Best VPN for Traveling Employees 2026
If you need one recommendation, NordLayer is the best overall VPN for traveling employees in 2026. It offers strong protection for employees on the move, a business-oriented admin layer, and a better operational model for managed teams than consumer-only VPNs.
The best VPN for traveling employees has to do three things well: protect users on hostile public networks, stay reliable across countries, and remain simple enough that non-technical staff will keep it turned on.
That combination is harder than it sounds. Many VPNs are fine at home but become inconsistent when employees are moving between airport Wi-Fi, hotel captive portals, mobile hotspots, and international destinations. Others are strong technically but create enough user friction that adoption drops fast.
For business travel in 2026, the main buying factors are:
- Protection on public Wi-Fi in hotels, airports, conference venues, and cafés
- Global server reach and reliability for staff moving across regions
- Speed and app quality so video calls, SaaS access, and browsing stay usable
- Administrative control if the business needs managed deployment and offboarding
- Operational fit for occasional travelers versus frequent international travelers
This guide focuses on VPNs that are suitable for employee travel, not just home-office privacy. That includes both dedicated business VPN platforms and consumer-first VPNs that can still work well for individual staff travelers or very small teams.
If you are building a broader travel security stack, you may also want our guides to password manager for small business and antivirus for remote workers.
7 Top Picks Compared
Quick-glance ranking
- NordLayer — best overall for managed employee travel security
- ExpressVPN — best for simple, reliable travel use on public Wi-Fi
- Perimeter 81 — best for secure access to internal systems while traveling
- Proton VPN — best for privacy-focused international travelers
- Surfshark — best budget pick for small teams
- CyberGhost — best low-friction option for non-technical employees
- TorGuard — best for dedicated IPs and technical travel setups
Comparison table
| Provider | Best for | Travel security features | Business/admin tools | Countries or server reach | Pricing tier | Ideal team size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordLayer | Managed business travel security | Encrypted connections, public Wi-Fi protection, secure gateways, reliable client apps | Strong admin dashboard, access controls, team management | Broad international coverage with business-oriented options | Premium | 5+ users |
| ExpressVPN | Frequent flyers wanting simple, dependable protection | Kill switch, leak protection, strong mobile apps, fast regional switching | Limited centralized business controls | Broad global reach across many locations | Mid-range to premium | 1–20 users |
| Perimeter 81 | Access to internal apps and segmented resources while abroad | Secure remote access, controlled gateways, policy-based access | Very strong admin and network controls | Global access model oriented to business infrastructure | Premium to enterprise-leaning | 10+ users |
| Proton VPN | Privacy-focused professionals and international travel | Strong security posture, leak protection, good apps, travel-friendly privacy features | Limited compared with dedicated business platforms | Good international coverage | Mid-range | 1–25 users |
| Surfshark | Budget-conscious teams with occasional travelers | Public Wi-Fi protection, easy apps, useful security extras | Basic for team use | Large consumer-focused network | Budget | 1–15 users |
| CyberGhost | Non-technical employees needing simple travel protection | User-friendly apps, broad coverage, straightforward mobile use | Limited business management | Large global network | Budget to mid-range | 1–25 users |
| TorGuard | Dedicated IPs and technical travel requirements | Protocol flexibility, dedicated IP options, secure access for allowlisting | Moderate, more manual administration | Good coverage for custom setups | Mid-range | 2–30 users |
Who each one is best for
- Frequent flyers: ExpressVPN, NordLayer, Proton VPN
- International teams: NordLayer, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN
- Executives and sensitive roles: NordLayer, Proton VPN, Perimeter 81
- Small businesses: NordLayer, Surfshark, CyberGhost
- Restrictive or operationally sensitive travel scenarios: ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, TorGuard
A practical note: NordLayer and Perimeter 81 are business platforms first. ExpressVPN, Surfshark, CyberGhost, TorGuard, and Proton VPN are better understood as consumer-first or mixed-use options that may still work well for traveling employees depending on how much management your organization needs.
NordLayer
NordLayer is the strongest overall choice for organizations with employees who travel regularly because it solves both sides of the problem: secure connectivity in untrusted environments and manageable administration back at the office.
If you want to compare Nord’s ecosystem or check current offers, use: Check NordVPN pricing →
Why it fits travel-heavy organizations
Travel introduces two predictable issues: staff connect from risky networks, and support teams lose visibility over how and where users are accessing business systems. NordLayer is one of the better options for reducing both problems without forcing a heavy enterprise deployment.
It is well suited to:
- Sales teams traveling internationally
- Consultants working from hotels and client sites
- Executives and managers using public Wi-Fi
- Distributed teams that blend remote work and travel
- SMBs that need controlled access to business apps while people are moving between countries
- Built for business use rather than individual subscriptions
- Centralized admin dashboard for user management
- Access controls better aligned to employee use than consumer VPNs
- Good fit for businesses standardizing secure travel connectivity
- Better operational model for onboarding and offboarding travelers
- More expensive than consumer VPN subscriptions
- May be overkill for solo travelers or very small teams
- Teams seeking only simple internet privacy may not use the full platform value
If your company has recurring travel and wants IT to retain meaningful control, NordLayer is the best-balanced option here. It costs more, but it reduces the gap between “users have a VPN app” and “the business has an actual managed travel security control.”
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is the easiest recommendation for organizations whose main travel priority is this: give employees a VPN they will actually use in airports, hotels, and cafés without training sessions or support overhead.
Where it performs well
ExpressVPN is especially strong for:
- Frequent flyers who connect from many countries
- Employees who are not technically inclined
- Teams needing reliable mobile apps
- Travel scenarios where speed and quick location switching matter
It tends to be one of the better fits for public Wi-Fi because the apps are straightforward, the workflow is familiar, and users are less likely to disable it when moving between networks.
- Very easy to use across laptops and phones
- Strong speed profile for everyday business tasks
- Broad international server footprint
- Good fit for hotel, airport, and café network protection
- Low user friction, which is important for adoption
- Limited centralized team management
- Not ideal if IT needs strong policy enforcement
- Better for protecting employees’ connections than managing business access architecture
ExpressVPN is arguably the best pure travel-experience option in this list. If your staff mainly need dependable protection on the road and your business does not require deep admin controls, it is a very strong choice.
Perimeter 81
Perimeter 81 is the right answer when employee travel overlaps with access to internal systems, segmented environments, or resources that should not be exposed broadly over a flat VPN design.
Where it stands apart
Many travel VPN buying guides focus only on public Wi-Fi. That is too narrow for businesses. The real challenge is often secure access to company systems while employees are abroad.
Perimeter 81 is useful when traveling staff need access to:
- Internal applications
- Admin portals
- File resources
- Cloud environments
- Sensitive systems that should be segmented by role or location
- Stronger admin and network controls than typical travel VPNs
- Better fit for hybrid work plus business travel
- Useful for international access to internal resources
- Scales better than consumer VPNs as teams grow
- More complex than plug-and-play VPN apps
- Can be too involved for small teams with basic travel needs
- Pricing and implementation can skew upward with advanced use
Perimeter 81 is not the best choice for a 7-person startup just trying to secure airport Wi-Fi. It is a better fit for companies where travel security and access architecture are linked — especially if users need to reach protected business systems from abroad.
Proton VPN
Proton VPN is a strong option for professionals and teams that care deeply about security posture and privacy while traveling internationally. It is not as business-admin focused as NordLayer or Perimeter 81, but it offers a credible security-oriented alternative for users who want more than a basic consumer VPN.
Where it fits well
Proton VPN is especially relevant for:
- Executives traveling internationally
- Security-conscious professionals
- Teams operating across varied jurisdictions
- Organizations that value privacy reputation and strong baseline protections
- Strong privacy and security reputation
- Solid apps across major platforms
- Good fit for international travel and varied connection environments
- Better security-focused positioning than many low-cost consumer VPNs
- Business management is less comprehensive than dedicated business platforms
- Best value may require higher-tier plans
- Not the easiest answer if you need centralized access governance
Proton VPN is a strong travel companion for security-conscious users, particularly where international movement and privacy concerns are part of the threat model. It is less compelling if your primary need is centralized administration across a traveling workforce.
Surfshark
Surfshark is the practical low-cost option for smaller businesses that want broad travel protection without committing to business-platform pricing. For teams that mainly want affordable coverage on laptops and phones, current plans are here: Check Surfshark pricing →
Best fit scenarios
Surfshark works best for:
- Startups with occasional conference and client travel
- Small agencies with a few road warriors
- Founder-led companies watching per-user cost closely
- Teams that mainly need secure internet use, not managed resource access
- Affordable pricing
- Easy apps for laptops and mobile devices
- Good value for simple employee travel protection
- Useful baseline security for public Wi-Fi use
- Limited business-grade admin features
- Weak fit for centralized management at scale
- Not ideal where access governance or controlled gateways matter
Surfshark is best understood as a cost-efficient travel safeguard, not a managed business access platform. For occasional travelers and tight budgets, that may be enough. For regulated or security-mature environments, it is usually not.
CyberGhost
CyberGhost is a good low-friction pick for organizations that want to reduce travel risk without introducing a complicated tool. It is particularly useful when the biggest deployment risk is user confusion rather than technical design.
Why it works for travel
Traveling employees often need VPNs at inconvenient times: boarding areas, taxis, hotel lobbies, shared event spaces. CyberGhost’s strength is that it does not ask much from the user.
It fits well for:
- General business travelers
- Teams without dedicated IT support
- Employees who need simple mobile and laptop protection
- Organizations prioritizing usability over advanced control
- Straightforward apps
- Good global coverage
- Low learning curve
- Practical for both occasional and frequent travelers
- Lacks deeper business administration
- Weak choice for managed access control
- Less suitable if the VPN also needs to support structured internal resource access
CyberGhost is a sensible option when you want “secure enough and easy to deploy” rather than “high-control business platform.” It helps with travel risk, but it is not designed to solve business access governance.
TorGuard
TorGuard is the specialist option in this lineup. It is useful when a traveling employee’s VPN setup has to do more than protect traffic — for example, when third-party systems require allowlisted IPs or the business wants more control over how connections are configured.
Best use cases
TorGuard is worth considering if you need:
- Dedicated IPs for traveling staff
- Stable source addresses for external platform access
- More configurable protocol choices
- Custom travel connectivity workflows managed by technical staff
- Dedicated IP options are valuable for business travel scenarios
- Useful for whitelisting and secure access workflows
- More configurable than simpler consumer VPNs
- Good fit for technical administrators
- Less beginner-friendly than mainstream alternatives
- Requires more hands-on administration
- Not ideal for broad rollout to non-technical employees
TorGuard is not the best general recommendation for traveling employees. It becomes attractive when the company has a specific technical requirement that mainstream apps do not handle cleanly.
How We Evaluated the Best VPNs for Traveling Employees
This ranking prioritizes real-world employee travel use in 2026, not generic at-home VPN use and not enterprise architectures that are unrealistic for SMB buyers.
Security and privacy criteria
We prioritized the controls that matter most when employees connect from untrusted locations:
- Strong encryption and current security design
- Reliable kill switch behavior
- DNS and IP leak protection
- Credible privacy and logging posture
- Consistent protection on public Wi-Fi and mobile networks
Travel-specific criteria
A travel VPN has to perform well outside ideal lab conditions. We looked at:
- Global server availability
- Reliability across regions and long-distance routes
- Speed consistency for SaaS, calls, and browsing
- Ease of switching locations while traveling
- App quality on both laptops and mobile devices
- Practicality on hotel, airport, and café networks
Business and support criteria
For organizations deploying VPNs to staff travelers, technical quality alone is not enough. We also considered:
- Centralized billing
- Employee onboarding and offboarding
- Admin controls and policy visibility
- Dedicated access options such as static IP or controlled gateways
- Support quality and rollout practicality for small teams
That is why a consumer VPN with excellent travel usability can still rank below a business platform with better management — and why a business platform can rank below a simpler tool if its complexity is unjustified for travel-heavy but operationally small teams.
FAQ
What is the best VPN for traveling employees in 2026?
For most businesses, NordLayer is the best VPN for traveling employees in 2026 because it combines strong travel security with centralized management and employee access controls.
Why do traveling employees need a VPN?
Traveling employees regularly connect to untrusted networks such as hotel Wi-Fi, airports, cafés, conference centers, and public hotspots. A VPN helps reduce exposure by encrypting traffic and making it harder for others on the same network to intercept business activity.
Is a consumer VPN enough for employee travel, or should businesses use a business VPN?
A consumer VPN is often enough for solo professionals or very small teams that just need secure internet access while traveling. A business VPN is the better choice when you need managed deployment, centralized billing, user lifecycle control, or secure access to company resources.
Which VPN is best for public Wi-Fi in hotels and airports?
ExpressVPN is one of the strongest options for hotel and airport Wi-Fi because it is easy to use, fast, and reliable across changing travel conditions. NordLayer is the better pick if the business also wants centralized administrative control.
What features matter most in a VPN for international travel?
The most important features are:
- Strong encryption
- Reliable kill switch
- DNS/IP leak protection
- Broad international server coverage
- Stable performance across regions
- Good mobile and laptop apps
- Simple reconnection on changing networks
For businesses, add admin controls and centralized account management to that list.