The Marketplace for VPNs: A Look at the Top Players and Where They're Based

The VPN marketplace is vast and competitive, with numerous companies vying for attention as privacy concerns grow. But not all VPNs are created equal, and many brands you’ve heard of might actually be owned by the same company. In this post, we’ll break down the top VPN players, analyze their market share, and identify key differences. We’ll also explore where each company is based, where they invoice from, and where enforcement inquiries would go.

VPN Market Share: The Top 10 Brands

Below is a table showing the current market share of the top ten VPN providers, grouped by parent companies where applicable.

Groupings and Key Players

As we can see, Nord Security and Kape Technologies are two major players that own multiple VPN brands. Let’s dive into these groupings and the key differences:

Nord Security Group (NordVPN and Surfshark)

• NordVPN and Surfshark are both owned by Nord Security, headquartered in Lithuania. While NordVPN is invoiced from Panama, Surfshark invoices out of the Netherlands. This setup can be seen as an effort to decentralize operations across jurisdictions known for privacy-friendly regulations.

• NordVPN has a more established reputation and larger market share, but Surfshark has gained popularity due to its affordable pricing and user-friendly features.

Kape Technologies Group (ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, PIA)

• Kape Technologies is another heavyweight, owning three major VPN brands: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access (PIA).

• ExpressVPN is registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), offering a high degree of privacy from government scrutiny, but the parent company Kape Technologies is based in Israel, where enforcement inquiries would likely be directed.

• CyberGhost operates out of Romania, benefiting from strong privacy laws, while PIA is based in the United States, where it faces more direct regulatory oversight.

Independent VPN Providers

• ProtonVPN: ProtonVPN is owned by Proton AG, the Swiss company behind ProtonMail. Known for their commitment to privacy, ProtonVPN operates entirely out of Switzerland, a country with some of the strongest data protection laws in the world.

• Hotspot Shield: Owned by Pango Inc., this VPN operates primarily from the United States, which means it is subject to US laws, making it less appealing for users concerned about government access to data.

• IPVanish: Also based in the United States, IPVanish is owned by Ziff Davis, a major digital media and internet services company.

• TunnelBear: Acquired by McAfee, TunnelBear operates from both the United States and Canada but maintains a strong user-friendly brand.

• Windscribe: An independent VPN provider headquartered and invoicing from Canada. Windscribe focuses on transparency and user control, operating with clear privacy policies.

Key Differences

The key differences among VPNs often come down to:

• Jurisdiction: VPNs based in countries with strict privacy laws (like Switzerland or Panama) are generally seen as safer for privacy-conscious users.

• Ownership: Companies like Kape Technologies and Nord Security own multiple VPN brands, which might suggest a lack of diversity in service offerings even if the branding looks different. Knowing who owns your VPN can influence how much trust you place in the service.

• Billing & Enforcement: Where a VPN invoices from and where it’s headquartered can give you insight into how it handles privacy. Enforcement inquiries are typically directed to the parent company’s headquarters or primary jurisdiction, so a VPN billing out of the British Virgin Islands might offer more protection from legal pressures than one based in the United States.

Conclusion

The VPN market is consolidated in some key areas, with a few major players owning several brands. Jurisdiction, ownership, and transparency are critical factors when choosing a VPN provider. For CicadaVPN, we aim to offer a transparent, customer-first approach that puts privacy at the core of what we do, avoiding the murky practices of some larger VPN conglomerates.

Stay tuned for more in-depth analyses and comparisons of the VPN marketplace in future posts!

Regards,
David Awatere
Founder of CicadaVPN