VPN Index · 2026
15 well-known providers, scored on the things you can actually verify — audits, jurisdiction, ownership and independent benchmarks — with the method shown in full.
Composite of five weighted scores. How we score →
The widest protocol range on the list — including VLESS with REALITY for heavily censored networks — plus WireGuard port forwarding and dedicated per-protocol servers.
Editor's pick by WhatVPN. It now carries a provisional 78/100 from our first-look testing — speed and streaming measured on our own line, privacy capped pending an independent audit. Its ranked position will move as the review completes.
The full field at a glance. Sortable by any metric — including the ones providers would rather you didn't sort by.
| Provider | Overall | Privacy | Speed | Streaming | Torrent | Jurisdiction | Servers | Port fwd | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proton VPN | 90 | 95 | 90 | 88 | 88 | Switzerland | 6,000 | Yes | ~£4/mo |
| NordVPN | 90 | 88 | 95 | 93 | 80 | Panama | 8,400 | No | ~£3/mo |
| Surfshark | 87 | 82 | 92 | 90 | 82 | Netherlands | 3,200 | No | ~£2/mo |
| ExpressVPN | 84 | 76 | 90 | 92 | 75 | British Virgin Islands | 3,000 | No | ~£5/mo |
| Windscribe | 84 | 85 | 82 | 84 | 88 | Canada | 1,300 | Yes | ~£4/mo |
| Private Internet Access | 84 | 80 | 85 | 82 | 90 | United States | 10,000 | Yes | ~£2/mo |
| Mullvad | 82 | 97 | 85 | 60 | 78 | Sweden | 650 | No | €5/mo flat |
| CyberGhost | 82 | 74 | 84 | 90 | 80 | Romania | 11,000 | No | ~£2/mo |
| Hide.me | 80 | 82 | 80 | 76 | 84 | Malaysia | 2,400 | Yes | ~£3/mo |
| PrivadoVPN | 79 | 80 | 78 | 80 | 78 | Switzerland | 1,000 | Yes | ~£2/mo |
| Mozilla VPN | 79 | 84 | 84 | 70 | 65 | United States | 500 | No | ~£4/mo |
| PremierVPN prov. | 78* | 72 | 84 | 74 | 82 | United Kingdom / Switzerland | — | Yes | — |
| IPVanish | 78 | 70 | 82 | 80 | 82 | United States | 2,400 | No | ~£3/mo |
| IVPN | 77 | 94 | 78 | 55 | 70 | Gibraltar | 90 | No | ~£5/mo |
| PureVPN | 76 | 66 | 80 | 82 | 78 | British Virgin Islands | 6,000 | Yes | ~£2/mo |
Tap any column header to sort. Overall = weighted composite (privacy 30 · speed 25 · streaming 20 · torrent 15 · ease 10). * = provisional score, review in progress (privacy pending independent audit).
Each entry links to a full review. PremierVPN appears with a provisional score — a review is in progress, its privacy rating is capped until an independent audit lands, so its position will move.
The strongest all-rounder on the list. Swiss jurisdiction, fully open-source apps, a genuine free tier and a rare combination of port forwarding with reliable streaming.
The most thoroughly audited mainstream VPN, and among the fastest thanks to NordLynx. Marketing is heavy and monthly pricing is steep, but the underlying product is genuinely strong.
The value pick: unlimited devices at the lowest audited entry price here, with fast local speeds. Cross-Atlantic performance drops off, and it shares a parent with NordVPN — worth knowing when a review tells you to 'switch' between the two..
Polished, fast and excellent for streaming, with the friendliest apps here. The caveats are ownership (Kape, now taken private and less transparent) and past controversy around a former CTO — worth weighing if provenance matters to you..
An independent, flexible option with a build-your-own-plan model, port forwarding and a capable free tier. Handled a 2021 server seizure transparently and hardened its fleet afterwards.
One of the best torrenting toolkits here — port forwarding, a vast network and open-source apps — and its no-logs claim has actually survived court scrutiny. The counterweights are US jurisdiction and Kape ownership..
The privacy purist's choice. No email to sign up, flat €5 pricing with no dark-pattern discounts, annual audits and a track record of literally having nothing to hand police.
Beginner-friendly with dedicated streaming servers and the longest refund window here. The trust caveat is real: Kape owns CyberGhost and also owns VPN 'review' sites, which is a conflict worth naming..
An underrated independent with port forwarding, a broad protocol line-up and a decent free tier. Not the fastest or best for streaming, but a solid, privacy-respecting all-rounder that avoids the big conglomerates..
A Swiss-based independent with a generous free tier and port forwarding. The privacy story is promising, but its audit history is thinner than the leaders', so some of the no-logs claim rests on trust rather than verification..
A simple, trustworthy VPN riding on Mullvad's network with Mozilla's name behind it. Great if you want a no-fuss, reputable option; limited if you need features — it's WireGuard-only with no port forwarding and modest streaming..
A WhatVPN review is now underway, and the early numbers are real: on a 500 Mbps line, WireGuard held 456 Mbps to the UK and 380 Mbps to the US (dropping to ~120 Mbps to Australia, as expected over that distance), with VLESS marginally faster still. Streaming unblocks BBC iPlayer and Netflix reliably; Amazon Prime is intermittent.
Owns its own network and allows unlimited devices, which helps consistency. Trust is the sticking point: a 2016 logging episode (under prior ownership) and US jurisdiction mean the no-logs claim carries more historical baggage than the leaders'..
A trust-first provider that leans into transparency over reach: anonymous account IDs, independent audits and no marketing spin. The trade-offs are a small network, higher prices and weak streaming — this is a privacy tool, not an entertainment one..
Has invested heavily in audits and now offers a broad feature set including port forwarding. But history matters in this category: PureVPN handed user logs to the FBI in 2017, and that episode still weighs on its trust score despite genuine reform since..
Category rankings for specific priorities, each scored on what matters for that use.
Every provider is scored 0–100 across five weighted categories — privacy & trust (30%), speed (25%), streaming (20%), torrenting (15%) and ease of use (10%) — using the same public rubric. The inputs are verifiable: ownership, jurisdiction, audit history, logging architecture and published third-party benchmarks. The full method is on our methodology page.
Yes. No provider owns, operates or pays for placement on WhatVPN. Every VPN is scored by the same public rubric, and a provider that hasn't yet supplied verifiable test and audit data is shown but held out of the scored ranking rather than given a flattering placeholder. See our disclosure page for how the site is funded.
This edition covers a defined set of 15 well-known providers assessed against consistent criteria. It is not an exhaustive index of every VPN in existence, and a provider's absence is not a judgement in itself. Coverage expands over time.
Recent, wide-scope independent audits; a privacy-friendly jurisdiction with no forced data retention; independent ownership; a strict, plainly worded no-logs policy; and RAM-only infrastructure. A strong jurisdiction alone is not enough — the architecture has to make logging genuinely impractical.