How We Test VPNs

Choosing the right VPN is especially important if you haveheightened privacy needs.

CNET’s team of VPN experts includes Attila Tomaschek and Moe Long.

How we assign VPN ratings

Our VPN reviews include numerical ratings of the services we evaluate.

We assign a discrete list of standards to each numerical score within the 10-point scale for each subcategory.

We weigh each subcategory equally because of the variety of ways and reasons to use a VPN.

Weighing subcategories differently would unfairly favor certain uses.

Using a VPN will slow your internet speeds.

Slow speeds can negatively affect things like streaming, gaming, video conferencing and even general browsing.

This is to get a baseline reading for comparing the speeds we get through various VPN server locations.

Framing speed performance in terms of percentage loss helps you translate the exact speeds to your internet connections.

(Disclosure: Ookla is owned by CNET’s parent company, Ziff Davis.)

We run tests using OpenVPN and WireGuard because they are two of the most popular VPN protocols.

We recommend OpenVPN for optimal privacy and WireGuard for optimal speeds.

Including the baseline internet speed tests, we run a minimum of 252-speed tests on each VPN we review.

We also call out any inconsistencies or anomalies we detect.

We’ll also recognize VPNs that deliver consistent speeds throughout the testing process.

If a money-back guarantee includes any stipulations, we confirm to call it out.

We test the service on all available platforms and operating systems to assess its compatibility and consistency across platforms.

We also look out for and actively test any unique features that the VPN may offer.