Best VPN for iPhone 2025

With so many iPhone VPN apps available, it can be difficult to choose the right solution. 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 iPhone VPN:

Privacy

The most important factor to consider when it comes to any VPN is privacy. You should never use a VPN provider if you can’t trust that it’s taking your privacy seriously, and it also needs to have the technical controls in place to put their money where their mouth is. Every VPN worth its salt should provide AES-256 encryption over either OpenVPN or IKEv2 VPN protocols at 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. Solid encryption is the absolute bare minimum, as you should also be on the lookout for basic privacy features such as a kill switch, which protects you when your connection goes down, DNS leak protection to stop your ISP from reading your website requests and a solid no-logs policy which is regularly being audited by an external company. We definitely recommend checking out any provider’s privacy policy and reading its audit reports closely, as it’ll give you a good understanding of whether a VPN provider can really protect your privacy.

Users with basic privacy needs are probably fine with all of these boxes ticked. However, if you’re particularly worried about being spied on then you’ll need to look for a provider that goes above and beyond the normal privacy considerations. For a start, it should be based in a jurisdiction that has strong privacy laws and protects VPN providers specifically. Picking a provider that offers obfuscation protocols is also necessary if you’re in a country or using an internet network that doesn’t play nicely with VPNs, otherwise you may not even be able to get online with a VPN. Finally, your provider should offer either RAM-only or fully encrypted servers, both of which will ensure that your data remains secure or isn’t logged at all. 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 servers. 

Speed

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 virtual private networks slow down your internet somewhat, simply by nature of encrypting your traffic and sending it through at least one server before moving on to its final destination. 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 iPhone VPNs only drop your internet download speed by an average of 25% or less. In our testing, we’ve seen as low as an average 11% internet download speed loss. For bandwidth-demanding applications like competitive gaming or 4K video streaming, you’ll want a snappy VPN.

Provider	Speed loss
NordVPN	11%
Mullvad	13%
Surfshark	17%
Proton VPN	21%
ExpressVPN	25%
IPVanish	44%
PIA	49%

Usability

A good iPhone VPN 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 Apple 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 iPhone 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. 

Cost

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 $13 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. Proton VPN is currently the only free VPN that 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.   

Device support

While you’ll want an iPhone VPN that work well on iOS and iPadOS, chances are you’ve got a slew of other devices you may want to run a VPN on. Most VPNs work on Windows, MacOS and Linux PCs. In addition to iPhones and iPads, the majority of virtual private networks also offer Android apps. 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 feature Apple TV VPN apps. (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 company supports those gadgets.