Our Pick Of The Best VPNs For Australians In 2024

Note: The below list represents a selection of our top category picks, as chosen by Forbes Advisor Australia’s editors and journalists. The information provided is purely factual and is not intended to imply any recommendation, opinion, or advice about a financial product. Not every product or provider in the marketplace has been reviewed, and the list below is not intended to be exhaustive nor replace your own research or independent financial advice. For more information on how Forbes Advisor ranks and reviews products, including how we identified our top category picks, read the methodology selection below.

Prices are current as of September 5, 2024. Where prices are listed in US dollars on the VPN provider site then we have converted the price into AUD afterwards.

You will note that we have included a star rating next to each product or provider. This rating was determined by the editorial team once all of the data points above were considered, and the pros and cons of each product attribute was reviewed. The star rating is solely the view of Forbes Advisor editorial staff. Commercial partners or advertisers have no bearing on the star rating or their inclusion on this list. Star ratings are only one factor to be considered, and Forbes Advisor encourages you to seek independent advice in relation to your own financial circumstances and investments before you decide to choose a particular financial product or service.

Forbes Advisor analysed 16 VPNs in the Australian marketplace in order to determine the best VPNs and rank them as above. We used a rigorous methodology, which covered off the following key criteria:

Price Considerations

We looked at not only the price of the monthly or annual subscription, but also whether the provider offered a money-back guarantee period or a free trial.

Privacy Protocols

Forbes Advisor Australia analysed the various privacy components of each VPN, including whether there was a no-logs policy, meaning the company doesn’t log your internet time; whether you can pay for the VPN anonymously (through crypto or gift cards, for example); whether it offers AES-256 data encryption, which is the highest level; whether it offers a dedicated IP address (rather than a shared one) for an additional layer of privacy; and whether the VPN features the new open-source WireGuard protocol (or equivalent), which allows for greater security without slowing the machine down.

We also wanted to know if split tunnelling was allowed, which enables a user to divide the internet connection so you can access public network internet and a private network at once. We also looked at where the VPN company was incorporated and if this country is a member of The Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group. Many people avoid VPNs incorporated into Five Eyes countries, including Australia, because these companies are often required to retain data of owing to its intelligence sharing remit.

Number of Servers

Naturally, the more servers a VPN has access to—and across as many countries as possible—the better. Why does this matter? If you’re after a lightning fast download time (for gaming, for example) then you will want to connect to a server near you. Some VPNs we analysed had multiple servers in Australia.  On the other hand, you also want a wide assortment of international servers so you can access a full library of geo-blocked content.

Is Torrenting Available?

Also known as peer-to-peer sharing, torrenting is the process of downloading large files. While torrenting may involve the illegal download of music or movies, it also has a range of legitimate use such as downloading large swathes of freely available content, and can therefore be very useful for businesses.

Customer service

VPNs are fairly intuitive in both their installation and operation, but it’s important that Australians are able to reach customer support for guidance. To this end, we analysed levels of customer service, including whether 24/7 chat was offered.

Speed

A key consideration for many VPN users is speed, including whether there are any data limitations or limitations on bandwidth.

Additional Features

Does the VPN go the extra mile by offering extras such as anti-malware and anti-virus software, ad-blocking, intrusion detection and prevention, or app filtering?

What Are People Saying?

Finally, we took a look at reviews on independent review site, Product Review, to get a sense of what Australian users were saying about the provider. If there were insufficient reviews—anything fewer than 20—then we relied less on this metric.

A virtual private network (VPN) is a service that gives you more security when you connect to the internet, regardless of whether you’re at home, work or on public Wi-Fi. A VPN masks your IP address when you use the internet, which keeps your activity online private and your identity safe.

Think of a VPN as a covered bridge or tunnel for your data. It blocks your IP address, your identity and any data you send or receive online from prying eyes. Using a VPN makes you virtually untraceable because your IP is masked, so no one can pinpoint you.

Related: Best Cheap VPN for Australians 

A VPN app encrypts your data when you go online. It sends that shielded data to your ISP to make the connection and get you online. The VPN then deciphers your data, so it’s usable wherever you’re sending it.

Think of it as a decoder ring. You write a message in code (encryption by VPN) and send the message to someone (a website) with the decoder ring (decryption by VPN). If someone happens to intercept that message (say, your login info for your savings account), it would only look like gibberish to them because they can’t crack the code.

The same goes for data sent back to you—the VPN encrypts it before it sends.

Without a VPN, when you connect to the internet, your device sends a request to your ISP or a Wi-Fi network. The data that transfers between you and your destination is not encrypted. This leaves you vulnerable to anyone who wants to view your online activity. And your IP could be traced, which could expose your identity.

Related: How to Set Up A VPN On Any Device In Australia

Choosing the best VPN comes down to what you want to get out of a VPN. You should consider a range of factors, such as:

• Cost
• Speed
• Security protocols.
• Number of connections. Do you have multiple devices you would like to connect? If so, opt for a VPN which offers a large number of device connections.
• Customer support
• Number of servers
• Additional features
• Whether it offers a dedicated IP address.

Related: Best Mobile VPNs

Australia’s government is a liberal democracy with a a free press and a high regard for individual freedoms. So why may we need a VPN?

1. Security on Public Wi-Fi

Public Wi-Fi is convenient but comes at the expense of security. When you’re answering emails at a local cafe or absent-mindedly scrolling through social media at the airport, someone may be tracking your online activity.

Using a VPN protects your data while you are on other networks, hiding your browsing history, banking information, account passwords and more from ill-intentioned internet strangers.

2. Data Privacy From Your Internet Service Provider

While connected to your home Wi-Fi, you are less likely to be attacked by strangers than on a public connection. However, your data is still vulnerable.

Your ISP or internet service provider—Dodo, Optus, Telstra or other company who you pay for Wi-Fi each month—can access all your internet data. Your ISP can see when, where and how you browse.

This data can be collected and sold to advertisers even if you’re using the “private” browsing function, and it can be dangerous in the wrong hands in the case of a data breach, as mentioned above. A VPN can help obscure your IP address from your own ISP. If a bad actor is determined to hack your details, then a VPN is unlikely to help you; however, they VPNs can prevent your data from being caught up in a data breach scandal and your identity sold on the dark web.

3. Data Privacy From the Apps and Services You Use

Your ISP isn’t the only potential liability that you’ve brought into your own home. Unfortunately, many of our favourite apps and internet services—most notably Facebook—have been called out for the way they’ve used the data of their users.

A VPN will prevent apps and websites from attributing your behaviour to your computer’s IP address. It can also limit the collection of your location and browser history.

4. Data Privacy From Your Government

While many ISPs, apps and internet data hubs suggest they don’t sell your browsing data to governments, the information nonetheless finds its ways into their hands.

Let’s look at the US as a case in point. Since 2013, when Edward Snowden first revealed that Verizon had been selling users’ internet and phone data to the NSA, Americans have become more aware of the different ways the government surveils and collects their data. Following the Snowden leaks, and subsequent outrage, several laws were enacted to curb government surveillance.

However, the Defense Intelligence Agency bypassed a law demanding that government agencies produce warrants before compelling phone companies for their user data by paying third-party data brokers for that same data, according to the New York Times.

In Australia, telcos assure consumers that the content of our online activity is not stored, and neither is our web browsing history. They point out that ISPs are only required to log the time you are connected to the internet alongside the bandwidth you’ve used. However, since 2017, telcos have also been obliged to store our metadata for at least two years. This is reportedly to help enforcement agencies investigate crime, and the metadata may include billing details; time and length of your communications; recipient of any communications; and how you communicated (phone, text, social media etc).

If you have qualms about governmental overreach, a VPN is a good investment in protecting your data.

5. Access to Any Content in Any Place

While Hulu may frown upon your use of a VPN to stream the latest Criminal Minds episode in Australia where the content isn’t offered, this VPN usage is not illegal (in Australia and in most countries), and it helps provide a useful workaround to content restrictions.

VPNs spoof your location, making it seem as if you are browsing from another place. That means you can get your Criminal Minds fix even if it’s not available locally.

6. Security When Working Remotely

One benefit of a VPN is its data encryption features. Encryption, or putting data into a coded format so its meaning is obscured, allows you to keep confidential information safe.

If you are  thinking about investing in a VPN for your company, one benefit is that workers can connect to your office network and look at sensitive materials on their own devices while away from the office. As remote work remains popular post-pandemic, a VPN is a helpful investment to keep confidential material safe off-site.

8. Adaptable to Numerous Smart Devices

While many of us may first try a VPN on a company-loaned laptop, many VPN services also protect other smart devices such as your phones, tablets and desktop computers. Each VPN company may offer slightly different protection plans and have different capacities to protect different devices, but many providers offer plans that help keep you safe on multiple devices.

7. Smart Savings

If you are willing to put in a little research, a VPN can help you save money via its location spoofing capabilities. Many types of businesses, such as subscription services and airlines, offer the same amenities or products for different prices. If you change the appearance of your location to a place where services are offered cheaper, you can end up with big savings.

VPN pricing ranges from free to about $20 per month. Free VPNs usually limit you in the number of devices you can connect and the data you can consume. The cheapest VPNs generally give you deep discounts for agreeing to pay for a VPN for multiple years in advance. The higher prices are typically reserved for business VPNs, which usually have several devices connected simultaneously (justifying the premium cost).

Related: Best VPNs for Mac

The majority of today’s VPNs are exceptionally easy to use. Once you’ve created an account with the provider, all you need to do is download the VPN app on your computer or smartphone. Once you’ve signed in with your account, you typically choose from a list of remote servers located around the world. Click on the one you’d like, and the system should automatically connect you. Once you get confirmation that you’re connected, you can use your device as you normally would without your VPN. You can disconnect or change your server from your app’s home screen.

Related: Best VPNs for Android

Australians use VPNs in many different ways. Let’s take a look at how many businesses, gamers, and streamers use VPN:

You can safely use a VPN on your personal and business devices, and it’s a great way to keep your personal data and browsing habits private. The scrambled data is nearly impossible to decipher, so it’s useless to hackers and sites that want to track that data.

However, VPNs can’t protect against everything you do on your computer, laptop or mobile phone.

A VPN can protect:

• Your identity online
• Data you send and receive online

What a VPN doesn’t protect you from:

• Malware on your computer
• Phishing scams.
• Data on your devices

A VPN protects active transmissions of data online, so it cannot do much for the data that lives on your phone or computer. For physical data protection, you would need antivirus and anti-malware software. It’s also important to be careful which links you click in email and online. Phishing attacks can be cleverly disguised as emails from someone you know.

Related: NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN

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Encryption

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Dedicated IP address

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Number of devices

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Encryption

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Most VPN services offer a variety of servers and locations for you to use. So, does it matter where a VPN server is located? There are a few different answers to this question, and it comes down to why you’re using a VPN. Here’s what you should consider:

Speed: If you’re looking for the fastest load times, quick downloads or you’re gaming or streaming online, choose a VPN server that’s nearest to your own location.
Unblocking content: If you want to find UK-based television shows on streaming services and you’re located in Australia, you’ll need to connect to a VPN server in the UK. This also applies to accessing content on websites that your government may require ISPs to block—choose a VPN located in a country where these restrictions don’t apply.
Security: Any location should suffice when it comes to security and privacy. There is a caveat, though. As mentioned above, if you’re concerned about data collection and retention laws, you may want to choose a VPN server that resides in a country with no data retention laws, such as Switzerland or Panama. Australia, for example, is a member of The Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, and requires internet companies to retain metadata for a certain period of time—a big no in the privacy-conscious world of VPNs.

Related: Nord VPN Review

There are different types of VPN software that you may use in different situations. The most common of all are personal VPNs, but you may find that you’ll need a remote access VPN, site-to-site VPN or mobile VPN.

Personal VPN

A personal VPN (also known as consumer VPN) simply shields your IP address and encrypts active data transfers (from you and to you). It also spoofs your location, which is how you can access previously inaccessible content from your country.

Remote Access VPN

The most common use of a remote access VPN might be if you work for a company that requires you to log into a private network when you’re on open/public internet. The VPN protects the connection and the data transfer between the employee and the private network.

Site-to-Site VPN

A site-to-site VPN is useful for companies that want to establish a single wide area network (WAN) between two or more other networks. A good example of this is a corporation that has multiple branches across the country with employees that need to access data across the combined network, such as AT&T or PetSmart.

Mobile VPN

A mobile VPN is similar to a remote access VPN, except it’s designed for those using mobile devices when there’s an expectation that one’s internet service could be on Wi-Fi or a cellular network. So, if you log into a company’s network using Wi-Fi, but the Wi-Fi goes out, your phone may swap over to cellular data, but the VPN keeps the connection going.

Related: Express VPN Review

A VPN provides you privacy, security and freedom—all at a reasonable monthly cost from most VPN services. When you use a VPN, you can be sure that your IP address is masked, your internet data is secure and you can access content that may not be available to you in your current country.

But it’s also important to remember that they’re not fool-safe and you can still be hacked or fall victim to a scam while using a VPN. If online safety is your sole reason for using a VPN, then it may be worth looking into anti-virus software as well.

Data Research by Mia Dunn