Maybe you just subscribed to a new VPN service and are already regretting it. Or maybe you’re a long-time subscriber and your old provider just isn’t cutting it any longer. Perhaps your current VPN is in hot water for selling user data or a competitor has better pricing.
The VPN market is in constant flux, with the relative quality of services and features vacillating between providers at any given time. What was the fastest VPN or had the most servers last year may look different now. Given this, there are a myriad of potential reasons to switch VPNs. But should you? I’ll break down the best reasons to help you decide if it’s time to consider a change.
Your VPN is too expensive
On the surface, this reason is pretty simple: Your current VPN costs too much money and a competitor is cheaper. And this is good logic if you’re totally strapped for cash or you just use a VPN to connect to the same server every time. But it’s not the case for most users, and if you dig down a little deeper you’ll find that there is more to consider regarding pricing.
Things such as a VPN’s speeds, server network, and feature set should all be taken into account when looking at a service’s value. Sure, a VPN might charge less than one dollar a month, but you’ll likely find it has poor speeds, a small network, or the most basic of features.
Some of the more expensive services such as NordVPN might charge upwards of $12 per month, but they come with a load of useful tools and features that potentially make them worth that extra dough.
Further reading: The best VPN services
Still, as VPN providers offer larger and larger feature sets, they’re also predictably upping the price on subscriptions. It eventually reaches a point for many where it’s no longer worth it. If you end up still needing a VPN but don’t want to spend so much money, then there are a couple of options to ease the financial burden.
If possible, I’d recommend that you try to switch during common sales events. Times like Black Friday or the holiday season at the end of the year are great opportunities to find excellent discounts on even the top providers. You could potentially lock in a long-term deal during these sales events for half price or cheaper. Otherwise, there are always some VPN deals running throughout the year where you can potentially snag a good discount.
If you’re still unsure about switching, many providers offer money-back guarantees or free trial periods where you can try out the new VPN without having to commit.
A competitor provides better privacy and security
A clearly defined and detailed no-log policy should be a top priority for your VPN.
StrongVPN
Many people use a VPN to keep their activities private and secure. Using a VPN that has known security flaws or privacy issues defeats the purpose. Therefore, if you know that your VPN service has any problems with either of these two critical elements, it’s best that you change providers right away.
There are a few common warning signs that you can look out for regarding the privacy and security of your VPN. The first is a recent data breach or hack. This is a clear red flag and an indicator that it’s time to switch services. Regularly checking the news for info about your VPN provider can help alert you to a problem early on.
User privacy is another key factor that determines the quality of a VPN. It’s a little trickier to determine if your VPN is adequately protecting your privacy though. A VPN should have a clear and comprehensive no-logs policy and preferably back up this claim with a third-party audit.
Further reading: 9 things you realize when you first start using a VPN
Some more shady VPNs, most commonly free services on the app store, have been known to hoover up the private traffic of users and sell it to third-party advertisers and data brokers.
If you suspect that your VPN may be collecting your data or just want to be extra careful, it’s a good idea to first check the company’s privacy policy. Make sure that it has a stated no-logs policy backed up with an independent audit. If not, it’s time to jump ship.
Your VPN’s connection speeds are too slow
Here you can see speed tests both for my baseline internet and while connected to a VPN—it will always drop, but it doesn’t mean your internet should slow to a crawl.
Sam Singleton
While privacy and security are the main selling points of a VPN service, connection speeds shouldn’t be overlooked. Choosing a fast VPN can have a huge effect on your quality of life, leading to quicker file downloads, website load times, lower latency while gaming, and higher-quality streaming—basically just a better overall experience.
If you notice spinning wheels or long buffering times while connected to servers with your current VPN, it might be too slow. This is of course all dependent upon your home internet connection speed. All VPNs typically slow down your connection a bit, but if your home internet is already slow, switching VPNs won’t help.
The best way to figure out if your current connection is too slow is to test your VPN speed. Using an internet speed test site such as speedtest.net, you should first test your home internet to establish a baseline. After that, connect to your VPN on your regularly used servers and run the test again. Internet speeds are notoriously fickle, so it’s best to try these tests over multiple days to really get a clear picture.
Further reading: How to test if your VPN is working
These tests will give you a better idea of how much your VPN is slowing your home connection. But really this is going to come down to what you want to use a VPN to do online. If streaming, torrenting, or gaming are your main goals and your current VPN is just too slow, then you should consider a faster alternative service.
You can’t access streaming services with your VPN
Nowadays it’s common for people to utilize a VPN to get around geo-restrictions on streaming content. Simply connecting to a VPN server in a different area or country allows you to access a whole different catalog of shows and movies that you might not have in your home country or while traveling.
If your current VPN doesn’t have a large enough server network to cover the countries you want, then you probably want to choose a different service. Likewise, if you connect to your VPN in the desired country and notice that streaming services are already blocking that connection, you’ll need to switch.
VPNs and streaming services are in a constant cat-and-mouse game of blocking and circumvention. Sites such as Netflix pour a ton of resources into finding and blocking incoming VPN users so it’s fairly common to find a blocked connection. That said, the best VPNs for streaming are generally reliable at getting around these bans. Services such as ExpressVPN have long been able to stay one step ahead of even the most formidable streaming watch dogs.
Another VPN offers more features
NordVPN’s Threat Protection feature provides tons of great security tools that you aren’t available with most other VPNs.
Sam Singleton
The VPN market is ever-changing and progressing. With a constant inflow of new features and services, VPN providers are always looking for new ways to distinguish themselves and entice users into using their service.
While this may seem irrelevant to some who are happy with just the basic features—most of the changes are nonessential security add-ons—to others it’s a great way to upgrade. Missing out on one or two extraneous features probably won’t make a difference, but eventually they add up. If you’re paying the same amount for your current VPN without all of the nice-to-haves, but a competitor offers them for a similar price, this can be a great reason to switch over.
Services such as NordVPN and Surfshark offer a veritable treasure trove of features for only a few dollars more per month than many other services. These include advanced protocols, antivirus, ad- and tracker-blockers, configurable multi-hop connections, and post quantum encryption. Each on their own may not be enough for you to drop your current VPN, but all of these features together provide significant value for money.
It’s best to look at your current VPN and compare and contrast the features it offers for the price compared to those of competitors. If you find that your service is lacking features that you need, then switching to an alternative provider makes sense.
It’s also a good idea to consider the overall experience of your VPN. Does it work with all of your devices? Is it easy and intuitive to use? These are seemingly innocuous conveniences that if absent, can be easily remedied by opting for a new VPN provider.
Author: Sam Singleton, Assistant Editor, PCWorld
Sam Singleton is PCWorld's VPN beat reporter and jack of all trades. When he's not on the hunt for the best computer deals he's covering VPNs, productivity software, laptops, and a wide gamut of consumer-grade hardware and software.