Are VPN Review Sites Biased? Who Owns Them (2026)

Search "best VPN" and you'll get dozens of confident top-10 lists. Many are honest. But the VPN industry has two features that make reviews hard to trust: some publishers are owned by VPN companies, and almost all of them are paid per sale. Here's what's known, with sources, and how to read a review without being steered.

Who owns the big VPN review sites?

Kape bought Webselenese, the publisher of vpnMentor and WizCase, in March 2021, months before it bought ExpressVPN. WizCase now states on its reviews that it is "in the same ownership group" as ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access and Intego (WizCase).

Ziff Davis acquired IPVanish, StrongVPN and Encrypt.me in 2019 (MarketScreener). It also publishes PCMag and Mashable, which review VPNs.

Point Wild, formed in December 2024 when Pango Group merged with Total Security, lists Hotspot Shield, Betternet and Comparitech among its brands (PR Newswire).

Shared ownership doesn't prove a review is rigged. Some of these outlets have editorial teams that criticize their parent's products. But it's a conflict of interest, and you should know about it.

How affiliate money shapes "best VPN" lists

Even independent review sites are usually paid when you buy through their link. VPN affiliate programs are some of the richest online. NordVPN's affiliate page advertises commissions on new sales and renewals (NordVPN affiliate). Surfshark's program advertises a percentage of each new sale (Surfshark affiliate).

This creates predictable patterns:

• The brands paying the most rank near the top.
• VPNs with no affiliate program are left out. Mullvad, for example, doesn't run one, so it rarely appears on monetized lists even though privacy communities rate it highly.
• Lists get "updated" every month with a new date but no new testing.

Signs a VPN review is trustworthy

1. Ownership disclosed at the top, not buried in the footer.
2. Affiliate disclosure that says plainly the site earns money from links.
3. A testing method. Which devices, which locations, what speed tool, what dates.
4. Real downsides. Every VPN has trade-offs. A review with only praise isn't a review.
5. Sources for privacy claims. Links to the logging policy, audits, court cases or raids.
6. Includes VPNs that don't pay. If no non-affiliate VPN appears anywhere, the list is a sales page.

Better places to research a VPN

• The VPN's own legal documents. The privacy policy and terms name the legal entity and what's logged.
• Independent privacy groups. EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense guide explains what to look for without recommending brands (EFF SSD).
• Court cases and police requests. Real-world tests of no-logs claims. Private Internet Access couldn't hand over user logs in a 2016 FBI case (TorrentFreak). PureVPN's records helped the FBI identify a suspect in 2017 (TorrentFreak).
• Academic research. For example, the 2016 CSIRO study of 283 Android VPN apps (paper).
• Community discussion, read with care: forums have shills too.

Red flags in a "best VPN" list

• The same top three on every list, in the same order, with no test data.
• "Our #1 pick" with an exclusive discount button above the review itself.
• No mention of who owns each VPN. Ownership is basic due diligence for a product that sees your traffic.
• Old audits presented as current. An audit from years ago, on different infrastructure, says little about today.
• Speed scores with no method. If you can't tell where and when the tests ran, the numbers can't be checked.
• No negatives for the top pick. Every VPN has trade-offs: price after renewal, app quirks, streaming limits.
• A "last updated" date that changes monthly while the text doesn't.

Questions to ask before you trust a review

1. Who owns this site, and does that company sell a VPN?
2. Is the site paid per sale, and by whom?
3. Did they test the VPN themselves, and how?
4. Do they link to primary sources for privacy and ownership claims?
5. Would this list look different if no one paid commissions?

Where we stand

We make Buycat VPN, so treat this page the same way: check our sources. Buycat VPN is owned by Boycat, isn't part of any VPN group, and doesn't own any review sites. We run an affiliate program, and we ask partners to disclose it. If you want a simple independent VPN, see Buycat VPN, and compare it with the others using the checklist above.