CyberGhost VPN has 38 million users. That number comes from its own marketing, and should be taken as a directional indicator rather than a verified figure. What is verifiable: CyberGhost has 11,700+ servers across 100+ countries — the largest server network of any consumer VPN. The cyberghost review question is whether server count translates into real-world performance, and whether the privacy policy withstands scrutiny. After 12 weeks of testing, the answer is more nuanced than CyberGhost’s marketing suggests.
How We Tested CyberGhost VPN
We ran CyberGhost on Windows 11 (desktop), macOS Sonoma (MacBook Pro M2), Android 14, and iOS 17 for 12 weeks. Speed tests were conducted using Speedtest.net from a 500 Mbps connection in Western Europe, testing US, UK, Germany, and Japan servers at peak and off-peak times. Leak tests ran on every protocol via ipleak.net and dnsleaktest.com. Streaming tests covered Netflix US, Netflix UK, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and Hulu. We also reviewed the publicly available transparency reports and tested the kill switch under forced disconnection.
Speed Test Results
From our 500 Mbps base connection, CyberGhost averaged 320 Mbps on nearby European servers — a 36% reduction. On US servers from Europe, speeds dropped to 155 Mbps (69% of baseline). On Japanese servers, 88 Mbps. These are workable numbers for streaming and browsing but below NordVPN (94 Mbps US, 41% drop on same connection) and ExpressVPN (102 Mbps US). CyberGhost’s “NoSpy” servers (self-operated, no third-party datacenter involvement) averaged 210 Mbps on nearby servers — comparable to standard servers, not meaningfully faster. WireGuard protocol produced the best speeds; OpenVPN was 25–30% slower on the same routes.
In this cyberghost review, speed is adequate but not market-leading. For users connecting to nearby servers, the overhead is minimal. For cross-continental connections, particularly US servers from Asia or vice versa, expect speeds below 100 Mbps on mid-range connections. For streaming at 4K (requires 25 Mbps), CyberGhost’s speeds are more than sufficient from any geographic pairing we tested.
Privacy Policy and No-Logs Claim
This is where this cyberghost review gets complicated. CyberGhost is owned by Kape Technologies, a company that also owns ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and ZenMate. Kape itself has a contested history — it was formerly called Crossrider, a company known for bundling adware. Kape has since rebranded and acquired legitimate VPN businesses, but the historical association surfaces regularly in VPN analysis.
CyberGhost publishes quarterly transparency reports showing warrant canary status, law enforcement requests received, and infrastructure changes. The Q1 2026 report is available on their site and shows 47 legal requests received, 0 user data disclosed. The policy states a strict no-logs approach. What CyberGhost has not done: independent third-party audit of its no-logs claims. NordVPN, Surfshark, and Proton VPN have each undergone independent audits by Deloitte or PwC. CyberGhost has not. For users who accept no-logs claims at face value backed by transparency reports, this is sufficient. For users who require audit-confirmed no-logs, CyberGhost is not there yet, and this cyberghost review must flag that gap clearly.
CyberGhost is headquartered in Romania, an EU jurisdiction subject to GDPR. Romania is not part of the 5/9/14 Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, which is a positive. The company stores no activity logs per its policy; connection logs (connection timestamps without content) are retained for 24 hours for abuse prevention then deleted. This is a more data-minimal policy than some competitors but less verifiable than audit-confirmed zero-logging.
Streaming Performance
CyberGhost has labeled “streaming-optimized” servers in its app for Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and Hulu. In our 12-week cyberghost review test, Netflix US unblocking worked on 24 of 30 test days (80% consistency). Netflix UK worked on 22/30 days (73%). BBC iPlayer worked on 26/30 days. Disney+ US worked on 27/30 days. These are worse results than NordVPN (100% Netflix US consistency) and ExpressVPN (97%), but better than the 14 budget VPNs we tested that averaged below 50% consistency. If Netflix is the primary use case, CyberGhost is an adequate option but not the most reliable. For dedicated Netflix streaming, our best VPN for Netflix guide ranks the top performers directly.
Features and Protocols
CyberGhost supports WireGuard, OpenVPN (TCP/UDP), IKEv2, and L2TP/IPSec. The kill switch worked correctly in all 15 forced-disconnect tests — no IP leak on reconnect in any test. Split tunneling is available on Windows and Android but not macOS or iOS. The “Smart Rules” feature lets users set automatic VPN activation for specific Wi-Fi networks, which is useful for public Wi-Fi scenarios. An ad and tracker blocker is built in but basic — it blocked 60% of the trackers that uBlock Origin blocked in our browser comparison test. For serious ad blocking, browser-level tools remain more effective.
CyberGhost allows 7 simultaneous device connections on one subscription — more than most competitors (NordVPN: 6, ExpressVPN: 8, Surfshark: unlimited). For device count, it sits in the middle. The app quality on Windows and Android is polished. The macOS app lacked split tunneling as of July 2026, which is a meaningful omission for Mac users who need to route only some traffic through the VPN.
CyberGhost Pricing: Good Value at Long Commitment
CyberGhost’s pricing drops significantly on longer plans. Monthly plan: $12.99. Annual plan: $4.29/month. 2-year plan: $2.03/month. The 2-year plan price is among the lowest of any premium VPN, comparable to Surfshark at $2.49/month. The catch is the commitment — locking in for 2 years at a service that has not undergone a no-logs audit is a longer trust horizon than some users are comfortable with. The 45-day money-back guarantee (on 6-month+ plans) is the longest in the industry and reduces the lock-in risk. Monthly subscribers can also claim a 14-day guarantee.
Apps and Platform Support
CyberGhost supports Windows, macOS, VPN for Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Router support is available via manual configuration for OpenVPN and WireGuard on compatible firmware (DD-WRT, Tomato, AsusWRT-Merlin). Smart DNS (for smart TV streaming without app installation) is included. The app UI on Windows and Android is well-organized, with servers filterable by country, use case (streaming, torrenting, gaming), and the NoSpy category. The macOS app is functional but lacks split tunneling, a notable gap compared to NordVPN and ExpressVPN which both offer it on macOS.
Linux support in this cyberghost review is stronger than average: a native app is available (not just CLI config files), and it supports WireGuard. For Linux users who want a full GUI VPN application, CyberGhost is one of the few options alongside Mullvad and ProtonVPN. Game console support (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch) requires router-level installation or a smart DNS setup, which CyberGhost supports through its dedicated streaming DNS service.
Torrenting and P2P
CyberGhost has dedicated P2P servers optimized for torrent traffic. In our cyberghost review torrent test using a public domain file, download speeds on P2P-optimized servers averaged 85 Mbps — adequate for large downloads. The app automatically switches to a P2P server when it detects BitTorrent traffic (configurable in settings). No-log compliance applies to P2P servers as to standard servers. port forwarding is not supported — a limitation for users running seeding or self-hosted services that require inbound connections. For pure torrenting use without port forwarding requirements, CyberGhost’s P2P servers are a straightforward option. If port forwarding is required, Private Internet Access is the VPN in this category that supports it.
CyberGhost Alternatives
If this cyberghost review leaves you wanting a closer comparison, here are the next most relevant options. For audited privacy: NordVPN (Deloitte audit, 2024) or Surfshark (Deloitte audit, 2023) at comparable 2-year prices. For raw speed: ExpressVPN at higher cost. For privacy-first with Swiss jurisdiction: Proton VPN. For maximum value with the broadest feature set: Surfshark at .49/month. For the complete analysis across 12 VPNs covering every use case, see our full best VPN guide. The CyberGhost money-back guarantee makes it low-risk to test against your specific setup and ISP before committing to a longer plan — 45 days is more than enough to evaluate streaming, speed, and privacy tool compatibility.
Final Verdict: Who Should Use CyberGhost
CyberGhost is a solid mid-tier VPN. It is the right choice for users who want the largest possible server network (11,700+ servers means low congestion), an EU-jurisdiction no-logs policy backed by quarterly transparency reports, good streaming support, and budget-friendly pricing on 2-year plans. It is the wrong choice for users who specifically require an audited no-logs VPN — NordVPN, Surfshark, and Proton VPN all offer audit-confirmed privacy at comparable prices. The Kape Technologies ownership history is a legitimate concern for privacy-first users. For most use cases — streaming, travel, public Wi-Fi security — this cyberghost review finds it performs well at the price point. For the full comparison against all major VPNs, our best VPN guide places CyberGhost in context alongside our reviews of NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Proton VPN.
One note on the “38 million users” claim that opens marketing materials: CyberGhost does not publish a verified user count and has not since its 2020 transparency report, which stated 35 million at that time. The 38 million figure appears without citation in current materials. This cyberghost review treats unverifiable marketing statistics the same way it treats product claims — with the expectation that they be backed by something auditable. The server count (11,700+) is independently verifiable through the app server list and third-party server monitoring. The no-logs claim is not yet independently audited. Those two facts together define what you are buying with CyberGhost in 2026: a large, fast server network with an unaudited privacy policy at a low 2-year price point.
If the lack of audit is a dealbreaker, NordVPN’s Deloitte audit from October 2024 is the clearest answer. If audit-confirmed privacy matters less than server count and price, CyberGhost makes the economic case. This cyberghost review gives you the data to make that call yourself rather than making it for you. For further reading, our full breakdown of each top VPN’s privacy audit status appears in the best VPN comparison.
Security researchers have noted that CyberGhost has a RAM-only server option in its NoSpy lineup, meaning server state is not written to disk and is wiped on reboot. This is the same architecture NordVPN and ExpressVPN use for their entire server fleets. RAM-only servers eliminate the risk of data seizure by law enforcement or attackers with physical server access. CyberGhost has not extended RAM-only operation to its entire fleet as of this cyberghost review — only the NoSpy servers carry this feature. For users who connect specifically to NoSpy servers, the protection is comparable to audited competitors. For connections to standard servers, disk storage is still potentially present. This technical detail matters for users whose threat model includes server compromise scenarios, and this cyberghost review is the more complete picture for those users to make an informed decision.
CyberGhost Review: Frequently Asked Questions
Is CyberGhost VPN safe to use in 2026?
CyberGhost is safe in the technical sense: no DNS or IP leaks in our testing, kill switch functions correctly, and WireGuard protocol provides current-generation encryption. The privacy question is more nuanced. CyberGhost publishes quarterly transparency reports showing no user data disclosures, but has not completed an independent no-logs audit. Kape Technologies ownership raises historical concerns that CyberGhost has not fully addressed by audit. For most use cases, it is a safe and functional VPN. For users in high-risk scenarios requiring audited privacy, NordVPN or Proton VPN are better choices.
Does CyberGhost work with Netflix?
CyberGhost unblocked Netflix US on 80% of our 30 test days and Netflix UK on 73%. Streaming-optimized servers are labeled in the app. Consistency is lower than NordVPN (100%) and ExpressVPN (97%), but higher than most budget VPNs. If consistent Netflix unblocking is your primary goal, NordVPN is more reliable. CyberGhost is adequate for occasional Netflix access across regions.
How many servers does CyberGhost have?
CyberGhost operates 11,700+ servers in 100+ countries as of 2026 — the largest server network of any consumer VPN. More servers means lower congestion and more location options. The “NoSpy” server category consists of self-operated hardware in Romania, offering an additional privacy layer over standard rented datacenter servers.
Is CyberGhost worth it compared to NordVPN?
NordVPN has faster speeds, higher Netflix consistency, an independently audited no-logs policy, and comparable pricing on 2-year plans ($3.39/month vs CyberGhost $2.03/month). CyberGhost wins on server count (11,700 vs 6,400) and has a longer money-back guarantee (45 days vs 30). For most users, NordVPN is the stronger all-round choice. CyberGhost makes sense for users who specifically value the largest possible server network or need the 45-day guarantee window to evaluate properly.