The Best Mac Vpn
With over 300 VPNs currently on the market, finding the best VPN for Mac OS can be rather challenging. Important: As a longtime Mac user, I’ve found that many Mac VPN applications simply do not work very well. Whether it’s due to data leaks that reveal your identity or broken features, many Mac VPN apps simply don’t make the cut. Fortunately, there are still a few VPNs that work very well on Mac OS, which we’ll reveal below. This Mac VPN guide highlights five VPN services that passed all tests for security and performance. What is the best VPN for Mac? The best VPN for Mac OS, based on all the testing conducted for this guide, is.
While came in a close second, it’s also important to point out that all of the Mac VPN services listed on this page offer great apps that work very well on Mac OS. Therefore take your time browsing this page, examining the features and VPN providers, then selecting whichever service best meets your needs. Ranking criteria: All five of the Mac VPN services below meet the following criteria:. Offer a custom Mac OS VPN apps using the OpenVPN protocol and strong encryption standards. Located in a good privacy jurisdiction (outside of ). Passed all tests with no leaks found whatsoever (no IP address leaks or DNS leaks).
Established company with a good track record and history (no new/unknown VPN providers). Offers a money-back guarantee (between 7 and 30 days).
Now let’s get into the test results. While there are many providers claiming to be the best VPN for Mac, the latest test results show that earns the title. It’s based in the British Virgin Islands and offers a high-performance network, superb applications for Mac users, and a large selection of server locations. ExpressVPN is often recommended due to its high-quality apps that are very secure and reliable. The ExpressVPN Mac OS app performed well in testing for the. There were no leaks, bugs, or connection issues identified. All connections were stable and the speeds were excellent.
Here is one speed test with a nearby server, which nearly maxed out my baseline (100 Mbps) internet speed: ExpressVPN is also a good choice if you enjoy streaming or torrenting. It currently holds the spot as both the and also the. While ExpressVPN does not offer any port-forwarding features, it’s still one of the top recommendations in the guide. The ExpressVPN apps include advanced leak protection features, split tunneling, and secure DNS. Their support is also top-notch, with 24/7 live chat assistance and a 30 day money-back guarantee with all plans. Right Now ExpressVPN is offering an. ExpressVPN Mac OS client.
Also offers a great Mac OS OpenVPN client that is user-friendly and fully-featured. These privacy features include double-hop VPN servers, Tor-over-VPN servers, as well as an ad-blocking feature called CyberSec. You can also see on the that they offer a huge selection of servers around the world. One of the main drawbacks with NordVPN, however, is that speeds can be somewhat variable throughout the server network. But as I pointed out in the, speeds have greatly improved since they added hundreds of new servers over the past year.
I was able to get near-maximum baseline speeds on most nearby NordVPN servers. When using NordVPN on Mac OS, you have two different options, each of which has a different type of kill switch:. OpenVPN Mac app – This app uses the OpenVPN protocol, but only offers an “app kill switch”.
This means that if the VPN connection drops, certain apps will be automatically shut down, but internet traffic will not be blocked through the firewall. IKEv2 Mac app – This Mac OS VPN app is available only through the Apple store and includes an “app kill switch” as well as a firewall-based kill switch that will effectively block traffic if the VPN connection drops.
Considering the currently being offered, NordVPN is certainly one of the best values for a basic, user-friendly Mac VPN service. NordVPN Mac OS client. Is a smaller VPN provider out of Bulgaria that offers a good Mac OS client with lots of features. It is a great choice for privacy-focused users due to VPNArea’s no logs policies, excellent jurisdiction, secure applications, and ad-blocking DNS servers. Extensive testing of the Mac OS client did not find any leaks, problems or bugs. VPNArea is also a good choice for streaming and torrenting.
It is one of the few VPNs that continues to work with all major streaming services, including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. They also offer a wide range of servers that are optimized for torrenting and P2P filesharing. It is one of the few, which may be useful for some users.
Additionally, VPNArea provides great customer support with 24/7 live chat assistance, a user forum, and a 7 day money-back guarantee. VPNArea Mac OS client.
Perfect Privacy is a no-logs, Switzerland-based VPN provider that offers a maximum security VPN service with advanced privacy features. It is easily one of the most advanced Mac OS VPN clients I’ve tested. The Perfect Privacy Mac client was released in July 2018 and offers the following features:. Self-configurable control (dynamically select up to 4 different VPN servers to use at the same time). Advanced leak protection settings (protecting users against DNS leaks, IP leaks, and WebRTC leaks). Full obfuscation features to get around VPN blocks With their Mac VPN app, you also can use the server-side features of (ad and malware blocker) as well as the feature.
While Perfect Privacy is one of the most fully-featured Mac VPN apps you will find anywhere, it is also one of the most expensive, at about $10 per month with the two-year plan (€8.95/mo). Nonetheless, if you are looking for one of the most secure, fully-featured, high-performance VPNs on the market, it is definitely worth considering. Below I’m using the Perfect Privacy Mac VPN client, cascading my VPN connection over three separate servers: Berlin Amsterdam Oslo (see the benefits of this in the guide). Perfect Privacy Mac VPN client. Is another great Mac VPN that performs very well in all categories – from security to speeds and performance. VPN.ac is run by a small team of network security professionals (Netsec Interactive Solutions), with a focus on security and overall quality.
Their Mac OS client performed well in testing for the – no leaks, bugs, or problems to report. The network speeds and reliability were also quite impressive (up to 100 Mbps). VPN.ac is mainly a privacy and security-focused VPN service.
They offer some interesting features such as double-hop VPN configurations, various VPN encryption protocols, and a secure proxy browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. While these unique privacy features are great for some users, VPN.ac is not the best option for streaming and they do not offer live chat support. Nonetheless, their Mac OS VPN client is secure, user-friendly, and it offers great features and performance. The one drawback with VPN.ac is that they keep basic connection logs for security purposes, but these are erased daily and never include browsing/activity logs. VPN.ac Mac OS client.
How to download and configure a VPN on Mac OS Downloading and configuring a VPN on your Mac is extremely easy. Here are the basic steps using ExpressVPN (but the same applies for the other VPNs as well):. Go to the and sign up for a subscription. Log in to your account on their website, then download the application for Mac OS. Open the application and enter your credentials (with ExpressVPN, you only need to enter the activation code found in your account). Connect to a VPN server and enjoy using your VPN service.
If you want to visually see the step-by-step process for installing and configuring ExpressVPN on your Mac, just watch this video. The steps above explain how to install a dedicated VPN client on your Mac operating system. However, there’s also a way to use a VPN on your Mac without any clients/apps using the IKEv2 protocol. How to setup the native IKEv2 VPN on Mac OS Another option available on Mac OS (El Capitan and later) is the built-in IPSec/IKEv2 VPN settings. This is an app-free solution that integrates directly with the Mac OS operating system and firewall.
The IKEv2 protocol is considered very secure, reliable, and less CPU-intensive than OpenVPN. It can also run natively on your Mac OS operating system (without any applications).
While it is not open source, like OpenVPN, it is still a great option because it is simple, reliable, and leak proof. (See the in comparison other VPN protocols.) When you use this VPN setup on your Mac OS, it will essentially create an “always-on” VPN when you select “connect on demand” from your network settings area. What this means is that it will work perfectly with your Mac OS firewall, forcing all apps through the VPN connection. No VPN connection = no internet connection.
Best Free Vpn Mac
This makes for a 100% leak-proof VPN that does not crash or stall out like many OpenVPN apps on Mac OS. To use this setup, you simply need to import the IPSec/IKEv2 configuration files from your VPN service into your network preferences area. Once you have imported the server configurations, you can simply connect directly from the Mac OS X menu bar – no apps required! The built-in IPSec/IKEv2 VPN setup is a great option for Mac OS users. This shows you your real-time connection status, along with the server you’re connected to in the drop-down menu.
In the screenshot above, I have imported the server configurations I want to use from, which fully supports the IKEv2 protocol throughout their server network. Leak proof – To make your setup leak proof (no IP address leaks) simply activate the “ Connect on demand” option. This utilizes the native Mac OS firewall and forces all traffic through the VPN. It basically acts like a kill switch and will automatically block all traffic if the VPN connection drops. “Connect on demand” will force all traffic through the VPN. (This is your built-in kill switch.) Perfect Privacy – If you want to utilize the IPSec/IKEv2 setup, is a great option.
You will also benefit from their server-side features, which will be active whenever you connect to the VPN. VPN.ac – is another option that offers support for the built-in IKEv2 setup. Tip for School or Work Computers: If you are on a school or work computer that will block third-party software (such as OpenVPN apps) from running on the operating system, then this IKEv2 setup is one of the best solutions. It will not show up as third-party software on your machine, while still giving you a simple, easy VPN connection whenever you need it through your Mac OS network settings. OpenVPN clients for Mac (third party) You can also utilize third-party OpenVPN clients for Mac OS X. Here are two options that support OpenVPN on Mac OS:. (free).
($9 for lifetime license) Tunnelblick – is a good, basic Mac OS VPN client that is free and open source. The main drawback is that Tunnelblick is very limited on features – such as a kill switch or IP leak protection. Unless you create custom firewall rules, your regular internet traffic will leak out whenever the VPN connection is not active. Viscosity – is a great third-party OpenVPN client that’s offered for Mac OS and Windows. The Viscosity Mac OS client provides many features and customization options. Unfortunately, Viscosity also does not have a kill switch. Mac VPN tips Here are some general tips for using a VPN on Mac OS: Leaks – Be careful with leaks when using a VPN on Mac OS.
While many Mac VPN clients have bugs and problems with data leaks, all of the VPNs recommended in this guide passed all tests and were found to be secure. You can run your VPN through some basic to identify issues. Firewall monitor – A firewall monitor is a great privacy tool that allows you to see exactly which apps are using your internet connection. One great option is by Objective Development.
Some people combine the free Tunnelblick OpenVPN client with Little Snitch for a firewall kill switch option. Secure browser – When using a VPN on a Mac it’s good to remember that your internet browser can be a major vulnerability. As discussed in the guide, there are many advanced methods to identify and track your activities, even if you’re behind a good VPN.
One tip would be to stop using the Safari browser and instead use Firefox with some privacy modifications, such as. See also the and the guides. Mac OS VPN Conclusion As you can see, there are many good Mac VPN options. If you want get going right now with the best VPN for Mac OS, you can try out ExpressVPN with this (applied on checkout page). While ExpressVPN earned the title of Best VPN for Mac, there are many great options from this guide that may be the best fit for you. Each Mac VPN option has its pros and cons. The goal of this guide was to simply illustrate the different options for Mac users.
All of our exclusive Mac OS VPN discounts can be accessed through the links in the table at the bottom of this page. RECAP: Best VPN Services for Mac OS To wrap everything up, the table below highlights the best Mac OS VPN services for 2018. As we mentioned earlier, all of these VPNs meet the following criteria:. Offers a custom Mac OS VPN client using the OpenVPN protocol and strong encryption standards.
Located in a good privacy jurisdiction (outside of ). Passed all tests with no leaks found whatsoever (no IP address leaks or DNS leaks). Established company with a good track record and history (no new/unknown VPN providers).
Offers a money-back guarantee (between 7 and 30 days) That concludes the Mac OS VPN guide – stay safe and free online! Have you ever tested and reviewed Mullvad? I’ve used them in the past and not had issues with leaking. Kill switch always worked. They say no logs at all but are based out of Sweden.
They also began to lease servers within the last year or so, IIRC. On the other hand they actively publish on security via their blog and have always seemed to take it seriously.
Some of the sites above are stated to have “dedicated premium servers.” What makes a server premium? And does that mean though that the servers are rented whereas VyprVPN is stated to physically own all its servers? And if a VPN rents its servers how does it ensure no logs are kept? In regard to John’s question, what about proxycap?
I believe you can designate which applications are or are not connected to your VPN service. Thanks for all you do to keep us informed.
I have not yet tested Mullvad, but may do so in the future. Regarding servers, dedicated servers are premium in that they are much more expensive and secure when compared to virtual servers (cloud). If the VPN’s network is built entirely on dedicated servers, it will probably be more expensive than cheaper VPNs running on virtual servers. VPN.ac discusses this issue a bit more, where they state: “Moreover, running VPN nodes on dedicated hardware can be as 10x or even 20x times more expensive than running on virtual servers, hence the reason why we don’t advertise ‘hundreds’ of locations but focus on fewer, where security is done properly and the bandwidth capacity is enough to ensure a fast and reliable service. Speaking of bandwidth, apart from security and reliability advantages of running VPN servers on bare metal servers, speed can be much better than the one coming with virtual servers as we use dedicated network ports, not shared with others. Bandwidth on a virtual server is shared among hundreds of other users on the same physical machine.” Regarding how a VPN service ensures the servers are not logged, that would be through encryption and securing the server that they control.
Regarding, they do state that all of their servers are owned by them. However, there is key issue here: VyprVPN is also using “virtual server locations”. In other words, their dedicated servers are spoofing locations that are not actually in the network. After I discovered this with some of their servers, they clarified the issue.
And are probably the two best choices I have tested when it comes to server network quality and security. Hi Rs, yes I also like using Perfect Privacy with the IPSec IKEv2 protocol on Apple devices (both Mac and iOS).
Each VPN protocol has pros and cons. Overall IKEv2 is considered a very secure, reliable, and high-performance protocol that can also reconnect quickly without issues.
The Best Free Vpn For Mac
The drawback is that it’s not open source. OpenVPN is open source, but it uses more CPU and also requires a software client to use. As you point out, most mobile OpenVPN apps (whether for Android or iOS) simply do not work well. These apps often have issues with dropped connections, disconnects, and leaks.
For this reason, I think IKEv2 is the best option for iOS, simply because it works well, is built into the device (no app), and reliably forces all internet traffic and apps through the VPN (never any leaks with “connect on demand” enabled).