Best Mac VPN for 2023

Apple has built a reputation for making the security of its devices a high priority, so if you’re a Mac user, you might assume you don’t need a VPN, or virtual private network. But your internet service provider can still track your browsing activity on both MacOS and iOS, and the websites you visit can collect your IP address. MacOS can’t stop either of those things, but the best Mac VPN can. So if you want to better protect your digital information and help keep your online activity private, you should consider using a solid and well-tested VPN. 

When we determine the best Mac VPN for our readers, we assess several factors that are specific to being a Mac user: First, if you’re a MacOS user, you’re probably used to a clean, intuitive user interface with a well-organized set of digital tools and a minimal learning curve, which is why we closely evaluate a VPN’s usability. Further, though not all Apple devices are faster than a PC or Windows product, we want to see a VPN service with a connection speed that complements MacOS machines’ reputation for being fast. 

We also know that for many Mac users, a broad resistance to app-borne viruses and malware is a major reason for choosing that ecosystem over Windows. To that end, we scrutinize a VPN’s antitracker capacity and its general compatibility with Apple’s increasingly enhanced privacy policies. 

Note that there are currently some limits to the privacy that VPNs offer MacOS and iOS users. Recent independent research has suggested that iOS (and some MacOS) users’ browsing and internet data may be sent to Apple despite the protections offered by an encrypted VPN tunnel. We’ll continue to update our recommendations as more research emerges around this issue. 

Drawn from our directory of the best VPN services, these are our top recommendations for the best Mac VPN. Keep checking back here often, since we regularly update this list as new VPN contenders emerge for the top spot.