Best Mobile VPN of 2023

• Latest tests: No leaks detected, 18% speed loss in 2023 tests
• Network: 3,000-plus servers in 160 locations across 94 countries
• Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands
• Price: $13 a month, $60 for six months or $100 for a year (current discount: three months free).

ExpressVPN is the best mobile VPN, in addition to currently holding the distinction of being CNET’s Editors’ Choice for the best overall VPN. It’s the VPN for you if you want the best in privacy and streaming and you don’t mind paying a premium for it. 

The provider’s mobile app is easy to use on both iOS and Android devices and it has the same simple, decluttered interface as its desktop app. The Android app offers additional information on the primary connection screen including Time Protected and IP Location. In the iOS app, you can find your IP location information by using the IP Address Checker tool in the Privacy & Security Tools section from the Options menu. Built-in DNS and WebRTC leak tests are available in both apps as additional VPN privacy tools. 

The Android app also includes a Security Assistant section, which acts as a checklist of steps to take to protect your device and guard your privacy. The Protect Your Device section includes steps like setting a screen lock, turning on Google Play Protect, keeping your Android version up to date, turning on Find My Device and turning off app installs from unknown sources. The Guard Your Privacy section lists steps including turning off ad personalizations, turning off NFC when you’re not using it, turning off Bluetooth when you’re not using it and turning off your Google activity. It’s helpful to have a checklist like this on hand, especially for anyone who’s newer to VPNs or digital privacy.

ExpressVPN offers an impressive network of servers covering 94 countries around the globe, helping ensure you have a fast, stable connection from anywhere in the world. Its streaming capabilities are equally impressive, as I was able to stream content from Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video without any issues. As far as privacy, ExpressVPN sits at the top and is the VPN I’d most recommend for privacy-critical use cases. Its Trusted Server technology helps add a layer of privacy by reinstalling the most up-to-date software on each server after it’s rebooted and the data is wiped. Traffic is encrypted via industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption by default, and via ChaCha20/Poly1305 as a fallback in some cases on mobile devices.

Though ExpressVPN is a bit on the pricier side, at $100 per year or $13 a month, it’s worth every penny for anyone who has heightened online privacy needs. The company is slowly rolling out its own password manager, Keys (currently in beta), which will soon be available to all ExpressVPN users at no extra charge, adding to the value of an already stellar VPN.

• Latest tests: No leaks detected, 40% speed loss in 2023 tests
• Network: 3,200-plus servers in 100 countries
• Jurisdiction: Netherlands
• Price: $48 for the first year (then $60 annually) or $13 a month. Two-year plans are $60 for the first two years combined (then $60 annually)

Surfshark is another excellent mobile VPN, and CNET’s current Editors’ Choice for the best value VPN. It packs a ton of features, is great for streaming and is the perfect choice if you’re on a budget but still want the premium VPN experience. I just wish its speeds were more consistent.

Surfshark’s mobile app, like ExpressVPN’s, is decluttered and simple to use. But it sometimes struggles to connect on the first attempt, which can be frustrating. Otherwise, it’s a slick app with a lot of cool features at your fingertips. You can quickly bring up your connection status by tapping on the small arrow towards the bottom of the screen. If you’re not connected, you’ll see your true IP address and actual location. Once connected, you’ll see your connection time and VPN IP address and location. You also have the option to either disconnect from the VPN server or pause your VPN connection for 5 minutes, 30 minutes or 2 hours. The Pause feature is useful for instances where you want to temporarily step off the VPN but not risk forgetting to turn the VPN back on.

I like how easy it is to create custom multi-hop connections with any two server combinations. Just pick any two servers to connect through from Surfshark’s network of over 3,000 servers in 100 countries. The first server location you choose will be your entry point and the second will be your exit point and the IP address/location that websites and services will register. A multi-hop VPN connection can help you add an extra layer of privacy to your connection by routing your traffic through two separate locations and encrypting it twice. Once you create a custom multi-hop combination, the Surfshark app saves it for future use. Just keep in mind that while this will boost your privacy, your connection speeds will take a bigger hit than with a regular VPN connection because your traffic is encrypted twice and needs to travel to an additional location. Other VPNs, like NordVPN, also offer multi-hop connections, but not nearly at the scale and customizability that Surfshark does.

Additional features include a kill switch, auto-connect, protocol selection and ad- and tracker-blocking technology. You can also choose to automatically rotate your IP address without disconnecting you from the VPN with Surfshark’s Rotating IP feature. This helps mitigate risks of having your activity tracked online.

Though Surfshark’s speeds through the WireGuard protocol are exceptional, I found the VPN’s speeds through OpenVPN to be disappointingly unreliable. The WireGuard protocol is, by all accounts, highly secure, but it’s not nearly as battle-tested in the wild as OpenVPN. So if you’re in need of a reliably fast connection paired with critical privacy protections, I’d recommend going with ExpressVPN. But if speed is your top priority over which VPN protocol you use, then Surfshark is more than capable of getting the job done via WireGuard.

And if you’re into streaming content online while on the go, Surfshark is an excellent choice. It’s great for streaming Netflix content from multiple Netlfix libraries around the world. I was able to easily stream content from Max, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus as well.

Surfshark is a budget-friendly choice that’s priced at $48 for the first year of service, then $60 per year for any subsequent years of service. That’s significantly cheaper than ExpressVPN, though the monthly price without any discounts or introductory offers is the same at $13 a month. And, like other top VPNs, Sufrshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee trial period.

• Latest tests: No leaks detected, 10% speed loss in 2023 tests
• Network: 5,600-plus servers in 84 locations across 59 countries
• Jurisdiction: Panama
• Price: $79 for the first two years or $60 for the first year (then $100 per year afterwards) or $12 a month

NordVPN is a highly popular and well-established VPN provider based in the privacy-friendly jurisdiction of Panama. If you’re looking for a mobile VPN that’s fast and reliable, then NordVPN could be a good fit for you. Android VPN users could also benefit from a few extras tucked away in NordVPN’s Android app. 

NordVPN is currently the fastest VPN based on my latest tests earlier this year, shaving just 10% off of my base internet speeds. Not only is it fast, I found NordVPN’s speeds to be the most consistently reliable across devices, locations and protocols. This means that you should be able to count on NordVPN to deliver a reliable connection regardless of where or how you choose to connect. 

In terms of features, NordVPN’s iOS app is somewhat sparse compared to what the competition offers, with relatively few settings options including protocol selection, auto-connect and appearance. You can also turn on multi-factor authentication and Threat Protection from your profile as well as access your VPN connection statistics from the stats menu. Your profile also includes a “Security score” which is sort of like a watered-down version of the privacy checklist that ExpressVPN offers on its Android app. NordVPN’s iOS app also lets you record your own custom Siri shortcuts to connect and disconnect from the VPN hands-free, which can be useful in certain situations. 

Both mobile apps offer easy access to NordVPN’s Meshnet feature as well as its specialty servers that include servers optimized for P2P, Onion Over VPN servers and Double VPN servers. But unlike with Surfshark, you’ll only be able to connect to NordVPN’s preset double VPN combinations. It still offers the same privacy benefits, but you don’t get the same level of customization with NordVPN. 

NordVPN’s Android app offers a few additional features, including split tunneling, custom DNS, kill switch and tapjacking protection, which “warns you if a malicious app adds a screen overlay to trick you into unintended action.”

NordVPN is slightly more budget-friendly than ExpressVPN, but only for the initial term of your subscription. For the first year, you’ll pay $60, but for any following years, you’ll pay the same $100 a year as you would with ExpressVPN. Nord’s monthly plan offers no discount and is priced the same as Express at $13 a month. 

• Latest tests: No leaks detected, 26% speed loss in 2023 tests
• Network: 2,000-plus servers in 75-plus locations across 52 countries
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Price: $12 a month or $54 for the first year (then $90 annually) 

If you’re new to VPNs, just want an easy-to-use app and don’t care about all the extra bells and whistles, IPVanish is a solid choice. You’ll get a capable VPN that’s slightly easier on the pocketbook than ExpressVPN and NordVPN, and customer support is easily accessible directly through the app whenever you need help.

IPVanish is fast enough for most anything you’d want to do on your mobile device, including streaming and video calls. But while IPVanish’s Quick Connect feature is by far the easiest way to connect to a server in the app, in my experience it doesn’t always seem to connect to the fastest possible server. So if you’re looking to achieve the fastest possible speeds through the app, you can navigate to the Locations section and tap on a specific city to access a list of individual servers with the current server load displayed beside them. If you choose a server with a lighter load, you can generally expect to achieve faster speeds. Though if you’re just looking to get up and running quickly with one tap, then your speeds should be just fine for most anything when using the Quick Connect feature. But overloaded servers can potentially slow your speeds down enough to negatively affect activities like streaming and video calling. 

Like with the NordVPN iOS app, you can set custom Siri shortcuts to connect and disconnect from the VPN. Other than that and a protocol selection feature, the only other notable feature in IPVanish’s iOS app is Connect on Demand, where you can set IPVanish to connect automatically on cellular and untrusted Wi-Fi networks. You can also set IPVanish to connect automatically when you visit certain domains. IPVanish’s Connect on Demand is a great feature if you want to ensure you’re staying sufficiently protected at all times, especially if you’re on the go or in an unfamiliar environment. 

IPVanish’s Android app doesn’t include a Connect on Demand feature, but does have some features missing from the iOS app, including split tunneling and a kill switch. The lack of a kill switch in the iOS app could be a dealbreaker for Apple users who require enhanced privacy because of the risk of leaking unencrypted internet traffic if the VPN drops for any reason.    

IPVanish offers two-year, annual and monthly subscription plans. The two-year plan costs $80 total for the first two years, but renews annually at $90 a year after the initial two-year term. However, I don’t recommend signing on with any provider for more than a year at a time given how rapidly the VPN market can turn. The annual plan costs $54 for the first year, then renews annually at $90. The monthly plan doesn’t include any discounts or introductory offers and is priced at $12 a month. A 30-day money-back guarantee is available, but only on the two-year and annual plans.