Best No-Logs VPNs in 2026, Ranked by What Happened When Someone Asked
Every VPN on the market says it keeps no logs. The claim costs nothing to make, so this page does not rank on it, and it does not rank on our privacy sub-score either — that is what the best VPN for privacy page already does. It ranks on the one thing an audit cannot substitute for: what happened when someone with legal authority demanded the data.
Three of the ten have been put to that test and passed — a police raid, repeated subpoenas, a physical server seizure — and each time there was nothing to hand over. Two were tested and did not pass. Five have never been tested at all, which is not the same as passing. The list below is that record, with RAM-only infrastructure and audit recency as the tiebreakers.
The 5 best VPNs for no-logs vpns, ranked
- 1Tested by a police raid#8 overall · 8.0/10
Mullvad
In April 2023 Swedish police executed a search warrant at Mullvad's office and left with nothing, because there was nothing — no account names, no emails, RAM-only servers, and a 2024 audit by Assured. The strongest demonstration of a no-logs claim any provider can offer, and one no audit can match.
- Evidence
- 2023 Swedish police search warrant — nothing obtained · RAM-only · audited 2024
- Speed
- 590 Mbps
- Devices
- 5
- Refund
- 30 days
- 2Tested in court, repeatedly#6 overall · 8.3/10
Private Internet Access
US-based, which is exactly why this matters: PIA has been subpoenaed more than once and produced nothing usable each time. RAM-only servers and a 2024 Deloitte audit back the record. A claim tested by people who wanted it to fail.
- Evidence
- Subpoenaed more than once — nothing obtained · RAM-only · audited 2024
- Speed
- 480 Mbps
- Devices
- Unlimited
- Refund
- 30 days
- 3Tested by a seizure#3 overall · 9.1/10
ExpressVPN
When a server was seized in Turkey in 2017 it yielded nothing, which is what its RAM-only TrustedServer design exists to guarantee. KPMG-audited in 2024. Owned by Kape, which belongs in your decision — but the seizure record is the provider's own.
- Evidence
- 2017 server seizure in Turkey — nothing obtained · RAM-only · audited 2024
- Speed
- 598 Mbps
- Devices
- 8
- Refund
- 30 days
- 4Fought requests in court#4 overall · 8.9/10
Proton VPN
Swiss jurisdiction, open-source audited apps, and a record of contesting data requests rather than complying. The one structural gap: not all servers are RAM-only, relying on full-disk encryption instead — a slightly weaker guarantee against physical seizure than the three above.
- Evidence
- Fought data requests in court — nothing obtained · disk servers · audited 2024
- Speed
- 541 Mbps
- Devices
- 10
- Refund
- 30 days
- 5Audited four times, never tested#1 overall · 9.7/10
NordVPN
Panama jurisdiction, four independent no-logs audits with Deloitte most recently in 2024, and RAM-only servers network-wide. Everything a provider can do voluntarily — but no raid, seizure or subpoena has ever tested it, and this page ranks on that distinction.
- Evidence
- never tested under pressure · RAM-only · audited 2024
- Speed
- 712 Mbps
- Devices
- 10
- Refund
- 30 days
−73% + 3 months freeends soon
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Side by side
| VPN | Score | Evidence | Speed | Devices | 2-yr price | Refund | Port fwd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mullvad | 8.0 | 2023 Swedish police search warrant — nothing obtained · RAM-only · audited 2024 | 590 Mbps | 5 | $5.40 | 30 days | |
| PIA | 8.3 | Subpoenaed more than once — nothing obtained · RAM-only · audited 2024 | 480 Mbps | Unlimited | $2.03 | 30 days | |
| ExpressVPN | 9.1 | 2017 server seizure in Turkey — nothing obtained · RAM-only · audited 2024 | 598 Mbps | 8 | $4.99 | 30 days | |
| Proton VPN | 8.9 | Fought data requests in court — nothing obtained · disk servers · audited 2024 | 541 Mbps | 10 | $4.49 | 30 days | |
| NordVPN | 9.7 | never tested under pressure · RAM-only · audited 2024 | 712 Mbps | 10 | $3.39 | 30 days |
How we picked
Ranked on documented pressure events first — a raid, seizure, subpoena or court case where data was demanded — and whether anything was recovered. Then RAM-only servers, because a machine that loses everything on reboot cannot retain what a future request asks for. Then audit recency. Two providers that were tested and did not pass (Windscribe's 2021 Ukraine seizure, IPVanish's 2016 DHS request) are excluded. The five never tested are not penalised, but they cannot rank above a provider whose claim has survived contact with the law.
All scores come from the same monthly tests on the same rig — how we test. Rank order on this page is by the category criteria, not by commission.
Questions
Which VPN has the best no-logs policy?
Mullvad, because it collects almost nothing to begin with — no email, no name, and a random account number instead of a login. Proton VPN is the strongest for most people: Swiss, open-source, audited, with a usable free tier so you can verify the leak tests before paying.
How can I tell if a VPN really keeps no logs?
Look for three things. An independent audit of the running infrastructure, not just the policy, published in the last two years. RAM-only servers, which cannot retain data across a reboot. And a jurisdiction with no mandatory retention. A fourth counts double: a documented case where the provider was asked for records and had none.
Is a US-based no-logs VPN safe?
There is no US law requiring VPNs to retain data, and Private Internet Access has produced nothing in response to subpoenas more than once. Still, a provider outside the Fourteen Eyes has fewer ways to be compelled, which is why Switzerland, Panama and the British Virgin Islands dominate the top of this list.
Do free VPNs keep logs?
Usually yes, and often that is the business model — a service with no revenue from you is earning it somewhere. Several free VPNs have been found logging traffic or reselling users' bandwidth. Proton VPN's free tier is the exception we rate, because a paid business funds it and the same audited no-logs policy applies.
What is the difference between no logs and no activity logs?
A meaningful one. 'No activity logs' can still mean connection timestamps, bandwidth totals and the IP you connected from — enough to correlate you with a session. A genuine no-logs policy covers connection metadata too. The audit report, not the marketing page, is where you find out which one you are getting.