262 VPN industry players and regulations across the United States · Canada · Europe · China (Greater China) · South Korea · Japan · and other regions compiled into a single interactive table. Covers consumer VPNs · free apps · anti-censorship tools · enterprise remote-access appliances · Zero Trust (ZTNA · SASE) · and proxy networks. Filter by region · type · era (Legacy → AI) · customer · jurisdiction · no-log audit · ownership · group · and revenue stream, and sort by scale. Every figure carries a source verification rating (✔ filing · primary source / △ press · estimate / ✘ common claim debunked).
Even under the same "VPN" label, who pays differs fundamentally: individuals paying subscriptions (①), free apps monetized by ads and data (②), bundles packaged into other products (③ · ④), anti-censorship tools funded by governments and foundations (⑤), underground markets subject to crackdowns (⑥), enterprises paying for hardware appliances or seats (⑦ · ⑧ · ⑨), residential proxies reselling user bandwidth (⑩), and affiliate review media ranking them up front (⑪). Layered onto this is the Era (Legacy Enterprise VPN → 1st-Gen Commercial VPN → Mobile Free VPN → Privacy Boom → Zero Trust → AI). Era is assigned at the product level, not the company level (Fortinet appliance = Legacy, FortiSASE = Zero Trust).
| # | Name | Region | Type | Tier | Key Metric | Customer | Revenue | Verif. |
|---|
Click any row to expand ownership · founding · revenue streams · financials · trends · and sources. The 103 entries rated "?" have no verified primary scale metric in public sources. Tiers are rough approximations based on a single headline metric. Enterprise hardware & security vendors reflect total company revenue (not VPN-only share), whereas consumer VPNs often cite self-selected "cumulative users," so they cannot be compared directly across categories. Monthly visits are Similarweb estimates (△).
| Scope | Value | Definition · Period | Verif. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer (B2C) VPN · Global | $5.12B (2025) → $16.84B (2035) · CAGR 12.8% | Personal subscription VPNs only · Emergen Research · △. Same-year figures like "VPN market $44.6B" (cited by WebsiteRating) and "VPN software $54.68B" (MRFR) include enterprise, creating a ~10x gap | △ |
| VPN App Revenue (App Stores) | $5.9B (2024 · +15.6%) | iOS & Google Play in-app purchase revenue · Business of Apps · △. Excludes web checkout (where most Nord & Express sales occur), so actual consumer revenue is higher | △ |
| Total VPN Software (Enterprise + Consumer) | $54.68B (2025) → $149.6B (2034) | Market Research Future · Includes enterprise remote-access hardware & services · △. Research firms range from $44.6B to $54.7B — ~10x the consumer-only definition ($5.1B) | △ |
| ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access) | $1.34B–$1.8B (2025) | MarketsandMarkets $1.34B → 2030 $4.18B (CAGR 25.5%) · P&S Intelligence $1.8B → 2032 $8.3B · △. Some reports cite $51.59B (2025), a 30x gap counting all Zero Trust security | △ |
| SASE (SSE + SD-WAN) · Global | $13B+ (2026 forecast) / $14.7B (2025 forecast) | Dell'Oro 2026 $13B+ · Gartner 2025 $14.7B — both are forecasts published in 2022 (Light Reading) · latest actuals unconfirmed · △ | △ |
| SASE · United States | $5.65B (2025) → $15.29B (2030) | MarketsandMarkets US regional edition · CAGR 22% · △ | △ |
| US VPN Provider Industry Revenue | $3.6B (2025) | IBISWorld "VPN Providers in the US" · Revenue of US-based operators (consumer + enterprise services) · △ | △ |
| Residential Proxy · Largest Vendor | Bright Data ARR $300M (2025-11 · up from $127.7M prior year) | Company-announced annualized revenue (1 month × 12) · Growth driven largely by AI training & search scraping customers · △ (company self-report via Proxyway). Total market size only cited in vendor blogs as "$7.59B by 2032" — no reliable 2025 market figure | △ |
| Proxy Pricing | 5GB tier median ~$4/GB (−53% YoY) | Proxyway 2025 proxy market survey (secondary summary) · 67 new providers in 2024 · 250+ total · △ | △ |
| US Adoption Rate | 32% (2025-06) → 42% (2026) | Security.org panel of 1,009 US adults · 46% in 2024 · △. AllAboutCookies "60%" asked about "use in the past 12 months," a different definition | △ |
| Downloads by Country (2024) | US 63.4M · Germany 18.1M · UK 16.65M · Canada 6.8M · Japan 5.3M | Cybernews app store install tally · △. Global totals only available via Atlas VPN (785M in 2021 → 430M in 2023, △) · China & South Korea figures unconfirmed (China removed from app stores · underground "Jichang" market cannot be tallied) | △ |
| Revenue Stream | Key Examples · Unit Pricing | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Long-Term Prepaid Subscription (2-yr discount → renewal price hike) | NordVPN $12.99/mo vs. ~$3/mo on 2-yr plan · ExpressVPN & CyberGhost follow same structure · △ | → Industry standard · Reverting to list price at renewal is a regulatory flashpoint (US FTC "Click-to-Cancel" rule vacated by court in 2025) |
| Flat Single Price (no discounts) | Mullvad €5/mo flat · Account number only · Ended recurring subscriptions in 2022 (company primary source ✔) | → Niche privacy segment · Low marketing spend but slower growth |
| Freemium (free → paid upsell) | Proton VPN Free (speed/server limits) → Plus · Windscribe Free 10GB → Pro · △ | ↑ Free tier serves as acquisition funnel during age-verification spikes (UK 2025-07) |
| Ad-Supported Free VPN | Turbo VPN · Super Unlimited VPN (#1 & #2 downloads in 2024, Business of Apps △) · Ads + in-app purchases | ↓ Exposé on hidden Chinese ownership (TTP 2025-04 & 06) → Apple removed several Qihoo 360-linked apps |
| Data & Traffic Resale (Proxy SDK) | Selling free-app user connections as residential proxies · Pioneered by Hola → Bright Data (Luminati) · △ | ↑ Surge in AI training scraping demand (Bright Data ARR $128M → $300M, company △) · Botnet operations like 911 S5 dismantled by law enforcement |
| Affiliate Reviews (high CPA · revenue share) | NordVPN 100% on 1-month plan · 40% on long-term · 30% on renewal (affiliate directory △) · ExpressVPN flat $13/$22/$36 per sale · no renewal cut (△) · YouTube & podcast sponsorships run on the same axis (Nord · Surfshark · Express) (△) | → Conflict of interest over review site ownership (Kape owns vpnMentor & Wizcase, 2021 press △) |
| Security Suite Bundle | Norton Secure VPN in Norton 360 · Avast/AVG SecureLine · McAfee+ (TunnelBear tech) · Part of Gen consumer security revenue, standalone VPN revenue undisclosed | ↑ Gen launched "Norton Ultra VPN" (2025) & "VPN for Agents" (2026 press △) |
| Carrier · Card · Platform Bundle | Google One VPN (shut down 2024-06-20 · "low usage") · Built into Pixel 8+ · Google Fi free VPN · Apple iCloud Private Relay | ↓ Big Tech standalone VPNs retreating · Absorbed into OS built-ins |
| Multi-Brand Conglomerate (price discrimination) | Kape: ExpressVPN (premium) · PIA · CyberGhost (budget) · ZenMate / Nord: NordVPN + Surfshark (2022 merger, separate brands kept) | → Shared backend infrastructure · Different price tiers · Kape consolidating ExpressVPN & PIA onto unified platform in 2025 (△) |
| Add-on Privacy Suite (password · data removal · eSIM) | Nord: NordPass · NordLocker · Incogni (data removal) · Saily (eSIM) / Surfshark One · Proton Unlimited (Mail · Drive · Pass) · △ | ↑ Standalone VPN ARPU plateauing → Bundling into "privacy suites" |
| Enterprise Remote-Access VPN Appliances & Licenses | Cisco AnyConnect · Fortinet FortiGate · Palo Alto GlobalProtect · Ivanti · △ | ↓ Wave of appliance zero-days in 2024 (Ivanti Connect Secure, etc.) → Driving replacement demand toward ZTNA |
| ZTNA · SASE Seat Subscription | Zscaler · Netskope (2025-09 IPO $908M ✔) · Cloudflare One · Check Point (Perimeter 81 $490M ✔) · Mesh: Tailscale 2025-04 Series C $160M at ~$1.5B valuation (✔ press) | ↑ ZTNA forecast to grow ~25% annually (△) |
| White-Label · Wholesale | WLVPN (Ziff Davis subsidiary) — supplies servers & apps to other VPN brands · △ | → Many free & minor apps are simply brand wrappers on top of white-label infrastructure |
| Government · Foundation Grants (anti-censorship) | US OTF funds Psiphon · Lantern, etc. · Jigsaw Outline · △ | ↓ 2025 USAGM & OTF budget cuts and litigation straining funding (△) |
In consumer VPNs, the standard pattern is "high monthly list price, 70–80% discount on 2-year prepaid plans, and renewal at full list price." Because affiliate commissions pay 40–100% of the initial sale, "Best VPN" review rankings easily mirror commission rankings. Prices vary by promotion · region · and billing cycle (△).
| Brand | Monthly Price | Long-Term Discount | Affiliate Commission | Refund | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | $12.99 (△) | ~$3/mo (2-yr · renews at list) (△) | 100% on new 1-mo plan · 40% on 6-mo to 2-yr · 30% on renewal · 30-day cookie (affiliate directory △) | 30 days | Source |
| Surfshark | $15.45 (△) | ~$2/mo (2-yr+) (△) | 40% on new sales (45%+ by volume) · Renewal inclusion varies by source (△) | 30 days | Source |
| ExpressVPN | $12.95 (△) | ~$4.99/mo (2-yr) (△) | Flat payout per sale: 1-mo $13 · 6-mo $22 · 12-mo $36 · No renewal cut (△) | 30 days | Source |
| Proton VPN | €9.99 (△) | ~€4.49/mo (2-yr) (△) | Official page states "industry-leading rates · nonprofit perks" without % disclosed (✔) · Directories cite 40%–100% (△) | 30 days (prorated) (△) | Source |
| Mullvad | €5 (flat) | None — €5 per 30 days regardless of duration (✔ company source) | No affiliate program (review sites △) | 30 days (△) | Source |
| Private Internet Access (PIA) | $11.95 (△) | ~$2/mo (3-yr) (△) | Unconfirmed | 30 days | |
| CyberGhost | $12.99 (△) | ~$2.19/mo (2-yr) (△) | Unconfirmed | 45 days (long-term) · 14 days (monthly) (△) | |
| IPVanish | $12.99 (△) | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | 30 days (annual) (△) | |
| Windscribe | $9 (△) | $69/yr (△) | Unconfirmed | 3 days (△) | |
| Norton VPN (Gen) | Unconfirmed | ~$40–50 first year · hikes on renewal (△) | Unconfirmed | 60 days (annual) (△) | |
| Hotspot Shield (Pango) | $12.99 (△) | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | 45 days (△) | |
| Sekai VPN (セカイVPN · Interlink) | ¥1,100/mo (tax incl.) (△) | None (flat monthly) (△) | Unconfirmed | First month free (△) |
| Date | Deal | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-05 | AVG acquires HideMyAss (HMA) | $40M + $20M earnout | ✔ Press & Wiki · Claim that "Avast acquired HMA in 2015" is ✘ — passed to Avast when Avast acquired AVG in 2016 |
| 2016-07 | Avast acquires AVG (including HMA) | $1.3B (△) | △ |
| 2017 | Crossrider (→ Kape) acquires CyberGhost | ~€9.2M (△) | △ Year reported consistently as 2017 |
| 2018-03 | McAfee acquires TunnelBear | Undisclosed | ✔ TechCrunch · ~20M users · Brand retained |
| 2018 | Kape acquires ZenMate · Crossrider rebrands to Kape Technologies | ~$5M | △ Press |
| 2019-11 | Kape acquires Private Internet Access | $127M (cash + stock) | △ Press (based on company announcement) |
| 2019 | j2 Global (→ Ziff Davis) acquires IPVanish · StrongVPN · Encrypt.me, etc. from StackPath | Unconfirmed | △ Press · Includes NetProtect (VIPRE group) & WLVPN white-label |
| 2020 | Aura acquires Pango (Hotspot Shield) | Undisclosed | △ Sources vary between 2020/2021 · Aura spun Pango back out in 2024-09 |
| 2021-09 | Kape acquires ExpressVPN | $936M | ✔ Company announcement · Largest in industry · 6M+ paid subscribers |
| 2022-02 | Nord Security & Surfshark merge | Undisclosed | ✔ Surfshark blog · Both brands retained independently |
| 2022-04 | Nord Security first external funding (led by Novator · Burda · General Catalyst) | $100M · $1.6B valuation | ✔ TechCrunch & tech.eu |
| 2022-09 | NortonLifeLock completes Avast merger → Rebrands as Gen Digital in Nov | $8.1B–$8.6B | ✔ Press · Brings Norton VPN · Avast SecureLine · HMA · AVG under one roof |
| 2023-02–05 | Teddy Sagi's Unikmind takes Kape private (285p/share · AIM delisting) | ~£1.25B ($1.5B–$1.6B in press) | △ Press · Differences reflect currency & equity value definitions |
| 2023-08 | Check Point acquires Perimeter 81 (ZTNA) | $490M | ✔ Company announcement · Largest acquisition in Check Point history |
| 2023-09 | Nord Security follow-on funding (led by Warburg Pincus) | $100M · $3.0B valuation | ✔ Company announcement & SiliconANGLE |
| 2024-06 | Google One VPN shut down (June 20) | — | ✔ Google spokesperson cited "low usage" · Built-in Pixel VPN & Google Fi VPN retained |
| 2024-09 | Aura spins off Pango Group (into two independent companies) | — | △ Press (via PRNewswire) |
| 2025-04 | Tailscale Series C (led by Accel) | $160M · ~$1.5B valuation | ✔ Press · Claims of "$275M Series C" are ✘ (that is cumulative funding) |
| 2025-09 | Netskope Nasdaq IPO (NTSK) | $908M proceeds · $19/share | ✔ Company filing · Closed day one at $22.49 |
| 2025-11 | Bright Data announces $300M ARR (up from $127.7M prior year) | — | △ Company announcement · Not an M&A deal — recorded as a signal of AI scraping demand |
| Person | Country | Role | Core Business Model | Defining Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Okman | Lithuania | Nord Security Co-founder (NordVPN 2012) | Long-term prepaid subscriptions · Massive ad & YouTube sponsorships | 2022 first external raise ($100M) & Surfshark merger (△) |
| Eimantas Sabaliauskas | Lithuania | Nord Security Co-founder | VPN → Password · data removal · eSIM suite | Multi-product suite expansion (△) |
| Vytautas Kaziukonis | Lithuania | Surfshark Founder & CEO | Unlimited-device low-cost subscriptions | 2022 merged with Nord while keeping brand independent (△) |
| Andy Yen | Taiwanese-Swiss | Proton Founder & CEO (ex-CERN) | Freemium → Privacy suite (Proton Unlimited) | 2024 transferred Proton stake to nonprofit Proton Foundation (△) |
| Fredrik Strömberg · Daniel Berntsson | Sweden | Mullvad (Amagicom AB) Founders · 100% owned (50:50 split) | €5 flat price · Account numbers · Zero affiliates | 2021 public pledge "never to sell" · 2022 ended recurring payments (✔ company source) |
| Teddy Sagi | Israel | Kape controlling shareholder (Unikmind) · Playtech founder | Multi-brand rollup + affiliate review site ownership | Acquired Crossrider for $37M → AIM IPO → 2023 take-private (△ press) |
| Ido Erlichman | Israel | Former Kape CEO | M&A rollup integration (CyberGhost · PIA · ExpressVPN) | 2021 $936M ExpressVPN acquisition (△) |
| Peter Burchhardt · Dan Pomerantz | US (founded) · BVI reg. | ExpressVPN Co-founders (2009) | Premium single-brand VPN | 2021 sale to Kape (△) |
| Ofer Vilenski · Derry Shribman | Israel | Hola & Luminati (→ Bright Data) Co-founders | Free VPN user connections → Residential proxy resale | Pioneered free-for-bandwidth exchange model (△) |
| Or Lenchner | Israel | Bright Data CEO | Data collection infrastructure (AI customers) | 2025-11 announced $300M ARR (△) |
| Jay Chaudhry | Indian-American | Zscaler Founder & CEO | Cloud proxy · ZTNA per-seat subscription | "Kill the VPN & firewall" positioning (△) |
| Nikesh Arora | Indian-American | Palo Alto Networks CEO | Firewall + Prisma Access (SASE) platformization | Hardware → subscription transition (△) |
| Ken Xie | Chinese-American | Fortinet Founder & CEO | ASIC firewalls + SSL VPN · SASE | 2025 phased out SSL VPN tunnel mode on select appliances (△) |
| Gil Shwed | Israel | Check Point Founder (Executive Chairman in 2024) | Firewalls · Remote access | 2023 $490M Perimeter 81 acquisition (✔) |
| Sanjay Beri | United States | Netskope Founder & CEO | SSE/SASE subscriptions | 2025-09 Nasdaq IPO (✔) |
| Avery Pennarun | Canada | Tailscale Co-founder & CEO | WireGuard mesh · Free for individuals · Seat billing | Highlighted AI infrastructure connectivity demand in 2025 Series C (△) |
| Jason A. Donenfeld | United States | WireGuard Creator | Open source (donations) | 2020 merged into Linux kernel 5.6 (△) |
| James Yonan | United States | OpenVPN Creator · OpenVPN Inc. | Open source + enterprise Access Server & CloudConnexa | 2001 initial OpenVPN release (△) |
| clowwindy | China | Shadowsocks Creator | Open source | 2015 deleted repository after police pressure (△) |
| 方滨兴 (Fang Binxing) | China | "Father of the Great Firewall (GFW)" | State censorship infrastructure | Led architecture of the GFW (△) |
| Roger Dingledine | United States | Tor Project Co-founder | Nonprofit · Government & foundation grants | 2002 initial Tor release (△) |
| Matthew Prince | United States | Cloudflare CEO | Free WARP (1.1.1.1) → Zero Trust (Cloudflare One) upsell | 2019 WARP launch (△) |
For each region, we selected a signature player that best illustrates "how money flows in that region's VPN & network security market" — split across three consumer players (Europe · China · Japan), two enterprise vendors (United States · South Korea), and one proxy leader (Other).
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