Defined Networking review: score, privacy and prices

1.60

out of 10not in the main ranking (too little published data)
Mesh / self-hosted median 2.5

  • Mesh / self-hosted
  • Jurisdiction:USA, 5 Eyes
  • Data completeness80%
  • Checked2026-10-15
  • Trial without a card
  • Free plan
  • Open-source apps

Red flag: Stores connection IP addresses. A red flag caps the score at 6.0.

In 10 seconds

Strongest against its segment

  • Price and fair terms5.3 vs 3.4
  • Security and protocols2.1 vs 1.8
  • Platforms and support3.8 vs 3.9

Weakest against its segment

  • Network and streaming0.0 vs 2.8
  • Privacy and jurisdiction0.0 vs 2.3
  • Censorship bypass0.0 vs 0.5
  • Jurisdiction in the 5 Eyes alliance
  • Auto-renewal on by default
  • Stores connection IP addresses

Compare Defined Networking side by side with other VPNs

How the score adds up

Six sub-scores, each against the median of Mesh / self-hosted services in the main ranking (None services). Open a line to see which published facts earned points and which were missing or not disclosed.

Defined Networkingsegment median

  • Privacy and jurisdiction30% of the score · segment median 2.30.0
    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 1.82.1
    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 3.45.3
    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 0.50.0
    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 2.80.0
    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 3.93.8
    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

Defined Networking pricing

The cheapest way in is €0.86 a month, paid upfront for the longest term. After that term, Defined Networking renews at its standard price. Market median across the main ranking: €3.13 a month.

Price per month over 3 years, Pro, per host plan

€0.86/mo for 1 months then €0.86/mo €5

first termrenewalmarket median €3.13/momonths →

Real cost over 1, 2 and 3 years

What you pay to keep Defined Networking 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 paymentThen1 year2 years3 years
Pro, per host, 1 mo €0.86 €0.86 / 1 mo€10.32€20.64€30.96

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

All plans as published

PlanTermPrice for termPer month€ / monthRenewal priceRenewal term
Free (≤100 hosts)1 mo$0.00$0.00€0.00$0.001 mo
Pro, per host1 mo$1.00$1.00€0.86$1.001 mo

Refunds, trial and payment

Refund window
Not stated
Free trial
No
Card needed for trial
No free tier
Auto-renewal
Yes monthly usage billing
How to cancel
Settings → Billing
Payment methods
Visa; Mastercard; Amex; Discover; JCB; Diners; UnionPay (Stripe)
Renewal note
calendar-month billing after month ends; prorated, whole dollars only; cancel anytime

Everything Defined Networking publishes

Every fact we collected about Defined Networking, 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
Defined Networking, Inc.
Registered in
US
Related brands
Nebula (open source); Mobile Nebula
Surveillance alliance (5/9/14 Eyes)
5
Website languages
EN
Right-to-left languages
No
Currencies on the site
USD
Prices depend on country
No

Plans, prices and add-ons
Plans
  • Free
  • Pro
  • Enterprise
Billing terms
monthly, per host, billed in arrears
Cheapest price a month
1 per host
Monthly plan
1 per host
1-year plan, total
No
2-year plan, total
No
Lifetime plan
No
Renewal
  • calendar-month billing after month ends
  • prorated, whole dollars only
  • cancel anytime
Family plan
Not stated
Business price per user
$1 per host/month (Pro)
Business minimum seats
none
Prices seen from other countries
  • Free $0 (≤100 hosts, 2 routes)
  • Pro $1/host/month (unlimited hosts, ≤100 routes)
  • Enterprise quote
Dedicated IP add-on
No
Port forwarding add-on
No
Double VPN add-on
No
Antivirus
No
Password manager
No
eSIM
No
Identity protection
No
Cloud storage
No
Other add-ons
Enterprise: dedicated Slack, network design

Discounts and programmes
Discount shown
No
Student discount
Not stated

Limits and restrictions
Devices at once
Free 100 hosts; Pro unlimited
Features locked to higher plans
Pro: unlimited hosts, 100 routes, priority support, guaranteed uptime

Free plan
Free plan
Yes
Free data
Not stated
Free speed
no limit stated
Free devices
100 hosts; 2 routes for external hosts
Ads in the free plan
No
Other free plan terms
managed lighthouse, SSO, web UI; no card

Payment and subscription
Payment methods
  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • Amex
  • Discover
  • JCB
  • Diners
  • UnionPay (Stripe)
Bank card
Yes
PayPal
No
Cryptocurrency
No
Cash
Not stated
Gift cards
Not stated
Local payment methods
China UnionPay
Auto-renewal by default
Yes monthly usage billing
How to cancel
Settings → Billing
Email needed to sign up
Yes SSO
Account-number login
Not stated
Money-back guarantee, days
Not stated

Free trial terms
Trial length
No
Instead of a trial
free tier ≤100 hosts
Card needed for the trial
No free tier

Server locations
Countries
Not stated
Servers
Not stated
Server countries
Not stated
Middle East and North Africa
Not stated
Virtual locations
Not stated
Own servers
Yes customer hosts + managed lighthouse
P2P servers
Not stated
Obfuscated servers
Not stated

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

Protocols and encryption
  • WireGuard✕ No
  • OpenVPN✕ No
  • IKEv2✕ No
  • L2TP/IPsecNot stated
  • SSTPNot stated
  • SoftEtherNot stated
  • Own protocolNebula (open source)✓ Yes
  • VLESS / Reality✕ No
  • VMess✕ No
  • Trojan✕ No
  • Shadowsocks✕ No
  • Hysteria2✕ No
  • TUICNot stated
  • NaiveProxyNot stated
  • obfs4Not stated
  • AmneziaWGNot stated
Other protocols
  • Nebula (Noise IX handshake)
  • NAT hole punching
  • relay fallback
Encryption
  • Noise IX
  • Curve25519/P-256
  • AES-256-GCM
  • Ed25519/ECDSA certs
Perfect forward secrecy
Not stated
Post-quantum encryption
No
Manual configuration files
Not stated
Open-source apps
Yes Nebula open source (GitHub)

Censorship and blocking
Obfuscation (stealth mode)
Not stated
Countries it claims to work in
Not stated
Mirror sites or Telegram channel
Not stated
Calls in the UAE
Not stated

Security
Kill switch
Not stated
DNS leak protection
Not stated
Split tunnelling
Not stated
Ad and malware blocker
Not stated
Two-factor sign-in
Not stated
Security audits
Not stated
Bug bounty
No

Privacy
No-logs policy
No not claimed; privacy policy: log data incl. IP; apps may collect location via IP/WiFi/Bluetooth/GPS
Independent no-logs audit
No
Transparency report
Not stated
Warrant canary
Not stated
Anonymous sign-up
Not stated

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.

  • Connection IPconnection metadata: online hosts, source addresses✕ Yes
  • Session timesNot stated
  • Bandwidthrelayed traffic timing/volume✕ Yes

Apps and devices
  • WindowsAMD64/ARM64✓ Yes
  • macOS✓ Yes
  • Linuxmany arch incl. ARM, MIPS, RISC-V✓ Yes
  • iOSMobile Nebula✓ Yes
  • AndroidMobile Nebula✓ Yes
  • Android TVNot stated
  • Fire TVNot stated
  • Apple TVNot stated
  • ChromebookNot stated
  • Smart TVNot stated
  • RoutersMIPS builds✓ Yes
  • NASNot stated
  • Raspberry PiARM builds✓ Yes
  • Game consolesNot stated
Browser extensions
Not stated

Speed, streaming and gaming
10 Gbps servers
Not stated
Netflix
Not stated
BBC iPlayer
Not stated
Disney+
Not stated
Prime Video
Not stated
Gaming features
Not stated
Torrenting
Not stated

Support
Live chat
No Pro priority support queue; Enterprise dedicated Slack channel
Live chat 24/7
No
Phone
Not stated
Telegram
Not stated
WhatsApp
Not stated
Discord or forum
Nebula OSS Slack
Support languages
EN
Help articles
Yes docs.defined.net
Server status page
Not stated

For teams and business
SSO / SAML
Not stated
Admin panel
Yes web management
API
Yes blog mentions API
Dedicated gateway
Yes self-run lighthouses/relays optional
Zero-trust access (ZTNA)
Yes cert-based mutual auth, default-deny, role/tag rules
Identity providers
  • Okta
  • Google
  • Microsoft Entra ID
  • any OIDC

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.

No reviews collected for this service.

42 Reddit and forum threads mention Defined Networking (titles and search snippets only).

Latest reviews and related rankings

Reviews of similar VPNs

Questions about Defined Networking

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

Defined Networking alternatives: similar VPNs ranked by our score

6 alternatives to Defined Networking (1.60) from the same segment, by features, price and owner. Highest: Defguard (1.83).

Alternatives to Defined Networking

6 alternatives: similar features
#ServiceScoreFrom
1Defguard
Mesh / self-hosted · Poland Free plan
1.83—
2NetBird
Mesh / self-hosted · Germany Free plan
1.67—
3Brook
Mesh / self-hosted · jurisdiction not stated Free plan
1.48—
4Yggdrasil Network
Mesh / self-hosted · jurisdiction not stated Free plan
1.37—
5ZeroTier
Mesh / self-hosted · USA Free plan Red flag: Stores connection IP addresses
1.27€15.48per month
6Nebula (Slack)
Mesh / self-hosted · USA Free plan
1.22—

In our rankings

Defined Networking appears on 3 topic pages. Its place on each:

Similar VPNs

Also similar to Defined Networking

Owner and jurisdiction

Closed services Defined Networking replaces

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

Tools for Defined Networking

Sources and changes

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

Website
https://defined.net
Pages checked
https://defined.net; https://www.defined.net/pricing/; https://www.defined.net/downloads/; https://www.defined.net/security/
Other sources used
trial/money_back/live_chat: https://www.defined.net/pricing/ (FAQ); nologs: https://www.defined.net/privacy/; protocols: Nebula-only per existing data

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