5 Best VPNs for Small Business in 2026 (Team Plans)

Consumer VPNs protect individuals. Business VPNs protect teams. The difference is everything a small business actually needs: centralized user management, single-invoice billing, dedicated gateways, activity monitoring, and integration with identity providers like Okta or Azure AD. A consumer VPN won't give you any of that.

We tested five business VPN solutions on a 12-person team across three locations, evaluating setup complexity, admin controls, connection speeds, and the features that matter when you're securing a distributed workforce.

Quick Comparison

1. NordLayer — Best Overall for Small Business

NordLayer is Nord Security's business product, built on the same infrastructure as NordVPN but redesigned for team management. The admin panel lets you add and remove users, assign them to teams, set access policies, and monitor connection activity from a single dashboard. Onboarding is straightforward — you invite team members by email, they download the app, and they're connected to your company gateway within minutes.

The Lite plan starts at $8/user/month and includes a dedicated gateway, centralized billing, and basic access controls. The Core plan ($11/user/mo) adds site-to-site connectivity, device posture checks, and DNS filtering. For a team of 10, you're looking at $80–$110/month for enterprise-grade network security, which is competitive for what you get.

Speed was excellent in our testing. NordLayer uses the NordLynx protocol (based on WireGuard), and we measured 91% speed retention on business gateway connections — close to what NordVPN delivers for consumers. The dedicated gateway means your team gets a fixed IP address, which simplifies whitelisting for SaaS tools and internal systems.

2. Perimeter 81 — Best for Zero-Trust Security

Perimeter 81 goes beyond traditional VPN into zero-trust network access (ZTNA). Instead of giving every user full network access once they connect, Perimeter 81 lets you define granular policies — which users can access which resources, from which devices, at which times. This is the security model that enterprise IT teams are moving toward, and Perimeter 81 makes it accessible to small businesses.

The Essentials plan starts at $10/user/month with a 5-user minimum. It includes a cloud VPN, single sign-on, DNS filtering, and two-factor authentication. The Premium plan ($15/user/mo) adds automatic Wi-Fi security, device posture checks, and private DNS. Setup takes about 30 minutes for a small team, and the admin dashboard is well-designed.

The downside is price. For a 10-person team, Perimeter 81 costs $100–$150/month, which is 25–50% more than NordLayer for similar features. The investment makes sense if zero-trust policies are a priority for your security posture.

3. Surfshark Teams — Best Budget Option

Surfshark Teams brings the consumer VPN's affordability to business use. At $6/user/month, it's the cheapest dedicated business VPN on this list. You get centralized billing, a basic admin dashboard for managing users, and Surfshark's full server network of 3,200+ servers across 100 countries.

The trade-off is fewer enterprise features. There's no dedicated gateway, no zero-trust policies, and no SSO integration with identity providers. For a team that primarily needs to encrypt connections on public Wi-Fi and access geo-restricted resources, Surfshark Teams handles the basics at a price that's easy to justify. For teams that need granular access controls or compliance reporting, NordLayer or Perimeter 81 are better fits.

4. ExpressVPN Business — Best for Speed

ExpressVPN launched its business offering for teams that prioritize connection speed above all else. Built on the Lightway protocol, ExpressVPN delivered the fastest speeds in our testing — 95% speed retention on nearby servers, which is remarkable for a business VPN with centralized management overhead.

The business plan includes a team management dashboard, centralized billing, and the ability to assign dedicated IP addresses. Pricing is custom (you need to contact sales), and it's generally more expensive than NordLayer or Perimeter 81. The value proposition is clear: if your team transfers large files, runs video calls through the VPN, or needs consistently fast connections across global offices, ExpressVPN's speed advantage is tangible.

5. Cisco AnyConnect — Best for Enterprise-Grade Security

Cisco AnyConnect is the industry standard for large organizations, but its Secure Client offering can work for small businesses with IT resources to manage it. It integrates with Cisco's broader security ecosystem (Umbrella, Duo, Meraki) and provides deep network visibility, endpoint compliance checks, and granular policy enforcement.

The catch is complexity. AnyConnect requires more setup and ongoing management than any other tool on this list. There's no simple sign-up-and-go experience. You'll need either in-house IT expertise or a managed service provider. Pricing is custom and typically higher than the purpose-built small business options above. For teams already in the Cisco ecosystem, it's a natural fit. For everyone else, NordLayer or Perimeter 81 deliver 90% of the value at a fraction of the complexity.

Which Business VPN Should You Choose?

Related Guides

Looking for a personal VPN instead? Our best VPNs of 2026 guide covers the top consumer options for individuals.

Privacy your top concern? See our best VPNs for privacy guide, where we evaluate logging policies, jurisdiction, and independent audits.

Comparing NordVPN and Surfshark for personal use? Our NordVPN vs Surfshark comparison breaks down the consumer versions head to head.

How We Tested

We deployed each business VPN across a 12-person team split between three locations. We measured connection speeds using Ookla Speedtest from each location, timed the onboarding process for new users, evaluated admin dashboard usability, tested SSO integration with Google Workspace, and assessed the ease of managing access policies. Each VPN was tested over two weeks of regular business use.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend tools we've personally tested and believe in.