Best VPNs for Australia 2025

What is a VPN?

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a service that enables you to access content online by redirecting your internet connection through a secure server in another location. This disguises your true IP address, making it appear as if you're browsing from a different region or country.

Why Use a VPN?

One of the primary advantages of a VPN is its ability to mask your IP address. By doing so, it makes your online activities more difficult to trace, offering a higher level of anonymity. This is particularly beneficial for those who value their privacy and want to protect themselves from being monitored by websites, advertisers, or governments.

Additionally, a VPN encrypts your internet traffic, which is crucial for ensuring your data remains secure, especially on public Wi-Fi networks. While many websites already use encryption, a VPN extends this protection by encrypting all your traffic, even those that might otherwise go unencrypted. This means that even if you're on an unsecured public network, your sensitive data is much harder to intercept.

Another significant benefit of using a VPN is the ability to bypass location-based restrictions. Many streaming services limit access to content based on your geographic location, but by connecting to a VPN server in another country, you can access content that would typically be unavailable in your region. Similarly, some online stores and flight booking websites display different prices depending on your location. By appearing to be in a different country, you may be able to find better deals, saving money on purchases or travel bookings.

Meet the Contenders

ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is created by the same team responsible for ProtonMail, a well-known secure email service. Headquartered in Switzerland, ProtonVPN places a strong emphasis on privacy and security. It offers a range of features, including a strict no-logs policy, support for multiple platforms, open-source applications, and an ultra-fast server network with speeds of up to 10 Gbps.

NordVPN

Founded in 2012 in Lithuania and now headquartered in Panama, NordVPN is known for its strict no-logs policy and strong privacy features. Often praised as one of the fastest VPNs, it also offers SmartPlay for accessing region-locked content, a custom WireGuard-based protocol called NordLynx, and a variety of apps across multiple platforms.

Surfshark VPN

Founded in 2018 and based in the Netherlands, Surfshark has quickly become a competitive VPN provider. It offers standout features like unlimited device connections, obfuscated servers to hide VPN use from ISPs and firewalls, and Nexus technology, which rotates IP addresses to boost anonymity and protect user traffic.

Performance

When choosing a VPN service, speed is a crucial factor, particularly if you plan to use the VPN for activities like streaming, browsing, or gaming. High download and upload speeds, along with low ping times, are essential for a seamless experience. 

To assess the performance of NordVPN, ProtonVPN, and Surfshark, we tested these VPNs under typical home internet conditions, using a baseline speed of 100 Mbps download and 40 Mbps upload. We connected to servers in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, running five speed tests per location and averaging the results.

In terms of download speeds, NordVPN outperformed the others in Australia, with Surfshark following closely behind and ProtonVPN trailing. However, when connecting to international servers, ProtonVPN demonstrated the fastest download speeds in both Los Angeles and London, with NordVPN and Surfshark providing respectable, though slightly slower, speeds.

For upload speeds, ProtonVPN and Surfshark led in Australia, with similar results, while NordVPN trailed behind. On international servers, ProtonVPN also had the fastest upload speeds in both Los Angeles and London.

Regarding ping times, all three VPN services performed well when connected to Australian servers, with low latency across the board. However, ProtonVPN experienced significantly higher ping times when connected to international servers, particularly in Los Angeles and London, compared to NordVPN and Surfshark. 

In terms of overall performance, all three VPNs delivered good results for Australian server connections, making them suitable for streaming, browsing, and even non-competitive gaming. For international connections, browsing and gaming experiences might not be ideal due to slightly higher ping times, but streaming, including 4K content, should still run smoothly with all three services.

Privacy and Security

When choosing a VPN provider, privacy and security should be a top priority, as using a VPN routes your internet traffic through their servers, potentially giving them access to sensitive data. This makes it essential to select a VPN that adheres to stringent privacy and security measures. NordVPN, ProtonVPN, and Surfshark are all known for their strict no-logs policies, meaning they do not store browsing activity, IP addresses, or session timestamps. This commitment to privacy ensures that your online activity remains private, with no information being retained by the VPN provider.

However, the jurisdiction in which a VPN is based is also an important consideration for privacy. VPNs located in certain countries may be subject to data retention laws or government surveillance. ProtonVPN is based in Switzerland, a country known for its strong privacy protections, with no data retention laws and minimal government surveillance. NordVPN is based in Panama, which also offers strong privacy protections and has no data retention laws. In contrast, Surfshark is based in the Netherlands, which has previously had mandatory data retention laws and is part of the Fourteen Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance. This may increase the risk of foreign governments accessing user data.

In addition to their no-logs policies, all three VPNs have undergone independent audits of their infrastructure and logging practices, which are available for review. However, NordVPN only provides these audit reports to its subscribers. Regarding server infrastructure, ProtonVPN and NordVPN own some of their servers in specific locations, while Surfshark relies entirely on third-party providers for its server network. This means that ProtonVPN and NordVPN maintain more direct control over the physical security of their servers, whereas Surfshark's infrastructure may be somewhat less secure due to the reliance on external providers. Regardless of this, all three VPN providers use industry-standard encryption protocols across all of their VPN services, ensuring a high level of security for users.

Streaming

Streaming platforms often impose geographical restrictions, meaning certain TV shows and movies are only available to users in specific locations. A VPN can help bypass these restrictions, offering access to a wider range of entertainment options while still using your existing streaming subscriptions. 

We tested ProtonVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark across three locations: Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. We evaluated their performance on several popular streaming platforms, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max (US only), and Hulu (US only).

In our tests, Surfshark stood out by successfully accessing content across all regions and streaming services. ProtonVPN also performed well, granting access to all platforms in every region except for HBO Max. NordVPN had similarly strong results, managing to access all streaming services in every region, though it was unable to unlock Prime Video in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

It’s worth noting that streaming services are constantly updating their methods to block VPNs, meaning these results could change in the future.

Compatibility

When choosing a VPN, the range of supported apps and features is a crucial factor. ProtonVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark all offer apps for major platforms, including desktop, mobile, smart TVs, and browsers. However, ProtonVPN lacks support for Apple TV, which is a downside for users of that platform. 

ProtonVPN and NordVPN both allow up to 10 simultaneous connections, while Surfshark stands out with its impressive unlimited connection policy. Additionally, all three providers offer apps with important features like kill switches, which protect your privacy by disconnecting you from the internet if the VPN connection drops, and DNS ad blocking. However, it's important to note that the DNS ad blocking feature won't block ads across all sites, such as YouTube and Twitch, meaning it's not a substitute for a dedicated browser-based ad blocker.

When it comes to transparency, ProtonVPN takes the lead by offering open-source apps across all platforms. NordVPN is partially open source, with its Linux app being open source, but all other apps are closed source. Surfshark, unfortunately, does not offer any open-source apps, which could be a concern for some users 

For users who prefer to use third-party VPN clients, all three services provide configuration files. However, NordVPN limits this option by only offering OpenVPN config files, as their custom WireGuard-based protocol, NordLynx, does not support third-party clients.

Pricing

When it comes to pricing, ProtonVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark each offer competitive options, though they vary in cost and payment flexibility. ProtonVPN is priced at $9.99 per month, with the added benefit of significant discounts for one-year and two-year plans. NordVPN is slightly pricier, at $12.99 per month, but it offers substantial savings with its long-term plans, bringing the cost down to as low as $5 per month for a yearly plan. Surfshark has the highest monthly cost at $15.45, but its long-term plans are the most affordable overall, with rates dropping to under $4 per month for a yearly plan.

In terms of payment options, both NordVPN and Surfshark support cryptocurrency payments, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, neither service accepts privacy-focused coins like Monero. Unfortunately, ProtonVPN falls short in this regard, as it does not support any cryptocurrency payment options at all, which may be a dealbreaker for some users.

Conclusion

Best privacy VPN: ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN stands out as the top choice for privacy-focused users, offering open-source apps for transparency, a Swiss-based jurisdiction that ensures strong privacy laws, and publicly available independent audits to verify its security practices. Additionally, it provides advanced privacy features like Secure Core servers for enhanced protection.

ProtonVPN

Comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and up to 56% off

Visit ProtonVPN

Best streaming VPN: Surfshark VPN

Surfshark is the best option for accessing a wide range of streaming platforms. It successfully unblocked all streaming services tested across multiple locations, making it an ideal choice for users looking to enjoy unrestricted access to various streaming platforms.

Surfshark

Comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and extra months

Visit Surfshark

Best budget VPN: Surfshark VPN

For budget-conscious users looking for a VPN to stream content, Surfshark stands out as the best option. With the lowest prices for both yearly and two-year plans, it provides excellent value for money. If you're aiming to enjoy streaming without breaking the bank, Surfshark is undoubtedly the top choice.

Surfshark

Comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and extra months

Visit Surfshark