VPNs protect your online activities and personal data from prying eyes and allow you to bypass bans and geo-restrictions on streaming and social media sites. With a router VPN, you can extend these benefits to every device in your home, something a traditional VPN can’t quite handle.
Additionally, the best VPNs for routers also offer VPN encryption and content unblocking on devices that don't natively support VPNs, such as smart TVs, gaming consoles, and smart gadgets.
Read on to learn what router VPNs are, how they differ from traditional software-based VPNs, and when you should consider getting one for your home network.
What is a VPN router?
A VPN router, as the name suggests, is a Wi-Fi router with a VPN installed on it. Typically, VPN software is installed on individual devices, but installing it on your router allows you to secure your Wi-Fi connection at its source.
Once you set up a VPN on your router, every device connected to it will have an encrypted VPN connection by default, meaning you no longer need to install the VPN app on your devices one by one.
It’s worth noting that actually installing a VPN on your router is slightly more complex than installing it on a device, which is why ExpressVPN is at the top of our best VPNs for routers page. It offers its own custom router firmware, which can be used on a wide range of compatible routers.
Alternatively, you can get the Aircove router from ExpressVPN, which comes with ExpressVPN software built-in, meaning setting up the VPN router is super quick and hassle-free.
Other router VPNs worth checking out are NordVPN and Surfshark. Note that Surfshark offers unlimited simultaneous connections, meaning you can install the VPN app on as many devices as you want. This is why many people opt for a router VPN over a regular VPN in the first place.
How does a router VPN work?
A router VPN works exactly like a software VPN, the only difference being that it spoofs the IP address and encrypts the online traffic of all devices connected to it, unlike a software VPN which only protects the device it is installed on, such as a smartphone, PC, tablet, etc.
By encrypting web traffic from devices, a VPN router sends all your sensitive data (and that of everyone on your network), such as your financial information, messages, login credentials, browsing history, and more, through an encrypted tunnel, meaning hackers, ISPs, and government authorities can't collect and store your personal data.
Then, a VPN router performs IP masking of every device connected to it, allowing you and your friends and family to access geo-restricted content from around the world.
Should I get a VPN for router?
Most traditional VPNs don’t protect every device in your home because they have limited simultaneous connections. So if you want network-wide security and protection for multiple devices at once, opt for a router VPN.
VPN encryption at the source of your internet connection is also convenient because you don’t have to remember to enable the VPN on every device you need to protect. This is extremely handy if you have elderly people in your household who may not be tech-savvy enough to use a VPN, but who use social media or banking sites on their smartphones.
Then, with a VPN installed on your router, you can protect not only your cell phones, laptops, PCs, and tablets, but also your gaming consoles, smart TVs, smart lights, and other smart gadgets that don't natively support VPN connections.
However, if you simply want to bypass the limits on the number of devices you can connect to a VPN simultaneously and are not looking for protection for the devices mentioned above, we suggest a service like Surfshark or IPVanish, which provide unlimited connections.
Router VPNs also come with their fair share of drawbacks, which are important to consider before you jump into purchasing a VPN. For starters, router VPNs aren’t exactly easy to set up. They involve diving into your router’s settings and tweaking the configuration to make sure it supports VPN connections.
Traditional VPNs, on the other hand, are very simple to set up and use. But, again, if the complexity of the setup is the only red flag for you, I recommend using ExpressVPN.
Additionally, it’s quite difficult to change your VPN settings on a router, as it doesn’t have a screen or interface. Even simple one-click tasks with a regular VPN, like changing the server location, can be an extremely time-consuming process with a router VPN.
Finally, and unsurprisingly, router VPNs have portability issues, as they only work locally. Whenever you leave your home network, you’ll want to install a software-based VPN on your device that can protect your online activities and give you access to blocked content while you’re on the go.