One person's VPN comparison. No affiliate links, no sponsors, no ads. Why I made this

How I score VPNs

9 features, each scored 1 to 10, summed into a total out of 90. No weighting, no hidden factors, no paid placements.

The 9 features

  • Speed. Download throughput and latency over WireGuard.
  • Privacy. No-logs policy, independent audits, jurisdiction.
  • Security. Encryption, kill switch, DNS and IPv6 leak protection.
  • Servers. Server count and country coverage.
  • Streaming. Unblocks Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+ and live sport.
  • Price. Value on 1 and 2 year plans, refund window.
  • Ease of use. App quality, setup, defaults.
  • Support. Live chat availability and response time.
  • Trustpilot. Trustpilot TrustScore out of 5, doubled to a 1 to 10 scale.

The scale

A 10 means I could not find a provider that does it better. A 5 is the median of the VPNs I track. A 1 means the feature is effectively missing, for example a VPN that unblocks no streaming service at all scores 1 on streaming.

Why the total is a plain sum

Weighted scores hide the reviewer's priorities inside a single number. A plain sum keeps the total honest and lets you re-rank the table by the one column that matters to you.

Testing

Speed is measured over WireGuard, or the provider's WireGuard-based protocol, on a wired 1 Gbps line against nearby and long-distance servers at three times of day. Privacy covers the published no-logs policy, independent audits, server infrastructure such as RAM-only disks, and jurisdiction. Streaming is checked against Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+ and a live sport service in two regions. Price is the effective monthly cost on the longest plan plus the refund window; the Actual price column on the scoreboard shows those prices in USD as advertised on each provider's pricing page.

Trustpilot

The Trustpilot column is the only score I do not assign myself. I take the provider's public TrustScore out of 5 from trustpilot.com, double it and round to the nearest whole number, so a 4.3 becomes a 9 and a 2.1 becomes a 4. It counts toward the total like any other column.

Updates

Scores were last updated October 7, 2026. I re-test roughly every quarter and sooner when a provider changes plans, is acquired or has a security incident.

Money

There is none. This is a personal, non-profit project. I have no referral or affiliate link with any VPN listed here, no sponsors and no ads. The Buy buttons and website links are plain links to each provider's own site, and I earn nothing when you buy. A provider cannot pay for a score, a place in the table, or to be included.

Corrections

If you think a score is wrong, send me a message with what you found. I would rather fix a bad score than defend it.