Best VPNs in 2023: Tested for Streaming, Torrenting, Speed & Security

Updated on January 9, 2023 by Ankit Bhardwaj

Are you looking for the best VPN for streaming, torrenting or security? 

Then your search has come to an end.

After reading this guide you will be able to pick the perfect VPN for your needs.

A good VPN offers security at ultra-fast speeds, it allows you to surf anonymously and safely anywhere and without restrictions. 

There are plenty of VPNs available on the internet claiming to be the best. My team and I, tested more than 170 VPNs over a two years in different countries and different locations and we continue to test new VPNs as they enter the market. Believe us when we say we know a good VPN when we see one!

Here are the things we considered while testing VPNs:

• Speed: We tested the speed of each VPN on multiple servers in multiple locations
• Security: Tested for IP Leaks, encryption, strict no logs policy, strong encryption, and able to pass through firewalls and government censorship
• Streaming: Unblock services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, SkyTV, Disney+, and others
• Torrenting: Anonymous torrenting and P2P support on servers
• Ease of Use: Applications for different platforms like iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, Chromebook, Android TV, Amazon FireStick and Fire TV.

After testing hundreds of VPN, we found there were plenty of shady VPNs claiming to be the best. But there were a handful or good VPNs, and one of them outperformed the rest: ExpressVPN.

Short in time? Here’s a quick summary of top 5 VPNs in 2023

1.  NordVPN- Our No. 1 Choice

NordVPN is #1 on our list for its fast speeds, streaming services and military-grade encryption to hide online activites also provide. It offers live customer support and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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2. ExpressVPN - Fast speed, strong security, dedicated servers for torrenting.

3. Surfshark - Relatively new, low price, allows to connect unlimited devices with single acccount. Best for big families.

4. AtlasVPN -  AtlasVPN server network manages to unblock many streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Max, etc. 

5. PIA VPN - PIA offers unlimited bandwidth supporting torrenting on every server. You can enjoy the VPN connecting up to 10 devices simultaneously.

The best VPNs of 2022: detailed analysis

After researching and gathering information we rated each VPN and prepared a list of the top seven VPNs. Here are best-rated VPN providers with affordable plans, fast speeds, high privacy, and ability to bypass geo-blocks and restrictions.

1. NordVPN : Overall best VPN for security, speed, and streaming

NordVPN is at #1 on our list because of its all-around performance. It has fastest servers all around the world, provides AES-256 encryption, and easy-to-use apps even for beginners, all at very competitive price.

It is based on Panama which means far from 14 Eye surveillance and no need to retain user logs, has strict no-logs policy. NordVPN also offers DoubleVPN option, which is helpful to route your traffic through two servers instead of one. It uses an advanced AES-256 bit encryption which further encrypts traffic. In short, it is a very safe option.

I’ve tested NordVPN speed on different servers in different countries. And surprisingly there was little to no speed drop. Speed was fast enough to stream Full HD, gaming and download torrents.

NordVPN has huge network of 5,400+ servers in 59 countries across the world increasing every day. A large number of servers allows you to connect fast servers and bypass geoblocks and restrictions easily.

Another strength of NordVPN is platform compatibility: It has apps available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android phones, iPhone/iPad and also for TVs equipped with Android TV, NAS, Raspberry Pi, and router. You can easily connect from any of these platform it does not require complicated manual configurations.

To connect to the fastest server you can just click on Quick connect on top right corner, it will automatically connect you to the fastest server. You can also choose the location by clicking on the map or pick from left side. With few clicks you can connect to VPN and start browsing Internet, downloading torrents and streaming safely.

I tried to test NordVPN with Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and other streaming services and sites like sports streaming sites from different servers in the US, UK, India, and every time I was able to stream in Ultra HD.

More I tried to test NordVPN with Netflix in different regions in servers across USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands. I was able to access Netflix content all the time and get connected in the first attempt.

I've used the NordVPN to watch anime series like Naruto Shippuden, Attack on Titan on Netflix & Haikyuu on Netflix.

Not just streaming but I also tested it for downloading torrents from the sites like The Pirate Bay and Kickass Torrents, which are generally blocked in most of the servers. I was able to go through these torrent sites and able to download 50 GB of games in a few hours. It has dedicated servers and some with dedicated IP for exchanging P2P files via the Onion protocol.

NordVPN offers military-grade encryption to keep you protected online all the time. Even when there is a connection drop or you are switching servers, kill switch ensure your personal data is not leaked accidentally.

I’ve also tried to perform leak tests and check if my real IP is protected or not. Every time NordVPN successfully passed all the tests.

But still, I’ll say you should not trust my words completely. You should consider trying NordVPN for 30 days risk-free using its money-back guarantee program.

I’ve tried to test the NordVPN money back program and check if it really works or not. First I signed up for NordVPN at discount prices from the hidden promotion page. Tried and tested everything for 2 weeks and then requested a refund from 24/7 live chat support. Without any questions, being asked my refund get approved within few minutes, and got full refunds within 5 days.

2. ExpressVPN - Highly secure VPN with high encryption and good security features

If you want a highly secure VPN with high encryption and best security features then ExpressVPN is a great choice for you.

It is based in the British Virgin Islands, which has no data retention laws. So no data is kept on its users and no third country can request them.

Recently a Turkish server was seized by the authorities and the tried to examine it thoroughly but failed to find any relevant logs and information.

I can say with certainty this VPN service has a good no-logs policy and does not track what a user is browsing online.

Express VPN offers OpenVPN and IKev2 and L2TP-IPSec protocols, the first two are currently considered the most reliable security protocols. They also have a custom-built VPN protocol called Lightway.

Express has high-performance servers in 94 countries, at 160 locations all over the globe. The speed of ExpressVPN is impressive - we carried out tests with an FTTC connection at 100 Mb/s (which in the speed tests is close to 80 Mb/s) and in the test of the UK server we reached 78 Mb/s.

But the most impressive data came from the tests on U.S. and Japanese servers. Normally the speed in the tested services decays quite a lot with increasing distance, but in this case, the first test gave us 75 Mb/s and the second 60 Mb/s. The pings were 119 ms and 250 ms, and given the distance it was a fairly obvious result.

I tested ExpressVPN with Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, and other streaming services from different servers in the US, UK, India, and every time I was able to stream in Ultra HD.

I also tested ExpressVPN with Netflix in different regions with servers across the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, Spain, France, and the Netherlands. I was able to unblock Netflix content from connected countries all the time and get connected in the first attempt.

ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test it out risk-free.

I tested if the money-back guarantee really works or not and requested a refund after 3 weeks from the 24/7 live chat support. Without any questions, my refund got approved within a few minutes and I got a full refund within 5 days.

Want a better price for ExpressVPN?

3. Surfshark: Budget Friendly VPN with Unlimited Devices Connections

If you’re looking for a budget VPN for Netflix and torrenting but don’t want to compromise with features then Surfshark can be a good choice.

One of the best things that differentiate Surfshark from its competitors is the ability to connect with unlimited devices with one Surfshark subscription. If you’ve big family or want to share VPN with your friends Surfshark can be a great option.

Surfshark is based on British Virgin Islands which is outside of 14 Eyes and has no logs policy. Also, Independent researches conducted by different agencies have also confirmed that it does not keep records of any kind that could expose user activities and identity.

I have done multiple IP Leak or DNS Leak tests on servers all over the world but Surfshark was able to successfully hide my actual IP and location.

Surfshark supports IKEv2, OpenVPN and it encrypts the data exchanged with a 256bit key. Basically, this is the same encryption that military and governments use.

Surfshark has 1700+ servers in more than 63 countries, almost every server tested seemed reliable and fast enough.

Surfshark is very effective if you want to unblock the Netflix catalog and watch the US, UK, Japan, and other versions.

When I tested Surfshark speed with different servers there was a drop of 10-15% in speed from nearby servers but a significant drop when connecting to servers in the US and Australia. Still, I was able to stream in HD which is a good thing.

If you want to download torrents, Surfshark has dedicated servers for torrenting. You do not have to switch servers, it automatically switches servers to torrent optimized servers. But when I tried to download torrents speed with automatic servers was slower than manual servers. That’s why I prefer to choose servers manually for torrenting.

Surfshark is available at discount price for only $2.49 per month on 2 years plan. If you have a big family and want to protect all the devices I’ll suggest you to go with Surfshark VPN. To get bigger discounts and deals check out the hidden deals page on the site which offers much lower prices than regular prices.

I’ll not suggest you commit with VPN in starting, but to consider trying SurfShark for 30 days risk-free, using its money-back guarantee program.

4. AtlasVPN: VPN at Lowest Price

AtlasVPN manages to compete with VPN giants, even though it is relatively new to the market. It is equipped with all the essential features in the lowest price range offering excellent value for money VPN.

AtlasVPN proves that the quality of the service matter’s more than quantity with its small 750+ servers network delivering lightning-fast VPN speeds for all of your needs.

It's server network manages to unblock many streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Max, etc. And supports WireGuard protocol for uninterrupted streaming.

While it uses solid military-grade AES 256-bit encryption and has rich security features like Multi blocker (Ad, Malware, Tracker) along with a kill switch feature to safeguard you all the time. Also, there are safe swap servers offering enhanced privacy.

Unlike other VPNs there are no dedicated servers for torrenting, you can torrent on all of its servers with unlimited bandwidth. And you can connect any number of devices with one single subscription, while the VPN has dedicated apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS.

AtlasVPN is available at discount price for only $1.64 per month on 3 years plan. To get bigger discounts and deals check out the hidden deals page on the site which offers much lower prices than regular prices. I’ll not suggest you commit with VPN in starting, but to consider trying AtlasVPN for 30 days risk-free, using its money-back guarantee program.

Yet, AtlasVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee program with excellent 24/7 customer support for any assistance.

For more information, check out our detailed AtlasVPN Review.

5. PIA: Solid VPN Choice

PIA made it up to the list by maintaining more than 2500+ servers alone in the US i.e there are many Texas Servers available that can actually unblock the streaming service and sites for you. With its server network, you can access international and enjoy buffer-free streaming.

While the VPN supports the latest VPN protocols coupled with AES-256 bit encryption and ships with advanced leak protection, so you are always safe. During my Netflix streaming, I was able to enjoy the content in Ultra HD without any loading.

Though it has WireGuard protocol, the speeds are not as incredible as a premium VPN. I come across VPN blocks on accessing some content. PIA is an open-source VPN with a no-log policy, but the only downside is that the VPN is based in the US.

PIA offers unlimited bandwidth supporting torrenting on every server. You can create profiles on this VPN with different settings(customization), while the interface is intuitive and beginner-friendly.

This VPN has apps for all the device platforms like iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. And you can enjoy the VPN connecting up to 10 devices simultaneously.

PIA VPN is available at discount price for only $2.03 per month on 3 years plan. To get bigger discounts and deals check out the hidden deals page on the site which offers much lower prices than regular prices. I’ll not suggest you commit with VPN in starting, but to consider trying PIA VPN for 30 days risk-free, using its money-back guarantee program.

PIA has 24/7 live customer support if you run into any issues. For more information, check out our detailed PIA VPN Review.

6. CyberGhost: Optimized Servers for Streaming and Torrenting

Cyberghost is always in our list of top recommended VPNs. It has optimized servers for streaming and torrenting with a good price value.

Cyberghost is based in Romania which is one of the European countries where the privacy of online users is best protected. Cyberghost VPN has a solid no-logs policy, and security is also guaranteed by support for the best OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP protocols and by military-grade 256-bit encryption. 

Cyberghost has dedicated servers for streaming. Which you can connect from tab on the right side with “for streaming”. I tried to test Cyberghost with Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, and other streaming services from different servers in the US, UK, India, and every time I was able to stream in Ultra HD and unblock content from other countries.

More I tried to test Cyberghost with Netflix in different regions in servers across USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands. I was able to unblock Netflix content from connected countries all the time and get connected in the first attempt.

Cyberghost has dedicated servers for torrenting (P2P file transfer), I tried to download torrents and was able to download 5 GB files in a few minutes, which was really impressive.

Cyberghost is available at discount price for only $2.75 per month on 3 years plan. To get bigger discounts and deals check out the hidden deals page on the site which offers much lower prices than regular prices. I’ll not suggest you commit with VPN in starting, but to consider trying Cyberghost for 45 days risk-free, using its money-back guarantee program.

I went further to test if the money-back guarantee really works or not and requested a refund after 5 weeks form 24/7 live chat support. Without any questions being asked, my refund get approved within a few minutes, and got full refunds within 5 days.

7. ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is a powerful VPN that focuses more on privacy, but not every plan offers the same features. We consider the Plus plan that falls in competition with other VPNs, one of the decent VPNs with 1700+ servers across 63 countries.

This VPN uses superior AES-256 encryption following a zero-log policy, based in Switzerland (privacy-friendly). Comes with a secure core for improved privacy (un-compromised servers), and even supports Tor browsing.

ProtonVPN is excellent streaming unblocked especially for Netflix and can unblock other services like Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, and others. Their VPN accelerator technology boos the VPN speed up to 400%, with No ISP throttling anymore.

While ProtonVPN claims up to 10Gbps speeds (not sure how that works) and completely conceals your data with Leak protection & Kill Switch. This VPN maintains dedicated P2P Servers indicated with an up/down arrow for torrenting. Also, it offers an ad-blocker and 10 simultaneous device connections.

AtlasVPN is available at discount price for only $1.83 per month on 3 years plan. To get bigger discounts and deals check out the hidden deals page on the site which offers much lower prices than regular prices. 

This VPN is compatible with almost all the primary device platforms and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee program if you want to try the service once.

For more information, check out our detailed ProtonVPN Review.

Quick VPN Comparision Table: Best VPNs of 2022

FAQs 

Is using VPN legal?

Yes, VPNs are legitimate tools, and their use is perfectly legal. However, some countries put restrictions, as China allows certain VPNs authorized by the Chinese government. In UAE it is not allowed to access content from any other country like UK, USA and in case you're caught then you will be fined. But most of the VPN users are using VPNs and doing so without any legal issue.

But still I'll say, accesing illegal things is still illegal even if you are using VPN so it is up to the user to choose whether to browse Internet with illegal practices or not.

I will suggest you to use a highly secure VPN with strict nologs policy.

Are VPNs secure?

In essence, yes, VPNs are secure. But the security level depends a lot on your VPN provider. Providers with a good reputation and transparency, like NordVPN , Surfshark will provide reliable and quality services, protecting online activities and browsing. On the other hand, VPNs that claim to be free, like HolaVPN, may pose some risks to your experience and selling your data to other companies.

Is a VPN slowing down my connection?

VPNs, especially paid ones, have high bandwidth, in general they do not do not slow down the connection. Most important factor for speed is location of the VPN servers to which you create connection, if VPN server nearby speed will be fast or slow down as distance increase. For this reason it is important to choose a provider, like Express, which has many servers in different locations and also geographically close to you and also allow to find the fastest server for you.

How effective is it to use a VPN?

All the Third party VPNs are not same, some like, NordVPN, Surfshark, guarantee a high level of encryption which is essential to have greater guarantees of anonymity and others a lower level of protection. It is important to know whether or not they keep logs of the connections we make. For these reasons it is necessary to do some researach before signing up for a subscription and avoid using a new VPN network without knowing if it has already been tested. You can always check the latest updates and information realted to VPN here.

Can i use a free VPN?

There are many free VPNs available. We can use them in the same way but most of the basic requirements are missing: they keep logs, some of them are found to resell users personal data and traffic data and often do not allow P2P and there are limits on bandwidth and usage. To use VPN for free, we recommend the trial period provided by the top VPN services many of them like NordVPN offers money back gurantee for 30 days and you can use it to get best vpn free VPN.

What devices can I use a VPN on?

Virtually on all devices you can use VPN. Major VPNs provide application for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android which make it really easy to connect with VPN and choose servers in different locations. It is also possible to use them on Android Smartbox , NAS, Amazon FireStick, Playstation 4 , Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and also on Smart TVs. Any device that has the ability to access the internet is potentially able to use VPN.

How do I know if I am using a VPN or not?

If you are using a VPN, our IP address will not be shown publicly and all the websites and online services you are visiting will see the IP address of VPN server that we are connected to.

Before activating a VPN tunnel you can check your real address (just by searching on google what is my ip) and after activating the tunnel check again and make sure that they do not match. And also you can check what is my location on google before and after connecting if you are connecting in a particular country or city and then match both.

Quick Summary: Here are the best VPNs