Best Multidevice VPNs – CNET

IPVanish

IPVanish provides unlimited simultaneous connections so you can use a VPN on your phone, tablet, computer, streaming box and any other devices at once without issue. By comparison, many of its competitors remain selective; NordVPN and Proton VPN offer 10 simultaneous connections while ExpressVPN allows just eight. Additionally, IPVanish features VPN apps for nearly every platform imaginable. It’s even one of the few companies with an Apple TV app. Only a handful of providers, including ExpressVPN, NordVPN, PIA, PureVPN, FlowVPN, Tailscale, VPNIFY, SafeShell and SwizzVPN, offer downloadable TVOS applications. There’s even a graphical user interface for IPVanish’s Linux app, which is still a rarity. 

We like that IPVanish’s apps are user-friendly and uncomplicated. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a VPN newcomer, you won’t be confused about enabling it. Its exceptional streaming support — we successfully unblocked Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video and other apps — makes this an excellent VPN for entertainment. We didn’t find any leaks in our 2024 tests, but we clocked an average 44% internet download speed loss, which is well below the fastest VPNs.

With servers in 56 countries, IPVanish falls well short of competitors like NordVPN (111), Surfshark (100 countries) and ExpressVPN (105). We found servers close to us, you’ll want to consult IPVanish’s server location list to ensure it’s a VPN provider that works for your needs. You’ll pay $13 per month, $40 annually (before a price hike to $90 after your initial 12 months of service) or $53 for two years (after 24 months, that cost spikes to $90 each year). IPVanish is cheaper than NordVPN and ExpressVPN but more expensive than Private Internet Access and Surfshark. Ultimately, IPVanish is a decent VPN that you can use on nearly any device — including your Apple TV — with no limits on simultaneous users. Other VPNs provide significantly faster speeds, more country locations, stronger privacy and overall better value.

Read our IPVanish review.

Hotspot Shield

With its user-friendly app design, split tunneling and excellent streaming service geo-unblocking, Hotspot Shield is a decent VPN for casual users. It features a sizable network comprised of over 3,200 servers in more than 80 countries. Hotspot Shield only uses AES 2568-bit encryption for solid industry-standard privacy. Its closed-source proprietary OpenSSL-based Catapult Hydra VPN protocol and US jurisdiction mean it’s not ideal for more privacy-conscious folks. While Hotspot Shield does support 10 simultaneous devices, its underwhelming privacy and transparency make it tough to recommend when its VPN rivals offer more benefits like faster speeds, greater simultaneous device allowances and lower subscription costs.

Read our Hotspot Shield review.

TunnelBear

TunnelBear provides unlimited simultaneous connections without breaking the bank. It sports 256-bit encryption, split tunneling and several VPN protocols including WireGuard and OpenVPN as well as IKEv2. However, TunnelBear falls short in a lot of categories. Despite a high 5,000-plus server network, TunnelBear only spans 47 countries. In our testing, its unreliable connectivity often resulted in high internet speed loss. Plus, TunnelBear only supports a handful of platforms, like Windows, MacOS, Android/Android TV, iOS/iPadOS and web browsers. At a minimum, we’d expect a Linux installer and at this point, probably an Apple TV app. If you need an affordable VPN for general use TunnelBear is acceptable, but we suggest one of the best cheap VPNs, like Surfshark, IPVanish or PIA instead. 

Read our TunnelBear review.