Which VPN should you choose? Comparison for privacy-conscious users
There are hundreds of VPN providers. Most are not interesting for people who are serious about privacy. This article compares the providers worth considering — honestly, without affiliate bias.
Which VPN should you choose?
There are hundreds of VPN providers. Most are not interesting for people who are serious about privacy. This article compares the providers worth considering — honestly, without affiliate bias.
Read VPN: what it does and what it doesn’t first if you’re not sure what a VPN actually protects you from.
Who this comparison is for
This comparison is for readers who:
- want to choose a privacy-friendlier VPN deliberately
- understand that a VPN is only one layer, not a total solution
- want to choose on tradeoffs rather than marketing
This comparison is not written for:
- people who only want the cheapest streaming VPN
- readers who have not yet handled basics like a password manager, 2FA, and browser hardening
- situations where Tor or a higher-stakes profile is actually the more logical first step
Decision frame
Use the same questions throughout this comparison:
- what do you gain from this provider
- what do you give up
- how hard is adoption
- how much maintenance does it require
- who is it a good fit for
- when is it overkill
If your main goal is simply less tracking and your basics are not in place yet, a VPN is usually not your first gain point. Then passwords, 2FA, and the normal baseline matter more.
What to look for in a privacy VPN
No-logs policy — independently audited Every VPN claims to keep no logs. The question is: has that been verified by an independent auditor? Unaudited claims are worthless.
Jurisdiction Where is the company based? A provider in the US or UK can be compelled to hand over data under national law. Switzerland, Sweden and Iceland have stronger privacy legislation, but no jurisdiction is fully immune.
Anonymous payment Paying with a credit card links your identity to your VPN usage. Providers that accept cash, Monero or Bitcoin give you the option to stay genuinely anonymous.
Open-source client Is the app code public? Open-source software can be inspected — closed software cannot.
WireGuard support WireGuard is faster and simpler than OpenVPN and is the current standard for new implementations. Providers offering only OpenVPN are behind.
Ownership structure Kape Technologies owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost and Private Internet Access. An investor with an adware history now owning multiple “privacy” VPN brands is a red flag.
Quick choice
Use this as a first filter, not as the final answer:
| If this is your priority | Look first at |
|---|---|
| Giving away as little personal data as possible | Mullvad |
| Good balance of privacy, ease of use, and extra features | ProtonVPN |
| More control and more privacy options | IVPN |
| Mostly convenience, broad coverage, and little manual work | NordVPN |
| Following a new technical approach, but not trusting it blindly yet | VP.NET |
The comparison
| Provider | Jurisdiction | Audited | Anonymous payment | Open-source | WireGuard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mullvad | Sweden | Yes | Cash, Monero, BTC | Yes | Yes |
| ProtonVPN | Switzerland | Yes | BTC, cash | Yes | Yes |
| IVPN | Gibraltar | Yes | Monero, BTC, cash | Yes | Yes |
| Windscribe | Canada | Partial | BTC | Yes | Yes |
| NordVPN | Panama | Yes | Crypto | Partial | Yes (NordLynx) |
| ExpressVPN | BVI (Kape) | Yes | Crypto | No | Yes (Lightway) |
| Surfshark | Netherlands | Yes | Crypto | No | Yes |
Per provider
Mullvad — best choice for anonymity
Mullvad works with numbers instead of accounts. You create an account without an email address, username or any personal details. You receive a randomly generated account number.
You can pay with cash by post (literally send banknotes to Sweden), Monero, Bitcoin or credit card. The credit card option is available but links your identity to your account.
The pricing model is simple: one rate, no discounts for longer subscriptions, no tricks. €5 per month.
Independent audits by Cure53 (2020, 2021, 2024), Assured AB (2022), and Radically Open Security (2023) support the no-logs policy.
What you gain: minimal account data, simple pricing, strong reputation, anonymous payment options.
What you give up: less consumer convenience than large marketing VPNs, no bundle ecosystem, and a slightly more deliberate setup process.
Choose Mullvad if: anonymity is the priority and you’re willing to configure the app yourself.
Overkill if: you mostly want an easy default VPN and will pay with card anyway.
ProtonVPN — best choice for balance
ProtonVPN comes from the team behind ProtonMail, based in Switzerland. They have a free tier — the only free VPN on this list worth taking seriously. Paid versions add Secure Core (traffic routes through an extra server in a privacy-friendly country) and Tor-over-VPN.
Open-source apps for all platforms, multiple independent audits.
The organisational structure is more complex than Mullvad — they are more commercial and offer subscription discounts for longer periods.
What you gain: a strong balance between privacy and convenience, a serious free option, and bundle value if you already use Proton.
What you give up: more account structure and more commercial subscription behavior than Mullvad, with a less minimalist setup.
Choose ProtonVPN if: you also use ProtonMail (combine accounts), want a free option to test, or want Tor-over-VPN and Secure Core.
Overkill if: you do not need Secure Core, Tor-over-VPN, or the broader Proton ecosystem.
IVPN — maximum privacy control
IVPN is less well known but has one of the strongest privacy positions in the market. No email address required, payment in Monero, BTC or cash. Multi-hop available as standard (traffic via two servers in two countries).
More expensive than Mullvad and ProtonVPN, but offers more control for those who need it.
What you gain: more privacy options, stronger control, and payment methods that suit privacy-focused users.
What you give up: a higher price and more complexity than many normal users actually need.
Choose IVPN if: you want the maximum from a VPN and multi-hop and Monero payment are priorities.
Overkill if: you mainly want one reliable VPN to turn on without further tuning.
NordVPN — for mainstream use
NordVPN is a solid choice for people who want a user-friendly VPN without diving into technical details. Audited, WireGuard-based (NordLynx), large server network.
The ownership structure is more transparent than Kape brands, but the app is closed source. Ideal for people who want to install a VPN and forget about it.
What you gain: convenience, a broad server network, low learning curve, and competitive entry pricing.
What you give up: less transparency than the more privacy-focused leaders and a weaker fit if you want anonymous payment or minimal account data.
Choose NordVPN if: ease of use and price are priorities and you don’t need anonymous payment.
Overkill if: you want a VPN primarily as a principled privacy measure rather than as a convenience layer.
ExpressVPN and Surfshark — not recommended for privacy-conscious users
ExpressVPN is owned by Kape Technologies, a company that previously distributed adware. High price for what you get.
Surfshark is cheap and suitable for unlocking geo-restricted content, but not the choice if privacy is the priority.
Also note: Surfshark and NordVPN have been part of the same parent company, Nord Security, since 2022. If you are consciously diversifying or consciously avoiding that group, keep that in mind.
VP.NET — one to watch (new, June 2025)
VP.NET was founded by Andrew Lee — the original founder of PIA (Private Internet Access), who left after PIA was acquired by Kape Technologies.
The technology is different from every other VPN provider: VP.NET uses Intel SGX secure enclaves — isolated, encrypted memory regions on the server that are inaccessible to the operating system, the hypervisor, and even server administrators. The enclave runs a cryptographic mixer that maps your identity to temporary session IDs. The enclave code is public on GitHub — you can verify yourself that the code running matches what was published.
The philosophy: “don’t trust, verify” — privacy by technical design, not policy promises.
Caveats:
- Launched June 2025 — too new for an independent audit track record
- Intel SGX has had vulnerabilities in the past (Spectre-class attacks) — the security model is only as good as Intel’s enclave implementation
- No proven track record at scale
What you gain: a more interesting technical trust model than a simple “trust us, we do not log” promise.
What you give up: limited operating history, less established confidence, and more design risk because the model has not been pressure-tested for long enough.
Conclusion: Technically the most interesting new VPN design in years. Not enough history yet to recommend as a first choice — but worth following. If the audit track record builds up, this could change the standard.
What to avoid
Free VPN services (except ProtonVPN free tier) If you’re not paying, you’re the product. Free VPN services need revenue. That revenue comes from your data: traffic analysis, behavioural profiling, or sale to advertising networks. Some are outright malware.
VPN rankings on affiliate sites Search for “best VPN 2026”? The results are almost always based on affiliate commissions, not independent research. Sites like BestVPN and similar earn up to €100 per referred subscription.
VPN as the only privacy measure A VPN changes who sees your internet traffic — from your provider to the VPN provider. It doesn’t protect against tracking cookies, browser fingerprinting, data breaches at services you use, or malware. It’s one layer, not a complete solution.
VPN on router vs. per device
If you have a GL.iNet router, you can set up VPN at router level. All devices on your network automatically go through VPN — including devices that don’t support their own VPN app (smart TV, games console, IoT).
Advantage: one setting, everything protected. Disadvantage: slightly lower speed due to router-level encryption, and it’s harder to toggle per device.
See the GL.iNet setup guide for step-by-step WireGuard configuration on router.
Summary
| Priority | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Maximum anonymity | Mullvad — numbered account, cash/Monero payment |
| Privacy + features balance | ProtonVPN — Swiss, Secure Core, free tier |
| Maximum control | IVPN — multi-hop, Monero, no account required |
| Ease of use and price | NordVPN — user-friendly, audited |
| Follow, but do not recommend blindly yet | VP.NET — interesting model, still too young |
| Avoid | ExpressVPN (Kape), free VPN services |
What is probably the right answer for most readers
For most PrivacyGear readers, this is the practical order:
- first understand what a VPN does and does not do
- only choose a VPN if you have a concrete reason for it
- then usually choose between Mullvad, ProtonVPN, and IVPN
If you do not have a clear purpose beyond “do something for privacy”, a VPN is often not the best first step.
Next step
Decide first
- Which network setup fits your profile? — place the VPN decision in your wider network picture first
- VPN: what it does and what it doesn’t — VPN limitations explained
Go further
- Setting up a GL.iNet travel router — configure VPN at router level
Reviews
- Mullvad VPN review — most recommended VPN
- ProtonVPN review — Swiss privacy
- IVPN review — multi-hop by default