VPN Comparison Chart 2026: Every Provider Side-by-Side

Most “VPN comparison” pages online are really just top 5 lists dressed up with a table. This one is an actual chart: 15 providers, six data points each, one page. If you want the full 49-provider breakdown with all 18 criteria, that lives on our comparison tool. This is the condensed version for a quick side-by-side read.

Searching for “VPN comparison chart” usually turns up two kinds of results: a marketing page ranking three or four sponsored providers, or a wall of text with no actual data grid. Neither answers the question fast. The table below pulls straight from the same scoring database that powers our full comparison tool, so the numbers here match what you’d find if you dug through all 49 providers yourself.

How the scores work

Every VPN in our database gets scored on 18 criteria across five categories: performance (speed, protocols, server network), security (encryption, leak protection, jurisdiction, no-logs audits), transparency (ethics, ownership, bug bounty), pricing, and features (streaming, device limits, bypass tools). Each criterion runs 0 to 5. The overall score is the average across all five categories, rounded to one decimal.

Prices below use the 1-year plan rate per month in USD, since that is the standard headline price most providers advertise.

Audit status changes often enough that it’s worth checking dates, not just the “audited” label. ProtonVPN, for instance, passed its fifth consecutive annual no-logs audit in 2026, with the report finding no evidence of activity logging, connection metadata storage, or traffic inspection. That kind of recurring, dated audit history is a stronger signal than a single one-off report from years ago, which is why we weight recency into the no-logs score rather than treating any past audit as permanent proof.

The chart: top 15 VPNs side-by-side

Scores and pricing pulled from our live comparison database, last checked July 2026. Streaming ratings reflect Netflix performance as a proxy; some providers vary more by platform than others, which is exactly why the full table breaks each streaming service out separately.

Category breakdown for the top 5

The overall score hides where each VPN actually earns its points. Here is the same top 5 broken into the five underlying categories, each also out of 5.

Two things stand out here. ExpressVPN posts the single highest performance score of any provider in this chart, 5.0/5, but its trust score (ownership transparency, bug bounty program, ethics) is the weakest of the five at 2.7/5, largely tied to its documented ownership structure and past leak issues. ProtonVPN, by contrast, wins on pricing at a full 5.0/5 while trading off some raw feature depth. If a single weak category is a dealbreaker for you, the overall score alone won’t warn you about it, but this breakdown will.

How to read this chart without getting misled

A chart like this is only useful if you know what each column is actually simplifying. The score column averages five categories into one number, so two VPNs with the same 3.7/5 can get there very differently. ExpressVPN scores it through excellent streaming and speed but a weaker leak-protection record; Private Internet Access scores it through strong server infrastructure and pricing but no completed no-logs audit. If you only look at the top-line number, you miss which VPN actually fits your use case.

The jurisdiction column is the same story. A country name alone doesn’t tell you whether a provider sits inside the Five, Nine, or Fourteen Eyes surveillance alliances, which share intelligence data between member governments. Panama, Switzerland, and the British Virgin Islands are outside all three. The Netherlands and the United States are inside them. If that distinction matters to you, our guide to VPN jurisdiction breaks down exactly what each alliance means in practice.

What the chart doesn’t show (and why the full table matters)

A single “streaming” column can’t tell you that Mullvad blocks Netflix entirely but still unblocks some regional catalogs, or that ExpressVPN matches NordVPN on nearly every platform including BBC iPlayer. Same with jurisdiction: knowing a provider is based in the Netherlands doesn’t tell you it’s inside the Nine Eyes alliance, which matters if surveillance-sharing agreements are a dealbreaker for you.

The full comparison tool breaks all of this out: protocols, RAM-only servers, leak protection, payment anonymity, device limits, bypass tools for restrictive networks, and per-platform streaming results for Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, and Peacock. It’s also filterable, so you can sort by whichever criterion matters most to you instead of scrolling a static table.

Want to compare all VPNs side by side? Check our full VPN comparison table with scores across 18 criteria.

Take leak protection as one example of a column that rewards closer reading. NordVPN, Surfshark, and Mullvad all score 5/5, meaning independent tests found no IP, DNS, or WebRTC leaks under any tested configuration. ExpressVPN scores lower on this specific criterion despite its high overall total, a gap that a single average would smooth over completely. The same applies to payment anonymity: Mullvad and NordVPN both accept cash and cryptocurrency for a fully account-free signup, while several mid-tier providers in this chart only take cards and PayPal. If anonymous payment is why you want a VPN in the first place, that detail decides more than any overall score does.

Quick picks by use case

If you don’t need the full chart and just want a direct answer:

Best overall: NordVPN, for the combination of top scores across every category and six completed no-logs audits.

Best for privacy purists: ProtonVPN or Mullvad, both based outside the major surveillance alliances with independently audited no-logs policies. See our best VPN for privacy breakdown for the full case.

Best value: CyberGhost and Surfshark undercut every other provider in this chart while still scoring above 3.5/5. Our best cheap VPN guide digs into which one fits your budget better.

Best for streaming specifically: NordVPN and ExpressVPN both score “Excellent” across every major platform we tested.

Best for torrenting: check port forwarding and no-logs proof before speed. Our best VPN for torrenting guide ranks providers on exactly those two criteria.

Best for restrictive networks: providers with obfuscated servers and Shadowsocks support handle censored connections better than raw speed scores suggest. Our best VPN for China guide covers which ones still work.

If you’d rather compare three names head to head instead of scanning a chart, our NordVPN vs ExpressVPN vs Surfshark breakdown goes deeper on the three most searched providers.

Common mistakes when comparing VPNs

The biggest one is comparing headline monthly prices instead of full-term totals. A VPN advertised at “$1.99/month” often locks that rate to a multi-year plan billed upfront, while the real monthly-rolling price is three or four times higher. Always check the total charged today, not just the per-month figure in the ad.

The second mistake is treating “no-logs” claims as equivalent. A policy stated in the terms of service is not the same as a policy verified by an independent auditor with a published report. In this chart, providers marked “Yes” under audited no-logs have a named auditor and a public report; providers marked “No” may still claim no-logs in their marketing without third-party proof.

The third mistake is ignoring device limits and simultaneous connections when comparing price. A VPN that costs a dollar more per month but covers unlimited devices is often cheaper for a household than a five-device plan split across a family.

The fourth mistake, and probably the most common one, is stopping the comparison at three providers because those are the only names that show up in search ads. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark get most of the marketing budget, which is why they dominate “best VPN” searches, but ProtonVPN, Mullvad, and CyberGhost all score competitively on this chart without the same ad spend behind them. A comparison built on brand recognition alone will miss better fits.

How often this chart gets updated

VPN pricing shifts constantly, mostly through short-term promotions that disappear after a few weeks, and audit status can change when a provider commissions a new report or lets an old one lapse. We refresh the underlying database whenever we catch a pricing change or a new audit, and this page gets a full recheck at least once a quarter. The date at the top of this article reflects the last time every number here was verified against the live comparison tool, so if you’re reading this months after publication, cross-check the current price on the provider’s own site before you buy.

Ready to sign up? Get NordVPN or try ProtonVPN if privacy-first jurisdiction is your priority.

FAQ

What is the best VPN according to this comparison chart? NordVPN tops the chart at 4.6/5, ahead of ProtonVPN (4.3/5), Mullvad (4.2/5), and Surfshark (4.1/5). NordVPN leads on speed, encryption, and audited no-logs proof, while ProtonVPN and Mullvad score higher on jurisdiction and transparency.

How many VPNs does this chart cover? This page shows the top 15 providers condensed into one table. Our full comparison tool scores 49 VPNs across 18 criteria, all sortable and filterable on the compare page.

What does the score out of 5 actually measure? Each VPN is scored on 18 criteria grouped into five categories: performance, security, transparency, pricing, and features. The overall score is the average across all five, rounded to one decimal.

Which VPN has the best price on this chart? CyberGhost is the cheapest of the well-scoring providers at around $2.75/month on its 1-year plan, followed by Surfshark at about $3.19/month. Both score above 3.5/5 overall.