Best Android VPN for 2023

ExpressVPN remains our Editors' Choice for best overall VPN in 2023. One of the largest VPN providers globally, the industry titan has been in business since 2009 and is consistently raising the bar for service transparency year after year. In 2022, the company underwent a total of 12 independent security audits.

ExpressVPN is one of the fastest VPNs we've tested. While most VPNs will cause you to lose half or more of your normal internet speeds, ExpressVPN caused our speeds to dip just 18% in our March and April 2023 speed tests. It also unblocks Netflix and other streaming services more reliably than most other VPNs, and seamlessly surpasses geo-blocking for access to international gaming servers and torrenting sites. ExpressVPN's proprietary Lightway protocol's flexible nature allows it to take on both TCP and UDP connections, seamlessly balancing speed and stability. It's a brilliant choice for a default protocol on Android devices, since it's so responsive to varying connection types and strengths. 

While you can get a better month-to-dollar bargain with ExpressVPN's two-year subscription, we don't recommend anyone purchase any two-year VPN subscriptions at this time due to overall market volatility. ExpressVPN's best plan offers eight simultaneous connections for $100 a year. You can also opt for a $13 per-month plan, or pay $60 for six months.

Surfshark is an excellent Android VPN, and CNET's current Editors' Choice for the best value VPN. It packs a ton of features, is great for streaming and is the perfect choice if you're on a budget but still want the premium VPN experience. 

Surfshark's Android app is clean and simple to use, but it sometimes struggles to connect immediately, which can be frustrating. Otherwise, it's a slick app with a lot of cool features. Once connected, you'll see your connection time and VPN IP address and location. You also have the option to either disconnect from the VPN server or pause your VPN connection for 5 minutes, 30 minutes or 2 hours. The Pause feature is useful for instances where you want to temporarily step off the VPN but not risk forgetting to turn the VPN back on. It's also easy to create custom multi-hop connections with any two server combinations from Surfshark's network of over 3,000 servers in 100 countries. Additional features include a kill switch, auto-connect, protocol selection and ad- and tracker-blocking technology. And if you're into streaming content online while on the go, Surfshark is an excellent choice. It's great for streaming Netflix content from multiple Netflix libraries around the world. We were able to easily stream content from Max, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus as well.

Surfshark is a budget-friendly choice that's priced at $48 for the first year of service, then $60 per year for any subsequent years of service. That's significantly cheaper than ExpressVPN, though the monthly price without any discounts or introductory offers is the same at $13 a month. And, like other top VPNs, Sufrshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee trial period.

NordVPN is one of the most recognized brands in the VPN field. Part of that brand recognition is based on its distinct, straightforward design. Nord's app for Android is just as easy to interact with as its desktop VPN client, with a similar design. It poses no learning difficulties for a first-time user looking to move from desktop to mobile.

Just as the desktop client does, Nord's app opens to a familiar blue-scale landing-screen map where users can opt to either select a country, connect to the fastest server automatically or browse specialty servers like Onion over VPN, Double VPN or those optimized for P2P. Nord gets bonus points for its split-tunneling feature, which allows you to select other apps that you don't want to run through your encrypted VPN connection.

NordVPN's pricing structure is similar to that of its sister company Surfshark, but its longer-term plans are more expensive. A two-year plan carries an introductory price of about $79, but that price increases to a little under $100 annually for each subsequent year of service. However, we don't recommend committing to a single provider for more than a year at a time, given how fickle the VPN industry tends to be. If you opt for the yearly plan, you'll pay $60 for the first year of service, then just shy of $100 a year for any additional years. NordVPN's monthly plan is a dollar cheaper than Surfshark's, though, at $12 a month. And like most other VPN services, NordVPN offers a full 30-day money-back guarantee in case you're not satisfied with the service. 

A big win for IPVanish is its fun, configurable interface, which makes it an ideal client for those who are interested in learning how to understand what a VPN does under the hood. In its Android app, IPVanish manages to pack the same extensive suite of digital knobs and dials into a refreshingly clean mobile interface to impressive effect. If you want to do some precision tuning to your VPN connection, IPVanish is a solid bet. With a bevy of switches controlling things like the kill switch, split tunneling, VPN protocol and LAN connection allowance, IPVanish is an app for the methodical tech tweaker who enjoys having exact control over their mobile internet traffic.

One frustrating issue is that IPVanish's Quick Connect feature doesn't always connect you to the best available server, so you may need to optimize your speeds by connecting manually to a server showing a lighter load. In IPVanish's Android app, you can check the current load of each server by tapping on Locations, selecting Cities and tapping the number next to each city.

IPVanish's yearly plan costs $48 for the first year. However, the plan increases sharply in price to the regular $90 annual rate for any subsequent years of service. You can also choose a quarterly plan that starts at $13 for the first three-month period and increases to $30 for each three-month billing period afterward. IPVanish's monthly rate is priced at $11 a month, which is about on par with other providers' month-to-month rates. The provider offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, but only if you get the yearly plan -- which could be a disappointment to anyone who bought a monthly subscription and decided they didn't like the service.