Alternatives to

Alternatives to NordVPN.

Lithuanian-founded, Panama-incorporated (Nord Security Group). EU/Nordic operations but Panamanian legal seat.

ALTERNATIVES: 9
CLOUD-ACT · NONE: 5
WITH BSI C5: 0
FREE TIER: 2

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TOP PICKS

Which are the closest NordVPN alternatives?

Ordered by feature parity and migration friction, which is weighted higher than feature breadth.

Mullvad VPN

Sweden · Founded 2009

EU-SOVEREIGN

★ #1 PICK

Swedish founder-owned VPN (Mullvad VPN AB / Amagicom AB, Gothenburg, 2009), anonymous numbered accounts, Cure53-audited, flat €5/month.

Public DPA Sub-processors Open source

FROM: €5/mo
CLOUD ACT: NONE

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IVPN

Gibraltar · Founded 2009

EU-BASED

★ #2 PICK

Gibraltar-incorporated VPN (IVPN Limited / ex-Privatus, founded 2009), Cure53-audited no-logs, open-source apps, independent ownership.

Public DPA Sub-processors Open source

FROM: €6/mo
CLOUD ACT: NONE

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Proton VPN

Switzerland · Founded 2014

EU-SOVEREIGN

★ #3 PICK

CERN-founded Swiss VPN (Proton AG, Geneva), owned by non-profit Proton Foundation; 15,000+ servers, audited no-logs, open-source apps, free tier.

Public DPA Sub-processors Open source

FROM: €5/mo
CLOUD ACT: NONE

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SIDE-BY-SIDE

How do the 9 alternatives to NordVPN compare?

All 9 alternatives, benchmarked against NordVPN.

Product	Hosting	Cert.	Pricing	Signals	Open
NordVPN Panama-incorporated VPN (NordVPN S.A.) under NL holding Nord Security, LT operations; Deloitte + PwC no-logs audits, RAM-only diskless servers, ISO 27001.	— Lithuania	ISO/IEC 27001	Paid €4 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
Mullvad VPN Swedish founder-owned VPN (Mullvad VPN AB / Amagicom AB, Gothenburg, 2009), anonymous numbered accounts, Cure53-audited, flat €5/month.	— Sweden	—	Paid €5 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
IVPN Gibraltar-incorporated VPN (IVPN Limited / ex-Privatus, founded 2009), Cure53-audited no-logs, open-source apps, independent ownership.	— Gibraltar	—	Paid €6 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
Proton VPN CERN-founded Swiss VPN (Proton AG, Geneva), owned by non-profit Proton Foundation; 15,000+ servers, audited no-logs, open-source apps, free tier.	GENEVA · CH Switzerland	—	Freemium €5 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
AirVPN Italian hacktivist-founded VPN (Perugia, 2010), no-logs, port forwarding, but no longer serves Italian residents (Piracy Shield).	— Italy	—	Paid €7 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
Surfshark NL-incorporated VPN (Surfshark B.V., Amsterdam, KvK 81967985): moved from BVI to NL Oct 2021, merged with Nord Security 2022, RAM-only, Deloitte-audited.	— Netherlands	—	Paid €3 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
OVPN Swedish founder-owned VPN (OVPN Integrität AB, est. 2014), fully owns hardware, diskless RAM-only, court-proven no-logs, legal-fees insurance.	— Sweden	—	Paid €4 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
AzireVPN Swedish privacy VPN (Stockholm, est. 2012): Blind Operator, RAM-only, audited no-logs; acquired by Malwarebytes (US) 7 Nov 2024.	— Sweden	—	Paid	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
CyberGhost Romanian-operated VPN (CyberGhost S.R.L., 2011) under Kape Technologies (UK; ex-Crossrider) → Unikmind/Teddy Sagi (IM) since 2023; listed as a warning.	BUCHAREST Romania	—	Paid €2 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
Opera VPN Oslo-heritage browser VPN (Opera Norway AS): Deloitte-audited free browser proxy + paid VPN Pro, but ultimately Chinese-controlled via Kunlun Tech (Opera Limited, Cayman/NASDAQ). Listed as a warning.	— Norway	—	Freemium €4 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→

Head-to-head

NordVPN head-to-head with a European option

Feature comparison

Beyond compliance: how these alternatives compare on the capabilities you actually use day to day.

Feature	Mullvad VPN	IVPN	Proton VPN	AirVPN	Surfshark	OVPN	AzireVPN	CyberGhost	Opera VPN
Servers	548 servers		20000 servers	514 servers	4500 servers		153 servers
Countries	50 countries		140 countries	23 countries	100 countries		62 countries	100 countries
Simultaneous devices	5 devices	2 devices	10 devices	5 devices	Unlimited	4 devices	5 devices	7 devices	6 devices
Protocols	WireGuard	WireGuard OpenVPN IKEv2	WireGuard OpenVPN IKEv2	WireGuard OpenVPN	WireGuard OpenVPN IKEv2	WireGuard OpenVPN	WireGuard	WireGuard OpenVPN IKEv2
Kill switch	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Audited no-logs	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Port forwarding	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Platforms	iOS macOS Windows Android Linux	iOS macOS Windows Android Linux	iOS macOS Windows Android Linux	iOS macOS Windows Android Linux	iOS macOS Windows Android Linux	iOS macOS Windows Android Linux	iOS macOS Windows Android Linux	iOS macOS Windows Android Linux	Windows macOS Android

METHODOLOGY

How we verified each row above.

For every product we read the public DPA, sub-processors document, hosting region declaration, and corporate ownership records. Each is timestamped. Signals are editorial, re-verified quarterly. We never accept self-attestation.

Reviewed by the EU Vetted editorial team · Editorial guidelines

Read methodology →

Alternatives to NordVPN.

Which are the closest NordVPN alternatives?

How do the 9 alternatives to NordVPN compare?

NordVPN head-to-head with a European option

Feature comparison

Related European alternatives

How we verified each row above.