Data · Privacy · Security

VPN providers claim. crackthe.net measures.

VPN providers list servers in more than a hundred countries. We record what each provider's own list says about them, which networks carry them and what the providers charge, and check the locations by measurement, all with date and method.

Compare the providers See the evaluations

Providers: 11
Countries: 176
Locations: 1,310
Networks: 131

Data, privacy, security

Data

Every figure counted from the providers' own lists, dated, with its method, and downloadable.

Privacy

Where your traffic really ends up: virtual locations, intelligence alliances and the networks behind the servers.

Security

Check what your own connection reveals, and what you know.

What the data shows

258 of 1,310 listed locations are marked virtual by the providers themselves.
8 of 11 lists do not say which locations are virtual.
43 of 131 networks behind the servers carry locations of more than one provider.
After the first term a plan costs up to 210 % more per month (Surfshark).
4 of 10 provider websites contact advertising or analytics services before anything is clicked.
7 of 106 measured locations cannot stand in the country they are listed under. All of them are marked virtual by the provider.

As of October 11, 2026.

Provider	Countries	Locations	marked virtual¹	Locations in shared networks²	Lowest price per month³
NordVPN	150	226	58 %	73 %	not collected
Proton VPN	149	195	list does not say	not measurable	not collected
Private Internet Access	101	201	40 %	93 %	$2.03
Surfshark	100	142	33 %	56 %	CA$3.39
Windscribe	72	200	list does not say	74 %	not collected
hide.me	57	64	list does not say	86 %	not collected
Mullvad	50	91	list does not say	98 %	€5.00
IVPN	41	58	list does not say	95 %	$5.00
AzireVPN	36	62	list does not say	74 %	not collected
AirVPN	23	39	list does not say	95 %	not collected
OVPN	20	32	list does not say	94 %	not collected

From the measurements

incompatible NordVPN: Mongolia marked virtual, within 101 km of Singapore
incompatible Private Internet Access: Ecuador marked virtual, within 1,060 km of Los Angeles
incompatible Private Internet Access: Egypt marked virtual, within 65 km of Falkenstein
incompatible Private Internet Access: Nepal marked virtual, within 72 km of Singapore
incompatible Surfshark: Mongolia marked virtual, within 3,548 km of Singapore
incompatible Surfshark: Uruguay marked virtual, within 24 km of Sao Paulo
incompatible Surfshark: Uzbekistan marked virtual, within 2,577 km of London

Each finding is an observation until a second day confirms it.

VPN server locations by country Networks behind VPN servers: who shares them Changes All data (JSON)

Check your own connection

Geoblocking checkTests how a website answers from twelve countries at once and shows whether the answers differ. Runs in your browser through public measurement probes. What is my IP address?Shows the IP address, country and connection details every website you visit can see. Runs in your browser; nothing is stored.

Why a VPN

A VPN sends your traffic through a server of the provider, encrypted on the way there. Websites then see the server’s address instead of yours, and your internet provider sees only that you use a VPN. That helps on networks you do not trust, against tracking by IP address, and when a service is not offered where you are.

It does not make you anonymous. The VPN provider now sees what your internet provider saw before, and cookies, logins and browser fingerprints work as they did.

How a VPN works

Without VPN

Your device
Internet providersees which sites you open
Websitesees your IP address

With VPN

Your device
Internet providersees only an encrypted connection to the VPN
VPN serversees which sites you open
Websitesees the VPN server's address

encrypted by the VPN not encrypted by the VPN

Advantages and drawbacks of a VPN

Advantages	Drawbacks
Sites you visit see the VPN server's address instead of yours.	You trust the VPN provider instead of your internet provider.
Your internet provider and the Wi-Fi operator see only an encrypted connection.	A country in the list is not always a server in that country. Countries listed only as virtual
Traffic is protected on open or untrusted networks.	Longer routes cost speed and add latency.
Services that are not offered in your country can become reachable.	Some services block known VPN addresses.
It covers every app on the device, not only the browser.	Low first-term prices are followed by higher renewal prices. Stated prices per provider