Best VPNs According to Reddit in 2021

There’s this saying from the folklore archives of the internet - if you want an honest opinion about something, go to Reddit.

Okay, maybe I lied, there is no such saying. But the sentiment is real. Reddit users are known for their brutally honest opinions on stuff, and VPNs are not an exception.

Sure, there always will be bought comments everywhere on the internet, but on Reddit, they’re pretty easy to recognize. In fact, the real users’ voices always drown out the fake ones. I came upon a few such comments myself, but they usually get called out pretty quickly for being ‘shills’. A simple look at their profile to see if they comment on topics other than their favorite VPN tells you a lot.

With this in mind, and to help you navigate in the vast and boundless realm of Reddit, I scoured the endless threads for hours. What came of it is this list of the best VPNs according to Reddit in 2021. Give it a look.

Best VPNs Reddit users recommend in 2021:

Here’s a short summary of the top VPNs Reddit users recommend in 2021. If you wish for more details on what redditors think about a specific provider, keep on reading!

1. NordVPN - the best VPN by Reddit in 2021
2. Surfshark - the best price and quality ratio according to Reddit
3. ProtonVPN - the best free and fast VPN by Reddit
4. Windscribe - good free version
5. TorGuard - Reddit’s best for torrenting
6. Mullvad - generally favorable VPN by Reddit

Key factors Reddit users rely on when offering the best VPN

There are a couple things that Reddit users seem to be concerned about when looking for the perfect VPN. This also applies to simply evaluating personal experience with one or the other provider. Take a look at what is the most important for Reddit users when picking a VPN:

• Price - everyone wants a good provider for the lowest price possible.
• Logging - Reddit users care about their privacy the most and take the no-logging policies very seriously.
• Unblocking abilities - kudos to a VPN that is able to bypass the most recent counter measures that streaming platforms seem to employ against VPN usage.
• Speed - VPN connection has an effect on the internet speed, and the lesser it is, the better.
• Torrenting, P2P servers - does this VPN have dedicated P2P servers? Does it throttle upload/download speed? Reddit users notice it all.
• Jurisdiction - this factor is closely tied to logging policies, and a VPN under the 14 Eyes country’s jurisdiction is a pretty big no-no.

Best VPNs by Reddit users - our detailed list

Here's the detailed version of the best VPNs Reddit users recommend shortlist:

1. NordVPN - the best VPN according to Reddit users

Country:	Panama
Logs:	No logs
Streaming platforms:	Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and more
Price	from $3.29/month

Visit NordVPN

The general consensus around NordVPN seems to be that it has its issues from time to time, but is overall widely accepted as being the best. Reddit users praise good speeds, friendly user interface, and always heavily discounted long-term subscription plans. No-logs policy also is a big plus among users that value their privacy the most.

On top of that, people seem to be glad about NordVPn’s unblocking abilities and the option to use numerous devices at once.

As for activities other than streaming (which doesn’t always go according to plan, but this is mostly due to streaming platforms employing counter measures against VPN usage), users seem to like specialised servers, such as the P2P or Obfuscated ones.

For more info, read our NordVPN review.

2. Surfshark - VPN with the best price

Country:	The Netherlands
Logs:	No logs
Streaming platforms:	Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, YouTube, HBO MAX, Disney+
Price:	from $2.21/month

Visit Surfshark VPN

The cheap and fast combo has earned Surfshark numerous recommendations for users either looking to buy their first VPN or migrate to a better option. Not only that, Surfshark’s infinite simultaneous connections option really has Reddit users reeling.

Another great thing about Surfshark that’s been pointed out numerous times is their unblocking abilities. Very few people complain about Netflix not working, for example. The big number of servers in various countries spanning all over the world also add to the good reputation of Surfshark in streaming contexts.

As mentioned, speed is also one of the things Surfshark is cast in a positive light on Reddit. It is constantly recommended in threads about the fastest VPN providers.

However, some of the users are concerned about Surfshark’s jurisdiction moving to the Netherlands, which is a part of the 14 Eyes agreement. However, Surfshark’s subreddit has an official statement about relocating to the Netherlands and how it doesn’t affect their no-logs policy in any way harmful to the users’ data.

For more details, read our Surfshark review.

3. ProtonVPN - the fastest free VPN

Country:	Switzerland
Logs:	No logs
Streaming platforms:	Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, ESPN+, HBO Max
Price:	from $5/month

Visit ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is widely recommended by Reddit users. One would think that this is probably due to their free version, but paid users like this provider as well.

Some of the often mentioned pros of ProtonVPN were their good speeds, with some quoting just a 5% drop with WireGuard when compared to the baseline speed:

Another well received feature of ProtonVPN is the option to connect up to 10 devices simultaneously, which is significantly more than other VPN providers offer.

One user also cited ad-blocking features as perfectly functional and useful - so, no more annoying and possibly malicious ads for ProtonVPN users. Generally, those who recommend ProtonVPN on Reddit say they trust the provider and feel secure, which is always a plus.

There’s one downside, however - ProtonVPN’s paid subscription plans can be quite expensive compared to other providers on this list.

For more insights, read our ProtonVPN review.

4. Windscribe - free VPN for streaming

Country:	Canada
Logs:	No logs
Streaming platforms:	Netflix, DAZN, BBC iPlayer, YouTube
Price:	From $4.08/month

Visit Windscribe VPN

Another VPN with a free version, Windscribe, is generally well received among Reddit users.

It may not be as advanced as some of its contenders on this list, but fairly good upload/download speeds and unlimited connections make it functional. Talking about functionality, Windscribe even has specialised servers for streaming. With them, streams are neither buffering nor get blocked. That’s a pretty big plus if I say so myself.

Another well liked feature of Windscribe among Reddit users is that it allows torrenting on most of its servers. As for the countries where torrenting is illegal, Windscribe’s servers there are marked with a “No P2P” sign.

In terms of security, one instance had the users worried. In June 2021, Ukrainian authorities seized two of Windscribe’s unencrypted servers. No user data was found on these servers, which is a silver lining of sorts. But for the bigger majority of users, this was (and still is) a deal breaker when it comes to subscribing to Windscribe:

For more information, read our Windscribe review.

5. TorGuard - VPN for torrenting

Country:	US
Logs:	No activity logs
Streaming platforms:	Youtube
Price:	from $4.99

Visit TorGuard

Reddit's favorite for torrenting, TorGuard is based in the US, and for some this is a deal breaker. However, there are plenty of other TorGuard’s features that are in Reddit users’ favor.

For example, port forwarding often gets mentioned in the contexts of torrenting. In the same context, I saw people talking about no significant drops in speed and pretty steady downloads/uploads.

The downsides that get mentioned are that it doesn’t work with most streaming platforms, such as Amazon Prime, and unblocks only the US Netflix library. To go with that, some users express their worry about the fact that TorGuard has never been audited.

Another thing that users don’t agree on is its kill switch, which apparently “works like a charm” for some but is completely unreliable for others:

For more information, read our TorGuard review.

6. Mullvad - 100% anonymity guaranteed

Country:	Sweden
Logs:	No logs
Streaming platforms:	Youtube
Price:	$6/month

Visit Mullvad VPN

Mullvad is recommended pretty often by Reddit users. Those who value their privacy together with the company’s transparency and use VPNs for torrenting sing high praises for this Sweden-based provider.

Mullvad allows its users to stay completely anonymous. They don’t require any email address when creating an account, and payments can be made anonymously with cryptocurrencies and even cash.

This provider also owns many of its servers (though it’s not much) and therefore can be completely transparent about them. This is a highly valued feature of any VPN provider, according to Reddit users. To add more to transparency, Mullvad is an open-source provider.

For those who need a VPN for torrenting, Mullvad is the perfect option because of port forwarding and its very strict no-logs policies.

As for speed, Mullvad was in fact the first VPN to implement the WireGuard protocol and has even donated to the project. Many of the providers that use this tunneling protocol today have really good speeds, and they have Mullvad to partly thank for that.

However, if you’d want to use Mullvad for streaming, maybe look for other options. This provider, unfortunately, doesn’t work with streaming platforms except for YouTube.

For more information, read our Mullvad review.

Why Reddit users' opinion can be relevant

You may ask, why should I take some Reddit user’s opinion into account when choosing a VPN for myself? Here are some reasons to trust Reddit users more than so-called professional reviewers (yes, I realize I am one of them):

• They’re users, just like you. Regular people are not marketers, ready to gloss over something that isn’t quite right. They know what they need and what meets their expectations or underdelivers.
• Reddit users tend to be brutally honest. There is no waxing poetic about any product, and VPNs are not an exception. Most popular providers don’t make it to the top because they’re popular. A VPN has to be really deserving of the positive feedback to really get some of it.
• Sponsored comments and fake accounts are easy to spot. All it takes is one look at a profile’s activity. If their engagement history is diverse and spans over numerous topics, it’s a real person. If it’s only praising certain providers - you can be sure it’s someone from the provider’s marketing team.
• Any slip ups will not go unnoticed. If something doesn’t sit right with a provider, it will get mentioned multiple times. This applies to data logging scandals, leaks, slow speeds, and pretty much anything else.
• Reddit users don’t hand out compliments easily - you’ll see plenty of problems reflected in various threads, and not that many good things. If you see someone say something good about a provider, it either is a sponsored comment (easy to check by looking at the user's profile) or a real and rare but genuine good review.

VPNs which Reddit users don’t recommend

You’ve seen the list of Reddit recommendations for VPNs, but what about providers that are not that good or simply too controversial? Give Reddit’s opinions a read and learn about which providers you should double-think before purchasing.

AirVPN

This one gets both praised for being fast, open-source, and somewhat reliable with logging policies. However, I have seen dissatisfied users talking about their more than unpleasant and inefficient customer support:

Private Internet Access

Highly controversial due to their recent scandals about handing over user data in courts and being owned by a “known malware distributor Kape Technologies”. Despite being one of the cheapest and best equipped VPNs (especially regarding user interfaces for different operating systems), PIA have severely ruined their reputation on Reddit.

ExpressVPN

Again, it’s about the scandals. Hiring suspicious people, it seems, doesn’t sit well with Reddit users:

On top of that, ExpressVPN is owned by the same company that owns Private Internet Access, which really doesn’t add credibility to it at all.

Best VPN subreddits to subscribe to

If you want to get honest opinions about VPN services and get some help in choosing a VPN for yourself, there are a couple subreddits I recommend subscribing to:

• r/vpnreviews - general users’ reviews about any VPNs
• r/VPNTorrents - discussions about torrenting over VPN
• r/NetflixViaVPN - find out about which VPNs work and which don’t
• r/VPN - a great place to find all kinds of information about VPNs

Final thoughts

Reddit is a great place to look for honest opinions on all kinds of products, including VPNs. Countless subreddits dedicated to discussing VPNs for specific purposes, problem solving, and more can help you choose the right provider.

As regular users, people on Reddit take such factors as price, logging policies, speeds, and unblocking abilities into account. They don’t gloss over what isn’t right and rarely put undeserving providers on a pedestal.

In short, trusting Reddit users’ opinions when choosing a VPN provider for yourself is a pretty smart choice to make.

With that in mind, it is safe to say that the best Reddit VPNs are NordVPN with Surfshark following close behind, and ProtonVPN in third place.

FAQ

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