Updated September 29, 2026 · ShieldCue Editorial Team
Top privacy tools compared
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| # | Provider | Score | Features | Key facts | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  NordVPNTop pick 75% off + 3 months extra | 9.1/10 |
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| 2 |  NordVPN Threat Protection 2-year Basic plan with 3 extra months: EUR 3.49 per month for the first 27 months | 8.8/10 |
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| 3 |  Kaspersky Kaspersky Safe Kids free for 1 year with Standard, Plus and Premium plans (limited time offer): Kaspersky Safe Kids 1 year free | 9.5/10 |
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| 4 |  Kaspersky Latam Kaspersky Safe Kids free for 1 year with Kaspersky Premium (limited time offer): 1 year free Kaspersky Safe Kids | 9.4/10 |
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| 5 |  Kaspersky 7-day free trial of Kaspersky VPN: 7 days free | 9.1/10 |
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| 5 |  PureVPN 83% off + 3 extra months on 2-year plan: 83% off + 3 extra months (Standard $2.15/mo) | 9.5/10 |
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| 6 |  Surfshark +3 EXTRA months, Save 85% on Surfshark Starter: Starter EUR 2.49/mo., sale price EUR 67.23 for the first 27 months (old price EUR 444.15) | 9.4/10 |
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| 7 |  Surfshark Alert 3 extra months on 24-month plans: 27 months for the price of 24 (Starter €67.23, One €75.33, One+ €121.23) | 9.0/10 |
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| 8 |  Surfshark One (Antivirus) Surfshark One 24-month plan with 3 extra months: EUR 75.33 for the first 27 months (Save 85%) | 8.5/10 |
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| 9 |  Proton 40% off Pass Plus | 9.3/10 |
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| 10 |  Proton Mail 30-day money-back guarantee on Pass Plus and Proton Unlimited: 30 days | 9.0/10 |
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| 11 |  Proton Pass 40% off Pass Plus | 9.0/10 |
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| 12 |  Proton Drive | 8.8/10 |
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| 13 |  Mysterium VPN 2-Year Basic plan discount: Save 78%: $2.59/mo, $62.16 billed every 2 years | 9.0/10 |
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| 14 |  HideMy.name Test VPN access for 24 hours: 24 hours free | 8.9/10 |
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| 15 |  DeleteMe 20% off all privacy protection plans after the free scan: 20% off with promo code SCAN20 | 9.6/10 |
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| 16 |  Malwarebytes Browser Guard 14-day free trial of Malwarebytes Premium with free download: 14 days | 9.5/10 |
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| 17 |  AdGuard AdGuard for Windows 14-day trial period: 14 days | 9.4/10 |
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| 18 |  Trend Micro Maximum Security 5 devices 12 months, 29% off first year: USD 74.95 instead of USD 104.95 | 9.4/10 |
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| 19 |  Avast SecureLine VPN SecureLine VPN 60-day free trial: 60 days free | 9.3/10 |
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| 20 |  ExpressVPN Fall sports offer: Save 80% | 9.3/10 |
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| 21 |  Fastmail Free trial on signup: 30 days | 9.3/10 |
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| 22 |  Proton AG | 9.3/10 |
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| 23 |  VeePN 3-day free trial on all plans: 3 days free | 9.2/10 |
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| 24 |  hide.me | 9.1/10 |
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| 25 |  Total Adblock | 9.1/10 |
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| 26 |  Tresorit AG 14-day free trial of all paid SecureCloud plans: 14 days free | 8.9/10 |
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About Top privacy tools compared
Privacy tools cover a lot of ground, from email aliases that hide your real address to private DNS resolvers, ad blocking, security keys and encrypted storage. This ranking puts 268 of them side by side. Readers here mostly weigh the price at the start and the price once the introductory period is over, because a cheap opening month says little about renewal. The rest of the decision is what the plan actually includes and where the service is based. Some options are free to start and cheap to keep, some are bundled inside a subscription you may already pay for, and some charge from the start with no free plan at all. There is no single winner for everyone, so the list is ordered by how each one balances entry price, ongoing value and the strength of its privacy promise.
How we picked
Every service in this ranking was scored on a fixed set of factors, and the weights do not move. Cost carries 40% of the score, the offer itself carries 40%, and trust carries 20%. Cost looks at what you pay at entry and what you pay to renew, so a service with a free plan and a tight free tier scores differently from a service that charges from the start. The offer weight looks at what the plan actually includes, including limits such as alias counts, storage allowances and query caps. Trust looks at the legal entity, the jurisdiction, the published logging policy and whether the code is open source. Data comes from each brand's own pricing pages, terms, privacy policy and support pages, alongside the company record for founding year and headquarters. Partners are listed first, ahead of everything scored on merit, and each entry carries the same fields so the comparison holds up. A brand without a free plan loses ground on the offer weight rather than being treated as a fault in itself.
How we rankWhat to look for
- Price at entry and price at renewal
- A plan that looks cheap on the way in can cost far more once the introductory period ends. Compare the entry price of each service against what the same plan charges to keep, and treat a low starting figure as an invitation rather than a standing price. Across this ranking, the typical monthly price sits at €7.01, with the middle range running €3.58 to €10.52.
- What the plan includes
- Limits decide how usable a service is day to day. Alias caps, monthly query limits, storage allowances and the number of people on a plan all shape real use, so read the limits on the free tier and the paid tier before choosing. About 77.1% of the services in this ranking hand you something free, so a paid plan earns its place only if you need more than the free tier allows.
- Where the service runs
- The country a company is based in shapes the law it answers to and the data it holds. Apple Inc. is headquartered in US and answers to that jurisdiction, while Token2 sits in CH and NextDNS in US. This category covers 268 brands, so check the jurisdiction before you hand over an email address or a domain.
- Logging and data handling
- A published logging policy tells you what a service can see. Some keep nothing beyond delivery, some hold a short window of server logs, and some keep metadata such as IP address and device details. About 88.7% of the services in this ranking publish a no logs claim, so read the wording behind it and check whether data is stored in a region you pick or one you do not.
- Platforms and devices
- A privacy tool only helps if it runs on the devices you own. Coverage in this ranking ranges from web browser, Windows and macOS for Token2 and macOS, Windows and Linux for Control D to iOS, iPadOS and macOS for Apple Hide My Email, and the devices covered typically run 5 to 10.
- Open source and support
- Open source services let you inspect the code behind the promise, which matters when the service handles your mail or your queries, and about 61.6% of the services in this ranking publish open source code. Support reach is the other side of trust: 92.5% run a help centre, 78.7% offer email and 55.5% run a community forum.
Frequently asked questions
Which privacy tool here is cheapest to start?+
Several come with a free plan. Apple Hide My Email and Apple Inc. both hand you a free option, as do Token2, Control D, addy.io, NextDNS, MEGA and AVG. The free tiers differ sharply: Token2 covers a browser based toolset with no account needed, Control D covers public DNS resolvers, and addy.io covers unlimited standard aliases. Check what the free plan includes before assuming it matches the paid one.
Do any of these cost nothing at all?+
Yes. AVG runs on a free model, and it covers Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. Its free plan handles everyday threat blocking, while the rest of the toolkit, such as a Wi-Fi security check, the firewall, fake-site and phishing-site protection, VPN, TuneUp and AntiTrack, sits outside it. Token2 also carries a free plan, so the answer depends on which job you want done.
What is the difference between an email alias service and a private DNS resolver?+
They solve different problems. Apple Hide My Email, Apple Inc. and addy.io generate addresses that forward to your inbox, so sites never see the address you read mail with. Control D and NextDNS sit in the other camp, filtering lookups through private DNS resolvers using doh, dot and doq and doh, dot and doq, so they change what your device asks the network for rather than who you answer to.
How do I pick between the cheaper and the dearer services here?+
Start with what you need covered. EasyOptOuts charges from $19.99 and handles data removal, which none of the others do. If you want an alias, addy.io gives unlimited standard aliases on its free plan and open source code you can inspect. If you want filtering across every app, NextDNS or Control D cover more devices than either alias service.
Is a free plan usually good enough?+
Often, and it is worth starting there. The middle range of monthly prices in this ranking runs €3.58 to €10.52, so a free tier can cover most needs at no cost. Limits are where free plans stop. The MEGA free plan offers 20 GB storage, limited transfer, and the NextDNS free allowance is 300,000 queries/month, then answering continues unfiltered, after which answering continues unfiltered.
Which of these makes the strongest privacy claim?+
Several publish detailed policies worth reading. Apple Hide My Email does not open relayed message content beyond standard spam filtering, and clears it from the relay once it has been delivered. NextDNS records nothing unless you opt in and lets you choose where data is kept, with regions in the US, EU, UK and Switzerland. MEGA cannot decrypt your files or chats, though it holds metadata in the clear.
Top privacy tools compared by country
Providers compared head to head
Related by the facts
Reviews
The data behind this ranking
| Metric | Value | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Median price monthly | 7.01 EUR | 95 |
| Lower quartile price monthly | 3.58 EUR | 95 |
| Upper quartile price monthly | 10.52 EUR | 95 |
| Lowest price monthly | 0 EUR | 95 |
| Highest price monthly | 63.95 EUR | 95 |
| Median long term price | 4.11 EUR | 66 |
| Lower quartile long term price | 2.9 EUR | 66 |
| Upper quartile long term price | 6.63 EUR | 66 |
| Lowest long term price | 0.88 EUR | 66 |
| Highest long term price | 26.27 EUR | 66 |
| Median devices | 6 | 51 |