VPN Ratings Explained: Six Sub-Scores, Weights and Red Flags

Every rating here comes from one formula: six sub-scores, each built purely from what a provider publishes, combined with fixed base weights into a single overall score from 0 to 10. Each list on this hub filters services by one sub-score threshold and sorts them by that number alone. The site runs neither speed nor blocking tests.

How the overall score is built

Six sub-scores add up to the overall number. Privacy and jurisdiction weigh 30%, security and protocols 20%, price and fair terms plus censorship bypass 15% each, network and platforms 10% apiece. Inside a sub-score, documented facts earn points against a fixed denominator; the complete methodology with criteria and points spells out the details. Ties go to the service that publishes more data, then to the smaller renewal price jump.

The main ranking is not the whole market: it holds the 377 consumer services that publish enough data to be ranked. Entry requires at least 60% of the tracked data points, and 45 of the 377 manage every single one. Scores run from 8.74 down to 0.53, the median sits at 2.46, and only nine services clear 5.0.

What a single-score ranking shows

Each list sets an entry bar on one sub-score and orders by that number only; the other five play no role in the order.

Across all six, 157 services appear; these are separate lists, not a 157-service ranking. The strictest gate is the security list with ten names.

The mismatch is real. VPNEU tops the value list at 8.03 on price and terms yet holds only the 52nd place overall with 3.78. BTC VPN leads the apps list at 9.52 but sits 16th overall (4.51). Proton VPN, second in the main ranking, tops the networks list with 8.7 on the network sub-score.

How topic pages tilt the weights

Topic pages use presets: the sub-score central to the topic gets an inflated weight, and the other five share what remains in their usual proportions. Pages led by privacy (anonymity, jurisdictions) raise that share to 45%; pages on security, price, bypass or network use 40%; those covering platforms, support and languages, 35%. On the no-logs page, where privacy weighs 45%, IVPN scores 6.46 against a 5.77 overall and takes third place, ahead of Proton VPN, which drops to fourth there (6.09). On the VLESS page, where bypass weighs 40%, Xeovo VPN rises to second with 5.05 from its 26th place overall (4.17).

Red flags and the 6.0 ceiling

Three findings cap the overall score at 6.0 no matter how strong the rest is: a provider keeping connection IP addresses, a publicly known security incident, or Chinese jurisdiction. The reason is always shown on the service page, and flags apply on topic pages too. Of the 55 flagged services in the main ranking (44 keep connection IPs, 7 had a public incident, 4 are under Chinese jurisdiction), the best placed, Hotspot Shield at 44th with 3.94 (a public incident), stops well short of the ceiling; the flagged providers already score far below it.

Silence scores zero, not a penalty

A criterion earns points only when the provider states it; an unstated item simply earns nothing, and nothing extra is subtracted for its absence. Penalties apply only to facts a provider admits: stored connection IPs, stored session times, a public incident, PPTP or L2TP only, or a large renewal price jump. Proton VPN, for instance, does not state whether session times are stored, so that line yields 0 of 1 point. In the main ranking, 138 of 377 say nothing about a kill switch, and 190 say nothing about an independent no-logs audit. On no-logs, the points stack: 2 for a written policy, 3 more for an independent audit, 1 more if the claim held up in court.

What stays outside the score

Because a speed result reflects the route, the hour and your ISP more than the service itself, no such tests are run here. Streaming and access claims come straight from the providers, and ratings from Trustpilot, the App Store and Google Play appear on service pages without ever touching a score.

FAQ

Is a score of 5 out of 10 weak?

No. Only nine of the 377 services in the main ranking reach 5.0, so a 5 places a provider near the very top.

Why does one list show a VPN first and the main table far lower?

A list reads one sub-score; the overall score weighs all six, and privacy alone counts three times as much as platforms or network.

Can a provider raise its score by sending data?

Data a provider sends counts only once it has been checked against what that provider publishes; unchecked claims earn nothing.

Reading the rankings before you buy

Pick the sub-score that matches your main concern, open the matching list, then check the overall score and any red flag on the service page. If a name appears on top of the apps and support list or another narrow ranking, read that as one documented strength and weigh it against the full six-part score, not instead of it.