Consumer VPNs are sold on a pricing structure that is close to universal on this shelf, and understanding it takes about a minute and saves rather more. Once you know the shape, every provider's page reads the same way and the comparison becomes simple: three numbers, in a fixed relationship, printed on the same page.
The three numbers on every pricing page
The headline monthly figure, the prepaid term it requires, and the renewal. The headline is what the advert carries. The term is how long you are committing, generally two or three years. The renewal is what the plan costs afterwards, and on nine of the eleven providers priced in this index it is a multiple of the headline. Providers print all three, usually with the third in the smallest type.
Why the market looks cheaper than it is
Because the headline is a total divided by the term. A figure under two dollars a month is real, and it is the price of prepaying three years at once. Comparing providers on that number alone ranks them by how long they want you to commit rather than by what they cost, which is why this index publishes the term and renewal beside every entry figure rather than in a footnote.
The two providers that price differently
IVPN and Mullvad print one price and keep it: no intro rate, no prepaid discount, nothing to fall off. They are the most expensive on the headline and, past the first term, not the most expensive at all. Their existence is the useful proof that the intro-and-renewal structure is a choice about selling rather than a necessity of running the service.
What actually separates the rest
Once the pricing structure is understood, the differences are narrower than the marketing suggests: a kill switch, a protocol menu and a large server list are standard across this index. The real differentiators are the renewal, which varies by a factor of three, and what each provider publishes about what it keeps, which is on the no-logs page linked from every profile here.
Questions people ask about vpns
How much do VPNs cost?
The median printed entry price across the providers in this index is under three dollars a month, on a prepaid term. Monthly plans without a term run several times higher.
Are all VPNs basically the same?
On features, they are closer than the marketing suggests. On price after the first term, they differ by a factor of three.
Which is the cheapest?
On the headline, the provider asking for the longest prepayment. On the standing price after the term, a different one, which is what the renewal column exists to show.