What to look for in a VPN: a buyer’s checklist

Every VPN’s website says the same things: blazing fast, military-grade, no logs, thousands of servers. When everyone claims everything, the claims stop helping you choose. Here’s the checklist that actually separates a good VPN from a bad one.

The things that genuinely matter

Weigh these heavily:

1. A real no-logs policy. The whole model depends on the provider not keeping records of what you do. Look for a clear policy and, ideally, an independent audit backing it up.
2. A kill switch. Connections drop; a kill switch makes sure nothing leaks when they do. Non-negotiable if privacy is your reason for buying.
3. Leak protection. A VPN that leaks your DNS or WebRTC data isn’t doing its job. Good ones block both automatically.
4. Apps for all your devices, from one account. You want your phone, laptop and TV covered without buying multiple subscriptions.
5. Honest speed and a server network near you. Distance matters more than a huge server count — a fast server in your region beats 10,000 far away.

The marketing you can mostly ignore

“Military-grade encryption” is just standard strong encryption with a dramatic name — everyone uses it, so it tells you nothing. A headline count of “6,000+ servers” sounds impressive but says little about quality or whether any are near you. And “fastest VPN” claims are marketing until you test them on your own connection.

How to actually verify

Don’t take the checklist on faith — test it. Start a free trial, then run our Privacy Check to confirm there are no IP, DNS or WebRTC leaks, and our Speed Test to see the real speed on your line. Try the kill switch by dropping your Wi-Fi mid-download. Five minutes of testing tells you more than any review.