How we judge VPN battles
Disclosure: NetNinjaVPN may earn commissions from some providers in future via our /go/ links. Commissions never change a round result. Disclosure
Every NetNinjaVPN battle pits two VPNs against each other across 10 rounds. A “round” is a research-based scoring category (for example Privacy & audits, Jurisdiction & ownership or Price (renewal)), decided on published evidence. Rounds are not hands-on test rounds: we don’t install the apps and run them head to head. Each round has a winner, a loser, or a draw. The battle winner is the provider that takes the most rounds; ties are broken by the Privacy and Price rounds, because those matter most to our readers.
What makes us different: we show our sources
We are a research desk, not a lab. We do not run our own speed, streaming, leak or app tests, and no round result is based on hands-on testing. Instead, every round is decided on facts you can check yourself: providers’ pricing pages, privacy policies, published independent audits, documentation and reputable third-party research. Every battle links to those sources and shows the date we checked them.
Drafts are prepared with the help of AI writing tools and then fact-checked line by line by our editors against the linked sources. If a fact can’t be verified, it doesn’t go in.
The 10 rounds (research-based scoring categories)
| # | Round | What wins it | Primary sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Privacy & audits | Recent, independent no-logs audit by a named firm, with a public or customer-accessible report | Audit announcements, auditor reports |
| 2 | Jurisdiction & ownership | Clear ownership; a legal home with strong privacy law and no mandatory retention for VPNs | Privacy policy, terms, company registers |
| 3 | Security features | Kill switch, leak protection, modern protocols (WireGuard-based, Lightway, etc.), post-quantum options | Provider documentation |
| 4 | Track record | No credible reports of logging handed to authorities; transparent handling of past incidents | Provider statements, reputable reporting |
| 5 | Network | Number of countries and servers, server types (RAM-only, obfuscated, multi-hop) | Provider pages (labelled as provider claims) |
| 6 | Devices & apps | Simultaneous connections, platforms supported, router support | Pricing page, download pages |
| 7 | Price (intro) | Lowest effective monthly price for a typical plan | Official pricing page, date checked |
| 8 | Price (renewal) | Lowest price after the intro term ends | Official pricing page / terms |
| 9 | Refund & trial | Longest, simplest money-back guarantee or free plan | Pricing page, terms |
| 10 | Payment privacy | Anonymous options: cash, crypto, no-email accounts | Pricing / payment pages |
What about speed and streaming?
Speed depends on your location, network, server load and protocol, and changes week to week. Many published “fastest VPN” claims are commissioned by providers themselves (NordVPN’s pricing page, for example, notes its “fastest VPN” claim relies on tests by Artifact Security and West Coast Labs, some published via paid partnerships). Until we publish our own measured data, we don’t score speed or streaming as a round. Where useful, we summarise independent third-party results and label them clearly.
Prices: how we report them
- Copied from the provider’s official pricing page, in the currency shown to our checker (usually USD), with the date.
- Readers in the eurozone will usually see euro prices at checkout; VAT depends on your country.
- We always show the renewal price next to the intro price, because that’s what you’ll pay from year two or three.
- We never invent discounts or “exclusive” codes.
Updates
Battles are re-checked at least every quarter, and prices are re-checked whenever a sale starts or ends. Each page shows “Last checked” and a short changelog.
Who we are
NetNinjaVPN is written by the NetNinjaVPN Research Desk, a small independent editorial team covering consumer VPNs with a European angle. We don’t accept payment for placements, and no provider sees a battle before it’s published.
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