2025 VPN Statistics and Consumer Report: 61% of Americans Remain Unprotected Online

More than ever, consumers are using tools to help stay anonymous and protect their data while browsing the internet. Virtual private networks (VPNs), which are designed to help users create a secure and private internet connection, are some of the most popular tools available in the fight for data privacy online.

Given the popularity and effectiveness of VPNs, each year our team at All About Cookies compiles an annual report to understand how consumers interact with VPNs, how much they understand them, and more.

To compile this data, we surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults to learn about their knowledge and experiences when it comes to VPNs, and performed a thorough review of the VPN market to understand trends, product features, and usage in the coming year.

Key findings

• Most Americans know what VPNs do, but only 39% actively use them.
• Of those who use VPNs, 88% connect weekly or more.
• 52% of VPN customers pay for VPNs vs. 48% that use free services.
• Security when using public WiFi is the number #1 reason people use a VPN, closely followed by general safety.
• 81% of users feel confident that their VPN is keeping them anonymous.

Most Americans are familiar with VPNs, but many don’t know what they do

While the concept of virtual private networks has become more and more common in recent years, do most people actually know what they do?

It turns out the answer is yes, but just barely. Though 85% of internet users say they’ve heard of VPNs before, only 58% said they were familiar with what they actually do. That leaves 14% of people who have never even heard of VPNs in the first place. Year over year, these numbers remained relatively flat, with a slight increase in those who said they understood what VPNs do (58% in 2025 vs. 55% in 2024).

Among those who have heard of virtual private networks before, certain features are more well-known than others. When asked which common VPN features they were familiar with, respondents selected IP address masking (84%), ad blocking (77%), and tracker blocking (76%) as the three most common uses. Among the lesser known features were the more technical ones, like a kill switch (45%) and split tunneling (38%).

VPN usage statistics

In an increasingly digital world, it makes sense that many people would look for ways to increase and improve the safety of their data online. VPNs can be a powerful tool in the arsenal of anyone looking to beef up digital security, but how many people are actually using them?

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%) said they either currently use a VPN (39%) or have used one in the past (24%). That leaves only 37% who have never used a VPN — making the percentage of the population who use a VPN higher than the percentage who have never tried them at all.

VPN market pricing and features

There are many reliable VPN options available to users looking to beef up their digital security, and each comes with its own unique features and pricing. The All About Cookies team has collected detailed data on nearly 50 of the most popular and well-known VPNs, which we have broken down here.

When it comes to affordability, 67% of top VPNs carry a monthly price tag of $4 or less to grant users access to the full capabilities and features the VPN offers. That means that more than two-thirds of the best VPNs on the market charge less than a single cup of coffee for a month of online protection.

Even with such low price tags making these VPNs a relatively minor financial investment, the vast majority of VPN services come with money-back guarantees. In fact, 88% of VPNs analyzed allow users to get their money back if they aren’t satisfied within 30 days or more of use.

We also evaluated the functionality of each VPN when it comes to significant features that users expect from a quality virtual private network. We found that, on average, top VPNs allow users to have eight different devices connected to a network at the same time, with 10 services offering unlimited connections.

When it comes to the quantity of servers and countries that customers can connect to, the average VPN we evaluated gives users access to nearly 2,600 servers in almost 60 different countries.

More people are moving to paid VPN services in 2025

When it comes to VPNs, users have a lot of options. Things like usability, functionality, and available features can impact which VPN someone chooses to use. Another key consideration for many is price (or lack thereof).

There are VPNs that require users to purchase the program or pay for a subscription, while other VPNs can be used for free. The downside to free VPNs is that many are known to have poor privacy practices, lack security features, or outright sell data for profit, though there are some top free VPNs that are more trustworthy than their peers. In general, however, using a highly rated VPN that comes with a price tag will provide users with a better and safer VPN experience.

Though it’s close to a 50-50 split when it comes to using free vs. paid VPNs, the majority of users fall on the safer side of things. 52% of current VPN users say they use a service that they pay for, up from just 43% a year ago. That leaves 48% that use free VPNs, down from 57% last year.

88% of VPN users connect to their VPN weekly

While VPNs can provide a bevy of benefits to users, they can only do so if they’re actually being used. We wanted to find out how often current VPN users are actually connecting to their VPN of choice.

The vast majority of people who use VPNs (95%) use them every single month. That includes more than half (58%) that say they boot up their VPN every single day before they begin surfing the internet and nearly a third (30%) that say they use a VPN a few times per week.

Most common uses for VPNs

VPNs are used to increase data security and online privacy, which can be especially important when performing certain tasks via the internet. All About Cookies asked real VPN users to tell us which digital tasks they use VPNs to perform.

The top two uses for VPNs are pretty broad, as 84% of users say they utilize their VPN to increase security while using public Wi-Fi, and nearly the same percentage (83%) say they use VPNs for general increased internet safety. Those features also play into the third and fourth-most common uses of VPNs, which are keeping personal data from corporations and advertisers and maintaining anonymity online.

Another major use of VPNs is changing IP addresses, a process that hides a user’s true location and makes it seem as if they’re accessing the internet from somewhere else. 59% of users report that they have used a VPN to change their IP address before.

Changing your IP address can be done for a number of reasons, with a popular one being to gain access to geo-restricted content. Streaming services can and do have different content available in different countries, and changing their IP address can give users access to a new catalogue of shows and movies that may not be available in their home country. Using VPNs to access Netflix and other streaming services is generally legal and is a great way to get extra value out of a streaming subscription.

Using a VPN to specifically access streaming services is also a fairly common practice, as nearly half of respondents (49%) say they have logged on to a streaming service using a VPN before.

Lesser-known uses for VPNs

There are less common and occasionally seedier uses for VPNs as well. While these uses were cited by a significantly smaller portion of survey respondents, they are still things that around one-in-five to one-in-three VPN users say they have used a VPN for.

More than a third of VPN users (34%) say they’ve used a VPN for online gaming, while exactly one-third say they have watched live sports streams online using a VPN before (like out-of-network NFL games).

Just under a quarter (24%) have engaged in online gambling or sports betting while on a VPN, which can help you place bets even if your state restricts online gambling, and nearly 20% said they have used a VPN to access the dark web.

Most VPN users trust that they’re remaining anonymous online

It’s clear that keeping personal data secure and anonymous is a major reason that most people use virtual private networks, to the extent that some people even pay for a VPN anonymously. So just how confident are current VPN users that they’re remaining truly anonymous online when they use a VPN?

More than half of users (51%) say they’re mostly confident in their online anonymity when using a VPN, while nearly one-third of respondents (31%) are even more confident than that, saying they have complete confidence that they are truly anonymous when they browse the internet using a VPN.

Only 2% express any level of unconfidence, while 16% have no opinion one way or the other on the efficacy of their VPN as it relates to online anonymity.

Advice from our experts

Many of the best VPNs come with a price tag, so we asked experts on their opinions of free vs. paid VPNs.

Are there any red flags you can think of when it comes to installing a free VPN?

Is a paid VPN a worthwhile investment in your opinion?

_{Some responses may have been slightly edited for clarity and brevity.}

Tips for getting more out of your VPN

Safe and secure access while browsing the web should be something everyone has access to. While looking to get set up with a VPN, consider the following:

• Learn the basics. Becoming familiar with what a VPN is and how it works will help discern how a VPN can help you with your daily browsing.
• Get yourself properly set up. Knowing how to set up a VPN on your devices should ensure you’re getting all the benefits of secure browsing and everything is running properly.
• Use a top provider. With so many options available, it can be hard to know which to pick. To help, our team has reviewed more than 50 of the top VPNs to find the absolute best VPNs available.

Methodology

All About Cookies surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 or older using a survey platform in February 2025. Results were stratified across age and gender to create a nationally representative sample.