The method we use to test and evaluate VPN services before rating them in articles or elsewhere on vpnsociety.com is explained in detail on this page.
At VPNSociety, we strive to provide the most thorough, accurate, unbiased, and educational VPN reviews available online. Every review is backed by extensive testing and direct participation.
In fact, that applies not only to VPNs but to all other security products that VPNSociety reviews.
Our company isn’t a marketing firm. We write reviews just for you.
The following priorities guide the writing of each of our reviews, which are tailored to a particular consumer type:
- Prioritizes Top-Notch Security
- Champions Digital Privacy
- Demands Lightning-Fast Speeds
- Seeks Seamless Access Across Borders
- Values Affordable and Transparent Pricing
- Expects Outstanding Customer Support
- Requires a Tool to Overcome Censorship
In the article, we conduct an extensive evaluation based on the use case to provide unbiased VPN rankings. Continue reading to learn how our staff takes all those factors into account.
Our VPN testing methodology
Security
Authentication and encryption comprise the two components of VPN security. The encryption technology used by all VPNs is designed to ensure that all traffic is private and unaltered during transmission. Additionally, it guarantees that only two people on the internet can decipher the content of the traffic.
Therefore, we closely examine a number of VPN security features:
- The VPN tunneling protocol. The industry standard is OpenVPN, but WireGuard is becoming more popular because it maintains high-security levels more quickly and efficiently. It also includes SSTP, L2TP, and IKEv2.
- Channel encryption: We believe that AES-128 will be the strongest.
- Authentication SHA-256, at the very least.
- Key exchange: We require RSA and DHS keys to have a minimum of 2.048 bits.
- Perfect forward secrecy.
- DNS leak security. Leaks must be handled appropriately by the vendor’s app.
- WebRTC and IPv6 leaks. The service must also prevent these kinds of leaks.
- Kill switch: All of your traffic must cease when your VPN connection fails. We need this, and a lot of providers don’t have it on their mobile apps.
- Private DNS servers: Each of our recommended services will have a network with its own DNS servers. By doing this, DNS requests are prevented from reaching Google or other public servers.
- Servers: Are they real or virtual? Physical servers are preferred by us due to their more accurate legal status.
More precisely, the goal of security is to prevent VPN data leaks. A packet that leaves the VPN tunnel and jeopardizes the user’s security and privacy is called a leak.
VPN can include:
- IP leaks. It takes place when your VPN lets the public see your real IP address.
- DNS leaks: When DNS traffic goes to your ISP rather than a DNS server on the VPN network, this occurs. To enable your computer to locate a domain name, the Domain Name System converts it into an IP address. Someone else may be able to view the websites you visit if this information is compromised.
- IPv6 leaks. For IP addresses, the most recent IPv6 protocol is still not the industry standard. Certain VPNs are only capable of handling IPv4 traffic; they are unable to properly handle IPv6 packets, which causes them to leak out of the tunnel; this is more common on Windows 10 systems.
- WebRTC. To make video calls possible in browsers, WebRTC was created. By directly connecting two browsers, it circumvents the VPN tunnel and causes issues.
We find that browserleaks.com and ipleak.net are useful resources when evaluating a vendor’s security. To determine whether the real IP address is secure behind the VPN’s wall, we test both with and without the VPN online every time.
Privacy
By keeping an eye on the VPN link, no one on the internet can determine a VPN user’s identity or online activities. And no, this authority shouldn’t even belong to your VPN provider.
Strong security measures help achieve some of those objectives (more on that later), but the VPN’s privacy policy is also essential.
We always favor and adhere to VPNs with a strict no-logs policy. This indicates that we dislike any provider that records your search queries, downloads, streams, purchases, and preferred apps or services. We also don’t want connection timestamps or IP address logs, either yours or your server’s.
When someone else tries to piece together what you’re doing online, those fragments become meaningful.
There are, nevertheless, certain facts that we believe to be accurate. Your connection dates, the amount of data you used, or the nations you connected to (but not the servers).
Market-available VPNs claim to have no logs, but they still gather some of the previously listed data. Usually, activity logs are used, but no other metadata that could be used to identify a person is included.
Thus, a portion of our research involves closely examining the log policies of more than 150 VPN providers.
The fact that each VPN is based in a particular nation also matters. Every nation has its own laws pertaining to digital matters, such as those requiring service providers to retain data. Furthermore, some governments have the power to coerce a VPN into giving up user data or installing spying features for their own gain.
Therefore, we believe that the best options are found in nations with no data retention laws and that are not influenced by the most powerful surveillance alliances and nations, such as the US, UK, and China.
In our opinion, using payment methods that are friendly to privacy, like Bitcoin and other digital assets, is a privacy bonus.
Bypassing region blocks and video streaming platforms
Over the past few years, unblocking video streaming platforms and services has emerged as one of the main justifications for using a VPN. Because of their licensing agreements, the top legal streaming services offer different content in different countries, so users around the world receive different deals based on where they are. By tricking a streaming service into believing you are in a different nation, a good VPN can remove these limitations.
To check if the VPN will unblock them, we try the following service:
- HBO Max
- Disney+
- Hulu
- Amazon Prime
- BBC iPlayer
- Netflix
We’ll try more depending on how things work out, but that’s just the beginning because those are the most widely used platforms. Since not all VPNs are able to handle both, we test the website as well as the app, when it is available. Since Netflix is the most popular platform, we thoroughly test it.
Speed
If we don’t state otherwise, the results of our VPN speed test are global averages. We test every VPN multiple times during the day, separated by at least four hours, and we use three locations, typically one in Asia, one in Europe, and one in North America. The report’s average is then calculated.
We begin with the VPN’s Windows application on a 1Gbps connection utilizing the fastest available protocol (usually WireGuard, if available; otherwise, OpenVPN or IKEv2). Next, the desktop program that primarily conducts our measurements is Ookla Speedtest.
We discard a result and run the test again if it deviates from the mean by three sigmas or more.
Since most users are interested in download speeds, we typically report them. However, we do include upload speeds in some of our reviews.
We don’t give pings (lags or VPN latency) much thought. This is due to the fact that ping time has no bearing on how well a server is performing.
But in addition to taking precautions, we play resource-intensive online games and stream high-resolution videos to check the servers’ functionality.
Many VPNs assert that they are the fastest. However, accurately measuring VPN speeds is extremely difficult. Testing every server multiple times a day is not feasible. Although we adhere to the most precise and empirical data, our location affects the speeds we can obtain from a VPN. Therefore, depending on where you are, your experience may differ significantly.
Additionally, fast gaming speeds are not a guarantee of fast video streaming speeds.
Censorship
Many users want a VPN to get around countries with strict and governmental web censorship. For example, China. Only the best VPNs can get past the Great Chinese Firewall and access content that is typically blocked by their ISP due to government orders.
Smaller-scale censorship, however, occurs everywhere. Companies and schools, for instance, frequently block a large number of websites on their local networks in order to avoid distractions.
Whenever possible, we test every VPN feature to circumvent official blockages, including the Great Firewall of China. But these circumstances can shift quickly. To reflect these evolving realities, we therefore make an effort to keep our reviews as up-to-date and relevant as possible.
Servers
Overall, a VPN network’s node count can be quite impressive. However, it’s not as significant as you might believe. More important are each server’s efficiency and resources. Therefore, it’s not always better to have 10,000 servers than 100.
But consider the available locations if you want something where numbers count. An average VPN, for instance, has servers spread across 30 to 60 nations. The most crucial factor is that your VPN has servers in the nation you wish to connect to. ExpressVPN, for instance, can be more beneficial because it has servers in over 90 countries.
A few VPNs also have virtual servers. These computers are situated in one nation, but they have an IP address from another. Here is a server that will grant you access to any country you desire. But because it’s in a different place, the local laws are different, which affects your privacy. VPNs are able to “have” servers in countries like China or Iran where they are not allowed to operate.
Apps
All of your devices must be compatible with your VPN. The majority of VPN clients or apps operate in:
- iOS
- Android
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
However, some VPNs offer software for more unusual gadgets like Linux devices, Windows Phone, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, wifi routers, and Blackberry.
Browser extensions for various web browsers are also provided by certain VPNs. Except for the providers ExpressVPN and NordVPN, be aware that those browser extensions will only protect your web traffic; the rest of your traffic will stay unprotected.
Applications with features like traffic obfuscation, split tunneling, automatic wifi protection, a kill switch, ad, and malware blockers, and trackers are appealing to us.
Another feature is how many VPN connections you can have at once using a single account. More or less, five is the industry standard. A few top-notch VPNs offer unlimited connections, and some will give you ten.
Customer support
Ideally, your digital services should never require assistance. specifically with a VPN, as it operates at such a fundamental level of your online life. But life rarely works that way, and you’re likely to need assistance at some point. We therefore also consider a VPN’s customer support. We keep track of response times, availability, and the knowledge and friendliness of the VPN’s agents.
VPNs with live chat and ticket submission features are what we prefer. Generally speaking, the second choice is quicker and more private.
We examine billing procedures as well. For instance, is there an auto-renewal mechanism in place? Does the cancellation process cause you a lot of trouble?
Finally, a benefit is money-back guarantees.
Why unbiased testing matters
A lot of the information you will find about VPNs is not very reliable. This is essentially a sophisticated form of publicity and is carried out through sponsored or free accounts. To tell you about the experience of a typical paying customer, we must learn about their circumstances.
For this reason, we have created a testing procedure that seeks to remove all bias.
Initially, we pay the fee for each account we use and test across a variety of platforms and operating systems. Second, we conduct all tests in-house, including geo-unblocking and speed measurements. Third, we examine the company’s privacy policies and jurisdiction. Finally, we put everything in writing in a review that you can read, comprehend, and most importantly, trust.
