6 Best VPNs for Business: What To Look for in a VPN

If you’re running an ecommerce store, cybersecurity is essential for your business survival. Data breaches can devastate your reputation, compromise sensitive customer information, and cost you thousands in recovery fees, lost revenue, and regulatory fines. In fact, 46% of data breaches involve customer personally identifiable information (PII), making protection a critical priority for any business owner.

A virtual private network (VPN) is a primary line of defense against cyber threats. Combined with proper employee training and security protocols, a VPN helps you safeguard what matters most: your customers’ trust and your business data. Here’s how VPNs work, how to choose the right one for your business, and what you should prioritize in a provider.

What is a VPN?

A virtual private network (VPN) creates a secure, encrypted “tunnel” between your device and the networks you access, shielding sensitive data like passwords, account numbers, and company information from prying eyes. By masking your IP address and routing traffic through secure servers, a VPN helps protect sensitive business data from malicious sites, network surveillance, and malware threats.

VPN setup is straightforward: Choose a provider and subscription level, create an account, download the software on your devices, follow the setup prompts to launch the remote access VPN, and activate it.

What do you need a business VPN for?

1. Travel and remote access
2. Financial services
3. General cybersecurity—but not hacking

If you’re running a business—big or small—a business VPN can protect you in three key areas:

1. Travel and remote access

If your employees travel or work remotely, they may be connecting to your business systems through unsecured networks. Public Wi-Fi at airports, hotels, and coffee shops poses serious risks—anyone with basic technical skills can intercept data being transmitted through these connections.

A remote access VPN helps protect remote workers when they need to access customer data, financial information, or proprietary business files through public internet connections.

2. Financial services 

Ecommerce businesses—and any company that processes payments—handle incredibly sensitive customer information. Credit card numbers, bank details, and personal information are valuable targets for internet criminals. A business VPN adds a layer of protection when this data moves between your systems and payment processor. 

3. General cybersecurity—but not hacking

A business VPN is just one piece of your security arsenal—not a complete solution. It primarily protects data as it travels over the internet, but it won’t stop hackers from breaking into your systems via other methods. For example, a business VPN won’t protect your business from phishing emails, malicious downloads, or vishing attacks (voice message fraud).

What to look for in a business VPN 

While your budget and technical capabilities will influence your choice of a business VPN solution, these are the essential features to look for:

• Speed and performance. Look for providers with global network infrastructure and optimized servers, ideally with Gbps ports (servers equipped with high-speed network interfaces, which can help ensure fast data transfer and low latency for users).

• Number of simultaneous connections. Ensure the service supports your entire team with adequate concurrent connections.

• Server locations. If your business operates internationally, prioritize providers with worldwide servers.

• Advanced encryption standards. High-quality business VPNs use advanced encryption standards, like AES-256 or ChaCha20-Poly1305. 

• Two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA requires users to provide two forms of distinct identification—like a password and a code sent to a phone or email—to access the VPN. 

•  Kill switch. Disconnects your internet access when the VPN connection fails.

• Split tunneling. Allows you to route sensitive business traffic through the VPN while letting non-sensitive data use a direct internet connection, improving speed and efficiency.

• IP whitelisting. Lets you restrict access for certain IP addresses.

• DNS leak protection. Ensures all domain name system (DNS) requests are routed through your VPN connection.

• Zero-trust network access. This advanced security model verifies every connection attempt. 

• Integrations. Select a business VPN that seamlessly integrates with your existing suite of tools. 

• Operating systems (OS) support. Look for a remote access VPN with compatibility across all devices and platforms in your business’s workflow.

• Centralized billing. Seek simplified payment management for business plans. 

• Compliance. Look for business VPN services that comply with protocols like SOC 2 and protection regulations like GDPR.

• Data security. The best business VPNs feature no-log or zero-log policies, meaning they don’t store any of your data or activity on their servers.

Best VPNs for businesses

1. NordLater
2. Perimeter 81
3. ExpressVPN
4. SurfShark
5. Proton VPN for Business
6. CyberGhost

Here are six VPN solutions that provide robust security for your business—each offering most or all of the crucial features listed above:

1. NordLayer

NordLayer focuses on business security (versus NordVPN, which is consumer-focused) with features like network segmentation and zero-trust remote access controls—helpful if you need to restrict which employees can access specific systems.

Nordlayer’s interface provides more admin controls than most VPNs—potentially more than a small business needs for basic secure web access, but invaluable as you scale, manage sensitive data, or meet compliance requirements like SOC 2 or HIPAA. NordLayer’s more advanced features—like private gateways and IP whitelisting—call for some technical knowledge, but overall, it’s simple to set up.

Pricing: NordLayer’s Lite tier is $8 per user per month, when billed annually, while the Core plan costs $11 per month. Gaining access to a server with a dedicated IP for your business costs an additional $40 per month. 

2. Perimeter 81

As part of Check Point’s Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) suite of offerings, Perimeter 81’s cloud-based service works well for businesses that already heavily utilize decentralized services like remote teams, distributed cloud environments, or SaaS-based workflows.

Perimeter 81 offers VPN access and network security features like zero-trust network access, secure web gateway (SWG), and firewall as a service (FWaaS). Its automatic failover feature helps maintain stable connections, though some users report slower speeds during peak times. Designed for distributed teams, its cost can rise as you add more users.

Pricing: Contact Perimeter 81 for a quote.

3. ExpressVPN 

ExpressVPN is a secure VPN option known for speed and reliability, with high-performing servers worldwide. The business tier includes centralized billing and management tools, but lacks some advanced enterprise features (like customizable blocklists, unlimited simultaneous connections, multi-hop connections, or specialty servers) that larger companies may require.

ExpressVPN is straightforward to set up but doesn’t offer as much customization as some competitors, despite its relatively high cost. For example, enterprise users may want to customize their VPN blocklist or filter split-tunneling by IP address or website (as opposed to by app), both of which ExpressVPN doesn’t currently offer. A standout feature includes its post-quantum protections (also known as PQC).

Pricing: Pricing starts at $5 per month, billed annually for 28 months, and includes $1 million ID theft insurance. 

4. Surfshark 

Surfshark’s VPN offers unlimited simultaneous connections per account and a rotating IP, which can save money for small teams, since you pay per account rather than per user. This means multiple team members can securely connect on different devices without needing separate subscriptions. (However, network performance can slow down when many devices are connected simultaneously.) Surfshark uses more than 3,200 servers in 100 countries, making it slightly faster than ExpressVPN—a notably fast choice in its own right. The CleanWeb feature blocks ads and malicious sites, although it occasionally blocks legitimate websites as well.

Pricing: Business plans start at around $6 per user per month, annually (minimum of five users).

5. Proton VPN for Business

The Proton Mail team created Proton VPN, which prioritizes privacy and operates in accordance with Swiss privacy laws. Its network security features are robust, but the interface can be confusing for non-technical users. Speed varies significantly depending on the server location, and customer support response times are slower than those of some competitors.

Proton offers a free version of the VPN for single devices, but it’s limited to fewer countries and operates at slower speeds. The lowest business tier doesn’t include admin-level tools.

Pricing: Business pricing begins at $6.99 per user per month. The Professional tier for teams, at $9.99, provides more comprehensive tools (like 2FA, activity monitoring capabilities, malware blockers, and a dedicated IP and server) for a minimum of two users.

6. CyberGhost

CyberGhost provides beginner-friendly apps, dedicated IP addresses, and accessible customer support, making it easier for small businesses to manage their online presence. However, the VPN server network is smaller than that of some competitors, which can result in slower speeds in certain regions.

CyberGhost’s user interface is friendly, but advanced configuration options (like unlimited split tunneling customizations, multi-hop connection options, and obfuscation settings) are limited, making it a much more basic option than tools like NordVPN.

Pricing: Business plans start at just over $2 per month, billed over two years, with basic features. 

Other cybersecurity tools to consider

Small businesses can be attractive targets for cyber attacks because they hold valuable data but typically lack robust security resources. No single tool offers complete protection. VPNs secure data in transit, but they won’t stop hackers from using other methods to breach your systems.

Other network security tools to consider include:

• Antivirus software. This software catches malware before it infects your systems—though no antivirus software catches everything.

• Password managers. These tools equip your team with strong, unique passwords.

• Backup data system. Regularly scheduled backups can help you recover data after an attack. Test your backup system regularly to ensure it works when you need it.

• Employee training. Train employees to spot malicious links and scams and provide clear protocols for what to do when they encounter threats. 

• Firewall protection. A firewall protects network traffic by acting as a barrier between internal and external networks, blocking all traffic that doesn’t meet its set criteria.

• Updated software. Regularly installing security patches and current updates can help protect your business, strengthening your defenses against cyberattacks and security breaches. (Software developers continuously improve their products against newly discovered attack methods.)