We would like to count page views and clicks with Google Analytics, which sets cookies in your
browser. It is how we learn which pages are worth writing. Nothing loads until you choose, and
declining costs you nothing on this site. What we collect.
Most providers ship two Mac apps — a limited App Store version using Apple's VPN framework, and a full version from their website with a real kill switch and split tunnelling — and most people install the wrong one. This page ranks on the full app: native Apple silicon support, a kill switch that holds, protocol speed, and the provider's ownership and audit record.
Proton VPN80 Open-source, Securitum-audited Mac app with a permanent kill switch that uses macOS packet filter rules, native Apple silicon, WireGuard and Stealth, NetShield DNS blocking, and Swiss non-profit ownership.
Mullvad66 The cleanest macOS app on the site: open source, native Apple silicon, a kill switch that is on by default and cannot be turned off by a crash, WireGuard only, and no account email.
ExpressVPN70 The most polished Mac experience, native Apple silicon, Lightway with fast reconnects on a laptop that changes networks all day, Network Lock kill switch, per-app split tunnelling, and a menu-bar app that stays out of the way.
Swiss, non-profit-controlled, open source, with the only free tier worth using.
80
Owner
Proton Foundation
Jurisdiction
Switzerland · Outside the alliances
No-logs audit
None — apps audited by Securitum, 2025
Price
from $4.49/mo
Runs oniOSAndroidMacWindowsLinuxRouterBrowserTV
Open-source, Securitum-audited Mac app with a permanent kill switch that uses macOS packet filter rules, native Apple silicon, WireGuard and Stealth, NetShield DNS blocking, and Swiss non-profit ownership. The full app is on the website; the App Store one is deliberately simpler.
Split tunnelling arrived late on macOS and is less flexible than on Windows.
Privacy & trust
73
Features
98
Price & renewal
77
Streaming
84
Controlled by a Swiss non-profit foundation since 2024
All apps open source and independently audited
Free tier with no data cap and no ads
Renewal is higher than the intro price
Free tier cannot choose a country
Speeds trail NordVPN and ExpressVPN in most tests
Lab test pending — scored on public dataiOS app score 68/100 from 101,311 ratingsFull reviewVisit Proton VPN
Flat €5 a month, no email required, accepts cash; the privacy benchmark.
66
Owner
Amagicom AB
Jurisdiction
Sweden · Fourteen Eyes
No-logs audit
None — apps audited by Cure53, 2024
Price
from $5.40/mo
Runs oniOSAndroidMacWindowsLinuxRouterBrowserTV
The cleanest macOS app on the site: open source, native Apple silicon, a kill switch that is on by default and cannot be turned off by a crash, WireGuard only, and no account email. The Mac app is the same build everywhere — there is no lesser App Store version.
No streaming effort; split tunnelling is per-app but basic.
Privacy & trust
65
Features
76
Price & renewal
83
Streaming
42
Account is a random number, no email or name
Same price forever, no intro-vs-renewal games
Accepts cash by post and Monero
Streaming unblocking is unreliable by design
Port forwarding removed in 2023
Smaller server network
Lab test pending — scored on public dataiOS app score 63/100 from 1,441 ratingsFull reviewVisit Mullvad
Polished apps and reliable unblocking; owned by Kape, which also owns three review sites.
70
Owner
Kape Technologiesalso owns review sites
Jurisdiction
British Virgin Islands · Outside the alliances
No-logs audit
KPMG, 2023 (report not public)
Price
from $4.99/mo · ~$7.08/mo over 3 yrs after renewal
Runs oniOSAndroidMacWindowsLinuxRouterBrowserTV
The most polished Mac experience, native Apple silicon, Lightway with fast reconnects on a laptop that changes networks all day, Network Lock kill switch, per-app split tunnelling, and a menu-bar app that stays out of the way. The pick if the Mac is your main travel machine.
The biggest network and the most features; renews at nearly triple the intro price.
74
Owner
Nord Security
Jurisdiction
Panama · Outside the alliances
No-logs audit
Deloitte, 2024 (report not public)
Price
from $3.39/mo · ~$7.53/mo over 3 yrs after renewal
Runs oniOSAndroidMacWindowsLinuxRouterBrowserTV
Two Mac apps — install the website one, which has the full kill switch and split tunnelling that the App Store build lacks — with NordLynx speed, Threat Protection, and the largest network. Four audits and Panama jurisdiction.
The App Store version is the one most people find first and it is the weaker one.
Privacy & trust
65
Features
91
Price & renewal
62
Streaming
90
Largest server network in the market
NordLynx (WireGuard) is consistently fast
Four Deloitte no-logs audits since 2018
Two-year plan renews at roughly 3× the intro price
Sibling brand Surfshark is presented as a competitor
No port forwarding
Lab test pending — scored on public dataiOS app score 58/100 from 699,424 ratingsFull reviewVisit NordVPN
Open-source apps, court-proven no-logs, unlimited devices; US-based and Kape-owned.
66
Owner
Kape Technologiesalso owns review sites
Jurisdiction
United States · Five Eyes
No-logs audit
Deloitte, 2022 (report not public)
Price
from $2.03/mo · renewal price unconfirmed
Runs oniOSAndroidMacWindowsLinuxRouterBrowserTV
Open-source Mac app with a firewall-level 'always' kill switch, native Apple silicon, per-app split tunnelling, port forwarding and unlimited devices, from the provider whose no-logs claim has held in court. Best value on the page.
Pleasant Mac app but no real kill switch (VigilantBear reconnects rather than blocks), 2 GB free tier, and McAfee ownership. Fine to try; not to rely on.
What we weighed for Mac, and the exact weights
The full Mac app, not the App Store one
App Store versions are sandboxed and cannot implement a firewall-level kill switch or split tunnelling. The website download can. We score the full app.
Kill switch on macOS
macOS makes a real kill switch harder than Windows or Linux. Providers that use a system extension or packet filter rules get it right; others leak during reconnects.
Apple silicon and protocol speed
Native ARM builds and WireGuard-family protocols keep throughput on fast Mac connections; Rosetta and OpenVPN cost real speed.
Trust record
A Mac VPN sees all traffic. Ownership, audits and open source decide the ranking as much as features.
Weights on this page: Privacy & trust 25% · Features 18% · Price & renewal 15% · Streaming 12% · App quality 10% · Speed (our tests) 10% · Censorship bypass 5% · Support & refunds 5%. Formula.
The two-app problem
Apple lets VPN apps into the Mac App Store only if they use the system’s VPN framework inside the App Store sandbox. That framework cannot do a firewall-level kill switch, cannot do per-app split tunnelling, and reconnects with a gap. So NordVPN, ExpressVPN, PIA and Proton all ship a second Mac app from their websites, built on a system extension, with the full feature set. The App Store one is the one people find first. If your Mac VPN has no kill switch option, you have the wrong one — download the other from the provider’s site.
Mullvad sidesteps the problem by distributing only from its website, one build, open source.
The kill switch on macOS
macOS makes a real kill switch harder than Windows does. The good implementations use packet-filter rules (Proton’s permanent kill switch, Mullvad’s default, PIA’s “always” mode, ExpressVPN’s Network Lock) so that when the tunnel drops — closing the lid is the classic case — nothing leaves the machine until it is back. The weak implementations watch for a disconnect and then block, and by then the laptop has already reconnected to Wi-Fi and sent whatever was queued. The kill switch test on this site shows which you have: connect, start monitoring, close the lid for ten seconds.
Speed on Apple silicon
Every pick here ships a native ARM build, which matters: a VPN is CPU-bound on the client, and Rosetta translation costs throughput. WireGuard-family protocols (WireGuard, NordLynx, Lightway) are the right default on a Mac; OpenVPN can halve the speed of a gigabit connection. Proton’s and Mullvad’s Stealth and bridge modes are slower by design and only needed in censored countries.
Split tunnelling
Available per app in the full apps of ExpressVPN, PIA, NordVPN and Proton (later and less flexibly on macOS than Windows). Useful for a banking app that refuses foreign IPs, or for keeping a video-call app on the direct route. Mullvad’s is per-app but basic.
Menu bar, not Dock
The best Mac VPN apps live in the menu bar: connect, pick a server, forget it. ExpressVPN’s and Mullvad’s are the least intrusive; NordVPN’s and Proton’s have full windows but can be reduced to the menu bar. Set auto-connect on untrusted networks and the app should not need opening for weeks.
What we have not tested
Kill-switch behaviour on lid-close and throughput on Apple silicon are from provider documentation and user reports. Our own tests on a fixed Mac with each provider’s full app are scheduled, and any provider whose switch leaks on wake will move down this list.
iPhone app rating is far below every established provider in this catalogue
Frequently asked questions
Should I install the App Store version or the website version on Mac?
The website version, for every provider that has one. App Store versions run in Apple's sandbox using the system VPN framework, which cannot implement a firewall-level kill switch or per-app split tunnelling. The website download uses a system extension and can. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, PIA and Proton all ship both; the App Store one is the one people find first.
Does macOS have a built-in VPN?
Built-in support for IKEv2, IPsec and L2TP profiles under System Settings → VPN, but no VPN service, and no kill switch. iCloud Private Relay hides your IP in Safari only and is not a VPN. You still need a provider; the picks all support manual IKEv2 or WireGuard configs if you prefer no app.
Why does my Mac VPN leak when I close the lid?
On wake, macOS reconnects to Wi-Fi before the VPN app re-establishes the tunnel, and traffic can flow in the gap. A firewall-level kill switch (Proton permanent, Mullvad default, PIA always, ExpressVPN Network Lock) blocks that gap. In-app switches that only react to a detected drop do not. Test it with the kill switch tool.
Is a VPN slow on Apple silicon?
Not if the app is a native ARM build and the protocol is WireGuard-family. Every pick above is native. Older apps running under Rosetta, or OpenVPN, lose noticeable throughput on a fast connection.
Can I use a VPN and iCloud Private Relay together?
macOS turns Private Relay off while a VPN is connected. That is expected; the VPN already does what Private Relay does, for all apps rather than Safari only.
Does a VPN protect me on public Wi-Fi with a Mac?
Yes, and it is the best everyday reason to have one on a laptop. Set the app to connect automatically on untrusted networks so the café Wi-Fi is always covered without remembering.
