NymVPN is a privacy-focused decentralized VPN (dVPN), meaning independent operators run its servers instead of one company. It offers two connection modes on NymVPN's official site: a fast 2-hop mode built on WireGuard, and a 5-hop mixnet mode that shuffles your traffic with fake cover packets so observers can't match who is talking to whom.
That design is strong on privacy, but it comes with trade-offs. The mixnet is slow, streaming and server choice are limited, there is no free plan, and setup takes more manual work than mainstream apps. We cover the full picture in our NymVPN review. Below are seven alternatives we compared on no-logs evidence, multi-hop routing, anonymous payment, price and platforms. Mullvad VPN is our top pick because it pairs anonymous sign-up with audited, open-source apps.
NymVPN alternatives at a glance
NymVPN sits in the last row as the baseline. Prices show the lowest per-month figure, and each pick section covers the full plan terms.
| Provider | Buy | Type | Multi-hop | Open-source apps | Anonymous payment | Free plan | Price/month | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Check price → | VPN | Yes (Multihop) | Yes | Cash, Monero, Bitcoin | No | €5 flat | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV |
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Check price | VPN | Yes (Secure Core, paid) | Yes | Cash or Bitcoin via Proton credits | Yes (10 countries, 1 device) | From $3.49 (2-year plan) | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, ChromeOS, TV, extensions |
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Check price | VPN | Yes (Pro only) | Yes | Cash, Monero, Bitcoin | No | $6 Standard / $10 Pro | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, routers |
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Check price | VPN | Yes (Double Hop) | Yes | Crypto, cash | Yes (10GB/month) | $5.75 yearly / $9.00 monthly | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Apple TV, extensions |
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Anonymity network | Yes (three relays) | Yes | Free, no account | Free | $0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android | |
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Check price | dVPN | No | Node software | No account needed | No | From $2.99 (2-year plan) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android |
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Anonymity networks | Yes (tunnels / onion routing) | Yes | Free, no account | Free | $0 | I2P: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android; Lokinet: Windows, Linux | |
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dVPN + mixnet | Yes (2-hop / 5-hop) | Yes | Cash, Monero, Zcash, Bitcoin | No (7-day trial) | From $4.00 (1-year plan) | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android |
1. Mullvad VPN - best overall NymVPN alternative
Mullvad VPN is a Swedish no-logs VPN that treats anonymity as the default, which makes it the closest everyday match for NymVPN. Our Mullvad VPN review goes deeper on the apps.
Sign-up is where the two feel most alike. When we created an account, Mullvad handed us a random account number in seconds, with no email, username or personal details. You can pay with cash by mail, Monero or Bitcoin, so the payment doesn't point back to you either. NymVPN gets there with a 24-word passphrase and zk-nyms, zero-knowledge credentials that prove you paid without revealing who you are. Mullvad's approach is simpler.
Its no-logs claim has also survived a real test. In April 2023, Swedish police arrived with a search warrant and left without any customer data. Independent firms have audited Mullvad's infrastructure, apps and WireGuard engine several times since. All apps are open source, and Multihop chains servers in different jurisdictions. DAITA (Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis) is the closest a conventional VPN gets to Nym's cover traffic.
In our speed checks, Mullvad kept roughly half of the base connection (about 53% down and 49% up) with low latency. That is plenty for streaming and calls, though some servers ran faster than others. The kill switch held through disconnects and restarts, and DNS leak tests came back clean on Windows and Android. Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max blocked some servers, while others played smoothly.
Mullvad costs €5 per month on any plan length, with a 14-day money-back guarantee (cash payments excluded) and 5 devices per account. Subscriptions don't auto-renew, so you top up by hand. Apps cover Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android and Android TV.
Pros
- Account number sign-up with no personal details
- Survived a police search with no data to hand over
- Same price on every plan length
Cons
- No free plan or trial
- Streaming access depends on the server
- Manual top-ups instead of auto-renewal
2. Proton VPN - best for multi-hop and a free plan
Proton VPN is a Swiss service from the team behind Proton Mail, and it covers the two things Mullvad lacks: a free plan and a dedicated multi-hop network. Our Proton VPN review covers every feature.
Secure Core is Proton's multi-hop mode. It routes your traffic through hardened servers in Iceland, Sweden or Switzerland before the exit server. That works much like NymVPN's 2-hop mode, and you get a say over the first jurisdiction. It needs a paid plan, and our Secure Core connections ran about 35% slower than regular ones. On standard paid servers the cost was small: downloads dropped about 8% and uploads about 4%, and 4K video loaded in under four seconds. IPv6, DNS and WebRTC leak tests on servers in 60 countries showed no leaks.
Securitum has audited Proton's no-logs policy every year since 2022, and the fifth audit, published in June 2026, covered free and paid servers. Each application is open source on every platform. Paid features include Tor over VPN servers, the Stealth protocol, NetShield ad blocking and port forwarding.
The free plan is the draw for NymVPN users, since Nym only offers a 7-day trial. Proton Free connects to servers in 10 countries with no data limit and no ads, on 1 device. When we used it, the app picked the server and wouldn't let us choose a location. Streaming and torrenting stay locked to paid tiers.
VPN Plus costs $3.49 per month on the 2-year plan ($9.99 monthly) and covers 10 devices. Proton rotates promotional pricing by term and region, so the long-plan figure changes between checks. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you can pay anonymously with Proton credits bought with cash or Bitcoin. Apps cover Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Chromebook, smart TVs and browser extensions.
Pros
- Free plan with no data cap and no ads
- Yearly independent no-logs audits
- Apps for almost every device
Cons
- Free plan allows 1 device and no server choice
- Secure Core costs about a third of your speed
- Live chat is for paying customers only
3. IVPN - best for anonymous sign-up and audits
Like Mullvad, IVPN is a small Gibraltar-based VPN that collects as little data as it can. It suits people who liked NymVPN's no-email account but want conventional VPN speed. Our IVPN review has the full test.
You get an account ID with no email, and you can pay with Monero, Bitcoin or cash. Cure53 audited IVPN's no-logs claim in 2019, and IVPN now commissions yearly Cure53 security audits instead. Its apps have been open source since 2020. In August 2026, attackers exploited IVPN's self-hosted BTCPay server and took 0.6168 BTC of company funds. IVPN says no customer data was involved.
Speed was IVPN's strongest result in our testing. On a London server we kept 353 of 373 Mbps, and a connection to New York still delivered 224 Mbps. Multi-hop, which lets you pick both the entry and exit server, was noticeably slower. Latency also spiked occasionally, and those spikes can disrupt video calls. IP and DNS leak tests came back clean. Streaming was weak, though: BBC iPlayer, Disney+ and Hulu failed, and only US Netflix opened on a New York server.
Standard costs $6 per month for 2 devices without multi-hop. Pro costs $10 per month, adds multi-hop and covers 7 devices. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee but no free trial. Apps run on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, plus routers, with no browser extensions or TV apps.
Pros
- Near-full speed on nearby servers
- Choose your own multi-hop entry and exit
- Clean, intuitive desktop apps
Cons
- Multi-hop needs the Pro plan
- Most streaming services blocked it
- Email support can take days
4. Windscribe - best free tier for everyday privacy
Windscribe is a Canadian VPN offering one of the most generous free tiers on the market. It is a good fit if NymVPN's paid-only model put you off. Our Windscribe review covers the paid plans.
The free plan gives you 10GB per month with a confirmed email (2GB without). It covers about 10 countries, though Windscribe adjusts that list from time to time. Free and paid plans both allow unlimited devices. In our testing, free-tier speeds roughly matched Pro, apart from sudden drops of up to 90% about twice every three hours.
On paid servers, we kept 91.8 of 94.6 Mbps in the US and 68.4 Mbps to Singapore. When we force-closed the VPN process, the firewall stopped all traffic, and the R.O.B.E.R.T. DNS blocker stopped 18 of 20 known tracker domains. Double Hop is clumsier. To chain them, we had to connect the desktop app to one location and the browser extension to a second.
Windscribe has no standalone no-logs audit, but its apps are open source. Its best evidence came from court: in Athens, charges against its founder were dismissed on April 11, 2025 after the company said it had no logs to hand over.
Pro costs $9.00 monthly or $69 yearly ($5.75 per month). Build A Plan charges $1.00 per location per month, with a $3 minimum. Apps cover Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone and Apple TV, plus browser extensions and routers.
Pros
- 10GB free each month with unlimited devices
- Firewall blocks traffic if the app crashes
- Pay-per-location plans from $3
Cons
- Double Hop needs the app and extension together
- No standalone no-logs audit
- Slow human support
5. Tor Browser - best free anonymity network
Where Windscribe's free tier is still a VPN, Tor Browser is a free, open-source browser that routes your traffic through the Tor network. That network is the closest free match for what Nym's mixnet does. Your traffic is relayed and encrypted three times across volunteer-run relays, so no single relay knows both who you are and where you're going. This layered method is called onion routing.
Tor is a low-latency network, so it doesn't add Nym-style cover traffic. It also protects only browser traffic, not your whole device. In return you get per-site tracker isolation, anti-fingerprinting that makes all users look alike, .onion access, and bridges for censored networks.
Browsing was noticeably slower than on a VPN in our testing, and streaming video was impractical. Many sites challenged Tor exits with CAPTCHAs or blocked them. Switching to a new circuit with a different exit often got us past the block. Banking sites often refused Tor traffic. The Safest security level, which disables JavaScript, also broke logins and payment forms. If you want to hide Tor use from your network, connect to a VPN first, as our Onion over VPN guide explains.
Tor Browser is free and donation-funded, with no account to link back to you. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. There's no iOS version, and the Tor Project points iPhone users to the more limited Onion Browser.
Pros
- Completely free with no account
- Strong anti-fingerprinting by default
- Bridges help in censored countries
Cons
- Too slow for streaming or big downloads
- Many sites block Tor exits
- No iOS version
6. Mysterium VPN - best decentralized VPN (dVPN)
Unlike the company-run VPNs above, Mysterium VPN is a peer-to-peer dVPN where ordinary people share their home connections as exit nodes. That makes it the closest structural match to NymVPN without the mixnet. Our Mysterium VPN review covers the app in full.
Setup is low-friction, with no account or email, just a generated key. The network lists 7,500+ residential IPs across 100+ countries, and each node shows its price and a quality score. Connections use WireGuard with ChaCha20, and the node software is open source. There is no multi-hop and no published independent audit.
Speed depends on whose connection you land on. Off a 103 Mbps line, we saw about 47 Mbps on a good node, 13 Mbps in California and as low as 1 Mbps in Japan. Residential nodes unblocked Netflix, but streams dropped and needed a fresh node every few hours. The app sometimes showed "connection failed" when a node had gone dormant. Our leak testing also turned up a DNS leak on individual nodes. Your traffic exits through a stranger's home connection, so you are trusting each node operator. Trustpilot's 141 reviews give it a 3.0/5 TrustScore, with refund and cancellation trouble a recurring complaint.
Mysterium advertises prices from $2.99 per month on its 2-year term, but the starting price moves by tier, term, store and promotion. A 30-day money-back guarantee applies, and plans cover 6, 10 or 15 devices. Apps run on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android.
Pros
- No account or email needed
- Residential IPs that can unblock Netflix
- Up to 15 devices on the top plan
Cons
- Speeds swing wildly between nodes
- No multi-hop and no independent audit
- DNS leaks surfaced on some nodes
7. I2P and Lokinet - best onion-routing networks for advanced users
Where Tor anonymizes a single browser, I2P and Lokinet are free, open-source anonymity networks. They suit advanced users who want something closer to a mixnet than a VPN and don't mind a manual setup.
I2P (the Invisible Internet Project) uses garlic encryption, which bundles several messages together, and one-way tunnels, so replies return by a separate path. It is built for sites inside I2P. The project says it is not an outproxy network, so reaching the normal web depends on a few volunteer outproxies. Researchers have also published documented attacks on I2P's peer-to-peer database.
I2P doesn't ship a browser bundle like Tor. We installed the router and pointed a separate Firefox profile at its local proxy on port 4444. Right after install we couldn't reach every I2P site, and more became reachable as the router gathered peers. Clearnet browsing through an outproxy was very slow. Your machine also relays other users' traffic.
Lokinet onion-routes all your IP traffic, not just a browser, through a network of staked service nodes, and can reach the clear web through exit nodes. It now continues as Session Router (formerly Lokinet). On Linux it started running right after install, and .loki sites loaded quickly. It felt more stable than I2P and Tor, but content and the user community are small.
Both are free. I2P runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android 5.0 or later. Lokinet has Windows and Linux clients, and because it is mid-transition to Session Router, its platform list is changing.
Pros
- Free and open source, with no account
- Lokinet covers all IP traffic, not just a browser
- Built for hidden services
Cons
- Manual setup and slow clearnet access
- Small communities and little content
- Lokinet is mostly Windows and Linux for now
Why look for a NymVPN alternative?
NymVPN does something no other service here does, so leaving it is about fit rather than fault.
Mixnet mode is slow
A mixnet mixes packets from many users so their timing can't be linked. Nym's anonymous mode uses 5-hop routes: an entry gateway, three mix nodes and an exit gateway. As Nym's explainer on how its mixnet shuffles packets describes, packets are the same size, cover traffic is mixed in, and random delays are added.
That delay is deliberate. The Loopix mixnet research Nym builds on trades speed for stronger protection against traffic analysis. Connecting took us about 4-5 seconds, against 1-2 seconds on mainstream VPNs, and mixnet mode took longer still. Speedtest.net errored out while NymVPN was connected, so we judged speed by real file transfers. The mixnet is best kept for messaging, email and crypto transactions.
NymVPN's 2-hop fast mode works like a double VPN: your data passes through two servers run by different operators. Use it for browsing and streaming, and save the 5-hop mixnet for tasks where a few seconds of delay don't matter.
Streaming and server coverage are limited
Fast mode played 4K YouTube, Netflix and Prime Video on US, UK and Canada servers without buffering, but anonymous mode was too slow for streaming. Nym lists servers in 70+ countries. There's no automatic fastest-server option, so you pick the entry and exit yourself.
Price and setup trade-offs
NymVPN costs $8.00 for one month or $48 for a year ($4.00 per month). Nym reprices often and runs token discounts, so the checkout price moves. There is no free plan, and the 7-day trial needs a card. The Linux client is CLI-driven and needs manual setup, and the macOS app felt slightly glitchy. Support also has no 24/7 live chat.
Who should stay? If you need strong metadata protection for messaging or crypto and accept the speed cost, NymVPN still fits. Cure53 audited NymVPN in July 2024, and a subscription covers 10 devices.
NymVPN vs traditional VPNs vs Tor vs dVPNs
The real difference is who runs the servers and how many hops your data takes. A traditional VPN sends encrypted traffic to one company's server. Multi-hop adds a second server so neither sees both ends. A traditional VPN is fast, but you trust one provider, which is why audits matter.
Tor spreads that trust across three volunteer relays, but it covers only the browser. A dVPN like Mysterium removes the central company and hands your traffic to home connections instead. NymVPN sits in between, with a decentralized network, a fast 2-hop mode and a mixnet that adds cover traffic.
| Approach | Who runs the servers | Typical hops | Speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional VPN | One company | 1 (2 with multi-hop) | Fast | Everyday privacy, streaming, public Wi-Fi |
| NymVPN | Independent operators | 2 (fast) or 5 (mixnet) | Fast mode quick, mixnet slow | Metadata protection |
| Tor Browser | Volunteers | 3 relays | Slow | Anonymous browsing |
| Mysterium (dVPN) | Home users | 1 | Varies by node | Residential IPs |
| I2P and Lokinet | Volunteers and staked nodes | Several | Slow on the clear web | Hidden services |
How we chose these NymVPN alternatives
We looked for services that match NymVPN on at least one front. No-logs evidence came first, and we weighted audits and real-world events, such as Mullvad's police search and Windscribe's court case, over marketing claims. We then checked routing (multi-hop, onion routing or decentralization), open-source apps, anonymous payment, free options and platform support, including Linux and Android.
Our practical checks measured every VPN's speed against our base line. Separate DNS and IP leak tests came back clean on Mullvad, Proton and IVPN but found a node-level DNS leak on Mysterium. We tested kill switches on Mullvad, through disconnects and restarts, and on Windscribe, by force-closing the VPN process. We also tried streaming services and checked how much personal data sign-up asked for, and Mullvad and Mysterium asked for no email at all.
How to choose the right NymVPN alternative
Start with how you actually used NymVPN. If you mostly ran fast mode, a conventional VPN will feel quicker and simpler. Mullvad is the most private, and IVPN suits you if you want speed plus control over multi-hop servers.
If budget is the issue, Proton VPN Free has no data cap and Windscribe's free tier allows unlimited devices. For free anonymous browsing, Tor Browser is the obvious step. Choose Mysterium only if you want residential IPs and can live with uneven speeds. I2P and Lokinet are for tinkerers who care more about hidden services than the open web.
Be wary of free VPNs that publish no audits and no clear business model. If you aren't paying, ask how the service pays for its servers before trusting it with your data.
Finally, check device limits (Mullvad stops at 5) and platform coverage for Linux, iOS and TVs. If anonymous payment matters, confirm the service accepts cash or Monero.
