Best VPNs for Mac for 2025 That We Have Tested and Reviewed

ExpressVPN is CNET’s top pick for the best VPN for Mac thanks to an intuitive experience on Mac devices. ExpressVPN offers a fluid, consistent and streamlined VPN experience on almost every platform, which includes MacOS. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned tech enthusiast, you’ll find something to like about ExpressVPN. The minimalist interface means you can get started at the click of a button and change locations in just a few more, whereas advanced VPN users will appreciate the effort ExpressVPN put in behind the scenes to make the VPN as fast and private as possible.

ExpressVPN is one of the true veterans of the VPN marketplace, consistently demonstrating its commitment to privacy and transparency with multiple third-party audits covering app security, as well as confirming the technical implementation of a no-logs policy. ExpressVPN is also excellent for streaming. With 105 countries to choose from, you’ll be able to consistently unblock all sorts of geo-locked content, including major streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. ExpressVPN offers the same streamlined app experience on other Apple platforms, so whether you’re using ExpressVPN on your iPhone, iPad or Apple TV, you’ll be getting a powerful VPN that isn’t overwhelming to use.

In 2024, we measured a 24.8% average speed loss with ExpressVPN. This is still fast, considering that many VPNs can slash your internet speeds by 50% or more. However, we saw substantially better speeds from faster VPNs like NordVPN (11% speed loss) and Surfshark (17% speed loss). Nevertheless, ExpressVPN’s speeds were largely consistent and aligned with our expectations across protocols and server locations. In the end, ExpressVPN’s speeds were still plenty fast enough for general browsing as well as for more data-intensive activities like streaming, gaming and videoconferencing -- especially if you use Lightway, where we saw only a 7% speed loss on Mac.

Surfshark packs an array of useful privacy features into an affordable package that’s just as powerful on MacOS as it is on Windows. It boasts an impressive suite of privacy amenities, an easy-to-use user interface, a gargantuan fleet of VPN servers dotted across the planet and unlimited simultaneous connections, making Surfshark’s already budget-priced subscription an even better value for your money. Uniquely, Surfshark is one of the few VPN providers with MacOS and iOS split tunneling, so if you need more manual control over your VPN connection on your Apple devices, it's a great choice. Surfshark makes a strong showing on the entertainment side of things as well, with unblocking capabilities that’ll give you access to Netflix regions anywhere around the world in addition to Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video. Surfshark doesn’t lack when it comes to preserving your privacy, either. The standard VPN features you’d expect, such as a kill switch and DNS leak protection, all work on MacOS.

As far as more unique privacy features go, there’s Camouflage mode, an obfuscation option that disguises your VPN use as normal web browsing traffic. If you’re still having trouble connecting even with obfuscation turned on, there’s also NoBorders mode, which may let you bypass VPN restrictions or circumvent government censorship. Using Surfshark's Dynamic Multihop, you can add an extra layer of privacy when compared with a standard VPN connection, thus making it even more difficult to trace your traffic back to its source (your computer). Most VPN providers that offer Multihop only allow you to chain through a small part of their network, but Surfshark’s Nexus network lets you pick servers manually. It’s the same technology that powers the IP Rotator function, which assigns you a new IP every few minutes to stop your traffic from being tracked across different websites. With all of these different privacy features, as well as Surfshark’s CleanWeb technology, which helps block ads and phishing attacks, it’s no wonder that Surfshark is an excellent budget VPN pick.

In our tests, Surfshark had no problems unblocking Netflix and Amazon Prime Video content, but we did run into a fair bit of trouble accessing Disney Plus. After testing various servers in the US and other countries where Disney Plus is available, we were finally able to access the content when we connected to a server in Boston. You may need to test a few servers yourself before gaining access to Disney Plus content with Surfshark.

NordVPN is the fastest VPN for MacOS -- and all other platforms, for that matter -- because of its best-in-class internet connection speeds. In our 2024 testing, CNET Labs clocked a mere 10.1% average speed loss on MacOS with OpenVPN and 12.56% using NordLynx (Nord’s proprietary WireGuard derivative). Its user-friendly design that doesn't compromise on features makes Nord an exceptional choice for casual VPN newcomers and seasoned power users alike. Costing $13 per month, $60 for the first year or $83 total for the first two years, NordVPN initially sets you back less than premium VPN competitors like ExpressVPN, but more than wallet-friendly rivals like Surfshark and PIA. However, subsequent price hikes jack up the price to $140 a year, which is pretty expensive. Luckily, you can renew early to take advantage of deals and discounts, but if you forget and Nord auto-renews, you'll pay a lot.

As one of the fastest VPNs, NordVPN works well for bandwidth-intensive applications like gaming or video streaming. We experienced no issues streaming US and UK Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus libraries on most devices. Privacy-focused users will appreciate Nord’s advanced features, including a Double VPN and Onion over VPN (Tor), which provide extra encryption. Nord also relies on RAM-only servers, and a 2024 Deloitte audit backed up its no-log claims for improved transparency. Although zero-logging policies are difficult to verify with complete certainty, third-party audits offer peace of mind. Folks with serious privacy concerns can even buy a NordVPN subscription using cryptocurrency for pseudo-anonymity. 

NordVPN’s global server network comprises more than 7,400 servers spanning 118 countries. That’s a little greater than the international reach of competitors like Surfshark and ExpressVPN. Overall, NordVPN offers advanced privacy features in an intuitive service. In addition to MacOS, NordVPN runs on almost any platform you can think of, including Windows, Linux, Android and Android TV, iOS and iPadOS, browsers and even Apple TV.

Private Internet Access is one of the most budget-friendly VPNs in the business. PIA offers a $12 monthly subscription, $40 for the first year (then $50 annually upon renewal) and a three-year tier at $79. Like Proton VPN and Mullvad VPN, its apps are all open-source. However, PIA is a US-based VPN, which may be a deal-breaker if you have heightened or critical online privacy needs. Nevertheless, PIA issues semi-annual transparency reports, has been independently audited and has had its no-logs claims tested in the wild. 

PIA's Mac app is highly customizable, so it's great for anyone who likes to tinker with their VPN connection or has a dashboard with a lot of information at hand. We like that PIA supports split tunneling on MacOS -- a rare feat among VPN providers. Split tunneling lets you use a VPN connection for some apps or internet traffic but not others. For instance, you can stream a movie on Netflix with a VPN, while downloading a game on Steam outside of your VPN for a faster internet connection (all VPNs slow down your VPN somewhat).

PIA is decent for unblocking streaming services -- in our testing, we were able to watch foreign Netflix and Disney Plus libraries, as well as stream Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Peacock and Paramount Plus. But its high-speed loss of 49% in our 2024 tests -- worse than the 24% average download speed loss we clocked in our 2023 benchmarks -- means it's not ideal for folks with slower or more unreliable connections, like satellite internet. If you're looking for a VPN that's easy on the pocketbook, private and great for streaming, PIA is a good choice that even offers niche MacOS features like split tunneling.