Best VPNs for USA and US IP Addresses (Only 3 Work Well)

With the continual erosion of online privacy, more Americans than ever are looking to get the best VPN for the USA to stay safe online. Whether you are located in the United States and need a VPN, or you are outside the US and need a US IP address, this guide will give you everything you need to know.

Since 2017, American internet service providers (ISPs) have been legally allowed to record every website you visit. This information can then be sold to third parties, such as advertisers. Because your browsing history can reveal very personal details, this is not only a huge privacy violation, it can also put you at risk.

Aside from providing privacy, VPNs have also become a popular tool for streaming content and unblocking websites around the world. The top-rated USA VPNs in this guide work well for unblocking content, from Netflix to Disney Plus, Hulu, and sports.

It’s also important to remember that the internet is full of security risks and hackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities. WiFi is a popular target for hackers. Using a VPN will encrypt and secure your connection, while also keeping your data safe. And with ISPs collecting your data, it’s now even necessary to use a VPN on your home network at all times – unless you want your internet provider collecting your browsing habits.

VPN services continue to grow in popularity among Americans, US ex-pats, and others throughout the world. This has only increased as more people go online to stream content and use VPNs to get around geo-blocking. However, the risks have also increased. Every week we read about new security vulnerabilities in the news.

All of our recommended USA VPNs in this guide meet the following criteria:

1. Passed all tests with no leaks found whatsoever (no IP address leaks or DNS leaks)
2. Good performance throughout the server network (speed and reliability)
3. High-quality VPN apps with all features working correctly
4. Supports secure VPN protocols with strong encryption standards
5. Offers a money-back guarantee (30 days)
6. Trustworthy and well-established VPN provider with a good track record
7. Located in a good privacy jurisdiction (outside of 5 Eyes countries) to keep user data safe

When applying these criteria, very few VPNs make the cut to be recommended.

Here are the best VPN services for USA:

NordVPN – Best VPN for USA in 2022

NordVPN currently holds the top spot as the best VPN for USA. It performed well in testing for the NordVPN review with great speeds, secure apps, and numerous privacy features. NordVPN is strategically based in Panama, which is a great offshore jurisdiction for privacy. The team behind NordVPN is Nord Security, and they also offer NordPass, a secure password manager, and NordLocker, a secure cloud storage service.

NordVPN really excels in the performance category. It was one of the first VPN services to fully support the WireGuard VPN protocol, which provides excellent speeds and upgraded security. We tested out NordVPN with WireGuard and were able to get 445 Mbps download speeds on US VPN servers. This makes NordVPN the fastest VPN we’ve tested to date, as you can see in our test below.

NordVPN also stands out from other VPN services in the areas of privacy and security. Here are some noteworthy features:

• Double-VPN servers that encrypt traffic over two hops
• Tor-over-VPN servers that add an extra layer of encryption with the Tor network
• Obfuscated servers that get around VPN blocks and conceal VPN traffic as regular HTTPS encryption (a great option if you need a VPN for China)
• CyberSec feature to block ads, trackers, malware, and phishing domains
• Built-in leak protection (the VPN kill switch) with all apps to prevent any IP leaks or DNS leaks

In the past year, NordVPN has made massive security upgrades and improvements, including security audits and converting all VPN servers to run in RAM-disk mode. Right now, they are rolling out colocated (self-owned) servers in all locations with 10 Gbps bandwidth channels for even faster speeds.

If you need a great VPN for streaming, NordVPN is a strong contender. It works with American Netflix and many other Netflix regions around the world. Additionally, NordVPN will unblock Hulu, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, and more. Due to the fast speeds and large server network, it is currently the best VPN for torrenting.

Below is the NordVPN app for Windows that we tested out with VPN servers throughout the United States. The VPN app performed well and all connections on US servers were fast and reliable.

For the price, NordVPN is tough to beat. With their current two-year deal, you pay only $3.29 per month and get six simultaneous connections. NordVPN’s customer service is also top-notch with 24/7 live chat support and numerous setup videos on their website. All plans come with a 30 day money-back guarantee. Overall, NordVPN remains one of the best values available among low-cost VPN services.

NordVPN US server locations

NordVPN currently has 15 US server locations with fast, reliable, high-speed servers. This is more than most other VPN services. You can see the exact US VPN server locations on the NordVPN website.

See our NordVPN review for more test results and analysis.

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Surfshark – Fast and secure VPN for USA with a low price

If you are on a budget, but still want a fully-featured VPN for USA with good performance, Surfshark is a good fit. Like our other top recommendations, Surfshark is a no-logs VPN service located in a good privacy jurisdiction (The Netherlands). Unlike most others, however, Surfshark is only $3.29 per month (with the coupon below) and it also gives you an unlimited number of connections. This makes it the cheapest VPN in this guide.

In my testing for this guide, I liked the Surfshark apps because they are user-friendly, secure, and minimal. The VPN apps include built-in leak protection settings and utilize strong encryption with an AES-256 cipher. Like NordVPN, Surfshark also supports the WireGuard VPN protocol with excellent speeds. It even beat out ExpressVPN with performance in our ExpressVPN vs Surfshark comparison. Below was one of our Surfshark speed tests where we hit 397 Mbps with servers in the United States:

Surfshark also offers great privacy features. You can choose from 13 double-VPN servers that route traffic over two hops. They also offer a CleanWeb feature to block ads, tracking, and malware domains. Lastly, Surfshark also has a split tunneling VPN feature that can route certain apps or websites outside of the VPN. We also see this feature with NordVPN and ProtonVPN.

In terms of streaming media, Surfshark also does very well. They officially support all major Netflix regions, Hulu, and the VPN also works with unblocking BBC iPlayer. It is a solid VPN for torrenting with fast speeds and secure leak protection settings. Surfshark even has a dedicated app in the Amazon store, making it a good VPN for Firestick and Fire TV.

Below I’m testing out Surfshark VPN with a server located in Seattle.

Surfshark US server locations

Surfshark currently has 24 server locations in the United States. So no matter where you are located, you’ll be able to find a nearby USA VPN server for the best speeds.

Our Surfshark review has more info and test results.

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ExpressVPN – Reliable and secure VPN for US

ExpressVPN rounds out the third spot as the best VPN for the United States. Like our other recommendations, ExpressVPN checks all the right boxes. It offers excellent speeds, secure and reliable apps, and works well for streaming and torrenting. ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands and is a no-logs VPN service that has passed independent third-party audits for both security and privacy.

In terms of security, ExpressVPN does very well. The ExpressVPN apps utilize 256-bit AES encryption with the OpenVPN, IKEv2, and Lightway protocols. Lightway is very similar to WireGuard and offers faster speeds than OpenVPN, although it’s not quite as fast NordVPN and Surfshark. Here is the ExpressVPN app we tested for the review:

The ExpressVPN apps have a “Network Lock” kill switch feature that blocks all traffic at the network level if the VPN connection drops. This ensures no IP address leaks or DNS leaks occur under any circumstances, as I personally tested and verified. ExpressVPN is also a verified no logs VPN service that has passed independent audits verifying the no-logs policy.

Aside from security and privacy features, ExpressVPN is also one of the top choices for streaming. It provides 24/7 access to Netflix (and is one of the best VPNs for Netflix) as well as Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, and more. And if you need a reliable VPN for Hulu, ExpressVPN works for that as well.

ExpressVPN US server locations

ExpressVPN currently has 20 different server locations in major cities throughout the United States. In some locations, such as Los Angeles and New York, they have multiple servers available. If you are in the US, connecting to one of these nearby servers will give you the best performance.

You can see all server locations on the ExpressVPN website.

Check out the ExpressVPN review for detailed test results.

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Why use a VPN for USA?

Perhaps you are wondering why it would be a good idea to use a VPN for USA?

Here are a few reasons we’ll cover in detail below:

1. Data collection and privacy concerns
2. Corporate surveillance and data sharing
3. ISP spying
4. Torrenting, file sharing, and streaming

Data collection and privacy concerns in the United States

Various studies over the years have found that Americans are becoming more concerned about their loss of digital privacy and the security of their private data:

Concerns about privacy have only accelerated in the United States in the past few decades. This trend really picked up in 2013 after the Snowden revelations and does not seem to be getting any better with time.

These concerns are understandable when you consider that data from Americans is getting harvested by everyone, including internet service providers. And we see the same invasive trends in the UK and Europe.

When your ISP is collecting all the websites you visit and selling this data to advertisers, then it’s time to get a good VPN.

Why is this important?

Your browsing activity can reveal very sensitive and personal data about you, which can be damaging if misused. Advertisers, of course, want to collect as much data as possible to hit you with targeted ads and sell you more stuff. This data can also be used to fingerprint your identity and discern health status, private beliefs, social circles, and other intimate details.

With a good VPN for the US, however, your internet provider will not be able to see anything you’re doing. All data will be encrypted and unreadable between your computer/device and the VPN server.

Surveillance in the USA

The Pew Research study reference above also notes that many Americans are concerned with government data collection. We explore the topic of global mass surveillance in our article on the 5/9/14 Eyes surveillance alliances.

Given all of the available information, it’s clear that online privacy is a growing concern for Americans.

While it’s difficult to determine the full reach of private sector tracking and government surveillance, using a good VPN with strong encryption, along with other privacy tools, will go a long way to giving you more privacy and security online. For higher levels of online anonymity, you can also use multi-hop VPN services or even “chain” different VPNs together for more encryption using Linux virtual machines.

Note: These same mass surveillance trends are also being rolled out abroad. This is especially true for the United Kingdom, as we discussed with VPNs for the UK.

Corporate surveillance and data sharing in the United States

Another reason that more Americans than ever are using VPN services is to protect themselves from corporate surveillance, or spying/surveillance carried out by private companies. This is another huge issue in the US, where giant tech companies and telecoms have a long history of monitoring, tracking, and recording the digital activities of their customers.

In 2002 a technician at AT&T, named Mark Klein, accidentally uncovered a massive data collection point where the NSA was copying all internet traffic going through the company’s network. This became known as the Room 641A scandal:

The room was referred to in internal AT&T documents as the SG3 [Study Group 3] Secure Room. It is fed by fiber optic lines from beam splitters installed in fiber optic trunks carrying Internet backbone traffic and, as analyzed by J. Scott Marcus, a former CTO for GTE and a former adviser to the FCC, has access to all Internet traffic that passes through the building, and therefore “the capability to enable surveillance and analysis of internet content on a massive scale, including both overseas and purely domestic traffic.”

As Mark Klein described in this Frontline documentary, “it was a huge dragnet operation” to collect everything. He went public with the information a few years later in 2005.

The cooperation of public and private entities to collect data on Americans has a name. It’s called the PRISM program.

In some countries, such as Australia, internet providers and telephone companies must also collect user data. As we covered in the VPN for Australia guide, mandatory data retention laws have drastically eroded the privacy of people in Australia. And this is also unfolding in the US…

ISP blocks and throttling

Unlike parts of Europe, China, and the Middle East, internet censorship is not a huge problem (yet) in the United States. While there have been a few cases of censorship reported, the bigger concern is ISP throttling, which is when your internet provider throttles (restricts) your internet speed. This may occur depending on your activities, such as streaming and torrenting, or simply your bandwidth usage.

Now that net neutrality has basically been abolished in the US, internet providers are free to restrict the freedom of information exchange and charge based on what users are doing online. One simple solution for this is to use a VPN with obfuscation features. This will encrypt all your traffic (making it unreadable) and conceal your VPN traffic as HTTPs (obfuscation). Should the United States go in this direction, a good VPN with obfuscation will be useful, just like when using a VPN in China.

Torrenting, file sharing, and streaming with a VPN in USA

Another reason that many people in the US are using VPN services is for torrenting, file sharing, and streaming.

The United States is home to some absurd copyright infringement laws. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) legislation created federal laws that allow:

• Fines up to $500,000 and up to five years in jail, or both a fine and jail for a first offense.
• Fines up to $1,000,000 and as long as ten years in prison for repeat offenders.

And if you think this is just a silly law on the books that is not getting enforced, think again.

Internet service providers, such as Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, can hand over your data and connection logs to those who accuse you of copyright infringement. This is a huge business with copyright troll attorneys demanding large payments for alleged “damages” on behalf of the copyright holder. We see this also unfolding throughout Europe as well.

Another consequence of torrenting or file sharing without a VPN is that you could have your internet suspended for repeated DMCA offenses. In the US, internet providers will often send out DMCA notices if your IP address is found to be involved in copyright infringement. Three strikes and you might be booted from your ISP. One harsh copyright law aims to make copyright infringement punishable with 10 years in jail.

Note: Canada also rolled out overzealous copyright laws. Torrenting and file sharing in Canada also carries hefty fines and potential jail sentences, with Canadian internet providers monitoring their users. I discuss these problems and solutions in my guide on VPNs for Canada.

The easy solution is to always use a VPN for torrenting, streaming, and anything else that may be a “grey area” in terms of copyright issues.

Are US-based VPN services safe?

As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to exercise caution with VPNs that are located in bad privacy jurisdictions, such as the United States and other Five Eyes countries.

Aside from all of the privacy issues we covered above, the US government also utilizes National Security Letters and gag orders to force companies to hand over customer data, while prohibiting them from disclosure. These enforcement actions could be used against any company based in the United States, including VPN providers.

There are various cases of VPNs cooperating with government agencies demanding data. One such case in the US took place with IPVanish, a VPN service based in Texas. As explained in the IPVanish logs case, the FBI compelled IPVanish to provide logs (connection data) for one of their users who was suspected of committing crimes. Despite the initial resistance, court records reveal that IPVanish eventually complied with this data request.

This is one risk when using a US-based VPN service, as we pointed out in the NordVPN vs IPVanish comparison. Nonetheless, jurisdiction is just one consideration and everything depends on your threat model and unique needs. Choosing a VPN provider located in a favorable privacy jurisdiction may provide more data security (and peace of mind). Our top-recommended VPNs, including NordVPN and ExpressVPN, are based in privacy-friendly jurisdictions.

There was also a lawsuit with TorGuard VPN being forced to block all torrenting on VPN servers in the US. Similar lawsuits have targeted other US-based VPN servers, including VPN Unlimited. (Don’t use a US-based VPN for torrenting.)

Are VPNs legal in the US?

Perhaps you are ready to get a VPN for the US, but you have one lingering question: Are VPNs legal in the US?

The answer to that is yes. VPNs are perfectly legal in the US and are used by thousands of businesses and private individuals every single day. Businesses routinely use VPN services for network security and with remote workers who need to securely access company servers. VPN technology – and encryption for that matter – could never be banned, simply because it is necessary for data security.

Some people may still be hesitant about VPNs and the perceived “stigma” associated with encryption and privacy tools. While there is a degree of stigma with Tor, VPNs are rapidly becoming mainstream for all different types of users – from people wanting to stream Netflix overseas to regular people who seek more privacy and security online.

VPNs will remain perfectly legal and are continuing to grow in popularity. That being said, be careful when choosing the best VPN for your needs. There are many VPN scams and also free VPNs that collect data for profit. This regularly comes up in the news, such as this story about free VPNs exposing user data.

USA VPN Comparison Table

As a brief recap, the table below highlights the best VPN services for the United States, the land of the free and home of the brave.

Despite being great VPNs for the US, none of these VPNs are actually located in the US, but rather in better overseas jurisdictions.

And here is a comparison table of the best VPN services for the US:

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This guide was last updated and revised on July 12, 2022.