Ranked for privacy Facts checked 17 Oct 2026 Scores recalculated live
Best VPN for Australia
Australia keeps two years of everyone's phone and internet metadata, and since 10 December 2025 under-16s are banned from ten social platforms, which must also try to stop VPN workarounds.
Top pick right now
Proton VPN 94/100
No-logs claims checked by Securitum (Aug 2025).
Why you'd use a VPN in Australia
Under-16 social media ban
From 10 December 2025, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch and Kick must keep under-16s off or face fines up to AU$49.5 million, and must try to stop under-16s using VPNs to appear outside Australia. [1] [2]
Two-year metadata retention
A law passed in March 2015 requires providers to keep users' metadata for two years, whether or not they are under investigation. [3]
Is a VPN legal in Australia? Legal. VPNs are legal. The ban places duties on platforms, not on teens, but we do not support using a VPN to get around it.
The top 3 for Australia
Full ranking of the 6 VPNs we track
| # | VPN | Score | Connects here | Visitor reports | Website (OONI) | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proton VPN | 94/100 | Connects | Not enough yet | Website loads 171 tests | Try Proton VPN |
| 2 | ExpressVPN | 86/100 | Connects | Not enough yet | Too few tests | Try ExpressVPN |
| 3 | NordVPN | 86/100 | Connects | Not enough yet | Website loads 203 tests | Try NordVPN |
| 4 | Private Internet Access | 79/100 | Connects | Not enough yet | Too few tests | Try Private Internet Access |
| 5 | Surfshark | 77/100 | Connects | Not enough yet | Website loads 159 tests | Try Surfshark |
| 6 | CyberGhost | 66/100 | Connects | Not enough yet | Too few tests | Try CyberGhost |
"Connects here" comes from our Australia status page. Visitor reports count the last 14 days. Website checks come from OONI measurements over 30 days, refreshed 19 Oct 2026; a blocked website doesn't mean the app is blocked, but you'll need to install the app another way.
How we scored
Nobody pays for a position here. Each VPN gets a score out of 100 from these weights, chosen because the main reason to use a VPN in Australia is privacy:
- Privacy & audits
- 55%
- Stealth / obfuscation
- 10%
- Streaming
- 10%
- Connects in this country
- 10%
- Visitor reports
- 15%
Feature ratings are our editorial scores. If a VPN has too few visitor reports, that weight is shared among the other factors. A VPN that doesn't connect here is capped at 35. How we track
Questions people ask
What is the best VPN for Australia?
On our current scores, Proton VPN (94/100), followed by ExpressVPN (86) and NordVPN (86). Scores weigh privacy most heavily for Australia and update as visitors there report what works.
Is using a VPN legal in Australia?
Legal. VPNs are legal. The ban places duties on platforms, not on teens, but we do not support using a VPN to get around it.
Do all VPNs work in Australia?
All six VPNs we track connect normally in Australia. The differences are in streaming, privacy and speed.
Why does this ranking change?
Part of each score comes from visitor reports in the last 14 days and from whether each VPN currently connects in the country. When those change, the order changes. The formula is shown on the page.
Sources
We earn a commission if you buy a VPN through our links. It never changes what we report as blocked. How we pick