Hide My Ass!
This maybe controversial to some, but after trialling and testing a number of VPN providers, HMA! was a clear winner. I recommend checking out the review for an in-depth analysis, but I’ll note a few key points here. Their VPN infrastructure is very impressive, the range of countries is huge and the fast connections speeds means I could stream video without any buffering or lag. The quality of software is solid; so no weird crashes or bugs to be found. Their interface is slick and fast so I can get a secure connection to a VPN server win under 10 seconds. Support was very responsive, they have a 24/7 support team in Belgrade and they are incredibly friendly. I didn’t have any issues, but I tested the email support and received a response in under 30 mins. All of this with a 46% discount on their 12 month plan makes this incredibly good value for money.
IPVanish
IPVanish was another VPN provider which scored highly in our tests. They have a very clean record (e.g. no bad press etc…) and a provider that I rarely hear bad things about in forums. From my tests and other 3rd party tests done by other VPN critics speed was always very fast. The flip side I see to IPVanish is their range of countries isn’t as extensive as HMA, so I feel I’m sacrificing choice for faster speeds. Most people won’t have a problem of this, so it comes down to what your needs are. The VPN client is while basic does the job very well. You don’t get the power features from HMA and the GUI isn’t as pretty, but as you can guess from this summary IPVanish is a nofrills high speed VPN provider, so it deserves a very high second place.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is the new kid on the block as it came to the scene fairly late. Their entry came with the aim to disrupt the VPN industry and they did everything right the first time. All their applications (desktop and mobile) are very stable. I think their mobile app is the best in the industry with smooth integration with android and ios platforms. Their server network, while bigger than IPVanish doesn’t top what HMA have on offer. As an expat, my main use case for a VPN provider is to unblock streaming sites and anonymise my activity, which ExpressVPN does very well without confusing me with any technicalities.