Scoring methodology: how VPN Clue ranks VPNs

The weights

Every provider gets a score from 0 to 10 in each of eight dimensions. The total is the weighted average, using the weights below. The weights are code, not prose. The table is built from the same file that the scoring script uses, so what you see is what runs.

Dimension	Weight	Inputs
Privacy and jurisdiction	25%	Jurisdiction and intelligence-sharing alliance, independent no-logs audit and its age, RAM-only servers, no-logs policy and anonymous payment options. Medium- and high-severity incidents in the last five years deduct points.
Security features	15%	Protocols (WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, proprietary), kill switch on desktop and mobile, obfuscation, multi-hop, post-quantum encryption, own DNS resolvers, DNS leak protection, IPv6 handling, audited apps or infrastructure.
Speed and reliability	20%	Throughput, latency and connection time measured by our own lab. Not yet available: this dimension is excluded and the remaining weights are renormalised until the lab runs.
Streaming and unblocking	10%	Streaming services the provider documents support for (counted as claims until we test them) and smart DNS availability.
Apps and usability	10%	Platform coverage, simultaneous device limit, router support, browser extensions, open-source clients, split tunneling.
Price and value	10%	Lowest effective monthly price, monthly-plan price, money-back guarantee length, free tier, renewal pricing honesty, payment flexibility.
Support	5%	Live chat availability, email support, knowledge base. Measured response times once we have them.
Transparency	5%	Transparency reports, warrant canary, open-source clients, number of independent audits.

Rules per dimension

Privacy and jurisdiction. A provider earns points for:

operating outside the 5, 9 and 14 Eyes intelligence alliances
an independent no-logs audit, with more points the newer it is and nothing after three years
RAM-only servers
a written no-logs policy
accepting anonymous payment

Medium- and high-severity incidents in the last five years deduct points. Low-severity events, such as a server seizure that yielded no customer data, are listed on the review but not penalized.

Security features. A provider earns points for:

WireGuard and OpenVPN support
a kill switch on both desktop and mobile
obfuscation for networks that block VPNs
multi-hop
post-quantum encryption
its own DNS resolvers with leak protection
proper IPv6 handling
an independent audit of the apps or infrastructure within three years

Speed and reliability. Our lab measures this dimension: throughput, latency, connection time and uptime. It is not available yet, as explained below.

Streaming and unblocking. When a provider documents support for a service, that counts as a claim until we test it. Tested successes count more. Smart DNS adds a point.

Apps and usability. This dimension covers platform coverage, the simultaneous-device limit, router support, browser extensions, open-source clients and split tunneling.

Price and value. This dimension covers:

the lowest effective monthly price across plans
the month-to-month price
the length of the money-back guarantee
a free tier
the renewal price
payment flexibility

A plan with no published monthly price earns nothing for the month-to-month price. Renewal is scored from what the official page says:

A stated renewal amount is compared with the first-term total.
A plan that renews at the same price earns the full renewal point.
A renewal the page does not state earns half, because we never guess a renewal price.

Support. This dimension covers live chat availability, email support and a knowledge base. Live chat that is available 24/7 scores highest. We will add measured response times once we have them.

Transparency. This dimension covers transparency reports, a warrant canary, open-source clients and the number of independent audits.

Missing data

A dimension with no data is not scored as zero. It is left out, and the remaining weights are scaled up so the total still runs from 0 to 10. Each score shows its coverage. Today, every provider is scored on 80 percent of the weights because speed is missing. When the lab delivers 30 days of data for a provider, its speed dimension switches on.

What changes a score

Scores are recalculated automatically from the data layer. A price change, a new audit, a documented incident or a feature change moves the score the next time the site builds. The change appears in the page’s changelog. Nobody edits a score by hand. The build fails if the published scores do not match a fresh calculation from the data.

Changing the rules

The weights and rules change only through a change that the editorial team has reviewed. Each change comes with a dated note on this page explaining what changed and why. Affiliate relationships are never an input to the score. Providers without an affiliate program are scored exactly the same as those with one.