CyberGhost Review (Oct 2026): Verified Prices, Audits, Gaps

CyberGhost is cheaper per month than NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN and Proton VPN on their equivalent long plans. Unlike those four, its renewal costs the same dollar amount as the first bill. On 5 November 2026, during an Early Access promotion advertised as up to 83% off, the 28-month “2 Years + 4 Months” plan cost $2.19 a month. That is $61.32 up front, and the plan renews at $61.32 a year.

A 45-day money-back guarantee backs the plan. It is the longest in our table.

CyberGhost is also a basic VPN by 2026 standards:

• It has no obfuscation, no multi-hop and no port forwarding.
• Its apps are not open source.
• CyberGhost itself says its Smart DNS no longer works with streaming services.
• It has a 7-device limit. NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Proton VPN allow 10 devices, and Surfshark allows unlimited devices.

Three Deloitte assurance engagements since 2022 back the no-logs policy, and there are no incidents on record. Every number on this page carries its date and source. Our score for CyberGhost is shown above.

Privacy and logging

CyberGhost S.R.L. runs the service. It was founded in Bucharest in 2011 and is registered there, under trade register number J40/1278/2011. The company has a team of more than 70 people across Romania and Germany.

The privacy policy names Kape Technologies PLC as the ultimate holding company. That puts CyberGhost in the same group as ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access.

Romania is outside the 5, 9 and 14 Eyes alliances. These are groups of countries that share intelligence with each other. CyberGhost’s transparency page describes Romania as a country with no legal mandate to keep activity logs.

The privacy policy was updated on 18 March 2024. It states that CyberGhost is “100% committed to the no-logs-policy” and does not store logs. A no-logs policy is a promise not to record what you do while connected. CyberGhost’s no-logs page lists what it never records:

• IP addresses
• browsing history
• DNS queries
• connection dates and durations

Deloitte Audit Romania has tested that claim three times under the revised ISAE 3000 standard. ISAE 3000 is an international standard that auditors use to check claims that are not financial. Our record dates each check by its announcement, because CyberGhost does not publish the audit periods.

The first engagement was announced on 22 September 2022. It covered the no-logs policy, the server network and the management systems for change, configuration and incident handling. It also covered the token system behind dedicated IPs. The fieldwork dates were not stated, and the report was available only on request from Deloitte.

The second engagement was announced on 6 March 2024. It covered the VPN network, the no-logs systems, incident management and the dedicated-IP token system. CyberGhost placed the report in the customer account.

The third engagement was announced on 8 December 2025. It examined the server infrastructure, operational controls and the dedicated-IP token system. This time, the report is public on CyberGhost’s site.

The dedicated-IP token system appears in all three audits. A dedicated IP is an IP address that only you use. CyberGhost ties it to a token rather than to your account. It says this prevents any link between a VPN account and a specific IP address.

There is no app or protocol audit in the record. That is a gap next to NordVPN, Surfshark and ExpressVPN, which publish testing by Cure53 and SecuRing.

CyberGhost publishes a transparency report every quarter. A transparency report lists the requests and complaints a company receives. CyberGhost’s report tracks:

• DMCA copyright complaints, usually from law firms that represent production companies
• police requests for logs or for information about an IP address
• malicious-activity flags from website owners, until CyberGhost stopped reporting them in the third quarter of 2024

There is no warrant canary. A warrant canary is a regularly updated statement that a company has not received a secret government order. The data record behind this review carries no incidents. As of 31 October 2026, there are no documented seizures, breaches or disclosures.

Payment is where CyberGhost is weakest on privacy. The checkout we loaded offered cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Amazon Pay. CyberGhost’s help article on payment by country lists no cryptocurrency option for the United States. So our record marks anonymous payment as unavailable.

NordVPN, Surfshark and Proton VPN all take crypto, and Proton VPN and Mullvad take cash.

Security features

CyberGhost offers OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2 with AES 256-bit encryption, and no proprietary protocol. A protocol is the method a VPN uses to build its encrypted tunnel.

A kill switch blocks your internet if the VPN connection drops. CyberGhost’s kill switch is automatic in the desktop apps and in the iOS and Android apps.

Split tunneling lets you choose what skips the VPN. CyberGhost’s version is narrower than the competition’s:

• On Android, it works per app.
• On Windows, it works for websites, through “Exceptions”.
• On macOS, iOS and Linux, there is no split tunneling.

IPv6 traffic is switched off automatically, with built-in leak protection. DNS requests are processed on CyberGhost’s own servers, also with leak protection. A leak is traffic that slips outside the VPN and can reveal your real address. The Content Blocker filters ad, tracker and malware domains.

After installing, run our VPN check tool and IPv6 leak test. They confirm the behavior on your platform.

Several features are missing. Obfuscation disguises VPN traffic, so that networks that block VPNs find it harder to spot. No official CyberGhost page documents it, so CyberGhost is not a candidate for those networks. Our best VPN for China page explains why that matters.

Multi-hop, also called double VPN, sends your traffic through two VPN servers. CyberGhost does not offer it. Port forwarding lets other devices reach yours through the VPN. CyberGhost has none, which rules it out for torrent users who seed.

Post-quantum encryption is designed to resist attacks from future quantum computers. CyberGhost does not offer it. ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark ship it by default or as an option.

A dedicated IP is a paid add-on from $5 a month. The checkout also sells a Security Suite for Windows from $4.50 a month, a password manager and ID Guard.

The network is large: 9,600 servers in 100 countries and 125 locations. Dedicated IPs are available in 21 locations. The per-country list flags virtual locations. A virtual location gives you an IP address in one country from a server in another.

Every server runs in RAM. RAM-only servers keep no data on a hard drive, so a restart wipes them.

CyberGhost owns part of its network and is more open about it than most providers:

• The 44 NoSpy servers sit in a data center that CyberGhost built inside its Bucharest headquarters.
• Colocated servers in cities such as New York, London and Paris are self-owned hardware, placed in third-party data centers.
• The rest are rented from data-center operators.

CyberGhost markets the NoSpy servers to users who want its own hardware under Romanian jurisdiction.

Apps and usability

CyberGhost has apps for:

• Windows 10 and later
• macOS 10.13 and later
• Linux, command line only
• Android 7 and later
• iOS 15 and later
• Android TV and Amazon Fire TV

It also has browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

Apple TV, Samsung and LG smart TVs, Roku and game consoles are covered only through Smart DNS. Smart DNS changes how a device looks up web addresses, so that streaming services see a different region. It does not encrypt your traffic. There is no native Apple TV app, although Surfshark, NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Proton VPN all have one.

Routers are supported through DD-WRT and OpenVPN setup. A plan covers 7 simultaneous connections. Surfshark allows unlimited connections, and NordVPN allows 10.

Smart DNS is the reason many people bought CyberGhost for a TV. CyberGhost’s own help-center article on configuring Smart DNS was edited on 1 September 2026. It opens with a note that the feature “is no longer compatible with streaming services”. The note adds that it “can still be used for general DNS purposes”.

That leaves Apple TV, Samsung, LG, Roku and console owners with only two ways to put CyberGhost in front of those devices: a router setup or a hotspot. It also makes the Smart DNS entry in the feature matrix true, but close to useless for its usual purpose.

CyberGhost’s streaming page says its streaming-optimized servers support Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, YouTube TV and Paramount+. Separate pages make the same claim for Hulu, Peacock, Crunchyroll and DAZN. We have not yet tested any of them.

The matrix above records them as CyberGhost’s documented claims. Speed is not yet tested in our lab either.

CyberGhost publishes no app source code, and no app audit is on record. So you are relying on the Deloitte engagements and on CyberGhost’s own testing. We have not yet published our own usability testing or screenshots. The feature matrix above reflects what CyberGhost documents as of 31 October 2026.

Support

Live chat runs 24/7. Email support is available at a published address, and you can file web tickets. The help center at support.cyberghostvpn.com is extensive.

One practical warning comes from our verification. The help center’s web pages sit behind a bot-protection challenge that our automated fetcher could not pass. So the device-support and payment facts on this page come from our data record’s reading of those articles. We confirmed the Smart DNS note through the help center’s public article data.

We have not yet measured response times. So the support score reflects availability rather than quality.

Plans and the renewal price

CyberGhost sells a single VPN tier in three terms. On 5 November 2026, an Early Access deal was advertised as up to 83% off. These were the prices that day:

• 2 Years + 4 Months: $2.19 a month, billed $61.32 for the first 28 months. The buy page says this plan “autorenews at $61.32 annually”.
• 6 months: $6.99 a month, billed $41.94. It renews at $41.94 every 6 months.
• Monthly: $12.99, renewing at $12.99.

The 2-year renewal keeps the same dollar amount, which none of NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN or Proton VPN can say. But the renewal buys 12 months, where the first bill bought 28. So the effective price rises from $2.19 to $5.11 a month. On 31 October, under a Halloween label, the same plan ran 26 months for $56.94 and renewed at $56.94 a year.

That is still a gentler renewal than NordVPN’s or ExpressVPN’s. NordVPN renews at $139.08 a year, which is $11.59 a month. ExpressVPN renews at $99.95 a year, which is $8.33 a month. CyberGhost also states its renewal figure, where Surfshark states none.

The CyberGhost pricing page keeps the price history. The CyberGhost deals page and the site-wide Black Friday VPN deals page show how the promotion compares with the other brands.

The money-back guarantee is 45 days on plans of 6 months or longer and 14 days on the monthly plan. The terms were last updated on 23 September 2026, and they add two details:

• Purchases through Amazon, the Apple App Store or Google Play are excluded. Refunds for those depend on the stores.
• Section 11 counts the 45 days from termination of the subscription, but the pricing banner counts them from purchase. So cancel first and then ask support for the refund. Do not assume the two statements agree.

EU consumers also have a separate 14-day withdrawal right. They use it with whichever merchant billed them. There is no free tier. CyberGhost’s trial page offers a 24-hour desktop trial without a card, and mobile trials that need a payment method. The checkout also advertises a referral bonus of 30 free days.

Who it is for and who should skip it

CyberGhost suits price-first buyers who want:

• a long plan with a stated renewal
• a 45-day window to change their mind
• a large server list, with streaming claims for the main US and UK services
• simple apps on Windows, Android, Fire TV and Android TV

It also suits anyone who likes the idea of the NoSpy servers on CyberGhost’s own hardware in Romania.

Skip it if:

• you connect from networks or countries that block VPNs, because it has no obfuscation
• you want multi-hop or port forwarding
• you need split tunneling on a Mac or iPhone
• you want to put it on an Apple TV, a Samsung or LG set or a console. Smart DNS no longer works for streaming, and there is no Apple TV app.
• you need more than 7 connections
• you want to pay anonymously

Some readers prefer a provider outside the Kape Technologies group, or want open-source apps and app audits. They should look at Proton VPN, Mullvad or IVPN.

Alternatives

NordVPN costs $3.49 a month on its 27-month Basic plan. You pay $94.23 up front, and it renews at $139.08 a year, a far steeper renewal. In return, you get obfuscated servers, Double VPN, Meshnet, 10 devices and a working SmartDNS. See CyberGhost vs NordVPN.

Surfshark costs $2.49 a month for 27 months, or $67.23. It offers unlimited devices, obfuscation, Dynamic MultiHop and split tunneling on macOS and iOS. But it does not state its renewal price. See CyberGhost vs Surfshark.

ExpressVPN shares CyberGhost’s owner. It costs $2.99 a month for 28 months, or $83.72, and renews at $99.95 a year. It has automatic obfuscation, split tunneling on every platform, post-quantum Lightway and a native Apple TV app. See CyberGhost vs ExpressVPN.

Private Internet Access is the third Kape brand. It costs $2.03 a month on a 40-month plan, or $81.20, and renews at $81.20 every three years. It adds port forwarding, open-source apps and unlimited devices, under US jurisdiction.

Proton VPN is the choice for the features CyberGhost lacks: Stealth obfuscation, Secure Core multi-hop, port forwarding and open-source apps. It costs $3.49 a month on its 2-year plan, or $83.76, and renews at $83.88 a year.

For use-case rankings, see our best VPN for streaming, best VPN for Netflix and best VPN for torrenting pages, or the full provider list.

How we verified this review

We read every price, plan term, renewal amount, refund rule, server count and feature on this page from CyberGhost’s official pages on 31 October 2026:

• the buy page for prices and renewals
• the terms for the guarantee
• the server and NoSpy pages for the network
• the Privacy Hub announcements for the three Deloitte engagements

We date the engagements by announcement, because CyberGhost does not publish audit periods. We confirmed the Smart DNS statement through the help center’s public article data. The help center’s web pages sit behind a bot-protection challenge that our fetcher does not bypass.

We have not yet run speed or streaming tests. That is why speed is left out of the score and streaming entries are labeled as claims. The data record behind this page is public. Our how we test page describes the lab that will replace the claims with measurements.