Best VPN: Comparison of the 10 Fastest

Comparison of the Top 3 VPNs

7 Most Popular VPNs

What Is a VPN and How Does It Work?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. VPNs were originally used mainly by businesses. The VPN enabled secure connections to the corporate network, allowing employees to work from home, from branch offices or from hotels on business trips. Today, even homes use VPNs to protect their security and privacy online.

The difference between home and business VPN services is the VPN technology used. VPNs with remote access to the provider’s private VPN network are used for households. For companies, these are more complex intranet or extranet site-to-site solutions, where dedicated VPN servers or dedicated IP addresses are used for companies.

After registering with the VPN connection provider, you need to install a VPN application to log in to the Internet. The website is not visited directly from your device, but is instead routed through a VPN server. What does this mean in terms of protection?

• Hiding the IP address of your device.
• The sites you visit only see (or store) the IP address of the VPN server.
• Encrypted data transfer from your device to the internet and back to your device.

This combination gives you more privacy on the internet. Here are some practical situations where you can use a VPN.

What Is a VPN Used For?

Anonymization (Hiding) of IP Addresses

An IP address is a unique number in a specific format. Each device connected to the internet is assigned an IP address by the internet provider. The IP address can be used to identify the geographical area from which the device is connected to the Internet and the Internet provider. IP address data is publicly available in various Whois databases.

Many websites also store IP addresses in the site visit log. When using a VPN connection, the VPN server’s IP is stored, not your IP. Your internet connection is therefore anonymous, thanks to the fact that most paid VPN services don’t keep records of IP addresses and don’t share them with third parties.

Access to Blocked and Censored Content

Some web services are linked to geographic location. You must have the correct IP address to access this content. For example, Google and Facebook are known to be blocked in China, but with a VPN connection, it can be circumvented. This also applies to online broadcasts and archives of various TV stations.

Would you like to see the World Cup on a foreign holiday? It’s not possible: Czech TV will only make such content available to you in the Czech Republic. Would you like to see the latest episodes of Doctor Who on the BBC? The BBC limits its broadcasts to the UK. If you have a VPN and switch your location, the content will be available to you.

Security on Public WiFi Networks

For example, if you connect your device to unprotected public Wi-Fi in a hotel, log into online banking, an e-shop, etc., a clever hacker connected to the same network can capture and misuse your login credentials. When using a VPN connection, the data transmitted from the device to the VPN server is encrypted and then sent to the website. They are safer from theft and misuse by hackers. They’d have to break the encryption.

What to Look Out For When Choosing a VPN?

Have you opted for more security and privacy on the internet with a VPN connection? What should I look for when choosing a VPN service provider?

VPN Ranking by WebsiteRadar

To convince you, our readers, that our rating is not pulled out of thin air and is based on our real tests, we have compiled a “best of VPN” ranking according to WebsiteRadar. There are countless services in the world, but we truly stand by these and recommend them to you with confidence.

Rank	VPN	Rating	Summary	Review
1.	Private Internet Access	⭐ 99 %	Fast, cheap, easy to use, very reliable with strong infrastructure.	Read review	Try
2.	NordVPN	⭐98 %	Fast, with many security features.	Read review	Try
3.	Surfshark	⭐97 %	Top of the industry. Costs more compared to others.	Read review	Try
4.	ExpressVPN	⭐95 %	Ideal for watching videos from different countries.	Read review	Try
5.	PureVPN	⭐95 %	Excellent speed test results, even on distant servers.	Read review	Try
6.	Proton VPN	⭐95 %	Top-notch privacy protection. Subject to Swiss privacy laws.	Read review	Try
7.	CyberGhost VPN	⭐95 %	User-friendly, great for beginners.	Read review	Try
8.	Ivacy VPN	⭐94 %	Good for unblocking content like Netflix and other services.	Read review	Try
9.	IPVanish	⭐93 %	Rated as one of the best gaming VPNs with stable fast latency in many independent tests.	Read review	Try
10.	PrivadoVPN	⭐92 %	Focused on privacy, performs well.	Read review	Try
11.	Fastest VPN	⭐89 %	As the name suggests, focuses on speed, but some servers frequently experience outages.	Read review	Try
12.	ZoogVPN	⭐89 %	Offers robust encryption and no-log policy.	Read review	Try
13.	PrivateVPN	⭐89 %	Solid choice for accessing foreign streaming services.	In preparation	Try
14.	VyprVPN	⭐87 %	Good for privacy protection, owns its server network.	In preparation	Try
15.	OysterVPN	⭐87 %	Newcomer with ambitions in security.	In preparation	Try
16.	iTop VPN	⭐87 %	Focused on fast and secure browsing.	In preparation	Try
17.	Turbo VPN	⭐87 %	Simple, effective for mobile users.	In preparation	Try
18.	Hide.me	⭐85 %	Focus on online identity protection.	In preparation	Try
19.	VeePN	⭐82 %	Strong emphasis on privacy and security, strict no-logs policy.	In preparation	Try
20.	Symlex VPN	⭐80 %	Simple, effective for mobile users.	Read review	Try
21.	iProVPN	⭐80 %	Newcomer with ambitions in security.	In preparation	Try

VPN Reviews

Private Internet Access

Advantages and Disadvantages

NordVPN

Advantages and Disadvantages

Surfshark

Advantages and Disadvantages

ExpressVPN

Advantages and Disadvantages

PureVPN

Advantages and Disadvantages

Proton VPN

Advantages and Disadvantages

CyberGhost VPN

Advantages and Disadvantages

VPN FAQ

Summary and Conclusion

In our article, we compared six VPN providers. All services offered the same level of encryption and the same transfer protocols, No Log Policy, VPN outage protection and DNS leak protection.

All providers guarantee money back, within 30-45 days, or free use of the service up to a certain amount of data transferred. This encourages you to try the service and ask for a refund if you are dissatisfied, e.g. with the speed.

The VPN app has been customized for different types of devices and operating systems across all providers. Not every provider has automated configuration for all device types and operating systems. Apart from price, this can also be a decisive criterion for you. You can find tutorials or advice in the form of FAQs and if you’re not the technical type, customer support is also available.

What differentiates the services is the number of devices that the VPN connection simultaneously covers. The number of servers, their location in the world and the total number of users of the service, from which the load of the VPN servers and therefore the speed of the VPN connection can be derived. All providers guarantee that normal browsing, file downloading and streaming is possible. However, be aware that a VPN connection is always a bit slower than your regular internet connection.

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