hide.me vs IVPN

Comparing: two VPNs
Decided by: Independent no-logs audits
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26

hide.meTakes bitcoin

One of the first VPNs ever audited, re-audited a decade later, with a free tier that does not cap your data at all.

IVPNTakes bitcoin

Eight straight years of Cure53 security audits, cash or Monero accepted, and a company that publicly refuses to commission another no-logs audit.

Verdict: IVPN

IVPN carries more independent audits of its no-logs claim: 3 against 2 for hide.me. We publish no rating for VPNs, so the audit count is the one criterion that decides.

Criterion: Independent no-logs audits
hide.me: 2
IVPN: 3

hide.me and IVPN, fact by fact

Every row is from the two reviews as of their review dates, with sources on each. A check marks the side a decidable criterion favours; rows without one are information, not a score.

hide.me and IVPN compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	hide.me	IVPN
Independent audits	2, latest 2024	3, latest 2026 (favoured on this row)
Real-world tests	0	0
Incidents on record	0	0
Market exits	0	0
Owner	eVenture Limited	IVPN Limited
Jurisdiction	Malaysia	Gibraltar
Eyes alliance	Outside	Outside
Price	Free tier, or from $2.59/mo	From $60/yr on Standard
Money-back	30 days	30 days
Crypto accepted	bitcoin, monero, ethereum, litecoin, dogecoin, solana	bitcoin, monero
Anonymous signup	No	Yes
Free tier	No data cap, 8 locations, one device, reduced speeds, no card needed	None
Servers	Vendor states roughly 2,600 servers across 92 locations, with free users limited to eight of them	Vendor runs a deliberately small network, in the low tens of countries, rather than competing on server counts
Last reviewed	2026-08-26	2026-08-26

No-logs evidence, side by side

Dated audits and real-world tests from each review. An empty column is a finding: the claim has not been independently checked.

hide.me

2024Audit by Securitum: no-logs policy and the RAM-only server infrastructure, with a published summary report
2015Audit by DefenseCode: one of the first independent examinations of a VPN provider's logging claims

IVPN

2026Audit by Cure53: eighth annual security audit, covering the cryptography and privacy model of the Unlinked Access system
2023Audit by Cure53: penetration test and configuration review of the new VPN gateway infrastructure, report published in full
2019Audit by Cure53: the no-logs audit of the VPN gateway and authentication servers, which IVPN says was its first and only audit of that format

Frequently asked questions

Is hide.me or IVPN better for privacy?

IVPN carries more independent audits of its no-logs claim: 3 against 2 for hide.me. We publish no rating for VPNs, so the audit count is the one criterion that decides. Audits, court and seizure records and incidents are dated on each review with their sources.

Can I pay hide.me or IVPN with bitcoin?

hide.me takes bitcoin, monero, ethereum, litecoin, dogecoin and solana (processor: In-house). IVPN takes bitcoin and monero (processor: In-house). Each review quotes the vendor's own refund sentence for crypto purchases verbatim.

Which is cheaper, hide.me or IVPN?

hide.me: Free tier, or from $2.59/mo. IVPN: From $60/yr on Standard. Money-back: hide.me 30 days, IVPN 30 days. Prices are from each vendor's own page as of the review date.

Where are hide.me and IVPN based?

hide.me: Malaysia (outside the five, nine and fourteen eyes alliances). IVPN: Gibraltar (outside the five, nine and fourteen eyes alliances). A jurisdiction matters less than a court record showing what the provider could hand over; the reviews carry those where they exist.

The full reviews: hide.me and IVPN, each with its sources, and every VPN we review.

More comparisons

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