There are hundreds of VPNs available, and with so many of them offering mobile apps, it can be difficult to choose the right solution for your iOS or Android phone or tablet. Based on our extensive research and hands-on testing of VPNs over the years, these are the factors to look out for when choosing the best mobile VPN for your needs and budget:

Privacy

If there’s anything you can’t compromise on while choosing a VPN, it’s privacy. Your VPN should be using industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption (with the OpenVPN and IKEv2 VPN protocols) or ChaCha20 with WireGuard, along with foundational privacy protections like a kill switch, DNS leak protection and an audited no-logs policy. Most VPNs offer a VPN protocol selection, and generally, we’ve found WireGuard and its derivatives or equivalents faster than OpenVPN or IKEv2.

If you have heightened privacy needs, you’ll need a VPN provider that’s based in a privacy-friendly jurisdiction. You should also look for a VPN company that provides obfuscation and has a RAM-only server architecture. Additional privacy features to look out for include Tor over VPN functionality, which uses Tor to make it even harder to trace your traffic back to its source, ad and tracker blockers and multi-hop connections, which make it even more difficult to trace your traffic back to its source using multiple VPN connections. These features can offer increased privacy, but aren’t absolutely essential for casual users. 

It’s also a good idea to choose a VPN that has a proven track record of being both trustworthy and transparent. One of the best ways to immediately tell whether a VPN provider is confident in its privacy policy is whether it regularly publishes the results of audits commissioned by a trustworthy third party. Audits don’t paint a full privacy picture, but can still be important trust signals. 

Speed

Your mobile VPN’s connection speeds can have a major influence on the quality of your streaming, downloading, video conferencing, gaming and general web browsing activities. To keep things running as smoothly as possible, you’ll want a VPN that will have as minimal of an impact on your regular internet speeds as possible, whether you’re using Wi-Fi or mobile data. 

Usability

A mobile VPN should have all of the features you need easily accessible with a tap of your finger. Many mobile VPN apps include a help section with easy ways to get in touch with support or access troubleshooting documentation directly from the device, which can be helpful if you need assistance on the go. The VPN should have a large network of servers around the world so you can connect easily and reliably from wherever you may be traveling, and it should be able to help you access geo-restricted content from various regions if that’s what you want to use it for. You should also think about device support. 

IKEv2 or WireGuard should be your go-to for mobile devices because both are typically faster and more energy efficient than OpenVPN. Some VPN providers feature proprietary protocols like ExpressVPN’s Lightway, which ExpressVPN claims has been built from the ground up for solid mobile connectivity, or NordVPN’s NordLynx.

The chances of you bumping into a hacker on public Wi-Fi is low, but if you’re worried about man-in-the-middle attacks or data interception, you may want public Wi-Fi protection. Public Wi-Fi protection automatically enables your VPN on certain networks to mask your browsing activity.

In addition to running a VPN on Android phones like the Google Pixel 9 XL or an iPhone like the 16 Pro Max, you may want to install a virtual private network on your computer, tablet and streaming device. Make sure the VPN provider you’re considering supports all of the gadgets you need to use a VPN with.

Cost

Consider the cost and overall value of your mobile VPN before making a purchase. VPN pricing varies greatly from provider to provider, but you can typically expect to spend about $5 to $13 per month for a monthly VPN subscription plan. If you want to save money over the long term, you can opt for an annual subscription, where prices can range from roughly $30 to $100 per year. 

You’ll want to be careful with free VPNs because you may risk your privacy instead of protecting it when using one. Proton VPN is currently the only free VPN that CNET enthusiastically recommends. Most premium VPNs offer a money-back guarantee that can be anywhere from a week to 45 days. You can also get a seven-day free trial with many VPNs when you sign up through Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store. So you have options to try various mobile VPNs risk-free before deciding whether to fully invest in one.

Streaming

Many folks rely on VPNs for streaming service content unblocking. For instance, you can use a virtual private network to make apps and websites think you’re in a different city, state or even country. Bypassing geographical restrictions may let you unlock foreign Netflix, Disney Plus or Amazon Prime Video libraries, watch movies and shows on sites like BBC iPlayer or enjoy out-of-market NFL games. 

You may even be able to save money on streaming service subscriptions by using a VPN. The best mobile VPNs not only do a great job unblocking geo-protected content, but also give you access to a wide range of server locations. The more countries you can connect to, the greater the amount of content you have access to from all over the globe.

Mobile streaming performance often differs from desktop due to app-specific detection methods. Streaming services, like YouTube TV, rely on GPS data for geo-location, so a VPN connection won’t make it look like you’re in a different region. Using VPN apps that have GPS spoofing on Android — like Surfshark — can help. But you also may want to stream through your browser instead of your app for the best results.

Mobile app design

The best mobile VPN apps feature a mobile-specific design that allows you to easily find server status indicators and access settings in a way that isn’t cluttered and cramped. Look for apps that are clearly designed and don’t overwhelm you with too many options on a single page or use fiddly, undersized widgets for changing server locations, as they can be difficult to use on the go.

Battery consumption

VPN battery impact can vary significantly between providers, protocols and devices. It’ll also depend on the existing battery health of your device. Generally, we’re confident that WireGuard and IKEv2 will provide better battery efficiency on your device compared to OpenVPN. We’ve seen plenty of testing numbers from different VPN providers, but there’s no general consensus on exactly how much a VPN will drain your battery. Plus, testing was conducted in those cases by the various VPN companies themselves, so we’ve taken their reporting with a grain (or two) of salt. Using a VPN means you’re running an app on your phone and consuming bandwidth, both of which will drain your battery faster than not having a VPN enabled.

Network switching

Seamless transitions between Wi-Fi and cellular data are essential for mobile VPNs. The best providers offer VPN protocols that keep your connection going during network changes, automatically reconnecting between Wi-Fi and cellular data as well as preserving your privacy during transitions by preventing IP address leaks.

Data consumption impact

Because a VPN encrypts your web traffic, using one increases your mobile data or Wi-Fi usage. NordVPN suggests this figure is somewhere between 4 to 20% for mobile data encryption. Bandwidth consumption varies by VPN protocol and encryption level. 

iOS vs. Android differences

As with all VPN apps, you’re likely to run into at least minor differences between iOS and Android apps even when they’re offered by the same provider. The biggest issue from a VPN perspective is that very few clients offer split tunneling on iOS. Apple restricts the ability of apps to manage other app networking on the iOS platform, so most VPN clients don’t offer any implementation of split tunneling, with some notable exceptions, like Surfshark’s Bypasser mode. However, Bypasser on iOS — unlike on Windows and Android — only works for websites, not websites and apps. If you’re unsure, you should check first to see if there’s feature parity between both apps.