Is a VPN worth it in 2024? Benefits and use cases

When is it worth getting a VPN?

In short, there are six main reasons to get a VPN in 2024:

1. Protect yourself on public Wi-Fi

Our mobile devices let us stay connected on the move, quite often via free public Wi-Fi hotspots. However, that’s where the danger lies. 

Public Wi-Fi hotspots can be compromised in several ways. The administrator of the hotspot might be skimming data going through it. Or it may be secretly subverted by one of the lower employees. A hacker can clone a hotspot to trick your device into connecting automatically to their spot. They can also just set up their fake hotspots. 

Their efforts will be for naught if you have a VPN client on your phone or laptop. Any internet connection going through a VPN service is encrypted and unreadable to anyone who steals it. Fortunately, putting a VPN app on your smartphone or laptop is trivially easy. 

2. Escape online price discrimination

Not many of us have infinite money, so we all want the best deal online. Unfortunately, online shops are smart in the sense that they can detect what part of the world you’re connecting from and adjust prices accordingly. Your actual financial situation doesn’t matter — if the owners had decided that people from your end of the world can afford to pay more, you will also pay more. 

That’s why you need a VPN to go on a magical online shopping trip! When you connect to a VPN server, the server’s IP address replaces your IP address. Then you can check what prices a website will give you based on different server locations. This trick comes especially handy when booking hotels and flight tickets!

3. Cut through online censorship

Not all state actors are that happy about their citizens getting access to the whole World Wide Web of information. Whatever their reasoning may be — protecting the people from bad influences, stopping terrorism, Kim Jong Un just felt like it — it still constrains the citizens’ freedom. It’s also mildly annoying to tourists and travelers. 

However, a VPN can get past all but the most sophisticated firewalls. They can’t block the websites based on IP address since a VPN user is connecting to a VPN server, not the site. It can’t block it based on DNS (Domain Name Service) requests since VPNs use their own. Even with deep packet inspection, an encrypted VPN connection stops all attempts to read your internet traffic.

4. Protect your privacy

AKA “keep your IP address to yourself.” IP address, functionally your home address on the internet, gets attached to every move you make online. As such, whoever keeps records of what users are connecting to their website or service can start building a profile of that person’s behaviors. 

At the higher end of this collecting sits your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and data brokers. ISPs are in a privileged position to see everything you do online. Data brokers are the ones that would buy such data from sources, including ISPs, and then sell it to marketers and other interested parties. But if your real IP is hidden, creating a full profile that would interest marketers becomes that much more difficult. 

5. Dodge bandwidth throttling 

Bandwidth throttling is a somewhat obscure practice where an ISP slows down your internet speed during peak hours, especially if you’re streaming, gaming, or doing other high-intensity activities. For an ISP, it’s a way to provide internet services to more users without investing in expanding the infrastructure. 

But when your connection is encrypted by a VPN, bandwidth throttling becomes almost impossible. The ISP can’t see what you’re doing even by looking at your data stream. It can’t detect anything even by checking what you’re connecting to since it will only see the IP number of the VPN servers. And so you protect your bandwidth!

6. Enhance your gaming experience

Online gaming has more to fear than just cheaters and ping. Distributed Denial of Service attacks may become a real issue when the stakes are high enough. But to carry them out, the attacker must have your IP address. When you’re connected via VPN, however, that attack will hit the VPN server instead. You will need to simply reconnect, and you’ll avoid most of the effects. 

A VPN will help you reach games even if the local firewall bars them. You see, if a bus operator or a local cafe restricts connecting to RuneCraft Classic on their firewall, they’re stopping any requests going to the game server’s IP. But when using a VPN, you connect to the VPN server first — something the firewall isn’t trained to stop!

Is a VPN worth it for you?

A VPN is worth it no matter what you do:

• If you travel, you’ll need the security provided on free Wi-Fi hotspots and the ability to cruise right past all sorts of censorship. Online price discrimination is also a big issue when it comes to planning trips; 
• If you’re a gamer, you may benefit from DDoS protection, avoiding bandwidth throttling and, in some rare cases, even improving your ping; 
• If you’re just using it day-to-day, the added privacy will help against ads while also aiding you with reaching any website you want, local firewalls be damned. 

What’s better is that modern VPNs are both effective and efficient:

• Modern VPN protocols like Wireguard work fast and smoothly;
• Industry-standard AES-256 encryption is practically unbreakable;
• VPN apps are supported by various devices, from computers to smartphones to even some smart TVs!
• Surfshark servers come with ports with up to 10Gbps in bandwidth, increasing accessibility and speed;
• RAM-only servers mean that any data passing through them is deleted if the servers are seized and disconnected; 
• With 3200+ servers in 100 countries around the world, Surfshark is bound to have one near you; 
• VPNs have a negligible impact on your phone’s battery life and internet speed.

However, when choosing a VPN, you should still consider which one is right for you!

Factors to consider when selecting the right provider

To find the right VPN provider for you, you have to consider several factors:

• Free vs. paid VPNs: free VPNs are free but less functional and safe than paid versions; 
• Security features: what protocols is the VPN using? What is their track record when it comes to security? Do they offer features like kill switch? 
• Connection speeds: does the VPN offer servers near where you are? Is their server infrastructure prepared to handle fast connections?
• Server count: more servers are always a good feature, enabling more flexibility and lessening the odds of server congestion; 
• Ease of use: how easy is the app to install and run? Is it supported on the devices you want to use a VPN on? Those are some important features to consider; 
• Customer support: you want 24/7 live support. Anything else may not exactly be satisfactory; 
• Additional features: check for features like split-tunneling (which allows you to exempt certain apps/pages from using a VPN), camouflage mode (which obfuscates VPN use), and more!

Of course, one of the most important questions to consider is whether you want to pay for the VPN. 

Free vs. paid VPN services. Is it worth paying?

It is worth paying for a premium VPN in 2024? There are significant differences between what paid and free VPNs provide — and the free ones aren’t stacking up well against the competition: 

• Free VPNs don’t have the funding to keep up with the constantly evolving demands of cybersecurity. Paid VPNs have the benefit of a stable revenue stream; 
• Free VPNs can’t dedicate as much money to improving the usability of their apps. Once again, premium VPNs can; 
• Free VPNs don’t have as many servers in as many countries as premium VPNs, as physical infrastructure costs a lot of money; 
• Free VPNs will often lack additional features like kill switch and split-tunneling. Paid VPNs offer more features; 
• The free VPN monetization model opens them to being tempted to sell their users’ browsing data. Premium VPNs are already compensated and rely on their good names; 
• Free VPNs are likely to impose speed and bandwidth caps to make you buy their subscription. Premium VPNs already have your money, so their services aren’t limited. 

Under all circumstances, it’s better to choose a paid VPN. 

In conclusion: it’s absolutely worth getting a VPN

Considering the kind of challenges everyday users may face online every day, owning a VPN is totally worth it. From increased privacy to improved security, the benefits are many. And once you internalize that idea, you should find the best VPN for you.  

FAQ

Is it really necessary to have a VPN?

It is beneficial to have a VPN for privacy and security reasons. Whether it’s actually necessary will depend on your specific situation. 

Is a VPN really effective?

Yes, a VPN is really effective at obfuscating your IP address and encrypting your data. 

Is it worth spending money on a VPN?

Yes, it’s worth spending money on a VPN since free VPNs are less functional and trustworthy. 

Is it illegal to have a VPN?

It is absolutely legal to have a VPN in most countries in the world. Only some countries limit or ban VPN ownership. 

What should you be careful about when using a VPN?

First of all, you should carefully choose a reliable VPN to use. Then, you should make sure that it works. For added privacy, don’t disclose personal information about yourself even when on a VPN — it can’t protect you from doing it. 

Should I leave my VPN on all the time on my phone?

You can leave a VPN on your phone at all times, as VPNs cause a negligible impact on battery use. 

Do VPNs really hide your IP?

A good VPN really hides your real IP when you connect to a VPN server. Only bad VPNs (usually free VPNs) may be leaking your IP address. 

Is a VPN good for gaming?

A VPN for gaming may protect you from DDoS attacks and, in some cases, decrease multiplayer lag. It’s also a tool that allows you to breeze through any local firewalls and connect to the game.