Highest Security Standards

Cutting-edge technology ensures that your connections are secure and your data is safe.

Download Viscosity (Mac OS 10.7 or later is required). Viscosity is an OpenVPN client with intuitive interface offering complete configuration of OpenVPN connections on Mac OS. Viscosity is an OpenVPN client with intuitive interface offering complete configuration of OpenVPN connections on Mac OS.

Shimo is based on the latest security technology available. Your privacy and the security of your data is protected when using Shimo to establish network connections. We make no compromises when it comes to security standards.

Shimo provides encryption technology such as AES-256 which is even certified by governmental organizations, global enterprises and the military. But encryption is only as strong as its weakest link. As a consequence, our hash algorithms include SHA-2, the latest set of cryptographic hash functions. Additionally, secure cryptographic key exchange over insecure or public channels is enabled using the Diffie-Hellman (D-H) method.

Likewise, passwords are often not sufficient to introduce security to a system. If your connection requires certificates or one-time passcode tokens, such as RSA SecurID, our VPN client for Mac provides the necessary toolset through Extended Authentication (XAUTH).

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are more popular than ever. They are an important weapon in the ongoing fight against cyber-snooping and can even unlock some geo-blocked apps and websites.

Different VPN providers specialize in different areas; it can be difficult to choose the right supplier for your needs. But once you’ve selected your provider, you still have decisions to make. Specifically, how do you know which VPN client to useThe Best VPN According to RedditThe Best VPN According to RedditBut with so many VPNs on the market, how do you decide which one to use? We checked Reddit's best subreddits and threads to get the best VPN recommendations.Read More? Should you use your VPN provider’s proprietary app, or a flexible solution that can connect to several different services?

If you’re not sure where to turn, keep reading for the best free Mac VPN clients you can use right now, and a few other options you might not have considered.

Free Open-Source Clients

Here are the top free VPN clients you should consider.

TunnelBlick

TunnelBlick is an Apple-specific VPN client. It works on macOS and iOS. There is no Windows or Linux version. It works with any VPN provider which offers OpenVPN support.

Because the app is completely open source, you can be confident it’s not secretly tracking your internet usage in other ways and thus negating the benefit of using a VPN. It is more transparent than proprietary apps.

Interestingly, TunnelBlick logs all your session data by default. This is not unusual — all OpenVPN clients do the same thing. If you want to turn off session data logging, all you need to do is add verb 0 to the app’s config file. Remember, this is not linked to whether the VPN provider itself is logging your data.

Finally, the app has a vibrant support community. If you encounter difficulties, head to the Google Group discussion forum and someone will quickly step in to assist.

OpenVPN

The OpenVPN project began back in 2002. It is probably the most well-known of all the free VPN clients. In addition to a Mac version, the app is also available on iOS, Windows, and Android.

The app itself supports lots of different VPN configurations, including remote access, site-to-site VPNs, and enterprise-scale deployments.

The app isn’t as easy to use as proprietary apps — or even some other OpenVPN clients — but it’s established a name for itself thanks to its feature-rich menus and unflinching reliability.

The main criticism of OpenVPN is its VPN configurations limit. By default, you cannot have more than 50 saved. It is possible to recompile the app to remove the limit, but it’s a complicated process and beyond the scope of this article. It’s also important to be aware that the OpenVPN app only supports the OpenVPN protocol.

SoftEther VPN

SoftEther VPN is possibly the easiest to use multi-protocol VPN app on this list. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. The open-source app is entirely free, regardless of whether you’re going to use it in a personal or commercial environment.

It supports almost all VPN protocols, including L2TP/IPsec, OpenVPN, MS-SSTP, L2TPv3, EtherIP, and most impressively, VPN-over-HTTPS.

If you use the developer’s own SoftEther VPN protocol, you can expect faster surfing speeds than OpenVPN. In testing, the SoftEther server was 103 percent faster than Microsoft’s Windows implementation of L2TP/IPsec and up to 117 percent faster than OpenVPN.

Additional features include support for packet filtering, dynamic DNS, and UDP hole punching.

Service-Specific Apps

Some providers offer their own apps. The apps themselves are free, but they only work with the providers’ services.

Here are a couple of the best free provider specific apps. Remember, the quality of any provider’s app has no bearing on the quality of the actual VPN service, but they often offer more pleasing interfaces than the open source options above.

NordVPN

NordVPN is widely considered to be one of the best VPN services availableThe Best VPN ServicesThe Best VPN ServicesWe've compiled a list of what we consider to be the best Virtual Private Network (VPN) service providers, grouped by premium, free, and torrent-friendly.Read More. It always scores highly on privacy tests thanks to its lack of logging and Panamanian jurisdiction.

The Mac app was recently overhauled. You can choose from hundreds of servers around the world on the app’s interactive map, chat to tech support via live chat, and quickly jump between server locations with a single click.

The app also has a kill switch that prevents data being revealed to snoopers if you unexpectedly get disconnected from your VPN. Lastly, it includes shortcuts to servers specifically designed for streaming and P2P downloading.

You can download the NordVPN app on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and even on some smart TVs and gaming consoles.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is another well-known VPN providerEnjoy a Secure and Easy-to-Use VPN With ExpressVPNEnjoy a Secure and Easy-to-Use VPN With ExpressVPNWhy should you choose ExpressVPN? Well, we've given it a try, and quite like what we've seen so far. We think you will, too.Read More that been around since 2009. It’s headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, thus giving you peace of mind regarding anonymity and data disclosure. It’s also one of the fastest VPN providers and offers unlimited bandwidth.

The Mac desktop client supports OpenVPN (UDP and TCP), L2TP, and PPTP protocols. The app lets you bookmark your favorite servers for easy access and chat with the tech support team.

It also provides a way to set up one-click connect and, like NordVPN, has a kill switch in case you lose your connection. The app is free to download and use, but it will only work with ExpressVPN’s service.

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For a Small Fee…

There’s one paid app that deserves a mention in this list.

Viscosity ($9)

Like the three free solutions I discussed, Viscosity is open source. It costs a one-time fee of $9. It’s also cross-platform — you can run it on Windows as well as macOS.

Viscosity undoubtedly wins the design award. Its user interface is much more polished than the free alternatives, and it’s incredibly easy to use and navigate. If you’re new to the world of third-party VPN clients and aren’t au-fait with terminologyThe Short MakeUseOf Guide to VPN TerminologyThe Short MakeUseOf Guide to VPN TerminologyThe need for a secure internet connection has never been more vital. A VPN is a great way to stop unwanted snooping in your internet traffic. We're here to cut through the VPN jargon.Read More, it’s $9 well spent.

From a technical standpoint, the app gives you a complete traffic breakdown of your connections, integrates with Keychain to keep your details safe, and works with macOS’s advanced DNS system.

On the downside, the app only works with the OpenVPN protocol.

Which VPN Client Do You Use?

Each VPN client has different advantages and disadvantages. Which one you choose to use will depend on which protocols your VPN provider offers and your familiarity with setting up and using VPNs on third-party apps.

Which is the best free VPN client on macOS? Do you use one of the apps I reviewed, or have you found a better app that did not make this list? You can let us know which app you use and why it’s so good in the comments section below.

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1. I'm all in for TigerVPN (paid lifetime license was on sale). It refuses connections sometimes, but other than that it is a good service. I am also crazy about the free Windscribe VPN service -- it works like mad (but, limited free GBs per month)! If I hadn't already paid for TigerVPN, I would probably switch over.

2. About Private Internet Access - Presently I am using their two-years package. I have been facing serious low band width issues since more than a month or so. I wrote to them a couple of times. They never bothered to get back to me. This is unforgivable. I would not be renewing my services with them.

3. I use Purevpn as recommended by Make Use Of. It causes no end of problems, especially when I am on public WiFi, which is where I need it most. On public WiFi (shopping centers etc) it hardly works and mostly is so slow (if I get a server to respond) I have to disconnect it to be workable. Every time I contact Purevpn support, their answer is try this other server... Why don't they fix their servers? I am in Australia.

4. PureVpn is what i use. The biggest amount of servers ever seen in a VPN service. Also, it is among the fewest that offers NAT service , to open ports.....

   • I also use Purevpn as recommended by Make Use Of. It causes no end of problems, especially when I am on public WiFi, which is where I need it most. On public WiFi (shopping centers etc) it hardly works and mostly is so slow (if I get a server to respond) I have to disconnect it to be workable. Every time I contact Purevpn support, their answer is try this other server... Why don't they fix their servers? I am in Australia.