Even though the rise in popularity of mobile devices means that we can access data on the go like never before, many people still find that they do a lot of their web browsing at home. Part of this is due to the fact that people can often type much faster on the laptop or PC, and just about everyone has some type of wireless router in their home. Because people spend so much time browsing the Internet while they are comfortable in their home, it begs the question: which are the best VPNs for home use?
The vast majority of home users are going to be using one of the two most popular desktop and laptop operating systems: Windows or Mac OSX. Just about every provider is going to have their bases covered and support these two immensely popular operating systems but many will even support OS’s that aren’t as popular – such as Linux. While you can easily take advantage of one of these services that supports a high number of simultaneous connections among your various home devices, the best option is securing your whole home network with a VPN tunnel.
Terminating Your VPN at Your Router
Most people aren’t aware that they can actually make their wireless router the endpoint for their VPN connection. And doing so will provide one immense benefit: all of the data that travels through your home network will be protected by default and sent through the VPN tunnel. This happens regardless of how many concurrent connections your VPN provider allows, and every single device that connects to your home network will be protected. This is by far the most attractive option for protecting yourself with a VPN tunnel for home use.
The only drawback is that you are going to need a router that is capable of terminating a VPN tunnel. Most of the default firmware found on wireless routers aren’t capable of doing this, so you will likely need to upgrade your router to Tomato, OpenWRT, or DD-WRT. If you don’t feel comfortable making the upgrade on your own then you do have the option of purchasing a router that has already been flashed or that comes standard with DD-WRT. More and more DD-WRT or Tomato derivatives such as ASUS routers are now able to provide OpenVPN protocols. The process for actually connecting your router to the VPN tunnel isn’t too difficult, and you’ll find that most VPN service providers offer detailed instructions on their website. With that said, let’s take a look at the best VPNs for home use.
Best VPNs for Home
Private Internet Access VPN – Complete Review
PIA VPN is our top choice for home use for several reasons. If you don’t terminate your VPN connection at your router, you are going to love the fact that PIA allows you connect up to 5 devices with a single VPN account. Oh, and let’s not forget their price. They cost less than just about every other provider when you opt for an annual subscription, and the monthly rate is only $3.33. But don’t let their price fool you – they offer a solid VPN service with blazing fast speeds and high capacity due to their 3096 VPN servers.
ExpressVPN – Complete Review
ExpressVPN is our second choice for home use. While they do cost more than other providers, you can’t deny that they offer an extremely high quality of service. Not only do they have extremely fast VPN connections in 78 different countries, but they also offer a 30-day money back guarantee and excellent 24/7 customer service. However, their largest drawback is that they only allow 2 devices to be connected per VPN account, so you will likely want to terminate the VPN connection on your flashed router.
PureVPN – Complete Review
PureVPN is a great alternative because they offer a very strong VPN service that is well-rounded. Their network is highly developed and they offer connections in 140 countries with 500+ servers. Like PIA VPN, they also allow you to connect up to 5 devices per account, so you will be able to connect most – if not all – of your devices. Lastly, their pricing model is very attractive due to their 7-day money back guarantee and a monthly rate of $4.16.
IronSocket – Complete Review
IronSocket VPN has matured into a fantastic service even though they are younger than some of their competitors. While they don’t have as many servers as some of their competition, they have more global locations than several other top providers. With 50+ servers in 36 countries, you have a reasonable degree of flexibility when establishing connections abroad. They do also let you connect up to 3 devices per account, and they are also sensibly priced at $4.16 per month with longer term subscriptions.