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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 436 of 1,676 listed locations as virtual (26 %). For these, the server is not in the country you picked.
Rising prices. 21 plans state a price for the time after the first term. For one of them, the monthly price rises by 231 %.
 Surfshark | 231 % | |
|---|---|---|
 NordVPN | 182 % | |
 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. 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 criteria. 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 November 1, 2026.