Best VPN for Mac of 2024

Best VPN for Mac of 2024

Written by: VPNRatings.com Editorial TeamUpdated: Apr 11, 2022
 
In order to help you find the Best VPN for your Mac, we spent more than 40 hours analyzing every VPN on the market, graded each one on over 20 different features, and put together this list to help you narrow down your options and choose the Best VPN for Mac or Macbook.

Our Selection Criteria

Not all VPNs are created equal. We analyzed every single VPN service on the market rated them based on 24 different variables across 4 categories to pick the best VPN services.

  • shape-1 76
    VPNs Reviewed
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    VPNs
    Curated
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    Top Picks
  • 1. Reputation

    Great user reviews, testimonials, and recognition from other reputable outlets.

  • 2. Security

    Uses the highest available level of encryption and the most up-to-date-security features.

  • 3. Server Coverage and Speed

    Vast networks of servers in multiple countries and the fastest connections.

  • 4. Logging Policy

    Commitment to not collect your data to sell to advertisers or share with law enforcement.

Best VPN for Mac

CyberGhost

CyberGhost has 6,200 servers in 90 countries. With both a 1-day free trial and a 45-day money back guarantee, you can try out their services on up to 7 simultaneous devices. In addition to supporting macOS, you can install the CyberGhost VPN app on Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and more.

The company is based in Romania, and have been releasing transparency reports since they were founded in 2011. These reports list all of CyberGhost’s police requests, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaints, and malware activity flags. Reports like these are a great sign that a company has the best interests of its users in mind.

Where security is concerned, CyberGhost has got your back too. All traffic is encrypted using an AES-256 cipher, via any of several available VPN protocols. A strict no-logging policy will ensure that CyberGhost can’t hand over your data to authorities, either.

Read our full CyberGhost review.

Features
PriceOne-month plan: $12.99
3-year plan: $2.75/month
2-year plan: $3.69/month
1-year plan: $5.99/month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)6,100+ fast servers in 60+ countries
Number of Devices7
Compatible withChrome, Firefox
More Features—Free Trial: 1 day
—Customer Support: 24/7 Live Chat
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, the BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney, Showtime etc.
—Encryption: 256-bit AES

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN doesn’t offer a free trial, but it does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, which is almost as good. The company is based in the British Virgin Islands, which has pretty comprehensive privacy laws in place to protect customers.

Two of ExpressVPN’s extra features are a Network Lock and Split Tunneling. Network Lock makes sure all your traffic is encrypted by stopping traffic leaving your device if your VPN disconnects. Split Tunneling lets you specify which apps use your VPN, and which connect directly to the internet. When you combine these features with a strict no-logging policy and 256-bit AES encryption, ExpressVPN has you in safe hands.

ExpressVPN has over 3,000 servers in 64 countries, so you can choose either a nearby connection, or one halfway around the world. Try it out on your Mac to see how you like it, and if that works well, you can install it on your smartphone and other devices too.

Read our full ExpressVPN review.

Features
PriceOne-month plan: $12.95
Six-month plan: $9.99
15-month plan: $6.67
Servers (#) in Countries (#)160 VPN server locations in 94 countries
Number of Devices5
Compatible withChrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, and Vivaldi browsers
More Features—Customer Support: 24/7 Live Chat
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, the BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney, Showtime etc.
—Encryption: 256-bit AES

Golden Frog VyperVPN

VyprVPN offers plans for as little as $2.50/month if you sign up for 2 years up front. For this price, you get access to a range of streaming services and can use the VPN on an unlimited number of devices.

This company has over 700 servers in more than 70 locations around the world, and 24/7 live chat with customer service if you need help setting up. All data is encrypted with AES-256, and their no-log policy has been independently audited.

In addition, VyprVPN offers a proprietary Chameleon™ feature that can help you avoid Deep Packet Inspection implemented by your ISP. This means they won’t be able to tell that you’re using a VPN at all. Other features include automatic public WiFi protection and a Kill Switch to block all traffic when your connection is lost.

Features
Price1 month: $12.95
1 year: $3.75/month
2 years: $2.50/month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)700+ VPN servers in 64 countries
Number of Devices5
Compatible withChrome
More Features—Free Trial: 30 days
—Customer Support: 24/7 Live Chat
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, the BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney, Showtime etc.
—Encryption: 256-bit AES

HideMyAss!

HideMyAss! has over 1,100 servers in more than 290 locations across 190+ countries, one of the most comprehensive networks on our list. They offer both a 7-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try out their service with no risk. If you decide to stick around, you can sign up for either 12, 24, or 36 months, and pay with a variety of payment methods, including Google Pay and Apple Pay.

The HideMyAss! website has a collection of tutorials you can watch to learn the latest security practices. Even if you don’t do this, the default VPN settings will do a great job, including a no-logging policy, kill switch, and IP Shuffle, which “randomizes your IP addresses anywhere from every 10 minutes to once a day —you choose.”

You can connect up to 5 simultaneous devices, including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices, as well as smart TVs and routers.

Features
Price12 or 24 months $4.99/month
36 months $2.99/month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)1,100+ servers in 190+ countries
Number of Devices5
Compatible withChrome, Firefox
More Features—Free Trial: 7 days
—Customer Support: 24/7 Live Chat
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Kodi
—Encryption: AES 256-bit

Hotspot Shield

Hotspot Shield has a pretty good deal if you’re looking for additional security services in addition to a VPN. For $7.99/month, you get access to their flagship VPN service, along with a few related services: 1Password for managing your passwords, Robo Shield for blocking spam calls, and Identity Guard to help protect you from identity theft.

If you don’t want to commit to a plan up-front, you can try their free tier, or make use of their 45-day money-back guarantee.

With Hotspot Shield, you’ll have access to 3,200 servers in over 80 countries. You can also use up to 5 simultaneous devices, with support for all major desktop and mobile operating systems, including macOS.

One of their unique features is their “no-compromise” Catapult Hydra protocol, which is “verified by experts as the #1 for speed, security, and ease of use.”

Read our full Hotspot Shield review.

Features
PriceFree for Basic
$7.99/month for Premium
Servers (#) in Countries (#)3,200+ servers in 70+ countries
Number of Devices5
Compatible withChrome, Firefox
More Features—Free Trial: Not provided
—Customer Support: Email
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, the BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney, Showtime etc.
—Encryption: Not provided

ibVPN

In addition to a regular VPN, ibVPN (short for Invisible browsing VPN) offers SmartDNS, which helps you access 300+ TV & radio channels, and ShadowSocks, which is a proxy server for people who can’t run a full VPN for whatever reason.

With ibVPN’s VPN service, you can connect with OpenVPN, SSTP, L2TP, etc., with up to 5 simultaneous devices, and a guarantee of “100% NO logs.” They offer nearly 200 servers in over 50 countries, and some of these servers are optimized for DoubleVPN, TORoverVPN, and P2P traffic, so you should be set whatever you use a VPN for.

Security-wise, VPN traffic is encrypted with 256-bit AES, and there are clients available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Google Chrome, and Opera.

Features
PriceStandard VPN for $0.10/day
Ultimate VPN for $0.16/day
Torrent VPN for $0.10/day
IBDNS SMART DNS for $0.10/day
Servers (#) in Countries (#)180+ servers in 50+ countries
Number of Devices5
Compatible withChrome, Firefox, and Opera
More Features—Free Trial: 24 hours
—Customer Support: 24/7 Live Chat
—Streaming Services: HBO Now, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu
—Encryption: 256-bit AES

IPVanish

With over 1,500 servers in 75 countries, IPVanish offers a wide range of coverage for unlimited devices, with plans as low as $6.49/month.

You can choose from several available VPN protocols, including L2TP/IPSec, IKEv2, and OpenVPN. If you just want to use a VPN for web browsing or torrents, you could make use of their SOCKS5 proxy instead.

IPVanish has a 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 support to ensure that you’re not locked into a service that you’re not satisfied with. Their 256-bit AES encryption and no-logging policy will keep your data secure. To sweeten the deal, they offer 250 GB of encrypted storage and backup provided by SugarSync®.

Read our full IPVanish review.

Features
PriceOne-month plan: $10.00
3-month plan: $8.99/month
1-year plan: $6.49/month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)1,500+ servers in 75 countries
Number of DevicesUnlimited devices
Compatible withChrome
More Features—Free Trial: 30 days for iOS only
—Customer Support: Live Chat, Email, and phone
—Streaming Services: YouTube, Netflix, Hulu
—Encryption: 256-bit AES

Mullvad

Mullvad has a novel approach to privacy that’s different from any of the other VPNs on our list. When you sign up with them, they generate a 12-digit account number, and you just reference that number when you send them payment via credit card, PayPal, bank wire, Swish, Bitcoin, cash, or voucher —no name or email address required.

Mullvad charges a flat rate of €5/month, and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. After you’ve paid for your plan, you can download their open source app (available for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android), or generate an OpenVPN or WireGuard® configuration, which can be used on all of the above platforms as well as on routers. Then, you can connect to one of their 720 servers in 36 different countries.

While Mullvad has servers in fewer countries than many VPNs, they provide real-time server status updates that you can view at any time. Also, their privacy practices really are unique: when you get your 12-digit account number, that’s the only way they can identify you, making this a good choice for those who want to remain anonymous.

Features
Price€5/ month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)720 server locations across 36 countries
Number of Devices5
Compatible withSafari, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Opera
More Features—Free Trial: no free trial
—Customer Support: Email
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, the BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney, Showtime etc.
—Encryption: AES-256-CBC

NordVPN

NordVPN has been featured in Wired, The Huffington Post, Forbes, and more, making them a well-known name in major news outlets. Despite the name, they aren’t actually based in any of the Nordic countries, but are registered in Panama —a country which doesn’t have mandatory data retention laws. In addition to a no-log policy, they also encrypt your data with AES-256.

Their 3-year deal promises 70% off their monthly subscription rates, meaning you can subscribe for as little as $3.49/month. NordVPN doesn’t have a free trial, but does have a 30-day money-back guarantee if you aren’t satisfied. If you have any issues, you can reach out to their team via live chat for 24/7 support.

With NordVPN, you can use up to 6 devices at once. They also offer apps in Spanish, German, and Chinese, so you can use them in a language other than English.

Read our full NordVPN review.

Features
PriceOne month: $11.95
6 months: $9.00/month
1 year: $4.08/month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)5,100+ servers in 59 countries
Number of Devices6
Compatible withChrome, Firefox
More Features—30-day money-back guarantee
—Customer Support: 24/7 Live Chat
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney+, Showtime
—Encryption: AES-256-GCM

Private Internet Access

PrivateVPN is unique because in addition to accepting payment via PayPal, Bitcoin, and credit card, they also accept gift cards from major retailers such as Best Buy, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Starbucks, Target, and Walmart. If you sign up for 2 years, you can pay as little as $5.42 per month. They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you try them out and decide that they’re not the right VPN service for you.

With this VPN, you can connect up to 10 devices at once, and use any of their 2,715+ servers across 47 countries. They provide AES-256 encryption, a no-log policy, and multiple VPN protocols to choose from to help to keep your data secure.

Read our full Private Internet Access review.

Features
Price1 month: $9.95 1 year: $3.33/month 2 years: $2.69/month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)3,341 VPN and Proxy servers in 52 locations across 32 countries
Number of Devices10
Compatible withChrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari
More Features—30-day money-back guarantee
—Customer Support: Email
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, the BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney, Showtime
—Encryption: 256-bit AES

PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN promises that you can be up and running in less than 60 seconds using their 1-click set-up, even if you’ve never used a VPN before. They also offer remote assistance to help you out if you get stuck.

PrivateVPN keeps you secure with 256-bit AES encryption and a kill switch to make sure that your traffic is only sent when the VPN is running. You can connect up to 6 devices at once, and access a range of streaming services and torrents.

They don’t offer a free trial, but you can sign up for as little as $3.82 per month, and make use of their 30-day money-back guarantee if it isn’t a good fit.

Features
Price1 month: $8.10
3 months: $5.03/month
13 months: $3.82/month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)150+ servers in 60 different countries
Number of Devices6
Compatible withChrome, Firefox
More Features—30-day money-back guarantee
—Customer Support: 24/7 Live Chat
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney+, Showtime
—Encryption: 128 bit CBC

ProtonVPN

If you’re familiar with ProtonMail, then you have a good idea of the security you can expect from ProtonVPN. This Swiss-based company offers a comprehensive VPN service with secure VPN protocols and a no-logs policy, making them a top choice among journalists and activists.

ProtonVPN has a free plan with limited features, and offers a 7-day free trial of their more robust premium service. This plan lets you connect up to 10 devices at once, allowing you to access streaming services on any of your Mac devices.

ProtonVPN offers 1,011 servers in 51 countries, so you’ll have plenty of options to access geo-blocked content no matter where you are.

Read our full ProtonVPN review.

Features
PriceFree version available
Basic: $4/month
Plus: $8/month
Visionary: $24/month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)1,000+ servers in 50+ countries
Number of Devices:Free: 1
Basic: 2
Plus: 5
Visionary: 10
Compatible withFirefox, Chrome, Safari, Edge, Opera
More Features—Free Trial: 7 days
—Customer Support: Email, Ticket
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney+, Showtime
—Encryption: 256-bit AES

PureVPN

PureVPN is based in Hong Kong, but has decomissioned its Hong Kong servers and is currently re-evaluating its jurisdiction. Since they have 2,000+ servers in 140+ countries, this shouldn’t be an issue for most users.

They don’t offer a free trial, but they get pretty close with a 7-day trial for $0.99. As well as accepting payments from Visa, PayPal, and American Express, they offer enterprise options for businesses.

Their apps support macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android devices, and you can connect up to 10 devices at once. Security-wise, they offer a kill switch feature and they protect all of your traffic with 256-bit AES encryption.

Read our full PureVPN review.

Features
Price1 month: $10.95
6 months: $8.33/month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)2,000+ VPN Servers in 140+ countries
Number of Devices5
Compatible withChrome, Firefox
More Features—Free Trial: 7-days trial
—Customer Support: 24/7 Live Chat
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney+, Showtime
—Encryption: 256-bit AES

SaferVPN

SaferVPN offers plans for 1 month, 1 year, and 3 years, with prices ranging from $2.50 to $12.50 per month. You can give their 1-day free trial a shot to test drive their service, and live-chat with customer support if you have any questions.

Customers can connect up to 5 simultaneous devices, all encrypted with 256-bit AES. SaferVPN has a zero traffic logs policy.

In addition to a kill switch to ensure that you only send traffic when the VPN is on, they have an unsecured WiFi detection feature. This feature detects when you connect to an insecure WiFi hotspot or public WiFi network and automatically connects you to one of their 1,300 servers around the world via their VPN.

Features
Price1 year: $5.49 /month
2 years: $3.29 /month
3 years: $2.50 /month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)1,300 servers in 50 different countries
Number of Devices5
Compatible withChrome, Firefox
More Features—Free Trial: 30 days
—Customer Support: 24/7 Live Chat
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video
—Encryption: 256-bit AES

Surfshark

Surfshark offers a 2-year subscription for as little as $1.99 per month, making them one of the most affordable VPNs on our list. If you’d like to try them out, they offer a 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, with 24/7 email and chat support.

They’re based in the British Virgin Islands, which has strong privacy laws to protect customers. You can connect unlimited simultaneous devices, all via 256-bit AES.

Surfshark’s most unique features include Camouflage Mode and Multi-Hop. Camouflage Mode makes it harder for your ISP to detect that you’re running a VPN, while Multi-Hop lets you tunnel through servers in multiple countries at once for extra protection. With over 1,700 servers in 63 countries, you’ll have plenty to choose from.

Read our full Surfshark review.

Features
Price1 month: $11.95.00
12 months: $5.99/month 24 month: $1.99/month
Servers (#) in Countries (#)1,700 servers in 63+ countries
Number of DevicesUnlimited devices
Compatible withChrome, Firefox
More Features—Free Trial: 30 days
—Customer Support: Email
—Streaming Services: Netflix, Hulu, BBC, Youtube, Prime Video, Kodi, HBO, Disney+, Showtime
—Encryption: 256-bit AES

How We Chose the Best VPN for Mac

We focused on four different factors that set the best VPNs apart from the rest: security, server coverage, a free trial offer, and a no-logging policy. You can decide for yourself which of these factors is the most important to you, but you can be confident that all of the VPNs on our list meet our criteria in each of these four areas.

For this list, we didn’t consider price, but you’ll find options at a range of price points depending on the plan you sign up for.

Security

The main purpose of a VPN is to offer you privacy and security while you’re browsing the internet. That means we’ve only chosen VPNs that meet widely-accepted security standards and privacy practices. In technical terms, today’s most secure VPNs offer 256-bit AES ciphers with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 hashing and key generation to prevent outsiders from snooping on your data.

In addition, all the options we’ve listed below include kill switches to block unsecured internet access in the event your VPN gets briefly disconnected.

Server Coverage

VPN companies have servers in multiple countries all over the world, which means you can appear to be accessing the internet from any country in which your VPN provider has servers. The more servers they have, the less crowded each one will be.

Also, different countries have different data laws, so being aware of which country acts as your VPN company’s home base, and which countries you’re accessing servers in, will help you ensure your VPN provides you with appropriate legal protection.

Logging Policy

All the VPNs we’ve chosen here have strict no-logging policies, meaning that they don’t collect information about your VPN traffic or what websites you access. This means that if asked to hand over information to authorities, your VPN company will have very little information to give them concerning your IP address and other metadata.

Free Trial

Free trials allow you to try out a VPN service before you commit. Since VPN interfaces can vary widely, and may not work on all devices, this is a great way to confirm that the VPN you choose will work on your Mac. All of the VPNs that we’ve listed either offer a free trial for a day, week, or month, or will offer a money-back guarantee for a certain period if you find you’re not satisfied with your service.

VPN for Mac Basics

How does a VPN work?

When you connect to a VPN (which stands for “Virtual Private Network”), the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your internet connection is hidden from internet services you connect to, and any data that you send is strongly encrypted.

This can protect you from online threats, such as identity theft and data mining. To the outside internet, you could appear to be connecting from anywhere in the world.

What is a VPN for?

Many people use a VPN service to hide their location and identity from other internet users, including website owners and even your own ISP. Without a VPN, your online activity can be more easily traced back to you.

Using a VPN makes it safer to download torrent files, as well as allow you to access streaming services and other websites not normally available in your country. Some countries have heavy censorship or data retention laws that make it hard to access online content without being identified. VPNs can work around these problems.

Will a VPN support my device?

Most VPNs have apps for major operating systems such as Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Some also offer apps for smart TVs and browser extensions. If you use a device with a mainstream operating system on it, then you should be all set, but it’s always a good idea to make use of a free trial and see if it works.

Will I need to give VPN apps special permissions to work on my Mac?

On macOS, VPN apps usually need the permission of an admin to create system-level VPN connections in the macOS’s networking settings. It’s generally safe to allow VPN apps to make these changes automatically, and is something you should only need to grant permission for the first time it’s requested.

Why are some streaming services only supported by a few VPNs?

Many streaming services buy lists that show how specific ranges of IP addresses are allocated. They can determine that a certain block of IPs is in use by a VPN provider, and block that IP range from accessing their service.

Since some VPN providers change their IP addresses regularly, it can be hard to predict whether you’ll be able to access specific services from your VPN at any given time. The best thing you can do is make use of a free trial to see if you can access your preferred streaming services with the VPN. If you lose access, try disconnecting from the VPN and reconnecting to a different location to see if that helps.