The best mobile VPNs: Expert tested

The best mobile VPN is NordVPN. With its ability to integrate with iOS and Android phones, thousands of servers, and very high speeds, NordVPN is at the top of our list. This table compares the best mobile VPNs based on connections, operating system capabilities, and servers available:

*Lowest price at the time of writing. Please note that prices may vary based on retailer and available promotions, sales, or discounts.

When you are selecting your new mobile VPN, you need to consider the following factors:

• Cost: You need to consider the overall cost of your new VPN. Try to take advantage of promotions, but ignore countdown timers -- they typically are just marketing tools. While top-notch VPNs can cost upwards of $10/month, many are available for only a few dollars. Many VPN providers also give users a free seven-day iOS or Android trial.
• Simultaneous connections: If you're paying for a mobile VPN, you might want to use it across multiple devices, such as a desktop PC or laptop. We recommend you sign up for a plan supporting at least four to six devices. 
• Contract length: You also need to decide how long you want a VPN. A two-year term tends to secure the best prices, but monthly, six-month, and one-year options are available. After you've made a selection, you typically have a 30-day money-back guarantee. 
• Apps: When selecting a mobile VPN, try it out first to ensure you like its accompanying iOS or Android app. Some VPNs, for example, have great desktop software but lack in the mobile app department, which may not be as intuitive or easy to use. 

All VPN providers recommended in this list have been subject to in-depth testing and reviews by members of our ZDNET team. We've been writing about these VPNs for years, spoken with their management and users, and developed a generally favorable impression. Here are the top factors we consider during our testing process: 

• Performance: We tested most of the VPNs on this list to ensure robust connection and speed performance. After all, there's no point in using a VPN if your connection continually drops or lags, making it intolerable, which is especially important when you're on mobile.
• Simultaneous connections: Many VPNs limit how many devices you can connect to a service simultaneously. If you have a phone, tablet, and laptop you want to connect to a VPN, you need a service that allows simultaneous connections.
• Security: There's no point in using a VPN unless its security protocols and encryption levels are up to scratch. We also ensured that the development team behind each recommended VPN cares about improving security over time and patching reported bugs.
• Kill switch: A kill switch prevents you from having an unprotected connection and is an essential feature for a mobile VPN. It protects you by preventing a return to a default Wi-Fi connection—in comparison, for example, with your cellular connectivity—should your internet connection unexpectedly drop.
• Geoblocks and streaming: We know that VPNs can be vital in accessing local content and services while you're away from home and relying on mobile devices. We ensured that our top recommendations perform well regarding these factors and are unlikely to slow down your connection while streaming.
• Countries & servers: How many different countries does the VPN have servers in? This can include physical and virtual servers and whether or not there are enough—at least 50 or so—to provide variety.
• Trial length & price: Each VPN we recommend has a solid money-back guarantee. 

ZDNET tests VPN services from multiple locations, but we can't try from all locations. Every home, community, local ISP, and nation has a different infrastructure. Once you choose, it's essential that you test for all your likely usage profiles and only then decide whether to keep the service or request a money-back guaranteed refund.

These VPNs also have solid money-back guarantees; we would not have recommended them otherwise. 

Check out our comprehensive VPN testing methodology page for a more extensive breakdown.

Suppose you're at your desk and want to access a website like this one. To do this, your computer initiates a request by sending some packets. If you're in an office, those packets often travel through switches and routers on your LAN before transferring them to the public internet through a router.

Also: What is a VPN, and why do you need one? 

Once on the public internet, those packets travel through many computers. A separate request is made to a series of name servers to translate the DNS name ZDNET.com to an IP address. That information is sent back to your browser, which sends the request again through many computers on the public internet. Eventually, it reaches the ZDNET infrastructure, routes those packets, grabs a webpage (a bunch of separate elements), and sends all that back to you.

Each internet request usually involves a series of communication events between multiple points. A VPN encrypts those packets at the originating point, often hiding the data and the information about your originating IP address. The VPN software on your end then sends those packets to the VPN server at some destination point, decrypting that information. 

There is rarely an exception to a simple answer: none. The free ones that sound good will take you, your data, and your security for a ride. Avoid them. 

A good VPN service requires hundreds of servers worldwide and many networking resources. If you're not paying to support that infrastructure, who is? Probably advertisers or data miners. If you use a free service, your data or information will probably be sold, and that's never good. After all, you're using a VPN to keep your data secure. You wouldn't want your data to go to some company to sift through -- it completely defeats the purpose of a VPN.

However, we do recommend one offered by ProtonVPN, a trustworthy security and privacy-focused company. The trade-off is that the free option is extremely limited. 

If you're traveling or using the internet in a public place like a coffee shop, data encryption is critical. Most public Wi-Fi hotspots are open and unencrypted, which means anyone on the network can see what you send, eavesdrop on your activities, and steal passwords. If you can, stick to cellular networks.

The war between VPNs and streaming services has heated up. This is a gray area of the law, but despite this, many VPNs market themselves as great options for streaming and accessing geo-locked libraries and content. 

However, using a VPN might go against the terms of service set by streaming service providers. So, while you can stream with a VPN enabled -- although access can change when streaming services block IPs -- it might not always be legal to do so.

Also: Best VPN for streaming 

It's the maximum number of VPN connections you can have anytime. For example, if you're using your smartphone, laptop, and tablet over a VPN at the same time (I've done it on business trips), and back home, your partner is using their smartphone, PC, and tablet over the VPN, and you have five simultaneous connections...there's a problem.)

One of your connections won't be private any longer. Having access to more simultaneous connections is a good thing.

A fully functional VPN should protect your privacy and mask your location and IP address. If you're unsure if your VPN is working correctly, some tools make checking your VPN's performance easy.

You can find out your IP address and location using whatismyipaddress.com. Compare the IP address and location when connected with a VPN vs. without one. If they are different, then your VPN is doing its job.

It's also possible that your VPN is leaking your data and potentially exposing your online activity. You can run tests on a site like DNS Leak Test to ensure your VPN has no DNS or IP leaks. Plenty of tools allow you to test for leaks, but VPN providers own many, and it may not always be clear who developed the tool, which could be a conflict of interest. You may want to run tests with several different sites and compare the results.

Yes. There are some circumstances when it doesn't, but those tend to be rare. Generally speaking, you'll get from 50% to 90% of your real-world speed through a VPN connection, depending on your original location and the country server you select. 

Faster is better. But you probably already knew that. 

There are many free VPNs available for mobile devices. However, nothing in life is truly free, and you will likely be handing over your data in return for the service. They may also not be trustworthy, may be ad-supported, and may track your online activities. 

Free VPNs from trustworthy companies are few and far between. ProtonVPN's free VPN is an option we support, although it is constrained.