{"description":"What a VPN provider's server list contains, how lists differ, why stated server counts and listed locations do not match, and how this archive records every change.","language":"en","latest_measurement":"2026-10-17","method":"latency-v3","method_page":"https://crackthe.net/method/","source":"https://crackthe.net/","text":"Key points\nEvery provider publishes a list of its locations, for its apps or on its website. This archive reads 13 such lists several times a day. Lists differ a lot: 6 of them say which locations are virtual, and 10 name server addresses that can be measured. A provider\u0026rsquo;s marketing number (\u0026ldquo;servers in X countries\u0026rdquo;) and its list do not always match. The provider pages show both, side by side. What a list can contain FieldWhat it saysIn how many lists here Country and citywhere the location is listedall Virtual markerwhether the server is elsewhere6 of 13 Server names or addresseswhat an app connects to10 of 13 Hosting or ownershiprented or owned serversa few Three kinds of sources Documented: the provider documents the list for third-party use. Read by the provider\u0026rsquo;s own tools: the same list its apps or open-source tools use. Public but undocumented: reachable, but the provider does not describe it. Each provider page names its source type and when the list was last read. If a list cannot be read for several days, the page says so and keeps the last known state.\nCountries per list Countries listed per provider NordVPN150 Proton VPN149 ExpressVPN113 Private Internet Access112 CyberGhost100 Surfshark100 Windscribe72 hide.me57 Mullvad50 IVPN42 AzireVPN36 AirVPN23 OVPN20 The number counts every country in the list, including countries where every location is marked as virtual.\nOf all countries listed, 39 appear in only one provider\u0026rsquo;s list, and in 27 every listed location is marked as virtual.\nStated numbers and listed numbers Providers often state totals on their websites: countries, locations, servers. Where a provider does, its page on this site shows the stated figure next to the figure in its list. They can differ for simple reasons: the website rounds, counts servers that are not in the public list, or counts at a different time. The difference is shown, not judged.\nEvery change is recorded When a location appears, disappears, changes its country, city, or virtual marker, the archive records it with a date. The changes page shows the last three months and offers an RSS feed.\nAll lists side by side: the comparison page shows countries, locations, virtual markers, and measurements for every provider in one table.\nNext step Read The real cost of a VPN over three years, which uses the archive\u0026rsquo;s price data the same way.","title":"VPN server lists as data: what providers publish","url":"https://crackthe.net/learn/vpn-server-lists-as-data/"}