NordVPNnordvpn.com
79of 90
9Speed
9Privacy
10Security
9Servers
9Streaming
7Price
9Ease of use
9Support
8Trustpilot 4.2/5
Scores updated October 2026
I Scored 15 Popular VPNs on 9 Features
One table, one score out of 90 per VPN, no affiliate links. I scored each VPN 1 to 10 on speed, privacy, security, servers, streaming, price, ease of use, support and Trustpilot rating. NordVPN leads with 79 of 90. Sort the board by whatever you actually care about.
15VPNs compared
9Features scored
79/90Top score, NordVPN
$2.03/moCheapest plan, Private Internet Access
| # | VPN | Speed | Privacy | Security | Servers | Streaming | Price | Ease of use | Support | Trustpilot | Total | Actual price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NordVPNnordvpn.com Buy | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 84.2 / 5 | 79OF 90 | $3.49/mo$94.23 for 27 mo |
| 2 | ExpressVPNexpressvpn.com Buy | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 94.4 / 5 | 78OF 90 | $2.99/mo$83.72 for 28 mo |
| 3 | Surfsharksurfshark.com Buy | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 94.3 / 5 | 77OF 90 | $2.49/mo$67.23 for 27 mo |
| 4 | CyberGhostcyberghostvpn.com Buy | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 84.0 / 5 | 72OF 90 | $2.19/mo$56.94 for 26 mo |
| 5 | Private Internet Accessprivateinternetaccess.com Buy | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 84.2 / 5 | 71OF 90 | $2.03/mo$79.00 for 39 mo |
| 6 | Proton VPNprotonvpn.com Buy | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 42.1 / 5 | 68OF 90 | $2.99/mo$71.76 for 24 mo |
| 7 | PureVPNpurevpn.com Buy | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 94.4 / 5 | 67OF 90 | $2.15/mo$58.20 for 27 mo |
| 8 | Windscribewindscribe.com Buy | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 94.7 / 5 | 66OF 90 | $5.75/mo$69.00 for 12 mo |
| 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 94.3 / 5 | 65OF 90 | $2.69/mo$69.99 for 26 mo | |
| 10 | Mullvadmullvad.net Buy | 8 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 73.5 / 5 | 65OF 90 | $5.60/mo$5.60 for 1 mo |
| 11 | IPVanishipvanish.com Buy | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 84.0 / 5 | 64OF 90 | $2.39/mo$57.36 for 24 mo |
| 12 | Hotspot Shieldhotspotshield.com Buy | 8 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 73.4 / 5 | 61OF 90 | $7.99/mo$95.88 for 12 mo |
| 13 | Norton VPNus.norton.com Buy | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 94.7 / 5 | 61OF 90 | $6.67/mo$79.99 for 12 mo |
| 14 | VyprVPNvyprvpn.com Buy | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 63.1 / 5 | 59OF 90 | $3.00/mo$72.00 for 24 mo |
| 15 | TunnelBeartunnelbear.com Buy | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 41.9 / 5 | 56OF 90 | $3.33/mo$120.00 for 36 mo |
ExpressVPNexpressvpn.com
78of 90
9Speed
9Privacy
9Security
9Servers
9Streaming
5Price
10Ease of use
9Support
9Trustpilot 4.4/5
Surfsharksurfshark.com
77of 90
9Speed
8Privacy
9Security
8Servers
9Streaming
9Price
8Ease of use
8Support
9Trustpilot 4.3/5
CyberGhostcyberghostvpn.com
72of 90
8Speed
7Privacy
8Security
10Servers
8Streaming
8Price
8Ease of use
7Support
8Trustpilot 4.0/5
Private Internet Accessprivateinternetaccess.com
71of 90
8Speed
8Privacy
9Security
9Servers
6Streaming
9Price
7Ease of use
7Support
8Trustpilot 4.2/5
Proton VPNprotonvpn.com
68of 90
8Speed
10Privacy
9Security
8Servers
7Streaming
7Price
8Ease of use
7Support
4Trustpilot 2.1/5
PureVPNpurevpn.com
67of 90
7Speed
6Privacy
8Security
8Servers
7Streaming
8Price
7Ease of use
7Support
9Trustpilot 4.4/5
Windscribewindscribe.com
66of 90
7Speed
8Privacy
8Security
7Servers
6Streaming
8Price
7Ease of use
6Support
9Trustpilot 4.7/5
Hide.mehide.me
65of 90
7Speed
8Privacy
8Security
6Servers
6Streaming
7Price
7Ease of use
7Support
9Trustpilot 4.3/5
Mullvadmullvad.net
65of 90
8Speed
10Privacy
9Security
6Servers
4Streaming
8Price
7Ease of use
6Support
7Trustpilot 3.5/5
IPVanishipvanish.com
64of 90
7Speed
7Privacy
8Security
7Servers
6Streaming
7Price
7Ease of use
7Support
8Trustpilot 4.0/5
Hotspot Shieldhotspotshield.com
61of 90
8Speed
5Privacy
7Security
8Servers
7Streaming
5Price
8Ease of use
6Support
7Trustpilot 3.4/5
Norton VPNus.norton.com
61of 90
7Speed
5Privacy
7Security
6Servers
6Streaming
6Price
8Ease of use
7Support
9Trustpilot 4.7/5
VyprVPNvyprvpn.com
59of 90
7Speed
7Privacy
8Security
6Servers
6Streaming
6Price
7Ease of use
6Support
6Trustpilot 3.1/5
TunnelBeartunnelbear.com
56of 90
6Speed
7Privacy
7Security
5Servers
4Streaming
7Price
10Ease of use
6Support
4Trustpilot 1.9/5
8 to 10 strong5 to 7 fair1 to 4 weakTrustpilot = TrustScore × 2No affiliate links. Website links and Buy buttons go straight to the provider. I earn nothing if you buy.Prices are USD for the cheapest plan on the longest term, billed up front. Scores and prices updated October 7, 2026.
Best VPN for each feature
The top scorer in every column, from my scores. Ties go to the VPN with the higher total.
Speed
NordVPN 9
Download throughput and latency over WireGuard
Privacy
Proton VPN 10
No-logs policy, independent audits, jurisdiction
Security
NordVPN 10
Encryption, kill switch, DNS and IPv6 leak protection
Servers
CyberGhost 10
Server count and country coverage
Streaming
NordVPN 9
Unblocks Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+ and live sport
Price
Surfshark 9
Value on 1 and 2 year plans, refund window
Ease of use
ExpressVPN 10
App quality, setup, defaults
Support
NordVPN 9
Live chat availability and response time
Trustpilot
ExpressVPN 9
Trustpilot TrustScore out of 5, doubled to a 1 to 10 scale
How to read the scoreboard
Each row is a VPN and each column is a feature I scored from 1 to 10. The last column adds the 9 scores into a total out of 90, and the table opens ranked by that total. The rank number on the left never changes when you sort, so you can always see where a VPN sits overall.
Pick the column that matters to you
A top total is not the same as the right VPN for you. If you mostly stream, sort by Streaming. If you want the strictest privacy, sort by Privacy: the leaders there have audited no-logs policies, RAM-only servers and a home jurisdiction outside intelligence-sharing alliances.
What the colors mean
- Green, 8 to 10: among the best I tested for that feature.
- Yellow, 5 to 7: fair. It works, but a competitor does it better.
- Red, 1 to 4: a weak spot to know about before you pay.
The Trustpilot column
Trustpilot is the one column I do not score myself. I take the provider's public TrustScore, out of 5, double it and round to the nearest whole number. The raw TrustScore sits under each pip. It is a customer-service signal, not a security one: a VPN can be fast and private and still rate poorly for billing and refunds.
Buying a VPN from the scoreboard
The Actual price column shows the cheapest standard plan on the longest term each provider sells, as a monthly equivalent and as the total you pay up front. Most providers bill the whole term at once and renew at a higher rate, so check the renewal price before you pay. The Buy button and the link under each VPN's name open the provider's own website in a new tab. These are plain links. I have no referral or affiliate link with any VPN on this site, so I earn nothing if you buy, and no provider can pay for a score.
How I test speed
Speed is download throughput and latency over WireGuard, or the provider's own WireGuard-based protocol such as NordLynx or Lightway, against a 1 Gbps baseline from a wired connection. I test nearby and long-distance servers at three times of day and score the median.
Disagree with a score?
Good. These are my scores, not gospel, and I would rather fix a wrong one than defend it. Send me a message with what you found and I will re-test and update the table.
Top 5 by total
- NordVPN 79 / 90
- ExpressVPN 78 / 90
- Surfshark 77 / 90
- CyberGhost 72 / 90
- Private Internet Access 71 / 90
Scores last updated October 7, 2026. Not sponsored, no affiliate links.
See all 15 VPNsQuestions people ask me
I give each VPN a score from 1 to 10 on nine features: speed, privacy, security, servers, streaming, price, ease of use, support and Trustpilot rating. The total is the plain sum of those nine scores, out of 90. No feature is weighted more than another, so you can sort by the column that matters to you.
A green score of 8 to 10 means the VPN is among the best I tested for that feature. Yellow, 5 to 7, is fair: it works but a competitor does it better. Red, 1 to 4, is a weak spot you should know about before buying.
I re-test speeds and re-check prices, audits and streaming access roughly every quarter, and sooner when a provider changes its plans or has a security incident. The last update date is shown under the table.
It is the provider's public TrustScore on trustpilot.com, out of 5, doubled and rounded to fit the 1 to 10 scale. A 4.5 TrustScore becomes a 9. I refresh it with every scoreboard update and show the raw TrustScore under the pip.
Sort the table by the Speed column. Providers running WireGuard or a WireGuard-based protocol such as NordLynx and Lightway consistently came out on top in my throughput tests.
No. This is a personal, non-profit project. I have no referral or affiliate link with any VPN on the scoreboard, no sponsors and no ads. The links are plain links to each provider's own website and I earn nothing if you buy. No provider can pay for a score, a position, or to be listed.
You should not take them on faith. Every score is shown separately, the method is public on the How I Score page, and the raw inputs for Trustpilot and price are visible in the table. If you think I got one wrong, send me a message through the contact page with what you found and I will re-test and change it.