The Best VPN Extensions for Chrome

ExpressVPN’s Chrome extension is better than any other we’ve tested. It’s a full VPN browser add-on that controls the main VPN app from your browser.

This will give you access to its full network of 3,000 servers in 106 countries, and further secure your web traffic through AES-256 encryption.

Like other Chrome extensions, WebRTC and HTML5 blocking capabilities are built in, to better spoof your location in-browser.

ExpressVPN is outstanding at unblocking geo-restricted websites. We accessed 95% of the 120 streaming services we’ve tested it with, something not even NordVPN can match.

More specifically, we unblocked 18 Netflix regions, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, and many more video platforms.

While testing ExpressVPN, we also concluded that it is the most suitable VPN for streaming on Chromecast devices, too.

And largely due to its advanced obfuscation technology that disguises your VPN traffic, we just as easily bypassed restrictions on office, public library and school networks.

To use ExpressVPN’s extension, the cheapest deal right now is $4.99/mo over 28 months, which is one the more costly subscription plans on the market.

It’s certainly worth it if you can afford it, but it can be too pricey for some people.

That said, there are two ways for you to use ExpressVPN for free for a defined period of time: taking advantage of its 7-day free trial or its 30-day money-back guarantee.

Annoyingly, to access ExpressVPN’s free trial you’ll have to first sign up to it either via the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, and then use your free account to add the extension to Chrome.

Or you can just subscribe to ExpressVPN and then cancel your subscription within 30 days to get a full no-questions-asked refund.

NordVPN’s Chrome extension is actually a proxy, not a full VPN. It changes your IP address to a different location, but you can’t select connection protocols or protect all internet traffic on your device.

Some other proxy extensions come with subpar encryption, no encryption at all, and can even leak or log your browsing data.

Thankfully, NordVPN’s Chrome extension is completely safe. It uses TLS AES-256 encryption and offers a kill switch to prevent IP leaks.

If you simply want a Chrome extension to unblock social media and stream video, NordVPN’s extension is safe enough for these purposes.

Unlike the ExpressVPN extension, NordVPN doesn’t require the main app to be downloaded and running in the background, which is a plus.

NordVPN’s Chrome extension offers the most amount of technical features out of all our Chrome recommendations.

There’s a WebRTC blocker, ad blocker, geolocation spoofing, split tunneling, auto-connect, and a kill switch.

They might sound confusing, but NordVPN provides a helpful summary for each feature. Customer support are also available 24/7 via live chat.

NordVPN’s Chrome extension is easy to use. When installed, there’s a quick connect button that automatically connects you to your nearest location.

To choose a server location, simply click on the drop-down menu next to the flag icons. Here you can decide between 118 countries — the same number as its main VPN app, including city-level servers in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, and more.

Despite its merits, though, NordVPN’s Chrome extension does have one flaw. Similar to its Firefox counterpart, the home screen pushes an intrusive referral campaign in a large box.

You can close the ad, but the box is constantly filling up with other distracting elements, like tips and other NordVPN campaigns.

Overall, for just $2.99 per month, NordVPN provides great value for money.

It doesn’t exactly match ExpressVPN’s ability to stream international libraries. But we’ve found NordVPN still extremely reliable for watching Netflix, not just in the US but in other popular locations like France, Germany, Japan, and Canada.

In our hands-on testing, NordVPN has always connected us to a server that works with US Netflix on the first try. This can’t be said for ExpressVPN, whose New York server is often detected and blocked by the service.

You don’t need to make an account with CyberGhost or provide any personal details to use the Chrome extension.

It’s simply a case of searching for the extension on the Chrome Web Store, and then adding it to your web browser. It made it so much quicker to start using compared to ExpressVPN or NordVPN.

Simplicity is at the heart of the extension, with a large connect button and a drop-down menu to select the free server locations.

It’s amazing how CyberGhost’s free Chrome extension is still able to unblock many geo-restricted streaming websites, despite it being completely free.

It still works reliably with the following American libraries/services: Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max, and Tubi.

Moreover, the free VPN server in Germany can still access the German Netflix library as well as other free-to-air TV streaming websites.

CyberGhost also doesn’t impose any data restrictions on its Chrome extension, so you can stream for as long as you want.

Obviously, being free, CyberGhost’s free extension can’t compare to ExpressVPN’s in terms of worldwide access: 4 countries versus 106.

But for a completely free product, CyberGhost’s Chrome extension definitely punches above its weight.

The one area where the extension falls short is privacy. The lack of a built-in WebRTC blocker meant that during our tests our IP address leaked through WebRTC.

In other words, the websites we visited could see our real IP address. That said, our web browsing activity remained concealed from our ISP (or network administrator).

This issue is easily resolved by adding a WebRTC blocker extension, however it would be much better if CyberGhost included this functionality by default, as ExpressVPN and NordVPN do.

CyberGhost’s connection speeds on Chrome are slower than those we experienced using other VPNs.

As a result, it took us a few minutes to load video content, and when we did the video quality was capped at 720p with occasional buffering. We experienced a similar delay in loading pages with many images.