Best CyberGhost Alternatives: Comparing 27 VPN Providers
VPNs are useful: They protect your privacy, make your Internet connections safer (especially if on public WiFi), and can unlock geo-blocked content. CyberGhost is no exception, however, is it the best choice?
Based in Romania, CyberGhost offers user-friendly apps, solid performance, and a sizable server network. When set alongside some of the other leading services from our comprehensive EXPERTE.com VPN test, we noticed a few areas where it was definitely not leading the pack.
Below, we'll let you know what these shortcomings are, as well as which services performed better.
CyberGhost's Disadvantages
CyberGhost staked out a very respectable eighth place in our VPN assessment. It failed to reach higher owing to the following aspects:
Suspicious parent company
Since 2017 CyberGhost has belonged to Kape Technologies, which owns a few other VPNs (ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and Zenmate) and some VPN review websites. This is bad enough, but Kape was previously known as Crossrider and had a poor reputation as a malware smuggler. Even if they've made up for the past there's a disconnect between Kape's corporate history and its portfolio.No security audits since 2012
Plenty of VPN services regularly submit to independent security audits. These assessments underline how serious a provider's data security commitments are as well as the truth of their marketing claims. Such an audit would do CyberGhost a world of good, especially in light of Kape's dubious past. Unfortunately, CyberGhost has not been examined by independent third parties for more than a decade.Performance 'only' solid
CyberGhost's performance is okay, however, it isn't awe-inspiring. During our assessment, the provider's speeds were only good enough for 15th place, near the middle of our sample. Further souring our experience were several instances when we were unable to establish VPN connections at all.
The Best Alternatives to CyberGhost
Faster: NordVPN
As mentioned above, CyberGhost's speeds were only good enough for 15th place in our EXPERTE.com ranking. At the other end of the spectrum was NordVPN, which was not only faster but also our best-in-show, thanks to its excellent overall package.
Alongside top speeds, you'll also get user-friendly apps that come loaded with features like split tunneling, Tor connections, and Double VPN. Rounding things out is NordVPN's fantastic support, which includes a live chat.
NordVPN finished first in our test of 27 VPNs.
In terms of security, NordVPN offers a no-log promise and backs up this claim with regular independent security audits. During testing, we didn't identify any leaks. Since NordVPN is priced fairly, particularly in its very affordable 2-year subscription, the VPN's premier place on the podium is well-deserved.
Elegant, intuitive app with an interactive world map
Excellent speeds
Plenty of features, like split tunneling, server categories, and CyberSec
Server network could cover more countries
Few protocol options
More Affordable 2-Year Subscription: Surfshark
CyberGhost is one of the most affordable VPNs, mostly owing to its competitively-priced 3-year package. In case you don't want to make that long of a commitment, an even less expensive (and contractually shorter) option is circling just within our Top 3: Surfshark.
However, there aren't just economic arguments in Surfshark's favor: The relatively young VPN finished just behind NordVPN in our performance ranking, breezing past CyberGhost. Then there's its highly impressive feature package, which includes split tunneling, MultiHop, an adblocker, and a static IP address.
Surfshark might be a few years younger than CyberGhost, but it already outperforms it in some areas.
As such, Surfshark's price-performance ratio is better than that of CyberGhost. You'll pay less per month for its 2-year subscription than you would for CyberGhost's 36-month plan. Thanks to its recent audit and lack of leaks, we don't have any security concerns about Surfshark either.
Top-performing
Tons of features, including split tunneling
User-friendly apps
Server network could be larger
More Privacy: ProtonVPN
CyberGhost didn't demonstrate any technical security issues during our assessment: It supports state-of-the-art protocols, uses AES-256 encryption, and passed all of the IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC leak tests we put it through. At the same time, its corporate ownership (Kape Technologies) left us skeptical, as did the absence of current security audits.
ProtonVPN doesn't only have up-to-date external audits: Since 2020, it's completely open-source. This means that anyone can view its source code and examine it for weaknesses - none of the other services from our sample were as transparent.
ProtonVPN's open-source approach and security features make it an excellent choice for privacy enthusiasts.
ProtonVPN also offers a few useful security features that its competitors don't. With "Secure Core", you'll be able to route your VPN traffic through a secure server in a country with strict data privacy laws.
Another plus is its free version, which doesn't impose any data or speed limits upon users. Taken together, all of the above make ProtonVPN a great choice for privacy enthusiasts, as well as anyone on the hunt for a free VPN without data limits.
Open-source apps
Solid performance
Security features like "Secure Core"
Growing server network
Limited support options
Kape Subsidiary With Securit Audits: ExpressVPN
Should you not be afraid of doing business with Kape Technologies, you can enjoy enhanced security with ExpressVPN. One of the most popular services on the market, ExpressVPN offers excellent performance, intuitive apps, and access to a large server network.
Even though ExpressVPN is owned by Kape Technologies, it regularly submits to independent security audits.
Unfortunately, an ExpressVPN subscription will cost significantly more than a CyberGhost one. Even though the difference is minimal for monthly rates, ExpressVPN's most affordable long-term package costs three times as much per month as that of CyberGhost.
Excellent performance
Huge server network
Regularly submits to independent security audits
Pricey
Owned by Kape Technologies
Other Alternatives
HideMyAss
HideMyAss has fewer servers, but more of a geographic spread than CyberGhost. In terms of performance, HideMyAss also beats CyberGhost. Rounding things out are clever features like automatic IP changing.
hide.me
After ProtonVPN, hide.me serves up the best free VPN: You'll get up to 10 GB of data per month and be able to connect to five different locations. The premium version also performed strongly, however, its server network could be larger.
Windscribe
Windscribe is another option worth checking out if you'd like a free VPN. You'll be treated to 10 GB of data across any synchronized devices per month, as well as access to 10 different server locations (more than both hide.me and ProtonVPN). All the same, when it comes to performance, Windscribe finished behind CyberGhost.
Overall Result
In EXPERTE.com's VPN comparison, we scored 27 providers in terms of "Installation and Features", "Server Network", "Performance", "Security and Privacy", and "Customer Support". When the dust settled, CyberGhost finished in eighth place, within the upper third of our sample. While good, at least seven other services outperformed it in one way or another.
Below, you can see our complete ranking:
Conclusion
CyberGhost isn't a bad choice for a VPN: It offers a huge server network, elegant apps, and decent performance. However, decent isn't great, and its shady parent company, Kape Technologies, is sure to be a red flag for any data privacy enthusiasts.
We're happy that several of the services we assessed don't suffer from the same issues as CyberGhost. NordVPN, our test's winner, performs better and regularly submits to independent security audits. Surfshark has a more competitively-priced 2-year subscription package, and ProtonVPN is sure to be a favorite with data security enthusiasts owing to its open-source apps and focus on privacy.
Should you want to find out more about these and other VPNs, you can in our detailed EXPERTE.com reviews of 27 of the most popular VPNs.
