Best VPNs for Windows 2023

With apps for Android, iOS, macOS, Fire TV as well as Windows, NordVPN won’t just be useful on your laptop and PC.

But even if you only want it for Windows, NordVPN’s app is simple and intuitive to use. A world map makes it easy to connect to the server of the country or region of your choice.

There are many reasons to choose Nord, but the main one is that it’s one of the fastest VPN services around. It’s also audited, which means you can be sure it adheres to its no-logs policy and won’t keep track of how and when you use its service.

If you really care about privacy, there’s also Double VPN, a feature that routes your connection through two servers instead of one.

NordVPN is also excellent for unblocking popular and more obscure streaming services.

The only reason you might not opt ​​for NordVPN is the price: it’s a bit more expensive than some of the other services here. However, we think the two-year subscription is good value, and you just have to be aware that it’s worse value if you let the subscription renew, which you can avoid.

Surfshark is cheaper than NordVPN and for that reason alone might persuade you to choose it instead.

Speeds are almost on par with NordVPN (we saw between 500 and 730 Mbps when testing a variety of different servers) and there’s plenty to choose from.

Surfshark successfully unblocks streaming services including Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and BBC iPlayer.

And unlike NordVPN, Surfshark doesn’t limit the number of devices you can connect at once. Besides Windows, there are apps for macOS, iOS, Android, Fire TV, and others.

A nice feature – if you care about privacy – is “MultiHop” which manages your connection through two servers. But here you can choose which servers it is: most VPNs have a small set of predefined routes which may not be in the countries you want.

Like NordVPN, Surfshark offers live chat support, which means you can help almost instantly if you run into a problem.

Even better, the company has now audited its no-logs policy. It showed that it’s not just words on a webpage: it doesn’t record your activity.

See Surfshark subscription plans.

CyberGhost is a well-known VPN that has been around for years. He is based in Romania, which has favorable privacy laws. And recently, it underwent an audit to prove that it does not log user data.

There are thousands of servers in 90 countries to choose from, as well as NoSpy servers, all in Romania, which provide extra privacy.

These servers offer fast internet connections, so even if you have fast home broadband, CyberGhost won’t slow it down when you’re downloading files, streaming in 4K, and gaming.

Speaking of streaming, CyberGhost’s Windows app has a “For streaming” section: just choose the country you want and it will choose the best server to use so you can watch Netflix, Disney Plus, BBC iPlayer And much more.

Even better, CyberGhost is very affordable when you sign up for a few years. Just beware that, as with Nord and Surfshark, renewal prices rise sharply thereafter.

Private Internet Access ticks many boxes. It has a large server network, unblocks a variety of streaming services, and has good privacy credentials, including an audited no-logs policy.

The only issues, and the reason PIA (as its users affectionately call it) don’t rank higher on this list, are that the speeds aren’t the best and they’re based in the US.

The location isn’t ideal as the US is far from privacy-friendly, although the audit certainly brings a lot of comfort.

In our last PIA test, some servers offered high speeds, such as 660 Mbps from the local Silicon Valley server. But switching to London reduced that speed to just 80Mbps, and we got a measly 25Mbps when we connected to the server in Japan. These use WireGuard, and we know our rivals do much better with the same protocol.

If you pay extra, there is also the option of a dedicated IP address.

The highlight, however, is that PureVPN has servers in 141 countries, which is more than its rivals. Sure, some are virtual locations (and not physically present in those countries) but they behave as if they are, which is really all you need.

Also, if you sign up for two years, PIA is one of the cheapest options here and lets you connect 10 devices at the same time.

ExpressVPN, as you can tell by the price, is more expensive than its rivals. That’s because it positions itself as the premium choice and doesn’t do crazy discounts for multi-year subscriptions.

This means that you don’t have a shock when renewing your subscription: it’s just always expensive.

There are reasons to choose ExpressVPN, of course. The first is if you really care about privacy. It uses what it calls TrustedServer technology which guarantees the protection of your data (and your identity). It is based in the British Virgin Islands with favorable privacy laws and has many third-party audits for its no-logging policy as well as the security of its apps.

It’s one of the fastest VPNs, using its own proprietary encryption protocol, and offers 24/7 live chat customer support for when you have a problem.

The team behind ExpressVPN constantly monitors over 200 streaming services and tries to make sure they unblock them all, all the time. It also includes MediaStreamer, a DNS-based unblocking option you can use if the VPN fails to unblock what you want to watch.

Although you won’t find any 80% off deals, you can get a 12-month plan for $99.95/£85.47 ($8.33/£7.12 per month) with three months free in addition, you will therefore not have to renew for 15 months.