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Do you need a VPN? Advantages and disadvantages
When a VPN helps, when it does not, and what it costs you in trust, speed, and money. A decision guide with the archive's figures.
Key points
- A VPN is useful on untrusted Wi-Fi, against tracking by IP address, and for services that are only offered in some countries.
- The main disadvantages: you have to trust the VPN provider, connections can get slower, some services block VPNs, and prices often rise after the first term.
- If none of the reasons below apply to you, you may not need one.
Three questions to decide
- Do you often use Wi-Fi you do not control? Hotels, trains, cafés, guest networks: a VPN keeps the operator from seeing which sites you open.
- Do you want to hide your IP address from websites? A VPN replaces it with the server’s address. It does not stop tracking through logins or cookies.
- Do you need to appear in another country? Some services are only offered in some countries. A VPN can help, but some services block VPN addresses.
If you answered “no” three times, a VPN will not change much for you. If you answered “yes” at least once, read on.
Advantages and disadvantages
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Websites see the VPN server’s address, not yours | You trust the VPN provider instead of your internet provider |
| Your internet provider sees only an encrypted tunnel | A longer route can make connections slower |
| Protects traffic on open or untrusted Wi-Fi | Some websites and apps block known VPN addresses |
| Works for every app on the device, not just the browser | A listed country is not always where the server is |
| Can reach services offered in other countries | Prices can rise after the first term |
The disadvantages, with numbers
Two of the disadvantages can be measured, and this archive does.
Virtual locations. Providers themselves mark 430 of 1,673 listed locations as virtual (26 %). For these, the server is not in the country you picked.
Rising prices. 24 plans state a price for the time after the first term. For one of them, the monthly price rises by 274 %.
 NordVPN | 274 % | |
|---|---|---|
 Surfshark | 231 % | |
 Proton VPN | 100 % | |
 Private Internet Access | 8 % | |
 hide.me | 0 % | |
 Windscribe | 0 % |
From the providers' own pricing pages. A dash in the provider pages means the pricing page does not state a price after the initial term.
Trust is the real question
With a VPN, the provider can see what your internet provider saw before: when you are online and which servers you connect to. That is why it helps to know who runs a VPN, where the company is based, and what its own website loads when you visit it. The guide Who owns your VPN? explains how to check this.
No VPN at all is also a choice. On your home network, with sites that use HTTPS (most do), the main gain of a VPN is hiding your browsing from your internet provider.
Next step
If you decided you want a VPN, the VPN finder shows which providers meet your points. Before you pay, read Is a free VPN safe?.
The figures in this guide come from the archive and change with every data update. As of October 17, 2026.