12 Most Suitable VPN for Small Businesses & Startups
Although “small business” varies by country, region, and industry, it commonly refers to privately owned, sole proprietorship, or partnership businesses. It makes a relatively minor profit and has far fewer employees than traditional businesses or megacorps.
Yet, despite its size, a small business needs to ensure network security and data privacy for its employees to safeguard sensitive information from potential exploits. By using a specialized VPN, small businesses can ensure network safety and allow remote access for their employees, especially when the Covid-19 pandemic has turned work-from-home into a necessity, not a luxury.
Why Do Small Businesses Need VPN?
Small businesses and startups have been popping up worldwide with an auspicious start. In many cases, instead of renting a permanent office space, business owners prefer using an ad-hoc office with free Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, these open Wi-Fi networks hold a massive number of threats to data security.
According to a recent Verizon report in 2019, nearly 43% of small businesses are victims of cyberattacks. The report is based on surveys conducted in more than 86 countries around the world, and the findings are driving demand for more robust security solutions such as VPN services.
So, the biggest challenge of using free Wi-Fi is giving hackers the ability to position themselves between you and the connection point. In other words, hackers can easily use an unsecured Wi-Fi connection to distribute malware. Not just public Wi-Fi, since business transactions take place daily on the internet, transmitting valuable business data online without any precautions may lead to data breaches and cyber-attacks.
Accessing a VPN server can provide an even higher level of protection to ensure that these tasks are performed more securely. A fast and secure VPN uses encryption protocols such as OpenVPN and 256-bit encryption to obfuscate the data and prevent third parties from seeing the data from the device.
So, in other words, small businesses can benefit from VPNs in many ways like geo-independence, secured remote access for the employees, data security, enhanced productivity, and more!
Top 12 VPNs for Small Businesses
In a general scenario, business owners consider two types of VPNs for added cyber security, remote access. The first type of VPN is managed by the business or company’s IT department with a dedicated built-in VPN server. The second approach is the third-party cloud-based VPN service option that provides a secure tunnel over the internet, a more efficient, budget-friendly, accessible, and practical option for businesses to use.
Even though some of these VPN services are customer-oriented, many VPN services are designed to serve small businesses with valuable features like 24/7 customer support, apps for every device, etc.
Let’s get into the best 12 VPN services we recommend for your small businesses or entrepreneurial journey.
NordLayer:
A VPN service by NordSec, the same team which created the widely acclaimed NordVPN, NordLayer is tailor-made for small and medium businesses. It offers firms and work-from-home users a powerful, centralized control panel, multi-layer network protection, dedicated IP, and encrypted tunnel to connect to their office network safely without compromising speed. Its business-specific features include single sign-on support, team permission management, centralized billing system, etc.
Perimeter 81
Perimeter 81 is a suite of network safety tools, including a cloud-based VPN, a software firewall, and a network segmentation tool. It has a minimum-seat requirement of 5 or 10 users; therefore, it is more suitable for relatively larger small businesses than limited, home-based ventures. Nevertheless, because of its array of network safety tools within one package, it is an excellent choice for companies that have adapted the work-from-home model during the ongoing Covid pandemic.
ExpressVPN
Despite recent controversies regarding unauthorized surveillance, ExpressVPN is a foolproof option for small businesses because of its years of expertise in online security and its quality of service. Although the company does not offer a business-specific product or package, it does allow hefty discounts to companies for bulk buying. It also has an expert support team to help set up a secure VPN network for the entire company with centralized billing.
Symlex VPN
With the fastest speed, unlimited bandwidth, trusted server facility, and geo-independence in almost every part of the world, Symlex is becoming a popular VPN choice for small businesses- which is also available in 50+locations. Symlex VPN is an absolute no-log VPN service that offers apps for all the primary operating system like Android, iPhone, Mac, Windows etc. They also provide competitive pricing, and 24/7 live support. Furthermore, you can download Symlex VPN and enjoy five individual devices at the same time.
Surfshark
Surfshark VPN is primarily for personal use, but it’s also effective for corporate use. All Surfshark VPN plans have unlimited simultaneous devices, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and more. Suppose you don’t want to use a dedicated IP address. In that case, Surfshark may also be suitable for some small business operations, especially since it allows you to connect with unlimited devices. The split tunneling feature is also useful when you need more control over what is routed through the VPN and what connects directly to the internet.
TunnelBear
Among the great VPNs for businesses, TunnelBear VPN protects your privacy with a cadre of adorable but practical bears. It bursts with charm, keeps a terrific function on transparency and client privateness, and promises special protection equipment at an excellent price. As a Editors` Choice winner, TunnelBear VPN also allows businesses to give entry to any employee with a specific email domain, making it clean to provide personnel entry.
Mullvad
Mullvad VPN is a fundamentally transparent service that focuses on providing reliable and affordable VPN protection from a company. You might not get upsells, different servers, or great interfaces. However, you’ll get the best online privacy for surprisingly low prices. When you register with Mullvad, you are provided with a number instead of a username to protect the user business above all else.
TorGuard
A dedicated IP address is imperative for any business VPN. Many business services require static addresses, and the “bad neighbor effect” doesn’t bring down your network, where IP addresses used by other VPN users for suspicious online activity are assigned.
This is where TorGuard differs from other VPN services as it has a flexible and competitive pricing model. There are three packages, each with a different plan: Anonymous VPN, Streaming Bundle, VPN+Private Mail Bundle, and lastly, Business VPN with dedicated IP address, 20 user accounts, and email addresses.
GooseVPN
As a competitive VPN option for small businesses, Goose VPN offers exciting features such as 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, IPSec support, and a no-logging policy. This software also helps users avoid the bandwidth limitations of ISPs. GOOSE VPN works with all devices and operating systems, including Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. It can be a good choice if you have multiple devices as there is no limit to the number of connections you can use simultaneously.
Twingate
Twingate is a VPN alternative security solution in which the access is centrally managed based on two-factor authentication (2FA) and single sign-on SSO. With a similar level of encryption, SSL/TLS protocols, and anonymity, this is an effective solution for remotely accessing business applications. In addition, since Twingate uses split-tunneling, you can also expect fast speed and unlimited device connections.
Encrypt.me
Encrypt.me has an affordable monthly fee for unlimited simultaneous and simultaneous connections. It stands out among the many other similar services. Encrypt.me provides users with business-level encryption with their secure, easy-to-use service packages. Their plans are also flexible and explicitly geared towards the business community. They offer transparent policies and are available for Android, iOS, Mac OSX, Windows, and Fire OS.
IVPN
As another great VPN for businesses, IVPN works on up to 5 devices simultaneously. This is a very nice feature of the service, especially compared to some of its competitors, who can only offer up to two or three. IVPN also offers IPv6 and DNS leak protection and has a built-in firewall that acts as a kill switch.
Final Words
Whether you run a sizeable multi-office business or a small team of freelancers who love to work in a coffee shop, you need a VPN to keep your business data in the hands of the wrong people. Unfortunately, email and cloud storage accounts that can be compromised are constant targets for hackers. However, using a VPN catered for corporate and organizational applications can restore your security immensely.
