This page explains exactly how recommendations on TravelConnectly are made — including what I check, what I don't, and where the money comes from. If a guide here says one provider is better than another, this is the basis for it.
The short version: I compare providers on published specifications, current pricing, and independently published audit reports. I am one person, not a testing lab — so where a figure comes from a provider or a third party rather than my own measurement, this site says so rather than presenting it as my own test result.
What I check for every provider
- Current pricing, on the plan that produces it. Headline VPN prices almost always require a two-year commitment. I record the discounted rate, the standard monthly rate it's measured against, and the date I checked — because these change often and renew higher.
- Independent no-logs audits. A privacy policy is a promise; an audit is a check. I record which firm performed the most recent published audit and in what year. Where a provider has no published audit, that absence is the finding.
- Jurisdiction. Which country's legal system the provider operates under, since that determines who can compel disclosure.
- Device limits. The number of simultaneous connections per account — the figure that most often decides real cost for travelers carrying several devices.
- Features that matter on the road specifically. Auto-connect on untrusted networks, obfuscation for restrictive countries, ad and tracker blocking, and kill-switch behaviour.
- At least one genuine drawback. Every provider recommended on this site has something it does worse than the alternatives, and it appears in the same card as the strengths.
What I don't do — and why that matters
Several large VPN review sites run speed tests across multiple continents on dedicated hardware, thousands of times a year. That work is genuinely valuable, and I am not pretending to replicate it.
- I don't publish my own speed benchmarks. Where speed is discussed, it reflects published testing by others or general characteristics, not a measurement I produced. I'd rather say that plainly than present a number I can't stand behind.
- I don't test every provider in every country. Streaming access and network restrictions vary by location and change week to week.
- I don't accept free accounts or sponsored placement. No provider pays to appear here, to rank higher, or to have a drawback removed.
The trade-off is real: this site is more useful for working out which kind of plan suits your trip than for finding the single fastest server. For raw performance benchmarks, a site with a testing lab will serve you better, and I'd rather point you there than overclaim.
How a recommendation gets made
Guides here are organised by trip type rather than by product, because the right answer genuinely changes with the situation. A four-month backpacking route through six countries has different constraints than a week of client meetings in one city.
For each guide I decide which two or three factors actually govern that situation — cost per month over a long trip, device count, streaming reliability, connection stability — and recommend the provider that fits those factors best. That's why the same three providers appear throughout with different verdicts, rather than one universal winner.
Where the money comes from
This site earns affiliate commission. If you sign up through a link here, the provider pays a commission at no additional cost to you, and that is what funds the site.
Two things follow from that, and I'd rather state them than let you infer them:
- Commission does not decide the ranking. Proton VPN's free plan is the free recommendation on several pages because it is the honest answer for readers who want a free option. It was listed that way before this site joined Proton's affiliate program in September 2026.
- I can't be neutral about whether you click. Obviously I benefit if you do. The check on that is publishing drawbacks in the same breath as strengths, and being specific enough that you can verify the claims yourself.
Corrections and updates
Prices change, providers add and drop features, and countries change their rules. Each guide carries the date its figures were last verified. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell me through the contact page and I'll correct it — corrections are the most useful message I can receive.
Where the figures come from
Pricing comes from the providers' own checkout pages. Audit details come from the published audit reports and the providers' transparency pages. Feature descriptions come from official documentation. Where a claim originates with a third-party testing organisation, the guide attributes it rather than absorbing it.