- The five most recommended VPNs have all been retested and the reviews rewritten.
- Proton VPN climbs to 3rd place while ExpressVPN slips to 4th.
- NordVPN remains #1.
It’s official! The results of our latest VPN re-test are in and it’s Proton VPN that’s the biggest mover and shaker.
While NordVPN remains the #1 choice for best VPN service, Proton VPN has moved up to third place at the expense of ExpressVPN, which once topped the list.
Surfshark remains the second and best free VPN, PrivadoVPN Free remains TechRadar’s fifth recommendation for people looking to protect their privacy online.
Our new December 2025 VPN test saw the addition of a new test category: accessibility.
The TechRadar VPN editorial team and our VPN lab rated each service for ease of use for people with visual needs and for anyone looking to use VPN apps without a mouse or trackpad.
We’ve also added ratings for voice control and language support.
Otherwise, our VPN lab speed tests saw the biggest change. We upgraded to a faster 10Gbps connection to ensure that the VPNs we test don’t risk maxing out the line.
The fastest average download speeds of our top 5 VPNs were Surfshark, which recorded 1,615 Mbps between our Dublin-based speed setup and the closest server on the Surfshark network.
Finally, we’ve also completely reformatted our VPN reviews and review rating system.
There are 13 rating categories weighted to prioritize the features our readers think matter most to them, with pricing plan value, features, server network, privacy, security, speed, and streaming service unlocking the top considerations.
There are also scores for P2P, apps and compatibility, usability, customer support and background, and accessibility.
Each rating category has a corresponding section in our reviews that offers comprehensive conclusions from the editorial teams and the VPN Lab. The idea is to combine concrete facts based on laboratory data with practical experience from the concrete, long-term expertise of our editorial team. Read it and let us know what you think.
In the meantime, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that ExpressVPN launched its holiday sales on December 19, 2025. Although it fell to #4 in our rankings, it’s still a great VPN and a great shout for VPN newbies and anyone looking for fast, consistent performance on Windows.
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