Secure Your DigitalWorld Connection

On things you can check against a primary source: an independently audited no-logs policy — who audited it, under what standard and how recently — the legal jurisdiction and whether it sits inside a mandatory data-retention regime, the protocols on offer, RAM-only server architecture, kill switch and leak protection, simultaneous device limits, and current price and refund terms. Every provider figure is that company's own published claim, checked against its official pages. Where a number could not be re-verified, it was left out rather than estimated.

No. We did not run a first-hand speed benchmark for the current edition, so we make no measured-speed claim and quote no Mbps figure. Where speed matters we describe the protocol and the provider's own stated position instead. If you want to judge any published speed claim — ours or anyone else's — our VPN speed-test methodology guide shows how.

No. A VPN encrypts traffic between your device and its server and hides your IP address from the sites you visit and from your network operator. It does not make you anonymous: you can still be identified by logging into accounts, by browser fingerprinting, and by cookies, and a VPN does not stop malware or phishing. Treat it as one control among several, not as a shield.

Some are, most are not, and the difference matters. A free tier from a provider whose paid business funds it — Proton VPN and Windscribe are the usual examples — is a real product with a real privacy policy. A free VPN with no paid product still has running costs, and those are usually covered by selling the data the VPN was supposed to protect. Read who owns it and how it makes money before installing anything.

It depends on which of the three you actually care about, and they pull in different directions. For streaming, look for clearly labelled streaming-optimised servers. For privacy, look for a strong jurisdiction, open-source apps and a public audit. For price, look at the multi-year cost per month and the number of devices one plan covers, not the headline first-year figure. Our comparison table sets these side by side so you can weigh them yourself rather than take a single ranking on trust.

From affiliate commission. If you subscribe through a link on this site, vpntex earns a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change which providers are compared, what is written about them, or the order of the table — providers with no affiliate programme are included on the same terms.