IMO, you’re probably fine with only using VPN. That is with all the settings and additional measures done and with credible VPN provider, which, in my case, Mullvad.
If you’re planning another 9.11 or for some sick reason decided to share no no porns, VPN is definitely not enough and I’m pretty sure you already know that.
A lot of reputable VPN providers are constantly poked bt the authorities. They give nothing because they have nothing.
You’re fine if you’re just trying to bypass stupid regional censorship or download bunch of movies. That is, again, with proper security measures of course.
I’ve seen some people saying that you should use Tor for anonymity when someone’s just asking about how to use VPN better or whatnot. Tor is better in terms of anonymity, sure. But for most of the cases, VPN is fine.
And I cannot stress this enough: you will NEVER be perfectly anonymous online. Period.
Sadly it isn’t the case. Most of my colleagues are using VPNs only, thinking it’s enough because of the bullshit sponsored segments VPN providers pushed over the years on YouTube.
VPNs can’t advertise what their services are actually for (rampant piracy without getting nasty letters from your ISP) so they advertise nonsense privacy instead.