Best VPNs by Intended Usage

Best VPNs for Journalists

Best VPNs for Public Wifi

Best VPNs for Darknet

Best VPNs for Netflix

Best VPN for Skype

Best VPNs for BitTorrent

Torrenting

If you’re torrenting, you need to make sure your traffic is encrypted and that your IP address is hidden. If you don’t, it’s almost certain that you’re going to get a nasty warning letter from your ISP, or worse.

Even if that doesn’t happen, most ISPs throttle Bittorrent traffic, making downloads agonizingly slow.

We picked our top VPNs for torrenting based on:

• Their logging policy
• Their level of encryption
• The nations in which they have servers
• Their policies on P2P use

Don’t go torrenting unprotected. Use any of these five providers and you can download without having to worry about being monitored.

Large Data Transfers

Need a robust VPN that allows you to upload and download fast? Take a look at our top five VPNs for just that purpose.

These VPNs have large networks with very fast speeds. They’re ideal for users who need to be able to upload and download large amounts of data for business or personal use and who want to make sure they can do so on a secure connection.

Any one of these five providers will give you blazing speed, a reliable connection and servers all over the world to choose from.

No Logging VPN Providers

Whether it’s because you’re transferring sensitive business information or because you’re in a nation where being discovered using a VPN could carry harsh consequences, no-logging VPN services are sometimes the only real option.

The five providers featured here do not log your traffic. They have tight privacy policies and most of them are located in jurisdictions that are very good where data protection is concerned.

Some of them use shared IP addresses, as well, which makes it almost impossible to tell who was doing what at any given IP address, offering an additional layer of security.

Multiple Connections

While most VPN providers allow you to connect at least two devices simultaneously, some offer far more than that. Such services are ideal for business users and people who have many devices that they need to secure.

All of these providers offer several simultaneous connections, increasing the value of their service. Be aware that some of them will work out special arrangements with business customers on request, so don’t be afraid to ask their customer service.

Streaming Media

VPNs are excellent for accessing content that’s geo-restricted in your part of the world. Want US Netflix from Australia or the BBC iPlayer from Arizona? Check out any of these five providers.

Some of these providers offer a SmartDNS option, which is usually less expensive than a VPN. SmartDNS doesn’t encrypt your traffic, either, so it’s faster than a VPN and ideal when you don’t need security, just entertainment!

Gaming

Depending upon where you’re located, hooking up to a VPN might provide you with the fastest route to a game server, reducing your overall lag. The five providers listed below either offer servers exclusively for gaming or have such a large and fast server network that they’re ideal for the purpose.

Many providers have instructions specifically for consoles, so be sure to check to see if they have directions on hooking your device up to a fast VPN connection for gaming.

VoIP

Using a VPN for VoIP is a great way to turn an international call into a local one. You’ll need to make sure the provider you pick has servers in the nation you’re calling and that they have a fast network.

VPNs also encrypt your communications. Provided that both ends of the call are using a VPN, you can talk in peace without worrying about anyone listening in on your call.

Anonymous Payment

If you need to pay for a VPN anonymously, these providers make it easy to do.

Some of these providers take Bitcoin. Others take payment methods including prepaid gift and credit cards, which makes it easy to buy a VPN service without using your real name. This is sometimes the only safe way for people in certain nations to get a VPN. Take a look at our top picks among the VPNs that accept anonymous payment methods for better anonymity.