VPNs

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the VPNs page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 17, 2026.

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Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about VPNs, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 17 VPNs

   6 of them are free or have a free plan, and 5 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $5 a month in the middle

   From $1.11 (PrivadoVPN) to $11.59 (NordVPN), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Surfshark, hide.me and PrivadoVPN

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   16 of 17 have iPhone and Android apps

   0 run in a web browser and 17 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.4

   1 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is hide.me, at 3.0.

6. 6

   Best free option: hide.me

   hide.me has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.0. Malaysia-based VPN with a no-signup free plan and flat renewal prices.

7. 7

   17 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 17 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three VPNs we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   2.8GPA

   Proton VPN

   Free plan · from $83.88/yr

   For: Most people

   Proton VPN's free plan needs no card and has no data limit: one device, medium speed and servers in 10 countries that Proton picks for you. VPN Plus adds 10 devices, 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries, streaming, P2P and the NetShield blocker, at $83.76 for the first 24 months and then $83.88 a year. Its apps are open source and audited, and run on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android and as a browser extension. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.65 from about 120,500 ratings. Know the limits: the free plan covers one device and you cannot choose its country, and monthly billing is $9.99.

   The Proton VPN Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   3.0GPA

   hide.me

   Free plan · from $2.69/mo

   For: People who want the price to stay the same at renewal

   hide.me's Premium covers 10 devices across 92 locations, with port forwarding, a fixed IP, multihop, split tunneling and an audited no-logs policy, on the same computers, phones and browsers as Proton VPN. The 26-month plan is $69.99 and renews at that same price, about $2.69 a month, where Proton VPN renews at $83.88 a year. The free plan needs no sign-up. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.5 from about 7,900 ratings. It is second because its free plan does less: one device and 8 locations at restricted speeds, and its own pages disagree on whether free data is capped at 10GB a month. Its Bolt speed technology is described for Windows only.

   The hide.me Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   2.8GPA

   Surfshark

   Free trial · from $79/yr

   For: Households with more than 10 devices

   Surfshark puts no limit on how many devices one account connects, and runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and in the browser, with an ad blocker, MultiHop and masked email addresses included. The first 27 months of Starter cost $67.23, and it then renews at $79 a year. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 from about 132,000 ratings. It is third because there is no free plan, the 7-day free trial needs PayPal, Apple Pay or a card and covers only 3 devices, and after the first term it costs more than hide.me, whose 26-month plan renews at $69.99. Monthly billing is $16.45.

   The Surfshark Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Surfshark, hide.me and PrivadoVPN give the most for the money among VPNs: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $5 a month across the 16 that charge, from $1.11 (PrivadoVPN) to $11.59 (NordVPN).

3 of the 16 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 2 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded VPNs, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
hide.me	B	B	B	B	B	3.0
PrivadoVPN	A	C	B	C	B	2.8
Proton VPN	C	B	B	B	B	2.8
Surfshark	B	D	B	A	B	2.8
Hotspot Shield	C	C	B	B	B	2.6
IPVanish	B	D	B	B	B	2.6
Windscribe	C	C	B	B	B	2.6
CyberGhost	B	D	B	C	B	2.4
ExpressVPN	C	D	B	B	B	2.4
NordVPN	D	D	B	A	B	2.4
TunnelBear	C	C	C	B	B	2.4
Private Internet Access	C	F	B	B	B	2.2

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where VPNs land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 17

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every VPN we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1hide.meFree plan · from $2.69/mo3.0
2. 2PrivadoVPNFree plan · from $1.11/mo2.8
3. 3Proton VPNFree plan · from $83.88/yr2.8
4. 4SurfsharkFree trial · from $79/yr2.8
5. 5Hotspot ShieldFree plan · from $95.99/yr2.6
6. 6IPVanishFree trial · from $99.99/yr2.6
7. 7WindscribeFree plan · from $3/mo2.6
8. 8CyberGhostFree trial · from $56.94/yr2.4
9. 9ExpressVPNFree trial · from $99.95/yr2.4
10. 10NordVPNFree trial · from $139.08/yr2.4
11. 11TunnelBearFree plan · from $3.33/mo2.4
12. 12Private Internet AccessFrom $47.88/yr2.2
13. 13PureVPNFrom $47.95/yr2.2
14. 14IVPNFrom $60/yr2.0
15. 15AirVPNPaid1.8
16. 16Mullvad VPNFrom €5/mo1.8
17. 17Mozilla VPNFrom $59.88/yr1.6

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 3,189

  tools graded

• 94

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries