VPN Comparison 2026

A maintained reference. Updated when providers change something meaningful — new audit, ownership change, pricing update, or incident. For the full analysis behind these assessments, see Are Commercial VPNs Still Trustworthy in 2026?

Quick Pick

Not sure where to start? Three scenarios:

Most private overall → Mullvad
No email at signup. No account required beyond a generated number. Cash and Monero accepted. Swedish police raided their office in 2023 and left empty-handed. WireGuard-only since January 2026 (OpenVPN removed). DAITA — defense against AI-guided traffic analysis — ships by default. €5/month flat, no annual plans, no tricks.

Best balance of privacy and features → ProtonVPN
Swiss jurisdiction. Fourth consecutive no-logs audit in 2025. Denied 59 out of 59 legal data requests that year. Free tier available with no speed cap. Stealth protocol disguises traffic as HTTPS — the most capable obfuscation on this list for bypassing DPI and censorship.

Best budget option (with caveats) → Surfshark
Audited, functional, cheapest on this list at $1.99/month on a 2-year plan. Parent company Cyberspace also owns NordVPN — separate infrastructure, but not independently owned. No court-tested no-logs record.

Want streaming + decent privacy → NordVPN
Six consecutive Deloitte audits. Large server network. NordWhisper protocol (launched 2025) bypasses strict firewalls. Post-quantum encryption across all platforms. Fine for general use — not the choice for high-stakes anonymity.

Privacy & Trust

The columns that determine whether a provider can actually protect you when it matters.

Technical Features

Protocol support, obfuscation, traffic analysis defenses, and how the app behaves when the connection drops.

Servers, Price & Usability

Best price reflects the lowest advertised introductory rate for the longest available plan at time of update. Renewal rates are typically 2–3× higher — check before subscribing.

Pricing Breakdown

Full pricing by billing period. All prices in USD unless noted. Promotional introductory rates shown — renewal rates differ.

Always check the provider's checkout page before subscribing — prices and plan structures change frequently.

Apps & Browser Extensions

Note on browser extensions: Most provider extensions route only browser traffic through the server — they are proxies, not full VPN tunnels. Only ProtonVPN's extension routes all traffic (via the system VPN). For full device-level protection, use the desktop or mobile app, not just the browser extension.

Provider Verdicts

⭐ Mullvad

The cleanest privacy story on this list. No email, no account name — just a randomly generated number. Cash by post or Monero for payment. Swedish police arrived in 2023 with a warrant and left with nothing, because there was nothing to take. The August 2025 penetration test found no critical or high findings.

Two things worth knowing that distinguish Mullvad from the others: first, it's now WireGuard-only — OpenVPN was removed in January 2026. That's a meaningful simplification of the codebase (smaller attack surface) but it's a real change if you had a specific reason to use OpenVPN. Second, DAITA — Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis — ships as a default feature. It randomises packet sizes and timing to resist traffic analysis even through an encrypted tunnel, which is the kind of attack that most VPNs ignore entirely.

Mullvad also doesn't do streaming. Deliberately. If you need Netflix in another country, this isn't the tool. And the refund window is 14 days — shorter than most here, though €5/month means the financial risk is minimal.

Best for: Maximum privacy with minimum friction. Particularly for users who want WireGuard, DAITA-level traffic analysis protection, and a provider with a verified no-logs record under real legal pressure.

⭐ ProtonVPN

Four consecutive independent no-logs audits, Swiss jurisdiction, and real-world proof: 59 legally binding data requests in 2025, all denied. The free tier is genuinely usable with no speed cap — three countries, one connection, but no throttling gimmick.

The feature that sets ProtonVPN apart technically is Stealth — a proprietary obfuscation protocol that wraps WireGuard traffic inside TLS over TCP, making it indistinguishable from standard HTTPS to deep packet inspection systems. Available on all plans including free. If you're in a country or network that blocks VPN protocols, this is the most capable obfuscation option on this page.

One thing ProtonVPN does differently: it deliberately does not use RAM-only servers, explaining its position publicly. It uses full-disk AES-256 encryption instead, arguing the RAM-only framing is a marketing claim that doesn't necessarily deliver the security it implies. Whether you agree with the logic, the transparency is notable.

Split tunneling works on Windows and Android. Not on macOS or iOS — a real limitation for Apple-heavy users.

Best for: Users who want strong privacy, a usable free tier, active obfuscation for censorship-heavy environments, and Tor routing. The email signup is the only meaningful privacy friction.

⭐ IVPN

Small, independent, and run by a team in Gibraltar with no outside investors and no growth mandate. No email required, crypto accepted, open-source client, monthly warrant canary (12 requests in 2024, zero data delivered). The most recent Cure53 audit covers the web infrastructure; the seventh annual audit was scheduled for May 2025.

V2Ray obfuscation — which disguises VPN traffic as ordinary QUIC or HTTP — rolled out to all platforms including iOS and Android in November 2025. That's a meaningful upgrade for users in restrictive networks.

One notable gap: the kill switch was removed from the iOS app due to an Apple IP leak issue. There's currently no kill switch on IVPN for iOS. Worth knowing if iOS is your primary device.

Multi-hop is available on the Pro plan ($10/month). Standard plan limits you to 2 simultaneous connections — fine for a phone and a laptop, not fine if you have more devices.

Best for: Users who prioritise independence and genuine transparency, want no email at signup, and don't rely primarily on iOS. If iOS is your main device, Mullvad or ProtonVPN handle it more cleanly.

✔ NordVPN

Six consecutive Deloitte audits — the most recent in December 2025. Panama jurisdiction, large server network, and a feature set that's hard to fault for general use. Two things worth knowing before subscribing: the affiliate commission structure (up to 100% of the first month) explains a significant portion of the enthusiastic coverage it receives, and NordVPN and Surfshark are now both owned by a holding company called Cyberspace — separate infrastructure and teams, but not independently owned despite being marketed as separate competitors.

The January 2025 launch of NordWhisper is the most interesting recent development. It's a web tunnel protocol that encapsulates traffic to look like standard TLS 1.3, specifically designed to get through firewalls that block OpenVPN obfuscation and WireGuard. Post-quantum cryptography has been deployed across all platforms. The product is moving fast.

No court-tested no-logs record exists in the public domain. For general use that's fine. For high-stakes use, the lack of a real-world test is a gap that six Deloitte audits don't fully close.

Best for: Users who want a mainstream, thoroughly audited option with strong speed, reliable streaming, and active protocol development. Not the choice if you need independently-owned infrastructure or court-verified no-logs.

✔ Surfshark

The cheapest audited option on this page — $1.99/month on a 2-year plan, with 3 bonus months. Passed Deloitte audits, RAM-only servers, unlimited simultaneous connections. Netherlands/EU jurisdiction means GDPR protection and — the other side of that — a legal framework that can compel data disclosure, though there's no case record of Surfshark handing anything over.

No native Tor routing. Cyberspace (the parent holding company, formerly Nord Security) also owns NordVPN and AtlasVPN, which is worth knowing if independent ownership matters to your threat model. The two VPN products run on completely separate infrastructure, but the investor money is the same.

A recent addition worth noting: Bypasser (Surfshark's split tunneling) is now available on iOS. That's a feature the heavier-hitters on this list still don't offer on Apple's platform.

Best for: Budget-conscious users who want an audited provider, unlimited devices, and streaming support. Not the choice if independent ownership or Tor routing matters to you.

⚠️ ExpressVPN

Owned by Kape Technologies — previously named Crossrider, which built its early business on ad-injection software that operated without user consent. Kape also owns Private Internet Access, CyberGhost, and ZenMate. Kape delisted from the London AIM market in 2023 and is now fully private under Teddy Sagi's Unikmind Holdings, which means less financial transparency than before.

On the technical side: ExpressVPN holds ISO certifications (ISO/IEC 27001 among others), which is worth less than it sounds — ISO audits verify that management processes exist, not that traffic data isn't retained. There is no independent no-logs audit in the Cure53/Deloitte model that the privacy-first providers have.

Two incidents worth knowing: a Windows RDP IP leak was disclosed in July 2025 — debug code left in production builds from April to June 2025 caused TCP port 3389 (Remote Desktop) traffic to bypass the tunnel, exposing real IP addresses. Patched in version 12.101.0.45. Low severity for typical users who don't use RDP, but the second significant technical incident since 2022.

On the positive side: ExpressVPN added WireGuard in late 2025, Lightway was rewritten in Rust, and Lightway Turbo (multi-lane tunneling) launched for speed improvements. The feature set is competitive. The ownership history is the problem, not the technology.

Pricing note: the old "$8.32/month" figure is outdated. The new 2-year Basic plan is $2.44/month — a significant drop, though renewal rates after the promotional period are much higher.

Best for: Users with a specific existing reason (server location, ongoing subscription). Otherwise: better privacy stories exist at comparable or lower prices.

What the Columns Mean

Tier — overall trust assessment. ⭐ Privacy-first: strongest trust signals, appropriate for high-stakes use. ✔ Mainstream: audited and functional, fine for general use. ⚠️ Caution: notable ownership or transparency concerns.

Court-Tested — whether a real legal demand produced nothing because the data didn't exist. Stronger signal than any audit — it demonstrates the no-logs architecture under real conditions, not controlled ones.

Warrant Canary — a statement the provider updates regularly to signal they have not received a secret legal order (which they may be prohibited from disclosing). If the canary disappears or stops updating, it's a signal something may have changed. Not all providers maintain one.

Anonymous Signup — whether you can create an account without an email address. Affects what the provider knows about you even before they log any traffic.

DAITA (Mullvad) — Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis. Randomises packet sizes and timing to resist traffic fingerprinting even through encrypted tunnels. Unique to Mullvad.

Stealth Protocol (ProtonVPN) — wraps WireGuard inside TLS over TCP. Makes VPN traffic look like regular HTTPS. Useful in countries or networks that actively block VPN protocols.

NordWhisper (NordVPN) — web tunnel protocol that encapsulates traffic to resemble TLS 1.3. More capable at bypassing DPI than standard OpenVPN obfuscation.

RAM-only Servers — servers that run entirely on RAM with no persistent disk storage. Data is wiped on every reboot, meaning seized hardware contains nothing. Note: ProtonVPN deliberately uses encrypted disk instead, explaining their reasoning.

Multi-hop — routes traffic through two VPN servers instead of one. Adds a layer of separation between your IP and the exit server. Comes with a speed penalty.

Obfuscation — disguises VPN traffic to evade detection by deep packet inspection systems that block known VPN protocols. Relevant in censorship-heavy environments or networks with VPN restrictions.

Kill Switch — blocks all internet traffic if the VPN connection drops unexpectedly, preventing accidental IP exposure. Mobile implementation varies significantly; check the specific platform note.

Streaming — whether the provider actively maintains server IP pools to unblock streaming services. Privacy-first providers (Mullvad, IVPN) do not support this by design. Mainstream providers (NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, ProtonVPN) do.

For a full walkthrough of what Tor-over-VPN does and doesn't accomplish, see Should You Use a VPN with Tor?

Affiliate Disclosure

Mullvad and IVPN have no affiliate programs. ProtonVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN all have affiliate programs that pay substantial commissions — this is why those four providers appear disproportionately in "best VPN" roundups across the web.

This page does not carry affiliate links. Any affiliate links on franklinetech.com are disclosed explicitly at the point of use.

Providers Not Included

• PIA, CyberGhost, ZenMate — Kape Technologies ownership. The same concerns that apply to ExpressVPN apply equally here.
• IPVanish — owned by Ziff Davis, which also owns PCMag (one of its primary reviewers). Logged and handed over user data in a 2016 FBI case.
• Hide.me, Windscribe — legitimate independent providers. Not included due to a thinner public audit trail than the providers above; this may change.

Changelog

Last updated: 27 March 2026. To report a change — new audit, ownership update, incident — get in touch.