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Whenever I connect to WiFi at a café or train station, I always use a VPN because I've actually seen people sniffing traffic - pretty unsettling stuff. What really matters is that it's fast enough not to drive you crazy while browsing, and that it doesn't slow everything to a crawl. The solutions already mentioned are solid, but I'd add that it's worth testing at least two or three before picking your final one, because speed also depends on your provider and where you're located - a VPN that works great for your friend might be slow as molasses for you.
On public networks a reliable VPN is essential, and names like ProtonVPN, Mullvad and NordVPN keep coming up for good reasons - decent speeds, serious no-log policy and intuitive apps. I personally get along well with those that don't accumulate data and have servers in places with solid privacy laws, but honestly it depends on your budget and how paranoid you are about this stuff. The most important thing is to turn on the VPN *before* you connect to public Wi-Fi, not after, and make sure the kill switch is enabled so you don't end up in plain text if the connection drops.
I agree with the names they mentioned, but I'd add a practical consideration: not all VPNs are equal when it comes to real-world speed. ProtonVPN and Mullvad are solid, but NordVPN sometimes slows down quite a bit if you're connected to crowded servers. It depends a lot on where you're connecting and how much bandwidth you're using, so if you try one I'd recommend testing it thoroughly before paying for an annual subscription.
What really matters is checking whether the VPN you choose has a verified no-log policy from third parties - it's not enough to read what they say on their website. Some companies have had independent audits done, others haven't. Then there's the jurisdiction question: you should know which country the company is registered in, because it affects how they can handle your data if legal requests come in.
On public networks your main goal should be protecting your traffic, not bypassing geo-blocks. So focus on strong encryption and an app that works well on whatever you use - iOS, Android, laptop, all the time. A VPN that drives you crazy because the interface is confusing won't get used even once, and you'll go back to browsing without protection.
Don't bother with free VPNs - they often sell your data or are painfully slow. Whoever said ProtonVPN and Mullvad are solid is right, but if you ask me Mullvad is even more transparent about privacy because it doesn't even ask for an email, whereas ProtonVPN works fine if you want something user-friendly; the trade-off is that you pay a bit more but at least you sleep soundly when you're on public WiFi.
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