A VPN is the best way to secure your Mac. Macs have lots of great security features, but they don’t protect your privacy — only a VPN, with its end-to-end encryption, can truly guarantee you online anonymity and keep hackers, trackers, and snoopers from infiltrating your Mac. Windscribe VPN is a top macOS VPN service with AES-256 encryption, a firewall that protects from leaks and also works as a kill switch. It even offers a “stealth” protocol to bypass censorship. Windscribe has a bunch of unique features, such as R.O.B.E.R.T., a tool to reduce ads and minimize malware risks. The Best Free VPN For Mac. If you’re looking for the best free VPN Mac, we’ve got you covered. The following VPN providers are ready to protect your data at no charge. Read our free VPN reviews for Mac to get the low down on the best free Mac VPN. Jan 05, 2021 ExpressVPN - The best VPN for Mac. ExpressVPN offers IKEv2 & WireGuard for fast speeds and secure connections, as well as great security features. NordVPN - A great VPN for Mac and iOS devices. If you own more than one Apple product, NordVPN might be an attractive choice for you. CyberGhost VPN - An easy to use Mac VPN. You get IKEv2 support, which is fast and secure, and works just as well on iPhones and iPads as well.
Finding a good and the best VPN for Mac that offers security, privacy, and access to all geo-blocked content is time-consuming. Hence, I tested several VPN apps on my Mac to get the best ones for you.
During this process, most of the VPN apps I tested were glitchy and slow, this made me think there aren’t any, but luckily I could find a handful of VPN apps that work flawlessly on Mac.
So, here’s a list of the best VPN apps that you can use on your Mac.
Best VPNs for Mac 2021
Each VPN listed here is selected based on security, performance, speed, and usability. Moreover, they also help play games, stream content, and torrent.
My Pick
NordVPN is my pick for the best VPN for Mac. It is easy to set up, offers lightning-fast speeds, and offers robust security. Moreover, you get a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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Short on Time? Here’s a Quick Look At the Best VPNs for Mac in 2021
1. NordVPN— #1 VPN for Mac with great security features, ultra-fast speed, and access to almost all streaming sites, plus you can try it for free for 30 days.
2. Surfshark — NoBorders mode helps defeat censorship, but it has fewer servers.
3. CyberGhost — User-friendly app perfect for beginners, but if you want to access a China site, this isn’t for you as it doesn’t work in China.
4. PureVPN — A good VPN for torrenting with P2P-optimized servers. But, to set up port forwarding for gaming need to get an extra paid addon
5. ExpressVPN — Feature-rich VPN for macOS with excellent security features, but a bit heavy on the pocket.
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The Best VPNs for Your Mac 2021
Below we will list everything you need to know about the VPNs for Mac. Though these VPNs aren’t free, you can still consider them the best free VPNs for Mac because each comes with a money-back guarantee. Let’s begin.
1. NordVPN — Ultra-fast Speed without lag
- Lightning-fast speeds allowing you to access geo-restricted content, perform torrenting without wait time.
- 5,510 servers in 58 countries
- Easy-to-use macOS apps
- Allows connecting up to 6 devices
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Works with: Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and more
- Multi-platform compatibility
NordVPN is the fastest of all VPNs tested so far. Generally, when we use a VPN, speed is lost as the traffic travels farther to a server. But while using NordVPN, no such issue was noticed. The reason behind it is the huge server network that NordVPN offers. Backed up with 5,510 servers in 58 countries, users will always have a server nearby and will never face slow down issues due to traffic. NordVPN is the best VPN for macOS as it works seamlessly with Mac and defeats censorship applied to every streaming site. Even if you’re traveling, there’s a server nearby, and you never face slow speed issues.
NordVPN is an excellent choice for movie marathons, and you can use this VPN for free for 30 days.
2. Surfshark — Swiftly Bypass Censorship and Firewalls
- Impressive streaming and torrenting speeds
- NoBorders and Camouflage modes help disguise your identity and bypass censorship and firewalls
- 1,700 servers in 63 countries
- Unlimited simultaneous device connections
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Works with: Netflix, BBC, and more
- Compatible with: Mac and almost all devices
Surfshark VPN for Mac comes with a NoBorders, MultiHop, and Camouflage mode. These modes offer complete data security. Where NoBorders helps bypass censorship, Camouflage mode gets around firewalls, and MultiHop gives double encryption. All these modes allow unblocking sites on monitored WiFi networks and dodge government restrictions.
Alongside this Mac, VPN is also useful for accessing international streaming sites — like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, etc. Although it has a smaller network with 1,700 servers in 63 countries, it is still fast.
Besides, there’s a built-in ad, tracker, and malware blocker blocking ads from showing up in my browser.
3. CyberGhost — great VPN app for beginners
- Great connection speeds for streaming and browsing
- Easy to set up the macOS app
- 6,700 servers in 89 countries
- Up to 7 simultaneous device connections
- 45-day money-back guarantee
- Works with: Netflix, Disney+, and more
- Alongside Mac is also compatible with iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, and more
CyberGhost is a straightforward VPN app for macOS. If you are a beginner, then this VPN is ideal for you.
It operates 6,700 servers in 89 countries and has multiple streaming and P2P-optimized servers. Moreover, for ease of use, each streaming server is labeled with the services they can unblock. CyberGhost is quick, but it is not the fastest when it comes to Mac; you might face connection lag as it is slower on Mac.
Its adblocker helps keep ads at bay, and its 256_bit encryption protects data from being read by ISP. You also get a 14-day money-back guarantee when using this best VPN service for Mac.
4. PureVPN — P2P-Optimized VPN for macOS
Best Vpns For Mac Free
- Faster speed for torrenting
- 140+ VPN locations to browse securely
- Allows 10 simultaneous device connections
- 31-day money-back guarantee
- Works with: Netflix, Disney+ and more
- Multi-platform compatibility
PureVPN is the best VPN for Mac that comes with P2P-optimized servers, port forwarding, and advanced security features like 256-bit encryption and more make it one of the right choices for Mac for torrenting. It also includes a kill switch and DNS/IPv6 leak protection feature.
Furthermore, the Recommended Location feature helps connect with the fastest servers based in your location. The disadvantage or challenge I faced while using PureVPN was that I couldn’t unblock all streaming sites.
5. ExpressVPN — Feature-Rich VPN for Mac
- Faster connections for unrestricted streaming and torrenting
- 3,000 servers in 94 countries,
- Connect up to 5 simultaneous devices
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Works with: Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Vudu, and more
- Compatible with Mac, Windows. Android, iOS, and more
Although a bit pricey, ExpressVPN is among those VPNs that are feature-rich and offer Safari extension. It comes with DND leak protection, kill switch, light-weight browser extension, and quick installation.
This makes it an excellent option to encrypt browser traffic even in slow and old macOS.
With 3,000 servers in 94 countries, ExpressVPNs network is reliable and fast. The speed it offers is fast enough to browse, torrent, and stream in HD without buffering. This VPN for macOS is secure as it uses 256-bit AES encryption and offers the OpenVPN protocol. There’s also an automatic kill switch, and it runs its DNS leak test.
6. VyprVPN — robust VPN to bypass all VPN Blocks
- Chameleon protocol to get around VPN blocks
- 700 servers located in 70 countries
- Connect up to 5 simultaneous device
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Works with: Netflix, Disney+, and more
- Compatible with macOS and other operating systems
The Chameleon protocol provided by VyprVPN makes unblocking censored websites without anyone noticing it is easy. This is done to make VPN traffic look unencrypted and go past VPN detection software, thereby allowing accessing restricted sites in countries like China.
Though it’s not as fast as other VPNs listed yet allows browsing and torrenting without any lag.
VyprVPN’s macOS app uses 256-bit encryption to protect your data, and there’s an automatic kill switch; this makes it the best VPN service for Mac.
7. IPVanish — Unlimited Connections to browse restriction-free from all All Your Devices
- Stable speeds
- 1,600 servers worldwide
- Unlimited device connections
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Works with: Netflix, Disney+, and more
- Compatible with: Mac, iOS, and other systems
IPVanish lets you connect to an unlimited number of devices so that you can enjoy restriction-free internet access. To protect data, it uses 256-bit encryption, takes care of leak protection, and has a kill switch.
Moreover, using the scrambling feature, you can hide that you are using a VPN. It comes in handy when you want to use VPN in places they are banned, but it does slow down the connection speed.
8. SaferVPN — Protect your data when using Public WiFi
- Best Server selection tool to get the fastest server
- Automatic WiFi protection
- 1,300 servers in 50 countries
- 5 simultaneous device connections
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Works with: Netflix, Disney+, and more
- Works well with Mac, iOS, Windows, Android, and more
SaferVPN provides an automatic WiFi protection feature, which means when you connect to a public Wi-Fi network, VPN will be automatically enabled. This saves you from the tension of worrying about data security. In just 2 minutes, you can easily set up this macOS best VPN and keep your data safe.
To connect to a fast server using the Best Server Selection tool is recommended as it will connect you to a reliable and fastest server.
It uses 256-bit encryption and includes IKEv2 and OpenVPN. Moreover, the macOS best VPN service app automatically selects the best protocol; this saves you from doing the complicated setup.
Best Vpn For Mac Os
9. PrivateVPN — Secure macOS VPN
- Faster speed for gaming and browsing
- 150 servers globally this includes streaming-optimized servers
- 6 simultaneous device connections allowed
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Works with: Netflix, BBC and more
- Compatible with Mac, iOS, and more
PrivateVPN is a straightforward VPN app for macOS. As it comes with a kill switch, 256-bit encryption, and DNS/IPv6 automatically enabled, you don’t have to worry about setting up these features.
With a rather small number of streaming-optimized servers, only 150, you can unblock Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming sites. The only downside of PrivateVPN is that during peak hours, the connection speed slows down.
10. ZenMate — Easy to Set Up
- Good browsing speed with no waiting time
- Quick installation process
- 2,300 servers in 76 countries
- Unlimited device connections
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Works with: Netflix, and more
- Compatible with Mac, Windows, and more
ZenMate’s macOS app is lightweight and easy to use. You get all the standard security features like 256-bit encryption, leak protection, kill switch, etc.
But you don’t get any obfuscation options; this means you cannot stop ISP from knowing that you are using a VPN. With 2300 servers operating in 76 countries, it is good at bypassing censorship, but the speed is slow.
Best Vpns For Mac Free
With this, we come to the end of the list of best VPN for Mac. Using any of these listed VPNs, you can perform safe browsing and keep your identity hidden. Moreover, these best VPN for Mac are thoroughly tested so that we can make you aware of both the advantages and disadvantages of using VPN on Mac.
FAQs: VPNs For Mac
1. What is the best Mac VPN in 2021?
All the VPNs listed above are the best VPNs to use on Mac. However, if you ask for my recommendation, I go with NordVPN because it is the most secure and fastest VPN service available.
2. Do you need a VPN on a Mac?
Yes. Though macOS offers advanced security features, this doesn’t mean it’s 100% secured. Everything has some shortcomings, and the internet is full of flaws. So if you want to stay secure online and keep hackers, malware attacks at one arm’s distance, using a VPN is recommended.
A VPN offers end-to-end encryption and doesn’t leave any digital footprints that might connect anyone to you.
3. How does a Mac VPN work?
A Mac VPN encrypts data and passes it through a secure tunnel so that no one can intercept the data during transmission and know your location.
4. Which is the best free VPN for Mac?
Technically there are several free VPNs for Mac, but you cannot trust them as the free Mac VPNs I tested were either slow or logging data, which made me feel unsafe.
5. Which is the best VPN for Mac?
NordVPN, Surfshark, CyberGhost, and PureVPN are amongst the best VPNs you can use o Mac.
6. Does Mac have a built-in VPN?
No, macOS does not come with a built-in VPN. However, using VPN configuration settings, you can set up a Virtual Private Network.
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