The most secure VPN providers 2023

The most secure VPN service is a must for anybody concerned with internet privacy. After all, how can you make plans to overthrow your villainous government if all of your internet activities are being logged? They’ll have men in suits taking you away in the middle of the night, never to be seen again, before you can say “democracy dies in the dark.”

In all seriousness, the most secure VPN is going to help stop governments, internet services providers, and faceless corporations from building a profile on you based on everything you do online. Why should anybody but you know what you’ve been searching for, what you’ve been buying, who you’ve been taking to, and more? You have a right to your own privacy, and we’ve made this guide to point you in the direction of the services that can protect it.

Our number one pick for internet privacy is PureVPN, but we’ll get into our reasons why shortly. By their very nature, the majority of VPNs are concerned with protecting your privacy, and some of them do this in better ways than others. Our five choices each have their own unique strengths, with many of them counted amongst the most private VPN services and the best VPN services overall. It goes without saying that all of the providers on this list offer both a kill switch and a no-logs policy (both essential for true VPN privacy).

The most secure VPN providers are:

• PureVPN – the most secure choice
• IPVanish – the best for encrypted storage space
• Private Internet Access – best for server variety
• VyprVPN – the best Swiss VPN
• Ivacy VPN – best for military-grade encryption

1. The most secure VPN

PureVPN is the most secure VPN, and its pricing works out as $2.08 USD per month.

Pros:

• Regular third-party privacy audit
• Decent number of simultaneous devices
• Good server selection and range

Cons:

• Limited Linux support
• No across-the-board route support
• No longer offers a purely free trial

Our choice for the most secure VPN provider is PureVPN. Like many providers, it describes itself as a no-logs VPN, but PureVPN willingly submits itself to third-party audits to confirm that it really isn’t peeking at your data.

Audits aside, PureVPN is a genuinely fantastic VPN all-round. It has 6,500 servers across a selection of 78 countries (which, while not the absolute biggest range of VPN servers, is still impressive) and it even lets you have up to ten simultaneous connections, meaning most households will be able to cover everyone with it.

At one point in time, it offered a week long VPN free trial which gave users plenty of time to get to grips with the service. While it still offers a ‘trial plan’ you have to pay $0.99 in order to use it, which is kind of annoying (but at least it’s inexpensive).

2. The best VPN for encrypted storage space

IPVanish is the best VPN for encrypted storage space and its pricing works out as $3.33 USD per month.

Pros:

• Options for encrypted storage space
• Unlimited simultaneous connections

Cons:

• Fewer overall servers in a smaller range of locations
• No free trial available

If you want to keep your internet activities private and discrete, there’s a good chance that you’ll also be in the market for a way to keep all the files on your computer private as well. IPVanish is a one-stop shop for privacy and security, because it offers a stand-up VPN service, as well as solutions for encrypted storage space.

IPVanish offers you access to 250GB of SugerSync encrypted storage and backup. This not only protects your files from a dubious parties trying to get their hands on them, but also keeps them safe from accidents that might see your laptop damaged.

This service gives you a selection of over 1,600 servers across 52 countries (which is admittedly fewer than some of the other big names have), as well as providing a 30-day money-back guarantee to ensure that you have enough time to determine whether this service is the right one for you.

3. The VPN with most servers

Private Internet Access is the VPN with the most servers, and its pricing works out as $2.19 USD or £1.69 GBP per month.

Pros:

• Enormous server total
• Decent limit on simultaneous connections

Cons:

• One of the slower services
• No free trial

Private Internet Access (PIA) is a superb choice for anyone after a large variety of VPN servers. Why is this a good thing? Well, suppose there’s a certain website that you’d like to access that has blocked the VPN server you’re using- since PIA has so many of them, you shouldn’t have any trouble find one that will enable to access that site privately and discretely.

Admittedly, Private Internet Access’s servers are only spread across around 78 countries, which is a smaller range than some other providers, but it’s unrivalled in terms of its overall server count. Another benefit of this provider is that, like PureVPN, it allows you to protect the privacy of up to ten devices at once, meaning that this could be something for your whole household to use.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t give you any kind of trial, and it is also one of the slower services. Still, with all of the benefits mentioned above, and the fact that it is compatible with most of the major streaming services, there’s a lot to like about PIA.

4. The best Swiss VPN

VyprVPN is the best Swiss VPN and its pricing works out as $5 USD or £4.50 GPB per month.

Pros:

• Based in Switzerland
• Allows up to 30 simultaneous connections
• Spans over 70 countries

Cons:

• Small server count
• Expensive
• No free trial

The more privacy-conscious VPN shopper may be keen to find a provider whose headquarters are located in Switzerland. Why? Because this is a country whose laws are much more privacy-friendly than somewhere like the US, and even though a VPN can keep you private, it’s not above the law. So if you want a Swiss VPN, then we recommend VyprVPN.

Though it only has around 700 servers (the smallest total on this list) it still manages to span over 70 countries. To its favour, it allows you to have simultaneous connections on up to 30 devices, and it’s hard to imagine that anybody would ever exceed that limit.

However, anybody considering VyprVPN as their provider needs to keep in mind that as VPN costs go, it’s definitely one of the most expensive services. It’s not a bad service by any means and may well be worth it, but we suspect that a lot of people will find it hard to work into their budget.

5. The best VPN for military-grade encryption

Ivacy VPN is the best VPN for military-grade encryption and its pricing works out as $1 USD or £0.80 GBP per month.

Pros:

• Military-grade 256-bit encryption
• Servers in over 100 countries

Cons:

• Weird paid trial
• No kill switch on Apple devices

Last, but not least, we come to Ivacy VPN. Founded in 2006, this is a service that builds on top of years of experience and infrastructure. What makes it especially worthy of note is the fact that it boasts military-grade 256-bit encryption, meaning that your internet data will remain just about as private as can be.

With over 5,700 servers in more than 100 countries, it has an impressive range. Meanwhile, like many of the other providers on this list, it also lets you have up to ten simultaneous connections, which should be good for most households.

The biggest chink in its armour is the act that it doesn’t have kill switch functionality on Apple devices. The kill switch severs your connection if the VPN goes down for even a second, meaning that your greedy internet service provider won’t be able to get its hands on your private search history. Without this protection, Mac users may not be so inclined to use Ivacy VPN.

We hope that this guide serves as a useful point of reference for anybody trying to find the most secure VPN service to protect their privacy on the internet. We put this list together by carefully comparing the pros and cons of these different services and weighing them against the privacy-based needs of internet users. Our top pick is PureVPN, but if that one doesn’t feel quite right for you, we’re sure that at least one of the providers on this list will suit your needs.

Need a budget choice? We have guides on the best cheap VPN providers and the biggest VPN deals to help.