Android gives you more choice than any other platform, including apps you can read line by line. This guide weights privacy and openness accordingly.
The Android ecosystem runs from a single toggle to a full network toolbox, and the difference matters more here than on iOS because the same app often ships with more options — and more ways to leave the tunnel half-configured.
Privacy carries real weight too. Android traffic is a mix of apps you chose and apps you did not, so a no-logs policy you can audit is worth more than a longer feature list.
Ordered by how well each one fits this task, not by our overall ranking — every score here is the score on that provider's review.
Genuinely unlimited devices, and a two-year price below NordVPN, ExpressVPN or CyberGhost.
30-day money-back guarantee
Unlimited devices and value 9.6 — the second-highest price score of the eleven, on the platform with the most devices.
Swiss jurisdiction, open-source apps and a transparency report with real numbers in it.
30-day money-back guarantee
Privacy 9.7, open-source apps and a free tier: verification rather than a promise, at no cost to start.
Six independent no-logs audits, a RAM-only fleet, and the highest overall score in our comparison.
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The best overall score in this table, with six audits and RAM-only servers behind the app.
Ease of use carries 35% for this guide, privacy 30%, value 20%, speed 10% and streaming 5%. Open-source apps are called out in the picks where our data records them, because on Android that is the difference between trust and verification.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 35 % | How quickly a non-technical person can install, connect and trust the app; whether servers are labelled by purpose; platform coverage including smart TVs and routers; and whether support is reachable and useful. |
| Privacy | 30 % | Jurisdiction and data-retention law; membership of the 5/9/14-Eyes alliances; independent audits of the no-logs claim with a named firm and date; whether servers are RAM-only, which makes retention structurally impossible; documented cases of legal compulsion; how much identifying information signup collects. |
| Value | 20 % | The effective monthly cost of the longest term offered, weighted against what the subscription actually delivers — device count, features and network size. Providers whose renewal price roughly doubles score lower, because the real cost of a VPN is the second year, not the first. |
| Speed | 10 % | An architectural estimate, not our own benchmark. Protocol support and whether WireGuard is available; RAM-only versus disk infrastructure; server density and proximity to major cities; dedicated streaming and gaming capacity; stability reported in published independent reviews. |
| Streaming | 5 % | How consistently the provider restores geo-blocked catalogues across major streaming services, whether it maintains dedicated servers for them, and how often the answer changes. Providers that do not attempt this score low by design, which we state rather than penalise silently. |
The full table with the same published scores. Sort it here, or open the main comparison with filters.
| # | VPN | Our score | From /month | Devices | Jurisdiction | Audits | Free tier | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | ExternalNordVPNBest overall | 9.3 | $3.09 | 10 | Panama Outside | 6x Deloitte | No | 30 days |
| #2 | ExternalSurfsharkBest value | 9.1 | $2.49 | Unlimited | Netherlands 9 Eyes | 2x Deloitte | No | 30 days |
| #3 | ExternalExpressVPNBest for speed | 9.0 | $4.96 | 8 | British Virgin Islands Outside | 6x KPMG | No | 30 days |
| #4 | ExternalProton VPNBest privacy | 8.9 | $3.68 | 10 | Switzerland Outside | 5x Securitum (no-logs) | Yes | 30 days |
| #5 | ExternalCyberGhostBest for beginners | 8.9 | $2.69 | 7 | Romania Outside | 3x Deloitte | No | 45 days |
| #6 | ExternalPrivate Internet AccessBest for power users | 8.5 | $1.64 | Unlimited | United States 5 Eyes | 3x Deloitte | No | 30 days |
| #7 | ExternalWindscribeBest free tier | 8.4 | $2.25 | Unlimited | Canada 5 Eyes | 2x Leviathan Security Group | Yes | 30 days |
| #8 | AdAdGuard VPNBuilt-in ad blocking | 8.4 | $2.99 | 10 | Cyprus Outside | None found | Yes | 30 days |
| #9 | ExternalTunnelBearBest simple apps | 8.1 | $3.67 | 5 | Canada 5 Eyes | 9x Cure53 | Yes | 30 days |
| #10 | ExternalIVPNBest transparency | 7.9 | $4.12 | 2 | Gibraltar Outside | 7x Cure53 | No | 30 days |
| #11 | ExternalMullvadBest anonymity | 7.5 | $5.00 | 5 | Sweden 14 Eyes | 6x Cure53 | No | 30 days |
No provider matches those filters. Try widening them.
Decide how much you want to see. Some Android apps are one switch; others expose protocol choices, split tunnelling and per-app rules. Neither is wrong, but the first week sets the habit and a complicated app gets abandoned.
Then check the licence terms: the monthly figure is almost always tied to a multi-year term, so read the total beside it. Every price on this site shows the total for the term you actually buy.
On mobile data, rarely. On shared wifi, yes. Android also lets you route a single app through the tunnel, which is useful if you only want one thing hidden — but the basics are the same as on any other platform.
Proton VPN, Windscribe and TunnelBear all publish a free tier. Free tiers are slower and smaller by design, so read what the free plan is funded by before putting anything sensitive through it.
It is verifiable rather than safer by default: anyone can read what the app does, which is exactly why we record open-source apps as a fact on every review instead of taking it as a score.
Twelve guides, one per task. Pick the job you actually have.
All eleven providers, with the same published scores this guide is built on — no separate list, no inflated numbers.
