Most VPN Tier Lists Are Fake — Here’s the Real 2026 Ranking

A fresh VPN tier list for mid-2026 — ranked by someone who has actually reviewed and used every single one of these VPNs, not someone summing them up in two sentences for a clickbait video. This list is **not sponsored**, and no VPN paid to be included in or excluded from the rankings. I also call out the stuff most tier-list channels won’t: outdated info, review-network conflicts of interest, and companies that have quietly stopped updating. ▼ BEST VPN DEALS Affiliate links support the channel but do not change the rankings. Surfshark — 87% off + 4 months free: https://surfshark.tomspark.tech/ NordVPN: https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id... ProtonVPN: https://protonvpn.tomspark.tech/ Hide.me: http://hideme.tomspark.tech/ Incogni — remove your data from brokers: https://incogni.tomspark.tech/ ▼ AUTOMATE YOUR OWN PRIVATE SERVER SparkBox — one-command self-hosted privacy + media stack. It uses Surfshark for the forced-VPN media setup: https://tomsparkbox.com This tier list was not sponsored by any VPN. Affiliate links above help support the channel. --- CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Why this tier list is different: not sponsored, and I’ve used them all 03:09 — ProtonVPN: S Tier 05:44 — NordVPN: S Tier 07:19 — Mullvad: B Tier 08:58 — Surfshark: S Tier, best value / my #1 10:54 — IVPN: B Tier 11:52 — ExpressVPN: B Tier 13:13 — Windscribe: B Tier 13:46 — Private Internet Access: B Tier 14:51 — AirVPN: B Tier 15:20 — Hide.me: S Tier 16:26 — The fading VPNs: IPVanish and VyprVPN 16:49 — Tailscale: S Tier, remote access, not a true VPN 18:10 — TorGuard: D Tier, the big fall 19:59 — The joke tier: HideMyAss and RiseupVPN 20:11 — Tor and Obscura: not really VPNs 20:36 — Final recommendations