VPN providers compared, with citations
A large table: providers in columns, properties in rows. If a cell has a value, it comes with a link and a date. If not, we lack the evidence. Sorting and weighting is up to you.
- providers
- 85
- criteria
- 158
- cells with a value
- 6,153
- sources
- 7,387
Some reviews belong to the provider they praise
The VPN service and the site that recommends it often sit under the same roof. Below are the groups that, according to our dataset, also own review portals:
- AzireVPNbelongs to Malwarebytes
none (explicitly: do not own VPN review sites)
1 source
- Betternetbelongs to Point Wild
Comparitech (acquired Oct 2021 by Pango Group)
1 source
- CyberGhostbelongs to Kape Technologies
vpnMentor und Wizcase über die im März 2021 übernommene Webselenese
3 sources
- Encrypt.mebelongs to Ziff Davis
Ziff Davis owns PCMag, Mashable, IGN (among others)
1 source
- ExpressVPNbelongs to Kape Technologies
Der Konzern übernahm im März 2021 Webselenese, den Betreiber der VPN-Vergleichsseiten vpnMentor und Wizcase, Kaufpreis 149,1 Millionen US-Dollar. Webselenese wird auf der Konzernseite als Marke geführt.
2 sources
- hide.mebelongs to eVenture Limited
none disclosed on fetched pages
1 source
- Hotspot Shieldbelongs to Point Wild
Comparitech (listed among Point Wild brands)
1 source
- NordVPNbelongs to Nord Security
none disclosed on about page
1 source
- Norton VPNbelongs to Gen Digital
Not stated on fetched Gen brand pages
1 source
none documented
1 source
- Private Internet Accessbelongs to Kape Technologies
Die Konzernmutter Kape Technologies fuehrt neben den VPN-Marken die Marke Webselenese, beschrieben als Portfolio von Vergleichsseiten mit datengestuetzten Inhalten zu Privatsphaere und Sicherheit. Einzelne Seitennamen nennt Kape auf der Markenseite nicht.
1 source
- Proton VPNbelongs to Proton Foundation
none disclosed
1 source
- PureVPNbelongs to Disrupt
none disclosed on fetched about/home pages
1 source
- Surfsharkbelongs to Nord Security
none disclosed on about page
1 source
- TouchVPNbelongs to Point Wild
Comparitech (acquired Oct 2021 by Pango Group)
1 source
- TunnelBearbelongs to McAfee
none known from fetched official pages
2 sources
- UltraVPNbelongs to Point Wild
Comparitech (acquired Oct 2021 by Pango Group)
1 source
- VPN360belongs to Point Wild
Comparitech (acquired Oct 2021 by Pango Group)
1 source
none disclosed on privacy/FAQ/cookie pages reviewed
2 sources
none disclosed
1 source
57 of 85 providers have a parent company on file, across 35 groups. The rest is in the matrix.
No affiliate money
Links to providers are citations, not partner links. Commission, discount code, deal: none of that.
No overall score
A 9.2 looks factual but is always someone's weighting. That is why there is no winner column here.
Source or empty
Every value needs a link and a retrieval date. If only the provider says so, it is marked as a provider claim, not independent proof.
Providers can buy a verified badge on invoice and edit their own entry. That does not move anything in the sort order. Who paid is listed on the transparency page. Income and rules
Much is only a provider claim
Some fields are hard to check from the outside, so the provider website is the source. Green and yellow in the legend show the difference.
Confidence levels explained- confirmed
- 1,262
- provider claim
- 4,888
- disputed
- 3
Ready-made filters
Six search rules from the criteria catalogue, e.g. anonymous payment or no parent company. Not a recommendation, just matches with a source.
- VPNs that can be paid for anonymously
Providers with evidence for at least one payment route that works without a bank account and without a credit card.
- VPNs with a no-log audit and RAM-only servers
Providers with independent evidence for both: an audit of the no-log promise and servers running without disks.
- VPNs with open source clients
Providers whose applications are published as source code, fully or in part.
- VPNs without a parent company
Providers for which neither a parent company nor a holding is recorded.
- VPNs with evidence of working in China
Providers with a source showing that a connection is established behind the Chinese firewall.
- Discontinued VPN providers
Services no longer operated or absorbed into another brand.