Disclosure: this article has no affiliate links, and Lewati is not paid by any VPN mentioned. Prices were checked on providers’ own pricing pages and recent reviews in October 2026. VPN prices change often and vary by country, so confirm at checkout.
The short answer
The best NordVPN alternatives in 2026 are Proton VPN if you want strong privacy and a free plan that is actually usable, Mullvad if you want to pay without even giving an email address, and Surfshark if price and unlimited devices matter most, though it belongs to the same parent company as NordVPN. ExpressVPN, Windscribe and IVPN each suit narrower needs. One thing none of them does: tell you whether a short link is safe to open.
- Best overall for privacy: Proton VPN (Switzerland, open-source apps, free plan).
- Most anonymous: Mullvad (flat €5 a month, numbered accounts, cash accepted).
- Cheapest for big households: Surfshark (unlimited devices), with the ownership caveat below.
- Best free option with flexible upgrades: Windscribe.
- Polished all-rounder: ExpressVPN.
- Small, independent and private: IVPN.
Why people look for a NordVPN alternative
NordVPN is a good VPN. It is fast, it has a large server network, and its no-logs policy has been audited several times. People usually leave for reasons that have little to do with speed.
The first is renewal pricing. NordVPN’s Basic plan is $3.49 a month on a two-year deal, billed as $94.23 for the first 27 months, and then renews at $139.08 a year. That jump surprises a lot of people. The second is the tier structure: NordVPN’s pricing page lists ad and tracker blocking and scam protection under the Complete and Prime plans, while Basic is the VPN on its own. The third is ownership. NordVPN and Surfshark are both owned by Nord Security, so some people who “switch” to Surfshark are staying with the same company.
None of these are deal-breakers. They are just worth knowing before you compare.
NordVPN alternatives at a glance
| VPN | Long-term price | Month to month | Devices | Based in | Owner | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN (for reference) | $3.49/mo on 2 years, renews $139.08/yr | $14.99 | 10 | Panama | Nord Security | No |
| Proton VPN | About $2.99 to $3.49/mo on 2 years, depending on offer | $9.99 | 10 | Switzerland | Proton AG | Yes, 1 device, 10 countries, no data cap |
| Mullvad | €5/mo flat, any length | €5 | 5 | Sweden | Amagicom AB (its founders) | No |
| Surfshark | $2.49/mo on 2 years (Starter) | $16.45 | Unlimited | Netherlands | Nord Security | No |
| ExpressVPN | From about $2.99/mo on 2 years (Basic) | Varies by tier | 10 to 14, by tier | British Virgin Islands | Kape | No |
| Windscribe | $69/yr ($5.75/mo) | $9 | Unlimited | Canada | Independent | Yes, 10 GB a month with a confirmed email |
| IVPN | $60/yr (Standard) | $6 | 5 (Standard), 10 (Pro Suite) | Gibraltar | Independent | No |
Intro prices on long plans almost always renew higher. Mullvad is the exception: it charges the same €5 a month whether you pay for one month or a decade.
Proton VPN: the best all-round alternative
Who it is for: most people leaving NordVPN, especially if privacy is the reason.
Proton VPN is run by Proton AG in Switzerland, the company behind Proton Mail. Its apps are open source and its no-logs policy is independently audited. The free plan is unusually generous: one device at a time, servers in 10 countries chosen at random, and no data limit. VPN Plus covers 10 devices and adds NetShield, which blocks ads, trackers and known malware domains.
On price, VPN Plus is $9.99 month to month. The two-year plan showed as $2.99 a month at checkout ($71.76 for the first 24 months, renewing at $83.88 a year), while Proton’s main pricing page has also shown $3.49 during other offers, so check what you are offered.
- Pros: strong jurisdiction, open-source and audited, a free tier you can actually use, reasonable renewal price.
- Cons: the free plan picks the country for you, and the best value needs a two-year commitment.
Mullvad: the most anonymous option
Who it is for: people who want as little personal data as possible attached to their VPN.
Mullvad, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, does not ask for an email. You generate an account number and pay. It accepts cash sent by post, Bitcoin, Monero, cards and PayPal, and the price is a flat €5 a month for up to 5 devices. There are no tiers, no discounts and no renewal surprises.
It is also strict about what it will not do. Mullvad removed OpenVPN completely on January 15, 2026, so it is WireGuard only; if you use an older router or device that only speaks OpenVPN, that matters. It does not offer port forwarding, and it does not market itself for streaming.
- Pros: no personal details needed, honest flat price, long record of published audits.
- Cons: 5 devices, no OpenVPN, no port forwarding, not built for streaming.
Surfshark: cheapest, with an ownership caveat
Who it is for: households with lots of devices on a budget.
Surfshark’s Starter plan is $2.49 a month on a two-year subscription, with unlimited simultaneous devices. It operates under Dutch jurisdiction, its no-logs policy has been audited, and it includes CleanWeb, which blocks ads, trackers and malware domains. Month to month it is expensive at $16.45.
The caveat: Surfshark and NordVPN are owned by the same company, Nord Security. If your reason for leaving NordVPN is the company itself, Surfshark does not solve that.
- Pros: lowest long-term price here, unlimited devices.
- Cons: same parent as NordVPN, steep monthly price, renewal increases.
ExpressVPN: polished, but read the tiers
Who it is for: people who want a simple, reliable app and do not mind paying a bit more.
ExpressVPN now sells three tiers: Basic, Advanced and Pro. Basic covers 10 devices and includes “Lite Protection” that blocks ads and malicious sites; Advanced raises that to 12 devices, and Pro to 14 with a dedicated IP included. The two-year Basic plan starts at about $2.99 a month in US pricing (it showed as €2.49 in euros at checkout in October 2026). Its own Lightway protocol is open source.
ExpressVPN is operated from the British Virgin Islands and has been owned by Kape since a 2021 deal reported at $936 million. Kape also owns Private Internet Access and CyberGhost.
- Pros: easy apps, malicious-site blocking even on Basic, solid protocol.
- Cons: pricing now depends on tier, and the parent company owns several competing brands.
Windscribe: the flexible free option
Who it is for: light users, travellers and anyone who wants to start free.
Windscribe is an independent Canadian company. Its free plan gives you 10 GB a month and servers in 10 countries once you confirm an email (2 GB without one), with unlimited devices. Pro is $9 a month or $69 a year. In between, its Build-A-Plan option charges $1 per location per month (with a $3 minimum), each adding 10 GB, which is handy if you only ever need one or two countries. Its R.O.B.E.R.T. feature blocks ads, trackers and malware domains.
- Pros: the best free tier for light use, unusual pay-per-location option, port forwarding on Pro.
- Cons: 10 GB runs out quickly with video; the yearly price is higher than the big brands’ two-year deals.
IVPN: small, independent and private
Who it is for: privacy-minded users who prefer a small company with a narrow focus.
IVPN is operated by IVPN Limited in Gibraltar. Like Mullvad, it needs no email to sign up and accepts cash, Monero and Bitcoin. IVPN Standard is $6 a month or $60 a year for 5 devices; IVPN Plus ($8 a month) adds DNS and email privacy tools; Pro Suite ($10 a month) covers 10 devices. It also sells a one-week plan for $2, which is a cheap way to test it.
- Pros: anonymous signup, short trial-style plans, independent ownership.
- Cons: smaller server network, few extras for streaming.
A VPN will not make a malicious short link safe
This is the part most VPN comparisons skip, and it is the reason a VPN article is on a short-link site. A VPN encrypts the connection between your device and the VPN server and hides your IP address from the sites you visit. That is valuable on public Wi-Fi and for privacy. But it does not change where a link goes. A phishing page reached over a VPN is still a phishing page, and a malware download is still malware. Surfshark’s own blog says it plainly: a VPN cannot prevent phishing attacks.
Several VPNs now add blocklists: NordVPN’s scam and phishing protection, Proton’s NetShield, Surfshark’s CleanWeb, ExpressVPN’s protection features, Windscribe’s R.O.B.E.R.T. These are worth turning on. They stop domains that are already known to be bad. They cannot tell you that a link promising a Google Drive file actually leads to an unknown file host, or that a brand-new lookalike domain registered this morning is not your bank.
That gap is what Lewati fills. Paste the short link, and Lewati follows the redirects on its own server and shows the real destination, with lookup buttons for VirusTotal, Google Safe Browsing and others. Your VPN protects the connection; reading the real URL protects the click. The full routine is in our guide on how to check whether a short link is safe.
A habit worth adopting: check VPN deal links too
VPN offers are heavily promoted through shortened links in videos, comments and chats. Before you enter card details, paste the deal link into Lewati and confirm the final domain is the provider’s real site, such as nordvpn.com, protonvpn.com or mullvad.net, and not a lookalike checkout page.
Is NordVPN still worth keeping?
If you are happy with its speed and you lock in a good price, staying is a reasonable choice. Switch if renewal pricing bothers you, if you want a usable free tier (Proton or Windscribe), if you want anonymous signup (Mullvad or IVPN), or if you want to move away from Nord Security entirely, in which case skip Surfshark. NordVPN, Proton VPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN and IVPN all advertise a 30-day refund window for new purchases, so you can test one before you cancel the other.
And whichever you pick, keep one habit that no VPN replaces: see where a link goes before you open it. If you deal with ad-gated links a lot, our exe.io guide shows how to do that in a few seconds.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free alternative to NordVPN?
Proton VPN Free is the strongest free option: no data cap, audited no-logs policy and servers in 10 countries, limited to one device. Windscribe Free is a good second choice with 10 GB a month and unlimited devices once you confirm an email.
Are NordVPN and Surfshark the same company?
They are separate products owned by the same parent company, Nord Security. If you want to leave the Nord group entirely, choose Proton VPN, Mullvad, Windscribe, IVPN or ExpressVPN instead.
Which NordVPN alternative is best for privacy?
Mullvad and IVPN let you sign up without an email and pay in cash or cryptocurrency. Proton VPN offers strong Swiss jurisdiction, open-source apps and audited no-logs claims, and is easier for everyday use.
Does a VPN protect me from malicious links?
Not on its own. A VPN secures your connection but does not change where a link leads. Built-in blocklists catch known bad domains only. Check unfamiliar short links by expanding them first, for example with Lewati, and reading the real domain.
Sources
- NordVPN pricing and device limits
- Proton VPN pricing
- Proton VPN plans explained (free plan details)
- Mullvad pricing
- Mullvad: removing OpenVPN on January 15, 2026
- Surfshark vs ExpressVPN (Surfshark pricing and jurisdiction)
- ExpressVPN plans
- Windscribe: how much does it cost?
- IVPN pricing
- NordVPN support: Threat Protection and scam and phishing protection
- Surfshark: does a VPN protect you from hackers?
- Kape Technologies (ExpressVPN acquisition)