4 Best VPN Service Providers in 2020
By: Prince Hudda
Tags: VPN, Content Writing, Blog, Vpn Service, Technology

As work from home culture is growing, the need for Virtual Private Network (VPN) is also growing for small business owners and other businesses whose employees are working remotely. Here’s a guide to what is VPN and the best VPN service providers in 2020:

What is a VPN?

The word VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, it helps to protect your identity and browsing activity from hackers, government agencies, businesses, and other snoops. VPN gives you online privacy and anonymity by creating a private network from a public internet connection.

Here’s a list of top 4 VPN service providers in 2020:

1. ExpressVPN

ExpresVPN comes on no. 1 on this list because of its high speed and proven privacy.

- Number of IP addresses: 30,000

- Number of servers: 3,000-plus in 160 locations

- Number of simultaneous connections: 5

- Country/jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands

- 94-plus countries

- 3 months free with a 1-year plan

ExpressVPN is simply the best VPN available, thanks to its fantastic apps, ease of use, superb speeds, excellent 24/7 customer service support, and wide compatibility across devices. You can use the service on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, even Linux or BlackBerry, and you can also install it on your Android TV, games console, or your home router.

ExpressVPN tells us its network is powered by TrustedServer technology, which ExpressVPN built to ensure that there are never any logs of users’ online activities. In the privacy world, ExpressVPN has a strong track record, having experienced a server seizure by authorities which proved their zero-log policy true at the time. We also like the quality of the VPN’s setup guides and the detailed information in its FAQ.

While its speeds consistently compete with heavy-hitting competitors, our 2020 speed tests saw ExpressVPN produce a 52% overall loss of our normal internet speeds, representing a significant slowdown compared to its 2019 score of 2% speed loss.

2. HotspotShield

- Number of IP addresses: 50,000

- Number of servers: 3,200

- Number of server countries: 80-plus

- $2.99 a month for a 3-year plan

- Hotspot Shield in-depth review and hands-on testing

While it’s probably best-known for its free VPN, Hotspot Shield does offer a fully-featured paid-for VPN that’s surprisingly impressive. It offers incredibly fast VPN speeds available for a fair price, and it’s pretty easy to use as well.

While those maximum speeds come with a few drawbacks — namely the fact that Hotspot’s proprietary protocol Catapult Hydra can’t be manually set up on routers like OpenVPN can — the service has improved since we last tested it and has now become one of our most highly recommended VPNs.

3. IPVanish

The best VPN service for beginners.

- Number of IP addresses: 40,000-plus

- Number of server locations: 60

- Number of simultaneous connections: 10

- Number of servers: 1,300

- Country/jurisdiction: US

- $5.20 a month (57% discount) for a one-year plan

Sixth in our current rankings list comes to IPVanish — a good VPN service that boasts over 1,500 servers in more than 75 locations and 24/7 customer service, However, a brand-new selling point is that IPVanish has recently adjusted its policy to allow unlimited simultaneous connections — along with Surfshark, it’s one of the only VPNs on this list to offer that.

Those connections could come in handy, too, as IPVanish works on lots of devices, including Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS. The desktop apps offer plenty of options that will keep the pros happy, while the just-work simplicity is also there for everyone else. That it all functions with far above average speeds is a nice bonus.

At $10 a month or $62 a year, IPVanish is trying to move you towards its yearly program. We’re a little disappointed that it only allows a seven-day trial, rather than a full 30 days, but it does offer a full money-back guarantee.

4. NordVPN

Best VPN for security and reliability.

- Number of IP addresses: 5,000

- Number of servers: 5,200-plus servers

- Number of server locations: 62

- Country/jurisdiction: Panama

- 62 countries

- $3.71 a month (68% discount) for a 2-year plan

- NordVPN in-depth review and hands-on testing (ZDNet)

If you’re on this page then you probably know about NordVPN — and yes, the security giant you’ve seen on TV is one of the best VPN services around. While it can’t quite match ExpressVPN in terms of all-round excellence, Nord provides a seriously secure, privacy-focused experience.

You’ll be covered by military-grade encryption, alongside all the usual extra features we’ve come to expect like a kill switch and a choice of protocols to let you choose if you want extra speed or safety. You’ll also have a great selection of apps for pretty much any device you want covering.

The company’s two-year subscription plan costs $3.71 a month ($89 billed at once). That price is lower than most contenders but creeps up for the six-month plan ($9 a month or $64 total) and the monthly plan ($11.95 a month). But it does have a full 30-day refund policy.

How to get a VPN?

Thankfully, downloading and installing your new VPN is much easier than trying to understand the ins and outs of how they work! All of the best VPNs listed above make it quick to get started on desktop or, if you’re on mobile, then you could go to the App Store or Play Store and download them there, instead. Usually, the prices are quoted in their effective monthly cost but note that you will need to pay the full amount upfront.

Once installed, you can then get extensions added to your chosen web browser, and go about adding functionality to your various devices. That includes your computer and mobile phone of course, but also your games console, tablet, TV streaming devices — even your internet router.

Finally, there’s a list of the four best VPN services, so now it’s your turn to choose the best suitable for you. Have a great day.