightly higher price tag.

Read our NordVPN review to find out more.

5. AtlasVPN

AtlasVPN is the best free VPN for Windows 10.

AtlasVPN overview:

Pros

• No-logs policy intact with free plan
• Allows two simultaneous connections, even on free plan

Cons

• Small selection of servers, even for a free VPN
• No router support, even on the paid plan

Last but not least, we wanted to throw a bone to the community of people who don’t have any room in their budget at all, but who still want to protect their privacy on the internet. We recommend AtlasVPN as the best free Windows 10 VPN.

Of course, a free service isn’t going to be quite as good as a paid one. If you go for AtlasVPN’s free plan, you’ll find that it’s a little slower than paid services, it doesn’t have a huge selection of servers, and you’re limited to 5GB of data a month… but, on a positive note, unlike other, shadier free VPNs, where you’re actually paying with your data, AtlasVPN has a no-logs policy in place even on the free plan.

If you happen to upgrade to the paid plan at any point, ou may be pleased to hear that this is one of the few VPNs to offer unlimited simultaneous connections. This means that you can protect your whole family, or if it’s just you, it can be your PC VPN, laptop VPN, mobile VPN, and actively protecting your privacy on any other devices you may use.

If you’re somebody who only wants to maintain their discretion during certain sensitive searches, then this could be the ideal solution. If you only switch it on from time to time, its 5GB allowance should be just fine, and your secret searches will remain private.

How we picked the best Windows 10 VPNs

In order to put this list together, we carefully studied the benefits of different VPN services and weighed them against their weaknesses, and the needs of different internet users. When choosing for yourself, here are a few things to look out for:

• Pricing: The cost of VPNs varies quite a lot. Typically speaking, it works out as more cost-effective if you go for plans that cover larger spans of time – you can figure this out by looking at the monthly cost, but keep in mind that you pay in one go, and the prices are shown by month to make it easier to compare costs.
• Servers: If a VPN has a vast array of servers for you to connect through, it will reduce the risk of server congestion (which causes slowdown). If there are particular countries that you want to connect through then we recommend checking each VPN’s server list to make sure that you can access that region with any given provider.
• Simultaneous connections: Looking for a VPN solution to cover your whole household? Look out for providers that give you a decent allowance of simultaneous connections. Some give you no cap at all, and you can use it on as many things as you like, while many of them limit you to around five.
• Service compatibility: Some VPNs are blocked by major online services, so we only included a selection of VPNs that we know are broadly compatible with most of the big ones. Having said that, if you have something specific in mind that you’d like to use your VPN with, make sure you double-check the compatibility before you buy (or, at least, take advantage of the money-back guarantee if you want to test within the service).

Read our how we test page to find out more about how we put these lists together. If you still have any other questions, read the FAQs below:

Does Windows 10 have a built-in VPN?

Yes, but it’s not what you think. The built-in VPN that you’ll find is really a doorway for you to connect through third-party VPNs, like the ones included in this list.

Should VPN be on or off on Windows 10?

The answer to this question depends on what you’re doing. For example, if you’re doing your online banking, connecting to your VPN might get you locked out of your account or cause a security alert. In those cases, it’s best to keep it off. But for things like general browsing, streaming, or gaming, we recommend leaving it on to maintain your privacy.

Do I need to install a VPN on every device?

This is entirely up to you. Every device that you use the internet on creates a digital footprint. On things like your main phone or laptop. this will include a wealth of personal information about you. However, if you have, for example, specialized gaming platforms, you may not feel it is worth it for the privacy – though any device may perform better with the VPN on (depending on your ISP) so there is definitely some value to having it on everywhere.

For more VPN recommendations, take a look at our guide on the best VPN services.