GNUnet review: score, privacy and prices

1.13

out of 10not in the main ranking (too little published data)
Other (usenet, hosting, tunnels) median 2.5

  • Other (usenet, hosting, tunnels)
  • Jurisdiction:Germany, 14 Eyes
  • Founded2001 (copyright)
  • Data completeness47%
  • Checked2026-10-15
  • No email to sign up
  • Free plan
  • Open-source apps

In 10 seconds

Strongest against its segment

  • Security and protocols2.1 vs 1.8
  • Censorship bypass0.0 vs 0.5
  • Privacy and jurisdiction1.5 vs 2.3

Weakest against its segment

  • Platforms and support0.6 vs 3.9
  • Network and streaming0.0 vs 2.8
  • Price and fair terms1.2 vs 3.4
  • Jurisdiction in the 14 Eyes alliance

Compare GNUnet side by side with other VPNs

How the score adds up

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

GNUnetsegment median

  • Privacy and jurisdiction30% of the score · segment median 2.31.5
    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 3.41.2
    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 3.90.6
    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

GNUnet pricing

GNUnet does not publish a paid price we could read. Free plan: Yes free software. Market median across the main ranking: €3.13 a month.

Refunds, trial and payment

Refund window
Not stated
Free trial
Not stated
Auto-renewal
Not stated
Payment methods
Not stated

Everything GNUnet publishes

Every fact we collected about GNUnet, 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
GNUnet e.V.
Registered in
Germany (e.V. association)
Related brands
libgnunetchat; GNU project
Founded
2001 (copyright)
Surveillance alliance (5/9/14 Eyes)
14
Website languages
EN
Right-to-left languages
No

Plans, prices and add-ons
Plans
free software
Cheapest price a month
Not stated
Monthly plan
Not stated
Lifetime plan
Not stated
Family plan
Not stated

Discounts and programmes
Student discount
Not stated

Limits and restrictions
Devices at once
Not stated

Free plan
Free plan
Yes free software
Free data
Not stated
Ads in the free plan
No

Payment and subscription
PayPal
Not stated
Cryptocurrency
Not stated
Cash
Not stated
Gift cards
Not stated
Auto-renewal by default
Not stated
Email needed to sign up
No
Account-number login
Not stated
Money-back guarantee, days
Not stated

Free trial terms
Trial length
Not stated
Card needed for the trial
Not stated

Server locations
Countries
Not stated
Servers
Not stated
Server countries
Not stated
Middle East and North Africa
Not stated
Virtual locations
Not stated
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 protocolGNUnet P2P protocol stack✓ Yes
  • VLESS / RealityNot stated
  • VMessNot stated
  • TrojanNot stated
  • ShadowsocksNot stated
  • Hysteria2Not stated
  • TUICNot stated
  • NaiveProxyNot stated
  • obfs4Not stated
  • AmneziaWGNot stated
Other protocols
GNUnet VPN/PT: IP tunneling over GNUnet P2P overlay via exit peers (IPv4/IPv6/DNS exits); IPv4<->IPv6 translation, DNS-ALG
Perfect forward secrecy
Not stated
Post-quantum encryption
Not stated
Manual configuration files
Not stated
Open-source apps
Yes AGPL, git.gnunet.org

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
Not stated

Privacy
No-logs policy
Not stated
Independent no-logs audit
Not stated
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 IPNot stated
  • Session timesNot stated

Apps and devices
  • Windowsnot among supported OS; VPN GNU/Linux-only✕ No
  • macOSGNUnet built/tested on macOS; VPN component GNU/Linux-only◐ Partial
  • LinuxGNUnet VPN supported only on GNU/Linux✓ Yes
  • iOS✕ No
  • Android✕ No
  • Android TVNot stated
  • Fire TVNot stated
  • Apple TVNot stated
  • ChromebookNot stated
  • Smart TVNot stated
  • RoutersNot stated
  • NASNot stated
  • Raspberry PiNot stated
  • 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 mailing list help-gnunet@gnu.org, IRC
Live chat 24/7
No
Phone
Not stated
Telegram
Not stated
WhatsApp
Not stated
Discord or forum
bug tracker; contact page
Support languages
EN
Help articles
Yes handbook, Doxygen docs
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.

No reviews collected for this service.

45 Reddit and forum threads mention GNUnet (titles and search snippets only).

Latest reviews and related rankings

Reviews of similar VPNs

Similar VPNs

Owner and jurisdiction

Tools for GNUnet

Sources and changes

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

Website
https://gnunet.org
Other sources used
OS/support/license/alpha: https://www.gnunet.org/en/faq.html; VPN tunneling/exit/platform/anonymity: https://git.gnunet.org/gnunet/gnunet-handbook/file/users/vpn.rst.html; applications: https://www.gnunet.org/en/applications.html

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