Best VPN for Tor: These 5 VPNs Are 100% SAFE!

Based on Mozilla Firefox, Tor is a browser known as a surefire way to access the dark web. Moreover, it’s often associated with the anonymity you get, as your traffic travels through the Tor network, bouncing off multiple relays, which makes it extremely hard to track.

Truth be told, many people look for the best VPN for Tor because, in reality, it isn’t so secure. With its entry node being the main problem, your ISP can still see that you’re using it, which can create suspicions due to its association with the dark web.

However, using a VPN with Tor will alleviate this issue and completely conceal your traffic, making for a 100% anonymous experience. Not every provider will work with Tor properly, so it’s extremely important to go for THE safest and most secure providers.

Thankfully, I prepared 5 of them today, so don’t be shy – scroll down and find out more about them!

The best VPN to use with Tor :

• NordVPN
• ExpressVPN
• CyberGhost
• Proton VPN
• Surfshark

Why You Should Use a VPN on Tor

Before talking more about the best Tor Browser VPN providers, let me first clarify why you should use one. You see, this browser is known for anonymizing your traffic by bouncing it off multiple nodes or relays in the network before arriving at its destination.

This way, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) cannot track your activities or see what you’re doing online while using Tor. As said, the main issue here is the entry node where your traffic is entering the network.

Due to the entry node, which is its weakness, your ISP will be able to see that you’re connected to Tor, despite not being able to read your traffic. Still, this is enough to raise suspicion, as this browser is often associated with illegal dark web activities.

To remedy this issue, there’s something called Tor over VPN. This is a method of using Tor with a VPN by first enabling a VPN and then connecting to the browser. By doing so, you immediately anonymize your traffic, so that the ISP can’t see even the entry node activity.

That way, you won’t be suspicious thanks to VPN’s encryption that makes your traffic a garbled mess to anyone trying to read it.

Best VPN for Tor: Here Are Our 5 Favorite Providers!

With that out of the way, let’s move on to the nitty-gritty of the subject. You want the best providers to use with this browser, so I made sure to choose the ones with uncompromising security and unrelenting performance. Take a look below:

1. NordVPN

If there’s one provider with special attention to this secure browser, it’s NordVPN. For me, it’s surely the best VPN for Tor, especially if we mention its dedicated Onion over VPN servers made exactly for this purpose. Before you ask, they’re pretty fast too!

NordVPN boasts 6,300+ servers in 111+ countries, with many so-called Specialty servers in place. I’m sure you’ll also like its P2P or Double VPN servers, but in this case, Onion over VPN servers made for an exquisite experience with Tor.

Once connected to them, you can enjoy the strongest encryption, but also its NordLynx protocol, and a state-of-the-art automatic kill switch. NordVPN’s Threat Protection package is here as well, and it includes tools like malware protection and ad-blocking.

Thus, if you’re often visiting unsafe websites, it can help clear up unwanted software from your PC. The Dark Web monitor is also very useful, as it alerts you if some of your emails/passwords are compromised online, which goes hand-in-hand with the whole security narrative.

Of course, since it’s based in Panama, this privacy-friendly jurisdiction lets it maintain a clear no-logs policy. Even better is the fact that NordVPN received TWO audits from PwC and one from Deloitte, so you can be sure all of its security and privacy claims are already tested and proven.

NordVPN is one of the speediest VPNs and offers modern-looking apps for all devices. Better yet, it has 10 simultaneous connections, which is way more than ExpressVPN and CyberGhost. And if we add 24/7 support to the equation, we get a powerful package at a, more or less, cheap price.

I recommend going for its 2-year plans because they’re the cheapest, but also come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which applies to all other plans as well. Although, value-added taxes might bump up the price in some countries, so beware of that.

Try NordVPN Today

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2. ExpressVPN

The reason I choose ExpressVPN as one of the best Tor VPNs is that it’s very simple to use and requires no complicated setup. All you have to do is connect to one of its 3,000+ servers in 105 countries, open the browser, and enjoy its benefits.

ExpressVPN is extremely reliable, and even when using this browser, you won’t experience any noticeable speed losses. In fact, I found that it’s the fastest provider you can currently get, which makes it great for streaming or even downloading stuff online.

However, the most important factor, in this case, is security. And oh boy, does ExpressVPN deliver! Aside from 256-bit AES encryption, it pumps out features like a kill switch that works flawlessly, split tunneling, and Lightway – a proprietary VPN protocol.

That’s not all, as ExpressVPN has RAM-based servers that delete all information upon restart. If we factor in its zero-logging policy audited by KPMG, we get a provider that represents the pinnacle of online security and anonymity.

As such, it’s a great choice to browse the dark web safely or simply kick your ISP in the gut by preventing unwanted surveillance. The good thing about this provider is its device compatibility, allowing you to use Tor with a VPN even on iOS or Android phones.

Additionally, it’s great for streaming on Netflix if that’s your aspiration. We’re also impressed with its round-the-clock live chat support along with 8 simultaneous connections for protecting multiple devices at no additional cost.

Finally, its pricing, while not the most affordable, still isn’t going to leave you without an ounce of food until payday. You get a 48% discount and 3 months free for the annual plan, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee for all plans.

Try ExpressVPN Today

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3. CyberGhost

CyberGhost sports some excellent features that make it a great Tor VPN. One of them is surely a humongous server fleet of 12,000+ servers in 100 countries, which makes CyberGhost among the largest providers on the market.

Its Tor support is par excellence, with an easy setup that involves connecting to the server of your choice. With the VPN connection in place, CyberGhost lets you use this browser safely, with no worries regarding privacy and anonymity.

Besides, despite its affordable price, CyberGhost is filled to the brim with security features. You get bank-grade encryption as standard, backed by an automatic kill switch to prevent accidental IP leaks. To this, we should add a dependable ad-blocker that works like a charm.

CyberGhost also supports WireGuard, which is a protocol aimed at improving performance and overall security. Aside from a third-party audit from Deloitte, the provider is known for upholding its no-logs policy thanks to transparency reports published 4 times a year.

All of this makes CyberGhost extremely safe and secure, which is exactly what you need when roaming the dark web. Apart from that, we can say that CyberGhost is pretty functional. It has apps for all platforms and systems, offering 7 simultaneous connections.

Even its 24/7 live chat support is multi-language, so if you’re not a great English speaker, you can seek help in French or German. In terms of downsides, CyberGhost doesn’t have many of them, except for its slightly confusing app and inability to work in China.

This is balanced by its affordable 2-year plan at just under $2.5 a month and a 45-day money-back guarantee for all long-term plans. After all, this is the cheapest provider on this list, so I’m sure it’ll spark your attention at least a bit.

Try CyberGhost Today

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4. Proton VPN

We think Proton VPN is a bit underrated when it comes to the whole dark web thing. You see, apart from dedicated P2P and streaming servers, Proton VPN has those for Onion Over VPN. This means you can instantly connect to Tor, anonymize your traffic, and enjoy.

Onion Over VPN servers are ideal to encrypt your traffic first and then go on the dark net to prevent your ISP from snooping. You can be sure this is the case, thanks to Proton VPN’s RAM-only servers, superb 256-bit encryption, and a fast and secure WireGuard protocol.

We love Proton VPN’s easy-to-use apps that you can install on all devices. Its 10 simultaneous connections are more than enough too. Besides, all apps have cutting-edge features, such as Secure Core, which doubles your encryption and prevents tracking.

As one of the top VPNs for Tor, Proton also includes a VPN Accelerator to counter Tor’s poor performance. A great addition is Stealth VPN, which can be used to bypass censorship in certain countries. Proton VPN has been reviewed on our site and praised for its privacy.

This provider doesn’t keep any logs of your digital footprint. With a few audits from third parties, it’s clear that Proton VPN means business. One thing to note is its lack of Smart DNS, which some might find discouraging, but at least, the provider offers a free plan.

The free plan is bandwidth-unlimited and will still work with Tor while offering top security and privacy. Proton VPN has no free months but rather a smaller 55% discount for its 2-year plan. The price drop can be obtained below, so don’t hesitate to save on this awesome pick.

Try Proton VPN Now

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5. Surfshark

The last provider on this list, Surfshark, is a VPN that works with Tor perfectly. It doesn’t have any special/dedicated functionalities in this regard, so you can use it out of the box, like NordVPN. Simply connect to one of the 3,200 servers in 100 countries and enjoy Tor effortlessly.

Surfshark isn’t the fastest provider and that could be its downside. Sure, it offers WireGuard and 10 Gbps speeds but on average, it’s far slower than NordVPN or ExpressVPN. Still, we tested Surfshark numerous times with Tor and everything worked smoothly for the most part.

Security-wise, Surfshark is bang on. It sports 256-bit encryption coupled with a kill switch, IPv6 leak protection, and MultiHop. MultiHop will route your traffic through two servers, doubling your encryption. Speaking of that, Surfshark has another feature called IP Rotator.

It’ll rotate your IP periodically, which gives you a higher level of privacy. We like Surfshark’s NoBorders mode, which allows it to work in China… unlike CyberGhost. Furthermore, the provider has a no-logs policy and two security audits from Deloitte and Cure53.

As such, despite its affordable pricing, it’s still VERY safe and secure. Surfshark offers unlimited simultaneous connections as well. You don’t get them in other services. Plus, the company supports all devices and platforms – even Android, iOS, macOS, and Linux – so you use it with Tor on any of them.

All in all, Surfshark is a reputable VPN for Tor that has very few downsides. Aside from slower speeds, its kill switch can sometimes fail but that happens rarely anymore. The star of this show is the price, which is undoubtedly one of the cheapest around.

Surfshark’s 2-year plan comes with a heavy discount, making it cost less than three dollars a month. In addition, all of its plans boast a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you get the same great conditions if you’re looking to test it out and see what it has to offer.

Use Surfshark With Tor

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Should I Use a Free VPN for Tor?

When looking for a good provider for Tor, you need to take into account many factors, among which, security is the most important. However, free VPNs often skimp on security features, especially if we talk about 100% free providers.

Freemium providers like Proton VPN, Hide.me, or Windscribe are decent choices, as they offer at least some level of security and a no-logs policy. They, however, either offer limited bandwidth or slow speeds, neither of which is going to make internet browsing smooth or enjoyable.

While Proton VPN and Hide.me don’t limit your bandwidth, they suffer in terms of performance. On the contrary, Windscribe won’t be very slow but it has 10 GB of monthly bandwidth, which won’t be enough even for a single day of browsing.

Now, totally free services like Hola VPN, Betternet, and even Hotspot Shield are another story. These providers not only give you weaker encryption and no advanced security features but they also store logs!

This means that they track your browsing activities and collect browsing-related logs on their servers. That’s not all, though, as they’re known to collect your IP address, geolocation, DNS queries, and everything else that can be tracked to you.

As such, upon request, they’ll hand out this information to the authorities, forever ruining your privacy. Paid providers, on the other hand, are also obligated to cooperate with the authorities. However, they store nothing, so they can’t give out any information!

Overall, I really do NOT recommend using a free VPN on Tor unless you want trouble. Besides, paid providers aren’t very expensive and they offer impenetrable security, unlimited bandwidth, and everything else you need to use a VPN with Tor properly.

Tor vs VPN: What’s the Difference?

One thing some people fail to understand is the difference between Tor and the VPN. Hence, you often see the discussion regarding Tor vs VPN and people arguing about which one is better. Let me give you a straight answer – a VPN is better for overall privacy and security.

But how do both of these solutions work?

How Does Tor Work?

Let’s start with Tor. To access this network, you need to use Tor Browser, which is open-source and free to download from its official site. Once you open the browser, type in the address of the site, and press Enter, your traffic is anonymized. How?

Simply put, it will route your traffic through a series of relays (nodes) located in different parts of the world. As your traffic travels through each node, it becomes impossible to track by your ISP or hackers, which is why Tor is often known for anonymity.

The traffic then reaches its destination and you’re brought to the site you wanted. Mind you, Tor nodes also don’t store any user information, but there are so-called “malicious nodes” that might collect a limited amount of logs.

Nevertheless, vulnerabilities in the network exist and they have to do with the entry and sometimes, even the exit node. Protecting your traffic in these parts is crucial, although people mostly use Tor Over VPN to protect the entry node, as it’s a bigger vulnerability.

In terms of performance, this browser is very slow because of the “distance” your traffic needs to reach before arriving at the destination. Traveling through all those nodes drastically reduces connection speed, which is why Tor isn’t ideal for streaming or watching YouTube videos.

How Does a VPN Work?

And now, let’s talk about the best VPN for Tor and the way it works. You see, connecting to a VPN server routes your traffic through that server, which hides your original IP and replaces it with the IP address of the server.

In this process, the provider uses encryption to secure your connection, making sure it’s encrypted end-to-end, preventing your ISP entirely from reading its content. Beware that there aren’t any nodes or relays here, so your traffic doesn’t have to “travel” that much.

Thus, a VPN offers much better performance from the start, but also many advanced security features that this browser doesn’t have. The best Tor VPN providers I talked about also have a no-logs policy, so your personal data will never venture to the public.

Additionally, using a Tor with a VPN is always recommended due to its ability to remedy the issue with the entry node. As such, it will hide the fact that you’re using Tor right from the start, preventing any potential issues with your ISP.

What About the Exit Node?

When using the “Tor Over VPN” method, you protect the entry node which is often seen as a vulnerability. The exit node, however, is where the site you’re visiting (or anyone else) can still track the connection back to the originating IP address.

For this reason, people often tend to use the “VPN Over Tor” method, which is flawed and not supported by many providers. But to be honest, I don’t see this as a problem because, even if the connection is traced to the IP, the originating IP address IS belonging to a VPN.

And if you’re using a secure provider like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or CyberGhost, no one will be able to trace your VPN connection to your original IP. For me, the “VPN Over Tor” method is viable only if a particular site or platform detects and blocks Tor users.

However, that is very rarely the case, eliminating the need for it completely.

Conclusion

The takeaway is that finding a good Tor VPN in 2024 isn’t such a hard task. While I wholeheartedly recommend NordVPN, I’ll also say that ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Proton VPN, and Surfshark, despite being cheaper, offer phenomenal security and performance.

Beware that, if you often visit the dark web using this browser, you need to use a Tor VPN to avoid potential problems. Just in case, I always recommend using one before connecting to the Tor Network, to avoid the security problem with the entry node.

A VPN isn’t great just for this purpose. By using it, you can bypass geo-restricted online, watch any Netflix catalog, download torrents safely, and so much more, at a ridiculous price of a few dollars a month. Do I think you should use it, then? Absolutely!

Try NordVPN Today

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Frequently Asked Questions

Want to know more about Tor VPN services? In that case, let’s answer a few more questions related to the subject.

Is Tor a VPN?

No, Tor isn’t a VPN, despite some similarities between the two. As said, it anonymizes your traffic by routing it through multiple relays, while the VPN routes your traffic through a server, where it encrypts your connection and replaces your original IP with the server’s IP.

This way, a VPN can bypass geo-restrictions and unblock Netflix or any other site abroad, for example. Tor can’t do this because it doesn’t change your IP in any way. Also, it anonymizes your traffic only inside the browser, while all other incoming/outgoing traffic remains the same.

A VPN fixes this issue as well by encrypting the entire connection. As such, it can be used for safe torrenting, for instance, while the browser can’t because it has an effect only in the browser. Feel free to read our article explaining what a VPN is to find more details.

Is Tor safe without a VPN?

Without a VPN, Tor is partially safe, with other security risks involved in the process. Its entry/exit nodes are the main vulnerability but also the fact that it doesn’t use encryption and other security features like a VPN does.

For that reason, it’s better to combine the best VPN for Tor and the browser itself to get the best of both worlds.

Does Tor have a built-in VPN?

No, it doesn’t. This is just an anonymous web browser based on Firefox. It does support add-ons just like Firefox, so you can install a VPN extension of your choice. In this case, I recommend NordVPN because it functions as a full-fledged application.

How does a VPN work?

It works by encrypting your connection before entering the Tor network. Once connected to a VPN server, you already conceal your IP and encrypt your connection, so you can use Tor without anyone knowing about it.

Alternatively, some providers support the aforementioned “VPN Over Tor” method which means connecting to Tor first and THEN using one of the providers I mentioned. This method is less secure, though, and is recommended in very rare cases when the site rejects Tor users.

Is Tor better than a VPN?

If we’re talking solely about accessing the dark web, it’s better because it gives you direct access to dark web websites. In terms of overall security, anonymity, performance, and security, a VPN is a far better solution.