When a VPN supplier claims to have a “no-logs policy,” it signifies that they gained’t retailer or “log” customers’ on-line exercise and knowledge. This consists of delicate data reminiscent of searching historical past, IP addresses, downloaded recordsdata, and different knowledge that might be tied again to you.
VPNs are primarily used to safe on-line visitors and assist customers stay nameless to keep away from focused advertisements, disguise their location, or make sure the safety and privateness of their private knowledge.
Although many VPN suppliers could promote having a no-logs coverage, not all follow-through with their guarantees. Some suppliers don’t have impartial safety audits that affirm their coverage, leaving all of it to belief. A lot worse, some VPN suppliers have been caught logging knowledge regardless of claiming not to take action.
On this article, we’ll discover VPNs that actually enable you to browse anonymously and conduct third-party audits to show they don’t log consumer knowledge.
Nameless (No-Log) VPNs in contrast
Under are a number of the key options to search for in an nameless, no-log VPN. The variations between these will spotlight how every VPN can fit your wants finest whereas offering high-quality safety.
| Servers and Nations | Most Current Safety Audit | Safety Protocols | Machine Connections | Annual Pricing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 7,067 servers in 113 international locations | December 2023 by Deloitte Lithuania | OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsec, NordLyx (primarily based on WireGuard) | 10 | $4.59 monthly |
| Surfshark | 3,200+ servers in 100 international locations | December 2023 Cell App Security Evaluation (MASA) | OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2 | Limitless | $2.99 monthly |
| Proton VPN | 9,586 servers in 117 international locations | July 2024 by Securitum | OpenVPN, WireGuard, Stealth (Mac) | 10 | $4.99 monthly |
| Mullvad VPN | 649 servers from 48 international locations | December 2024 by X41 D-Sec representatives | OpenVPN and WireGuard | 5 | $5.20 monthly |
| ExpressVPN | 3,000 servers (reported) in 105 international locations | June 2024 by Cure53 | OpenVPN and Lightway | 8 | $6.67 monthly |
| CyberGhost VPN | 9,000-11,000 servers (reported) in 100 international locations | Might 2024 by Deloitte Audit Romania | OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2 | 7 | $6.99 monthly (6-month plan) |
NordVPN: Finest general
NordVPN supplies an in depth suite of privateness and security-focused options that make it one of many prime VPNs immediately. It boasts double VPN capabilities, obfuscated servers, sturdy AES-256 encryption, and built-in safety towards malware and advertisements. That is on prime of getting an intuitive utility and quick web efficiency.
In January 2024, NordVPN introduced that it had commissioned a fourth third-party audit confirming its no-logs coverage which states that no knowledge of customers’ on-line exercise is ever saved or recorded. Particularly, Deloitte Lithuania audited NordVPN from the interval of November 30 till December 7, 2023.
That is on prime of its different audits, reminiscent of a third-party analysis performed by Cure53 again in February 2023 on NordVPN’s structure and cellular app safety and an analogous no-logs audit by Deloitte again in January 2023.
Why I selected NordVPN
I’ve NordVPN as my finest general for its sturdy mixture of safety features, giant server fleet, and verified no-logs coverage. It not solely has a no-logs coverage that’s been lately confirmed by an impartial safety audit, however it additionally brings quick efficiency and a contemporary consumer interface as effectively.
Pricing
NordVPN has three tiers: Customary, Plus, and Full. Of the three, I really feel NordVPN Plus presents one of the best stability of options and worth. It consists of the VPN, malware safety, knowledge breach scanning, and advert blocking.
- NordVPN Plus 1 month: $13.99 monthly.
- NordVPN Plus 1 yr: $5.49 monthly.
- NordVPN Plus 2 years: $3.89 monthly.
Options
- 7,067 servers in 113 international locations.
- Risk safety towards malware, advertisements, and trackers.
- Helps as much as six simultaneous connections.
- Darkish Net Monitor.
- Encrypted file-sharing characteristic.
NordVPN execs and cons
| Professionals | Cons |
|---|---|
| Specialised servers for safety and privateness. | No free model. |
| Quick and dependable VPN velocity. | Priced comparatively excessive. |
| Independently audited no-logs coverage. | |
| Intuitive desktop utility. |
For extra data, learn our full NordVPN evaluation.
Surfshark: Finest for these on a funds
Surfshark supplies a safe VPN answer at a really low value. Surfshark’s one-year and two-year plans are a number of the most affordably priced out there. You additionally get limitless gadget connections with all Surfshark plans, permitting you to guard a number of gadgets at no extra value.
On the no-logs entrance, Surfshark’s no-logs coverage was confirmed by Deloitte in January 2023. Its most up-to-date audit was in December 2023, when Surfshark’s Android cellular app handed an impartial Cell App Security Evaluation (MASA).
Why I selected Surfshark
I picked Surfshark for being the most effective VPN choices for these on a funds. It has a slew of subscription choices that supply flexibility to completely different customers, supplies an intuitive desktop utility, and has been audited by an impartial agency.
I significantly like the way it permits for limitless gadget connections, making it an excellent more sensible choice for customers who don’t wish to buy an extra subscription to guard extra gadgets.
Pricing
Surfshark has three tiers: Starter, One, and One+. I like to recommend going for Surfshark One because it nonetheless presents decrease charges with out dropping out on options reminiscent of antivirus safety, breach alerts, and knowledge safety studies that aren’t present in Starter.
If you need Surfshark’s most reasonably priced plan, I recommend selecting Surfshark Starter for one yr at $2.99 monthly.
- Surfshark Starter 1 yr: $2.99 monthly.
- Surfshark One 1 month: $17.95 monthly.
- Surfshark One 1 yr: $3.39 monthly.
- Surfshark One 2 years: $2.49 monthly.
Options
- 3,200+ servers in 100 international locations.
- 24/7 dwell help and guides.
- Limitless gadget connections.
- RAM-only servers.
- Antivirus and knowledge breach monitoring.
- MultiHop.
Surfshark VPN execs and cons
| Professionals | Cons |
|---|---|
| Inexpensive pricing. | No free model. |
| Intuitive consumer interface. | No Home windows free trial. |
| Quick speeds and efficiency. | Month-to-month subscription is expensive. |
| Can defend a number of gadgets with one account. | Some options could also be buggy at the beginning. |
For extra data, learn our full Surfshark evaluation.
Proton VPN: Finest towards authorities surveillance
Customers nervous about authorities intervention or knowledge requests ought to strive Proton VPN. It has the distinctive benefit of being primarily based in Switzerland, a rustic with a number of the strongest privateness legal guidelines on this planet. This helps alleviate any considerations that authorities could seize consumer knowledge from the VPN for surveillance functions.
Proton VPN can be open-source, which signifies that its code is publicly accessible to be inspected for vulnerabilities or dangers.
By way of its no-logs claims, it was most lately audited again on July 12, 2024 by Securitum. The third-party audit confirmed that Proton VPN didn’t hold logs or commit anti-privacy practices. Securitum was additionally the agency that audited Proton VPN’s no-logs coverage again in April 2023.
Why I selected Proton VPN
I chosen Proton VPN for its distinctive worth proposition of working in a privacy-friendly nation — Switzerland. Within the realm of VPNs, there have been situations the place surveillance-heavy international locations have ordered VPNs handy over consumer knowledge regardless of no-logs claims. With Proton VPN, you will have much less to fret about since Swiss privateness legal guidelines are a number of the hardest on this planet.
Pricing
Exterior of getting a free model, ProtonVPN has two tiers: Plus and Limitless. Plus, it consists of the VPN itself, whereas Limitless consists of Proton’s different providers reminiscent of Proton Mail, Go, and Drive.
- Free.
- Proton VPN Plus 1-month: $9.99 monthly.
- Proton VPN Plus 1 yr: $4.99 monthly.
- Proton VPN Plus 2 years: $4.49 monthly.
Options
- 9,586 servers in 117 international locations.
- Has a free model.
- 10 GBps succesful servers.
- Helps as much as 10 simultaneous connections.
Proton VPN execs and cons
| Professionals | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free model has no knowledge restrict. | Stay chat is barely accessible for paid customers. |
| Independently audited no logs coverage. | |
| Open supply. | |
| Based mostly in privacy-friendly Switzerland. |
For extra data, learn our full Proton VPN evaluation.
Mullvad VPN: Finest for privateness lovers
Privateness lovers have long-recognized Mullvad VPN for its huge concentrate on anonymity and privateness — and it lives as much as the hype. Mullvad makes use of a singular and nameless account quantity system that eliminates the necessity for customers to share their private e mail to create an account.
Moreover, the VPN additionally lets customers pay for the service by way of money, cryptocurrency, or bodily vouchers. This enables customers to forego the same old bank card or PayPal funds, eradicating any want handy over delicate cost data.
Its no-logs coverage has additionally been confirmed by Assured AB in June 2022, with their most up-to-date infrastructure audit by Radically Open Safety being printed simply final August 2023.
In December 2024, Mullvad VPN shared its most up-to-date safety audit that evaluated its VPN app’s safety degree. Performed by professionals from X41 D-Sec, the audit concluded that Mullvad VPN’s utility and supply code had a “high-security level” general.
Why I selected Mullvad VPN
I selected Mullvad VPN for its proactive efforts to make sure the utmost privateness for its customers and clients. Its randomized account numbering system and nameless cost strategies are underrated options that I do know deliver a number of worth to individuals who worth their privateness on-line.
Pricing
- Flat fee of €5 or $5.20 monthly, no matter subscription size.
Options
- Nameless consumer account numbers.
- 649 servers from 48 international locations.
- Cut up tunneling.
- Constructed-in kill swap.
Mullvad VPN execs and cons
| Professionals | Cons |
|---|---|
| Independently audited no-logs coverage. | Small server community. |
| Inexpensive month-to-month subscription. | Longer subscriptions might be costly. |
| Respectable velocity and efficiency. | No free trial. |
| Straightforward to make use of desktop app. | |
| Lets customers pay in money or vouchers. |
For extra data, learn the full Mullvad VPN evaluation.
ExpressVPN: Finest for safety audits
In case you’re searching for a VPN supplier that’s proven a powerful dedication to third-party testing, try ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN has a complete of 19 third-party audits for his or her entire suite of merchandise, which embrace their VPN desktop apps, privateness coverage, browser extensions, and cellular counterparts. This exhibits us that ExpressVPN shouldn’t be afraid to check their safety claims throughout their providers.
Luckily, these audits complement a really stable VPN service that gives a big server community, a well-designed consumer interface, and quick general speeds.
ExpressVPN’s most up-to-date audit was in June 2024 by Cure53, which assessed their VPN browser extension, significantly for Chrome and Firefox. Per the report, Cure53 praised ExpressVPN’s browser extension for its “well-implemented security measures.”
Why I selected ExpressVPN
I picked ExpressVPN for its spectacular portfolio of third-party audits. As of December 2024, ExpressVPN has 19 safety audits evaluating numerous facets of its service. I particularly respect how ExpressVPN has had its app bear in depth impartial testing since 2018 — a testomony to how severe they take the general safety of their VPN.
Pricing
ExpressVPN has simple pricing, providing a month-to-month, one-year, and a two-year plan for its VPN utility. Under is the pricing for every:
- 1 month: $12.95 monthly.
- 1 yr: $6.67 monthly.
- 2 years: $4.99 monthly.
Options
- RAM-only server expertise.
- Browser extension that acts as distant.
- As much as eight simultaneous gadget connections.
- Servers unfold throughout 105 international locations.
ExpressVPN execs and cons
| Professionals | Cons |
|---|---|
| Intuitive and well-designed app interface. | Not as reasonably priced as different VPNs. |
| Quick and dependable speeds. | |
| Independently audited VPN. |
For extra data, learn our full ExpressVPN evaluation.
CyberGhost VPN: Finest for giant server and placement community
These searching for a big server community unfold throughout many places ought to take into account CyberGhost VPN. Proper now, it reportedly has 9,000-11,000 servers in 100 international locations and 126 places — permitting customers the flexibleness to masks their location from a number of areas. CyberGhost additionally helps you to safely and anonymously entry torrenting websites by way of their optimized torrenting servers.
CyberGhost VPN has a powerful no-logs coverage that was confirmed by Deloitte in September 2022. CyberGhost VPN additionally recurrently publishes yearly Transparency Experiences that include data on the variety of knowledge requests they obtain from authorized authorities and firm holders. This apply they’ve been doing since 2011 is a laudable present of transparency from the VPN supplier.
In Might 2024, CyberGhost VPN introduced that Deloitte Audit Romania had performed a second audit of its server community and administration techniques. In that report, it was discovered that there was no proof of any system or configuration that was not in accordance with CyberGhost’s no-logs coverage.
Why I selected CyberGhost VPN
I’ve CyberGhost VPN on this record due to its sizable server fleet, which contains 1000’s of servers unfold throughout 100 international locations. That is good for customers whose major use for a VPN is to unblock region-locked content material on-line. I additionally respect how CyberGhost VPN’s app mechanically categorizes servers which can be finest optimized for streaming, gaming, and torrenting.
Pricing
- 1 month: $12.99 monthly.
- 6 months: $6.99 monthly.
- 2 years: $2.03 monthly.
Options
- 9,000-11,000 (reported) servers in 100 international locations and 126 places.
- Specialised servers for nameless torrenting.
- Repeatedly printed annual Transparency Experiences.
- RAM-only servers.
- Customizable Sensible Guidelines panel.
- Helps as much as 7 simultaneous connections.
CyberGhost VPN execs and cons
| Professionals | Cons |
|---|---|
| 24-hour free trial with no bank card required. | No annual plan. |
| Inexpensive two-year plan. | Month-to-month plan solely has a 14-day money-back assure. |
| 45-day money-back assure. | |
| Independently audited no-logs coverage. | |
| Specialised servers for gaming and streaming. | |
| In depth server and placement community. |
For extra data, learn our full CyberGhost VPN evaluation.
VPNs which have logged consumer knowledge
There are a number of VPN suppliers that publicize a no-logs coverage however had been discovered to have been logging knowledge or had privateness insurance policies that contradicted their claims. Whereas a few of these VPNs have since modified possession or applied related modifications, you have to be conscious of those logging incidents.
- IPVanish VPN: In 2016, IPVanish reportedly gave consumer logs to the USA Division of Homeland Safety to trace a toddler pornography suspect. Whereas it initially claimed to haven’t any logs, it was ultimately reported that the VPN did actually hand off knowledge to authorities.
- Hotspot Defend VPN: Again in 2017, the Heart for Democracy and Know-how accused Hotspot Defend of promoting delicate consumer knowledge collected by way of its free model.
- Norton Safe VPN: Whereas it has a no-logs coverage, Norton’s International Privateness Assertion exhibits that it collects extra knowledge than customers would favor. Some examples of such are customers’ gadget names, IP addresses, classes inside cookies and URLs, simply to call a number of.
- Speedify VPN: Speedify’s privateness coverage explicitly states that they retailer customers’ IP addresses, browser sorts and pages accessed when visiting the Speedify web site, regardless of having a no-logs coverage.
Whereas we don’t know what intentions sure VPNs have in probably logging consumer knowledge, potentialities could embrace: promoting consumer knowledge to advertising and marketing corporations and third-party advertisers or aiding authorities businesses which can be members of surveillance agreements, such because the 5 Eyes or 14 Eyes alliances.
It’s important to decide on a VPN service that has an iron-clad no-logs coverage backed by sturdy safety features and impartial safety audits.
Methodology
Selecting one of the best nameless (no-log) VPNs for this record concerned a holistic evaluation of how every VPN protected consumer knowledge. We checked out every VPN’s no-logs coverage and confirmed whether or not or not they collected any delicate consumer knowledge. We additionally thought of an organization’s willingness to be independently audited and the way lately they had been audited. Lastly, we checked out different related VPN options, together with VPN protocols and security-focused options like RAM-only servers and pricing.
