Googling “best VPN” and it’s always Nord, Express, Surfshark, page after page. Why does every top review site love the same few? Are the 3 or 5 options magically the only good ones out of hundreds? Turns out, it’s often less about “best” and more about affiliate cash, shared owners, and undisclosed deals. These hidden ties hype up VPN brands but limit your choices. Let’s walk into the hidden VPN relationships and figure out who’s truly independent and which ones you can trust.

Which VPNs Dominant the “Top VPN” Lists

Let’s start from Googling “best VPN” in incognito mode to get the most unpersonalized results. The top ranks revealed the intense competition for this valuable keyword: the first 4 spots were tagged with “Sponsored”. Let’s have a look at what VPNs are exactly mentioned on the first page review sites.

Website	Recommended VPNs
Cybernews	NordVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN, TotalVPN, IPVanish VPN, Bitdefender VPN, Norton VPN
Forbes	NordVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN, TotalVPN, Norton VPN, IPVanish VPN, ExpressVPN, PureVPN, PIA, Webroot
TechRadar	NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, PrivadoVPN
CNET	ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN, Mullvad
Cloudwards	NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, PrivadoVPN, PIA, Mullvad, CyberGhost, Hide.me, VyprVPN
PCMag	Proton VPN, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, TunnelBear VPN, CyberGhost VPN, IPVanish VPN, PureVPN, Mullvad VPN, Windscribe, Hide.me
Top10VPN	ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, Surfshark, IPVanish, Proton VPN, CyberGhost, PrivateVPN, Hide.me, Windscribe
VPNCenter	ExpressVPN, PIA, TotalVPN, Norton VPN, Bitdefender VPN, Surfshark, Aura VPN, NordVPN

Table showing US Google search results on July 11, 2025

To summarize, the following table shows how many times those VPNs are recommended. Basically, there are 4 names everywhere: NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, and Proton VPN.

Number of Times	VPN Products
8	NordVPN
7	ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, Surfshark
4	IPVanish
3	TotalVPN, Norton VPN, PIA, Mullvad, CyberGhost, Hide.me
2	Bitdefender, PureVPN, PrivadoVPN, Windscribe
1	Webroot, VyprVPN, TunnelBear, Aura VPN

Let’s have a look at who’s really behind those top recommendations, along with the hidden connections between each. See how those 19 mentioned products magically shrink to actually several.

1. NordVPN Company Relationship

Founded by Tom Okman and his team in 2012, NordVPN has taken a dominant position in the VPN market share. It is headquartered in Panama and also has offices in Lithuania, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

Who Owns NordVPN？

Nord Security is the company behind NordVPN. Previously called Nordsec, it was initially supported by Tesonet, a Lithuanian startup incubator and business accelerator. In addition to NordVPN, Nord Security also provides many other security suites.

Product	Service
NordLayer	Secure network access for businesses
NordPass	Zero-knowledge password manager
NordLocker	End-to-end encrypted cloud file storage
NordStellar	Threat exposure management
NordProtect	Identity theft protection for the US
Saily	eSIM data plans for travelers

Other VPN Relationships

As for the VPN relationship, NordVPN has something to do with both Surfshark and Atlas VPN.

• Surfshark

Also developed under the Tesonet umbrella, Surfshark was also first assisted by the Lithuanian startup incubator. Tesonet helped Surfshark during its first two years of operation by assisting with aspects like hiring and office rentals.

Then, in February 2022, Nord Security and Surfshark officially merged. As NordVPN explained in the merger agreement, both parties retained independent brand operations but shared technical resources.

• Atlas VPN

Atlas VPN was acquired by Nord Security in 2021, but it discontinued its service on April 24, 2024, and users were migrated to NordVPN. Atlas VPN attributes its shutdown to the intensified market competition, excessive operating costs, and reduced necessity for resource integration after the merger.

2. ExpressVPN Company Relationship

ExpressVPN was registered in the British Virgin Islands in 2009, but it was previously headquartered and operated in Hong Kong. It later explicitly used the British Virgin Islands as its legal place of registration to circumvent data retention laws.

Who Owns ExpressVPN?

ExpressVPN’s parent company is Kape Technologies. Teddy Sagi is the ultimate controlling shareholder of Kape Technologies via his holding company Unikmind. In September 2021, Kape Technologies acquired ExpressVPN for $936 million. Kape Technologies, formerly known as Crossrider, was accused of spreading malware. In 2017, it changed its name to Kape and turned to the field of cybersecurity.

Kape Technologies has a strong business portfolio, which can be roughly divided into two directions: Kape VPNs and Kape Media. Yes, as you can imagine, it owns both the review site and the product being reviewed, which itself makes the review biased.

Media	Webselenese: Wizcase, vpnMentor, Safety Detectives
Others	Intego Antivirus, Reimage, Driver Agent

Other VPN Relationships

According to the Kape Brand page, along with Express, CyberGhost and Private Internet Access VPNs were also acquired. Additionally, evidence on Crunchbase also shows that Kape acquired ZenMate VPN on Oct 16, 2018 at €4.8M.

• CyberGhost

CyberGhost VPN was acquired by Kape Technologies for €9.1 million in 2017. It was Kape’s first acquired VPN brand, marking a strategic transformation for Kape.

• ZenMate VPN

Kape Technologies subsequently acquired ZenMate VPN for €4.8 million in 2018. In 2023, ZenMate merged with Cyber​​Ghost and its developers joined Cyber​​Ghost. ZenMate’s own app was deactivated on May 1, 2023, and ZenMate users switched to Cyber​​Ghost’s app.

• Private Internet Access

Kape Technologies acquired PIA in 2019 for $127 million.

3. Proton VPN Company Relationship

Proton VPN’s operating model in the VPN industry is much simpler than the previous two. Except for the parent company’s “joining forces” of SimpleLogin in April 2022 and Standard Notes in April 2024, there is no record of acquisition or being acquired. Its VPN product was founded by Taiwanese scientist Andy Yen in 2017 and has been praised for its free VPN for PC, mobile, and many other devices.

Who Owns Proton VPN？

Proton VPN is owned by Proton Technologies AG, which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is not a member of the “Five Eyes/Fourteen Eyes Alliance” and is protected by Switzerland’s strict privacy laws.

The company is committed to providing end-to-end encryption services to counter data surveillance by technology giants. In addition to Proton VPN, the company also provides a complete matrix of privacy products.

Products	Services
Proton Mail	End-to-end encrypted email service
Proton Calendar	Encrypted calendar management tool
Proton Drive	Encrypted cloud storage
Proton Pass	Zero-Knowledge Password Manager
Proton Wallet	A cryptocurrency wallet

Unlike competitors ExpressVPN and Nord, Proton has no other associated VPN products, making the company map much simpler.

4. IPVanish VPN Company Relationship

IPVanish was founded in 2012 by Mudhook Media Inc, an independent subsidiary of Highwinds Network Group based in Orlando, Florida. Due to its location in the United States, it is subject to local laws. In 2016, IPVanish handed over a customer’s personal information to the Department of Homeland Security (HSI), violating its no-logs policy. After multiple acquisitions, it received independently verified no-logging audits to validate its policies.

Who Owns IPVanish VPN？

Ziff Davis acquired IPVanish in April 2019. This digital media and internet company operates a wide range of services. In addition to VPN brands and media sites, its portfolio also covers gaming, health, connectivity and martech.

Technology	CNET, PCMag, ZDNet, Mashable, LifeHacker, etc.
Cybersecurity	IPVanish, StrongVPN, WLVPN, etc.
Connectivity	SPEEDTEST, Downdetector, RootMetrics, Ookla, ekahau, etc.
Martech	Moz, iContact, Campaigner, SMTP, eVoice, Line2, etc.
Shopping	RetailMeNot, BlackFriday.com, Offers.com, etc.
Gaming	IGN, Humble, Dicebreaker, etc.
Health	EVERYDAYHEALTH, what to expect, theSkimm, etc.

Other VPN Relationships

Ziff Davis is better known for technology media brands like CNET and PCMag. Still, according to their Ziff Davis security page, many VPNs are connected with Ziff Davis, some of them are directly owned by Ziff, some others are using white label VPN services offered by Ziff Davis.

• StrongVPN

Ziff Davis acquired StrongVPN in 2019. The brand operates as an independent VPN service under Ziff Davis.

• WLVPN

WLVPN is not a direct acquisition, but a white-label VPN solution launched by Ziff Davis subsidiary VIPRE Security Group, with technical support provided by IPVanish. Also, VPNHub used WLVPN to power its VPN service. While the funny thing is, VPNHub is a VPN service initially launched by Pornhub, allowing people to watch Pornhub in France, the US, the UK, and anywhere using their own VPN.

5. TotalVPN Company Relationship

TotalVPN, a relatively new VPN that seldom shows up on top VPN lists, magically appeared on every sponsored article. What makes that happen?

Who Owns TotalVPN?

Previously, TotalVPN belonged to Total Security Limited. Then, in December 2024, Total Security merged with the Pango Group, and the combined company was rebranded as Point Wild. Headquartered in Boston, USA. Through the acquisition and integration of network security brands, Point Wild covers a series of services including VPN, antivirus software, ad blocker, review site, etc.

Review site	Comparitech
Antivirus	TotalAV
Ad blocker	Total Adblock
Coupon finder	Total Coupon

Other VPN Relationships

Pango Group introduced their relationship with a variety of VPN products on Pango Group Brands page, including Hotspot Shield, UltraVPN, Betternet, VPN 360, and OVPN. Additionally, the Privacy Policy page of Touch VPN also shows that it is from Oango Group. Also, Pango Group provides VPN technology and infrastructure for Bitdefender VPN. It even acquired the US customer base of Kaspersky Lab’s consumer cybersecurity business after Kaspersky withdrew from the market due to US government restrictions.

6. Norton VPN Company Relationship

Norton VPN was not created independently, but was developed as part of Symantec’s personal security product line in April 2019. Symantec (acquired by Gen Digital in 2019) first launched Norton-branded security products in the early 21st century, and VPN services were gradually integrated into Norton 360 and other suites as additional features.

Who Owns Norton VPN？

Norton VPN is affiliated with Gen Digital Inc, formerly known as NortonLifeLock, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, USA. Gen Digital has formed a network security suite through multiple mergers and acquisitions:

Internet Security	Norton, Avast, AVG, Avira, CCleaner
Identity Protection	LifeLock, ReputationDefender
Digital Finance	MoneyLion

Other VPN Relationships

In addition to Norton, many of the Internet Security brands under Gen offer VPN services with shared server resources: Avast SecureLine VPN, Hide My Ass, AVG Secure VPN, and Avira Phantom VPN.

7. PureVPN Company Relationship

Similar to ExpressVPN, PureVPN was first founded in Hong Kong in 2007 by GZ Systems Limited, and later in 2018, the company moved its legal registration to the British Virgin Islands due to data retention regulations. However, its technical teams are scattered in Pakistan, Ukraine and many other places.

Who Owns PureVPN？

PureVPN’s direct owner is GZ Systems Limited, whose parent company is Pakistani technology group Gaditek, which later rebranded its name to Disrupt.com. From the first developed PureVPN product to the nowadays AI-driven venture investments, Disrupt.com introduced its development milestones on the Disrupt About page.

VPN Products	PureVPN, IvacyVPN
Media Review	vpnranks.com

Other VPN Relationships

PureVPN was developed by Gaditek and quickly became one of its most popular products. It acquired IvacyVPN in 2024 and then took over all IvacyVPN services.

8. Mullvad VPN Company Relationship

Mullvad VPN was founded in March 2009 and is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Who Owns Mullvad VPN？

Mullvad VPN’s parent company is Amagicom AB, which was co-founded by Fredrik Strömberg and Daniel Berntsson in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2009. Currently, Mullvad VPN is still wholly owned by Amagicom AB and has not been acquired by other large groups.

Other VPN Relationships

As for connections to other VPNs, Mullvad has helped provide WireGuard servers for Mozilla VPN in 2019, and for Malwarebytes Privacy VPN in 2020, which also acquired AzireVPN in 2024.

Other VPNs that showed up in the search results but were not introduced above are relatively independent. Just like how Proton VPN does, these products have not been acquired by other VPNs, or coexist with review sites yet: Hide.me, PrivadoVPN, Windscribe, Webroot, VyprVPN, and TunnelBear.

In addition, many VPNs not show up on the “best VPN” search results, such as Urban VPN, Astrill VPN, X-VPN, and UFO VPN, are also relatively independent. Why can’t these brands have rankings? Are they really not good enough? No, review media sites and top VPNs form a huge network of interests that shape the overall VPN trend.

Which Review Sites Shape VPN Trends?

Same way to Google “best VPN” and this time focus on the review sites, both sponsored and ranked. Also, the results can only represent what is on the US Google search results on July 11, 2025.

Review Sites	Parent Company	Have VPN Products	Paid Affiliate Links
Cybernews	Mediatech	No	Yes
Forbes	Integrated Whale Media Investments	No	Yes
TechRadar	Future PLC	No	Yes
CNET	Ziff Davis	Yes	Yes
Cloudwards	Cloudward, Inc	No	Yes
PCMag	Ziff Davis	Yes	Yes
Top10VPN	PrivacyCo	No	Yes
VPNCenter	Kape	Yes	Yes

Many of them are already familiar, right? Some of them have appeared on the above VPN company relationship, indicating that their reviews may be less “unbiased” than they claimed to be. Others, however, all use paid affiliate links to VPN brands on their recommendations. How sad it is.

Cybernews

Owned by Mediatech, Cybernews offers VPN reviews and cybersecurity news. It claimed to be independent, however, a hot discussion on Reddit and many other evidence show that Cyber​​news has a close relationship with Tesonet, which initially supported NordVPN and Surfshark as we introduced before.

Forbes

Forbes is a global media and publishing company that also offers reviews and recommendations of VPN services. They acknowledged that some of their articles contain links to advertisers on their Advertiser Disclosure page, but they state that these revenues do not influence the recommendations they provide.

Anywhere, typical paid affiliate links to VPN brands you can see on Forbes include NordVPN, Surfshark, CyberGhost VPN, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, TunnelBear, IPVanish, and so on.

TechRadar

Belongs to Future PLC, TechRadar is an online technology publication that also covers VPN reviews. Another review site commonly seen on VPN ranks from the same company is Tom’s Guide.

Also acknowledged on TachRadar About us page, this tech review site also uses affiliate links and paid-for editorial content. Commonly affiliated VPN links on TechRadar are ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark.

CNET & PCMag

Both CNET and PCMag are from the same company as IPVanish VPN, Ziff Davis. In addition to this connection, the two review sites also use paid affiliate links for VPN brands to earn money.

Links you can frequently see are the same old several: Express, Nord, Surfshark, Proton VPN, PIA, Cyberghost, etc.

Cloudwards

Another platform that frequently provides VPN reviews is Cloudwards. Cloudwards writes at the bottom of their Objective Testing page that they also earn a small commission from some purchases made through their site, and states that this does not influence their reviews of the service.

Top10VPN

Top10VPN also uses paid VPN affiliate links. They openly state that they receive fees from some of the VPN services they refer users to on the Top10VPN How We Make Money page, with a clear list of what VPNs are included.

VPNCenter

VPNCenter is a review site from Kape Technologies, which owns VPN brands like Express, CyberGhost and PIA. Another similar site from the same company you may have seen is VPNMentor.

In addition to recommending the VPN products of their own company, they also state that they receive monetary compensation for listing antivirus products, which may indicate a similar affiliate model in terms of VPNs.

How to Identify Reliable VPNs

Yes, the VPN world feels like a tangled web of parent companies and affiliate deals. But don’t panic out, corporate ties don’t 100% mean “untrusted” or “scam”. What really matters when choosing a VPN are those key factors:

1. VPN Encryption

Strong encryption is your first line of defense. Look for services that use industry-standard encryption tech like AES-256. Also, pay attention to the protocols provided.

2. A “No Logs” Policy

Trustworthy VPNs should have a clear no-logs policy, meaning they don’t keep records of your online activities. This is crucial for maintaining your privacy, so be sure to read the fine print.

3. VPN Performance

Speed, number of servers and locations, unblocking abilities, all of these performances matter! A great VPN should try its best to enhance your online experience and bring infinite possibilities to your digital life.

4. Security Features

Beyond basic encryption, consider additional security features like a kill switch, split tunnelling, double encryption, and others. These extra features exist as proof that the provider is constantly evolving.

When lost among countless options, come to SafePaper. We are always here to provide unbiased, real testing, and up-to-date VPN reviews.

Conclusion

So, the top recommended VPNs are basically top rich VPN companies, let alone the companies that own both VPN and the review sites. However, independent or not is never the clutch, always look at their encryption level, logs policy, VPN performance, and security features when choosing a VPN. At the end, giving my special thanks to Windscribe VPN company relationship map for the clues, and for their persistence in keeping the VPN industry transparent.