The Best Mac VPNs for 2022

Apple always touts the security and privacy of its platforms, but all of Cupertino’s cleverness can only go so far because your ISP, advertisers, and all kinds of snoops want to monitor your online activities. A VPN is a simple tool that helps reclaim some of that privacy, with the added benefit of letting you reroute your web traffic (nearly) anywhere on earth. 

How a VPN Works

Proton VPN

Best For Privacy-Focused Consumers

Bottom Line:

ProtonVPN is one of the few VPNs we’ve tested that provides Mac owners with access to Tor and multi-hop VPN connections. ProtonVPN only supports the IKEv2 VPN protocol on macOS.

PROS

• Best free subscription
• Numerous advanced privacy tools
• Strong customer privacy stance
• Slick, accessible client
• Excellent Speedtest scores

CONS

• Awkward Chrome OS implementation
• Complicated pricing structure

IVPN

Best For Budget-Conscious Consumers

Bottom Line:

With an extremely affordable pricing plan and a stalwart dedication to privacy, IVPN is an excellent VPN on any platform. On the Mac, IVPN uses the WireGuard VPN protocol.

PROS

• Flexible, affordable pricing
• Unique multi-hop system
• Privacy baked into its account system
• Strong stance on transparency

CONS

• Offers few server locations
• Multi-hop and Account ID might confuse some users

Mullvad VPN

Best For Affordable Privacy Protection

Bottom Line:

Mullvad’s sales pitch has always been robust privacy protections at a very affordable price. Mullvad uses the WireGuard VPN protocol on all platforms, including macOS.

PROS

• Requires no email or account information
• Extremely affordable
• Radically transparent
• Some advanced features, including multi-hop and port forwarding

CONS

• Awkward desktop interface
• Servers in a small range of countries
• Pay-as-you-go system may confuse some customers

NordVPN

Best For Creating Multi-Hop Connections

Bottom Line:

NordVPN provides access to Tor and multi-hop connections. NordVPN uses a custom implementation of the WireGuard VPN protocol called NordLynx on the Mac, along with OpenVPN and IKEv2.

PROS

• Multi-hop, split tunneling, and Tor connections
• Numerous server locations
• Uses WireGuard VPN technology
• Unique Meshnet features

CONS

• Expensive
• Poor malware-blocking results
• Occasionally cramped interface

Surfshark VPN

Best For Implementing Privacy Tools

Bottom Line:

Surfshark offers Mac users multi-hop connections alongside a growing roster of privacy tools. Surfshark uses the WireGuard and IKEv2 VPN protocols on macOS.

PROS

• Unlimited simultaneous connections
• Large global server presence
• Multi-hop and split tunneling tools
• Intriguing potential in Surfshark Nexus

CONS

• High monthly price
• Privacy policy needs clarification
• Confusing long-term subscription pricing

TunnelBear VPN

Best For VPN Beginners

Bottom Line:

TunnelBear is an all around solid VPN at an average price, without most of the bells and whistles of the competition. Instead, it’s focused on friendliness and aggressive standards for privacy and transparency. TunnelBear VPN uses the OpenVPN protocol on macOS.

PROS

• Unlimited simultaneous connections
• Excellent privacy policies
• Annual independent audits
• Friendly, approachable design
• Bears

CONS

• No multi-hop connections
• Split tunneling not available on all platforms

CyberGhost VPN

Best For Server Location Options

Bottom Line:

CyberGhost is a pricey but extremely capable VPN service that boasts the largest collection of servers we’ve seen. This service provides Mac users with the WireGuard and IKEv2 VPN protocols.

PROS

• Large, well-distributed server fleet
• Allows up to seven simultaneous connections
• Several add-ons, including antivirus
• Outstanding speed test scores
• Newly completed third-party audit

CONS

• Expensive
• Confusing privacy policies

ExpressVPN

Best For Frequent Travelers

Bottom Line:

ExpressVPN impresses with its enormous list of available server locations, making it an easy choice for a frequent traveler. On macOS, ExpressVPN uses its custom Lightway VPN protocol along with OpenVPN and L2TP.

PROS

• Large, diversely distributed fleet of servers
• Strong privacy and security practices
• Split tunneling
• Stylish interface

CONS

• Expensive
• No multi-hop connections

Mozilla VPN

Best for Feel-Good Purchasing

Bottom Line:

Mozilla VPN is a feel good choice, with your subscription dollars going to a venerable non-profit. It’s built on the same infrastructure as Mullvad, and offers WireGuard on macOS.

PROS

• Helps support nonprofit Mozilla
• Powered by privacy hawk Mullvad
• Simple, snazzy design
• Multi-hop and split tunneling
• Excellent Speedtest scores

CONS

• Few server locations
• Expensive, limited compared with Mullvad

Private Internet Access VPN

Best For Establishing Simultaneous Connections

Bottom Line:

Private Internet Access boasts a robust, global VPN service and double the simultaneous connections of most competitors. It lacks some advanced privacy features found elsewhere, however. On macOS, Private Internet Access supports both OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols.

PROS

• Split tunneling and multi-hop
• 10 simultaneous connections
• Numerous server locations
• Good Speedtest scores
• Completed third-party audit

CONS

• Expensive
• No free version

Buying Guide: The Best Mac VPNs for 2022

VPNS and Macs

When you switch on a VPN, it creates an encrypted connection between your Mac and a remote server operated by the VPN company. All your web traffic is sent through this encrypted connection, exits the server, and then rejoins the internet as normal.

The encrypted connection prevents anyone on the same local network as you—and even the person who runs the network—from getting any information about what you do online. That’s handy for anyone who needs to make use of public Wi-Fi networks since it’s not always clear who owns those networks and even whether it’s safe to connect. A VPN shields your online activity from internet service providers (ISPs). Most of us already fork over a hefty chunk of change to our ISPs, but now those same companies are trying to profit off their customers by selling anonymized user data.

There’s a strong argument that the widespread adoption of HTTPS already protects your data, and VPNs are overkill. It’s true; HTTPS does prevent observers from intercepting your information. VPNs do hide more of your data, however, and protect your DNS requests, denying ISPs even that insight into your activities. 

VPNs help protect your privacy in other ways, too. Because your traffic appears to originate from the VPN server (not your Mac), an outside observer can only see the IP address of the VPN server. That’s handy since an IP address can be used to track your movements across the web and to discern your approximate location. Advertisers and anyone else interested in monitoring online activities have a harder time tracking you while the VPN is active.

You can also use a VPN to spoof your location by connecting to a distant VPN server. If you connect to a VPN server in Canada, you’ll appear to be browsing the web from somewhere in the great white north. Journalists and activists have used this property of VPNs to bypass the restrictions put in place by repressive governments. It’s a vitally important role, but we don’t evaluate VPNs on their ability to bypass censorship, since our getting it wrong could have catastrophic consequences for our readers.

This same property of a VPN can be used for far more mundane purposes, like accessing streaming content that’s available in other countries. If you live in the US and tunnel to a VPN server in London, you could watch Netflix content otherwise only available in the UK. For this reason, Netflix and other streaming services work very hard to block access to VPN users. Keep in mind, however, that VPNs and streaming services are locked in a cat-and-mouse struggle, so a VPN that works today may be blocked tomorrow.

What VPNs Can’t Do

A VPN is first and foremost for protecting your privacy, not guarding against malicious sites or malware. Some VPNs watch for known malicious sites, but you should still protect your machine with antivirus. The best antivirus provides some protection against novel attacks that simply aren’t known yet and can guard against malware that sneaks onto your computer from sources other than dangerous websites.

Some attackers don’t even bother with malware, and instead, craft ingenious phishing scams designed to trick you into voluntarily handing over personal information. If you enter your login information for the real PayPal.com onto a phishing site made to look like PayPal, some bad guy somewhere has your credentials. Many VPNs provide some phishing protection, but malicious sites are ephemeral and vanish as quickly as they appear. Antivirus can help block phishing attempts, but it helps to pay close attention to web addresses to make sure you are browsing a legitimate site. 

Beyond phishing, perhaps the most dangerous attack the average person could encounter is an account takeover. This happens when a bad guy has guessed or purchased your login information and is able to seize control of your account. This is particularly dire if it’s an email account. An attacker can then use the password recovery mechanism on other sites to access more of your accounts. VPNs can’t really help much here, either. Instead, use a password manager to create unique and complex passwords for all of your online accounts. Lastly, enable multi-factor authentication (MFA or 2FA) wherever it’s available. When your account is protected with MFA, an attacker can’t access your account even when they know your password.

Finally, a VPN won’t make you fully anonymous online. Changing your IP address and spoofing your location is great, but advertisers (and spies, and law enforcement) have a host of other methods to keep tabs on you. Some sites use a process called “fingerprinting,” which identifies visitors by logging a bunch of information that, on its own, can’t identify you but makes a signature when taken altogether. Your exact screen size, device model, browser version, or OS version can’t identify you, but taken together they mark you uniquely. And there are still plain old cookies and trackers to worry about. We recommend using a tracker blocker such as the EFF’s Privacy Badger(Opens in a new window), and enabling the privacy protections available in most modern web browsers. To increase your anonymity, you’ll need to use the free Tor network, but this slows down your internet connection even more than a VPN.

What Features Should Your VPN Include?

At its most basic, a good VPN should allow you to connect five devices simultaneously. It needs to work on multiple platforms—that is, paying for a subscription for your Mac should get you iPhone VPN functionality. If a VPN forces you to jump through hoops and pay extra to secure all the different devices in your home, it’s not a good value.

When we review a VPN, we like to see services with excellent, easy-to-use clients. Frankly, far too many security companies give usability a back seat. You might have the most powerful, most secure VPN ever, but it won’t matter if the average person dreads using it. We test-drive each VPN on several different devices to see if it’s really usable on every platform.

We notice when a VPN has features that take some of the pain out of VPN use. Split tunneling, for instance, lets you designate which apps send traffic through the tunnel and which do not. You might want to protect your browser traffic, but your favorite games may not need as much protection and would suffer from the increased latency.

The average monthly fee among the VPNs we’ve reviewed is, as of this writing, $10.11 per month. For example, NordVPN costs a whopping $12.95, while Editors’ Choice winner Mullvad is a mere $5.81 per month. Including advanced privacy features such as multi-hop connections and access to the Tor anonymization network help justify a higher price tag. 

Money shouldn’t be an obstacle to security, and there are many worthy free VPNs floating around. In particular, ProtonVPN is the only VPN we’ve reviewed that doesn’t place limits on the amount of data you can use with a free subscription. You can save a lot of money by opting for a long-term VPN subscription, but we highly recommend trying out a service on its shortest plan before taking that plunge. 

We also look at the number of different locations where servers are hosted and the geographic distribution of those locations. A variety of server locations means you have more choices for spoofing your location and finding a server when traveling abroad, too. To a lesser extent, we consider the overall number of servers a VPN service provides.

Can You Trust Your VPN?

As important as what features a VPN company provides are the policies it has in place to protect your privacy. You have to trust the service is going to be a good guardian of your personal information and won’t abuse its position by mining your data or letting it leak out through negligence. The best VPN services retain little data and are not able to reveal any information even if compelled by law enforcement.

As part of our testing, we ask VPN providers what information they gather on user activity and whether they sell that information. This is important, as a VPN company could potentially spy on your activity. Furthermore, we scour company privacy policies to confirm their answers. The best services log as little information about users and their activity as possible, and they should explain why they log what they do in their privacy policies. Of course, a VPN company could lie about any of these issues. But at the very least, we can ask VPN companies to explain their positions and not allow them to lie by omission.

VPNs are opaque operations by necessity, but some VPN companies are working to change that. More providers are undertaking third-party audits to assure customers that the service works as described and that the infrastructure is secure. We like to see companies that issue transparency reports that break down how many information requests they have received from governments and how much information was revealed as a result. Both are imperfect tools, but they’re what’s available for now.

One last point about trust has to do with location. Many readers have written to us asking whether they should trust a VPN company based on where it’s located. Some readers tell us they could never use a VPN based in the US, and others tell us they only trust a VPN based in the US, for example. We believe it would be irresponsible to say a company should be avoided based solely on the location of its headquarters. You may feel differently. All our reviews note where each VPN company has its headquarters, so you can decide for yourself if you disagree with our stance.

VPN Speeds

Because a VPN routes your web traffic differently than your ISP does, it’s almost certain your internet speeds will be affected. Putting more fiber and more servers between you and the internet usually increases latency and decreases upload and download speeds.

To get a sense of that impact, we run a series of tests with the Ookla Speedtest tool with and without the VPN active. We take the median from each set of results and compare them to find a percent change. You can read a whole lot more about how we test VPNs in our aptly named feature How We Test VPNs.

(Editors’ Note: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag’s publisher.)

Prior to 2021, we would name the fastest VPNs after testing all the products back to back. COVID-19 restrictions have limited our access to the PCMag Labs, and our ability to test on its network. From now on, we’ll update our VPN speed data throughout the year. The chart below shows our latest results, as tested on a Windows 10 machine.

While we have gone to great lengths to test VPN speeds, we don’t feel speed is the most important factor when choosing a VPN. You may have a super speedy connection today, but that could change tomorrow. Instead, we focus on the features and privacy assurances companies can offer.

Stay Safe and Private on Your Mac

While Apple has polished macOS to a shine, it has also given special attention to privacy and security. That’s great, but out on the web, advertisers and ISPs don’t care what kind of device you’re using. Using a VPN can help take back some privacy.

While you’re thinking about privacy for your Mac, you should consider security as well. If you’re not protected yet, you ought to read our roundup of Mac antivirus software.

(Editors’ Note: While they may not all appear in this story, IPVanish, and StrongVPN are owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company.)