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Top 4 Picks
Four picks. One of them is yours.

Best VPN in 2026

Last reviewed 30 August 2026Data verified 30 August 2026Four picks, one role each

The short answer

Proton VPN is the best VPN for most people: five published audits, Swiss jurisdiction, and the renewal price printed on the card you buy from. Mullvad is cheaper and does less. Windscribe is the cheapest way in and Proton has the better free plan. NordVPN has the widest coverage of the mainstream brands and triples in price.

Every price on this page is what the VPN renews at, not what it advertises, read from the vendor on . That one decision changes almost everything, because VPN pricing is built on a two year introductory rate that ends.

NordVPN advertises $3.49 a month and renews at $11.59. ExpressVPN advertises $2.99 and renews at $8.33. Comparing the first numbers, which is what almost every page ranking for this term does, compares marketing rather than cost.

What each one costs from year two

Windscribe is $5.75 a month and Mullvad is $5.79, four cents apart, and neither of those is an introductory rate that expires. Windscribe goes lower still if you only want a few countries, at a dollar per location. Proton VPN is $6.99. ExpressVPN is $8.33. NordVPN is $11.59.

Two are missing from that list, and their absence is the finding. Private Internet Access and Surfshark publish no renewal price at all. PIA's help centre confirms the advertised deals apply to new accounts only. Surfshark's checkout promises "the then-applicable renewal price" and never names it. Between them they run the two most aggressive introductory discounts on this page.

The two questions that decide a VPN

Not speed, and not server count.

Who is this company, and has anyone checked? A VPN moves trust from your internet provider to the VPN provider. Everything a VPN sells you depends on that company being what it says it is, which is why an audit you can read is worth more than a thousand extra servers.

What will it cost when the offer ends? Because you are not buying two years, you are buying a subscription that renews until you cancel it, and the second number is the one you will pay most often.

Everything else on this page is downstream of those two.

Audited is not the same as readable

All seven have been independently audited. That sounds like it settles something and it does not, because the useful question is whether you can read the report before you become a customer.

Proton VPN publishes all five of its Securitum reports, 2022 through 2026. Mullvad publishes its Cure53 infrastructure audits. Windscribe publishes PacketLabs and Leviathan. Surfshark publishes its Deloitte report as a public PDF. ExpressVPN publishes KPMG and Cure53. PIA publishes Deloitte.

NordVPN has the most engagements of the lot, six by Deloitte, and shows the full report only to logged-in account holders. It is the only one here that asks you to sign up before you can check the thing you are signing up for.

Windscribe is the outlier in the other direction. Its no-logs claim has been tested by two governments rather than by an auditor: a Greek prosecution dismissed in April 2025 because there was no data to hand over, and a Dutch server seizure that recovered nothing from a machine running entirely in RAM.

Two of these seven belong to one company

Worth knowing before you read any VPN comparison, including this one.

Kape Technologies, called Crossrider until March 2018, owns ExpressVPN, bought in 2021 for $936 million, along with Private Internet Access, CyberGhost and ZenMate. In March 2021 it also paid $149.1 million for Webselenese, the owner of vpnMentor and Wizcase, two of the largest VPN review sites on the internet.

Separately, Nord Security and Surfshark merged in 2022 and share a parent, while stating they run separate infrastructure.

So of the seven brands here, two answer to Kape and two to Nord Security. Proton VPN, Mullvad and Windscribe are independent of both. Kape's wider portfolio is four VPN brands, and two of the sites reviewing all of them belong to it.

We take no commission from any vendor on this page. This site runs no affiliate links at all, in this category or any other. Every VPN here except Mullvad runs an affiliate programme and we are in none of them. Mullvad runs none at all, and none of the four pages we checked on 30 August 2026 ranked it first.

An affiliate disclosure on another page is not proof that the page is worthless. TechRadar and security.org both describe hands-on testing programmes running speed and unblocking tests across dozens of services, which is far beyond anything we do. They earn commission and they also measure things. Both facts are true.

Pick order is not score order

ExpressVPN scores 7.9, above our fourth pick NordVPN at 7.8, and sits outside the four.

The reason is ownership rather than product. It is the best-made VPN on this page, it prints its renewal price where you can see it, and its audits are published. It is also owned by the company that owns two of the sites recommending it, both of which disclose that ownership. When we checked on 30 August 2026, Kape brands were ranked first on the comparison pages Kape owns, and we would rather explain that than add another slot to it.

If you disagree with that reasoning, the review says everything good about the product that we found, and the score is right there.

Why there is no speed test on this page

You will find download figures, latency tables and streaming unblocking scores on most pages competing with this one. We have published none, because we did not measure any.

We compared published pricing, renewal terms, jurisdictions, audit reports and documented features. That is what this page is for. If speed under load is your deciding factor, TechRadar and security.org both test properly and publish their method, and you should use them for that rather than take a number from a page that did not run it.

The four picks

Side by side

Side by side comparison of the four picks
 Proton VPNMullvad VPNWindscribeNordVPN
Score8.58.17.97.8
Starting price$6.99/mo$5.79/mo$3/mo$11.59/mo
Free tierYesNoYesNo
JurisdictionSwitzerlandSwedenCanadaPanama
Devices at once105Unlimited10
Independent auditSecuritum, five consecutive years to 2026Cure53 infrastructure, fourth audit June 2024PacketLabs June 2024, Leviathan 2021 and 2022Deloitte assurance engagement, sixth, December 2025
Renewal price published

How we picked

What we scored, and how heavily

Criteria set: Software and apps. The same set applies to every product of this type across the site, so a score means the same thing wherever you find it.

  • 30%Capability. What the tool actually does versus what it promises.
  • 20%Usability. How fast you can get real work done in it.
  • 20%Value. What you get for the money against the alternatives.
  • 10%Integrations. Fit with the rest of your stack, and API access.
  • 10%Support. Documentation, response times, available channels.
  • 10%Trust. Company stability, security, pricing transparency, data handling.
Read the full rating methodology

The picks in detail

1. Best Overall

Proton VPN

Prints its renewal price on the pricing card, which most of this category never does.

8.5/10
ARecommended

The most complete privacy product here, and one of only two that tell you the full price on the page you buy from.

What works

  • The renewal price is on the pricing card, where two of the seven here never publish one at all
  • Five consecutive independent audits with the full reports published, not gated behind a login
  • The only free tier here with no data cap, though it gives you one device and ten countries
  • Every app is open source and Swiss jurisdiction sits outside both intelligence-sharing blocs

What does not

  • The renewal is double the advertised rate, which is honest and still a doubling
  • The free tier picks your country for you and covers a single device
  • No anonymous signup: an email address is required, unlike Mullvad
  • The cheapest rate needs $83.76 paid upfront for two years

Best for

  • Anyone who wants a serious privacy product without researching what it will cost next year
  • People who want to try a real VPN properly free before paying for one

Not for

  • Buyers who want to pay without handing over an email address
  • Anyone whose only requirement is the lowest possible number

What it costs

From $6.99 per month · free tier available · 30-day money back

Proton VPN pricing tiers
PlanMonthlyAnnual, per monthWhat you get
Free1 device$0No data cap and no artificial speed cap · Servers in 10 countries, chosen for you rather than by you · No credit card required
VPN Plus at the renewal rate10 devices$9.99$6.99Renews at $83.88 every 12 months, stated on the pricing card · 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries, Secure Core, NetShield · The figure this comparison uses for Proton
VPN Plus at the two-year intro rate10 devicesNot published$3.49$83.76 charged upfront for the first 24 months · Advertised as 65 percent off · Applies once, then the renewal rate above takes over
Proton Unlimited at the renewal rate10 devices$12.99$9.99Renews at $119.88 every 12 months · Adds Proton Mail, Pass, Drive and Calendar · 500 GB storage, 15 email addresses

Proton is the reason this comparison could use a renewal anchor at all. The pricing card carries the sentence "Billed at $83.76 for the first 24 months, then renews at $83.88 every 12 months", which is the whole cost of ownership in one line and is more than most of this category discloses anywhere. The figure we anchor on is that renewal, $83.88 a year or $6.99 a month, not the $3.49 introductory rate. The monthly plan is $9.99 with no commitment. Prices were read from the USD view of the pricing page, which also offers Swiss francs and euros through a working selector.

Visit Proton VPNFull Proton VPN review

2. Best Value

Mullvad VPN

One price for a month or a decade, unchanged since 2009, and no affiliate programme.

8.1/10
ARecommended

The most honest pricing and the strongest privacy posture in the category, from a product that deliberately does less than its rivals.

What works

  • The advertised price and the renewal price are the same number, which is true of almost nothing else here
  • Accounts are random numbers with no email address, and cash by post is accepted
  • Cure53 audits published in full, and every app open source
  • No sales, no countdown timers, no affiliate programme for anyone to earn from

What does not

  • Five devices where Surfshark, PIA and Windscribe all give unlimited
  • No port forwarding, and no interest in unblocking streaming services
  • A smaller network than the mainstream brands, in fewer countries
  • Fourteen days money back, where the five vendors here that publish one all offer thirty

Best for

  • Anyone who wants a VPN for privacy rather than for Netflix
  • People who would rather pay a fair price forever than a low price for two years

Not for

  • Households wanting one subscription across many devices
  • Anyone whose main use is streaming from another country

What it costs

From $5.79 per month · 14-day money back

Mullvad VPN pricing tiers
PlanMonthlyAnnual, per monthWhat you get
One month5 devices$5.795 euros including VAT, shown as $5.79 on the pricing page · Everything included, there is only one plan · Top up whenever you like, nothing auto-renews by surprise
One year5 devices$5.79Exactly the same rate as one month · No discount, because there is no discount to give · The pricing page lists it to make the point
One decade5 devices$5.79Still the same rate, and the pricing page really does list a decade · Cryptocurrency payments take ten percent off · Cash by post is accepted, in nine currencies

The pricing page is one row long and its point is that the row does not change. Five euros a month, which the page itself converts to $5.79, whether you buy one month, one year or ten years. No sales, ever, and the page says the rate has not moved since the company launched in 2009. There is nothing to anchor here because the introductory price and the renewal price are the same number, which is why Mullvad sets the floor for this comparison rather than competing on a headline. Cryptocurrency is discounted ten percent. Accounts are numbers rather than email addresses and can be topped up with cash sent by post.

Visit Mullvad VPNFull Mullvad VPN review

3. Best Free

Windscribe

Had its no-logs claim tested by two governments rather than by an auditor.

7.9/10
ARecommended

The best evidence in the category that a no-logs policy is real, attached to the only pricing model here that lets you buy less rather than more.

What works

  • The yearly price and the renewal price are the same sixty nine dollars
  • Build A Plan charges a dollar per location, so you can buy only the countries you actually use
  • A no-logs claim tested twice by authorities, not only by an auditor
  • Unlimited devices, and a free tier that does not expire

What does not

  • Support is a ticket queue behind a bot, with no live chat anywhere
  • A smaller network than Nord, Surfshark or ExpressVPN
  • Canada is a Five Eyes member, which matters to some buyers regardless of the court record
  • No money-back guarantee published, where five of the other six publish thirty days

Best for

  • People who want a paid VPN for the price of a coffee and only need a few countries
  • Anyone who values a tested no-logs claim over a marketed one

Not for

  • Buyers who need to reach a human quickly when something breaks
  • Anyone who rules out Five Eyes jurisdictions on principle

What it costs

From $3 per month · free tier available

Windscribe pricing tiers
PlanMonthlyAnnual, per monthWhat you get
FreeUnlimited devices$010 GB a month with an email address confirmed · A limited set of locations · No card required and no expiry
Build A PlanUnlimited devices$3$1 per location per month, and Windscribe advertises plans from $3 · Unlimited data on the locations you picked · The cheapest way into a paid VPN in this comparison
Pro yearlyUnlimited devicesNot published$5.75$69 billed every 12 months, and it renews at $69 · All locations, 69 countries and 112 cities · R.O.B.E.R.T. blocks ads, trackers and malware at DNS
Pro monthlyUnlimited devices$9$9.00 billed every month · Identical features to the yearly plan · Cancel any time

One of two entities here where the introductory price and the renewal price are the same figure. The yearly plan is $69 and renews at $69, which the checkout states plainly, so the anchor and the headline are the same number. Build A Plan is the unusual one: you pay a dollar a month per server location and get unlimited data on whichever locations you chose, and Windscribe advertises plans from three dollars. That makes a genuinely usable paid VPN cost a few dollars a month if you only ever need two or three countries, which no other vendor in this comparison offers. The from-price recorded here is that three dollar floor; the like-for-like figure against rivals selling every location at once is the $5.75 Pro plan. The free tier gives ten gigabytes a month indefinitely. Figures were read from the USD upgrade page.

Visit WindscribeFull Windscribe review

4. Best for streaming and coverage

NordVPN

Advertised at $3.49 a month and renewing at $11.59, which is the widest gap here.

7.8/10
BRecommended with a reservation

The widest coverage and the best mainstream apps here, sold at a price that triples once the introductory term ends.

What works

  • The widest server coverage of the mainstream brands here, across 224 vendor-counted locations
  • Twenty four hour live chat, which Mullvad and Windscribe do not offer at all
  • Six independent no-logs assurance engagements by Deloitte
  • It does publish the renewal price, which two vendors here never do

What does not

  • Renews at 3.3 times its advertised rate, the widest gap in this comparison
  • The full audit report is only readable once you have an account, where all six rivals publish theirs openly
  • The renewal figure is in checkout, not on the pricing page you compare from
  • Apps are closed source, unlike Proton, Mullvad and Windscribe

Best for

  • Streaming and travel, where server coverage and unblocking decide the experience
  • People who want a support channel that answers within minutes

Not for

  • Anyone budgeting on the advertised price rather than the renewal
  • Buyers who want to read the audit before creating an account

What it costs

From $11.59 per month · 30-day money back

NordVPN pricing tiers
PlanMonthlyAnnual, per monthWhat you get
Basic at the renewal rate10 devicesNot published$11.59Renews at $139.08 a year, stated in the checkout terms · VPN only, with none of the bundled extras · The figure this comparison uses for NordVPN
Basic at the two-year intro rate10 devicesNot published$3.49$94.23 upfront for the first 27 months · Advertised as 69 percent off · Applies once, then the renewal rate above takes over
Complete at the renewal rate10 devicesNot published$18.29Renews at $219.48 a year · Adds antivirus, a password manager and 1 TB of storage · $121.23 upfront for the first 27 months
Ultra at the renewal rate10 devicesNot published$22.49Renews at $269.88 a year · Adds Incogni data removal · $177.93 upfront for the first 27 months

The widest gap between the advertised price and the real one in this comparison. Basic is sold at $3.49 a month and renews at $139.08 a year, which is $11.59 a month, a multiple of 3.3. Nord does publish the renewal figure and deserves credit for it, but it publishes it in the checkout terms rather than on the pricing page, so you see it after choosing a plan rather than while comparing. From our location the pricing page renders only euros with no currency control; the dollar figures here were read from the checkout with the currency parameter set to USD, where the terms also confirm payments are taken in dollars. A dedicated IP is a $3.69 a month add-on.

Visit NordVPNFull NordVPN review

Also considered

These are good products that lost on a specific point. A higher score than one of our picks does not automatically win a slot, because each slot answers a different question.

  • ExpressVPN7.9/10

    Scores above our fourth pick and sits outside the four on ownership rather than on product. It is the best-made VPN here, prints its renewal on the plan card, and is owned by Kape Technologies, which also owns CyberGhost, Private Internet Access and, since a $149.1 million purchase in March 2021, the review sites vpnMentor and Wizcase. When we checked on 30 August 2026, Kape brands ranked first on the comparison sites Kape owns, and we would rather explain that than add another slot to it.

  • Surfshark7.6/10

    Unlimited devices, a Deloitte audit published in full, and no renewal price anywhere. The checkout says the subscription renews at "the then-applicable renewal price" and never says what that is. It also renders only the local currency it detects, so we could not read a dollar figure at all. A comparison anchored on renewal prices cannot place a vendor that publishes none.

  • Private Internet Access7.4/10

    The lowest advertised price in the comparison at $2.03 a month, and a renewal price that exists but is never stated. The help centre confirms the deals apply to new accounts only. Unlimited devices and genuinely open source apps against United States jurisdiction and the same owner as ExpressVPN.

How to choose between them

Before anything else, work out what you want a VPN to do, because the answers diverge hard. Hiding your traffic from an internet provider, appearing in another country to watch something, and being genuinely difficult to identify are three different products, and the tool that is best at the third is deliberately bad at the second.

What do you actually want it for?

Put a reminder in your calendar the day you subscribe

Of the five VPNs here we can price, three renew at more than they first charge you. NordVPN goes from $3.49 to $11.59, and ExpressVPN from $2.99 to $8.33. Private Internet Access and Surfshark publish no renewal price anywhere, so nobody knows. Set a reminder for the month before your term ends, while you can still leave.

Two more things worth more than the brand you pick. Count your devices before you compare prices: Surfshark, Private Internet Access and Windscribe are unlimited, Proton VPN and NordVPN give ten, ExpressVPN ten or twelve, Mullvad five, and for a household that single number decides more than any feature. And read the audit rather than the fact of it, which means checking whether the provider will let you read it at all before you have paid.

If you already pay for an encrypted mailbox, price Proton Unlimited at $9.99 a month before buying a VPN separately, because it folds mail, storage and a password manager into the same subscription.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best VPN?
Proton VPN for most people. It is audited by Securitum five years running with every report published, its apps are open source, it is Swiss, and it prints the renewal price on the pricing card: $83.88 a year, or $6.99 a month. Mullvad is cheaper at $5.79 and does less. NordVPN has the better network and renews at $11.59.
How much does a VPN actually cost?
More than advertised, in three of the five cases we can price. At the renewal price: Windscribe $5.75 a month, Mullvad $5.79, Proton VPN $6.99, ExpressVPN $8.33, NordVPN $11.59. Private Internet Access and Surfshark publish no renewal price at all. Read on 30 August 2026.
Why do you quote renewal prices instead of the advertised ones?
Because the advertised price is paid once and the renewal price is paid for as long as you keep the service. NordVPN advertises $3.49 and renews at $11.59, a multiple of 3.3. ExpressVPN advertises $2.99 and renews at $8.33. Comparing the first numbers compares marketing, not cost.
Which VPNs have been independently audited?
All seven, and the useful question is whether you can read the report. Proton VPN, Mullvad, Windscribe, Surfshark, ExpressVPN and PIA publish theirs. NordVPN has six Deloitte assurance engagements and shows the full report only to logged-in account holders.
Who owns these VPNs?
Two of the seven belong to Kape Technologies: ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access. Kape also owns CyberGhost and ZenMate, which are not in this comparison, and the review sites vpnMentor and Wizcase. Two more belong to Nord Security: NordVPN and Surfshark, merged in 2022. Proton VPN, Mullvad and Windscribe are independent of both.
Do you earn commission on this page?
No. This site runs no affiliate links at all, so nothing here is monetised. Every VPN on this page except Mullvad runs an affiliate programme and we are in none of them. Mullvad runs none at all, so no site earns anything for recommending it, and none of the four pages we checked on 30 August 2026 ranked it first.

Where the numbers come from