CitadelVPN review: score, privacy and prices

8.74

out of 10#1 of 377 in the main ranking
Consumer VPN median 2.6

  • Consumer VPN
  • Jurisdiction:Panama, outside 5/9/14 Eyes
  • Data completeness100%
  • Checked2026-10-15
  • Independent no-logs audit: ✓ Yes
  • RAM-only servers
  • No email to sign up
  • Monero payments
  • VLESS / Reality
  • Trial without a card
  • Free plan
  • Open-source apps

In 10 seconds

Strongest against its segment

  • Security and protocols10.0 vs 2.1
  • Censorship bypass8.1 vs 0.5
  • Privacy and jurisdiction9.3 vs 2.7

Weakest against its segment

  • Platforms and support7.6 vs 4.3
  • Price and fair terms7.5 vs 3.5
  • Network and streaming8.4 vs 3.1

Compare CitadelVPN side by side with other VPNs

How the score adds up

Six sub-scores, each against the median of Consumer VPN services in the main ranking (233 services). Open a line to see which published facts earned points and which were missing or not disclosed.

CitadelVPNsegment median

  • Privacy and jurisdiction30% of the score · segment median 2.79.3
    What earned points
    • No-logs policy +2
    • Independent no-logs audit +3
    • No-logs confirmed in court +1
    • Warrant canary +1
    • Transparency report +1
    • Sign-up without email +1.5
    • Account number sign-up +0.5
    • Stores connection IP (penalty) −3
    • Public incident (penalty) −2
  • Security and protocols20% of the score · segment median 2.110.0
    What earned points
    • Kill switch +2
    • DNS leak protection +1.5
    • RAM-only servers +1
    • Post-quantum encryption +1
    • Perfect forward secrecy +0.5
    • Security audit +2
    • Open-source clients +1.5
    • 2FA +1
    • Multi-hop +1
    • Bug bounty +1
    • Only PPTP / L2TP (penalty) −2
  • Price and fair terms15% of the score · segment median 3.57.5
    What earned points
    • Free plan +1.5
    • Free trial +1
    • Trial without a card +1
    • Crypto payments +1
    • Cash payments +0.5
  • Censorship bypass15% of the score · segment median 0.58.1
    What earned points
    • Stealth / obfuscation +2
    • VLESS / Reality +1.5
    • Trojan +1
    • Hysteria2 +1
    • Shadowsocks +1
    • AmneziaWG +1
    • obfs4 +0.5
    • TUIC +0.5
    • NaiveProxy +0.5
    • Mirrors or Telegram channel +0.5
    • VoIP in the UAE (claimed) +0.5
    • Manual configs +0.5
  • Network and streaming10% of the score · segment median 3.18.4
    What earned points
    • 10 Gbps servers +1
    • Dedicated IP +0.5
    • Port forwarding +0.5
    • MENA locations +0.5
    • Torrenting allowed +1
  • Platforms and support10% of the score · segment median 4.37.6
    What earned points
    • Routers +1
    • Browser extensions +0.5
    • Split tunneling +1
    • Ad / tracker blocker +1
    • 24/7 live chat +2
    • live chat +0.5
    • Support on Telegram +0.5
    • Status page +0.5

CitadelVPN pricing

The cheapest way in is €1.61 a month, paid upfront for the longest term. After that term, CitadelVPN renews at its standard price. Market median across the main ranking: €3.13 a month.

Real cost over 1, 2 and 3 years

What you pay to keep CitadelVPN running: the first term, then renewals at the published renewal price. Where no renewal price is published, plans shorter than a year are counted as repeat payments at the current price; longer plans show a dash after their term. Converted to euros at the rates used in our data (1 USD = €0.86). The lowest cost for each period is marked.

Plan and first termFirst payment1 year2 years3 years
PRO, 1 mo €4.30 €51.60at the current price€103.20at the current price€154.80at the current price
PRO, 6 mo €17.20 €34.40at the current price€68.80at the current price€103.20at the current price
PRO, 12 mo €30.10 €30.10——
PRO, 24 mo €38.70 €38.70€38.70—
VIP, 1 mo €8.60 €103.20at the current price€206.40at the current price€309.60at the current price
VIP, 6 mo €34.40 €68.80at the current price€137.60at the current price€206.40at the current price
VIP, 12 mo €51.60 €51.60——
VIP, 24 mo €60.20 €60.20€60.20—
MAX, 1 mo €12.90 €154.80at the current price€309.60at the current price€464.40at the current price
MAX, 6 mo €51.60 €103.20at the current price€206.40at the current price€309.60at the current price
MAX, 12 mo €77.40 €77.40——
MAX, 24 mo €103.20 €103.20€103.20—

Compare CitadelVPN’s full cost with other VPNs, for any number of devices

All plans as published

PlanTermPrice for termPer month€ / month
PRO1 mo$5.00$5.00€4.30
PRO6 mo$20.00$3.33€2.86
PRO12 mo$35.00$2.91€2.50
PRO24 mo$45.00$1.60€1.38
VIP1 mo$10.00$10.00€8.60
VIP6 mo$40.00$6.66€5.73
VIP12 mo$60.00$5.00€4.30
VIP24 mo$70.00$2.50€2.15
MAX1 mo$15.00$15.00€12.90
MAX6 mo$60.00$10.00€8.60
MAX12 mo$90.00$7.50€6.45
MAX24 mo$120.00$4.40€3.78

Refunds, trial and payment

Refund window
14 days
Refund conditions
Immediate refund; crypto payments are refunded the same way as other payments; denied for AUP violations; contact support first for tech issues
Free trial
5 days, site (account at lk.citadelvpn.io)
Card needed for trial
No
Auto-renewal
No
Payment methods
Visa; Mastercard; Apple Pay; Google Pay; USDT; BTC; XMR; USDC; SOL; and more
Renewal note
One-off payments, no card on file, no auto-renewals; renewal is a manual new order

Everything CitadelVPN publishes

Every fact we collected about CitadelVPN, as the provider and reviewers state it. Empty fields are left out; key fields we could not find say “Not stated”. “Partial”: only on some platforms, servers or plans.

Company
Legal entity
CitadelVPN
Registered in
Panama
Surveillance alliance (5/9/14 Eyes)
none (Panama)
Website languages
  • EN
  • FR
  • DE
  • NL
  • IT
  • AR
Right-to-left languages
Yes
Currencies on the site
USD
Prices depend on country
No USD for both RU and non-RU fetch

Plans, prices and add-ons
Plans
  • Free trial
  • PRO
  • VIP
  • MAX
Billing terms
  • 1
  • 6
  • 12
  • 24 months
Cheapest price a month
$1.60
Monthly plan
$5.00
1-year plan, total
$35.00
1-year plan, a month
$2.91
2-year plan, total
$45.00
2-year plan, a month
$1.60
Lifetime plan
No
Renewal
One-off payments, no card on file, no auto-renewals; renewal is a manual new order
Family plan
Yes
Dedicated IP add-on
Yes
Port forwarding add-on
Yes included
Double VPN add-on
Yes included
Antivirus
No
Password manager
No
eSIM
No
Identity protection
No
Cloud storage
No
Other add-ons
Router configs (WG/OpenVPN/VLESS keys) included only in MAX; VIP servers in VIP/MAX

Discounts and programmes
Discount shown
up to 75% (2y VIP); 6m -33%, 1y -42..50%, 2y -68..75%
Discount compared with
vs 1-month price
Sale running when checked
No
Student discount
Not stated
Discount for crypto payment
No
Bonus months
Yes +3 months free with any 2-year plan

Limits and restrictions
Devices at once
unlimited; earlier site: PRO 2, VIP 5, MAX 15
Data limit
  • PRO 50 GB/month
  • VIP/MAX unlimited
  • trial 5 GB
Speed limit
VIP/MAX no speed caps; PRO standard network
Torrenting / P2P policy
Yes allowed: dedicated P2P servers with no speed or traffic limits
Features locked to higher plans
  • VIP servers (VIP/MAX)
  • WireGuard/OpenVPN configs & VLESS router keys (MAX only)
  • traffic cap on PRO
Prohibited by the terms
  • illegal activity
  • malware/botnets/phishing
  • DoS/scanning/hacking
  • CSAM/violence/hate speech
  • IP/copyright infringement
  • fraud
  • age 18+

Free plan
Free plan
Yes
Free data
Yes
Ads in the free plan
No

Payment and subscription
Payment methods
  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • USDT
  • BTC
  • XMR
  • USDC
  • SOL
  • and more
Bank card
Yes
PayPal
No
Apple Pay / Google Pay
Yes
Cryptocurrency
Yes
Coins accepted
  • USDT
  • BTC
  • XMR
  • USDC
  • SOL
Cash
No
Gift cards
No
Mobile carrier billing
No
Auto-renewal by default
No
Email needed to sign up
No
Phone needed to sign up
No
Account-number login
No
Identity check (KYC)
No no card, no phone number, no documents
Money-back guarantee, days
14
Refund conditions
  • Immediate refund
  • crypto payments are refunded the same way as other payments
  • denied for AUP violations
  • contact support first for tech issues

Free trial terms
Trial length
5 days
Where the trial is offered
site (account at lk.citadelvpn.io)
Trial limits
5 GB, up to 2 devices, once per account, no card
Instead of a trial
No
Card needed for the trial
No

Server locations
Countries
41
Servers
1000+

41 countries listed. A link opens our ranking of VPNs with servers there.

Europe 26

Americas 7

Asia and Oceania 6

Middle East and Africa 2

Middle East and North Africa
  • UAE
  • Israel
  • Turkey
Virtual locations
Not stated
Port speed
up to 10 Gbps
P2P servers
Yes dedicated
Obfuscated servers
Yes

Network features
RAM-only servers
Yes encrypted RAM-only, diskless
IPv6
Not stated
Dedicated IP
Yes
Static IP
Not stated
Residential IP
Yes
Double VPN / multi-hop
Yes double vpn
Tor over VPN
Not stated
SOCKS5 proxy
Not stated
Smart DNS
Not stated

Protocols and encryption
  • WireGuardMAX: configs; for compatibility✓ Yes
  • OpenVPNMAX: configs✓ Yes
  • IKEv2✕ No
  • L2TP/IPsecNo
  • SSTPNo
  • SoftEther✕ No
  • Own protocol✕ No
  • VLESS / RealityVLESS tcp/gRPC/xhttp default; Reality not explicitly named✓ Yes
  • VMess✕ No
  • Trojan✓ Yes
  • Shadowsocks✓ Yes
  • Hysteria2✓ Yes
  • TUIC✕ No
  • NaiveProxy✕ No
  • obfs4✕ No
  • AmneziaWG✓ Yes
  • PPTP✓ No
Other protocols
VLESS xhttp/gRPC transports
Perfect forward secrecy
Yes
Post-quantum encryption
Yes enabled
Manual configuration files
Yes VLESS subscription link/keys; WireGuard & OpenVPN configs (MAX)
Open-source apps
Yes

Censorship and blocking
Obfuscation (stealth mode)
Yes VLESS/Hysteria2 for difficult networks
Countries it claims to work in
  • EU
  • UK
  • UAE (stable on Etisalat and du)
Mirror sites or Telegram channel
No
Calls in the UAE
Yes

Security
Kill switch
Yes enabled
DNS leak protection
Yes enabled
Split tunnelling
Yes per app, per site, whole device
Ad and malware blocker
No in development
Two-factor sign-in
Yes
Security audits
Yes
Bug bounty
Yes

Privacy
No-logs policy
Yes strict Zero-Logs Policy, RAM-only
Independent no-logs audit
Yes
No-logs proven in practice
Yes
Data retention
no specific periods; support logs purged regularly
Shared with third parties
payment processors (card/Apple/Google Pay, crypto gateways); unnamed infrastructure hosts
Trackers on the website
none (not tracked)
Transparency report
Yes law enforcement requests 0, DMCA/copyright notices 0, user data handed over 0
Warrant canary
Yes
Law enforcement requests
'We cannot produce data that does not exist'; transparency report: 0 requests, 0 data handed over
Copyright (DMCA) notices
no process described; infringement prohibited in ToS
Anonymous sign-up
Yes no email
GDPR / data protection officer
no DPO named; access/deletion/rectification rights listed
Privacy policy updated
2026-07-29

What the privacy policy says is collected

Yes: collected. No: not collected. Partial: kept briefly or only in part. Not stated: the policy does not say.

  • Email✕ Yes
  • Connection IP✓ No
  • Session times✓ No
  • Bandwidthremaining traffic balance per account; aggregate bandwidth per location✕ Yes

Apps and devices
  • WindowsPC✓ Yes
  • macOSMac✓ Yes
  • Linuxvia manual config, no app needed✓ Yes
  • iOS✓ Yes
  • Android✓ Yes
  • Android TV✓ Yes
  • Fire TV✓ Yes
  • Apple TVvia manual config guide✓ Yes
  • Chromebook✓ Yes
  • Smart TV✓ Yes
  • RoutersMAX: WG/OpenVPN/VLESS; Keenetic example✓ Yes
  • NASNot stated
  • Raspberry PiNot stated
  • Game consolesNot stated
Browser extensions
No in development

Speed, streaming and gaming
Claimed speed
up to 10 Gbps; mockup 842 Mbps / 14 ms
10 Gbps servers
Yes claimed
Fastest protocol (claimed)
VLESS
Netflix
Yes
BBC iPlayer
Yes
Disney+
Yes
Prime Video
Yes
DAZN
Yes
beIN Sports
Yes
Shahid
Yes
OSN+
Yes
Gaming features
Yes
Torrenting
Yes dedicated P2P servers

Support
Live chat
Yes
Live chat 24/7
Yes 24/7 live chat
Email / tickets
Yes support@mail.citadelvpn.io
Phone
No
Telegram
No in development
WhatsApp
No
Discord or forum
No
Response time (claimed)
in minutes, not 24-48 hours; engineers, no bots
Help articles
Yes guides section, ~9 articles
Server status page
Not stated

For teams and business
SSO / SAML
Not stated
Admin panel
Not stated
Zero-trust access (ZTNA)
Not stated

What users say

Reviews never change our score. Ratings are smoothed: a source’s average across all VPNs counts as 50 extra reviews, so a few five-star reviews cannot outrank thousands.

  • Google Play

    3.92 of 5, smoothed

    From 1 collected reviews (raw average 5.00; all VPNs 3.90).

Ratings shown on the platforms themselves: Google Play 4.4.

Reviews per month, last 12 months

  1. Jul ’261 reviews, average 5.0
Bar height: number of reviews collected that month. Full-colour bars: months with an average of 4 stars or more; pale bars: below 4.

12 Reddit and forum threads mention CitadelVPN (titles and search snippets only).

Latest reviews and related rankings

Latest reviews

Short excerpts with a link to the original. We do not reproduce reviews in full.

  • Google Play · 5★ · 02 Jul 2026

    Great security app for travelers. I'm on public WiFi constantly for work, and Citadel makes it easy: it scans the network in about 15-30 seconds, shows me…

Rankings by user reviews

Reviews of similar VPNs

Questions about CitadelVPN

Answers built from what CitadelVPN publishes. Open a question to read the details.

Is CitadelVPN safe? Logging policy, audits and jurisdiction

Privacy and jurisdiction 9.3/10 and security 10.0/10 (segment medians 2.7 and 2.1). No red flag in our data. Independent no-logs audit: ✓ Yes.

In 10 seconds

  • Independent no-logs audit: ✓ Yes
  • RAM-only servers
  • Open-source apps
  • Warrant canary
  • Kill switch

Privacy

Jurisdiction
Panama, outside 5/9/14 Eyes
Legal entity
CitadelVPN
No-logs policy
Yes strict Zero-Logs Policy, RAM-only
Data retention
no specific periods; support logs purged regularly
Shared with third parties
payment processors (card/Apple/Google Pay, crypto gateways); unnamed infrastructure hosts
Trackers on the website
none (not tracked)

Security

Kill switch
Yes (yes (enabled))
Security audits
Yes

Related rankings

Is it safe? of similar VPNs

CitadelVPN not working? Common causes and what to check

4 things to check, built from what CitadelVPN publishes about its apps, protocols and support. We do not test connections ourselves.

What to check

Switch protocol in the app: CitadelVPN lists WireGuard, OpenVPN, VLESS / Reality, Trojan, Shadowsocks, Hysteria2.

If the network blocks VPNs, turn on obfuscation (VLESS/Hysteria2 for difficult networks).

Try a manual configuration (VLESS subscription link/keys; WireGuard & OpenVPN configs (MAX)).

Contact support: live chat, email.

Support when the VPN is blocked

Live chat
Yes
Live chat 24/7
Yes 24/7 live chat
Telegram
No in development
Mirrors or channel
No
Email
Yes support@mail.citadelvpn.io

If it is blocked where you are

Troubleshooting of similar VPNs

CitadelVPN alternatives: similar VPNs ranked by our score

6 alternatives to CitadelVPN (8.74) from the same segment, by features, price and owner. Highest: PureVPN (5.30).

Alternatives to CitadelVPN

6 alternatives: similar features
#ServiceScoreFrom
1PureVPN
Consumer VPN · BVI Independent no-logs audit: ✓ Yes
5.30€1.85per month
2Private Internet Access
Consumer VPN · USA Independent no-logs audit: ✓ Yes
5.13€1.63per month
3Symlex VPN
Consumer VPN · jurisdiction not stated Independent no-logs audit: ✓ Yes Free plan
4.47€1.91per month
4Trust.Zone
Consumer VPN · Seychelles
3.97€2.00per month
5VeePN
Consumer VPN · Panama
3.87€1.71per month
6VPNEU
Consumer VPN · jurisdiction not stated Free plan
3.78€1.08per month

Alternatives of similar VPNs

CitadelVPN refund policy: how to ask for your money back

CitadelVPN refund window: 14 days. Conditions: Immediate refund; crypto payments are refunded the same way as other payments; denied for AUP violations; contact support first for tech…

Refund terms

Refund window
14
Conditions
Immediate refund; crypto payments are refunded the same way as other payments; denied for AUP violations; contact support first for tech issues
Refund on monthly plans
Not stated
Refund for App Store / Google Play purchases
Not stated
Refund for unused time
Not stated
Free trial
5

Try before paying

Refund policies of similar VPNs

CitadelVPN free trial: length, terms and payment details

CitadelVPN free trial: 5, site (account at lk.citadelvpn.io). Card needed: no.

Trial terms

Length
5
Card needed
No
Limits
5 GB, up to 2 devices, once per account, no card
Instead of a trial
No
Refund window
14
Free plan
Yes

Trials elsewhere

Free trials of similar VPNs

Who owns CitadelVPN? Company, jurisdiction and related brands

CitadelVPN is run by CitadelVPN, registered in Panama.

Company

Registered in
Panama

Jurisdiction

Owners of similar VPNs

In our rankings

CitadelVPN appears on 613 topic pages. Its place on each:

Show all 613

Similar VPNs

Also similar to CitadelVPN

Owner and jurisdiction

Closed services CitadelVPN replaces

Services that shut down or moved, for which this is one of five live alternatives.

Show all 70

Tools for CitadelVPN

Sources and changes

Collected 2026-10-15. No changes recorded since the first import.

Website
https://citadelvpn.io
Pages checked
https://citadelvpn.io/; https://citadelvpn.io/#pricing (browser, all 4 term tabs); https://citadelvpn.io/privacy/; https://citadelvpn.io/terms/; https://citadelvpn.io/vpn-in-uae/; https://citadelvpn.io/ar/

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