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Conflict of interest: the same owner also runs vpnMentor, WizCase, SafetyDetectives, which publish VPN rankings. Treat those rankings accordingly.
Ultimate ownerKape TechnologiesRomania · Outside the alliances
Operates CyberGhostCyberGhost S.A.
ExpressVPNPrivate Internet AccessZenMatevpnMentorWizCaseSafetyDetectives
Brands in red publish VPN rankings. They share an owner with CyberGhost.
Romanian jurisdiction is a real advantage. Kape ownership, and Kape's ownership of the review sites that rank it, is the offsetting fact readers are rarely told.
Public-source facts, not yet checked against primary documents. How we verify.
Lab test pending: score uses public, checkable data only. How we verify.
Verdict
CyberGhost is a competent, streaming-focused VPN with servers labelled by the service they unblock, a 45-day refund that is the longest on the site, Deloitte no-logs audits, and a Romanian base outside the intelligence alliances. It has no obfuscation, so it does not work in China, Russia or Iran; its long-plan renewal price is not clearly published; and it is owned by Kape Technologies, which also owns vpnMentor, WizCase and SafetyDetectives, where CyberGhost ranks well. Fine for streaming at home; not a travel or privacy VPN.
Best for
Streaming on a few devices without trial and error, beginners who want labelled servers, and anyone who wants the longest refund window to try a VPN risk-free.
Not for
Travel to censored countries, users who want a clear renewal price, or anyone for whom Kape's ownership is disqualifying.
2,673 most recent reviews across 6 storefronts, 2016-04-22 to 2026-09-04. Listing rating 4.23★ from 39,394 ratings. Version 8.6.0, released 2026-08-24.
77
Critical complaints 14.1%
Praised: reliability
6.9%
Billing & auto-renew
5.1%
Praised: speed
5%
Crashes & bugs
3.7%
iOS integration
3.1%
Slow speeds
3%
Praised: value
2.9%
Streaming blocked
2.8%
★☆☆☆☆ “So do NOT use these scammers unless you want to get scammed.” App Store reviewer, 2026-08-28
★☆☆☆☆ “He probado otra aplicacion bastante mejor” App Store reviewer, 2026-08-02
★☆☆☆☆ “No se puede poner hbo Max en México si estás en estados unidos” App Store reviewer, 2026-07-22
★★★★★ “Ich nutze CyberGhost fast ständig aber immer, wenn ich in Ausland bin.” App Store reviewer, 2026-09-03
★★★★★ “There are a lot more features available, and those are also very useful.” App Store reviewer, 2026-09-01
Themes tagged by keyword rules; percentages are share of sampled reviews mentioning the theme. Full breakdown · Method.
Streaming and censorship status
Streaming
NetflixWorks
BBC iPlayerUnreliable
Disney+Works
HuluWorks
Prime VideoWorks
Restricted countries
ChinaBlocked
United Arab EmiratesUnreliable
RussiaBlocked
IranBlocked
TürkiyeWorks
Basis: user reports and provider statements; our own checks pending.
Ownership
CyberGhost was founded in Germany in 2011, moved to Romania, and was bought in 2017 by Crossrider — a company then known for distributing adware through browser extensions — which rebranded as Kape Technologies in 2018 and went on to buy Private Internet Access, ExpressVPN, and the review sites vpnMentor, WizCase and SafetyDetectives. CyberGhost ranks well on those sites. The shared ownership is not disclosed where a reader would see it.
CyberGhost’s own practices have been reasonable since the sale: a quarterly transparency report since 2011, Deloitte audits, RAM-only servers. The concern is what the owner is for, not what the subsidiary does.
Jurisdiction and audits
CyberGhost S.A., Bucharest. Romania is inside the EU but outside the Five, Nine and Fourteen Eyes, and its constitutional court struck down data retention in 2009 and again in 2014. Deloitte audited the no-logs policy in 2022 and 2024; the reports are summarised publicly. Apps are closed source. The quarterly transparency report lists legal requests, which CyberGhost says it cannot fulfil.
Protocols, network and features
WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2. No obfuscated protocol at all, which rules it out for China, Russia and Iran. Around 11,500 servers in 100 countries, the second-largest count on the site. The distinctive feature is servers labelled by streaming service — “Netflix US”, “BBC iPlayer”, “Disney+” — and by purpose (gaming, torrenting, NoSpy servers in CyberGhost’s own Romanian datacentre). Seven devices. Kill switch, split tunnelling on Android and Windows, ad and tracker blocking, dedicated IPs. No port forwarding.
What it costs, honestly
Plan
Intro
Renewal
True cost / month over 3 years
Monthly
$12.99
$12.99
$12.99
6 months
$41.94
$41.94
$6.99
26 months
$56.94
not clearly published
unconfirmed
The long plan’s intro is among the cheapest on the site. What it renews at is not clearly stated at checkout or in the terms, and this site does not guess. The 45-day money-back guarantee on plans of six months or more is the longest of any provider we track.
Streaming and censorship
User reports have CyberGhost working with Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and Prime Video, helped by the labelled servers; BBC iPlayer is patchy. It does not work in China or Russia, is unreliable in Iran, works in the UAE for some users, and works in Turkey.
The iPhone app
This month’s App Store analysis of 2,700 recent reviews places the app in the upper tier, with a low critical-complaint rate and no billing flag. The listing rating is a lower 4.23 stars, but recent reviewers are happier than that average suggests. Billing questions are the main complaint theme even so. Full breakdown.
What we have not tested
Speed and leaks. Published tests put CyberGhost’s WireGuard mid-pack. Our own tests are pending; the speed dimension is excluded from the score until they land.
Audit date needs confirming; check whether anything newer than 2022 exists.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns CyberGhost?
Kape Technologies, since 2017, when Kape (then Crossrider) bought it for €9.2 million. Kape also owns ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access and ZenMate, and the review sites vpnMentor, WizCase and SafetyDetectives. CyberGhost operates as CyberGhost S.A. in Bucharest, Romania.
Is CyberGhost safe?
On the evidence, yes: Deloitte audited the no-logs policy in 2022 and 2024, servers are RAM-only, Romania is outside the alliances and has no data retention law after its constitutional court struck it down. The apps are not open source. Kape's history as an adware distributor (Crossrider) and its review-site holdings are the ownership concerns.
How much does CyberGhost really cost?
About $57 for the first 26 months on the long plan, advertised as $2.19 a month. The renewal price for that plan is not clearly stated, so our true cost calculator marks it unconfirmed. The six-month plan is about $42 renewing at $42; monthly is $12.99. A 45-day money-back guarantee applies to plans of six months or more.
Does CyberGhost work in China?
No. It has no obfuscated protocol and its own support pages say it does not work in China. It is also blocked in Russia and unreliable in Iran. It works in the UAE for some users and reliably in Turkey.
Does CyberGhost keep logs?
It says no, and Deloitte examined the claim in 2022 and 2024. It publishes a quarterly transparency report of legal requests, which it says it cannot comply with because it holds no data.
Is CyberGhost better than Surfshark?
For streaming ease and the refund window, yes. Surfshark has unlimited devices, obfuscation for restricted countries, a published renewal price and no review-site conflict in its ownership. Our full comparison picks Surfshark for most people.
