The four pillars
Speed Test
Multi-location speed tests using standardized methodology. We measure download, upload, and latency across 15+ server locations worldwide.
Privacy Policy Check
Deep analysis of logging policies, jurisdiction laws, data retention, and third-party sharing. We review published independent audit reports where a provider has commissioned one.
Streaming Availability
Testing access to Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and 20+ streaming services. We verify unblocking capabilities and streaming quality.
App Quality
Comprehensive testing across Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS. We evaluate UI/UX, features, stability, and connection reliability.
Why four pillars and not one score
A VPN that wins on raw speed can be a poor choice for privacy. One with an excellent policy can have apps that drop the connection every hour. Collapsing all of that into a single number too early hides exactly the trade-off you are trying to understand.
So we test each pillar separately, publish what each one shows, and only then combine them into an overall rating. When a provider scores well overall but poorly in one area, the reviews say which area — because for a lot of readers that one area is the whole decision.
What we check on every provider
| Criterion | What we look for |
|---|---|
| Speed | Download, upload and latency measured across 15+ locations, compared against an unprotected baseline on the same connection. |
| Jurisdiction | Country of registration and whether it imposes mandatory data retention or belongs to an intelligence-sharing arrangement. |
| Logging policy | What the policy actually permits a provider to retain, read in full rather than from the marketing summary. |
| Independent audits | Whether an audit has been completed and published, by whom, and how recently. |
| Protocols | Which protocols are offered and on which platforms. WireGuard availability is recorded separately, because it is not universal. |
| Leak and kill-switch protection | DNS and WebRTC leak behaviour, and whether the kill switch covers every platform or only some. |
| Streaming | Which services connect reliably, and whether picture quality holds up once they do. |
| Price and refund terms | Monthly rate, long-term rate, renewal behaviour, and the refund window — including which plans it applies to. |
| Devices and platforms | Simultaneous connection limit and which systems have a native app rather than a manual setup guide. |
| App quality | Interface, feature depth, stability over long sessions, and how quickly connections re-establish. |
Keeping results current
VPN pricing moves constantly. Promotional rates expire, renewal prices differ from introductory ones, and bonus-month offers change the effective monthly cost without changing the headline figure.
Every price on this site is checked against the provider's own site on the day a page is published or updated, and every review carries the date it was last reviewed. Providers are re-tested when something material changes — a new protocol, a jurisdiction move, a published audit, a change to the refund terms.
How this site is funded
VPN Truth Lab earns a commission when a reader signs up with a provider through a link on this site. It costs you nothing extra, and it is how the site pays for itself.
We would rather state that in plain language than bury it. Test results and rankings come out of the process described above, and every provider we cover gets the same four-part treatment regardless of what it pays.
Found a mistake?
Facts on this site go stale, and we get things wrong like anyone else. If a price has changed, an audit has been published, or a detail is simply incorrect, tell us and we will fix it and update the review date. Corrections reach us fastest at our contact page.
VPN Truth Lab Editorial
The editorial team responsible for provider selection, testing and review updates on this site. More about how we work on the about page.
Last reviewed: August 2026