Let’s be honest for a second, the hype against laptops and desktops is gradually dying day by day.
The world is moving towards mobile now, heck you yourself are the prime example of this change.
Look at you, glued to your smartphone hours on end. But I can’t blame you though, you and I are eerily alike.
Checking up on emails, banking, and scrolling through social media is so much convenient on a smartphone.
Yet In spite of technological breakthroughs in computing technology, mobile devices, particularly Android apps still suffer from the same old vulnerabilities and breach of privacy attacks.
Since you do pretty much everything on your smartphone, it makes all the sense in the world to protect it right.
Now, Android phones are known for their sketchy online privacy, which is why I’ve come up with a list of 7 best Android VPN apps to keep you totally secure on the go.
Why Use an Android VPN App?
Similar to you using the internet on your laptop, your Android phone also intercepts and transmits data packets in the exact same manner.
However, unlike your laptop, you share information that is much more intimate on your phone. Talking to your significant other, sharing photos, all happen right on your smartphone.
Just imagine what someone can do with your data.
Even the much more secure iOS operating systems aren’t completely safe from online threats.
Considering how spotty the support is for Android apps, opting a VPN app should be your absolute priority. Unless you’re a total rebel and don’t mind getting your data hacked.
According to a research conducted by ESET back in November 2017, it was discovered that the Google Play Store contained eight multi stage malware apps by the name of AndroidTrojanDropper.Agent.BKY.
The apps although looked legitimate on the surface but on the backend, they were used to replace genuine webpages with uncanny dummy pages.
Whatever the unsuspected victim enters into the fields, be it personal and payment information, got stored and sent back to anonymous hackers.
Unfortunately, that’s the sick and twisted world we live in.
Privacy begins from within. Unless you’re serious about your privacy, you yourself can very well face such issues.
Playing it safe and opting a reliable VPN for your Android device can help you:
- Hide your original IP address
- Keep your personal information safe and away from the hands of snoops
- Bypasses geo-restricted content and websites (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, BBC iPlayer, etc.)
- Make you anonymous and virtually undetectable on the web.
How to Choose the Best Android VPN App in 2019?
Selecting the best VPNs that provide next level anonymity and protection under your budget becomes a daunting task at times.
This is the reason you should always be wary of certain factors that make your VPN selection process highly successful. These are:
- Jurisdiction: To check whether a VPN service is based in 5 eyes, 9 eyes, 14 eyes territory or not.
- VPN Logs: Does your VPN provider follow no-logging policy or keeps logs of its users, you can check out our detailed guide about several VPNs and their logging policies for complete information.
- IP Leaks: Is your VPN service free from IP leak, DNS leak, and WebRTC leak, you can explore our detailed VPN leak test guide to know about different types of leakages.
- Transparency reports: has your VPN service entertained government’s request about accessing users’ data in the past or not, what is its stance over transparency overall.
- User Reviews and Ratings on Google Play Store: Analyze most recent users reviews about different VPNs through App Annie.
- Speed: Compare the speed test of your VPN service with other providers in the market, for more information, explore our detailed VPN speed test guide.
- Number of Servers: check the server count and locations of various VPN service.
- Cost: Compare the cost of diverse pricing plans and make your decision accordingly.
- Compatibility: to which Android version, your selected VPN service is compatible with.
Before exploring the best VPN for Android apps in detail, let me explain some major attributes for all VPNs.
Google Play Store Ratings
Here is the screenshot of Google Play Store ratings of 7 VPN services:
NordVPN has beaten the other contenders in terms of Google Play Store ratings by narrowest of margins.
Positive and Negative Ratings
There is no harm in examining the positive and negative feedback about 7 VPN providers on Google Play Store provided by Android users.
Note: Positive reviews calculations are based on 5 and 4 star ratings. On the other hand, negative reviews calculations are based on 1 and 2 star ratings.
NordVPN has again maintained its superiority over other VPN providers like PureVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, CyberGhost, Ivacy, and IPVanish.
Compatibility
Here is the list of VPN providers that are compatible with different Android versions.
| Providers | Compatibility |
|---|---|
| NordVPN | Varies with devices |
| ExpressVPN | Android 5.0 and up |
| Surfshark | Android 5.0 and up |
| PureVPN | Varies with devices |
| CyberGhost | Android 4.1 and up |
| IPVanish | Android 4.0.3 and up |
| Ivacy | Android 4.0.3 and up |
File Size
File size is another important factor you must consider while opting the desired VPN for your Android devices.
In case you want to use a lightweight VPN app, you should go through the below-mentioned table.
From the above table, it is obvious that Surfshark has the smallest file size i.e. 15 MB. On the other hand, CyberGhost has the largest file size i.e. 31 MB.
Note: I have collected all the data from the Google Play Store.
Server Network
Here is the list of servers’ network of all the 7 VPN providers:
NordVPN is again leading from the front through 5,200 servers. Furthermore, CyberGhost remains at the second position as it has 3,700 servers.
7 Best Android VPN Apps for 2019
Here’s the tough part!
Even though the Google Play Store is filled with hundreds of VPNs both free and paid, I can’t suggest you guys to go and experiment with them.
Since there’s always a possibility that you’ll end up installing something nasty, I’ve taken the liberty to test out dozens of VPNs available on the Play Store.
Don’t want to read through the whole blog? Checkout out my super convenient ranking table below.
| VPN Providers | Price ($) | Special Deals | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|
Best for Geo-Unblocking  | $11.95 $2.99 Per Month | 75% Off 3 Years Plan | |
Best for Streaming  | $12.95 $8.32 Per Month | 49% OFF No Exclusive Offer | |
Best Budget Service  | $11.95 $1.99 Per Month | 83% Off 2 Years Deal | |
Best Affordable VPN  | $10.95 $2.95 Per Month | 73% Off Exclusive Discount 1 year Plan | |
Best for Private Browsing  | $12.99 $2.75 Per Month | 79% Off 3 Years Deal | |
Best for Kodi  | $10.00 $6.49 Per Month | 60% OFF Exclusive Offer | |
Best Fastest VPN  | $9.95 $2.25 Per Month | 77% OFF 2 Years Deal |
1. NordVPN – 5100+ Anonymous Servers for only $2.99
Jurisdiction: NordVPN is a Panama based VPN service. The country is famous for preserving users’ right as it does not have any mandatory data retention laws.
VPN Logs: The provider follows no-logging policy in the right way. It does not store usage logs and connection logs too.
IP Leaks: NordVPN passed IP leak, DNS leak and WebRTC leak tests with excellence.
Transparency Report: The brand is a brainchild of Tefincom. However, the service has not provided any transparency report on its official site.
User reviews and rating on Google Play Store: Here is the screenshot of 5 latest reviews about NordVPN.
Source: AppAnnie
If you read all these reviews thoroughly, you would realize that all the users have appreciated the performance of its Android app.
Interestingly, the provider has included obfuscated servers in its Android app. Surprisingly, VPN app iOS users cannot avail such luxury on their iPhone or other iOS devices.
Speed: Upon using 30mbps internet connection, NordVPN offered 27.91 Mbps speed while connected to the UK, US, Germany and Australia server on average.
In terms of upload, NordVPN provided 14. 91 Mbps speed on average.
Number of Servers: NordVPN delivers its services in all the major regions of the world through its 5,100+ servers.
Cost: At present, the brand offers four types of pricing plans that includes $2.99 (3 year), $3.99 (2 year), $6.99 (1 year), and $11.95 (per month).
How to download:
You can download NordVPN Android app from Google Play Store instantly.
Want to know more about this app, make sure you check out how secure is nordvpn.
2. ExpressVPN – #1 Trusted Leader in VPN for only $8.32
Jurisdiction: The famous VPN service typically hails from the British Virgin Island. It means the brand does not have to follow mandatory data retention laws of any five eyes, nine eyes, and 14 eyes territory.
VPN Logs: ExpressVPN does not keep logs of its users’ information in any manner whatsoever.
IP Leaks: It passed different leak tests like IP leak, DNS leak and WebRTC leak tests hassle-free.
Transparency Report: ExpressVPN has clearly shown its stance regarding transparency by complying with all the requirements of CDT (Center for Democracy and Technology) in the right way.
User Reviews and Ratings on Google Play Store: Here is the response of five different users that suggests ExpressVPN has received mixed feedback from its subscribers.
Source: App Annie
Although, the service has obtained 5 star ratings from their 2 users. Still, 3 users have also given negative reviews about the performance of ExpressVPN.
Speed: ExpressVPN delivered 25.94 Mbps download speed on average while using 30 Mbps internet connection. On the other hand, the British Virgin Island service offered 16.02 Mbps upload speed on average.
Number of Servers: In terms of worldwide presence, ExpressVPN is currently offering its services with the help of 3000+ servers.
Cost: At present, the service is delivering three kinds of pricing packages that includes $8.32 (yearly), $9.99 (half yearly) and $12.95 (monthly).
How to download:
You can download ExpressVPN Android app from Google Play Store stress-free.
Want to know what else I like about ExpressVPN, check out our comprehensive review of ExpressVPN.
3. Surfshark – Cheapest in the entire VPN Industry ($1.99 only)
Jurisdiction: Like ExpressVPN, Surfshark also belongs to the British Virgin Island. Therefore, the service does not have to fulfill the necessary data retention laws of 5 eyes, 9 eyes, and 14 eyes countries.
VPN Logs: The Surfshark does not keep logs of their subscribers’ data.
Leak Tests: The provider is free from various kinds of leakages like IP leak, DNS leak and WebRTC leak as well.
Transparency Report: The brand has not released its official transparency report yet.
User Reviews and rating on Google Play Store: Here is the screenshot of user reviews about Surfshark that indicates the brand has attained mixed feedback about its performance.
Being a new entrant in the VPN industry, the provider has a room available for improvement.
Source: App Annie
Speed: Surfshark provides average connection download speeds i.e. 20.27 Mbps when used on 30 Mbps internet connection.
In case of upload speeds, Surfshark delivers 17.07 Mbps on average.
Number of Servers: Currently, the brand is catering its users’ online privacy needs through 800+ servers globally.
Cost: Surfshark is offering three types of pricing plans such as two yearly, yearly, and monthly. Similarly, you will have to pay $1.99, $5.99 and $11.95 on a monthly basis to avail these packages.
How to download: You can download Surfshark Android app from Google Play Store accordingly.
Couldn’t recommend it enough. Make sure you check out all the amazing features this VPN has to offer in our Surfshark review.
4. PureVPN – 9.4/10 User Rating on Trustpilot ($2.95 only)
Jurisdiction: PureVPN is a Hong Kong based VPN service that does not have to follow data retention laws.
VPN Logs: The brand does not keep logs of its user’s information. As a result, it does not engage itself in storing users’ information.
Leak Tests: PureVPN passed IP leak, DNS leak and WebRTC leak tests without any hassle.
Transparency Report: The service has not published any transparency report till date.
User Reviews and ratings on Google Play: The Hong Kong based service has received mixed reviews by users on Google Play Store.
However, few subscribers have liked its simple user interface feature a lot.
Source: App Annie
Speed: PureVPN offers 29.03 Mbps download speed on average when connected to 30mbps internet connection.
Conversely, the Hong Kong based VPN service delivers 10.87 Mbps upload speed on average.
Number of Servers: The service is present in 140+ countries through 2000+ servers. Its servers also work well to unblock geographically restricted content while streaming Live TV channels on Kodi with the best Kodi VPN Android.
Cost: The service is providing different plans by the name of yearly, two yearly and monthly as well. In order to get these packages, you will have to pay $2.95, $3.29, and $10.95 on a monthly basis.
How to download:
You can download PureVPN Android app from Google Play Store in no time.
But that’s not all, there are tons of other amazing features which I’ve covered in my in-depth PureVPN review.
5. CyberGhost – Powered by 7 years of Data Protection Expertise ($2.75 only)
Jurisdiction: CyberGhost is a Romanian based VPN service. Fortunately, the country does not belong to any eyes territory.
VPN Logs: The provider does not store usage logs. Still, it records connection logs.
Leak Tests: CyberGhost passed IP leak, DNS leak and WebRTC leak tests hassle-free.
Transparency Report: The provider has published a detailed transparency report on its official website. CyberGhost received more than 27K complaints regarding DMCA breach in the year 2018.
But, it did not provide its users’ data to the concerned authorities.
User Reviews and ratings on Google Play: Here is the screenshot of 5 latest reviews about CyberGhost on Google Play Store.
Source: App Annie
CyberGhost has received varied responses from their subscribers on Google Play Store. Interestingly, few users have appreciated its numerous features and performance overall.
On the other hand, there are users those who have raised questions about the performance of CyberGhost.
Speed: CyberGhost, a Romania based VPN service provides 17.1 Mbps download speed while using 30 Mbps internet connection.
Furthermore, the service has 7.18 Mbps upload speed on average for its users.
Number of Servers: CyberGhost does have 3600+ servers in 58 countries worldwide.
Cost: CyberGhost delivers three types of pricing plans to its users. You can consider these packages in shape of 18 months, 6 months and 1 month respectively.
In addition, you will have to pay $2.75, $7.99, and $12.99 on monthly basis accordingly.
How to download:
You can download CyberGhost Android app from Google Play Store quite easily.
Interested in CyberGhost? Why not check out our detailed review of CyberGhost.
6. IPVanish – Best VPN App for Android ($6.49 only)
Jurisdiction: IPVanish is a US-based VPN service hence it surely belongs to five eyes country. In case the US government issues a subpoena to IPVanish, they have to abide by the law.
VPN Logs: Interestingly, the service follows no logging policy in true letter and spirit.
Leak Tests: Upon testing, IPVanish cleared different leak tests including IP leak, DNS leak and WebRTC leak successfully.
Transparency Report: The provider has not published any transparency report on its official website.
User Reviews and ratings on Google Play: The below-described screenshot highlights that users have liked the performance of the service overall.
Source: App Annie
One user has faced installation issues while using the app on Android device. On the other hand, other users have appreciated its different features in general.
Speed: IPVanish has 24.86 Mbps download speed for its subscribers while connected to 30 Mbps internet connection.
Moreover, the brand delivers 14.34 Mbps upload speed to its users overall.
Number of Servers: The service provides 1300+ servers in 75+ locations internationally.
Cost: IPVanish offers two kinds of pricing plans like yearly and quarterly as well. You can avail such packages after paying $6.49 and $8.99 on monthly basis respectively.
How to download:
You can download IPVanish Android app from Google Play Store without any hassle.
Check out our IPVanish review for complete details about this amazing VPN.
7. Ivacy – Award-Winning Fastest VPN App for Android in 2019 ($2.25 only)
Jurisdiction: The brand is a Singapore based service. Unfortunately, the country is perceived as an ally of 14 eyes countries.
VPN Logs: The service does not keep logs of their subscribers’ information.
Leak Tests: The service has passed numerous leak tests like IP leak, DNS leak and WebRTC leak with excellence.
Transparency Report: The provider has not published any transparency report on its official site.
User Reviews and ratings on Google Play: Surprisingly, Ivacy has not lived up to the expectations of its users. This is because different user reviews suggest that you may anticipate issues while using the Android app.
However, few users have liked various benefits of the service.
Source: App Annie
Speed: Ivacy also provides average 18.71 Mbps download speed on 30 Mbps internet connection. Similarly, it delivers 7.70-upload speed on average to its subscribers.
Number of Servers: The provider offers 1000+ servers in different countries of the world.
Cost: At present, the service is offering three diverse pricing plans like two yearly, yearly and monthly too. You can avail these plans at the cost of $2.25, $3.33, and $9.95 per month.
How to download:
You can download Ivacy Android app from Google Play Store straightaway.
If you want to know more about Ivacy, make sure you check out our detailed Ivacy review.
Analysis on Android VPN App Permissions
Surprisingly, Android users do not pay much attention to various VPN apps “permissions” they need at times to download and install certain apps on their devices.
Likewise, these permissions allow you to secure your privacy by allowing or disallowing access on your devices.
You can classify these permissions into two major categories. These are “Normal” and “Dangerous”.
Normal
Usually, systems grant these permissions to the apps by default. This is because these normal permissions do not have any repercussions related to them.
You can also restrict such permissions however; you may face hassles while using a certain Android app.
Dangerous
Dangerous apps are those that can harm the performance of your Android device to a specific length. In other words, it can affect your privacy a great deal.
Therefore, you should take some precautionary measures at the time of allowing different VPN apps permissions.
VPN Apps Commonly Asked Permissions
Undoubtedly, several apps may need numerous permissions due to different reasons. You will have to grant access to different permissions but it depends on which app you use and how it works.
As I already mentioned, normal permissions are highlighted in green color. On the contrary, dangerous permissions are emphasized in red color.
| Permission | Count |
|---|---|
| Android.permission.Access_Network_State Allows VPN applications to access information about networks | 79 |
| Android. Permission. Internet Allows VPN applications to open network sockets | 81 |
| Android. Permission.wake_lock For keeping device active | 58 |
| Android.permission.receive_boot_completed To notify if device restart is completed | 55 |
| Android. Permission.Access-WIFI-State Allows VPN applications to access information about Wi-Fi networks | 54 |
| com.Android.vending.BILLING for in-app billing purposes | 50 |
| Com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE Push notifications | 49 |
| Com.google.android.finsky.permission.BIND_GET_INSTALL_REFERRER_SERVICE Gives the VPN developers information on how the users arrived to the app before installing | 32 |
| Android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE Allows VPN to write to external storage like SD | 27 |
| Android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE To help keep the VPN application running | 20 |
| Android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE Allows read-only access to phone state, including the phone number of the device, current cellular network information and the status of any ongoing calls | 18 |
| Android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION Enables the API to use WiFi or mobile cell data (or both) to govern the device’s location | 16 |
| Android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_STATE Enables VPN applications to change Wi-Fi connectivity state | 16 |
| Android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION Allows VPN app to access users precise location | 9 |
There are different Android permissions like android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE and Android.permissions.INTERNET.
You can assume these permissions quite normal and mandatory because these enable VPN services to develop a connection over the internet. By doing so, identity cloaking becomes a reality.
There are some other Android permissions such as android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION and android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION that fall under the “Dangerous” category.
When you connect to a new WIFI network, these help you in notifying you that you aren’t connected to a trusted network.
These permissions can expose your original location to others. Besides, it allows users in activating VPN service to keep their online existence secure and anonymous.
Hence, you can safeguard yourself from the consequences of using untrusted networks.
Android VPN Apps Permissions
You would not want to risk your privacy by using such VPN services that ask access to dangerous permissions.
The below-described table explains the chosen VPN apps permissions including total, custom and suspicious in detail.
This way, you can get enough insights about how you can use “Safe” choices eventually.
| VPN Services | Total Permissions | Custom Permissions | Dangerous Permissions |
|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 14 | 4 | 1 |
| ExpressVPN | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| Surfshark | 14 | 4 | 2 |
| PureVPN | 21 | 6 | 2 |
| CyberGhost | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| IPVanish | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Ivacy | 11 | 2 | 1 |
How to Setup a VPN on Android?
The process of installing a VPN on an Android device doesn’t need any rocket science. You can achieve your mission within a few minutes.
For complete information, check out our detailed guide on how to setup an Android VPN app.
Why I don’t suggest Free VPN Apps for Android?
Now you might be wondering, “Why would I pay for a VPN service when I can just get it for free”.
You’re right, you can find tons of free VPN apps on the Google Play Store. But you know what, I Don’t recommend using them…
Let me tell you why…
Let’s get one thing straight, free apps are not technically free. If developers aren’t charging you upfront, they’re making money some other way.
Unlike premium VPN providers that make money by charging you a small subscription fee, free providers make money through advertisements.
You might have heard of a saying, “If you’re not paying for it, you are the product”. That’s exactly the case with free VPN providers.
In order to generate revenue, free VPN providers sell your data to third party advertisers.
Since they are logging everything you do on your phone, it makes it dead simple for marketers to target their ads directly to you.
Another reason why you must avoid free VPN apps is because they offer few feature, servers and generally pathetic performance.
To sum it up, free VPN’s are nothing more than free proxies incapable of offering any privacy.
If you still want to check out some free VPN services, here are few reputable best free VPN for Android.
Also don’t forget to see the big list of VPNs compared (spreadsheet) for 2019.
Frequently Asked Questions
Deeming one VPN best for Android isn’t fair. Every VPN offers slightly better features than the other. However, if you were to ask me for my personal favorite, I’ll recommend ExpressVPN mentioned in this blog.
Without a doubt yes! Since Android operating system have significantly more vulnerabilities than IOS, it is absolutely essential to pair your Android device with a VPN. Not only will an app keep your device secure but also ensure complete anonymity on the web.
Your Android device is no different than your laptop computer. Similar to your laptop, Android devices share data packets over the web. A VPN helps to encrypt the data you transfer.
All inbound and outbound network traffic transmitted through your Android device gets end to end encrypted, making it impossible for snoops to decrypt.
Long story short, yes!
Instead of mucking around with your privacy, opting a reliable VPN app can help you avoid a whole lot of headache.
As they say, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Final Verdict
So there you go, these were my top 7 Best Android VPN apps of 2019.
In the world filled with uncertain data breaches and identity thefts, it’s just not smart to use your Android device without any protection.
Now that you know some of the absolute best VPN apps for Android, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use one of them right now.
So, what VPN app you’re currently using on your Android device? Let me know in the comments below.
What VPN can I use in China for my Android device?
Hey Tris,
Good question. If you don’t mind paying a bit extra, suggest you go for ExpressVPN. It’ll cost you $6.67 a month, however, you do get much better support and obviously much better speeds.
The ivacy app on the google play store doesnt work with Android no matter what they tell you. Whats tech suppport’s solution? Download the app from someplace off the google play store. If you’re trying to be safe and secure you really should not go around installing apps from unknown sources. Whole thing is a little suspicious, I’ll be trying to get a refund.
Hey Hans, try installing it from their website. This worked for me. If it doesn’t, then let us know. We’ll figure it out to run it for you.
I’ve used Express but now I use NordVPN. I would say both of them are industry leaders. Don’t know about other VPNs.
Yes, Loha. ExpressVPN and NordVPN are undoubtedly the industry leaders in the VPN industry and this is the reason why they are listed in our top 5 best Android VPN providers’ list. There are other VPN providers that are equally better in performance. These include PureVPN, PrivateVPN, and Ivacy.
Thanks for the good writeup. It actually used to be a leisure account it. Glance complicated to far introduced agreeable from you! By the way, how could we be in contact?
Hello Rocky, thanks for your feedback. We also mentioned this information in the 4th paragraph. But you’re right we did not mention it in the first paragraph.
Well I have experienced only couple of VPN services for my mobile including MPN and Norton service, unfortunately it wasn’t smooth experience I thought initially. However, still looking for VPN that work for a long time and more importantly with quick browsing. Looking forward to give Nord VPN a try, hoping for good experience this time!
Hey Curtis, yes you should really go with NordVPN as it is the fastest VPN in the industry. Hoping you have a good experience using NordVPN.
Received emails from att uverse warning illegal use. I have showbox and kodi on tablet galaxy Does a VPN allow me to continue use show box and kodi with no problem. New to VPN do not fully understand what it does. Am I safe with a VPN
Hello Geneo, a VPN completely encrypts your online activity, thus making your identity anonymous to others (i.e. the government and your Internet Service Provider). Not only that, a VPN will protect you against cybercriminals. If you use Kodi third-party add-ons or watch movies in Torrents, then you can get one of the 5 best VPN providers that are available in this guide. Remember, whenever you watch a copyright material for free, you got to have a VPN or else you risk your online privacy.