This year we paid for and tested nine VPNs (virtual private networks). From every angle. Today I am explaining my VPN research, focusing on the pricing aspects.
While starting our research, I was already surprised. One of the biggest VPN brands was offering a two-year plan at $3.49/month. However, on the checkout page, the total due jumped "a little bit": $94.23, paid upfront, because the deal actually covers 27 months (24 + 3 bonus months).
Monthly prices are one unit, not the full charge. The ads were offering $2.00-$4.99/month. But the real charge was from $56.94 to $119.76. Looking at the real monthly plan, without long-term commitment, the price is around $9 to $16.45.
And this doesn't happen only with this specific provider, or only in the VPN niche.
Personally, and professionally, it is common for me to have problems while registering or renewing domains with popular domain registrars. They offer amazing deals on yearly plans. This way you are locked in with the company, because transferring domain names is not something website owners usually do, I don't really need to explain why. However when the renewal charge comes, you are always surprised.
The cliff of renewal
Median renewal increase of more than 85%. Four out of nine more than doubled, and the biggest jump was +232%.
On the other hand, this is not a general rule: one went up only 8%, and two didn't change at all.
Now, this is the point I want you to understand. Paying for at least five years of coverage cost $158 with the cheapest option and $511 with the most expensive.
This assumes renewal prices stay the same. Taxes and future promos aren't included.
In fact, bonus months and odd timeframes make comparison very difficult. One provider is a good example: $72 buys 36 months (12 paid + 24 free), so $2/month. But the renewal is $72 for only 12 months, which means $6/month.
My tip for you is: compare the effective monthly cost in the whole term.
I found very irritating the fact that many companies find themselves with the right to mislead and deceive their customers. Capitalism expects the seller and the buyer to complete a "transaction" when one offers something the other finds valuable at the price offered. If you need to deceive your customers to keep your company running, something is deeply wrong, and probably it is time to rethink it, move to a different niche, or simply shut it down.
Informed consumers are capable of driving this type of company out of the market.
A "free trial" isn't always free
Beyond the hidden catches in the pricing of these services, you need to keep an eye on other things.
During our research, we realized that most of them offer some kind of free trial, but almost all of those ask for a credit card and convert it into a subscription.
Only one of the nine offered a free trial with no credit card in the desktop app. Paid trials cost between $0.99 and $2.
Refunds work, but read the terms.
All nine VPN services we tested refunded 100% of our money. Six on the same day, two the next day and the slowest after 7 days.
While researching one company, we had a few problems getting the refund. In fact, a support agent made our work very difficult from the first question we sent them. After some days of testing, we asked for a refund, and he would not approve it, even though our request was 100% within their terms, accusing us of "using services without paying for it" while testing and asking for refunds.
After disagreements and a heated argument, he instantly deleted our account; this automatically logged me out of the site, preventing me from contacting support again. I was stunned. Later that same day, I received the money back in my bank account.
One last tip about refunds: Purchases done through App Store or Google Play Store always follow the store rules, not the VPN provider's.
When you're the product
About half of the nine VPN providers we tested had a verifiable no-logs policy, the same percentage applies when we search for independent audits.
With one of them, a Domain Name System (DNS) leak test showed our real internet provider's DNS while the VPN was connected.
And here we get to the most important point of this article. When we talk about subscribing to a VPN provider - this can also relate to other niches - we have two possibilities:
1- You are indeed hiring a VPN service that will make your internet navigation safer and more private. Your data and path are actually protected. You are able to access streaming content from other countries, that are blocked in your region.
2- You are buying, paying for a service that is selling your data.
The latter - where you are the product - normally happens when we try to go for the cheapest option.
There are a few free plans I'd trust. With most free VPNs, ask how they make money. Often, the answer is your data.
In this case, there seems to be no difference between the VPN company and your internet service provider; you are simply swapping one company that sees your traffic for another. A VPN company selling your data might be even more dangerous than your internet service provider.
Conclusion: what to keep an eye on before paying
Without further ado, here are 5 simple things that apply to any subscription:
1- The amount charged today;
2- The actual term, including bonus months;
3- The renewal price and term;
4- Who processes the refund (provider or store);
5- Whether the trial requires a credit card.
If you are experienced and have purchased various online services, you have likely encountered some of these issues before and know the steps to take before committing, especially regarding annual or long-term plans.
However, the tips in this article can still be helpful, even to the most experienced internet users.
Often, pricing and renewal rates are the catch.
At other times, unusual terms and bonuses are introduced to confuse you.
And in some cases, depending on the niche, you might end up signing up for something that does you more harm than good.
The only way to avoid unpleasant surprises is to pay close attention to the five points mentioned above, plus the terms of service. Yes, it is tedious, but necessary.
How we tested
Between May and July 2026, we paid for a plan from each of nine VPN providers (CyberGhost, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, PrivateVPN, Proton VPN, PureVPN, Surfshark, Turbo VPN and VPN.ac), tested them hands-on (baseline speed tests from Latin America), and then requested refunds. All were one-month plans: CyberGhost VPN (1 month plan), NordVPN (Complete Plan, monthly), Private Internet Access (1 month plan), PrivateVPN (1 month plan), Proton VPN (VPN Plus, monthly), PureVPN (Max, monthly), Surfshark (One+, monthly), Turbo VPN (Platinum, monthly), VPN.ac (1 month plan).
The long-term prices in this article come from each provider's U.S. checkout, in U.S. dollars, rechecked on August 14, 2026. These prices are for each provider's cheapest plan, not the higher tiers we bought for testing. All prices are before tax, because tax depends on where you buy. Renewal figures are the renewal prices shown at checkout or in each provider's terms; we did not wait years to watch them charge.
Disclosure: I'm the founder of Reviews Ally, which earns affiliate commissions from the nine VPN providers tested here. We paid for every subscription ourselves, and no provider reviewed or approved this article.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andre Granito is a software engineer, founder & lead reviewer at Reviews Ally (https://reviewsally.com/), an independent site that buys and tests software with its own money. He paid for, tested and requested refunds from nine VPN providers, and published the pricing and refund data. He also tests other types of software.
This story was produced by Featured and republished with permission. Experts featured here are members of Connectively, Featured's expert network.