The Best VPN Extensions for Chrome

Most browser extensions are an afterthought for VPN services. They aren’t as secure as the main apps, and typically receive fewer updates or technical features.

Crucially, a lot of extensions aren’t even VPNs. A lot of them are actually proxies, meaning they use TLS encryption and could leak sensitive information.

ExpressVPN’s Chrome extension is better than the rest. Instead of providing a proxy, ExpressVPN created an extension that controls the VPN app from your browser.

So you can use its full server network of 3,000 servers in 106 countries in Chrome, and be certain your traffic is securely encrypted using the AES-256 cipher.

Like other Chrome extensions, ExpressVPN offers useful WebRTC blocking and HTML5 blocking, so you can spoof your location more effectively in-browser and unblock your favorite social media sites and streaming services.

We found that ExpressVPN is the best VPN for Google Chromecast streaming devices, too.

ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs for unblocking websites, largely due to its advanced obfuscation technology that disguises your VPN traffic

This feature allowed us to bypass restrictions on networks, like those impose on public WiFi and in schools.

While connected to the VPN, we also consistently accessed international video content, thanks to its huge network of servers in 106 countries.

We’ve experienced no difficulties using ExpressVPN in our browser to access popular streaming platforms like BBC iPlayer and Max

In fact, ExpressVPN is able to unblock 95% of the 120 streaming services we’ve tested it with, making it the best choice for streaming overall.

It’s also fast enough to work with online games and play videos on YouTube without buffering, too.

To use the extension, you do need an active ExpressVPN subscription, and at $4.99 per month on its cheapest deal, ExpressVPN is one of the more costly VPNs out there.

As a complete package, though, we think it’s well worth it. You can use it on up to 8 devices, including iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Chromebook, Linux, Amazon Fire TV, and more.

It’s extremely committed to user privacy. ExpressVPN doesn’t log as much user data as a lot of other VPN services, including NordVPN. It’s also been independently audited multiple times by security experts.

In short, for a higher price you’re getting a high-quality product.

NordVPN’s Chrome extension is actually a proxy, and not a full VPN. This means it changes your IP address to a different location, but you can’t specify protocols or protect your whole device.

Some other proxy extensions come with subpar encryption, no encryption at all, and might leak or log your personal information.

Thankfully, NordVPN’s Chrome extension is 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 111 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 finding the extension on the Chrome store and adding it to your browser.

This was a plus, as it made it much quicker to start using ExpressVPN or NordVPN.

The extension itself is straightforward, featuring a large connect button and a dropdown menu for selecting server locations. This simplicity makes CyberGhost an ideal lightweight option for casual browsing.

Though the simplicity of CyberGhost’s Chrome extension is a plus for casual browsing, it falls short in some critical security areas, such as lacking a built-in WebRTC blocker.

During our tests, we found that our IP address was leaking through WebRTC, meaning that the websites we visited could detect our real IP address. However, the sites we accessed were still concealed from our ISP and network administrator.

Although this issue can be quickly resolved by installing a WebRTC blocker Chrome extension, we would prefer if CyberGhost included this functionality by default, as most other top VPNs do.

CyberGhost’s free Chrome extension is a decent choice for streaming, but it falls short compared to top-tier VPNs like ExpressVPN and NordVPN.

While ExpressVPN and NordVPN can unblock content from 106 and 111 countries respectively, CyberGhost’s extension only supports unblocking geo-restricted sites in 4 countries.

The positive is it works reliably with Disney+, Hulu, Max, and Tubi. CyberGhost also doesn’t impose any data restrictions on its Chrome extension, meaning you can stream for as long as you want.

CyberGhost’s connection speeds on Chrome are slower than those offered by other VPNs.

When streaming, it might take a few minutes to load your video content. You may also find that your video quality is capped at 720p with occasional buffering.

While browsing TikTok or Instagram, you might find images and videos frustratingly take longer to load as well.

We didn’t encounter any of these issues with IPVanish or other paid VPNs for Chrome.