Top 10 VPNs in 2025 for Security & Privacy: In-Depth Analysis

VPNs are effectively a tool that encrypts internet traffic and masks users' IP addresses, in attempts to make online activities more private and secure. They are commonly used to bypass geo-restrictions, protect data on public Wi-Fi, and prevent ISPs from tracking browsing activity.

While VPNs don't guarantee anonymity, they do enhance privacy to a certain extent by encrypting data and routing it through their servers. However, their effectiveness largely depends on various factors such as the VPN provider's logging policy, jurisdiction, and encryption standards.

There are several blog posts ranking top VPNs based on a combination of criteria such as performance, speed, and usability. However, we have yet to come across a ranking that prioritises security and privacy as the main evaluation factors

Choosing the best VPN in 2025 means balancing security and privacy. After extensive independent research we’ve ranked the top 10 VPN services based on the following criteria:

VPN Criteria:

• Jurisdiction – Privacy-friendly location outside Five, Nine, and 14 Eyes alliances; stable political climate and strong internet privacy laws.
• Security Features – Robust encryption, reliable kill switches, RAM-only servers, DNS/IP leak protection, advanced protocols (WireGuard, MultiHop) etc.
• Privacy & Anonymity – Independently verified no-logs policy, minimal data collection, anonymous payments, GDPR/CCPA compliance, and resistance to legal data requests.
• Transparency – Frequency, comprehensiveness, and rotation of third-party no-log and security audits, public penetration test disclosures, and transparent incident communication.
• Proprietary Security Tools – Effectiveness of obfuscation, Tor-over-VPN, automatic WireGuard key rotation, dedicated privacy browsers, and unique privacy solutions.
• Vulnerability Management – Track record in handling security flaws, IP leaks, CVEs, and their response times to fixing critical vulnerabilities.

1. NordVPN

NordVPN, based in Panama, benefits from a jurisdiction free of data retention laws and outside surveillance alliances. It maintains a strict no-logs policy, verified through multiple independent audits. All servers operate on RAM-only infrastructure, ensuring no user data is stored. Security features include AES-256 encryption, Double VPN, Onion-over-VPN, and a kill switch.

It uses a prosperity NordLynx protocol which provides enhanced privacy through advanced techniques like automatic key rotation and minimal logging of connection data, significantly reducing users' digital footprints. NordVPN consistently achieves full marks in IP leak prevention tests and advanced security assessments.

NordVPN has scored high across security incident prevention, proprietary obfuscation, and advanced security features, with no recent IP leaks identified and reliable kill switch functionality. It is one of the most extensively audited VPN providers, consistently addressing vulnerabilities through third-party penetration tests and transparency reports.

2. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN, registered in the British Virgin Islands, benefits from a jurisdiction without mandatory data retention laws and independence from international surveillance alliances. ExpressVPN maintains a strict no-logs policy, verified through 18 independent audits, demonstrating robust security compliance.

ExpressVPN operates RAM-only servers using its proprietary TrustedServer technology, which ensures that the operating system and applications are freshly loaded from a secure, read-only image every time a server boots up. This approach guarantees that servers always run the latest software updates and configurations, significantly reducing the risk of vulnerabilities or mis-configurations.

Its other advanced security tools are AES-256 encryption, a reliable kill switch, and the proprietary Lightway protocol, engineered specifically for enhanced speed, security, and reliability. Lightway complements TrustedServer technology by reducing connection overhead, quickly rotating encryption keys, and minimizing data exposure.

ExpressVPN has open-sourced its proprietary VPN protocol, Lightway, but not its entire suite of applications. The core codebase of Lightway has been made available on GitHub, ensuring transparency regarding the protocol itself. However, the ExpressVPN applications that implement the Lightway protocol remain closed-source, limiting the extent of public scrutiny.

An IP leak was found in expressVPN in May 2022 specifically affecting users utilizing the "Only allow selected apps to use the VPN" split tunneling mode. ExpressVPN has since removed the split tunneling feature from the latest Windows version (12.73.0) to prevent this issue. This bug is said to have impacted less than 1% of ExpressVPN's Windows users, and no other VPN protections, such as encryption, were affected.

3. ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is headquartered in Switzerland, a country known for its strong data protection laws and independence from the Five, Nine, and 14 Eyes alliances. It follows a strict no-logs policy, independently verified multiple times, and offers Secure Core servers, which route traffic through high-security locations before reaching its destination. It supports multi-hop VPN and Tor-over-VPN integration, adding extra anonymity. ProtonVPN provides full transparency, publishing regular reports.

The company provides full transparency by publishing reports and has go through several independent audits, with the most recent in July 2024 . However, the frequency of no log audit policies and penetration testing reports has been significantly low compared to providers like NordVPN, Express VPN raising concerns about long-term verification frequency.

4. Mullvad

Mullvad, based in Sweden, a 14-Eyes country, enforces a strict no-logs policy verified through independent audits. It allows anonymous account creation without email verification. ​Mullvad has transitioned its entire VPN infrastructure to operate solely on RAM, eliminating the use of physical disks. This approach ensures that no data is permanently stored on their servers.

Notably, Mullvad accepts anonymous payments, including cash and privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Monero. In 2023, Swedish authorities attempted to seize user data from Mullvad’s servers but came back empty handed, hence giving credence to its privacy-first model approach.

Mullvad was also among first and early adopters of WireGuard encryption. Its software is fully open-source, enabling public scrutiny and verification of security. Unique privacy tools like the Mullvad Browser, developed alongside the Tor Project to reduce online tracking, and Mullvad Leta, a privacy-focused search proxy using Google Search APIs, further distinguish Mullvad. It also offers secure Public DNS supporting DNS over HTTPS and TLS. Despite these strengths, Mullvad ranks lower than industry leaders due to being part of 14-Eyes country and less frequent penetration testing disclosures and limited transparency in security audits compared to top providers like NordVPN and ProtonVPN. However, its open-source nature, to a degree, partially compensates for this limitation by allowing continuous community-driven scrutiny and security assessments.

5. Surfshark

Surfshark is based in the Netherlands, a 14-Eyes country, but follows a strict no-logs policy, independently audited by third party firms. It operates RAM-only servers and provides MultiHop VPN, which routes traffic through two VPN servers for enhanced privacy. Surfshark scored highly in advanced security features, including malware blocking, multi-hop support, and automatic WireGuard key rotation. It also implements proprietary obfuscation protocols to prevent Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) from detecting VPN usage.

Although, Surfshark passed our IP leak test, however, there has been an instance of IP leak during an FBI investigation into a cybersecurity incident involving a former Ubiquiti employee. The suspect's real IP address was exposed when a Surfshark VPN connection failed, enabling law enforcement to trace the activity directly back to him.

6. CyberGhost

CyberGhost is headquartered in Romania, which has no mandatory data retention laws and is outside the 5/9/14 Eyes alliances. It enforces a strict no-logs policy, audited by Deloitte in 2022. It supports AES-256 encryption, an automatic kill switch, and DNS leak protection. CyberGhost has one of the largest VPN server networks, with over 9,000 servers in 90+ countries. However, its public security transparency reports have been less frequent than its major competitors.

7. IVPN

IVPN is headquartered in Gibraltar, which is generally considered privacy-friendly and outside the main surveillance alliances. It maintains a strict no-logs policy independently confirmed through audits and openly publishes transparency reports indicating no user data has ever been handed over to authorities. IVPN offers MultiHop VPN for increased anonymity and an always-on firewall-based kill switch for leak prevention. However, Gibraltar, despite being outside the major Eyes alliances, does have certain connections with the UK and the EU, potentially posing indirect jurisdictional risks. Additionally, IVPN's frequency and comprehensiveness of publicly available penetration testing and audit disclosures fall short compared to industry leaders like NordVPN or ProtonVPN, impacting its overall transparency rating.

8. Hide.me VPN

Hide.me VPN is based in Malaysia, which has no mandatory data retention laws and remains outside major surveillance alliances like the Five Eyes. It follows a strict no-logs policy, independently confirmed by recent audits. Hide.me employs AES-256 encryption, WireGuard support, a reliable kill switch, and Stealth Guard, allowing users to restrict specific apps from accessing the internet without VPN protection.

However, Hide.me provides fewer publicly available penetration testing reports and audit disclosures compared to leading VPN providers like NordVPN or ProtonVPN, limiting transparency about ongoing security verification.

9. IPvanish

IPVanish is headquartered in the United States, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which raises concerns about potential government surveillance. In 2016, under previous ownership, IPVanish provided user logs to the Department of Homeland Security, contradicting its then-claimed no-logs policy.

In April 2022, IPVanish underwent an independent audit by Leviathan Security Group, which confirmed adherence to its no-logs policy.

While IPVanish supports standard security features such as AES-256 encryption, WireGuard protocol, DNS leak protection, and a kill switch. Additionally, compared to leading providers like NordVPN and ProtonVPN, IPVanish has fewer publicly available security audits and penetration test reports, limiting transparency about its ongoing security verification.

10. PureVPN

PureVPN, based in the British Virgin Islands, has made efforts to improve its reputation by transitioning to RAM-only servers. However, past incidents, including an IP leak and logging controversies, have impacted its reputation.

Additionally, during our internal security testing, we discovered critical security vulnerabilities in PureVPN's Linux client, detailed in our full vulnerability disclosure here. Consequently, any recent IP leaks seriously impact a VPN's trustworthiness and place the provider significantly lower in security and privacy rankings.

The analysis provided is thorough and aligns well with current publicly available information on VPN security and privacy practices. For further updates or corrections, the contact provided ([email protected]) is an appropriate point of reference.