NOTE: To download Mavericks for a new install, you need to be already running Mac OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) or a newer 10.7, or 10.8 version, so that you have the App Store. It would help if we knew what version of Mac OS X your current running, and what Mac you are using?
VPNs for Mac are being offered by varied providers in the industry but are they good enough to protect your privacy and give you all the online freedom that you need?
After conducting a comprehensive overhaul of all relevant VPN providers and conducting extensive tests, we’ve shortlisted 5 best Mac VPN Apps that you can narrow down your choices from.
But we recommend that you go for Surfshark as its the best VPN for Mac. For just $1.99/month on its two-year deal, it offers an incredible set of security features and commitment towards catering to all modern unblocking needs that include accessing sites like Netflix US.
5 Best VPN Apps for Mac in 2019
The best VPN providers for your Mac are as follows:
1. Ivacy ($1.99/month – 2 Year Plan)
2. Surfshark ($1.99/month – 2 Year Plan)
3. ExpressVPN ($8.32/month – 1 Year Plan)
4. PureVPN ( $1.65/mo – 5 Year Plan)
5. VyprVPN ($6.67/month – 1 Year Plan)
2. Surfshark ($1.99/month – 2 Year Plan)
3. ExpressVPN ($8.32/month – 1 Year Plan)
4. PureVPN ( $1.65/mo – 5 Year Plan)
5. VyprVPN ($6.67/month – 1 Year Plan)
These providers are all excellent at guarding your anonymity and making it easier to use them on Mac with well-built UX oriented Mac apps. To know more about how each one fare, here are these recommended Mac VPN providers described with in detail:
Ivacy – Remarkable Unblocking for Inexpensive Pricing
Pros
- $1.99/month (2-Year Plan)
- 1-Day Free Trial Available
- 1000 servers in 100 Locations
- Compatibility: macOS 10.12
- Size: 13.5MB (4.5 Rating)
- Works in China
Visit Ivacy VPN
Always a top choice VPN for any purpose, Ivacy features on our list at the #1 spot and for good reason. Its users receive the best unblocking capabilities in the marketplace.
The VPN successfully manages to bypass the “Great Firewall” in China via its IvacyPrime app (also available on MacOS through Ivacy’s dedicated Chinese page).
Not to mention, you face no troubles in accessing VoDs like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, as there is a “streaming” mode available too for instant unblocking.
For connectivity, you have access to 1000+ servers in 100 locations globally, but surprisingly upon testing I received no server load or speed issues. In fact, the performance was quite impressive.
Best part of all: Ivacy is not located in 5, 9, or 14 eyes jurisdiction. It is based in Singapore, which boasts relatively convenient laws with regards to freedom of speech and user privacy.
There also have been no known cases of DNS or WebRTC leaks which make it the best-suited candidate for activities that require robust security like Torrenting.
A third-party audit done by the provider came out with a clean report and no major security concerns were found, reaffirming the commitment to security that the provider has been known for since its inceptions.
A go-through of its privacy policy reveals that it doesn’t keep logs of any user activity whatsoever implying that anything you do when under its cover is private.
Holistically, Ivacy ‘s experience will leave you desiring for nothing else as it ticks all boxes as far as suitability for a Mac VPN is concerned.
Surfshark – Best Mac VPN with the Lowest Subscription Prices
Pros
- $1.99/month (2-Year Plan)
- 30-Day Refund Guarantee
- 800 Servers in 50 Countries
- Compatibility: macOS 10.12
- Size: 13.2MB (2.7 Ratings)
- Doesn’t Keep any user Logs
Visit Surfshark
Powerful and strong, Surfshark tops our list as the best VPN for Mac.
Surfshark might be new in the industry but its standards have always been the same as the top providers in the industry. On top of this, if you go for it as your Mac VPN, the subscription plans cost as low as $1.99/month.
Clean, uncomplicated and feature-rich. This is what sums up the experience that this provider affords on its Mac app. Users can choose from a growing server list that currently consists of 800+ servers spread over 50 different countries on the globe.
Surfshark got its jurisdiction right by choosing the British Virgin Islands as the place to headquarter itself. The territory is renowned for its lax data retention laws which in turn makes Surfshark easier to trust with your data.
Your IP will always remain protected with Surfshark as the provider offers adequate protection against DNS and WebRTC leaks, a proposition backed by our own study on DNS leaks.
Again, this provider keeps no logs just like other providers on our list as we never compromise on any security measure while picking top VPNs for any device.
Surprisingly, the provider’s user novelties don’t end there as it can get you through to Netflix US comfortable and if ever, you experience a problem in connecting to it, the live chat feature is good enough to walk you through it.
Read this comprehensive Surfshark VPN Review to learn more.
ExpressVPN – Fastest VPN for Mac
Pros
- $8.32/month (1-Year Plan)
- 30-Day Refund Guarantee
- 3000 Servers in 94 Countries
- Works with Wi-Fi, LTE/4G, 3G
- Size: 58.1MB (4.6 Ratings)
- Upgraded Mac App
Visit ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN’s value is determined by its loyal user base despite its prices being on the higher side at $8.32/month on its best plan.
This provider features on this list because there are very few VPNs that can offer such fast speeds on Macs despite the heavy load that a VPN is under.
ExpressVPN’s Mac app never crashes or runs into downtime and you can count on it for offering a seamless, optimized experience whenever you turn it on, on your Mac.
The provider’s privacy policy is incredibly strong as its commitment towards keeping zero logs has been tested many times and every single time, ExpressVPN came out unscathed.
ExpressVPN is located in the British Virgin Islands, a safe country with virtually zero data retention laws, giving users more confidence to trust the provider with protecting their data in transit online.
The server network offered by ExpressVPN has now expanded to over 94 countries globally and consists of 3000+ servers.
And a majority of US-based servers in this network can unblock Netflix US, Hulu, and other geo-restricted services, so if you are looking for a Mac VPN that’s perfect for streaming and offers fast speeds, no one better suits this bill than ExpressVPN.
Its live chat support is probably the best in the industry and can guide you through any sort of problem, query, and troubleshooting and installation process quite easily.
Read this comprehensive ExpressVPN Review to learn more.
PureVPN – Inexpensive All Round Mac VPN
Pros
- $1.65/month (5-Year Plan)
- 30-Day Refund Guarantee
- 2K Servers in 140 Countries
- Size: 24.3MB (3.8 Ratings)
- Compatibility: OS X 10.10
- Military Grade Protection
Visit PureVPN
PureVPN is one of the best economical VPNs that offer a feature-rich service for Mac users, without going over-budget. Its plan at $1.65/month might not seem cheap as compared to other providers but considering the fact that it’s a short term deal, your cumulative cost for this VPN’s subscription will be a lot less than others.
The provider’s Mac app offers all available features offered by the provider and the glitch-free interface guarantees a great user experience.
Most users doubt its jurisdiction to be insecure as it’s a part of China, but Hong Kong is a safe location as it doesn’t have to obey Chinese data retention laws.
Military-grade encryption is used to protect all data transits in its connection by PureVPN and couple that with the default OpenVPN secure protocol in the Mac app and you are safe from all sorts of hacking attempts.
Primed as one of the best VPNs for Torrenting, PureVPN is leak-free and it has done a lot of work to get there. Now, your IP remains hidden on Macs whenever your turn PureVPN on.
The server count offered by PureVPN stands at 2000 but these servers are located over a whopping 180 countries over the globe, giving PureVPN users a massive reach and low ping rates due to lesser server accessibility issues.
BBC iPlayer and Netflix US, both can be unblocked with PureVPN and with the recent improvement in speeds, the provider is now one of the best services you can go for as a dedicated VPN for Mac.
Read this comprehensive PureVPN Review to learn more.
VyprVPN – Unique Security Features as a VPN for Mac
Pros
- $6.67/month (1-Year Plan)
- Risk-Free 3 Day Trial
- 700 Servers in 60 Countries
- Netflix US unblocking
- Size: 22MB (3.2 Ratings)
- Verified 'no-logs' policy
Visit VyprVPN
VyprVPN has taken immense strides in the recent past to break into the top tier VPN category and can easily be trusted for your Mac.
Prices for its subscription plan remain higher than what they should be at $6.67/month on the yearly deal, but if you want access to innovative security features that no one else offers, VyprVPN is the perfect pick for you.
VyprVPN’s Mac app is not difficult to use at all as the provider has developed its user interface keeping user ease in mind. The server list or the option to change your protocol is highly accessible as are the rest of the features.
The provider follows a strict zero logging policy so none of your data will ever be recorded in VyprVPN’s servers, especially when it comes down to personally identifiable information like private browsing history.
One of its best features is its trademark Chameleon protocol that can be used to bypass Deep Packet Inspection and comes in incredibly handy when you have to bypass stringent geo-restrictions like the ones in countries like China and Iran.
The provider owns all of its servers and most of them are bare-metal servers offering greater speeds with the ability to handle high amounts of traffic without creating problems for others on the network.
Its servers are now based in over 70+ countries, bringing it at par with the top providers of the industry.
Netflix US can now be unblocked through VyprVPN’s Mac app but you will need to contact their live chat support to find out about the current working ones for the task.
Read this comprehensive VyprVPN Review to learn more..
8 Factors to Look for When Choosing the Best VPN for Mac in 2019?
Our testing criteria for choosing Mac VPNs are based on analyzing critical security, privacy, and device-related important issues.
Through this testing criteria, we came up with these 8 factors that we weighed providers upon when choosing our 5 best VPNs for Mac:
Compatible Apps
The provider should have a functioning, well-designed, easy to use and reliable Mac app that can allow the user to begin using the service within just a few steps.
Pricing
Our top recommended VPN, iVacy is priced at $1.99/month despite offering the highest server park and some of the most premium security features in the industry. The provider which can make it as affordable for the user to subscribe to its services is the one that we went for when making this list.
Unblocking Geo-Restricted Streaming Sites
Streaming is now a popular activity, even on Macs, so if a user is going for a provider, it needs to be powerful enough to unblock major streaming sites for it like Netflix US. All of our top providers in this Mac VPN list are capable of doing that.
Server Infrastructure
Usually, the top providers have anywhere from 700-2000 servers, but some even go above that and offer 3000-5000 servers worldwide.
We didn’t opt for a provider that doesn’t offer more than 500 servers because a smaller server park means overloading and atrociously slow speeds.
No DNS or WebRTC leaks
All the encryption and protocols mean nothing if your VPN leaks your IP through a DNS or a WebRTC leak.
Our selected VPNs don’t do so as they passed all of these strict, independent DNS and WebRTC leak tests without leaking our real IP even once:
Logging Policy
We don’t accept any provider to be safe enough for users unless they have an explicit zero-logging policy clearly mentioned in their privacy policy.
Some VPNs, however, do keep some negligible logs like those of your connection timestamps and bandwidth usage, but they are harmless as they can’t be used to identify you by any means whatsoever.
All of the Mac VPNs that are recommended by us don’t keep any kind of user activity logs whatsoever and can be completely trusted for keeping your data safe and anonymous.
Encryption Levels
The safest form of encryption is the AES-256 military-grade level encryption, which can’t be deciphered even by brute force computing or even by hundreds of supercomputers working at once.
Anything below that and we need to give that VPN a pass.
Our top 5 VPNs are all offering this level of encryption and can guarantee that your data cannot be hacked in transit ever.
Jurisdiction
Data retention laws of the country where the VPN is based are crucial to how secure a user’s data is with the provider. For e.g. a provider based in a country that is a member of the 14 Eyes Alliance shouldn’t be opted for.
The top 5 Mac VPNs recommended above are all based in safer locations/data-friendly countries like the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, etc.
5 Reasons Why Free VPNs are a Bad Option for Macs
Free VPNs might be enticing considering the considerable cost that subscribing to a paid provider can incur, but we never recommend you to go for free providers and we have these 5 core reasons for it:
- Free VPNs don’t often offer Compatible apps for Macs, making it a hassle to use the service on your device in the first place.
- Speeds are often quite slow on services offered by free providers on top of daily/monthly bandwidth limits, making them unsuitable for modern-day browsing habits.
- Free VPNs have been known to sell user data and conduct other problematic activities because they need to make money and if you are not paying them through subscription fees, then they need to go somewhere to cover up their bottom lines.
- You won’t ever get premium features like Double VPN or Split Tunnelling in Free VPNs.
- Free VPNs are mostly not Torrenting friendly and neither are they good at unblocking geo-restricted streaming sites like Netflix or BBC iPlayer.
![Avaiable Avaiable](https://protonvpn.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/ProtonVPN-mac-os-app.jpg)
Paid VPNs are much safer, reliable and performance-oriented than their free counterparts and when you can get a VPN like Surfshark for as low as $1.99/month, there is no point really in risking your precious privacy and sensitive data by going for a free VPN.
Final Verdict
The 5 Recommended Mac VPNs listed above are all primed to meet your expectations on all accounts and no other service can bring the perfect combination of privacy, security, compatibility, and features at such low subscription costs as these reputable providers.
Surfshark is our most highly recommended service for Macs. Its best plan will cost you just $1.99/month and is a great investment towards your privacy.
Its powerful encryption, OpenVPN protocol support, 800+ server network, Netflix unblocking capability, dedicated Torrenting support and live chat functionality along with niche security features like the kill switch makes Surfshark a package that you won’t get in a single service elsewhere for such a low price.
iVacy is another great Mac VPN and it’s not too costly either. For just $1.99/month on its best deal, it brings supreme reliability and consistently fast speeds along with an enormous server park. It can be a great option if you want to experience nothing less than the best.
Other three options, ExpressVPN, PureVPN and VyprVPN, all are equally good when it comes down to the most important value factors and you can go for either of them for a VPN on Mac.
![Mac Mac](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126280804/467821788.png)
Cisco’s VPN solution are quite popular in the enterprise market and a lot of companies use them to provide their employees access to the company’s networks and resources when the employees are not onsite.
Most of these companies use the default Cisco client which Cisco supplies with a couple of modifications to suit their particular needs. More specifically, the configuration of this client involves creating a .pcf file which the client uses to read the settings for the specific network.
The .pcf file is a plain text only file which a couple of config options, the important of which are the VPN server address, the encrypted group password and the group name.
Mac OS X, since the last few version came with the ability to connect to L2TP and IPSec based VPNs out of the box but lacked the ability to connect to Cisco’s implementation. That has now changed with the release of Mac OS X 10.6 aka. Snow Leopard. OS X now ships with the ability to connect to Cisco based VPNs out of the box.
The only problem is that the configuration of the built in client requires a little bit of “homework” and in this post today I’ll be taking you through just that.
First of all you need to get hold of the .pcf file for your company’s network. If you’d been connecting to the VPN using Cisco’s client all this time, you’ll have the .pcf somewhere on your computer – Search for it and save it somewhere convenient. Or else ask your network admin to provide you with a copy of the file. Either way you need to open this file with a text editor (TextEdit on OS X) and make note of a couple of config parameters.
The first config option that we’re interested in is the Host=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx option where the xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is an IP address.
The second option that you’d need is the GroupName=xxx option and the third option that we want is the enc_GroupPwd=xxx where xxx will be a long string of seemingly random characters. The seemingly random characters is the encrypted group password that is needed to connect to your company’s VPN server.
We need to first get the decrypted the encrypted password that we got from the .pcf file. To do this, visit this website and enter the encrypted password from enc_GroupPwd field in the Text box and click decode. The website will decode the password and output the decrypted password in clear form. Make note of this decrypted password as we’ll need to use this later on.
Now, open the Network config panel from the System Preferences application.
Click on the + sign to add a new Network connection and Select VPN as the Interface and Cisco IPSec as the VPN Type and press Create.
Now, you need to fill in the details that you’d collected earlier from the .pcf file.
The server address comes from the Host parameter that we looked at earlier. The Account name is the username that you use to connect to the VPN. Password is the one that you use to connect to the VPN. If you use a dongle provided by RSA or some other company which generates a random password each time you login, leave this field blank.
Now, click on the Authentication Settings button and in the Shared Secret text box, enter the decrypted password that you got earlier. Enter the text from the GroupName field that we looked at earlier in the Group Name text box. Click on the Ok button and you’re all set.
Apply the settings and Click connect to get online and connect to your company’s VPN server.