Do you actually need a VPN in the USA?
VPNs are legal in the USA, with no registration, no licensing and no restriction on which provider you use. Both of our picks are American favourites, and NordVPN and Surfshark both run their largest server networks there. There is no VoIP blocking, so WhatsApp, FaceTime, Zoom and Teams calls work on every carrier. The federal government does not filter the web.
What has changed is at state level. Since the Supreme Court upheld Texas's age-verification law in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton on 27 June 2025, states have been free to require ID checks before adult content loads. Around 27 states now have such laws in force, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Utah and most of the South and Midwest. Aylo, which owns Pornhub, has chosen to block its sites to those states entirely (Louisiana, where it uses the state's LA Wallet ID app, is the exception). If you drive from Nevada into Utah, sites that worked an hour ago will show a block page. That is the practical face of internet restriction in the USA: no censor, but a patchwork of state laws.
The everyday reason is still public Wi-Fi. American hotels, airports, coffee chains and Amtrak all run open networks behind a captive portal, and a captive portal is not encryption. Anyone on the same network can see unencrypted traffic. If a connection drops at a motel at midnight, 24/7 live chat from NordVPN or Surfshark is worth more than any feature list.
What a VPN does and does not do in the USA
A VPN encrypts everything between your device and the VPN server, so the hotel, the airport operator and the carrier see only scrambled traffic. It also lets you choose where you appear to be. Connect to a UK server and BBC iPlayer, your bank and your streaming accounts behave as they do at home. Connect to a server in another state and a state-level block based on your IP address no longer applies, which is why these laws have driven VPN sign-ups in Texas and Florida.
It will not speed up a slow motel connection, it will not change the terms of service of a streaming platform that blocks VPN ranges, and it does not exempt you from any state law. Both picks come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so test them on your actual hotel network: NordVPN for a short trip, Surfshark if you are staying longer.
Recommended VPNs for the USA
NordVPN, best for short trips and month-by-month plans
It is the one for you if you are covering yourself, or you and a partner, and want something simple to run and easy to forget about. One plan covers 10 devices, and the apps are quick to install and easy to switch off and on as you need. Plans run by the month, the year or over two years, all with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Surfshark, best for long stays and unlimited devices
It is the one for you if one subscription needs to cover everyone. Connections are unlimited, so every phone, laptop and tablet you travel with, and anyone you share a place with, runs on the same plan at once. That suits a stay that stretches to months rather than weeks. It sells the same three terms and adds bonus months on the longer two, with the same 30-day money-back guarantee.
Server networks and speeds in the USA
The USA is the best-served country in the world for VPN servers. NordVPN lists more than a dozen US cities, including New York, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, so you can always pick a city close to where you are for the lowest latency. Surfshark's published list covers 24 cities in 19 states, from Boston and Buffalo to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Phoenix, which matters if you want an IP in a specific state.
Local networks are quick. Ookla's H2 2025 connectivity report put T-Mobile's median mobile download at 259 Mbps, well ahead of Verizon at 131 Mbps, and Ookla's August 2026 data put median US fixed broadband at about 307 Mbps. Hotel Wi-Fi rarely delivers anything like that, so expect the hotel, not the VPN, to be the bottleneck.
How to choose between them
The differences that matter fit in one table, and the last two rows are there to name two promises you should not believe from anyone, us included.
| Feature | NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|
| 1 month | $14.99 | $16.45 |
| 1 year plan, total upfront | $65.88 (12 months billed) | $50.85 (15 months billed) |
| 2 year plan, total upfront | $94.23 (27 months billed) | $67.23 (27 months billed) |
| Devices per plan | 10 | Unlimited |
| Kill switch and auto-connect | Yes | Yes |
| Independently audited no-log policy | Yes (2025) | Yes (2025) |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
| Guarantees access to any blocked site, anywhere | No | No |
| Makes slow Wi-Fi faster | No | No |
On a single month NordVPN is cheaper. Over a year or two Surfshark is. On everything else the choice is about shape rather than money: 10 devices and a simple setup on one side, unlimited devices on the other.
Setting up before you travel
Do the setup at home, on Wi-Fi you trust, before the airport. Install NordVPN or Surfshark on each device, sign in, and connect once to confirm everything works. Then turn on two settings both apps include: the kill switch, which stops your traffic travelling unprotected if the VPN drops, and auto-connect, which brings the VPN back up when your connection returns.
Nothing is blocked in the USA, so install and log in before you fly, then set a nearby US city as your default server for local browsing and a UK server as a favourite for banking and iPlayer. Turn on the kill switch for airport and hotel Wi-Fi, and add the browser extension if you only want to route one tab through a different state. Our Best eSIMs for the USA guide covers getting mobile data the moment you land; both apps work on an eSIM plan as well as Wi-Fi.
Final recommendation
The USA is a straightforward country for VPN use: legal, no VoIP blocking, fast networks and more server choice than anywhere else. For a holiday, a road trip or a business visit, NordVPN is the pick. Its US city coverage keeps latency low wherever you are, and ten device connections cover a family's phones, laptops and a tablet for the flight.
If you are relocating, studying or on a long contract in the USA, Surfshark is the better value. Unlimited devices covers every phone, laptop and TV stick in a shared apartment, and its 24-city US list gives you an IP in most states you are likely to live in.
