With so many iPhone VPN apps available, it can be difficult to choose the right solution. Based on our extensive research and hands-on testing of VPNs over the years, these are the factors to look out for when choosing a VPN for your iPhone:
Privacy
The primary consideration for any VPN should be privacy. If your iPhone VPN is unable to deliver a sufficient level of privacy, then your VPN is practically useless. Your VPN should offer industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption along with basic privacy protections like a kill switch, DNS leak protection and a no-logs policy. If your privacy needs are critical, you'll need a VPN provider that is based in a privacy-friendly jurisdiction, offers obfuscation and has a RAM-only server architecture. Additional privacy features to look out for include Tor-over-VPN functionality, ad and tracker blockers and multi-hop connections. It's also important to choose a VPN that's trustworthy, transparent and undergoes regular third-party security audits, which can help bolster trust in the VPN's ability to protect your privacy.
Speed
Your VPN's connection speeds can have a major influence on the quality of your streaming, downloading, video conferencing, gaming and general web-browsing activities. To keep things running as smoothly as possible, you'll want a VPN that will have as minimal an impact on your regular internet speeds as possible.
| Provider | Average VPN speed (Mbps) | Average non-VPN speed (Mbps) | Speed loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressVPN | 173 | 231 | 25% |
| Surfshark | 153 | 193 | 17% |
| NordVPN | 206 | 230 | 11% |
| Proton VPN | 157 | 180 | 21% |
| IPVanish | 205 | 367 | 44% |
| PIA | 98 | 211 | 49% |
Usability
A good iPhone VPN should run smoothly and be easy to use regardless of your technical expertise. It should have all of the features you need easily accessible with a tap of your finger. Many iPhone VPN apps also include an easy way to get in touch with support directly from the device, which can be helpful if you need assistance on the go. Basically, your iPhone VPN app should be as easy for you to use as your iPhone itself. It should have a large network of servers around the world so you can connect easily and reliably from wherever you may be traveling, and it should be able to help you access geo-restricted content from various regions.
Cost
Depending on your budget, you may want to take into account the cost and overall value of your iPhone VPN before making a purchase. VPN pricing can vary greatly from provider to provider, but you can typically expect to spend about $5 to $13 per month for a monthly VPN subscription plan. If you want to save some money, you can opt for an annual subscription, where prices can range from roughly $30 to $100 per year. You'll want to be careful with free VPNs because you may end up risking your privacy instead of protecting it with a free VPN. Proton VPN is currently the only free VPN that CNET recommends.
Most premium VPNs offer a money-back guarantee anywhere from a week to 45 days. You can also get a seven-day free trial with many VPNs when you sign up through Apple's App Store, so you have options to try various iPhone VPNs risk-free before you decide whether to fully invest in one.
Proton VPN
If you need a completely free VPN for your iPhone, Proton VPN is the way to go. With Proton VPN, you can get access to three server locations without paying a dime. Unlike other free VPNs, Proton doesn't put any restrictions on usage or speed. If you want the full, premium version of Proton VPN, it's $10 per month, $60 for the first year or $108 for the first two years (the one- and two-year plans renew at $80 annually), putting it in the middle of the pack in terms of price.
Proton VPN is a great option for privacy-minded VPN users, but its iPhone app falls short of the competition in terms of app design and usability. The user interface is quite clunky, with the home screen displaying a long list of server options, at the bottom of which is an unassuming connect button. You can opt to select a server from a screen depicting a map of the world, but you can only zoom in so far, so if you want to connect to a specific country in Europe, for example, it becomes difficult to do so because the countries are consolidated into a relatively small region. Connecting to a server was also often a sluggish ordeal. If you can get past these design and usability quirks, Proton is the best free option and an excellent VPN solution overall.
Read our Proton VPN review.
IPVanish
IPVanish's iPhone app is fairly easy to use and features a prominent Connect button on the Home screen that'll get you connected quickly. If you navigate to the Locations screen to select a specific server, you can either connect to the Optimal Location or choose from a list of servers. However, after you've connected, there's no indication of whether you're connected or not unless you navigate back to the Home screen. Even if you connect to the Optimal Location, the Connect button on the Locations screen still says "Connect" -- which can lead to some confusion.
Although IPVanish's iPhone app isn't as streamlined as the others on this list, it includes split tunneling functionality -- a feature most VPNs don't offer with their iPhone apps. Even so, it's difficult to enthusiastically recommend IPVanish to iPhone users, considering that far superior services are available for the same price or cheaper. IPVanish costs $13 per month, $48 for the first year (then $90 annually) or $72 for the first two years combined (then $90 annually).
Read our IPVanish review.
Show more