VPNs are more useful than ever, but each and every one of them claims to be the best. While not everyone can be the best VPN 2026, I can rank them by how close they are to perfection. This is exactly what I’m doing in this best VPN tier list, the good, the bad, and the terrible. I’m going to review all kinds of VPNs and rank them all. This is not my first rodeo. I ranked the top VPN providers in 2025 as well.

Quick note before we get into it: this article may contain affiliate links, so I could earn a commission if you sign up through one of them, at no extra cost to you.

How are VPNs ranked?

The way I rank providers will remain the same. S-tier is reserved only for VPNs with the best privacy, security, performance, and features. The further they are from this standard, the lower my ranking will drop. Some of my rankings have changed since last year, and I will cover how the best VPNs have changed and why it affects my judgment. Let’s look at last year’s S-tier pick.

NordVPN: still S-tier?

This year, NordVPN still holds that top spot. This is the top-tier VPN for privacy and security. RAM-based servers, a confirmed no-logs policy with its fifth audit reportedly landing in 2025, a privacy-friendly jurisdiction, and other modern security features, really nothing to complain about. In my NordVPN review, I claimed that it was the fastest, based on my tests alone, but West Coast Labs just confirmed it’s the quickest, even against very strong competitors. With a growing list of servers and a variety of locations, NordVPN is almost in a league of its own, especially given how good it is for streaming and torrenting and how many features it offers.

NordVPN offers Threat Protection Pro to address ad tracking, malware, and other threats, a bunch of specialized servers for different purposes, and even additional products for identity protection and password management. I still can’t forget how NordVPN devs listened to the users and not just kept Meshnet, a feature they planned to discontinue, but also made it free for everyone. Insane dedication to the user base.

With everything I mentioned, NordVPN is surprisingly still very affordable, especially if you have a discount to use. You can always scan this QR code or check the link in the description to check the best S-tier deals.

Norton VPN: B-tier upgrade?

Next in line, Norton VPN. This is a VPN produced by the Norton Antivirus team and previously included as a feature in the antivirus software before becoming a standalone app. Comparing VPNs like this just reveals how lacking they are. But Norton VPN set a precedent by rolling out some great improvements in 2025. Norton VPN is already pretty reliable with industry standard encryption, and now a reported third no-logs policy audit, reduced data retention, and connection stamp removal. Still, it’s not ideal for those worried about their privacy. The US jurisdiction puts Norton VPN within the data extraction rules of the 14-Eyes Intelligence Sharing Alliance.

Norton VPN does provide very solid performance these days with recent updates such as a connection speed boost and an expansion in server and location numbers. The 2025 updates also added double VPN, ad blocking, and IP rotation, though they failed to improve the streaming and torrenting performance. One great benefit Norton VPN always had is the natural integration with the Norton Antivirus, one of the strongest antivirus providers out there. Considering that this partnership is going to cost you surprisingly little, I’d say that Norton VPN is a great value provider. Norton VPN deserves a promotion from C-tier, which I gave it last year, to B-tier. Honestly, really earned improvement.

Bitdefender VPN: worth it?

I wish I could say the same about Bitdefender VPN. This one is also developed by an antivirus company that can be purchased separately. Bitdefender’s VPN is mediocre at best, with no major updates for years at this point. It does have good speed results and somewhat decent privacy features. It reportedly passed an audit in 2025, but there are no RAM-only servers, and the dubiously doubled jurisdiction between fairly secure Romania and a 14-Eyes country of the US, raises my eyebrows a bit.

The streaming performance is also suboptimal, and while the torrenting support is there, neither speed nor security makes me want to try P2P with Bitdefender VPN. There are no extra features really to speak of, which makes its pricing even less favorable, all things considered. This one is still at the bottom of the C-tier.

TotalVPN: bundle but weak?

TotalVPN almost joined it there, another provider with antivirus origins. Currently, TotalVPN is a joint deal with TotalAV and TotalAdblock, which makes it a surprisingly good security bundle to consider. TotalAV by itself is a simple app with a very beginner-friendly design. The speeds of this provider are average, and the server network is not that impressive, but at least it’s considerably better than Bitdefender VPN at streaming and torrenting. Without any audits, RAM-only servers, and with the UK jurisdiction, TotalVPN is really far from providing a genuinely good VPN service. Off it goes to C-tier, though a bit above Bitdefender.

Surfshark: S-tier value?

Let’s take a look at a good provider, Surfshark. This one is top-tier in privacy and security between reliable encryption and an audited no-logs policy, planned post-quantum encryption, and RAM-based servers. Really, you’ve got everything you need for 2026. Surfshark’s performance is also up there with thousands of servers all over the world, a fast WireGuard protocol, and self-healing Everlink infrastructure, Surfshark can maintain fast and uninterrupted connections without any issues. This makes it powerful enough for high definition streaming and fast torrenting.

There are also many extra features Surfshark can provide, not just the security basics like a kill switch, split tunneling or double VPN, but also ad blocking, alternative ID creation, and even an antivirus. Unlike the antivirus VPN combo that we just saw, Surfshark effectively updates both parts of the combo, creating one of the best VPN-based security suites in the business. Surfshark pricing is still one of the most affordable, offering strong value with its unlimited connections. This VPN is easily S-tier. You can get the special deal for it through this QR code or in the description below for even more value. But that’s not the only option if you want a VPN with unlimited connections.

IPVanish: solid but basic?

IPVanish offers such freedom as well, just with a B-tier quality. And IPVanish is very solid. That’s a VPN with reliable security from the encryption to an audited no-logs policy and a threat protection feature against malicious ads, websites, and other threats. IPVanish’s speed is decent as well, thanks to WireGuard and a rather extensive server list, which got extended throughout 2025. But being decent is hardly enough for 2026. I can’t say that streaming or torrenting with IPVanish were on par with the top-tier VPNs in this list.

Overall, IPVanish sits in B because it’s quite basic, there’s not a lot of extras, just a simple interface and a good entry-level price. It is very good for beginners trying to get into VPNs for the first time, though such beginners will likely be drawn to the likes of ExpressVPN.

ExpressVPN: A-tier now?

ExpressVPN is another one that I ranked as B-tier in the last review, and I will be damned if it didn’t exceed my expectations in 2025. It’s always been quite solid security-wise, encryption, RAM-only servers, and other things considered. But with a reported third no-logs policy audit in June 2025, an introduction of post-quantum encryption, and even a re-release of the Lightway VPN protocol for extra security and speed, it seems ExpressVPN is trying its best to fix the issues users had with the questionable acquisition by Kape Technologies. On the performance side, ExpressVPN also saw a lot of improvements, an increased server count, and a faster Lightway implementation. All that helps this provider to no longer struggle with streaming and torrenting at all.

Over the years, ExpressVPN added more and more features, so now it can almost rival NordVPN with a password manager, identity defender, and threat manager, ad, and malware blocker. All of those features are also coming in a new packaging on iOS and Android, thanks to a full UI redesign. Even ExpressVPN’s pricing went down and became more flexible, clearly taking inspiration from NordVPN and Surfshark. These days, it’s an A-tier VPN and one that I do recommend checking out. Go to the description, grab an exclusive ExpressVPN discount.

CyberGhost: stuck in B-tier?

Unfortunately, another VPN belonging to Kape Technologies, CyberGhost, didn’t see such explosive growth last year, which is interesting since CyberGhost doesn’t need much. It already has the same privacy and security benefits as ExpressVPN. Strong encryption, no-logs policy, RAM-based servers, and a privacy-friendly Romania jurisdiction. Its speeds are also competitive, not on S-tier level, but CyberGhost can provide streaming and torrenting performance comparable to ExpressVPN. But CyberGhost really needs help feature-wise. It focuses mainly on specialty servers and does have a good lot of options here, like streaming, torrenting, gaming, and even some special no-spy servers located at their HQ for optimal security. Still, that’s not enough to get out of the B-tier, so that’s where it stays despite having a lot of promise and quite an affordable price tag.

Proton VPN: S-tier upgrade?

Next on this list is Proton VPN, the only major open source VPN on this tier list. Is Proton VPN safe? I’d rather ask if it can get any safer. Being privacy-first and transparent is Proton’s whole identity. It uses full disk encryption to keep all data on servers inaccessible to third parties, regularly audits its no-logs policy, and offers secure core servers located in privacy-friendly regions. In 2025, Proton VPN also released a data breach observatory, keeping track of major breaches and who they affect.

On top of being secure, Proton VPN stands out because of its massive server list, one of the biggest in the industry. This is what makes Proton this good for streaming and torrenting, the latter being especially effective thanks to port forwarding and specialized P2P servers. Proton VPN’s features are quite varied. You get the speed-boosting VPN Accelerator, promising a 400% speed boost, an upgraded NetShield that now blocks not only ads and malicious links, but also phishing scams, and that’s only the beginning. Proton integrates really well with the rest of Proton software, so you can get a lot of effective cybersecurity gear altogether.

Last year, I ranked Proton VPN as A-tier, but due to all the updates, it’s moving up a tier just as ExpressVPN did. Welcome the third S-tier provider of this list. Since it’s a bit pricey, it’s going to especially benefit from the special discount. Scan the QR code above or check the link below to check it out.

F-tier VPNs to avoid

You might have noticed that there have been no F-tier VPNs so far. That’s because I decided not to waste your time with separate mentions and just bundle them all together. These are just bad, with serious privacy and security concerns or the lack of security altogether. I’m not trusting those with my security and won’t recommend touching them at all. Hola VPN is not a VPN at all, just a shady proxy service allowing users to use IP addresses of other users for anything.

Another VPN with poor privacy and security that collects user data is SuperVPN. Opera VPN is one more proxy pretending to be a VPN, and it only works in the Opera browser, if at all. We can’t forget about such titans as HideMyAss VPN. This list is not exhaustive. Just consider this my reminder that you really have to remember checking what you’re downloading. A lot of questionable VPNs can really mess with your online privacy.

Final verdict: which should you pick?

Here we have it, all VPNs ranked in one tier list. The best VPNs here are the ones I’ve tested extensively, and in my experience they do a solid job protecting you while offering some of the best service at competitive prices. I always have the best deals in my description, so take a look if you need a good VPN. Even if you don’t find the one that you like amongst the VPNs compared here, you know what to look for. Privacy, strong encryption, speed, obfuscation, streaming, torrenting, support, and extra features. Which VPN are you going with? Let me know in the comments below.