Updated on: September 26, 2023
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ExpressVPN : Has an extremely user-friendly Android app that comes with tons of excellent security and privacy features, including a built-in password manager and full leak protection. Also provides very good streaming and P2P support, has servers in 90+ countries, maintains the fastest speeds out there, and backs each plan with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Android devices have good security, but they can’t secure your internet traffic, which means anyone can spy on what you do on the web.
A VPN is the best solution. It encrypts all of your online data, making it completely unreadable. Plus, it hides your location by changing your IP address, so nobody can use it to track your online activities.
There are many Android VPNs out there, but they’re not all great — many of them actually have buggy Android apps that are difficult to use, don’t provide useful security features, can’t access most streaming services, and have very slow speeds.
But all of the VPNs I mentioned in this article come with excellent Android apps.
Quick summary of the best VPNs for Android:
- 1.🥇
ExpressVPN — Best VPN for Android users in 2023. - 2.🥈
Private Internet Access — Really good Android VPN for torrenting. - 3.🥉
CyberGhost VPN — Excellent for streaming on Android. - 4.
NordVPN — Great Android app with many security features. - 5.
Surfshark — Good Android VPN for beginners. - Plus 3 more!
- Comparison of the Best VPNs for Android in 2023.
🥇 1. ExpressVPN — Best VPN for Android in 2023
I love how user-friendly the provider’s Android app is. The interface is very simple to navigate, there’s a quick-connect feature that automatically connects you to the fastest server, and it also only takes around 3–4 seconds to manually find and connect to a server. Plus, I like the Shortcuts feature, which lets you set up 1-click shortcuts for apps and sites that show up on your screen after you connect to a VPN server — I always use it to get instant access to my favorite streaming apps.
And ExpressVPN’s Android app also provides high-end security and privacy — the Android app has passed a security audit, and so has the provider’s no-logs policy. In addition, you get:
- ExpressVPN Keys — This is a password manager that’s built into the Android app, which you can use to secure your login and generate very strong passwords.
- App Screenshots — Stops anyone from spying on your in-app activity by disabling in-app screenshots and preventing in-app content from showing up in the multitasking pane.
- Full leak protection — The VPN’s Android app has built-in protection against IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC leaks. I ran leak tests while connected to servers in 10+ countries, and I never experienced any leaks.
- RAM-only servers — Writes all data to the RAM instead of the hard drive, which means each server reset wipes all data.
- Perfect forward secrecy — Changes the encryption key for each VPN connection, so that cybercriminals can’t compromise past or future encryption keys.
This is also the best VPN for streaming and torrenting in 2023 — it works with 100+ streaming services (including top platforms like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, and Disney+), and it allows P2P traffic across all of its servers.
Plus, this provider also has the fastest speeds on this list (and on the market) — in my speed tests, sites always loaded instantly, HD and 4K videos loaded instantly and didn’t buffer, it only took me 4–5 minutes to download a 2.8 GB file, and I didn’t experience lag or high ping while playing online games.
There’s also split-tunneling, which lets you pick which apps use the VPN and which apps use your local network — I often use it to only send uTorrent traffic through ExpressVPN, which improves my speeds by about 15%.
Bottom Line:
ExpressVPN is my favorite Android VPN in 2023 — its Android app is very user-friendly, and it also comes with tons of excellent security features, including a built-in password manager, App Screenshots, and advanced features like RAM-only servers. It also provides the best streaming and P2P support on the market and has the fastest speeds out there. It offers affordable plans and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full ExpressVPN review
🥈 2. Private Internet Access — Very Good Android VPN for Torrenting
What’s more, the provider’s Android app comes with built-in support for port forwarding, which lets you connect to more peers to get faster downloads — when I used this feature, it generally increased my torrenting speeds by around 10%. Plus, PIA also has a SOCKS5 proxy server, which changes your IP address just like a VPN but doesn’t use encryption — so you get significantly faster downloads.
In addition to very good P2P support, this VPN is also great for streaming — it works with 30+ streaming platforms, including popular ones like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+. That said, I think ExpressVPN provides much better variety, as it can access 100+ streaming services.
You also get really strong security and privacy while torrenting, as this VPN has advanced features like full leak protection, RAM-only servers, and perfect forward secrecy. Plus, its no-logs policy has been proven true in court and has also been independently audited. And its Android app (alongside all of its other apps) is open-source, meaning anyone can inspect the code for security issues.
PIA’s Android app also comes with PIA MACE, which is the best VPN ad blocker on the market — in my tests, it always got rid of ads on media sites and stopped me from accessing shady sites. PIA MACE isn’t available on the provider’s Google Play app, so you’ll need to manually download and install its .apk app instead, but that process won’t take more than 3 minutes. It also includes a good split-tunneling feature.
The provider also has very good speeds, but it’s still not as fast as ExpressVPN — all websites loaded instantly, HD videos loaded instantly and didn’t buffer, 4K videos only took 1–2 seconds to load, and a 2.8 GB file took around 6–8 minutes to download.
Bottom Line:
Private Internet Access has an intuitive Android app that’s great for torrenting — torrent downloads are allowed on all servers, and there’s port forwarding and SOCKS5 support. The VPN also has really strong security and privacy features, including an excellent VPN ad blocker. It also has great streaming support, fast speeds, affordable plans, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Private Internet Access review
🥉 3. CyberGhost VPN — Great Android VPN for Streaming
This provider also has a huge server network, numbering 9,400+ servers in 90+ countries — this makes it pretty simple to find and connect to nearby servers for fast speeds.
Also, in terms of speeds, CyberGhost VPN provides fast connections — when I used it, all sites loaded instantly, HD videos loaded instantly, 4K videos took 3 seconds to load (but there was no buffering when I skipped through them), and it only took me 10 minutes to download a 2.8 GB file. That said, ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access were faster in my tests.
In addition to great streaming, this VPN also has good P2P support since it allows torrenting on 9,400+ servers in 70+ countries — that’s great, but I think Private Internet Access has better P2P support, as it allows P2P traffic on servers in 80+ countries, and it also has port forwarding and SOCKS5 support.
I also like CyberGhost VPN’s Android app because it’s beginner-friendly — there’s a quick-connect tool, and the interface is simple to navigate. It also has convenient automation options, like being able to configure the app to automatically connect to a server when you access a Wi-Fi network.
The provider’s Android app comes with split-tunneling and other strong security features — it has full leak protection, RAM-only servers, perfect forward secrecy, an audited no-logs policy, and Content Blocker, which gets rid of some ads and protects you from malicious websites.
Bottom Line:
CyberGhost VPN is really good for streaming on Android, as it has 100+ streaming servers that work with 50+ streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max. It also has a huge server network, good P2P support, really fast speeds, an intuitive Android app, and strong security and privacy features. Its plans are very affordable, and there’s a 45-day money-back guarantee for all long-term plans.
Read the full CyberGhost VPN review
4. NordVPN — Great Android App with Tons of Security Features
NordVPN comes with tons of useful security features that protect your data online. For starters, you get access to double VPN servers, which protect your traffic with an extra layer of encryption.
Also, I like the provider’s unique Meshnet feature, which allows you to link up to 60 devices over encrypted VPN connections. This way, you can securely share files from your Android device to your home computer when you’re on vacation.
The VPN also comes with Threat Protection Lite, which gets rid of malicious ads and blocks connections to shady websites — but like Private Internet Access’ PIA MACE, you’ll need to use NordVPN’s .apk app for Threat Protection Lite to block ads.
NordVPN’s Android app also has Dark Web Monitor, which alerts you if your NordVPN login credentials have been compromised in a data breach.
In addition, you get tapjacking protection, which protects you from malicious apps that try to add a screen overlay to trick you into performing actions that might compromise your data.
The VPN also has other security and privacy features, such as full leak protection, perfect forward secrecy, RAM-only servers, and an audited no-logs policy.
I also had good speeds in my tests, as sites loaded in 1–2 seconds, HD videos loaded in 2 seconds, and 4K videos only took 3–4 seconds to load. Even so, ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN provided me with better speeds.
The provider also has other perks, such as the ability to access 10+ top streaming services, 5,400+ servers in 55+ countries, 4,500+ P2P servers in 45+ countries, split-tunneling, and a very intuitive Android app.
NordVPN offers several tier-based subscriptions. I recommend the Standard subscription, which starts at $3.19 / month, as it comes with all features. The Plus subscription adds NordPass, a password manager, and the Complete subscription adds NordLocker, a cloud encryption service. There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee for all purchases.
Bottom Line:
NordVPN has an Android app that’s chock-full with security features, including double VPN connections, a dark web monitor, an ad and malicious site blocker, and tapjacking protection. It also has other perks, such as fast speeds, a large server network, good streaming and P2P support, and split-tunneling. It has several tier-based subscriptions and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full NordVPN review here
5. Surfshark — Good Android VPN for New Users
Surfshark is really good for people who have never used a VPN. It’s very easy to download and install (it took less than 2 minutes to install it on my Android phone), it’s quick and simple to connect to a server, and it has good explanations for features and provides really good customer support.
Surfshark’s Android app comes with great security features — it has an ad blocker (CleanWeb), double VPN servers, and IP Rotator, which regularly changes your VPN IP address without disconnecting you from the server to make it hardware for malicious actors to track your location.
Plus, the VPN provides even more security and privacy features, including RAM-only servers, perfect forward secrecy, and an audited no-logs policy. Still, I think it’s a shame that it’s missing full leak protection (it only has DNS leak protection), which ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN have.
The provider is good for streaming since it can access 50+ streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max. It also has a feature that can spoof your GPS location by matching it to your VPN IP address — this makes it harder for mobile streaming apps (which use GPS data to see your location) to detect your VPN connection.
Surfshark also has fast speeds, but not as fast as ExpressVPN — sites loaded in 3 seconds, HD videos in 3–4 seconds, and 4K videos in 5 seconds. The VPN also has other perks, including 3,200+ servers in 90+ countries, P2P support on all servers, split-tunneling, and a really user-friendly Android app.
Surfshark has super affordable plans that start as low as $2.30 / month, and it also backs each purchase with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Surfshark is great for beginners, and it also provides helpful security features, including an ad blocker, double VPN servers, and IP Rotator. Also provides good streaming support (including a GPS spoofing feature), a large server network, fast speeds, very affordable plans, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Surfshark review here
6. PrivateVPN — Good Minimalistic Android VPN
PrivateVPN’s Android app is very easy to get used to — it doesn’t have tons of settings to change and features to enable, so it doesn’t feel overwhelming.
The app’s home screen is very intuitive, and I like how it lets you quickly connect to the fastest server with just 1 tap. It’s also great how you can configure the provider’s Android app to automatically connect to a VPN server when you turn on or restart your phone, as that provides convenience.
PrivateVPN also provides good security since it comes with perfect forward secrecy and Stealth VPN, which provides obfuscation to hide your VPN traffic in restrictive countries. That said, I think it’s a shame that the VPN is missing other security and privacy features that ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN have, such as a malicious site blocker or an audited no-logs policy.
This VPN also has good speeds, but it’s not as fast as ExpressVPN and the other VPNs on this list — in my tests, sites took 3–4 seconds to load, HD videos loaded in 4 seconds, and 4K videos usually loaded in 5 seconds and there was minor buffering when skipping through them. In addition, get other perks — 200+ servers in 60+ countries, support for 20+ streaming services, and P2P support on all servers.
PrivateVPN has very affordable plans that start at $2.00 / month. It also backs each purchase with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
PrivateVPN has a beginner-friendly Android app that’s intuitive. It also comes with good security features, including perfect forward secrecy and obfuscation, pretty good speeds, a decent server network, and good streaming and P2P support. It has very affordable plans and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full PrivateVPN review
7. Proton VPN — Great Free Plan for Android Users
Proton VPN has a really good free plan for Android that allows unlimited data — most free VPN plans limit how much data you can use each day or month. It actually has one of the best free VPN plans on the market.
Plus, the free plan provides access to a very intuitive Android app — I especially like the Profiles feature, which lets you customize your VPN connection preferences.
The provider’s free plan also provides strong security and privacy — it comes with full leak protection, perfect forward secrecy, and full-disk encryption, which keeps all data on a server secure even if it’s compromised. Plus, there’s an audited no-logs policy, and open-source and audited apps.
But the free plan has some limitations — you can only use servers in the US, the Netherlands, and Japan, connect 1 device, and there’s no streaming and P2P support.
Upgrading to the paid Plus version provides access to more features — 2,900+ servers in 60+ countries, 10 connections, access to 30+ streaming services, and P2P support. That said, ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN have larger server networks and can access more streaming platforms.
Proton VPN has good speeds, but it’s not as fast as the other VPNs on my list — sites loaded in 4 seconds, HD videos in 5 seconds, and 4K videos in 6–7 seconds.
Proton VPN’s Plus plans start at $4.99 / month, and there’s a prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Proton VPN comes with a good free plan for Android users — it allows unlimited data, provides strong security and privacy, and comes with a user-friendly Android app. The paid version adds more servers, connections, and streaming and P2P support. The provider’s paid plans are affordable and backed by a prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Proton VPN review
8. TunnelBear — Fun Android App (With Cute Bears)
TunnelBear has one of the best-looking Android apps out there, and it allows unlimited connections. The design is user-friendly and intuitive, and I really like that there are adorable bears all over the app — one of the things I love the most about TunnelBear is that a bear roars when you connect to a server!
The provider’s Android app also comes with a few helpful features, including split-tunneling and obfuscation.
TunnelBear provided me with decent speeds in my tests — websites usually loaded in 5 seconds, HD videos took 5–6 seconds to load and there was minor buffering at the start, and 4K videos loaded in 9 seconds and I sometimes experienced quality drops. I was happy with the speeds, but I still think ExpressVPN and the other VPNs on this list are much faster.
You also get servers in 45+ countries, which is pretty good. But other competitors have larger server networks — ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN have servers in 90+ countries, and Private Internet Access has servers in 80+ countries.
TunnelBear has a free plan, but it limits you to 2 GB per month — that’s only enough for a few hours of web browsing. So I recommend getting its paid plans that start at $3.33 / month instead. Unfortunately, it lacks a money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
TunnelBear has a beginner-friendly Android app that’s very fun to use thanks to its bear-themed design. The app also comes with split-tunneling and obfuscation, has decent connection speeds, and provides access to a pretty big server network. The provider has a free plan and affordable paid plans but lacks a money-back guarantee.
Read the full TunnelBear review
Comparison of the Best VPNs for Android in 2023:
How to Choose the Best VPNs for Android in 2023:
- Pick a VPN with an intuitive Android app. All the VPNs on this list have user-friendly Android apps that come with an intuitive design, quick-connect tools, and features that are easy to find, understand, and use.
- Look for a VPN with strong security features. All the VPNs I recommend have industry-standard VPN security features, including 256-bit AES encryption, a strict no-logs policy to prevent the provider from logging the websites you visit and files that you download, a kill switch to disable internet traffic if the VPN disconnects, and protection against IPv6, DNS, or WebRTC leaks.
- Choose a VPN that’s known for good streaming and P2P support. A VPN should be capable of accessing platforms like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, or Amazon Prime and allow torrenting on the majority of its servers.
- Select a VPN that can give you fast speeds. Although encryption inevitably leads to some speed decline, the best VPNs are able to mitigate this slowdown and offer consistently high speeds for various online activities, such as browsing, gaming, streaming, and torrenting.
- Look for a VPN that provides good value. I only recommend VPNs that allow multiple simultaneous connections, have extra features like split-tunneling and an ad blocker, are affordable, and have a free plan or a generous money-back guarantee.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut:
- Mullvad VPN. Mullvad VPN has fast speeds and good P2P support. But I’m not a fan of Mullvad’s Android app — it lacks a quick-connect feature and it doesn’t work with many popular streaming sites.
- Hola VPN. Hola VPN is a free VPN that has pretty fast speeds, but Hola VPN logs user IP addresses and browsing history. Hola VPN also routes your traffic through a peer-to-peer network instead of using secure servers — Hola VPN replaces your IP address with another user’s IP address, which allows other people to use your IP address to engage in illegal or suspicious activities.
- BolehVPN. BolehVPN has good security, good speeds, and is good for torrenting. But I don’t like that BolehVPN can temporarily store logs of user data if the provider notices unusual activity or if it receives complaints.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best VPN for Android?
ExpressVPN is my favorite VPN for Android in 2023. Its Android app is extremely user-friendly, comes with high-end security features (including a built-in password manager), works with 100+ streaming services, allows P2P traffic on all servers, and provides the fastest speeds out there.
Is there a free VPN for Android?
Yes, there are free Android VPNs, but I don’t really recommend that you use one — most of them lack basic security features, log user data, have slow speeds, and don’t offer good support.
But if you’re specifically looking for a good free Android VPN, I recommend Proton VPN — you get unlimited data, access to 3 server locations (in the US, the Netherlands, and Japan), good security and privacy, and pretty fast speeds.
Even so, Proton VPN’s free plan has some limitations — you can only connect 1 device and you don’t get streaming and P2P support.
That’s why I strongly recommend getting a paid VPN instead, like ExpressVPN or one of Proton VPN’s paid plans — you get a much better experience this way.
How to get an Android VPN
There are 3 very simple steps to get a VPN for Android:
- Pick a VPN. Choose a VPN that has an excellent Android app (I recommend ExpressVPN).
- Download and install the VPN app. It typically takes 1-2 minutes to download and install a VPN on your Android phone — all you have to do is follow the in-app instructions.
- Connect to a VPN server. Open the app, scroll through the list of server locations, and connect to a server — you can either use the quick-connect tool to connect to the recommended server for your location, or you can manually choose any server.
What is the fastest VPN for Android?
ExpressVPN is the fastest VPN on this list. In my tests, all the sites I visited loaded instantly, HD and 4K videos loaded instantly and there was no buffering, and I was able to play online games without experiencing any lag or high ping. This isn’t really a surprise, though, considering this is the fastest VPN on the market.
Does Android have a built-in VPN?
No, but Android allows you to set up manual VPN connections — but to do that, you’ll still need a VPN server, either from a VPN provider or a data center.
It’s honestly easier to just download and install a good Android VPN app (like ExpressVPN) — installing it only takes around 1–2 minutes, and it won’t take you more than 3–4 seconds to connect to a server.
Does a VPN drain battery on Android?
Yes, that might happen — the best Android VPNs optimize their apps to be lightweight and not drain too much battery, but they might still increase battery usage by up to 10–15% on Wi-Fi, and by up to 20% on mobile data.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to lower an Android VPN’s battery usage — use a light VPN protocol like WireGuard and IKEv2/IPSec (ExpressVPN has Lightway, which is designed for low battery usage), don’t leave the VPN app running in the background when you’re not using it, dim the screen’s brightness, and shut down background apps you’re not currently using.
Why do I need an Android VPN?
The main reason I recommend using a good Android VPN is for added online security — the VPN encrypts your internet traffic, which makes it unreadable, and it also changes your IP address, which means nobody can use it to track your location.
On top of that, an Android VPN is also good for streaming and torrenting — it stops streaming platforms from seeing your real location, which lets you access your home library when traveling abroad, and it also stops anyone from spying on your P2P traffic.
In terms of which Android VPN to choose, I’d personally go with ExpressVPN — it has a very user-friendly Android app that comes with excellent security features (including a built-in password manager), has lightning-fast speeds, allows P2P traffic on all servers, and can access 100+ streaming services.
What’s the best Android VPN for streaming?
I think ExpressVPN is the best option for streaming on Android — the provider can access 100+ streaming platforms, including top sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and BBC iPlayer. Plus, the VPN works with 10+ Netflix libraries, and it also provides the fastest streaming speeds on this list. ExpressVPN is also the best streaming VPN in 2023.
