Cybernews Readers’ Choice Awards 2026: The winners chosen by you
The votes are in.
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Every year, many apps, platforms, and online services claim to make digital life safer, smarter, and less stressful.
This year, for the first time, we invited Cybernews readers to choose which ones truly delivered, from VPNs and password managers to travel eSIMs and AI tools.
Now that the first edition is complete, we know for sure – this is a tradition we want to keep alive. So, without further delay, here are the winners chosen by Cybernews readers.
Best VPN – NordVPN
With so many people now using VPNs as a basic layer of online protection, this was always going to be one of the most closely watched categories. In the end, it’s no surprise that NordVPN came out on top.
It remains one of the most complete services, combining strong VPN protection with more security features in a polished, easy-to-use app.
This year, NordVPN went even further by bringing next-generation antivirus tools and advanced digital protection to the same platform. This move helped change what people expect from a modern VPN service.
- Honorees: Proton VPN, Surfshark
Best security brand – Nord Security
With NordVPN winning the best VPN award, it’s no surprise that Nord Security, the company behind it, also came out on top.
Moreover, alongside NordVPN, the company has expanded its security ecosystem with products like NordPass, NordLayer, NordLocker, and NordStellar, giving users and businesses more ways to protect passwords, network access, and guard against threats.
This broader range of products is a big reason why Nord Security stood out as the year’s best overall security brand.
- Honorees: Proton, Norton (Gen Digital)
Best password manager – NordPass
It is fair to say that Nord Security is leading these awards, and NordPass adds a third win to that run.
It’s easy to see why readers chose it as the best password manager. NordPass has a clean, easy-to-use interface and strong features like password storage, passkey support, email masking, built-in authenticator tools, and solid cross-platform support.
Compared to 1Password, it’s a much more accessible product, while still delivering on the basics that most people need from a password manager. That combination of simplicity and security is really what made NordPass such a popular choice.
- Honorees: 1Password, Proton Pass
Best free password manager – NordPass Free
If you do not want to pay for a password manager, NordPass has a free version. It gives users the core essentials without requiring a subscription right away, including secure password storage, autosave and autofill, password import, and multi-factor authentication support.
This is a very practical option for anyone who just wants reliable day-to-day protection at no additional cost. Proton Pass Free (which came in second place) is also a very good alternative, but in our view, NordPass Free is the simpler of the two for users who just want a password manager doing the basics.
- Honorees: Proton Pass Free, Apple Passwords
Best privacy innovation – NordVPN’s post-quantum encryption
NordVPN’s post-quantum encryption won this category for a good reason: it is a feature built with tomorrow’s threats in mind. It is basically designed to protect data against future quantum computers that could one day break the encryption methods widely used today.
We think that this forward-looking approach helps NordVPN excel as a company preparing for where privacy risks are going, not just where they are now.
Best antivirus – Bitdefender
Bitdefender made a strong statement in this category, finishing ahead of tough competition from NordVPN’s next-generation antivirus and Norton Antivirus.
We expected those two to be hard to beat, but readers clearly saw Bitdefender as the more complete package. This isn’t surprising when you consider its strong malware protection, rich features, and solid performance across devices.
- Honorees: NordVPN’s next-generation antivirus, Norton
Best free antivirus – Bitdefender
If readers already saw it as the strongest overall antivirus, it makes sense that it also beat everyone else in the free antivirus category.
Bitdefender has a very good reputation for providing solid protection without all the fuss, and that’s even more important when you’re looking for security software that costs nothing up front. That’s why no other free antivirus could dislodge it.
- Honorees: Norton, Avast, Malwarebytes
Best web host – DreamHost
When it comes to web hosting, quality matters because it shapes everything that happens after a site goes live, from speed and uptime to security and how easy it is to manage things behind the scenes.
This year, our readers handed the crown to DreamHost. It has reliable performance, beginner-friendly setup, generous features, and strong value, even in a market where competition from names like Hostinger remains fierce.
However, we wouldn’t say it’s flawless. Customer support is one area where we saw room for improvement, but as an all-round hosting provider, it clearly did enough to win readers over.
- Honorees: Hostinger, WordPress.com
Best secure email provider – Proton Mail
If you are serious about privacy, the biggest mainstream email services were never really what this category is about. Providers like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo may be convenient, but they are not built around the same privacy-first principles as dedicated secure email platforms.
Instead, readers were choosing between services such as Proton Mail, Tuta, Mailfence, StartMail, and Posteo.
And people decided to give the win to Proton Mail. It remains one of the most trusted names in the space thanks to its end-to-end encryption, strong privacy focus, and the simple fact that it puts security at the center of the product.
- Honorees: Tuta, Posteo
Best website builder – Remixer by DreamHost
This was one of the more interesting categories to watch, because it was packed with strong competition from products like Hostinger Website Builder and Squarespace, both of which have plenty going for them.
But this year, readers gave the top spot to Remixer by DreamHost. Instead of the usual drag-and-drop route, Remixer uses conversational AI to build a working website from plain-language prompts.
Cybernews has also highlighted it as especially useful for quick, information-first websites, which helps explain its appeal in a category where ease of use matters as much as design polish.
- Honorees: Hostinger Website Builder, Squarespace
Best ad blocker – NordVPN’s Threat Protection
NordVPN’s Threat Protection has grown well beyond its original role, and this year’s win shows readers have noticed. Reworked as part of NordVPN’s broader push into next-generation antivirus and digital security, it now does much more than just block annoying ads, helping users cut out trackers, malicious links, and other online threats.
That wider protection is exactly where it shines, turning a once-simple extra into one of the more useful built-in security tools in the category.
- Honorees: Proton NetShield, Total Adblock
Best data removal and identity protection service – Incogni
Protecting your personal information online is becoming more important every year, especially as data brokers continue to collect, trade, and expose details most people never knowingly agreed to share.
That is why this category matters, and our readers put Incogni in first place. Incogni makes the process of requesting data removal much simpler by automating outreach to brokers and giving users an easier way to regain some privacy without spending hours on requests themselves.
Best business security solution – NordLayer
Protecting yourself with a VPN is important, but protecting a business (even a small one) can matter even more. A single unprotected device can put an entire network, and the data moving through it, at risk.
That is why it makes sense to see readers pick NordLayer here. Built with business use in mind, it gives teams a more secure way to manage network access, protect remote workers, and reduce risk without making things overly complicated.
That balance of strong protection and practical usability is a big part of why NordLayer earned this award.
- Honorees: CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Business, SentinelOne Singularity
Best eCommerce platform – Shopify
Shopify winning this category makes a lot of sense. It remains one of the strongest eCommerce platforms, especially for businesses that are already growing and need a reliable, scalable setup to handle sales, payments, and expansion over time.
However, it is not always the cheapest option. Many of its most useful features come through paid apps, so costs can add up quickly as your store grows. For that reason, Shopify makes the most sense once a business is generating steady sales.
- Honorees: Hostinger eCommerce, Squarespace eCommerce
Best domain registrar – Hostinger
Choosing the best domain registrar matters more than many people realize. Your domain is the foundation of your online identity and one of the first things you need to get right when building a site or business.
This year, readers picked Hostinger as the best one, and it is easy to see why. Hostinger has built a strong reputation for combining competitive pricing with an easy setup process.
It makes domain management feel less intimidating for beginners while still offering the tools more experienced users expect.
- Honorees: Namecheap, Squarespace
Best travel eSIM – Saily
Can you imagine landing in a new country and still having to hunt down a physical SIM card in a shop? Thanks to eSIMs, those days already feel far behind.
With just a few taps, travelers can get connected before or as soon as they arrive—and this year, readers picked Saily as the best option for the job. It offers a straightforward setup, broad coverage, and a travel-friendly experience that makes staying connected abroad feel much less stressful.
However, competition in this category is intensifying, with strong alternatives like Airalo making a compelling case for frequent travelers. But it looks like Saily did enough to win readers over this time.
Best AI product – Claude
With so many strong AI products, we were curious to see which one readers would choose. And as we guessed, the competition was tough. It was a close race between Claude and Google Gemini, showing how competitive the best AI chatbots category is now.
In the end, we think Claude won people over with its clear writing, thoughtful responses, and its ability to handle longer, more detailed conversations. Though Gemini is still a strong rival, especially with Google’s ecosystem, this time readers gave the edge to Claude.
- Honorees: Google Gemini, ChatGPT
Best AI productivity tool or agent – Grammarly and Lovable
And we are down to the last, but definitely not least, category. This one brought one of the most interesting results of the whole awards: a tie between Grammarly and Lovable.
On paper, they do very different jobs, which is exactly what makes the result so interesting. Grammarly has become a go-to AI productivity assistant for improving writing, polishing tone, and making everyday communication sharper and faster.
Lovable, on the other hand, is all about turning ideas into working digital products with much less technical effort. In short, one helps users work better with words, while the other helps them build faster with AI. Readers clearly felt both deserved a place at the top.
- Honorees: Fireflies.ai
