Extensive features at a great price
If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to high-priced VPNs like ExpressVPN and NordVPN, but still want a premium VPN experience,Surfsharkis a great choice. Surfshark’s iOS app is slick, packed with useful privacy features and works just as well as its expensive peers. The app connects in a snap and settings are easily accessible with just a few taps. All in all, it’s a top-notch VPN for iPhone that’s fast, user-friendly and excellent for streaming when you’re on the go.
Like many other VPNs, Surfshark’s iOS app offers standard features like a kill switch, quick-connect and protocol selection (WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2). And like other top VPNs, Surfshark includes standard privacy protections like an audited no-logs policy and DNS leak protection. But Surfshark’s iPhone app includes a few extras like an ad blocker, static IP, Rotating IP that automatically changes your IP address every few minutes and Dynamic Multihop, which allows you to tunnel through any two server locations of your choosing. Notably, Surfshark also offers split-tunneling on its iOS app, a feature that most other VPNs no longer offer for Apple devices. We also like that Surfshark gives you the option to pause your connection instead of disconnecting outright, which can be helpful if you need to take care of a few things while off the VPN but don’t want to forget to turn it back on when you want to protect your privacy.
But what really sets Surfshark apart from the competition is its Alternative ID feature which lets you generate a fake persona that includes a full name, physical address and email address that you can use to fill out forms and sign up for stuff online without having to use your actual personal information. Alternative ID features are included with all subscription plans, but an Alternative Number feature is also available for an extra $3 per month, letting you receive calls and communicate via text without having to divulge your actual phone number.
Surfshark isn’t the fastest VPN, but it’s still relatively speedy and plenty fast enough for general online browsing as well as more data-heavy activities like streaming and gaming on your iPhone. In our 2025 speed tests, we calculated a total average speed loss of 21%, which is slower than NordVPN’s astounding 3% speed loss but more in line with Proton VPN’s 16% speed loss and ExpressVPN’s 18%. Either way, if your network connection is fast enough to begin with, Surfshark’s speeds still shouldn’t noticeably impact your online activity.
In our streaming tests, Surfshark performed exceptionally well on iOS, unblocking content on popular streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video and Max — through various global server locations. And with a massive network of over 3,000 servers in 100 different countries, Surfshark can help give you access to a vast amount of international streaming content on your iPhone whether you’re at home or traveling the world.
Surfshark’s long-term plans offer a lot of value when compared to ExpressVPN’s and NordVPN’s pricing, especially considering its unlimited simultaneous connection allowance. However, Surfshark’s monthly subscription costs $15.45 per month, which is more expensive than just about any other VPN’s monthly rate. The annual plan costs $48 for the first year (then $79 annually) and the two-year plan costs $60 total for the first two years combined (then $79 annually). All subscription plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you’re not satisfied with the service.
Also nominated in:Best VPN for Amazon Prime Video,Best VPN for Netflix
Privacy protection and transparency
ExpressVPNis the best iPhone VPN for beginners because its iOS app is a breeze to use and because the service delivers industry-leading privacy protections, fast speeds and excellent streaming capabilities. The app’s minimalist interface is simple to navigate and includes all of the basic features you’d want in a VPN app, like a kill switch, protocol selection (Lightway, IKEv2) and easy access to servers. You’ll also have access to Advanced Protection features that you can set to block ads, malware, trackers and adult sites. Additional tools you’ll have on hand include a DNS leak test, WebRTC leak test and IP address checker — which make it easy to ensure the VPN is working properly when you’re on the go.
If you want to stream your favorite shows and movies on your iPhone, ExpressVPN is an excellent option. The 18% average speed loss we measured in our most recent speed tests means ExpressVPN should be plenty fast for streaming and other data-heavy online activities. During our latest tests with ExpressVPN’s iOS app, we were able to access content on popular streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Max and Amazon Prime Video.
Privacy-focused folks will appreciate ExpressVPN’s forward-thinking privacy initiatives and its strong commitment to transparency. Its post-quantum protections help protect your data from future threats from quantum computers and are built into the Lightway protocol — so you don’t have to do anything other than connect through Lightway to benefit from post-quantum protections. ShuffleIP is another privacy feature that changes your IP address for every website you visit, making it even more difficult to track you online when using the service. Like ExpressVPN’s post-quantum protections, ShuffleIP works in the background so you don’t need to enable it separately. During our latest tests, the kill switch worked as expected on iOS and we detected no leaks. ExpressVPN's no-logs policy is regularly audited, offering additional peace of mind.
With ExpressVPN, you’ll get the best overall VPN and one of the best iPhone VPNs you can buy. If you have other devices you want to connect to your VPN, ExpressVPN allows you to connect up to eight devices at once. But with its premium service comes a premium price tag — one that far outpaces most of the competition. The monthly plan costs $13 per month, which is in the same ballpark as what most VPNs charge per month. But ExpressVPN’s longer-term plans are considerably more expensive than many of its competitors. The yearly plan costs $100 for the first year and the two-year plan costs $140 for the first two years combined (the one- and two-year plans renew at $117 annually). The yearly and two-year plans include additional identity protection features, which you’re essentially forced to pay extra for even if you don’t want or need them. However, company representatives tell us that the company is working on overhauling its pricing structure to offer more value for budget-conscious users. ExpressVPN offers a seven-day free trial in addition to a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can give the service a try before committing.
Also nominated in:Best VPN for Apple TV,Best VPNs for Streaming
NordVPNis the fastest VPN for iPhones, making it an excellent choice for bandwidth-intensive activities like streaming videos, gaming or hopping on Zoom calls. Its astounding 3% speed loss in our 2025 tests was significantly faster than the rest of the pack. Across the board, from its iOS and iPadOS to MacOS, Windows and Android apps, NordVPN is user-friendly, with a familiar app experience regardless of the platform. In our testing, NordVPN’s iPhone app was slick and intuitive, with easy access to settings like protocol selection (OpenVPN and NordLynx), server selection, specialty servers and Threat Protection.
Its generous global network of 7,800-plus servers across 118 countries makes NordVPN a solid choice for international travel and streaming service unblocking. We effortlessly unblocked content on many streaming apps, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and BBC iPlayer. Its blazing-fast server speeds make it one of the best VPNs for streaming.
While Nord’s superb entertainment support is great for casual VPN users seeking basic privacy or streaming content unblocking, its robust privacy chops make it a compelling choice for folks with serious privacy needs, like concerned torrenters. Its proprietary NordWhisper VPN protocol is designed to mimic standard web traffic, and therefore may slip through school Wi-Fi firewalls and other networks that restrict VPN usage. Specialty servers like Tor Over VPN and double hop beef up your privacy, making it even more difficult to trace your web traffic back to your device. And Meshnet is a unique privacy feature that lets you create a virtual network to host remote LAN parties for gaming, seamlessly access streaming services while traveling or avoid CAPTCHAs. NordVPN also includes a strict no-logs policy that's been independently audited, along with DNS leak protection.
At $13 a month, $60 for the first year or $82 total for the first two years, NordVPN is competitively priced, considering its rich feature set and generous 10 simultaneous connection allowance. But the one- and two-year plans rise to an astronomical $140 per year, which is borderline extortionate. Thankfully, you can avoid a pricey auto-renewal by stacking subscriptions, but we’d prefer a more budget-friendly renewal price. But if you want blisteringly-fast connectivity, NordVPN is a fantastic choice for streaming on your iPhone, iPad, MacBook or Apple TV. Your purchase is backed by an industry-standard 30-day money-back guarantee.
Also nominated in:Fastest VPNs,Best VPNs for Netflix
The only free plan we recommend
Proton VPNis the best (and only) free VPN that we recommend for iPhone or any other platform. But Proton’s exceptional premium VPN plan is a worthy upgrade — or alternative to other paid VPN rivals. We particularly like the option to create custom server group profiles and easy access to settings like protocol selection (WireGuard, Stealth), kill switch, NetShield and VPN Accelerator.
Proton VPN'sfree plandoesn’t sell your user data, limit your monthly usage or plaster your screen with ads. But you can’t select a server manually, you’re limited to servers in five countries and you can only connect on one device at a time. By comparison, its paid plan provides 13,300-plus servers in 117 countries, lets you jump on any server you want and allows for up to 10 simultaneous connections, which is excellent for multi-device users.
Where Proton VPN excels is its balance of remaining privacy-forward but great for casual VPN users. It’s fast, outstanding for streaming and prioritizes privacy. The iOS home screen was redesigned in April 2025, making it more user-friendly and easier to access favorite server locations or customize settings. You’ll get some unique privacy features, like its proprietary Stealth VPN protocol that’s designed to bypass VPN blocks. Android users can currently utilize guest mode to use Proton VPN without creating an account, and the company said thatfeature is coming to iOSand iPadOS in 2025. Proton VPN also has an independently audited no-logs policy and DNS leak protection.
During our tests, Proton unblocked nearly every streaming service we tried, including some tough-to-access ones, like Egypt Netflix libraries — ExpressVPN was the only other VPN able to load Netflix Egypt. Whether you want to boost your privacy, need to stream geo-protected content or want a generous global server network for travel, Proton VPN is a great choice. While some VPNs like ExpressVPN are slightly more user-friendly, and others like Mullvad may be marginally more private, it’s hard to find a VPN that balances intuitive app design with streaming unblocking as well as Proton does.
Proton VPN costs $10 per month, $60 for the first year (then $80 annually) or $108 total for the first two years combined (then $80 annually). All plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Also nominated in:Best Free VPN,Best VPN for Amazon Prime Video
Surfsharkis the overall best VPN for iPhones. We like that Surfshark offers split tunneling on iOS and MacOS, not just on Windows and Android — a rarity among VPN providers. Despite its relatively wallet-friendly pricing, Surfshark doesn't compromise on features, like advanced privacy settings or speed. You can use Surfshark on as many devices as you want simultaneously, which is great if you have a household full of devices you want to protect, and more generous than most competitors.
ExpressVPNis the bestiPhoneVPN for beginners, thanks to its excellent privacy protection and streamlined, user-friendly mobile interface on iOS and iPadOS (as well asAndroidand all other platforms for that matter). It's a great overall VPN, though you'll pay more for that excellence — ExpressVPN is more expensive than most of its rivals.
NordVPNis the fastest VPN for iPhones, delivering blazing-fast speeds that are perfect for 4K video streaming or online mobile gaming. Plus, NordVPN’s track record with unblocking streams is among the best out there, especially considering it offers a global roster of locations to connect to in 118 countries.
Proton VPNis the most versatile iPhone VPN, offering an impressive server network alongside customizable settings and features that are great for power users. Proton is privacy-focused, open-source and it performed well in our latest speed tests, trailing only NordVPN.
Apple's iPhone has a reputation for privacy, but using a virtual private network, or VPN, further boosts your phone's privacy. A VPN encrypts your online traffic and masks yourpublic IP address. With a VPN enabled, your ISP or mobile carrier won't be able to see what websites and apps you're using. Likewise, apps and websites you use can't tell where you're really connecting from because your public IP address is hidden, instead showing the IP address of the VPN server you're connecting through — which can be another city, state or even country.
A VPN can make apps think you're in a different geographical location, therefore letting you unblock region-restricted content likeforeign Netflix libraries, as well as shows and movies onAmazon Prime Videoand BBC iPlayer that would otherwise be unavailable in your country. So you can watch Fear Street: Prom Queen or Dept. Q on Netflix from anywhere in the world. If your carrier throttles your video streaming quality on mobile data, you may even experience faster speeds and therefore betterstreaming video quality on your phone using a VPN.
Our team of experts at CNET has rigorously tested dozens of thetop VPN providerson multiple platforms, including iOS and iPadOS. We evaluated each service based on a host of factors, including privacy features, speed performance, ease of use and overall value for money. During our iPhone VPN app analyses, we were impressed with how responsively and intuitively each of our top picks performed on iOS devices. We were also impressed with the seamlessness and stability of the connections, especially when switching between various Wi-Fi and mobile networks. Whether you want to avoid mobile traffic-shaping, need to unblock region-restricted streaming content or are traveling internationally for the summer and need access to content from your home country, one of our top picks for iPhone VPNs is a great addition to your app arsenal to bolster your privacy and entertainment needs.
Downloading a VPN app, creating an account, choosing a plan and connecting to your VPN shouldn't take longer than a minute or so.
With so many iPhone VPN apps available, it can be difficult to choose the right one. Based on our extensive research and hands-on testing of VPNs over the years, these are the factors to look out for when choosing the best VPN for iPhone:
The most important factor to consider with any VPN is privacy. You should never use a VPN provider if you can’t trust that it's taking your privacy seriously. Every VPN worth its salt should provide AES 256-bit encryption over either OpenVPN or IKEv2VPN protocolsat the bare minimum. If it also offers ChaCha20 over WireGuard, you’ll get all the protection you expect plus a nice speed boost over most other protocols.
Your VPN should also have basic privacy features such as akill switch, which protects you if your VPN connection unexpectedly goes down, DNS leak protection to stop your ISP from reading your website requests and a solid no-logs policy that is regularly audited. We recommend checking any provider’s privacy policy and reading its audit reports closely, as it’ll give you a good understanding of whether a VPN provider is serious about your privacy. If you notice a mention of data collection or sharing practices in a VPN's privacy policy that don't sit well with you, then it's best to trust your gut and look for a different provider.
If your privacy needs are critical, then you’ll need to look for a provider that goes above and beyond the standard privacy considerations. Your VPN should be based in a jurisdiction that has strong privacy laws that don't mandate data retention or logging. Choosing a provider that offersobfuscationis also necessary if you’re in a region or network that restricts or bans VPN use outright, because it can help hide the fact that you're using a VPN in the first place. Many of the best VPNs are also rolling out post-quantum protections that help protect against potential future threats from quantum computers, which is essential for privacy-critical users now and moving forward. Finally, your provider should offer either a RAM-only server infrastructure or employ full-disk encryption on its hard drives, both of which can help ensure that your data remains secure. There are also some other privacy features that aren’t as vital but still useful, such as ad-blockers, Tor over VPN and multi-hop connections.
Your VPN's connection speeds can have a major influence on the quality of your streaming, downloading, video conferencing, gaming and general web-browsing activities. All VPNsslow down your internetsomewhat, simply by nature of encrypting your traffic and routing it through one or more remote servers. To keep things running as smoothly as possible, you'll want a VPN that will have as minimal an impact on your regular internet speeds as possible. Generally, we've found that the best VPNs for iPhone only drop your internet download speed by an average of 25% or less. In our testing, we've seen as low as an average 3% internet download speed loss. For bandwidth-demanding applications like competitive gaming or video streaming, you'll want a fast VPN.
A good VPN for iPhone should run smoothly and be easy to use, regardless of your technical expertise. It should have all of the features you need easily accessible with a tap of your finger. Many of the best iPhone VPN apps also include an easy way to get in touch with support directly from the device, which can be helpful if you need assistance on the go. Basically, your VPN app should be as easy for you to use as your iPhone itself. It should have a large network of servers around the world so you can connect easily and reliably from wherever you may be traveling, and be able to help you access geo-restricted content from various regions.
Depending on your budget, you may want to take into account the cost and overall value of your iPhone VPN before making a purchase. VPN pricing can vary greatly from provider to provider, but you can typically expect to spend about $5 to $15 per month for a monthly VPN subscription plan. If you want to save some money, you can opt for an annual subscription, where prices can range from roughly $30 to $100 per year.
You'll want to be careful with free VPNs because you may end up risking your privacy instead of protecting it with a free VPN Many free VPNs have slow speeds or have unreliable connections that frequently drop because of overloaded servers. Some even actively degrade your privacy, logging any internet activity through the VPN for sale to third parties or injecting ads into your browsing sessions. Even paid VPNs have varying degrees of usability, privacy protections, speeds and streaming capabilities. Proton VPN is currently the onlyfree VPNthat CNET recommends.
Most premium VPNs offer a money-back guarantee anywhere from a week to 45 days. You can also get a seven-day free trial with many VPNs when you sign up through Apple's App Store, so you have options to try various iPhone VPNs risk-free before you decide whether to fully invest in one.
While you'll want an VPN for iPhone that works well on iOS, you may have other devices that you want to run a VPN on. Most VPNs work on Windows, MacOS, Linux PCs and Android devices. While Android TV and Fire TV apps are common for use on streaming devices, Apple TV apps are still on the rise. Providers like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, Surfshark, PIA and IPVanish offerApple TV VPNapps. (Disclosure: IPVanish is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) Think about the devices you want to install a VPN app on and make sure your desired VPN provider supports those gadgets.
PIA's apps offer a lot of options for customization.
When we evaluate the best iPhone VPNs,we spend weeks testingthe features offered on each VPN's iPhone app to see how they compare to the competition. We carefully consider the look and feel of the app and the overall usability of the software, including how easy it is to establish a connection, bearing in mind the generally smooth user experience iPhone users are accustomed to.
We test the performance and reliability of the VPN connection on each of the protocols available in the provider's iPhone app, while paying special attention to how the app performs when switching between Wi-Fi and a mobile network. We test for leaks and ensure each service's kill switch is working as it should, in addition to testing the functionality of every other feature available on the VPN's iPhone app. If a provider offers unique features (or includes a rare-to-iPhone feature like split-tunneling) we make sure to call them out and document our experience using them.
Many VPNs also offer easy access to customer support directly from their iPhone app, so we test that functionality and evaluate how seamlessly the app is able to connect the user with a support agent as well as the general effectiveness of the support itself.
We test each VPN's ability to circumvent geographical restrictions and access content on popular streaming sites on the iPhone, while taking into account previously-tested speed performance and noting any issues with buffering or stream quality. Finally, we evaluate each provider's pricing to determine the service's overall value.
Private Internet Accessis a decent cheap VPN that undercuts most of its rivals at $12 per month, $40 for the first year (renewing at $50 annually) or $79 every three years. We like its customizable apps and privacy-forward design that includes open-source apps as well as a reader-friendly privacy policy. PIA is one of the few VPN providers that offers split tunneling on MacOS, so Apple aficionados may appreciate the flexibility to route some apps but not others through a VPN.
However, PIA’s high 49% average speed loss is about double what you can typically expect from a fast VPN, making it a tough sell for folks with slow or unreliable internet connections. Additionally, we experienced many CAPTCHAs with PIA when trying to access websites like Google. And its app design, while mostly user-friendly, felt outdated compared to most of the competition. While PIA is a good budget VPN, for a little bit more money, you can get a lot more value with a VPN like Surfshark or Proton VPN.
IPVanish'siPhone app is fairly easy to use and includes a prominent "Connect" button on the home screen that'll get you connected quickly. If you navigate to the "locations" screen to select a specific server, you can either connect to the "optimal location" or choose from a list of servers. However, after you've connected, there's no indication of whether you're connected or not unless you navigate back to the home screen. Even if you connect to the optimal location, the Connect button on the locations screen still says "Connect" — which can lead to some confusion.
Although IPVanish's iPhone app isn't as streamlined as the others on this list, it includes split tunneling functionality — a feature most VPNs don't offer with their iPhone apps. Even so, it's difficult to enthusiastically recommend IPVanish to iPhone users considering that far superior services are available for the same price or cheaper. IPVanish costs $13 per month, $40 for the first year or $53 for the first two years combined. However (as this information is not made sufficiently clear on IPVanish's pricing page), be advised that the price of the annual plan more than doubles to $90 after the initial term, and the two-year subscription renews at $180 every two years after the first two years. Also, IPVanish's 30-day money-back guarantee only applies to the annual and two-year subscription plans, not the monthly plan. (Disclosure: IPVanish is owned by CNET's parent company, Ziff Davis.)
The only free VPN for iPhone that we recommend isProton VPN. Itsfree tieremploys the same encryption standards as its premium tier, doesn't impose any usage or speed limitations and doesn't sell your data. There's no shortage of free VPN options available for iPhone, but we generallydon't recommend most free VPNsfor a number of reasons. First, many free VPNs make money by collecting your personal data and selling it to third parties — putting your privacy at risk and defeating the purpose of using a VPN in the first place. Many free VPNs may also inundate you with annoying popups and unwanted advertisements, and some may even contain malware. Additionally, free VPNs impose limitations on usage, are burdened by overcrowded servers (which can negatively affect speeds and stability), typically lack streaming support and often employ substandard encryption.
In our testing,ExpressVPNwas the VPN that performedthe best for streamingon iPhone as well as on every other device we tested. If your main priority is to unblock international streaming content on your iPhone with a VPN, we recommend going with ExpressVPN because it has proven year after year in our tests to be the most reliable service for geo-unblocking content from all over the world.
The best VPNs for iPhone are already highly intuitive and deliver exceptional performance on iOS devices. But you can expect even more refinements throughout 2025 and beyond in terms of performance and features. Specifically, many of the top VPNs have been rolling out additional services like password managers, antivirus protection, secure email and identity protection features that you can bundle with the VPN service. We've started seeing many of these additional features added to existing VPN apps, but we're likely to see them integrated more into a single app for each provider instead of having multiple apps for each of your bundled services. We're also likely to see a greater degree of parity between apps on different platforms (especially with more providers re-implementing split-tunneling on iPhone and other Apple apps), so users can have access to the same set of features regardless of which operating system they're using. Additionally, we'll see providers committing to more regular audits, refining their pricing structures and a wider implementation of forward-thinking privacy features like post-quantum protection.
Surfsharkis our choice for best iPhone VPN, thanks to its suite of useful features, easy-to-use app and the rare ability to enable split tunneling on iOS.ExpressVPNis our runner-up for the best iPhone VPN due to to its reliability, responsiveness and ease of use.NordVPN, is the best VPN for iPhone power users who want best-in-class internet download speeds and exceptional streaming support.ProtonVPNoffers the only free VPN plan we recommend and is a versatile VPN for people who enjoy customizing their settings.
You should use a VPN on your iPhone if you need to boost your privacy by keeping your internet activity hidden from your ISP, access geographically restricted content like foreign Netflix libraries or circumvent throttling and censorship restrictions. Using a VPN on your iPhone is a great way to protect your privacy when you're on the go.
No, iPhones do not have a built-in VPN app, but there is a built-in VPN client in iOS that lets you connect to a VPN server. But the easiest way to use a VPN on your iPhone or iPad is by downloading your VPN provider's app.
Recentindependent researchclaims that VPNs on iOS devices leak user traffic outside of the VPN tunnel, unencrypted. VPN providers have pointed out that the vulnerability exists on Apple’s side and affects all VPNs on iOS devices.Proton VPNoutlined a workaround to the issue in ablog post, advising iOS VPN users to connect to a VPN server, enable Airplane mode (to kill existing internet connections and temporarily disable the VPN) and disable Airplane mode. The VPN should then reconnect with all internet connections running through the VPN tunnel. Proton notes that it’s not a 100% guarantee that the VPN will be rendered leak-free through this process, but it can only help.
Your internet service provider or mobile carrier can see that you're connected to a VPN, but it won’t be able to see the websites you visit or your browsing history, because your iPhone VPN encrypts your online traffic. Your ISP/mobile carrier will also see things like the IP address of the VPN server you're connected to, the time stamps of when you're connected and the amount of data you've transmitted. If you want to hide the fact that you’re using a VPN altogether, you can connect to an obfuscated server, if offered by your VPN.
The easiest way to set up a VPN on your iPhone is by downloading your VPN provider's app from Apple's App Store. Then, fire up the app, punch in your login credentials and tap "Connect" or "On" — the exact phrasing may differ — to enable your VPN. Toturn off a VPN on your iPhone, tap the "Disconnect" or "Off" button.
Yes, the best VPNs for iPhone all allow for multiple simultaneous connections, which is great if you want to use a VPN on other devices — like a MacBook, Windows PC, Android device smart TV or streaming device. Typically, you'll be able to connect at least five to 10 simultaneous devices, with a few services offering unlimited connections.
