If you're a Windows user seeking to enhance the security of your PC, a VPN can be a valuable option. In addition to adding a layer of security, a VPN can shield your online activities, bypass censorship in your country, or let you access streaming services while you're on holiday in another country. With so many options available, it can be challenging to make a choice. We've researched and tested 20 of the most popular VPNs on the market, and verified that all of our picks below work well on Windows PCs and are the best VPNs for PC users.
If you want to learn more about the limitations of VPNs and how they work, or if you even need one, check out our article on VPN privacy. Or, if you're more into the technical side of things and want to learn about kill switches, read our R&D article. For more recommendations, check out our other articles for the best VPNs, the best free VPNs, or the best free VPNs for Windows PCs. If you're a macOS user, check out our recommendations for the best VPNs for Mac.
In 2025, we published reviews for 20 different VPN services. These reviews came after months of research, test development, and collaboration between our engineers, testers, writers, photographers, and editors. Our process for each review involves a lot of work behind the scenes, including rigorous checks and balances along the way, all to provide the most accurate and useful test results to allow you to make the right purchasing decisions for your needs.
-
Best VPN For Windows PC
Torrent9.1Private Browsing9.1Policies & Practices9.2Security8.6Speed8.6Tested Simultaneous Connections:5See all our test resultsCountries:49Mullvad is the best VPN for PCs we've tested. The service is widely recognized for its robust privacy standards, transparency, and strong commitment to digital rights. One of Mullvad's unique privacy features is its registration process, which assigns you a random account number as your only login identifier. This is a more secure practice because it prevents Mullvad from storing personal information, significantly reducing risk in the event of a data breach. Several private payment methods are available, including cryptocurrencies and cash. Pricing is also refreshingly straightforward: a flat rate of €5 (approximately $5 USD) per month, regardless of how long you subscribe for.
Its Windows application is intuitive and widely configurable, supporting both Windows 10 and 11. If you're running an older version of Windows, you can use the WireGuard or OpenVPN app to connect to Mullvad's servers. Mullvad performs as expected, keeping your IP address and DNS queries encrypted within the VPN tunnel. It also consistently delivers impressive speeds and minimal latency, ensuring snappy downloads and stable video calls. It touts additional useful features like obfuscation, which can help bypass censorship that blocks VPN access, and DAITA (Defense Against AI-Guided Traffic Analysis), designed to obscure identifiable patterns within your encrypted traffic.
One of Mullvad's biggest cons is its lack of support for port forwarding, which could be a dealbreaker if you can't live without that functionality. Lastly, its flat-rate pricing is a great deal if you pay month-to-month; however, if you plan on subscribing for longer stretches, other services offering discounts for yearlong or multi-year subscriptions could save you money in the long run.
-
Best VPN For Windows With More Features
Torrent8.9Private Browsing7.5Policies & Practices6.3Security8.6Speed8.4Tested Simultaneous Connections:10See all our test resultsCountries:117Proton VPN is your next best option if you need even more features than our top pick. Like Mullvad, this VPN is generally well-regarded for its privacy policies and transparency. It also includes some nice-to-have features compared to our top choice. The easy-to-use PC client supports Windows 7 to Windows 11, so you're even covered if you have an older computer. You can connect up to 10 devices simultaneously, compared to Mullvad's five. It also has servers in over 100 countries, which is handy since you can connect to a server closer to you to improve the connection quality. Additionally, Proton supports port forwarding, a vital feature if you need to host game servers or peer-to-peer (P2P) applications. Like Mullvad, Proton includes obfuscation to help disguise your connection to avoid censorship, an adblocker, and a 'secure-core' feature, which routes your traffic through Proton's 'secure' servers before connecting to your chosen country server.
That said, Proton VPN still isn't perfect. It has sub-par latency, so your connection might feel laggy, especially during latency-sensitive activities like gaming or even video calls. Price-wise, Proton VPN is significantly more expensive than Mullvad if you pay monthly, though it becomes slightly cheaper if you commit to a one- or two-year plan. Proton is a good choice if you need those extra features, but if you don't or are unsure, sticking with Mullvad is the better bet.
-
Best Free VPN For Windows PC
Torrent7.3Private Browsing8.2Policies & Practices7.9Security8.6Speed6.7Tested Simultaneous Connections:11See all our test resultsCountries:10Windscribe Free is the best free VPN for Windows that we've tested. It has very good privacy and no-logging policies that clearly state the company doesn't log any of your traffic and only collects a bare minimum necessary for billing and enforcing device limits. You can choose to sign up with only a username for 2GB of monthly data, or connect an email address (which Windscribe uses to send you marketing emails) for 10GB of data. The company communicates frequently with its users, is independently owned, has open-source apps, and publishes independent third-party security audits. It hasn't published any audits verifying its privacy and no-logs claims, however.
Functionally, the VPN performs as advertised, hiding your IP address and DNS requests inside the encrypted tunnel, and even features a reliable kill switch to keep you protected if your connection drops for any reason. There are servers in 10 countries and Windscribe has apps on plenty of other platforms in addition to PC. If you need a free VPN without a monthly data limit, check out our pick below.
-
Best Free Unlimited VPN For Windows PC
Torrent6.4Private Browsing7.5Policies & Practices6.3Security8.6Speed7.1Tested Simultaneous Connections:1See all our test resultsCountries:1Proton VPN Free is the best free VPN for Windows without a data limit. However, there are a few caveats to consider. While Proton VPN publishes third-party audits to validate its no-logging policies, the scope of the most recent audit excluded Proton's broader privacy policies (which you must agree to to create an account), and the auditors didn't have access to the VPN's full source code. Additionally, the policies and terms of service are written somewhat ambiguously, leaving details about data collection and retention open to question.
The VPN itself has good functionality and security. It encrypts your IP address and DNS requests, and includes a working kill switch. Unlike Windscribe Free, our other free VPN pick, Proton VPN Free doesn't allow you to select your desired country; instead, you're automatically connected to one of five servers in Poland, the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, or the USA. You also can't download torrents, as it's a feature reserved for the paid version of Proton VPN. Overall, if you're comfortable with Proton Free's limitations and the less-than-ideal data collection practices, it's a good choice if you just want a free VPN without a data limit to add an extra layer of privacy while browsing.
Notable Mentions
-
IVPN IVPN:
Like Mullvad, you can create an IVPN account with a randomly generated number. It also has exceptional privacy practices and has nearly all the same features, but it doesn't have servers in as many countries, is a little slower, and costs more.
See our review -
NordVPN NordVPN:
You've probably seen an ad for NordVPN online somewhere. It's one of the biggest and widely known VPN services that offers a ton of extra features, much like Proton VPN. It has different subscription tiers with password managers, cloud storage, file sharing between your devices, and more. We don't recommend it because their policies indicate that they can collect a lot of your personal information.
See our review
Recent Updates
Jan 08, 2026:
We've updated our recommendations to reflect our findings in test bench 0.10. We replaced Hotspot Shield Free with Windscribe Free as our 'Best Free VPN' for its much better privacy practices, and we've added a 'Best Free Unlimited VPN' category with Proton VPN Free as our pick.
May 14, 2025:
We've updated this article to reflect the changes made in Test Bench 0.9.1. Namely, we've adjusted our definition of what we consider a leak, and we've removed Perfect Privacy from the Notable Mentions since it no longer stands out as the only VPN whose kill switch works.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are currently the best VPNs for PC users and best VPNs for Windows. We only recommend VPNs with a clear and digestible privacy policy, a proven track record of protecting their customers' privacy, transparency about their ownership, and acceptable security and speeds. We also factor in price (a cheaper VPN wins over a more expensive one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our users, and reputation within the community.
When choosing a VPN, consider what you need it for and understand its limitations. Depending on your risk profile, using one at all times is probably unnecessary. Modern websites, browsers, and devices have ample built-in security measures to protect you from the most common threats. With that in mind, here's the list of all our VPN reviews.