Best VPN for Mac in 2026: Which App to Choose and How to Install It

Short answer: on a Mac a VPN app comes from the App Store, from the developer's site or through TestFlight. Our app, ProxysVPN, downloads from our download page: signed and notarized by Apple, sign-in with an eight-character code, macOS 12 Monterey or later (an Intel Mac on macOS 11 has a separate build). The TestFlight build, macOS 13 or later, is the second way. INCY and Happ with a subscription link are the reserve.

VPN apps for Mac compared

What matters in a VPN for Mac

• All traffic, not just the browser. A browser extension sends one program through a proxy. An app with a VPN configuration sends everything through the tunnel: messengers, mail, updates and games.
• Apple silicon and Intel. The main Mac button on the download page is for Apple silicon (M1 and later); a Mac with an Intel processor takes the link “Mac with an Intel processor?” on the same page. The TestFlight build is universal.
• Sign-in without a link. A code from the dashboard — eight characters instead of a long subscription line.
• In Russia or abroad. The app asks “Where are you?” and makes its own guess. With “I am in Russia”, Russian sites, banks and government services open directly; with “I am abroad”, all traffic goes through the VPN, Russian sites included. Sites you add to “Always direct” never go through the tunnel.
• Ads and trackers. The “Block ads and trackers” switch, and a content blocker for Safari in the test build (macOS 14 and later).
• Widget. The test build has a widget for the desktop and Notification Center (macOS 14 and later).

How to install ProxysVPN on a Mac

1. 1Open the download page and download the Mac file: the main button for Apple silicon (M1 and later), the link “Mac with an Intel processor?” for an Intel Mac.
2. 2Open the downloaded file and drag ProxysVPN to Applications. At the first launch click “Open”: the app is signed and notarized by Apple, and no Terminal command is needed.
3. 3Get a sign-in code: in your dashboard, open the device card and press “Code for the app”. The eight-character code is valid for 10 minutes and works once. No account yet? Signing up takes a minute with an email address; Telegram is not needed.
4. 4Open ProxysVPN, click “Sign in with a code from your account” and enter the code.
5. 5At launch, enter your Mac password. Updates arrive in the app itself.

An old Mac and the TestFlight way

• Intel Mac on macOS 11 Big Sur: a separate build, the link “Mac on macOS 11 Big Sur?” on the download page, steps in VPN on an old Mac with macOS 11; which file your Mac needs is in a short table. One person confirmed it on a MacBook Pro 2014 with macOS 11.7; we have not run it on other models.
• Apple silicon Mac on an old system: every Mac with an Apple chip can update to macOS 12 or later: System Settings → Software Update.
• macOS 10.15 Catalina and older: our app does not run there; write to support.
• TestFlight, macOS 13 Ventura or later: install TestFlight from the Mac App Store, then open the ProxysVPN invitation in TestFlight, the same one as for the iPhone, click “Accept” and “Install”, and sign in with the code.

If another VPN is already on the Mac

Two VPN apps at once get in each other's way: there can be only one system tunnel. Turn the old client off before connecting, and in System Settings → VPN leave only ProxysVPN switched on. One subscription link is one device and one app. If this link was in Happ or INCY, signing in with the code moves it to ProxysVPN, and the old app will say the link is taken — that is expected.

The same app is on other computers: VPN on Windows 10 and 11 and VPN on Linux with a window.

What it costs

The app itself is free; what you pay for is the subscription: $1.50 per device per month, taken from your balance, with nothing charged to your card automatically. Top-ups start at $5. An account opened on the Russian site is priced in roubles instead: an account keeps the currency it was opened in, whatever card tops it up. The Mac is a separate device in the dashboard, with its own code; the TestFlight invitation is the same as for the iPhone.

If it does not work

• The code is rejected. It is valid for 10 minutes and works once — get a new one.
• The app says the link is taken. In the dashboard: device card → ⋯ → “Reset device binding”, then sign in with a new code.
• Connected, but sites do not open. Check that the Mac sets the date and time automatically: with a wrong clock the TLS handshake fails. Then pick another country.
• Trouble that came with macOS 26 Tahoe — a system extension that was never approved, a DNS fault — is covered in VPN not working on Mac.
• The reserve is INCY or Happ with a subscription link: Happ and INCY, step by step. The same TestFlight invitation also installs the iPhone app.