The Best VPNs for Mac

The ExpressVPN is the most intuitive and user-friendly macOS app we’ve reviewed.

You can quickly connect to a nearby server by clicking the big connect button on the main screen.

Alternatively, you can access servers in all 106 countries by clicking the ‘Selected Location’ button underneath.

Compared to NordVPN and Surfshark, ExpressVPN’s app is slicker and takes up less screen space.

While using ExpressVPN on our iMac, we were able to access all major streaming services, including US and UK Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.

Some VPNs, like CyberGhost and PIA, have specific servers for streaming. But we found that almost all of ExpressVPN’s servers worked to access geo-restricted content.

We greatly preferred this simplicity to hunting down particular servers for each service. For instance, we were able to stay connected to a single US server while effortlessly switching between US Netflix, Max, and Hulu.

ExpressVPN has also consistently proven itself to be one of the fastest VPNs on long-distance connections. Over years of use, we’ve consistently accessed a range of geo-blocked content in Full HD without experiencing any buffering or drops in frame rate.

For example, our speed test results showed just a 7% speed loss when connecting to the UK from the US.

Combining these fast speeds with the VPN’s unmatched unblocking qualities makes ExpressVPN the most effective VPN for streaming.

Despite its simplicity, we have found the app to be one of the most reliable for security and privacy.

ExpressVPN doesn’t log any information that could be used to identify you from your online activities.

By default, ExpressVPN encrypts internet traffic using wolfSSL and a UDP Lightway connection. Our web activity remained hidden from third parties when using our MacBook Air on public WiFi networks.

The VPN also includes a kill switch, called Network Lock, and all traffic runs through diskless servers that never write data to disk, making it virtually impossible for any of your data to be extracted.

The only downside was that we detected that the kill switch isn’t effective when you’re changing server locations, though the app does warn you about this beforehand.

ExpressVPN has been delivering exceptional test results since we started testing it in 2016 but there’s no escaping that it is more expensive than other VPNs.

For example, Surfshark offers a multi-year subscription at half the cost of ExpressVPN’s.

ExpressVPN does outperform both NordVPN and Surfshark in most of our testing categories, though, justifying the higher cost as well worth the investment.

NordVPN is our top-rated Mac VPN for security.

The app’s security highlights include ChaCha20 encryption, diskless servers, a fully-working kill switch, and multi-hop servers to encrypt traffic twice by routing it via two VPN servers.

Threat Protection is also worth mentioning. This is NordVPN’s ad/tracker blocker, which blocked 60% of ads and 66% of analytic trackers in our tests.

However, unlike the ad-blocking features of ExpressVPN and Surfshark, NordVPN’s ad blocker is not included in the base subscription.

While PIA’s MACE, which is also offered for free, outperformed NordVPN’s Threat Protection in our tests, Threat Protection is still a valuable addition to NordVPN’s suite of security and privacy tools.

NordVPN performs similarly to ExpressVPN when it comes to streaming.

The provider’s UK VPN servers are slightly slower than ExpressVPN’s but are particularly effective at unblocking British TV services like BBC iPlayer.

It’s a similar story for the VPN servers in Canada, which unblocked DAZN, Fubo TV, and Netflix Canada with even faster speeds than ExpressVPN.

However, unlike ExpressVPN, NordVPN couldn’t access other popular streaming services, like Hotstar or NFL+.

Our main complaint about NordVPN’s Mac app is that the minimum window size is too large because of the server map.

This complicated using other apps side-by-side with NordVPN on our MacBook Pro, which was mildly annoying. We’d prefer being able to collapse the window down to a single column, as you can with Proton VPN.

We also dislike how many settings, like Meshnet and Threat Protection, are hidden behind generic icons that don’t clearly communicate their function. You have to hover over each one to understand their purpose.

Another annoyance is the significant difference between the app downloaded from the App Store and the one from the NordVPN website.

Without any warning, the App Store version lacks several key features available on the website version, such as custom DNS servers, an app-specific kill switch, and Threat Protection. NordVPN should do more to inform users about these differences.

NordVPN is a cheaper option to other top VPNs, including ExpressVPN and the paid version of Proton VPN.

However, after your initial billing period is up, the VPN price increases by around 25%. We felt this wasn’t highlighted enough during the buying process.

To avoid the price increase, disable auto-renewal in your account settings. Log in, navigate to Billing > Subscriptions, and click Cancel next to Auto-renewal.

Unlike ExpressVPN and NordVPN, where you have to sign up via mobile first, Surfshark offers a seven-day free-trial when you download the app from the Mac App Store.

The free trial allows you to fully test Surfshark on Mac, any other device, before committing to a subscription.

If you then decide to sign up, Surfshark is much more affordable than ExpressVPN. On a multi-year plan, Surfshark costs just $1.99 per month, considerably less than ExpressVPN’s $4.99 per month.

And, from the moment you subscribed to a Surfshark paid plan you still have the right to get a full refund with 30 days, in case you’re not happy with the VPN.

Surfshark’s macOS app isn’t as user-friendly as some other top VPNs, like ExpressVPN, but it’s by no means difficult to use.

The home screen allows you to quickly and easily connect to a VPN server. We found ourselves using the “favorite” feature often, which pins a specific country to the top of the list.

We were disappointed with the VPN’s menu bar app. As you can see in the screenshot below, it only allows you to connect to a default server. By comparison, you can connect to a specific ExpressVPN or NordVPN using their menu bar apps.

Additionally, the full app suffers from a similar issue as NordVPN, where we feel the app window size is too large. Unlike NordVPN, it can’t be resized at all, so you’re stuck with the default.

The interface is too cluttered. The VPN aspect of the app is just one of five functions on the navigation bar, which also includes Alternative ID and Surfshark Alert. Annoyingly, these extra features remain visible there even if you don’t subscribe to them.

If you do opt for the seven-day trial, remember than you can use Surfshark on as many devices as you want.

For this reason, you may decide Surfshark is for you, if you know most of your household will be using the VPN concurrently.

The VPN tab of the Surfshark Mac app is split into three distinct tabs, which aren’t explained in the app.

To help you use the app more easily, we’ve explained the three different server types:

• Locations: The default tab with all 100 server countries.
• Static: The IP address always remains the same when using that server. This is not a dedicated IP address, since multiple users can use that same static IP address. Static IPs are only available via Germany, Japan, Singapore, UK, and US servers.
• Multi-hop: Adds an extra layer of security by routing your traffic through two VPN servers. It slows down your internet speed, but makes you harder to track.

Proton VPN’s Mac app is straightforward to use. Unlike many of the free Mac VPNs we tested, it’s ad-free and felt premium during use.

However, we were often frustrated as the app’s design mirrors the paid version, yet most features are inaccessible in the free plan

As shown in the screenshot below, despite the app’s large app window, it offers limited functionality, with only the ‘Disconnect’ button and the kill switch icon available.

Despite taking up most of the app interface, features like ‘Change Server’, ‘Plus Locations’, ‘Secure Core’, and ‘NetShield’ require a paid account.

Additionally, to use WireGuard, Proton VPN needs permission to add a Mac system extension, granting it higher privileges. Though we trust Proton VPN, this extra step wasn’t necessary for other VPNs we tested.

Proton VPN is the only safe free VPN that offers unlimited data and bandwidth. This means that, unlike the other free VPNs we recommend, you can use it as much as you want.

The main problem with Proton VPN, though, is that you won’t be able to benefit from most high-bandwidth activities while connected to a free server.

This is because the VPN doesn’t bypass most streaming geo-restrictions. Throughout our years of testing, Proton VPN Free has never worked with US Netflix, Disney+, or any other major streaming platform.

Also, torrenting and P2P traffic is actively blocked by the VPN, so you won’t be able to use it with any torrent clients or with certain P2P-based streaming apps.

This is disappointing as it makes Proton VPN’s unlimited data allowance less useful.

Proton VPN encrypts traffic with secure ChaCha20 or AES-256 ciphers, authenticates data with SHA-384 hashes, and establishes connections via RSA-4096 handshakes. The Mac app includes a default-enabled kill switch to prevent IP leaks if the VPN disconnects.

The Mac app also comes with a kill switch, which we’re glad is enabled by default. This way, your true IP address won’t leak if your VPN connection suddenly disconnects.

These settings are supported by privacy-first logging policy and the company’s Swiss jurisdiction, which doesn’t mandate any data-gathering for VPN providers.

All this adds up to make Proton VPN one of the most trusted VPNs for keeping your data both private and secure.

In everyday use, the biggest frustration we had with Proton VPN was that you can only connect to the nearest free server location.

This meant we weren’t able to access any websites that we couldn’t already access on our regular connection.

By contrast, TunnelBear Free has servers in 47 countries and PrivadoVPN has servers in 11.

Additionally, you can only use Proton VPN Free on one device at a time. While this will be enough for a single iMac or MacBook, you won’t be able to secure your iPad or iPhone, along with any of your family’s devices.

Windscribe is the only safe free VPN that works with UK Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, Prime Video, and Max (HBO).

During our tests, we accessed geo-blocked movies and TV shows from all 10 free server locations.

Speeds were good enough for us to stream TV shows and movies in HD without buffering most of the time.

The only main drawback to using Windscribe’s free plan is its 10GB monthly data allowance. We were only able to stream four hours of HD content before running out of data.

You can increase your allowance by 5GB by tweeting to the company, but this is still not enough bandwidth if you plan on streaming regularly.

Windscribe is so effective at bypassing geo-restrictions that it also works in high-censorship countries like China.

In the Mac app, you can select the ‘StealthVPN’ connection protocol, which obfuscates VPN traffic to bypass internet filters.

Testing Windscribe via our remote server in Shanghai and StealthVPN, we can comfortably say it’s still one of the most reliable VPNs for China.

The vast majority of paid VPNs fail to work in China, so the fact Windscribe’s free tier manages to work is extremely impressive.

Where Proton VPN disappoints, Windscribe pleases, particularly for torrenting and file sharing.

Windscribe continues to be an exceptional free VPN for torrenting. It allows P2P traffic on all free servers, with a very respectable average transfer speed (bitrate) of 6.3MiB/s.

Just like Proton VPN, Windscribe also offers a tried-and-tested kill switch, built-in DNS leak protection, and secure AES-256 encryption.

Importantly, make sure you stop torrenting before your data runs out, otherwise your real IP address will leak (even with the kill switch activated).

Windscribe’s macOS app is very easy to use, with a simple layout and large button for easy connections.

However, if you experience issues, there is no human live chat support. You can speak to Garry, an automated chatbot, but we have never found it helpful.

The only other downside to Windscribe is that the Mac app is a basic menu bar app. Menu bar apps are small, limited in functionality, and hard to configure.

Plus, Windscribe’s Mac app doesn’t even behave like a typical menu bar app. When interacting with it, it forces you out of the foremost app and jumps to the desktop.

In the latest version, you can detach the app from the menu bar. But, this simply turns the app into a floating window, which doesn’t really improve user experience.