We need to talk about
No, not the younger member of the mischievous twin duo that lived a Suite life in the Tipton Hotel. (That’s Cody Martin.) Not the wide-eyed, goateed patriarch of the polygamist family on TLC’s Sister Wives, either. (That’s Kody Brown.) Not even the 19th-century cowpoke-slash-bison hunter who became an icon of the American West under the moniker “Buffalo Bill.” (That’s William Frederick Cody.)
Nope — the Kodi in question isn’t a person at all, but a free, open-source media player that lets you manage and stream your locally stored music and videos on almost any device (no separate
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OUR TOP PICK
ExpressVPN
It’s the priciest VPN on this list, but its top-notch security, premier support, and reliable, speedy servers are worth every single penny.
- Monthly plan: $12.95/month
- Six-month plan: $9.99/month (billed $59.95 every six months)
- 12-month plan: $6.67/month (billed $99.95 every 12 months) + 3 months free for your first year
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BEST FOR PRIVACY FEATURES
NordVPN
With options for double encryption and Onion over VPN, this heavyweight VPN provider doesn’t skimp in the security department.
- Monthly plan: $11.95/month
- One-year plan: $5.75/month (billed $69 for your first year)
- Two-year plan: $4.13/month (billed $99 for your first two years)
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BEST VALUE
Ivacy VPN
Super cheap with a long-term plan, Ivacy is the rare VPN provider that maintains its own Kodi add-on.
- Monthly plan: $9.95/month
- One-year plan: $3.66/month (billed $44 every year)
- Two-year plan: $2.45/month (billed $59 every two year) + 2TB of free cloud storage space
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BEST FOR LARGE HOUSEHOLDS
Surfshark
Ideal for families (or people with a whole fleet of Kodi devices that need protecting), this up-and-coming VPN is already quite well-rounded.
- Monthly plan: $12.95/month
- Six-month plan: $6.49/month (billed $38.94 every six months)
- 24-month plan: $2.49/month with code surfsharkdeal (billed $59.76 upfront, then annually after the first 24 months)
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BEST FOR VPN NEWBIES
CyberGhost VPN
CyberGhost makes it easy to navigate the world of VPNs with a top-rated support team and a user-friendly interface.
- Monthly plan: $12.99/month
- One-year plan: $3.99/month (billed $47.88 every year)
- Two-year plan: $3.49/month (billed $83.76 every two years)
- Three-year plan: $2.25/month (billed $87.75 every three years) + 3 months free
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BEST NO-FRILLS VPN
IPVanish
It’s nothing special, but this super-simple VPN with ultra-affordable annual plans does what it needs to do well.
- Monthly plan (just VPN): $3.49 for your first month, then $9.99/month
- Monthly plan (VPN + storage): $3.84 for your first month, then $10.99/month
- Annual plan (just VPN): $31.49 for your first year, then $89.99/year
- Annual plan (VPN + storage): $34.99 for your first year, then $99.99/year