The new year is here, and it has in fact been here for quite some months already. That has given us plenty of time to try and test different VPN providers, making it about time to release our “Best VPN providers in 2014” prize. We have tested quite some providers, and based on our tests, these are the results!
Well, time to stop for a moment. Before actually giving you the list, telling you which are the four best VPN providers on the market in 2014, let us tell you about the criteria that needs to be fulfilled for a VPN provider to be listed among the top 4 VPN providers in 2014.
How to be a TOP VPN provider?
- A top VPN providers needs to have very good download speeds.
There are of course exceptions to the rule, and even the best VPN provider might have bad days, but in general things are working great, and you are able to enjoy good speeds at most times. - A top VPN provider keeps growing and expanding.
Whatever is healthy keeps growing, and a VPN provider that keeps growing needs to expand, if not the users will suffer due to overloaded servers and slow speeds. That is why there is something automatic in this… a good VPN provider continuously grows and expands. - A top VPN provider has a working refund policy.
If a product is good, there is no need for refunds. However, there are some occasions in which refunds are still needed, and if so, it is important that VPN providers back this up and give its users the right to get their money back. - A top VPN provider has a working and operational support system, answering and helping within hours.
If you sign up for a VPN service and then find yourself stuck with a problem, there is nothing more annoying than having to wait for ages before help arrives. That is why the good VPN providers have live chats, good email customer support and even phone support available. - A top VPN provider has servers in lots of nations.
We believe that as you sign up for a VPN service you should be surprised with time to see how much good your VPN subscription can actually do for you. That is also why we have written our article: “100 reasons to get a VPN.” If you read the article you will find out how much a VPN subscription can do for you, but a basic requirement is that it needs to have servers in loads of nations, so that you can enjoy the advantages of your subscription to the max. - A top VPN providers needs to be easy to use and quick to setup.
Most people in need of a VPN have no clue what it truly is about as they sign up. That is why a complicated sign up page with lots of packages and prices available only scares the beginners away, and it steals valuable time and minutes from them. The best VPN providers make it easy, and even a layperson will get from A to Z within 5 minutes.
These were some of the criteria that we set to VPN providers. Based on these requirements we have made up our top four VPN providers in 2014 list, so here you go!
Best VPN providers in 2014
HideMyAss – Biggest network and best refund policy
HideMyAss is the VPN provider with the biggest network available. They now have servers in more than 70 nations, and they have a lively working help system. During the Winter Olympics earlier this year some servers suddenly got lots of users, causing delays and people kicked out from their servers. Within less than 48 hours they got new servers up fixing the problems and giving their best to make their customers happy. They also have the best refund policy on the market, with a 30 day money back guarantee (available if you have used less than 10GB of bandwidth). Recently they also introduced virtual servers, making it possible to connect to a server near your geographical location, and still get an IP address in a nation far, far away.
PureVPN – Fast growing, heavily debated, 5 simultaneous connections, best price!
PureVPN is maybe the number one VPN provider if you speak about VPN providers with a bad reputation. Do not misunderstand us, they have tons of satisfied customers, but there are quite some angry ones as well. Back in 2013 they had a security break which scared away quite some people, and in addition quite a lot of people have complained about their refund policy (3 day money back policy, only available if you have used less than 500MB of bandwidth). We know they have a bad reputation, but once you get started using their services you will find it to work in a great way, they have some of the best prices on the market if you look for a 12 month subscription, and if you have a problem (which we have had several times), they normally answers emails within only a few hours. Just days back Hulu tried to block all VPN and proxy users from their sites, and within shortly PureVPN were up with alternate solutions and even SmartDNS solution to their customers. Great service! They regularly add new servers to the system, so at the time of writing PureVPN has servers in 37 nations. One awesome thing included in your subscription here is the right to have 5 simultaneous subscription running at the same time! No other VPN providers come even close to that offer!
VyprVPN – beautiful applications, easy to use and good speeds
VyprVPN is one of those companies who take security very seriously, and that is why they run all the servers in their network themselves. They do not share information with any third party companies, so they hold your private information to themselves. They keep growing all the time, they do have good speeds and at the time of writing VyprVPN has servers in 38 nations. Based on our tests the speeds given using VyprVPN are very good, so if you want to stream online TV or maybe Netflix, then VyprVPN works great for such activities. They do have three different packages available, making it a bit harder to choose, but if you only need a VPN to stream online media, the basic (cheapest package) is more than enough. VyprVPN does not have a money back policy, but they will not charge you anything during the first three days, so if you cancel your subscription within the first three days, you will not be charged anything at all!
IPVanish – Easy to use, great speeds and growing!
IPVanish feels like a newcomer, but they are always coming strong. During the Winter Olympics they had great speed on their servers, making it always a safe bet as you wanted to watch live streams from different TV providers, for example CBC in Canada. Like PureVPN and HideMyAss they regularly add new servers and nations to their list, and earlier this year we claimed IPVanish to be the easiest to use VPN provider on the market. It is extremely easy to use, get started with, connect to servers and to get the help needed from their customer service. In addition they have a seven day refund policy. They currently have servers in 47 nations and they have the most frequently updated blog of all the mentioned VPN providers. Their prices are fairly the same as the prices of HideMyAss.
You have just read about our favorite four VPN providers in 2014. We have not written much about VPN protocols and logging in this article, but the goal is simply that those who are looking for a VPN provider to encrypt their online activity and to provide them with IPs in other countries should find a short and concise information about the best four VPN providers on the market in 2014.
We hope you have enjoyed the article, and feel free to come with comments and share your insight on the subject!
