Firefox is one of the most popular internet browsers in the world thanks to its focus on consumer privacy when compared to its main rivals Explorer and Chrome. Despite being a secure, open-source browser, anybody who wants to improve their online security should use a VPN extension for Firefox.
VPNs encrypt all of your browsing data and change your IP address, allowing you to bypass censorship and geo-restrictions. However, you should be aware that most VPN add-ons for Firefox don't provide encryption and have questionable privacy policies.
In this guide, we list the best VPNs extensions for Firefox and give you some tips on how to improve your online privacy.
What is the Best VPN Extensions for Firefox?
We have listed the best VPN extensions for Firefox below. If you'd like more detailed information about any of the services below, keep scrolling for an in-depth analysis of each service.
- ExpressVPN - The best VPN extension for Firefox. It's the fastest VPN add-on out there, it's secure, and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Surfshark - The best value for money VPN add-on for Firefox. OpenVPN encryption, advanced privacy features, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Private Internet Access - The most secure VPN add-on for Firefox. It comes with a court-proven zero-logs policy and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Ivacy - The cheapest Firefox VPN add-on. It offers super fast servers in 100+ locations and unblocks tons, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- HMA - An all-round VPN add-on for Firefox. It's good at bypassing geo-blocks, offers a no-logs policy, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
All the Firefox VPN extensions we've included in this guide have the following features to ensure you get the best out of your new VPN.
- Fast servers
- Easy to install VPN extensions and standalone apps
- Unblocks streaming services
Remember these Firefox VPN extensions have their limitations, and we always recommend that users use the full VPN app/client for optimal security and performance. For more information about this, check out our VPN extensions page.
Best Firefox Add-on VPNs – In-depth Analysis
We take an in-depth look at the best VPN add-ons for Firefox in the list below. If you still want more information about these services, check out our detailed VPN reviews.
ExpressVPN is the best VPN extension for Firefox. It's the fastest Firefox VPN add-on, it has excellent privacy features, implements OpenVPN, and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. ExpressVPN Demo ExpressVPN is a provider based in the British Virgin Islands that is well-known for providing strong privacy and security levels for its users. The VPN has apps for all platforms that come with plenty of advanced VPN features like a kill-switch, DNS leak protection, split tunneling and obfuscation. This makes the VPN perfect for doing sensitive online tasks like torrenting, or for bypassing censorship in countries like Egypt, Iran, UAE, or China. While we recommend sticking to the full VPN client to gain the highest levels of privacy – ExpressVPN does have a Firefox extension that gives users the ability to perform HTML5 geolocation spoofing inside their browser. The extension also ensures that HTTPS pages load anytime that they are available (to avoid insecure HTTP pages). This VPN also throws in a free Smart DNS service, and the VPN works to unblock Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, and countless other international services. We love that this VPN has a watertight zero-logs policy and that it provides 24/7 live chat support. It's an excellent all rounder that you can test using its 30-day money-back guarantee. Surfshark is one of the cheapest VPNs for Firefox, but it's jam-packed with features. Can be used on unlimited devices simultaneously and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Surfshark Demo Surfshark is a cheap VPN that has an excellent reputation with VPN subscribers across the globe. The VPN has superb apps for all platforms, with a whole host of advanced features which make it suitable for torrenting and other sensitive online tasks. And this VPN is a no-logs provider with OpenVPN encryption; which means you can trust it to provide you with privacy both now and into the future. Surfshark comes with an extension for Firefox that you can use right alongside the standalone client. And the VPN provides superb speeds for unblocking HD streams or gaming. We love that this provider lets its subscribers use the VPN on an unlimited number of devices at the same time. And we are always impressed by its 24/7 live chat support. Plus, Surfshark is one of the few services that can reliably unblock Netflix US, iPlayer, and other popular streaming services around the world. It's well worth testing using its 30-day money-back guarantee. Private Internet Access is a very secure VPN for Firefox. It has proven it's zero-logs claims in court (twice) and offers the most advanced encryption, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. PIA Demo Private Internet access is a US-based VPN provider that is highly respected by techy VPN users looking for a large number of advanced features. In addition to a Firefox add-on, PIA has apps for all platforms that come with a kill-switch, DNS leak protection, OpenVPN encryption, port forwarding, split tunneling, a SOCKS5 proxy, and obfuscation. And it allows users to customize their encryption levels depending on their needs. This ensures that the VPN is highly versatile and that it can keep you secure while torrenting or doing other sensitive tasks. We love that this VPN has fast servers in 74 countries. Plus, PIA can easily unblock popular streaming services like Netflix US and Hulu. Another great all-rounder that won’t break the bank. Well worth testing using its 30-day money-back guarantee. Ivacy is the cheapest VPN extension for Firefox. For less than $2 a month you get chart-topping speeds, thousands of servers in over 100 locations, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Ivacy Demo Ivacy is a provider based in Singapore that has excellent apps for all platforms, including a Firefox extension. It is a no-logs VPN provider that can be used to gain complete privacy online. And this VPN will let you bypass censorship, geo-restrictions, or local area network blocks at work or on public WiFi. Ivacy provides reasonably fast speeds, and we never have any trouble streaming in HD when testing the service. As with our other recommendations, this is a premium service that can provide access to Netflix US. And Ivacy comes in at a very reasonable cost. We enjoy using this VPN on all platforms, and the software is extremely easy to use. It also has a kill-switch, making it suitable for torrenting. Ivacy can be used on up to 10 devices simultaneously. It's well worth comparing to our other recommendations using its money-back guarantee. HMA is a great all-round VPN extension for Firefox. It's a feature-rich VPN, with a user-friendly interface, great unblocking capacity, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. HMA Demo HMA is a US-based provider with a no-logs policy. This ensures that even if it is approached with a warrant, it will never have any data to hand over to the authorities. HMA is a solid VPN with a massive choice of server locations. This makes it absolutely perfect for anybody who wants to unblock international content from all around the world. This VPN is perfect for gaining privacy and security both at home and on public WiFi. HMA has advanced features for ensuring you can torrent safely, and it has live chat support to help you when you need it. And its Firefox extension isn’t just a proxy – it actually encrypts your data to give you data security in your browser, which is great. It's a superb VPN that is well worth taking for a test run. You can see what it’s like thanks to its risk-free money-back guarantee. And, yes, it does unblock Netflix US and other sought-after services. 1. ExpressVPN
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How does VPN extension work for Firefox?
A VPN is an online subscription service that anybody can use to gain privacy online. A VPN encrypts your data so that your ISP, local network administrators, and the government are completely unable to track your online web visits. This allows you to bypass censorship, download torrents, or do other sensitive work online without anybody knowing what you're up to. A VPN also allows you to conceal your actual IP address so you can pretend to be in a different country. This allows you to bypass geo-restrictions to access foreign internet content and services from wherever you are in the world.
Some VPNs provide a Firefox VPN add-on, which is useful if you want to be able to control your VPN from inside the browser. However, it is worth noting that VPN extensions for browsers are usually not as secure as their full-app equivalents.
Having your VPN docked in your browser provides you with a fast, lightweight version of your chosen VPN. But it's important to keep in mind that the browser extension will only protect your web surfing. It will leave all the other applications on your computer exposed (which is why using the full VPN client is still the best option most of the time).
The advantages of using Firefox VPN Add-ons
The Firefox VPN add-ons we've listed in this guide all pack vital facilities for combating serious privacy weaknesses that exist in all browsers. The websites you visit, programs they host, and tracking cookies they download to your device can reveal an awful lot about you without your permission.
Apart from tracking libraries, which could be considered as a type of spyware, remote computers can access a number of settings. These pieces of identifying information fall into two categories: Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) and user agents.
Although browser-based VPNs are less secure than apps, they are better at blocking these types of information leaks.
WebRTC
WebRTC is a programming library that is embedded into most browsers, including Firefox. These procedures are enabled by default.
The purpose of WebRTC is to facilitate video and voice communication. These applications need to work very quickly in order to effectively implement real-time transfers of video between the two endpoints of a call. WebRTC makes interactive communication faster. It does this by making certain information instantly available to the computer at the other end of the connection.
Unfortunately, the remote computer can use the WebRTC interface to see the current IP address of its correspondent. Thus, using a VPN to hide your true IP address can be confounded by any remote program that attempts the WebRTC query. Despite this functionality rarely being used to do so, it could potentially enable websites with regional restrictions to ignore IP addresses that present requests for content. Instead, they could check the actual IP address of the true originator of the request. This would allow them to determine the end user's real location.
The above Firefox VPN add-ons implement a block on WebRTC queries. The block is not automatic in all cases – you may have to look in the settings of your chosen VPN.
Most of the VPNs in our list also block ads and tracker programs. Again, in most cases, this utility is optional and has to be turned on. If you want to make a video or voice call over the internet, note that you'll probably experience difficulties unless you turn off the ad blocker, the tracker blocker, and the WebRTC block.
User Agents
Computers leak other information when connected to the internet, apart from your location and visited websites. These pieces of data are called "user agents." Some authentication systems now use this information to build up profiles on the people that access their services. They do this to determine who you are and where you are located, even without having access to your IP address.
Websites often make requests to browsers when they are in the process of setting up a connection. This is because some websites look better on specific versions of browsers. The web server might also want to know the screen resolution and operating system of the computer establishing the connection. All of these pieces of information seem fairly innocuous – they don't contain any personal information about you. However, they can be used to track you because browsers tend to have lots of different versions. So do operating systems. There are other settings and supporting programs in your browser that also have numerous versions. The combinations of these pieces of software and their different versions create a unique identity for your computer.
You can use a user agent switcher to avoid detection based on your user agent profile. These devices give false information on each user agent and change the lie frequently. Of the VPNs in our list, only Windscribe has an inbuilt user agent scrambler. As such, if you choose one of the other services in our top five, you might also consider installing a separate user agent switcher.
Social Media Buttons
That row of buttons for social media likes has become a fixture of the web, though the number or order of the buttons might not be same. There'll usually be a Facebook and Twitter button, but as you might expect, this seemingly cheery row of icons isn't as innocent as it might seem. Each time they're loaded into a browser, they report back to their respective home servers. Therefore, Facebook can track every site you visit, even if you are not a Facebook member.
It is a good idea to block those buttons and currently, Windscribe is the only one of our top five VPNs for Firefox that offers this functionality.
Can I get a free Firefox VPN extension?
If you have searched for Firefox VPN add-ons, then you will be aware that there are plenty of free VPNs out there. However, many of these free VPN extensions provide no encryption and have questionable privacy policies. In fact, studies have found that free extensions often log user data and sell to advertisers who go onto target users with annoying ads.
You can install the Windscribe and ZenMate add-ons for free. However, their free software has limitations as they use this to advertise their paid, premium subscription plans.
ibVPN offers a 24-hour free VPN trial which gives you access to all of its premium features. You can also try out the ExpressVPN and PureVPN Firefox add-ons risk-free even after you've paid, because both of those companies offer refund periods.
Best VPNs for Firefox: Conclusion
Firefox VPN add-ons are not just a lightweight version of app VPNs. They actually include browser-specific functionality that the main app doesn't cover. Check all the recommended VPN add-ons for Firefox in our top five list. Improve your security by hiding your identity on the web and keep your Firefox browsing private with one of our recommended VPNs:
- ExpressVPN - The best VPN extension for Firefox. It's the fastest VPN add-on out there, it's secure, and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Surfshark - The best value for money VPN add-on for Firefox. OpenVPN encryption, advanced privacy features, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Private Internet Access - The most secure VPN add-on for Firefox. It comes with a court-proven zero-logs policy and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Ivacy - The cheapest Firefox VPN add-on. It offers super fast servers in 100+ locations and unblocks tons, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- HMA - An all-round VPN add-on for Firefox. It's good at bypassing geo-blocks, offers a no-logs policy, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.