Security scores are not kill-switch grades
Sorted by the security category. Methodology includes a kill switch in that category.
| Provider | Security | Privacy | Audit type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mullvad | 94 | 95 | independent |
| NordVPN | 92 | 94 | independent |
| Private Internet Access | 91 | 82 | independent |
| Proton VPN | 91 | 98 | independent |
| ExpressVPN | 90 | 96 | independent |
| Surfshark | 88 | 89 | independent |
| VyprVPN | 88 | 88 | self-published |
| hide.me | 85 | 92 | independent |
| IPVanish | 84 | 65 | none |
| Windscribe | 83 | 85 | independent |
| TunnelBear | 82 | 85 | independent |
| CyberGhost | 80 | 75 | self-published |
| PrivateVPN | 80 | 72 | none |
| Hotspot Shield | 78 | 68 | self-published |
| Ivacy | 72 | 65 | none |
Pair any security number with the audit reading guide before you treat a provider as both tight on leaks and specific about logs.
Related on this site
- Audited no-logs guide — parent cluster.
- How to read a no-logs audit.
- Is a VPN enough for public Wi-Fi? — a dropped tunnel is the café case of this question.
- Which jurisdiction matters.
- Mullvad (security 94), Proton VPN (security 91), and Private Internet Access (security 91).
- Methodology security table and comparison JSON.
- Match engine.
FAQ
Does a kill switch failure prove the provider kept logs?
No. A failure means traffic may have left the tunnel during an outage. A no-logs claim is about what the provider stores. One event does not prove the other.
Where does the kill switch sit in the scoring weights?
Methodology places a system-level kill switch inside Security, which is 15 percent of the composite. No-logs evidence sits inside Privacy, which is 25 percent. They are separate inputs.
Does the JSON publish a kill-switch pass or fail per provider?
No. Each provider has a single security score. There is no kill-switch field. Do not infer a pass or fail from that composite number.
Affiliate status: Links on this page go to official provider websites. Our NordVPN and hide.me affiliate links are on the homepage and the NordVPN review. Scores are editorial from /data/vpn-comparison-2026.json (last verified 12 June 2026). v1.0 weights are unchanged. See ethics and methodology.