How We Compare VPNs
On this page
Every fact on BestVPN comes from one of three places: our own dated tests from Melbourne, the provider’s own website, or a named independent reviewer. This page explains each, and how our lists are ordered.
How we test VPNs
We test from a home NBN connection in Melbourne, on a Mac mini at Laurence’s home. Each provider’s own macOS app runs with its default settings.
Each session starts with the VPN off, so every result has a fresh baseline from the same hour. We measure download and upload speed (three 50 MB downloads and two 20 MB uploads from Cloudflare’s speed test) and ping.
Then we connect the VPN’s app, note the app version and the server it really sends us through, and run the same tests again.
On each server we also check for DNS leaks, which would show our internet provider handling lookups instead of the VPN. Our line has no IPv6, so we cannot test for IPv6 leaks and never claim a pass.
We try the streaming services Australians ask about, such as BBC iPlayer, US Netflix and Japan’s ABEMA. A block is recorded as plainly as a success.
The measurements are scripted, so every run is the same: the speed downloads, the leak checks, and a check of our public IP address every second and a half while switching servers.
Laurence signs in to the streaming accounts himself, and a screenshot or saved log backs every result. When a review says “I”, it describes those sessions or his own use of the VPN.
Every result from the current round goes into a test log with its date, time, server and method. A review only quotes a result with its date beside it.
How old our results are
Our earlier results (2021–22)
Our first round covered 10 VPNs from August 2021 to March 2022, on a faster line than we use now. It measured speed and tried streaming, torrents and support; leak checks ran on only some providers. Those results come from our original reviews and screenshots, and stay in each review as a dated record.
Our current round started in October 2026 and has so far retested Surfshark, Proton VPN, NordVPN, Mysterium VPN, PrivadoVPN, PureVPN, AdGuard VPN and Intego VPN. The other providers follow.
We have not yet tested 4 of the VPNs we review (hide.me, IVPN, Mozilla VPN and Mullvad VPN), and their reviews say so. Each review says which round its figures come from.
The table shows, for each VPN, the month of its first-round test, its latest test and what we have tested so far.
| VPN | First round | Latest test | What we have tested |
|---|---|---|---|
 Surfshark | August 2021 | October 2026 | October 2026: local speed, overseas speed, streaming, leaks, kill switch settings (drop test not run) and torrenting; August 2021: local speed, overseas speed, streaming and torrenting |
 Proton VPN | March 2022 | October 2026 | October 2026: local speed, overseas speed, streaming, leaks, kill switch settings (drop test not run) and torrenting; March 2022: local speed, overseas speed, streaming and torrenting |
 NordVPN | August 2021 | October 2026 | October 2026: local speed, overseas speed, streaming, leaks, kill switch settings (drop test not run) and torrenting; August 2021: local speed, overseas speed, streaming and torrenting |
 Mysterium VPN | – | October 2026 | October 2026: local speed, overseas speed, streaming, leaks, kill switch settings (drop test not run) and torrenting |
 PrivadoVPN | – | October 2026 | October 2026: local speed, overseas speed, streaming, leaks and kill switch settings (drop test not run) |
 PureVPN | – | October 2026 | October 2026: local speed, overseas speed, streaming, leaks, kill switch settings (drop test not run) and torrenting |
 AdGuard VPN | – | October 2026 | October 2026: local speed, overseas speed, streaming, leaks, kill switch settings (drop test not run) and torrenting |
 Intego VPN | – | October 2026 | October 2026: local speed, overseas speed, streaming, leaks, kill switch settings (drop test not run) and torrenting |
 Private Internet Access | late 2021 | – | late 2021: local speed, overseas speed, streaming and torrenting |
 CyberGhost | August 2021 | – | August 2021: local speed, overseas speed, streaming and torrenting |
 IPVanish | August 2021 | – | August 2021: local speed, overseas speed, streaming, leaks and torrenting |
 ExpressVPN | August 2021 | – | August 2021: local speed, overseas speed, streaming, leaks and torrenting |
 PrivateVPN | August 2021 | – | August 2021: local speed, overseas speed, streaming and torrenting |
 Windscribe | late 2021 | – | late 2021: local speed, overseas speed, streaming and torrenting |
 hide.me | – | – | Not tested by us yet |
 IVPN | – | – | Not tested by us yet |
 Mozilla VPN | – | – | Not tested by us yet |
 Mullvad VPN | – | – | Not tested by us yet |
 Astrill VPN | March 2022 | – | March 2022: local speed, overseas speed, streaming and torrenting |
Our own tests from a Melbourne home connection: the first round in 2021 and 2022, and retests from October 2026.
Tested on an account Surfshark gave us free of charge (16–25 Oct 2026). Tested on an account Proton VPN gave us free of charge (17–21 Oct 2026). Tested on an account NordVPN gave us free of charge (14–25 Oct 2026). Tested on an account Mysterium VPN gave us free of charge (24 Oct 2026). Tested on an account PrivadoVPN gave us free of charge (29 Oct 2026). Tested on an account PureVPN gave us free of charge (21 Oct 2026). Tested on an account AdGuard VPN gave us free of charge (24 Oct 2026). Tested on an account Intego VPN gave us free of charge (22 Oct 2026).
Each review also summarises recent tests by named independent reviewers and links to them. They test from outside Australia, so we use their figures to compare providers, not to forecast your line.
Where prices and plan details come from
We check prices on each provider’s own site, daily or by hand where a site blocks our checker, and show the date. Each check records the monthly price, the amount paid upfront, the term and the renewal price, where the provider shows one.
Where a provider publishes them, we also record the refund period, the number of servers and countries, and how many devices one account covers.
- Each price box and table shows the date it was last checked and links to the provider’s site (its home page where prices are read from a checkout page).
- A dash means we do not have that detail yet. Either the provider does not publish it clearly, or its site does not allow our checker.
- Our checks identify themselves and respect each provider’s rules for automated access.
Always confirm the price on the provider’s own site before you buy.
Prices in other currencies
We show each price in the provider’s own currency: Australian dollars, US dollars or euros. For other currencies we add an approximate Australian-dollar figure at the European Central Bank’s daily reference rate. Your bank’s rate and fees will differ.
How comparison tables are ordered
Each comparison page is ordered by a calculation from the figures in its table, with the weights printed underneath. Smaller tables in our guides keep the order of the main comparison.
The main comparison on our home page weighs four facts: the lowest monthly price, the refund period (scored in proportion to the longest on offer), countries with servers and devices per account.
One rule sits above that score. VPNs we have tested ourselves in the last 90 days come first, in score order, and the rest follow.
Apart from that test date, the order compares published facts; it is not a verdict on quality. Speed, streaming and leaks are covered in each review, through our own dated results and recent independent tests. Commission plays no part in the order; see how we earn money.
How we score VPNs
Each VPN we have tested ourselves in the last 12 months gets a BestVPN score out of 10. Nobody picks the number: it is calculated from our dated test results and the price data on the same page. It is worked out again every time the site updates, so a retest can move it up or down.
The score has five parts, each out of 10:
- Speed (25%): how much of our download speed the VPN kept on a local server, and on average overseas. If a VPN’s only Australian server turns out to be overseas, it scores zero for local speed.
- Streaming (20%): of the overseas and Australian services we pressed Play on, how many played. A site that only loaded does not count.
- Security (35%): no DNS or WebRTC leaks, our real address hidden when we switched servers, the kill switch on by default, and an independent audit the provider names on its own site.
- Value (10%): the lowest monthly price against every VPN we price, the refund period, and how much the price rises at renewal.
- Australia (10%): a Melbourne server, how many Australian cities it lists, and how much delay it added to a connection to Sydney.
A score needs all three test parts: speed, streaming and security. If we have no data for value or Australia, that part drops out, the others share its weight, and the score says so.
A VPN we have not tested in the last 12 months shows “Not scored” with the date of our last test. The score sits beside each review’s rank but does not set the order of our comparison tables, which follow the facts described above.
What our reviews are based on
Reviews summarise, in our own words, what each provider publishes about its pricing, network, privacy policy and features, and add our dated test results. Claims about privacy practices and audits are the provider’s, unless we say we have read the audit report ourselves. Each review explains how it is kept current.