How We Rank & Compare VPNs

Research Methodology: How We Rank & Compare VPNs

With hundreds of VPNs all claiming to be the best, how do you choose the right one? It’s not realistic to research every VPN out there… unless you have a global team of experts ready to put them to the test. That’s exactly what we did to create the ranking above — and all our other reviews and lists.

We analyze each VPN based on a variety of factors, with a special focus on a few key aspects. These factors include, from most important to least:

-Privacy and Logging Policy — we thoroughly read through each VPN’s privacy policies and keep an eagle eye on any changes that may occur over time.
- Speeds — our team tests each VPN’s speeds weekly to see how they perform at short and long distances, and to ensure these speeds are consistent and accurate.
-Security features — we ensure each VPN offers the essentials, like 256-bit encryption, leak protection, and a kill switch. All of the VPNs undergo leak testing, which we consistently perform on multiple servers across the globe.
-Streaming — my international team and I tested each VPN with the popular streaming sites in each of our locations (where each platform is licensed). We ensured that you can secure your connections with the VPN without it compromising the speeds and reliability of your streaming.
-Ease of use — we check that each VPN is user-friendly enough for all levels, with apps for easy installation, simple server connection, and feature descriptions (in the site or within the app).
- Customer support — our team tests each VPN’s customer service to ensure you’ll get informed answers to your questions, one way or another. We ask questions via live chat to see the response times and check that their site provides a database of information you can refer to.
-Torrenting — we’ve tested each VPN with torrenting to see how fast they are, whether their ad blockers are effective (if offered), and if they flag potential malware before it can infect your device. Plus, regular leak testing reveals whether your IP address would be visible during torrenting.