10 Best VPNs for Android Phones & tablets | Fast & Secure (2024)

ExpressVPN is easily one of the most well-recognized and respected names in the VPN industry - and it's easy to see why. It pioneered the idea of "one-click connect" in its mobile apps, and offers users a now industry-standard 30-day money-back guarantee as well as outstanding 24/7 live chat support.

ExpressVPN has continued to innovate, and this is one of the reasons why it remains our favorite Android VPN app. Recently it has launched its own secure and fast encryption protocol called Lightway. I found the connections when switching between servers using this protocol to be super-slick and it's a welcome addition to their Android app.

The ExpressVPN Android app is especially easy to use and nice to look at! Navigation is simple, and you can hop between ExpressVPN's servers (in over 105 countries worldwide, no less) with just a few taps. Having a kill-switch right on your phone was a nice bonus, too, seeing as it kept our data encrypted even when our connection dropped.

Another thing I loved was ExpressVPN's "Security Assistant" feature. Within the app ExpressVPN gives users some tips on how they can improve overall online privacy and security, making it great if you want to start taking your online privacy seriously. These tips include – how to remove malware from your device, turn off your Google activity, and much more. All in all, the ExpressVPN app is a great reflection of the provider's commitment to privacy.

The app is easy to use and offers split tunneling, which allows you to decide which of your apps use the VPN tunnel and which don’t. It also features a kill-switch, which ensures your data is constantly encrypted even when your internet connection drops. It can be downloaded from either the Play Store, or, for the more Google-phobic out there, as an APK file for sideloading onto your device.

ExpressVPN is a no-logs VPN service with servers all around the globe and a strong focus on privacy.

NordVPN is a no-logs VPN service is based in NSA-free Panama. Its Android app is quite distinctive in the way it looks thanks to its dynamic map of server locations making it easy to switch between servers. It uses OpenVPN in UDP mode by default, although TCP is also an option. Besides this, the app allows you to connect to NordVPN’s special Obfuscated servers, which use XOR encryption to evade VPN blocks.

One of my main considerations when it comes to choosing a VPN for Android is speed. NordVPN is one of the quickest VPN services that I have come across; it seems to be super-quick regardless of where you connect.

The Android app also sports a kill-switch and NordVPN’s CyberSec feature which I loved. Like on its desktop apps, CyberSec uses a DNS blocklist to protect users from malware, help prevent botnet control, and block many intrusive web ads. The VPN also features split-tunneling, a feature that's really user-friendly as it allows users to search for a particular app. These features vastly improve the user's online security, and all you have to do is click a button.

As is increasingly common, its APK is also available to download directly from the NordVPN website, which will auto-update when new versions become available. This is perfect for those who wish to avoid the Google Services Spyware Framework.

SurfShark is registered in the British Virgin Islands and offers one of the user-favorite apps in the Play Store. I am pleased to see that you can also download the .APK direct from the Surfshark website. The service offers great value for money, seeing as each user gets unlimited simultaneous connections and slick GUI apps for all OSs, even Linux.

Surfshark has always impressed us with the incredible amount of bang it offers for your buck, and its Android app is no different. It includes a kill-switch, split-tunneling (“Whitelister”) for apps you want to exclude from the VPN, a DNS ad-blocker, an incognito mode for web searches, and even a GPS override feature that ensures your browser's GPS location matches your VPN location. It also has a fantastic privacy policy and keeps no logs.

The Surfshark Android app uses IKEv2 by default, but also offers OpenVPN (UDP and TCP, although port numbers are not specified), and WireGuard. It also offers the Shadowsocks protocol for those who need to evade restrictions on VPN use.

Overall, I found Surfshark’s Android app to be one of the best mobile VPN apps I have ever tried. What really stood out to us was the silky smooth user interface, which was an absolute pleasure to use. I was able to breeze through all the options and settings easily, and never got stuck searching for any particular feature that I wanted to try out. Oh, and the speeds were unbelievable both when connected to wi-fi and on my mobile network. Top-class work here by Surfshark!

Private Internet Access (PIA) offers top-shelf VPN security and features with apps for all platforms, including Android. It’s great for both new and experienced VPN users, offering a simple interface with lots of options for customization. Users can select from a wide range of VPN protocols, including OpenVPN and WireGuard.

PIA provides superb connection speeds, with P2P support and built-in ad-blockers to improve your internet experience. When using this VPN on Android, I was particularly impressed with the fluidity with which the app worked. OpenVPN encryption comes set by default in the Android client, and the secure tunnel connected to its servers quickly from my experience. The VPN provided ample speeds for streaming on YouTube, and provides easy access to Netflix to watch a few extra shows.

If you’re looking to protect multiple devices, PIA allows unlimited simultaneous device connections, so you can protect your Android device along with pretty much any other computer or device you own all at the same time. Test it for yourself, risk-free, with a 30-day no-hassle money-back guarantee.

PrivateVPN is a VPN provider from Sweden that is recommended by VPN users worldwide. The VPN is very cheap considering what you get – and it is perfect for unblocking content from all over the world on an Android smartphone or tablet. With PrivateVPN you get apps for all platforms, and you can run it on up to 10 devices simultaneously.

I tested it on an Android tablet and found it to be extremely good for beginners and reliable. Best of all, it comes set up for OpenVPN when you download it, so it is not tricky to set up. That said, I liked that it had plenty of advanced features for those who need them.

I was impressed that this VPN can unblock more international Netflix catalogs than just about any other VPN service – and it also works with sought-after streaming services like iPlayer, Hulu, YouTube TV, HBO Max, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

Another excellent thing about this service is PrivateVPN’s live chat support. I found their agents to be polite and extremely helpful when testing response time and knowledge. And, with PrivateVPN you get the benefit of a no-logs policy, a kill-switch, port forwarding, and obfuscation – which makes it great for torrenting or engaging in other sensitive online tasks. A superb service that comes at an amazing price point, and you don’t have to take our word for it thanks to its 30-day money-back guarantee.

If you're looking for a budget-friendly option with great geo-spoofing capabilities and a huge network of servers, then CyberGhost might be the VPN for you. The service is based in Romania, which is great news for anyone looking to avoid the jurisdiction of the 14-Eyes spying alliance. I found the app was really easy to use, and it has all the features you want from an Android VPN service. You'll also be able to unblock a veritable ton of geographically restricted content thanks to servers in 100 countries around the world. It has a split tunneling feature that can be customized, and an ad, tracker, and malware blocker which can be enabled really easily.

In our experience, CyberGhost is ultra-secure and really easy to use, but I think it really excels on the speed front. With CyberGhost’s fast servers, you won’t be waiting on buffering screens. I found the app connected really quickly to servers and could access Netflix with ease via the Netflix Android app. Overall, CyberGhost is a high-functioning, low-cost VPN that’s great for newer VPN users.

The Android app uses OpenVPN encryption (which is our recommended protocol for security) and it offers WireGuard, which is a great alternative. WireGuard, a relatively new VPN protocol partly designed to improve speeds, used to only be available for Linux Ghosties. But now all you have to do is download the latest version of their Android app, you’ll be able to use it. I have been enjoying the upgrade!

One thing that I would like to see CyberGhost adopt some obfuscation (stealth) measures in the future, but users are still able to cloak their VPN usage by running TCP over port 443. This is especially important if you need a VPN to avoid government surveillance. Try it for yourself with its generous 45-day money-back guarantee on subscription plans longer than one month.

VyprVPN is based in Switzerland and is notable for owning its own server network, which gives it complete control over its infrastructure. It's great for the security-conscious Android user looking for privacy because it keeps no logs. The app supports all versions of Android, but we recommend sticking to 4.0.3 and later. It has a fully-featured app with a kill-switch, DNS leak protection, ad and malware blocking, and public wi-fi protection to ensure the VPN connects each time that your device joins a new network.

I really like the fact that VyprVPN owns its own server network, too. This is a rarity on the VPN market, with even the priciest providers often renting many - if not all - of their servers. This makes me feel safe when using VyprVPN because I know no third parties will have access to any of the servers I connect to and that these servers will be managed and maintained by VyprVPN staff.

The app uses OpenVPN, and you can switch between ports, which is great. Plus, the Android app offers VyprVPN’s obfuscation feature called Chameleon, which is known to be great at defeating VPN restrictions in countries where VPN use is frowned upon. This is a lot of features for an Android VPN app, and users get the benefit of a large network of servers in over 70 locations worldwide – which makes it excellent for unblocking content around the world. For ease of access, the app is available as an .APK download in addition to being featured in the Play Store.

IPVanish is a high-profile no-logs US-based VPN service. When choosing a server, you can filter the servers by county, city, or ping times, allowing users to find the best server for them. It has a handy feature called scramble, which adds obfuscation to OpenVPN so users can bypass VPN blocks with confidence.

The IPVanish app does not include a built-in kill-switch, but on Android 8+ devices it provides instructions for enabling Android’s new built-in kill-switch feature to work with the app. The app features split tunneling and insecure network notification, both of which are super handy features. It uses OpenVPN in either UDP or TCP mode, and you can select which ports it uses, which is great for more advanced VPN users. It also offers IKeV2 and WireGuard, which is a fast and lightweight protocol that makes a great alternative to OpenVPN.

Overall, I was really amazed by how well the Android app performed on my phone as well as on my tablet. The app looks great and is incredibly easy to use. I found the speeds to be excellent no matter which servers I connected to and regardless of whether I was connecting from home or on the go. I really liked the look of the Android app.

The interface is pretty simple, but this made it easy to navigate to what you need. Nothing you need is more than 3 taps away. I also loved how it shows ping times – this really helped when trying to choose a server.And, as with all the Android apps on this list, you can download the .APK from IPVanish’s website for improved privacy.

Ivacy VPN is a service based in Singapore that has superb apps for all platforms – including for Android mobiles and tablets. The VPN has everything you would need in a VPN to gain privacy and security on Android – both at home and on public wi-fi. Also, if you want to bypass restrictions on a work or school network – to watch YouTube or access Reddit, for example – this VPN will work perfectly.

I like that the app labels servers by "purposes" so that you can connect to servers for streaming, secure downloading, and unblocking websites. The streaming server list allows you to pick based on what streaming service you want to unblock (as shown in the screenshot below). I used it to access Netflix without issues, which is great. I found this server listing system to be extremely useful, allowing me to find a server that works without scrolling through hundreds of different options to check whether they could unblock our favorite streaming sites. And, this is one of the few VPNs that work reliably with Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, YouTube TV, and other popular streaming services.

The Android app comes with all the features you need to protect your online activity from your ISP and the government. As a result, you will be able to bypass government censorship, or access streaming media in total privacy. I also liked that Ivacy has servers in over 100 locations around the world, which is a huge amount of choice – great if you like to experiment with accessing a lot of international content like me.

Well worth comparing to our other options using its 30-day money-back guarantee. Cheap subscription prices – and can be used on up to 10 devices simultaneously.

ProtonVPN is a superb service that is based in Switzerland – a location that is considered fantastic in terms of data privacy. The VPN can be used for free thanks to its basic subscription plan, however, this is restrictive in terms of server locations and speeds. On the other hand, if you like the service and want to be able to access Netflix US with unlimited speeds – you can simply subscribe to a premium subscription plan.

I found ProtonVPN's free Android app to be a bit slower than the others mentioned in this list, but that certainly doesn't mean it's not worth checking out. It comes with all the features you need to stay secure when at home and on the go, which is key for a mobile app. I also found it incredibly easy to connect to ProtonVPN's servers, which are scattered across 88 countries worldwide. Although this isn't the fastest Android VPN on the market, it will allow you to unblock virtually anything you desire.

I trust this VPN to protect our online habits from snooping wi-fi providers and ISPs. All of their apps are open source and they are audited which a massive bonus and proves that they are secure and private.

A superb all-rounder that comes with great provenance. Well worth taking for a test drive using its 30-day money-back guarantee.