For privacy enthusiasts who take online security of their Mac machines seriously, I have scoured the internet to find absolutely the best VPN for Mac OSand discussed it in this blog. However, if you are not ready to spend couple of bucks, you can also try the free VPN services for Mac. 10 Best VPN for MAC. So, the list of Best Free VPN for Mac has the essential applications, and I bet these VPN software’s come with accessibility for Android and iOS Devices too. Let us head from start to the tail.
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are more popular than ever. They are an important weapon in the ongoing fight against cyber-snooping and can even unlock some geo-blocked apps and websites.
Different VPN providers specialize in different areas; it can be difficult to choose the right supplier for your needs. But once you’ve selected your provider, you still have decisions to make. Specifically, how do you know which VPN client to useThe Best VPN According to RedditThe Best VPN According to RedditBut with so many VPNs on the market, how do you decide which one to use? We checked Reddit's best subreddits and threads to get the best VPN recommendations.Read More? Should you use your VPN provider’s proprietary app, or a flexible solution that can connect to several different services?
If you’re not sure where to turn, keep reading for the best free Mac VPN clients you can use right now, and a few other options you might not have considered.
Free Open-Source Clients
Here are the top free VPN clients you should consider.
TunnelBlick
TunnelBlick is an Apple-specific VPN client. It works on macOS and iOS. There is no Windows or Linux version. It works with any VPN provider which offers OpenVPN support.
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Because the app is completely open source, you can be confident it’s not secretly tracking your internet usage in other ways and thus negating the benefit of using a VPN. It is more transparent than proprietary apps.
Interestingly, TunnelBlick logs all your session data by default. This is not unusual — all OpenVPN clients do the same thing. If you want to turn off session data logging, all you need to do is add verb 0 to the app’s config file. Remember, this is not linked to whether the VPN provider itself is logging your data.
Finally, the app has a vibrant support community. If you encounter difficulties, head to the Google Group discussion forum and someone will quickly step in to assist.
OpenVPN
The OpenVPN project began back in 2002. It is probably the most well-known of all the free VPN clients. In addition to a Mac version, the app is also available on iOS, Windows, and Android.
The app itself supports lots of different VPN configurations, including remote access, site-to-site VPNs, and enterprise-scale deployments.
The app isn’t as easy to use as proprietary apps — or even some other OpenVPN clients — but it’s established a name for itself thanks to its feature-rich menus and unflinching reliability.
The main criticism of OpenVPN is its VPN configurations limit. By default, you cannot have more than 50 saved. It is possible to recompile the app to remove the limit, but it’s a complicated process and beyond the scope of this article. It’s also important to be aware that the OpenVPN app only supports the OpenVPN protocol.
SoftEther VPN
SoftEther VPN is possibly the easiest to use multi-protocol VPN app on this list. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. The open-source app is entirely free, regardless of whether you’re going to use it in a personal or commercial environment.
It supports almost all VPN protocols, including L2TP/IPsec, OpenVPN, MS-SSTP, L2TPv3, EtherIP, and most impressively, VPN-over-HTTPS.
If you use the developer’s own SoftEther VPN protocol, you can expect faster surfing speeds than OpenVPN. In testing, the SoftEther server was 103 percent faster than Microsoft’s Windows implementation of L2TP/IPsec and up to 117 percent faster than OpenVPN.
Additional features include support for packet filtering, dynamic DNS, and UDP hole punching.
Service-Specific Apps
Some providers offer their own apps. The apps themselves are free, but they only work with the providers’ services.
Here are a couple of the best free provider specific apps. Remember, the quality of any provider’s app has no bearing on the quality of the actual VPN service, but they often offer more pleasing interfaces than the open source options above.
NordVPN
NordVPN is widely considered to be one of the best VPN services availableThe Best VPN ServicesThe Best VPN ServicesWe've compiled a list of what we consider to be the best Virtual Private Network (VPN) service providers, grouped by premium, free, and torrent-friendly.Read More. It always scores highly on privacy tests thanks to its lack of logging and Panamanian jurisdiction.
The Mac app was recently overhauled. You can choose from hundreds of servers around the world on the app’s interactive map, chat to tech support via live chat, and quickly jump between server locations with a single click.
The app also has a kill switch that prevents data being revealed to snoopers if you unexpectedly get disconnected from your VPN. Lastly, it includes shortcuts to servers specifically designed for streaming and P2P downloading.
You can download the NordVPN app on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and even on some smart TVs and gaming consoles.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is another well-known VPN providerEnjoy a Secure and Easy-to-Use VPN With ExpressVPNEnjoy a Secure and Easy-to-Use VPN With ExpressVPNWhy should you choose ExpressVPN? Well, we've given it a try, and quite like what we've seen so far. We think you will, too.Read More that been around since 2009. It’s headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, thus giving you peace of mind regarding anonymity and data disclosure. It’s also one of the fastest VPN providers and offers unlimited bandwidth.
The Mac desktop client supports OpenVPN (UDP and TCP), L2TP, and PPTP protocols. The app lets you bookmark your favorite servers for easy access and chat with the tech support team.
It also provides a way to set up one-click connect and, like NordVPN, has a kill switch in case you lose your connection. The app is free to download and use, but it will only work with ExpressVPN’s service.
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For a Small Fee…
There’s one paid app that deserves a mention in this list.
Viscosity ($9)
Like the three free solutions I discussed, Viscosity is open source. It costs a one-time fee of $9. It’s also cross-platform — you can run it on Windows as well as macOS.
Viscosity undoubtedly wins the design award. Its user interface is much more polished than the free alternatives, and it’s incredibly easy to use and navigate. If you’re new to the world of third-party VPN clients and aren’t au-fait with terminologyThe Short MakeUseOf Guide to VPN TerminologyThe Short MakeUseOf Guide to VPN TerminologyThe need for a secure internet connection has never been more vital. A VPN is a great way to stop unwanted snooping in your internet traffic. We're here to cut through the VPN jargon.Read More, it’s $9 well spent.
From a technical standpoint, the app gives you a complete traffic breakdown of your connections, integrates with Keychain to keep your details safe, and works with macOS’s advanced DNS system.
On the downside, the app only works with the OpenVPN protocol.
Which VPN Client Do You Use?
Each VPN client has different advantages and disadvantages. Which one you choose to use will depend on which protocols your VPN provider offers and your familiarity with setting up and using VPNs on third-party apps.
Which is the best free VPN client on macOS? Do you use one of the apps I reviewed, or have you found a better app that did not make this list? You can let us know which app you use and why it’s so good in the comments section below.
Explore more about: Computer Security, Open Source, VPN.
I'm all in for TigerVPN (paid lifetime license was on sale). It refuses connections sometimes, but other than that it is a good service. I am also crazy about the free Windscribe VPN service -- it works like mad (but, limited free GBs per month)! If I hadn't already paid for TigerVPN, I would probably switch over.
About Private Internet Access - Presently I am using their two-years package. I have been facing serious low band width issues since more than a month or so. I wrote to them a couple of times. They never bothered to get back to me. This is unforgivable. I would not be renewing my services with them.
I use Purevpn as recommended by Make Use Of. It causes no end of problems, especially when I am on public WiFi, which is where I need it most. On public WiFi (shopping centers etc) it hardly works and mostly is so slow (if I get a server to respond) I have to disconnect it to be workable. Every time I contact Purevpn support, their answer is try this other server.. Why don't they fix their servers? I am in Australia.
PureVpn is what i use. The biggest amount of servers ever seen in a VPN service. Also, it is among the fewest that offers NAT service , to open ports...
I also use Purevpn as recommended by Make Use Of. It causes no end of problems, especially when I am on public WiFi, which is where I need it most. On public WiFi (shopping centers etc) it hardly works and mostly is so slow (if I get a server to respond) I have to disconnect it to be workable. Every time I contact Purevpn support, their answer is try this other server.. Why don't they fix their servers? I am in Australia.
VPN services prevent anyone on the same Wi-Fi hotspot from intercepting your web traffic, which is useful particularly for travelers using public Wi-Fi networks. Hiding your computer’s IP address is another feature of VPNs, thus giving advertisers a hard time to track you online.
There are VPN for PC and Mac, free VPNs and paid VPN Services, they come with a price. But the price is not the factor to be focused on. Most companies provide free trial for Windows VPN software and Mac VPN apps, take advantage of that and make sure you get what you want from the service before paying.
Let us see the best VPN Services for Mac and Windows (Paid and Free) to secure you.
Express VPN
The Express VPN is one of the best VPN services out there in market and company claims as the fastest VPN. Express VPN has over 1000 servers on about 145 locations spreading over 94 countries. This VPN supports three devices maximum and has P2P support on all its servers, with unlimited usage. Express VPN has a no Ad policy, offers own DNS service, and aids in prevents tracking the user by using the DNS request.
The Express VPN is against keeping user logs and does not keep information about user’s web traffic. Express VPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, which has no data retention laws and no logging policy. Even though there is a no logging policy, Express VPN keep track of aggregate data transfer amount and choice of server locations, to improve network resource allocation. Best mac foundation shades for makeup arist. But then no information that is capable of matching IP and track back the user is not kept. Express VPN comes with a Kill Switch uses Open VPN encryption and has both Windows VPN and Mac VPN applications.
Key Features: Number of servers- 1000 | Server Locations-145 | IP Addresses-NA | Maximum Device Supported- 3 | No Logs | Streaming Channels | Unlimited Data Transfer | Wi-Fi Encryption | Automatic Kill Switch | P2P Support | Block Ads | Multi-Device Support | Dedicated IP- NA | Streaming Service Support | Download: Mac | Windows
Related: 8 Free Light Weight Antivirus for Windows and Mac
TunnelBear VPN
TunnelBear is one of the few top VPN services which provide a free version with data restriction of 500MB. Tunnel Bear does not allow ads in the free version. In terms of the number of servers, Tunnel Bear is behind its competitors. Tunnel Bear has only 14 servers across 20 countries. This may cause sluggish performance in a high traffic scenario. But Tunnel Bear claims that they expand their server network when a heavy activity starts to bring things down.
TunnelBear offers unlimited data transfer, suitable for a household as it supports up to 5 devices at a time and no log activity to ensure privacy for the users. Tunnel Bear lacks P2P support and streaming services are supported. TunnelBear follows Open VPN encryption protocol and the user gets military-grade 256-bit encryption. The unique feature IntelliBear from Tunnel Bear helps to whitelist and blacklist websites by the user. The websites such as YouTube could be whitelisted, so as to automatically get better video streaming speeds when TunnelBear is turned off, and bank websites could be blacklisted so transactions are always protected by VPN.
Key Features: Number of servers- 14 |Server Locations-20 | IP Addresses-NA | Maximum Device Supported- 5 | No Logs | Streaming Channels | Unlimited Data Transfer | Wi-Fi Encryption | Automatic Kill Switch | P2P Support- NA | Block Ads | Multi-Device Support | Dedicated IP- NA | Streaming Service Support | Download: Mac | Windows
Related: Best VPN for Android and iPhone
PureVPN
PureVPN is one of the VPN service providers with 750+ servers and supports 5 devices. As a majority of VPNs, PureVPN also has a no logging policy and unlimited data transfer is possible with PureVPN. PureVPN supports 256 bit OpenVPN encryption protocol along with other multiple protocols to choose from. The PureVPN support P2P, but lack of ad blocking capability.
PureVPN comes with a rare feature, dedicated IP, which is found only in some VPNs. This feature helps the users to have complete control of their online reputation, security, and privacy. PureVPN offers over 80000+ IPs. It also has a Kill Switch. A feature called Split Tunneling helps users to selectively send data through VPN and ISP.
Key Features: Number of servers- 750+ | Server Locations-180 | IP Addresses-80,000+ | Maximum Device Supported- 5 | Free/Paid- Paid | No Logs | Streaming Channels | Unlimited Data Transfer | Wi-Fi Encryption | Automatic Kill Switch | P2P Support | Block Ads-NA | Multi-Device Support | Dedicated IP | Streaming Service Support | Download: Mac | Windows
Hotspot Shield VPN
One specialty of Hotspot Shield VPN is the ability to alert about phishing websites (which is based on a database of 3.5 million malicious sites). Hotspot Shield uses a different approach when it comes to encryption protocol, uses a proprietary protocol called Catapult Hydra. Hotspot Shield has a no ad policy and lacks the no logging policy.
It keeps a log of email and payment information, which may not be big of a deal. But it also keeps browsing and connection information even though it will be deleted when the VPN is closed. Like most VPNs Hotspot Shield also support five devices simultaneously. Another feature it lacks is P2P support. It does not come with an unlimited data transfer. A limitation o 750MB per day exists, which reset every 24hrs.
Key Features: Number of servers- 2000 | Server Locations-20 | IP Addresses-NA | Maximum Device Supported- 5 | No Logs – NA | Streaming Channels-NA | Unlimited Data Transfer-NA | Wi-Fi Encryption | Automatic Kill Switch | P2P Support-NA | Block Ads | Multi-Device Support | Dedicated IP-NA | Streaming Service Support- NA | Download: Mac | Windows
Betternet VPN
Betternet has pretty much all the basic features that a VPN should have. This VPN Service has a no ad policy and does not keep log the of any user data. The Betternet VPN has the multi-device support of up to 5 devices and P2P support. Users can transfer unlimited data through Betternet. Betternet VPN does lack the Kill Switch though. The encryption used is 128 bit OpenVPN encryption protocol and also offer a DNS leak protection.
Key Features: Number of servers- NA | Server Locations-NA | IP Addresses-NA | Maximum Device Supported- 5 | No Logs | Streaming Channels-NA | Unlimited Data Transfer | Wi-Fi Encryption | Automatic Kill Switch- NA | P2P Support | Block Ads |Multi Device Support | Dedicated IP-NA | Streaming Service Support | Download: Windows
IPVanish VPN
The VPN Service, IPVanish has a pretty good number of servers, 750+ servers, even though some competitors have way a high number of servers which is around 3000. IPVanish is in high numbers when it comes to a number of IPs, 400000. There is no need to worry about data usage since it has got unlimited data transfer. No log policy is checked on this VPN also and has got P2P support.
The encryption used is a 256 bit OpenVPN encryption protocol along with other multiple protocols. It can support a maximum of 5 devices. There is no ad blocking on this VPN. There is a Kill Switch feature as many of its competitors do.
Key Features: Number of servers- 750+ | Server Locations-NA | IP Addresses-400000 | Maximum Device Supported- 5 | No Logs | Streaming Channels-NA | Unlimited Data Transfer | Wi-Fi Encryption | Automatic Kill Switch | P2P Support | Block Ads-NA | Multi-Device Support | Dedicated IP-NA | Streaming Service Support | Download: Mac | Windows
PrivateTunnel VPN
PrivateTunnel has a different way of pricing. Users have to pay for the data used rather than paying for the period of usage. The schemes the company is enough for a user who has to browse and occasionally stream videos. PrivateTunnel follows a no logging policy, uses OpenVPN encryption protocol and also P2P support is checked.
The astonishing fact is that it supports an unlimited number of devices, which is very rare in a VPN. A downside is that it is based in the US where data retention laws exist. This makes the company’s no logging policy suspicious. The servers are spread over 12 locations in 9 countries.
Key Features: Number of servers- NA | Server Locations-12 | IP Addresses-NA | Maximum Device Supported- unlimited | No Logs | Streaming Channels-NA | Unlimited Data Transfer-NA | Wi-Fi Encryption | Automatic Kill Switch-NA | P2P Support | Block Ads-NA | Multi-Device Support | Dedicated IP-NA | Streaming Service Support | Download: Mac | Windows
Golden Frog VyprVPN
Best Vpn For Mac Cnet
Vypr VPN has about 700+ at 70+ locations spread over 6 continents.VyprVPN has a no log policy and servers use over 200000+ global IPs. There is no need to worry about data usage since the unlimited data transfer covers it. In terms of encryption protocol, it uses OpenVPN encryption protocol as most VPNs do.
Vypr has a unique feature under its sleeve called Chameleon. Some websites have the practice of blocking VPN connections. What Chameleon does is that it defeats such VPN blocking. Multi-device support comes with a standard limit of 5 devices. P2P support which is default in many VPNs is applicable for this one too. It comes with a proprietary DNS server called VyprDNS and an automatic Kill Switch.
Key Features: Number of servers- 700+ | Server Locations-70+ | IP Addresses-200000+ | Maximum Device Supported- 5 | No Logs | Streaming Channels-NA | Unlimited Data Transfer | Wi-Fi Encryption | Automatic Kill Switch | P2P Support | Block Ads-NA | Multi-Device Support | Dedicated IP-NA | Streaming Service Support | Download: Mac | Windows
Nord VPN
Nord VPN is based on Panama jurisdiction where there are no data retention laws, which is a plus point in itself. Along with that, there is no logging policy. If that is not enough, Nord VPN comes with unique double data encryption. The protection is double with Nord VPN. The encryption protocol is 256 bit OpenVPN encryption protocol. NordVPN does not have an ad blocking feature though, and there is a Kill Switch present.
Nord VPN has 750 servers spread across 57 countries and comes with a rare feature of dedicated IP. Using this feature a user can get a specific IP. Users can also order a static IP for a server (additional payment required); by this, a user can make sure they are the only one using that particular IP. Nord VPN gives simultaneous access to 6 devices, P2P support is ready in Nord and also supports streaming services.
Key Features: Number of servers- 750 | Server Locations-NA | IP Addresses-NA | Maximum Device Supported- 6 | No Logs | Streaming Channels | Unlimited Data Transfer | Wi-Fi Encryption | Automatic Kill Switch | P2P Support | Block Ads-NA | Multi-Device Support | Dedicated IP | Streaming Service Support | Download: Mac | Windows
HideMyAss VPN
This one has got an unconventional name and it is unconventional in one or two other things also. It has 900 servers at 240 locations in 190 countries, which is pretty normal. But when it comes to multi-device support it only supports 2 devices. It does not stop there; these 2 devices have to be connected to two different servers. It uses OpenVPN encryption protocol. A Kill Switch is present.
One thing to be noted is that HMA is based in the UK where data retention exists. Obviously, the company keeps logs, which includes information such as user IP address, IP address of VPN and time of connection. This information is kept or 2 to 3 months. It does block ads though. P2P support and streaming services are not present.
Key Features: Number of servers- 900 | Server Locations-240 | IP Addresses-NA | Maximum Device Supported- 2 | No Logs- NA | Streaming Channels-NA | Unlimited Data Transfer | Wi-Fi Encryption | Automatic Kill Switch | P2P Support-NA | Block Ads | Multi-Device Support | Dedicated IP- NA | Streaming Service Support-NA | Download: Mac | Windows
Free Vpn For Mac
Related: 10 Best Android Antivirus & Mobile Security Apps with Antitheft Protection
Best Vpn For Mac Reddit
What is wrong with accessing free network to escape from expensive cellular data? The answer is simple; these places are an excellent route for attackers to obtain your personal information. When you shop around for VPN Service, there are several factors to keep in mind, such as performance, transparency, ease of use, support and so on. As long as the VPN is concerned, the number of servers is an important factor. The more number of servers, users have more options to spoof their location. Kill Switch is another feature, which stops apps from connecting to the internet if the VPN is inactive.
Thus there is a long list of VPNs available. It is unclear who is virtually looking over your shoulder to see your online activities. Many agencies are interested in all types of information about individuals. Scammers, government agencies, commercial organizations, hackers; there is a lot of eyes from which user online requires protection. This proves the significance of VPNs. The above list may help you to choose the VPN that you need.