Who Really Owns Your VPN?
Ownership, independent no-logs audits, and real price changes since our last data refresh — for all 14 VPNs we test. We rank VPNs on test data before any commercial arrangement is in place; this page is where we make the money-and-ownership side just as visible.
Prices that went up
- Windscribe+113%
- Astrill+39%
Prices that went down
- IPVanish-17%
- TunnelBear-20%
- ProtonVPN-20%
- PureVPN-20%
- ExpressVPN-52%
Ownership, audits & pricing — all 14 VPNs
| VPN | Owned by | Jurisdiction | No-Logs Audit | Price now | vs. Apr 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windscribe | Windscribe Limited | Canada (5 Eyes member) | Self-reported | $5.75/mo | +113% |
| Astrill | Astrill Solutions Inc. | UAE / Seychelles (outside 5/9/14 Eyes) | Self-reported | $12.50/mo | +39% |
| NordVPN | Nord Security | Panama (outside 5/9/14 Eyes) | Audited | $3.09/mo | No change |
| Mullvad | Amagicom AB | Sweden (EU jurisdiction, but no-logs is verified) | Audited | €5.50/mo | No change |
| Private Internet Access | Kape Technologies Kape Technologies also owns ExpressVPN and CyberGhost. | USA (5 Eyes member) | Audited | $2.03/mo | No change |
| CyberGhost | Kape Technologies Kape Technologies also owns ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access. | Romania (EU, data retention laws) | Audited | $2.03/mo | No change |
| IVPN | Privatus Limited | Gibraltar (British Overseas Territory, outside EU data retention) | Audited | $5.00/mo | No change |
| Hide.me | eVenture Limited | Malaysia (outside 5/9/14 Eyes and EU data retention) | Audited | $2.69/mo | No change |
| Surfshark | Surfshark B.V. (part of Nord Security since the 2022 merger, runs independent infrastructure) | Netherlands (EU jurisdiction) | Audited | $2.49/mo | No change |
| IPVanish | Ziff Davis, Inc. Ziff Davis also owns PCMag, which independently reviews VPNs including IPVanish — worth knowing when weighing outside reviews against ours. | USA (5 Eyes member) | Audited | $2.19/mo | -17% |
| TunnelBear | Gen Digital (formerly McAfee, acquired 2018) Gen Digital also owns Norton, Avast, and LifeLock. | Canada (5 Eyes member) | Audited | $4.00/mo | -20% |
| ProtonVPN | Proton AG | Switzerland (outside EU/US jurisdiction) | Audited | $2.99/mo | -20% |
| PureVPN | GZ Systems Limited | British Virgin Islands (operated from Pakistan/Hong Kong) | Audited | $2.03/mo | -20% |
| ExpressVPN | Kape Technologies Kape Technologies also owns CyberGhost and Private Internet Access. | British Virgin Islands | Audited | $2.79/mo | -52% |
Price change compares each VPN's annual plan rate between our April 2026baseline and our most recent refresh — the one plan every provider prices consistently, so a newly introduced 2-year discount can't mask a real increase. “No comparable data” means we have only one verified price point so far.
Frequently asked questions
Why does VPN ownership matter?
Several well-known VPN brands are owned by the same parent company — for example Kape Technologies owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access. Shared ownership can mean shared infrastructure, shared incident history, or reviews from outlets with a financial relationship to the parent company. Knowing who owns your VPN helps you judge those relationships for yourself.
Does a no-logs policy mean the same thing as an independent audit?
No. A no-logs policy is a claim the VPN makes about itself. An independent audit means a third-party security firm examined the VPN's servers and code to verify that claim. Only audited no-logs VPNs on this page have had that claim independently verified — the rest are self-reported.
Why do VPN prices change so much?
VPN pricing is highly promotional — list prices, introductory discounts, and renewal rates can shift between our testing cycles. We track the effective long-term price (2-year plan where offered, otherwise annual) at each data refresh so you can see real movement instead of a single snapshot.