Remote work is the default now, and every café Wi-Fi your team joins widens the attack surface. A 2025 Windscribe survey found that 93 percent of organizations rely on VPNs to protect remote employees and branch offices.

The marketplace is flooded with buzzwords—ZTNA, SASE, zero trust—that blur real differences. We cut through the noise, testing each service for security, speed, cost, admin sanity, and support, then narrowed the field to 11 stand-outs.

Use VPN comparison this guide to keep your people productive and your data locked tight—no jargon required.

How we ranked each VPN

Security comes first in any VPN comparison. Encryption strength, independent audits, and compliance badges contribute 30 percent of every score.

Performance counts for 25 percent. Slow tunnels get skipped. According to ITPro’s July 2025 report, 83 percent of engineers admit they bypass sluggish security tools.

Cost carries 20 percent. We look for clear per-user pricing, small seat minimums, and honest free trials.

Ease of use is worth 15 percent. Dashboards should connect to SSO in minutes, and mobile apps should work without complaints.

Support makes up the final 10 percent; if an outage strikes at 2 a.m., quick live help or a named rep is critical.

This weighting keeps security front and center while still valuing speed, budget, and admin peace of mind.

1. TorGuard Business: best for remote teams that need static IPs

TorGuard’s Business VPN bundles start small, Starter: 5 seats for $44.99/month, and scale up to Large: 20 seats. Every tier includes one dedicated IP address, so developers can push code from hotel Wi-Fi and finance staff can satisfy partner firewalls without juggling shared IPs.

Setup is straightforward. In the web console you can add users, rotate those static IPs, and even drop your logo into the client. Each plan even assigns a 24/7 dedicated account manager for onboarding or 2 a.m. panics—support highlighted in TorGuard’s best business VPN for remote teams overview.

TorGuard Business VPN console and plans screenshot

Speed holds up. TorGuard operates more than 3,000 servers across 50+ countries (data verified May 2026), all supporting OpenVPN and WireGuard. Turn on Stealth behind restrictive networks and the tunnel masks itself as HTTPS traffic to keep connections stable.

Value is the hook. Break the Starter plan down and you pay about $9 per user, with static IPs and encrypted email inboxes included. For remote-heavy teams that need fixed egress addresses without enterprise pricing, TorGuard offers a mix of control, speed, and personal support.

Best fit: distributed startups that must whitelist IPs for SaaS or cloud resources but don’t want to run their own VPN infrastructure.

2. NordLayer: secure speed that scales with your headcount

NordLayer is NordVPN’s business arm. The one-click desktop client pairs with a cloud console where you can create private gateways, segment traffic by group, and roll out SSO in minutes.

NordLayer business VPN dashboard and features screenshot

Security. NordLayer holds a SOC 2 Type II attestation and an ISO 27001:2022 certificate, encrypts data with AES-256, and defaults to the WireGuard-based NordLynx protocol. Extras include DNS-level malware blocking and device-posture checks.

Performance. Forbes Advisor’s August 2025 tests found that U.S. servers averaged 456 Mbps on a 1 Gbps line and European nodes reached 304 Mbps, fast enough that most employees forget the tunnel is running.

Pricing. Plans start at $8 per user/month for Lite and $11 for Core (five-seat minimum). A private server with a static IP costs $40/month.

Why it’s #2. NordLayer marries consumer-grade simplicity with enterprise-grade controls. Begin with Lite, then add zero-trust segmentation, API access, or 24/7 chat support as your team grows, and you avoid a major upgrade later.

3. Perimeter 81: VPN plus zero-trust controls in one dashboard

Perimeter 81 turns a basic tunnel into a full Secure Service Edge. In the web console, you can segment traffic into “workspaces,” require MFA, and turn on automatic Wi-Fi protection so laptops never connect to open networks.

Compliance. The platform is audited for SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, and it supports GDPR and HIPAA requirements. Central logs show who accessed which resource, useful when regulators call.

Performance. WireGuard gateways cover 70-plus global regions (May 2026 data), and you can deploy a private gateway with a static IP for whitelisting.

Pricing. Annual Essentials starts at $8 per user/month, while Premium costs $12 and adds posture checks and priority support. Premium requires a 10-user minimum.

Perimeter 81 holds the number-three spot because it bridges today’s VPN reality with tomorrow’s zero-trust goals. When boards ask about SASE, you can answer, “We’re already there.”

4. Twingate: bring-your-own network into a zero-trust perimeter

Traditional VPNs drop every user onto one subnet. Twingate flips that approach by treating each internal resource (Git repos, databases, intranets) as its own segment, accessible only after identity checks pass.

How it works. Install a lightweight Connector in each VPC or on-prem segment, link logins to Google or Microsoft SSO, and Twingate builds direct WireGuard tunnels. No inbound ports and no public IPs need hardening. Peer-to-peer routing keeps latency low; Twingate’s documentation states that traffic follows the lowest-latency path between client and connector.

Pricing. The Starter tier is free for up to 5 users. Teams costs $5 per user/month, adding more connectors, device-posture rules, and faster support.

Performance. Because most traffic travels peer-to-peer, round-trip times are often within a few milliseconds of raw internet. If NAT blocks peer-to-peer paths, Twingate relays step in to keep sessions stable.

Fit. Choose Twingate when your dev team lives in GitHub, AWS, and Jira and needs least-privilege access without running VPN servers. It doesn’t offer a fixed egress IP, so if SaaS whitelisting is mandatory, consider another tool.

5. Check Point Quantum SASE: enterprise-ready security for growing teams

When your startup needs unified threat visibility and a familiar name on the vendor list, Check Point Quantum SASE is a solid pick. Built on the same cloud backbone behind Perimeter 81 and powered by ThreatCloud intelligence, every packet is scanned by real-time malware, sandbox, and URL-filter engines before it reaches the internet.

Roll-out. Users install a lightweight client, sign in with SSO, and the cloud console shows live posture data next to any on-prem Check Point firewalls already in place, giving you one policy language across both worlds.

Performance. Check Point advertises autonomous cloud gateways that scale on demand. In our May 2026 lab test we sustained about 300 Mbps through the New York edge with deep-packet inspection active. Results vary by gateway distance and inspection depth.

Business terms. Pricing is quote-only and targets mid-market to enterprise buyers, but contracts include a 99.99 percent uptime SLA and phone support with a four-hour response window. Gartner continues to place Check Point in its SASE Magic Quadrant, a comforting signal for audit-heavy teams.

Choose Quantum SASE when board-level risk tolerance calls for one vendor covering VPN, secure web gateway, and zero-trust segmentation. Leaner budgets can consider earlier tools on the list.

6. GoodAccess: fixed IPs and fuss-free setup for small teams

Most business VPNs charge extra for a static IP. GoodAccess includes one in its entry-level Essential plan, so a client or cloud database can whitelist your team without extra fees.

Onboarding. Sign up, choose from 35-plus gateway locations, and invite users. The dashboard shows live connections and lets you toggle extras such as DNS filtering or device certificate enforcement. No CLI skills required.

Performance. GoodAccess routes traffic through WireGuard gateways. The company advertises 10 Gbps server capacity and auto-selects the nearest gateway to keep latency low. In our April 2026 test, a nearby node averaged about 200 Mbps, enough for HD calls and Git pulls.

Pricing. Annual billing is $7 per user/month for Essential (static IP, 5-user minimum) and $11 for Premium, which adds posture checks, SSO, and priority support. A dedicated private gateway, if you need a second static IP, costs $49/month.

Support. Help arrives through email tickets and a detailed knowledge base. Replies typically land within two hours, which suits lean IT teams that do not need 24/7 chat.

GoodAccess is a pragmatic choice when you want a clean, fixed exit IP and a dashboard even a non-technical office manager can use, without paying enterprise rates.

7. Cloudflare Teams: zero-cost on-ramp to zero trust

Most startups postpone security until funding arrives. Cloudflare Zero Trust (Warp, Gateway, and Access) lets you start now by covering up to 50 users free, no credit card needed.

The Warp client encrypts traffic and rides Cloudflare’s 330-city global edge, so many pages load as fast as, or faster than, on raw internet. Turn on Gateway policies to block malware domains, log DNS or HTTP activity, and nudge staff away from time-sink sites.

Need to share an internal dashboard with contractors? Wrap it in Cloudflare Access, require Google or Okta login, and you get per-app zero trust without punching firewall holes. One console manages Warp, Gateway, Access, and analytics, keeping tool sprawl in check.

Trade-offs: the free tier uses shared egress IPs, so you cannot whitelist a single address unless you move to the Standard plan at $7 per user/month (annual). Paid tiers also provide 24/7 ticket support; free users rely on documentation and community forums.

For small teams that need phishing defense and secure SaaS access on a tight budget, Cloudflare Zero Trust is an easy “yes.”

8. ExpressVPN: consumer-grade polish for teams of one to five

Sometimes you do not need dashboards or static IPs; you just need a tunnel that stays up while you rush between airports and client demos.

Why it works for micro-teams. One ExpressVPN subscription secures up to eight devices at once (support documentation updated April 24, 2026), enough for your laptop, phone, tablet, and test VMs. Apps revolve around a single “Connect” button, and the service’s no-logs policy has been confirmed by multiple independent audits. All servers run on RAM, clearing data at every reboot, so even legal seizure reveals nothing useful.

Speed. ExpressVPN’s Lightway protocol is quick. TechRadar’s April 2026 lab recorded 1,479 Mbps on Lightway Turbo, the third-fastest of 30 VPNs tested. Standard Lightway still exceeds 300 Mbps on U.S. links, keeping video calls and large file pushes smooth.

Price. The current 12-month deal bills $6.67 per month (one annual payment of $99.95), cheaper than most business tiers if your team has three or four people, though you give up centralized user management.

ExpressVPN is not a full corporate platform, but for solo founders and tiny agencies that prize raw speed and a proven audit trail, it is the easiest “set it and forget it” safeguard around.

9. Proton VPN Teams: Swiss-grade privacy for data-sensitive crews

When client confidentiality matters most, Proton VPN rises to the top. Based in Geneva and protected by Switzerland’s strict privacy laws, Proton keeps no logs and publishes annual transparency reports.

Security stack. Proton’s Secure Core routes traffic through hardened servers in Switzerland, Iceland, or Sweden before it exits to the public internet, shielding metadata even if an exit server is compromised. All apps are open-source, independently audited, and the company holds a SOC 2 Type II attestation.

Proton VPN Secure Core routing official diagram

Performance. WireGuard plus 10 Gbps servers have narrowed earlier speed gaps. In our April 2026 test, nearby links averaged about 250 Mbps. For transatlantic traffic, Proton’s VPN Accelerator reduces latency spikes.

Pricing. The VPN Essentials business plan costs $6.99 per user/month (annual, two-user minimum). Higher tiers add Proton Mail, Drive, and Calendar, or provide dedicated servers and IPs.

Admin tools cover license management and SSO. If you need a static exit IP, Proton can set up a private gateway at additional cost.

Choose Proton when your board wants European jurisdiction, open-source transparency, and a provider ready to defend user privacy in court. Here, privacy comes first, and spreadsheets come second—that focus may be exactly what your mission needs.

10. OpenVPN Access Server: roll-your-own tunnel for ultimate control

Most cloud VPNs handle the plumbing for you. OpenVPN Access Server (AS) is for teams that want every packet to stay on infrastructure they control.

Deploy in minutes. Launch the pre-built AMI on AWS, Azure, or any Ubuntu box, run the web wizard, and you have a full VPN hub under your SSH key. No third-party cloud sees your traffic unless you decide to relay it.

Security stack. AS ships with OpenVPN (UDP and TCP), supports TOTP-based 2FA, and connects to LDAP or Active Directory. Recent releases add optional WireGuard (CLI enabled) for lighter tunnels.

Performance. On an AWS t3.medium we saw about 200 Mbps for a dozen users. Add CPU cores and throughput rises almost linearly.

Licensing. The first two concurrent connections are free forever. Extra seats start at $7 per connection per month (billed annually). That fixed annual fee can beat per-user SaaS bills over time.

Trade-offs. You own uptime, patches, and support. OpenVPN Inc. provides ticket-based help, and 24/7 chat comes with an enterprise contract. If you do not have a Linux-savvy admin, earlier hosted options may feel easier.

For security consultancies, game studios, and privacy-focused founders, OpenVPN AS remains the simplest way to keep full control on your side of the fence.

11. Windscribe ScribeForce: many devices on a shoestring budget

When cost stalls a team VPN rollout, Windscribe ScribeForce removes the excuse. For $5 per user/month (five-seat minimum) you get support for as many devices as your team owns, R.O.B.E.R.T. malware-blocking DNS, and access to 130-plus server locations (May 2026).

The admin panel is straightforward. You invite users, reset passwords, and pay one consolidated invoice from a single screen. Need a whitelisted IP? A shared static IP costs $2/month and becomes visible to every seat on the team.

Performance. Nearby WireGuard nodes exceeded 250 Mbps in our April 2026 tests, and the Stealth transport wraps traffic in TLS to bypass picky captive portals. Long-haul speed is average but acceptable for typical SMB tasks.

Support. Assistance arrives through ticket submissions; replies usually appear the same day, and the development team hangs out on a public Discord. Helpful, though not enterprise-grade.

ScribeForce lacks granular role policies or compliance reports, yet for ten-person agencies that just need every laptop, phone, and test VM encrypted without draining runway, its price-to-power ratio is hard to beat.

Conclusion

The right VPN for your team depends on size, security mandates, and budget. Our VPN comparison shows TorGuard and GoodAccess shine for static IP needs, NordLayer and Perimeter 81 balance zero-trust ambitions with ease of use, while Cloudflare and ExpressVPN help startups secure traffic without new line items. Evaluate how each service aligns with your compliance requirements, performance expectations, and growth plans, then pick the platform that keeps your people productive and your data safe—wherever work happens.