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Our VPNs for Mac reviews are the result of over 40 hours of research on 16+ VPNs for Mac companies from across the web. These reviews and our VPNs for Mac guide help small businesses and startups find the best VPNs for Mac for their business.
Best VPN for Mac: Our Top Pick
We chose ExpressVPN as the best VPN for Mac for its Fast speeds and anti-throttling, large infrastructure, and its network lock feature.
Our Top Picks
Best Overall
Best for Maximum Connections
Best for Novice Users
Best for Power Users
Best for Simplicity
Best for Travelers
Best for Beginners
Best for Budget Privacy
Best Privacy for the Price
Best for Privacy
Tips From an Expert
How we chose the best VPN for Mac, and what you should look for.
“We needed to tailor our criteria to the users of Mac devices and what would work best for this operating system. These criteria are the ones that we felt best addressed Mac users and would ensure a better overall VPN experience if the solutions had at least the following four features. A large infrastructure and solid support team offer a higher number of connections per account, and usually have a strong stance on privacy.”
The Top VPNs for Mac of 2023
Best Overall
Features
- Fast speeds and anti-throttling
- Large infrastructure
- Network lock feature
#1 Top Pick for 2023
ExpressVPN is the best overall choice for Mac users. It allows you to get the full extent of your bandwidth, works well from anywhere, and has extra protective features.
Starting Price
$12.95 per month
Free Trial/Demo
No
Interactive Capabilities
Yes
Virtual Rooms
Yes
Read More
You likely have heard the name before. ExpressVPN is one of the most popular VPN solutions on the market. It has an easy interface that allows users to set up and start ExpressVPN quickly with the push of a button. ExpressVPN is the best overall choice for several reasons.
- ExpressVPN features: ExpressVPN supports gaming on your macOS by protecting you from online distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks as well as lowering the ping times during gaming to give you the competitive edge. Sometimes, ISPs throttle your bandwidth without you knowing. ExpressVPN has a feature that automatically bypasses these throttling restrictions to ensure you get the bandwidth you’re paying for.
- ExpressVPN pricing: Pricing for ExpressVPN isn’t cheap as it’s one of the more expensive VPN solutions on the market. Its Monthly plan starts at $12.95. Then, the cost goes down depending on how long you’re willing to sign on for. $9.99 for a six-month plan and then $8.32 for a 12-month agreement. Unfortunately, ExpressVPN doesn’t offer a free trial or a money-back guarantee.
What Customers Are Saying
Customers regularly tout how well ExpressVPN works from all locations — one of the few that can say that. Everyone seems to love its open chat support feature. Lastly, many customers mentioned how they could remove ISP throttling up to four times faster speeds.
Reasons to choose ExpressVPN
- Fast speeds and anti-throttling
- Large infrastructure
- Network lock feature
Reasons to avoid
- Only five simultaneous connections
- More expensive than leading competitors
Best for Maximum Connections
Features
- Great long-term pricing
- Strong Global RAM-only server presence
- Unlimited connections
Starting Price
$12.95 per month
Free Trial/Demo
30-Day Free Trial
Interactive Capabilities
Yes
Virtual Rooms
Yes
Read More
macOS is traditionally known for being more secure than other operating systems. It won’t protect you against online threats from web browsing or email. It’s essential to utilize a virtual private network (VPN) solution like Surfshark to ensure your machine is protected. With features like unlimited simultaneous connections and 100% RAM-only servers, you can provide the best combo of speed and security with Surfshark.
- Surfshark features: Some of the specific features that come with the utilization of Surfshark include being able to hide your internet protocol (IP) address exclusively for Mac. Surfshark also has a built-in feature called CleanWeb, which allows users to surf the internet clean from any ads, trackers, malware, or phishing attempts. Lastly, Surfshark includes a bypass feature that enables users to select specific sites for all struggling with the Surfshark VPN compatibility.
- Surfshark pricing: Surfshark’s pricing is pretty straightforward, offering three different package plans. The monthly plan is $12.95, the 12-month plan is $2.49 per month, and the 24-month plan is $3.99 per month. It saves money to stick with Surfshark for the long haul. Surfshark offers a 30-day free trial of its solution as well before committing to a long-term deal.
What Customers Are Saying
There are mixed reviews about customer support. Some state that the email support can be unresponsive or take a while to get back to you while the live support option is excellent. Also, it was stated in several reviews that some of the locations are unstable and provide unexpected buffering.
Reasons to choose Surfshark
- Great long-term pricing
- Strong Global RAM-only server presence
- Unlimited connections
Reasons to avoid
- Customer service can lack or be unresponsive
- Expensive monthly plan
Best for Novice Users
Features
- Large Infrastructure
- Great two-year pricing plan
- Stable speeds
Starting Price
$11.95 per month
Free Trial/Demo
30-Day Free Trial
Interactive Capabilities
Yes
Virtual Rooms
Yes
Read More
NordVPN is another one of those recognized names in the industry. Most would compare them as a direct competitor to ExpressVPN. NordVPN is a slick-looking VPN that’s optimized for macOS. A fast and reliable connection every time is what you can expect from NordVPN.
- NordVPN features: To start, NordVPN is best known for novice users. It has an easy-to- use interface and is very easy to set up on a Mac machine. Secondly, from a security perspective, NordVPN is taking it to the next level with its custom NordLynx, a next-generation encryption protocol. NordLynx optimizes the best of both worlds between speed and security.
- NordVPN pricing: As far as pricing goes, NordVPN is right up there with ExpressVPN. Its monthly plan is around $12 per month. NordVPN has a yearly plan and a two-year plan that cost $6.99 and $3.49 per month, respectively. One major differentiator between ExpressVPN and NordVPN is that Nord offers a 30-day free trial of its product before purchasing.
What Customers Are Saying
Some customers are reporting that torrenting speeds are only supported by some servers per location. Also, most reviews were raving about the excellent customer service provided and its live chat support. Lastly, there were some reports of users not being able to stream certain subscriptions in specific locations. Overall, NordVPN ranked pretty high amongst its current end users.
Reasons to choose NordVPN
- Large Infrastructure
- Great two-year pricing plan
- Stable speeds
Reasons to avoid
- OpenVPN configuration isn’t easy to set up
Best for Power Users
Features
- 10 simultaneous connections
- Excellent long-term plans
- Security-first approach
Starting Price
$11.99 per month
Free Trial/Demo
*30 Days Money Back Guarantee Only
Interactive Capabilities
Yes
Virtual Rooms
Yes
Read More
As a power user on macOS, you may find what Private Internet Access (PIA) offers to be right up your alley. PIA claims it’s number one for macOS computers for several reasons, including strict privacy around no usage logs policy. It has full transparency into its applications for macOS, including open-source.
- PIA features: PIA comes prebuilt with MACE, a domain name system (DNS)-based ad blocker to help safeguard its users while online. PIA also only used Secure VPN protocols as well as WireGuard to help keep your data secure. Lastly, PIA includes advanced split tunneling, including a bypass feature, unlimited bandwidth, and up to 10 simultaneous connections.
- PIA pricing: The best part about PIA is that it’s somewhat cheaper than the plans we have covered so far. Its monthly plan starts at $11.99 per month, then the one-year program jumps down to $3.33 per month, and lastly, the two-year plan is 2.69 per month. Its tool does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee as well to ensure its clients are happy.
What Customers Are Saying
Customers speak highly about the service that’s provided for the money that they are paying. Also, many of the customer’s reviews are from long-term account holders ? some even around 10 years. Lastly, several users complained that the advertised streaming services aren’t supported.
Reasons to choose Private Internet Access
- 10 simultaneous connections
- Excellent long-term plans
- Security-first approach
Reasons to avoid
- Streaming services take buffer time
- Could be faster
Best for Simplicity
Features
- 10 simultaneous connections
- Free trial and low pricing
- Easy to use
Starting Price
$6.99 per month
Free Trial/Demo
Yes
Interactive Capabilities
Yes
Virtual Rooms
Yes
Read More
BitDefender Premium VPN has been around for almost 20 years and is known for its simplicity and speed. BitDefender is also straightforward to use as it uses the backbone of the HotSpot Shield VPN, which is known for being user-friendly. For Mac users, it supports both macOS and iOS seamlessly.
- BitDefender Premium features: BitDefender Premium VPN includes a very effective killswitch to ensure if your VPN goes down for some reach, the internet will be disconnected to keep your privacy intact. BitDefender also takes a more secure approach to handle how it assigns IP addresses. By utilizing dynamic IPs to its end users, they are guaranteed a new VPN every time they log in to BitDefender Premium VPN.
- BDP pricing: Just like the platform services are straightforward, so is the pricing. BitDefender comes with two basic plans, a monthly plan that is $6.99 per month and then a yearly plan for $2.49 per month. Compared to most of the competition, even the monthly plan is hard to beat. It also offers a free seven-day trial of its product beforehand as well. Lastly, each program includes 10 simultaneous connections to 10 different devices.
What Customers Are Saying
A majority of users that took the time to write a review on BitDefender support its claim of simplicity and speed. It’s an essential solution and provides on that level. A handful of reviews expressed concern with its after-hours support systems, which seems to stem from India. Users complained about not receiving their activation code promptly after paying for a subscription and an overall lack of response from the support staff.
Reasons to choose BitDefender Premium
- 10 simultaneous connections
- Free trial and low pricing
- Easy to use
Reasons to avoid
- Nomultihop technology
- No advanced options
- Weak offline security
Best for Travelers
Features
- Worldwide presence
- Priced for long-term account holders
- Stable speeds
Starting Price
$12.99 per month
Free Trial/Demo
1 Day Free Trial
Interactive Capabilities
Yes
Virtual Rooms
Yes
Read More
CyberGhost VPN is best known for travelers because of its widespread, global infrastructure. It’s also a very common VPN for all devices, not just macOS. CyberGhost claims the ability to stop data-mining practices by third parties and even Apple themselves. It supports all major Apple products and provides seven simultaneous device connections at once.
- CyberGhost VPN features: On top of the apparent features like a one-click connect option and secure file sharing, CyberGhost also includes some of the best speeds globally. It’s so confident with its offering that it’s one of the only vendors that provide a 45-day money-back guarantee on its services.
- CyberGhost pricing: CyberGhost’s monthly plan is right up there, with some of the most expensive plans coming in at $12.99. To get a benefit, you’ll want to go for its 36-month plan at $2.29, 24-month plan at $3.25 per month or its one-year plan at $4.29 per month. CyberGhost does offer a free trial, but it’s a limited one-day-only trial. Then, you have to purchase one of its plans, which is backed by its guarantee.
What Customers Are Saying
A majority of the reviews are positive, expressing how happy they’re with speeds and availability — seeing reviews both from a personal perspective and the business side that all share the same message of positivity toward CyberGhost.
Reasons to choose CyberGhost
- Worldwide presence
- Priced for long-term account holders
- Stable speeds
Reasons to avoid
- Doesn’t work out of the box
Best for Beginners
Features
- Unlimited speed and connections
- Owns its own infrastructure
- Top-notch forced security best practices
Starting Price
$10.99 per month
Free Trial/Demo
30 Days for iOS Only
Interactive Capabilities
Yes
Virtual Rooms
Yes
Read More
IPVanish prides itself on being one of the best for beginners, especially on macOS, with its intuitive interface and easy-to-use VPN client. Suppose you want real-time internet security for your macOS computer. In that case, IPVanish is one to consider as it can prevent Internet service provider (ISP) deep packet inspection and stop unwanted targeted ads.
- IPVanish features: IPVanish takes end-user privacy very seriously by keeping a strict zero traffic logs policy and utilizing 256-bit encryption for communication tunnels. Regarding performance, IPVanish is also unmatched with its unthrottled speeds and an unmetered number of connections. Lastly, IPVanish has 24/7 customer support to ensure that it can handle any issues that arise with your experience promptly.
- IPVanish Pricing: IPVanish offers several pricing plans starting with its monthly plan of $10.99 per month. It also offers a yearly and two-year plan, with the two-year plan coming in around $4 per month for the first two years. Compared to the competition, IPVanish is a bit on the pricey side. But one great incentive is that IPVanish offers a 30-day free trial for iOS users only.
What Customers Are Saying
Some customers state that they have difficulty connecting to servers in certain locations. It also seems that it has several five-star reviews stating how excellent its service is. Lastly, it appears that users complain about how, after your initial plan expires, the price drastically goes up, thus only incentivizing new customers and not retaining loyal ones.
Reasons to choose IPVanish
- Unlimited speed and connections
- Owns its own infrastructure
- Top-notch forced security best practices
Reasons to avoid
- Not all servers are fully optimized
- Client application needs work
Best for Budget Privacy
Features
- Flexible pricing plans
- Multiple hop support
- Open-source
Starting Price
$6 per month
Free Trial/Demo
Free Trial
Interactive Capabilities
Yes
Virtual Rooms
Yes
Read More
IVPN is another privacy-related service but this one is best known for its cheaper subscription prices. If you’re in the market for a privacy-first VPN solution, comparing IVPN against the more expensive competitors, ProtonVPN will be a great option. IVPN is also an open-source solution, so just like ProtonVPN, it exposes its source code to the public for scrutiny and review.
- IVPN features: IVPN has a slew of features that can be enabled easily to enhance your VPN experience. Some of the top features include its support of Wire Guard protocols and privacy controls, its Anti-Tracker solution that acts as an advanced ad blocker, and its ability to multihop VPN routes. Overall, IPVN looks to have more advanced feature options available than its competition.
- IVPN pricing: IVPN offers an attractive weekly feature starting at $2 per month. From there, IVPN has a monthly plan at $6, a yearly plan at $60, and a two-year plan at $100. The two-year plan comes out to around $4 per month. On top of its multitude of plan options, IVPN also offers a limited free trial.
What Customers Are Saying
We should start by stating that IVPN has very limited user reviews. One popular site that we reference only had five total reviews for this solution. For the most part, even considering the little reviews, IVPN has overall positive outlooks. Users are happy with the service and with the 24/7 live chat feature as well.
Reasons to choose IVPN
- Flexible pricing plans
- Multiple hop support
- Open-source
Reasons to avoid
- Limited server infrastructure
- Limited reviews
Best Privacy for the Price
Features
- Free trial and 30-day money-back Guarantee
- Excellent pricing options
- Advanced features
Starting Price
$7.67 per month
Free Trial/Demo
7-Day Trial
Interactive Capabilities
Yes
Virtual Rooms
Yes
Read More
PrivateVPN is best known for Mac privacy features offered for an honest price. The PrivateVPN application is easy to use and utilizes 2048 military-grade encryption. PrivateVPN resides in a Swedish jurisdiction, which means no data logs are kept. Lastly, a Private VPN supports six simultaneous connections with unlimited bandwidth speeds.
- PrivateVPN features: PrivateVPN offers IPv6 leak protection to ensure that your identity remains protected if you disconnect from the internet. Private VPN also supports all protocols, including OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP, IPsec, and even open-source protocols, if desired. Lastly, its support staff is composed of actual developers for the project. This way, you’re getting real-time answers from those who contributed to the product.
- PrivateVPN pricing: PrivateVPN offers a one-month package at $7.67, a three-month package at $4.88, and a 12-month deal at $3.82 a month. These price points provide a competitive approach and plan structure to IVPN and ProtonVPN, the other two privacy-first VPNs on this list. It also offers a seven-day free trial of its VPN to test before purchasing. Lastly, PrivateVPN does provide a whole 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not happy with its product.
What Customers Are Saying
PrivateVPN has had a very high success rate with its positive reviews online. Only a tiny percentage of the alerts observed were negative. Among the positive reviews, most touted how great the customer support was and how well Private VPN delivered its advertisement services.
Reasons to choose PrivateVPN
- Free trial and 30-day money-back Guarantee
- Excellent pricing options
- Advanced features
Reasons to avoid
- Live chat is haphazard
- No WireGuard support
Best for Privacy
Features
- Strong privacy first features
- SecureCore technology
- Varying price models and free version
Starting Price
Free
Free Trial/Demo
7-Day Trial
Interactive Capabilities
Yes
Virtual Rooms
Yes
Read More
ProtonVPN is best known for its privacy-first approach. One of its claims is a proper open-source solution that exposes its back-end to trusted third parties for auditing around its services. Another way ProtonVPN is adhering to its privacy-first approach is by upholding a strict no-logs policy for its clients.
- ProtonVPN features: ProtonVPN offers a unique service called Secure Core VPN. The objective of Secure Core VPN is to route your connections through multiple servers within data centers located in countries that are backed by strong privacy laws. This process helps to promote security and privacy standards for end-users. ProtonVPN also has a built-in ad blocker called NetShield. NetShield has a feature that speeds up your connection by filtering out images automatically, scripts and refocusing if they revolve from a destination known for malware.
- ProtonVPN pricing: ProtonVPN has several different plans and packages that you can subscribe to for its services. Each plan builds upon the one before it and adds some additional features. The Monthly plan for basic is $4 per month, the Plus plan is $8 per month, and then the Visionary plan is $24 per month. ProtonVPN also offers a free version, but it’s severely limited on resources and should be treated as a free trial.
What Customers Are Saying
Overall, the reviews seem to be split 50/50 on positive and negative feedback. On the positive side, users are extremely happy with the service provided on the Plus plan, stating it’s an ideal mix of what they were looking for. On the negative side, customers expressed that the support is slow to the draw with its email responses and they have billing issues. Billing customers for plans they aren’t yet a part of and having to issue refunds.
Reasons to choose ProtonVPN
- Strong privacy first features
- SecureCore technology
- Varying price models and free version
Reasons to avoid
- Only email support
- Top plan is the most expensive in the industry
Compare VPNs for Mac
VPN
Features & Services
Starting Price
Best Overall
- Fast speeds and anti-throttling
- Large infrastructure
- Network lock feature
$12.95 per month
Best for Maximum Connections
- Great long-term pricing
- Strong Global RAM-only server presence
- Unlimited connections
$12.95 per month
Best for Novice Users
- Large Infrastructure
- Great two-year pricing plan
- Stable speeds
$11.95 per month
Best for Power Users
- 10 simultaneous connections
- Excellent long-term plans
- Security-first approach
$11.99 per month
Best for Simplicity
- 10 simultaneous connections
- Free trial and low pricing
- Easy to use
$6.99 per month
Best for Travelers
- Worldwide presence
- Priced for long-term account holders
- Stable speeds
$12.99 per month
Best for Beginners
- Unlimited speed and connections
- Owns its own infrastructure
- Top-notch forced security best practices
$10.99 per month
Best Privacy for the Price
- Free trial and 30-day money-back Guarantee
- Excellent pricing options
- Advanced features
$7.67 per month
Best for Privacy
- Strong privacy first features
- SecureCore technology
- Varying price models and free version
Free
What to Look for In a VPN
Large Infrastructure
For a VPN solution to be effective, it needs to have a significant server presence around the globe to support it. This is the backbone of what a VPN is made of and determines things like speed, performance, and privacy. Users will be limited to options without a solid infrastructure and constantly suffer slow buffering times or lagging rates. Security shouldn’t be a limitation on performance and speed but live together in harmony.
Support
Support is crucial for Mac users as it seems few solutions want to work natively out of the box on a Mac. We prioritized having a solid support team-high when making this list to ensure that if end-users have technical questions or need help installing the VPN solution, the service is available quickly.
High Number of Connections
Mac users are loyal, so it’s safe to say that they would want their VPN solution to be able to not only work on all their Apple devices but also do it simultaneously under one account. Apple has some sharing features built-in that help inter-connect Apple devices together for a seamless experience. All these connected devices need to have a VPN solution that can support them flawlessly.
Privacy
As you have noticed, a lot of the VPNs in this list are privacy-focused. First, this was done intentionally. Mac users tend to be drawn to the fact that overall, Apple is highly concerned with the security and privacy of its users’ data. We needed to consider only looking at solutions that offered solid privacy options and features, supported under the apple umbrella. What would be the point of having a VPN solution on a Mac that doesn’t prompt privacy first?