Featured Partner Offers
3
Private Internet Access (PIA)
Dedicated IP address
Yes
Number of devices
Unlimited
Encryption
AES-256
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A mobile virtual private network (VPN) is used for two main purposes. It creates an encrypted tunnel for data transfers online to and from your mobile device to protect your online activity. It also may maintain a connection to a VPN as your phone moves between connections, such as from phone data to public Wi-Fi. Discover the best mobile VPN options available today. We selected these VPNs based on key security features, pricing, support, user ratings and more.
Related: Best VPNs for Australians
Featured Partner Offers
On NordVPN’s Secure Website
Plan costs
$7.33 AUD per month or $87.95 for the first year
Number of Servers
5,500
Encryption
AES-256
On Surfshark’s Secure Website
Price
Starting From $3.07 AUD Per Month
Number of Servers
3000+
Encryption
AES with 256 -bit keys
3
Private Internet Access (PIA)
On Private Internet Access’s Secure Website
Dedicated IP address
Yes
Number of devices
Unlimited
Encryption
AES-256
$65 AUD
84
10
Private Internet Access (PIA) is overall the best mobile VPN for numerous reasons. It’s an affordable option with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can connect up to 10 devices on a single subscription. None of its features are locked behind a higher tier of service—simply choose the type of contract you want: month-to-month, six months or two years in advance. You’ll get a deeper discount for the longer-term contracts.
You get your choice of 84 server locations in as many countries on one of the 35,000 servers PIA runs. There’s one add-on option of a dedicated internet protocol (IP) for $5.95 AUD per month extra. It’s also worth noting that Private Internet Access has thousands of user reviews in app stores and review sites that average 4.4 out of 5.
If you’ve done any research on the best mobile VPNs, you may have seen some reviews pointing out that PIA doesn’t have a no-logging policy, but that isn’t strictly true. Private Internet Access has a no-usage logs policy, meaning that the company doesn’t collect or store your online activity or personally identifying information. It does have to store payment info and email addresses, but it secures this data—and it can never be connected to any of your activity with its VPN service.
Private Internet Access isn’t the cheapest mobile VPN, nor does it have the most server locations or the highest max number of devices you can connect. Rather, it offers an excellent balance of all features at an affordable cost, making it the most valuable option compared to other mobile VPNs.
Learn more: Read our Private Internet Access (PIA) review.
Who should use it:
Private Internet Access can work well for an individual or a business. Its cost isn’t prohibitive and you get lots of choices when it comes to VPN server location.
$62.70 AUD
(can get two years plus three months for $85.05 AUD, which renews at that price annually after that)
91
Seven
$62.70 AUD
(can get two years plus three months for $85.05 AUD, which renews at that price annually after that)
91
Seven
CyberGhost is one of the best mobile VPNs because it offers the greatest number of server locations and it’s viable on most operating systems, browsers and TV apps. There’s only one plan available, but you can choose the term length: month-to-month, one year, two years or three years. The cost for an annual subscription to CyberGhost is $62.70 AUD (after getting the same deal for the first two years and two months). There’s a 45-day money-back guarantee—one of the longest we’ve seen from a mobile VPN.
Regardless of which term length you choose, you’ll get access to CyberGhost’s thousands of servers (more than 7,800) from 91 different countries—more than most of the VPN services on this list. You’ll also get alerts on email and password leaks and 24/7 support. Plus, you can use a VPN on up to seven devices with one subscription. CyberGhost, as with all the best mobile VPNs, has a no-log policy, so your data isn’t stored anywhere.
There are other privacy add-ons from which you can choose. CyberGhost offers a password manager and a dedicated IP. The encrypted password storage is unlimited, and it includes a password generator. A dedicated IP costs $7.50 AUDper month, if paid annually. Both of these tools are only available as add-ons—you must have a VPN subscription to gain access to either. You can also get deeper discounts if you choose a two- or three-year contract.
Learn more:Read our CyberGhost review.
Who should use it:
CyberGhost is a good VPN service for anyone who wants to connect to a variety of servers in multiple countries and get up to 45 days to try the service risk-free.
$US59.99 ($88 AUD)
50
Eight
$US59.99 ($88 AUD)
50
Eight
TorGuard is a great pick as a VPN for your mobile devices. It offers the same anonymity and encryption as its competitors, but it’s a bit pricier. Perhaps the best reason to consider TorGuard is if you want a bundle of privacy tools—you can get a dedicated IP, shadow VPN router and malware protection for one price.
You have a handful of options when it comes to TorGuard VPNs and pricing. All of them include unlimited speeds and bandwidth and they all work for most operating systems. TorGuard offers a low-cost, Pro and Premium plan with some significant differences. The standard plan costs $US59.99 ($88 AUD) per year and you can use it on up to eight devices. The Pro plan includes a “free” dedicated IP and allows you to use the VPN on up to 12 devices—which costs $US119 ($174 AUD) annually. The Premium plan gives you all of what’s in the Pro plan, plus a shadow VPN router and supports up to 30 devices for $US129.99 ($191 AUD) per year.
You can opt for a longer contract with TorGuard, which will be more costly on the front end, but comes with savings in the long run. Two-year plans range from $US99.99 ($145 AUD) to $US179.98 ($264 AUD) while three-year plans cost $US139.99 ($205 AUD) to $US249.99 ($367 AUD). There’s also a business tier, which starts at $US32 ($47 AUD) per month for five users and one dedicated IP included.
If you’d prefer a dedicated IP as an add-on, you’ll pay $US7.99 ($12 AUD) to $US13.99 ($21 AUD) per month or $US95.88 ($141 AUD) to $US167.88 ($246 AUD) per year. It’s much more affordable to opt for a plan that includes the dedicated IP than to choose it as an add-on.
TorGuard experienced a breach in 2017—but the company claims the hackers got nothing of use. Although no user data was exposed, private encryption keys used by TorGuard were allegedly stolen, but TorGuard denies this saying the keys were expired or invalid. To be safe, however, TorGuard reissued all security certificates after the breach.
Who should use it:
TorGuard is a good choice for anyone who’s looking for a suite of security tools. You’ll save money by choosing a bundle but choose carefully—there’s only a seven-day money-back guarantee, so you might get locked into a long-term deal.
$US59.88 ($88 AUD)
59
Six
Even if you know very little about VPNs, you’ve likely heard of NordVPN. Being recognisable isn’t the only thing going for it. NordVPN offers affordable tiers of service with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and it’s one of the most intuitive VPNs you can get for your mobile phone.
There are three plans from which you can choose: Standard ($US4.49 ($6.58 AUD)per month, paid annually), Plus ($US5.99 ($8.78 AUD) per month, paid annually) or Complete ($US6.99 ($10 AUD) per month, paid annually). You can opt for a month-to-month plan, but you’ll pay $US12.99 ($19 AUD) per month to $US14.99 ($22 AUD) per month. Alternatively, you can choose a two-year plan for more savings—$US3.49 ($5.11 AUD) per month to $US5.49 ($8.05 AUD) per month, paid annually.
All plans offer high-speed VPNs, malware protection and an ad blocker, all for up to six devices. The Plus plan gives you access to a password manager that syncs your passwords across all your devices―from your PC to your mobile phone. You’ll also get a data breach scanner so that you can find out if any of your personal info or passwords were compromised. The Complete plan gives you everything in the Standard and Plus plans and you’ll get 1 TB of encrypted cloud storage for any of your files. This could be a huge benefit if you want to stop paying for Apple, Google Drive or Dropbox storage, for example.
NordVPN’s setup is easy: download and install the app on your mobile device, log into your account after you subscribe and then click on the country you want to use for your connection. It’s quick and easy to protect your online activity. If you want more protection, you can choose to add on a dedicated IP for $4.19 ($6.14 AUD) per month.
You have plenty of server options with NordVPN, too. The company has more than 5,500 servers in 59 different countries. A business VPN is available, as well. It’s $US7 ($10 AUD) to $9 ($13 AUD) per user, per month, which is pricier than some other top business mobile VPN services.
Then there’s the elephant in the room that should be addressed: NordVPN suffered a breach in 2018. The good news is that the company claims no personal data was exposed―thanks to the no-log policy―and it performed an internal audit when it learned of the attack. NordVPN also upped its security on all servers to prevent remote access in the future.
Who should use it:
NordVPN is one of the most popular VPNs around, and it’s one of the best mobile VPNs for beginners who aren’t familiar with how a VPN works. It’s easy to get started with a few clicks on your phone to protect your internet activity—and you don’t have to be very tech-savvy.
$71.89 AUD
75-plus
Unlimited
$71.89 AUD
75-plus
Unlimited
All VPN plans from IPVanish are affordable, especially compared to the big names in VPN services. Even the month-to-month plan is affordable, starting at $5.32 AUD per month. Choose an annual plan for $71.89 AUD for the first year, then renew at the applicable price. On top of low-cost plans, IPVanish gives you lots of bonuses not included from even the best mobile VPN.
A VPN can give you anonymity and privacy online, but it can’t protect you from stolen identity or malware threats. IPVanish offers annual subscribers malware and virus protection and removal of viral infections on your devices. Additionally, there’s no limit to the number of devices you can use on your plan. You also get a proxy, if you’re just looking for anonymity while using apps on your devices.
The most limiting factor of IPVanish is that it offers servers in only 50 countries. There are more than 75 server locations spread out among those countries, but if you’re looking for a specific country for your VPN, IPVanish may not be the best choice. Another missing option is dedicated IP—IPVanish doesn’t offer this.
Who should use it:
Even if you opt for IPVanish’s month-to-month plan, it’s one of the cheapest mobile VPN services available. The annual plan is relatively well priced, too, but you’ll be limited in the number of countries for your VPN.
$77.32 AUD
95
Unlimited
Surfshark is one of the few best mobile VPN services that offers unlimited devices for all its plans. More importantly for some users is the number of countries in which it hosts servers—Surfshark has more than 3,200 servers in 95 countries.
What sweetens the deal from Surfshark is its introductory price. You can get the first two years for $96.50 AUD, which shakes out to $48.25 AUDper year. For month-to-month mobile VPN service, you’ll pay $19.01 AUD.
Regardless of which contract length you chose, all plans come with a standard VPN and an ad blocker. Surfshark includes antivirus with malware protection and virus removal with its annual plans. However, it’s missing a dedicated IP add-on. Plus, if you consider the cost for a year of its service after the introductory deal, Surfshark doesn’t offer the savings or value some of its competitors do.
Who should use it:
Surfshark offers a few good reasons to anyone looking for a VPN, but the biggest selling point is that it runs servers in 95 countries, which gives you lots of choices.
$US59.99 ($88 AUD)
80
$US59.99 ($88 AUD)
80
Any VPN service could work for a small business, but VPN Unlimited offers a specific plan for teams in addition to its individual plans. A unique feature offered by VPN Unlimited is its lifetime VPN. You can opt to pay a single payment for a VPN for life—no additional fees for the VPN. Despite the name of the company though, you are limited to five devices on the standard plan.
VPN Unlimited gives you three plan options and three contract length options for business teams. Month-to-month costs $US19.99 ($29 AUD) per month for five users and up to 25 devices, an annual subscription runs $US8.33 ($12 AUD) per month, and a lifetime VPN costs $US499.99 ($734 AUD) for a one-time payment. There are also plans for 10 users (with 50 devices) and 20 users (with 100 devices).
Individual plans cost $US59.99 ($88 AUD) for an annual plan or $US9.99 ($15 AUD) monthly. You can also choose a lifetime option for $US99.99 ($147 AUD). All you get with these plans are the VPN and a 30-day money-back guarantee. To increase the value, you can opt for the MonoDefense add-on. It costs $US11.99 ($18 AUD) per month and includes a password manager, Domain Name System (DNS) firewall and data syncing across all your devices.
Although VPN Unlimited offers 80 server locations, it’s only in 56 countries. Also, reviews are decent for the service, but they’re limited compared to other VPN services. You can get a dedicated IP for $US14.99 ($22 AUD) per month, but that comes to $US12.50 ($18 AUD) annually, which is far more expensive than competitors.
Who should use it:
The best reason to use VPN Unlimited is if you have a small business with remote workers. You can opt for a team subscription, which gives users access to the VPN with multiple devices.
To determine the best mobile VPN, Forbes Advisor compared and ranked more than a dozen different VPN services available. First, we omitted any VPN provider that doesn’t support mobile devices and, to follow that up, we narrowed the list to only those that work for both Android and iOS operating systems.
We gave more stars in our 5-star rating system to the mobile VPN services that have affordable annual plans. We also looked at how many devices you can use per subscription—some services limit you to five or six while others don’t limit you by device at all. We also considered the number of servers and server locations for more choice overall.
What you should expect as standard from the best mobile VPN services: no-logs policy and anonymity and privacy via AES with 256-bit key encryption.
Most mobile VPN services have user reviews either in app stores or review sites, so we sifted through these to see the issues users have. We also considered the average star rating from users and number of reviews.
Despite user reviews and even our analysis of the best mobile VPNs, it’s a good idea to look at unique features and details that are important to you before you sign a contract. We highlight these features where we can, so you can pick what’s best for you, whether you’re new to VPNs or an InfoSec pro.
Choosing the best mobile VPN for you should come down to pricing, ease of use, device allowance and server location. These are the basics you should consider when narrowing down your own list. You can also look at extras, add-ons and trial periods.
The cost of a mobile VPN usually starts high for month-to-month plans, so compare annual plans, too. You can often get deep discounts for signing up for longer-term plans, so if you know you want a mobile VPN for a long while, consider picking up a three-year or lifetime plan.
Next you need to decide whether you’re tech-savvy enough to configure your settings yourself or if you need a mobile VPN that is super user-friendly. You might want to look for a long trial period also so that you can test the VPN out for a while to make sure you can use it easily.
Mobile VPN services vary in how many devices you’re allowed to use with your VPN subscription. You can find some that let you use all the devices you and your family have or they may limit you to five devices. Usually, a business VPN will allow more devices but limit them per user.
Finally, server location is important if you’re looking to connect in certain regions. For example, if you live in Australia, but you want to watch a TV show or movie that’s only on a streaming service in the US, using a VPN that has a server in the US is necessary. Another reason for wanting to choose a specific country for your VPN is if you’re a resident of a country that blocks specific websites or information that you want to access.
Featured Partner Offers
On NordVPN’s Secure Website
Plan costs
$7.33 AUD per month or $87.95 for the first year
Number of Servers
5,500
Encryption
AES-256
On Surfshark’s Secure Website
Price
Starting From $3.07 AUD Per Month
Number of Servers
3000+
Encryption
AES with 256 -bit keys
3
Private Internet Access (PIA)
On Private Internet Access’s Secure Website
Dedicated IP address
Yes
Number of devices
Unlimited
Encryption
AES-256
A mobile VPN is almost a necessity for companies that have remote workers or have adopted a hybrid work policy. Your employees may conduct the majority of their work off your intranet, which means they’re probably using unsecured networks to check email or even connect to your business servers. A mobile VPN can protect their work and your proprietary information. There are multiple benefits of using a mobile VPN for personal or business purposes:
Keep in mind that a mobile VPN is just one layer of security. A VPN cannot protect against identity theft or malware.
It all comes down to what you’re looking for in a mobile VPN. Our pick is Private Internet Access because it’s compatible with all operating systems, no feature is locked behind a high-tier plan and it’s affordable for individuals or businesses in Australia.
Yes, VPNs are safe to use on your mobile devices as long as you choose a trustworthy app. A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel through which data may pass back and forth virtually untraceable.
All the best mobile VPNs are safe for Android, but if you’re looking for the best Android VPN, consider NordVPN for advanced security features. We also named Private Internet Access and CyberGhost as some of the best VPNs to use on Android phones.
VPNs can allow you to access geo-restricted content in other countries. Many customers use them to access international content on streaming services that are not available in their home country. They can also be used to bypass any government restrictions you may have in your region.
A proxy and a VPN are similar in that a proxy server and a VPN can mask your IP, but the difference is that a proxy won’t encrypt your internet data—a VPN does.
Yes, but it depends on your activity and your awareness. A VPN protects active data transfers while you’re online. If you’ve enabled cookies on websites you visit, advertisers can track your activity (but with a VPN they won’t be able to connect your activity to your IP). Malware is another risk, but a VPN can’t protect you from installing malware.
Amy Nichol Smith has more than 20 years experience as a journalist and editor, writing on a range of topics, including tech products and services, the gaming industry, and small business. She has been featured in Tom's Guide, L.A. Times, Business.com, Reader's Digest, and Investopedia. Her favorite tech product is a tie between her Roomba and gaming PC.
Cassie is a deputy editor, collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. She is passionate about economic development and is on the board of two non-profit organizations seeking to revitalize her former railroad town. Prior to joining the team at Forbes Advisor, Cassie was a Content Operations Manager and Copywriting Manager at Fit Small Business.