DoVPN Research · Frozen monthly report
VPN price report:
September 2026
83 of 88 comparable plans ended the month at the same upfront price. 1 ended lower; 4 ended higher. The full record also captures the movements between those endpoints.
September 2026: what the observations show
The denominator is 88 comparable plans, across a tracked population of 29 providers. The catalog retains 124 month-end plans, of which 97 pass provisional trend checks. Plans from one provider are not independent observations. An unchanged endpoint does not mean the price stayed constant throughout the month.
| Provider / plan | Opening upfront | Closing upfront | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amnezia Premium 1 Year · 12 service months · USD | $48.00 | $50.00 | + 4.17% |
| Amnezia Premium 6 Months · 6 service months · USD | $28.00 | $30.00 | + 7.14% |
| IPVanish Essential - 2 years · 24 service months · USD | $59.76 | $57.36 | -4.02% |
| TunnelBear 1 year · 12 service months · USD | $59.88 | $69.99 | + 16.88% |
| TunnelBear Monthly · 1 service months · USD | $9.99 | $10.99 | + 10.01% |
A discount can expire within the same month
CyberGhost’s 26-month offer moved from $56.94 to $51.74, then returned to $56.94. PIA’s 39-month offer moved from $79 to $69.81, then returned to $79. ExpressVPN’s Advanced and Pro long-term tiers also fell and returned. These temporary movements disappear in a month-end-only comparison, which is why the downloadable record keeps intraday captures and the explorer shows daily history.
Proton’s lower number came from a different source
On September 9, collection moved from Proton’s standard pricing page ($83.76 for 24 months) to its public partner offer ($71.76 for 24 months). The $12 difference is a change of offer channel. It is excluded from the price-cut count and breaks the chart series. It does not establish that the standard offer became cheaper.
A discount that came and went
CyberGhost · 26 months · upfront total in USD
Every observed change, with its classification
There were 14 within-series upfront-price movements and 1 source switch. Dates identify the capture that first recorded the change, not its exact effective time. A gap between captures can delay detection.
| Detected (UTC) | Provider / plan | Upfront movement | Classification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 05:20:23 | Surfshark One - 2 years + 3 free | $67.23 → $75.33 | +12.05% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-02 04:45:06 | Amnezia Premium 1 Year | $48.00 → $50.00 | +4.17% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-02 04:45:06 | Amnezia Premium 6 Months | $28.00 → $30.00 | +7.14% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-04 04:43:55 | TunnelBear 1 year | $59.88 → $69.99 | +16.88% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-09 06:39:14 | Proton VPN VPN Plus - 24 months | $83.76 → $71.76 | Source / context switch; not a price cut Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-10 04:53:49 | CyberGhost 2 years + 2 months | $56.94 → $51.74 | -9.13% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-13 04:58:07 | ExpressVPN Advanced - 2 years + 4 months | $125.72 → $111.72 | -11.14% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-13 04:58:07 | ExpressVPN Express Pro - 2 years + 4 months | $209.72 → $167.72 | -20.03% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-14 23:01:00 | Private Internet Access 3 years + 3 months | $79.00 → $69.81 | -11.63% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-16 04:59:18 | TunnelBear Monthly | $9.99 → $10.99 | +10.01% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-24 05:03:07 | CyberGhost 2 years + 2 months | $51.74 → $56.94 | +10.05% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-24 05:03:07 | ExpressVPN Advanced - 2 years + 4 months | $111.72 → $125.72 | +12.53% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-24 05:03:07 | ExpressVPN Express Pro - 2 years + 4 months | $167.72 → $209.72 | +25.04% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-24 05:03:07 | IPVanish Essential - 2 years | $59.76 → $57.36 | -4.02% within-series Frozen evidence |
| 2026-09-24 05:03:07 | Private Internet Access 3 years + 3 months | $69.81 → $79.00 | +13.16% within-series Frozen evidence |
Coverage: all 29 tracked providers
30 of 30 calendar days have snapshots, across 33 daily and intraday snapshots. There are 3,809 current-extraction rows and 157 carried-forward rows in the month. Rows are not independent samples. Missing and unresolved records remain downloadable; they do not become fresh chart points.
| Tracked provider | Plans retained | Current / eligible | Capture status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AdGuard VPN | 3 | 3 / 0 | current |
| AirVPN | 7 | 7 / 6 | current |
| Amnezia Premium | 2 | 2 / 2 | current |
| AzireVPN | 3 | 3 / 3 | current |
| Bitdefender Premium VPN | 1 | 1 / 1 | current |
| CyberGhost | 3 | 3 / 3 | current |
| ExpressVPN | 6 | 6 / 3 | current |
| FastestVPN | 3 | 3 / 0 | current |
| hide.me | 4 | 2 / 1 | current |
| Hotspot Shield | 3 | 3 / 2 | current |
| IPVanish | 6 | 6 / 6 | current |
| IVPN | 9 | 9 / 6 | current |
| Mullvad VPN | 1 | 1 / 1 | current |
| Mysterium VPN | 9 | 9 / 9 | current |
| NordVPN | 9 | 9 / 9 | current |
| Norton VPN | 3 | 3 / 3 | current |
| OVPN | 3 | 3 / 3 | current |
| Private Internet Access | 3 | 3 / 3 | current |
| PrivadoVPN | 3 | 3 / 3 | current |
| PrivateVPN | 3 | 0 / 0 | carried forward only no normalized plans |
| Proton VPN | 5 | 5 / 4 | current |
| PureVPN | 9 | 9 / 9 | current |
| Surfshark | 6 | 6 / 3 | current |
| TorGuard | 6 | 6 / 3 | current |
| TunnelBear | 3 | 3 / 3 | current |
| VPN Unlimited | 3 | 3 / 3 | current |
| VyprVPN | 3 | 3 / 3 | current |
| Windscribe | 2 | 2 / 2 | current |
| X-VPN | 3 | 3 / 3 | current |
Download, reproduce, cite
Full JSON retains every extracted plan, quality flag, missing value, source page and snapshot digest. CSV provides the longitudinal price and quality fields. The monthly summary and checksums are separate downloads.
- Full history CSV · Full history JSON
- Monthly summary JSON · SHA-256 checksums
- Versioned public release · Methods and field definitions
- Source-change ledger · Corrections
Data is licensed CC BY 4.0. No DOI is assigned to this price release. Journalists can request a source explanation or correction from steve@dovpn.com.
Explore the release behind this report
History begins 2026-08-11 and stops at 2026-09-30. Later observations do not enter this monthly report. For the field definitions and treatment of gaps, read the methods.
Select plans · 4 selected
Monthly equivalents include bonus months. The upfront measure shows the full initial payment. Lines break at missing days and changes of source or billing terms.
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Read the related analysis
September VPN prices: big discounts, mostly unchanged endpoints explains what the observed discounts and renewal terms can tell buyers, and where the evidence stops.