4 Best VPNs Outside 14 Eyes Countries in 2023

VPNs are there to protect your digital privacy. However, they’re owned by business entities that still need to respect their home country’s laws. That puts VPNs found in countries that belong to the 14 Eyes alliance in a problematic position, as the privacy and protection they bring can be endangered at any moment. That’s what makes it essential to focus your attention on the best VPNs outside the 14 Eyes alliance, which leaves you with a limited set of options.

Of course, just because a VPN is headquartered outside the 14 Eyes alliance doesn’t make it a great pick. There are other factors to consider, like the level of encryption you’ll get, the VPN protocols you’ll have at your disposal, the size of the server network, and similar. As you can see, navigating your way through those criteria can be daunting.

We’re here to simplify things for you. Based on our hands-on tests of 60+ VPNs, we’ll shortlist the best VPNs that come from outside the 14 Eyes countries. So, let’s get started!

Why Do You Need a VPN That Comes From Outside the 14-Eyes Alliance? 

You need a VPN from a country that's not in the 14 Eyes Alliance for one reason alone - to be 100% sure your privacy is protected.

We’ll remind you that the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes are global surveillance alliances known to monitor and share the activity of Internet users across the world. By working together, those countries can bypass their own national laws by "employing" their partners to collect data that would be illegal to obtain otherwise. 

To see which countries we are talking about, look at the table found just below. And if you wish to learn more about those surveillance alliances, here’s our complete guide to the Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes alliance. 

By avoiding VPN services that originate from the countries mentioned above, you minimize the risk of having your data collected by a third party. Of course, you can always go for a no-logs VPN service, especially one that can prove that it doesn’t collect any data. In that case, you’ll be safe no matter what – but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Best VPNs Outside 14-Eyes Countries

Following our extensive research and testing, we believe the following to be the 4 best VPNs that come outside the 14 Eyes alliance:

1. ExpressVPN – Best VPN You’ll Find Today
2. NordVPN – Best Security-First VPN Service
3. CyberGhost VPN – Best Entertainment-First VPN Service
4. ProtonVPN – Best Privacy-First VPN Service

1. ExpressVPN – Best VPN You’ll Find Today

ExpressVPN is one of the oldest commercially available VPNs, with a reputation for keeping every single one of its users safe and sound. It comes from the British Virgin Islands, which means it's far from the 14 Eyes alliance, but it also has other measures in place to guarantee the safety and privacy of your information.

As said earlier, it’s not enough just to find a VPN based outside the 14 Eyes alliance. You need one with a proven (audited) no logs policy, strong encryption, and solid protocols. ExpressVPN checks all of those boxes and then some more. It uses AES-256 coupled with protocols like OpenVPN and Lightway, so you get both speed and security.

Also, know that ExpressVPN’s servers don’t run on hard drives (and there are 3,000+ servers, by the way). Instead, they run on RAM, which makes data logging impossible. A couple of years ago, this VPN’s Turkey servers were seized (back when hard drives were used), only to prove that ExpressVPN is loyal to its no-logs policy.

We can also tell you that ExpressVPN is great for unblocking the Web, making sure no one follows you around, streaming media, downloading torrents, and even playing games. That’s why it’s the best VPN overall, as per our findings.

If you need more information, turn to our hands-on ExpressVPN review.

2. NordVPN – Best Security-First VPN Service

NordVPN comes with a whole series of advanced security features, allowing you to fine-tune your VPN tunnel and connection. As such, we recommend it to more advanced users, especially those who like to tinker with their VPN. Still, its user-friendliness is on the strong side as well.

This VPN comes from Panama, which has been the case since the brand's inception. Panama wasn't chosen by accident. NordVPN made sure to cover the basics quite well, ensuring it's in a jurisdiction that's not invasive in terms of data logging and privacy. As such, it's one of the best options when choosing a VPN outside the 14 Eyes alliance.  

Let's not forget that NordVPN is an audited no-logs VPN. It goes through regular audits with the purpose of showing that its infrastructure is designed to avoid data logging. It also offers more than 5,000+ servers, and it's currently switching to a collocated network, which means all of those servers will be owned by the VPN (instead of being rented). 

Aside from the standard VPN features like a kill switch and split tunneling, NordVPN has a couple of unique tools up its sleeve. We’re talking about specialized servers that double-encrypt your data, use advanced obfuscation mechanisms, and allow you to access the Tor network. So, in terms of your security, you’ll be covered more than well.

There’s plenty more to say about this capable VPN. So, we recommend you read our NordVPN review.

3. CyberGhost VPN – Best Entertainment-First VPN Service

At first glance, you might be surprised to see CyberGhost VPN recommended in this guide. After all, it comes from Romania, a member country of the European Union. However, that’s not a bad thing at all. And more importantly, Romania isn’t a part of the 14 Eyes alliance. 

Being based in the European Union, CyberGhost VPN is subject to GDPR laws. That allows the VPN to avoid collecting your data to preserve your privacy. On top of that, Romania has never been aggressive towards forcing data controllers to collect data. It's on the more relaxed side, being a country with a high level of digital piracy (which generally it's a rule in the European Union). 

As you can see above, we recommend CyberGhost VPN for entertainment-related purposes. That's because it offers 7,500+ servers, many of which are optimized for media streaming, downloading torrents, and playing online games. This VPN works great with streaming services, unblocking a massive range of US-based and international platforms.

Still, CyberGhost covers the basics as well. This capable VPN uses a small range of very secure VPN protocols. It also uses AES-256, the highest level of commercially available encryption. And even though it lacks a recently done audit, it promises not to collect your personal information (which we’re sure is true, based on this VPN’s past).

If you wish to learn more about everything said above, head over to our CyberGhost VPN review.

4. ProtonVPN – Best Privacy-First VPN Service

Our final recommendation for the best VPNs outside the 14 Eyes alliance is ProtonVPN. This is a very interesting and highly reputable VPN service based in Switzerland. That country is not a signatory to any intelligence alliance, and it's known for its neutral diplomatic stance.

When it comes to ProtonVPN, you can expect the highest level of privacy encryption. Its protocols (OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard) are coupled with AES-256, where each new session gets a unique encryption key. On top of that, ProtonVPN's servers come with full disk encryption, which means even if the server gets compromised (which is close to impossible to happen), your data will be safe.

It's also worth noting that ProtonVPN's apps are open-sourced and available on GitHub. That means ProtonVPN has nothing to hide and is happy to provide full transparency. That goes hand-in-hand with this VPN's decision to allow third-party cyber-sec companies to audit its policies and infrastructure, publishing the full results of those tests.

With all of that, it's clear that ProtonVPN is a privacy-first VPN service. It is also suitable for streaming and website unblocking, which is a recent change. So, you get a wide range of features ideal for all kinds of users. 

Discover more about this VPN service by checking our ProtonVPN review.

Which VPNs Are a Part of the 14 Eyes Alliance?

By now, you know about the best VPNs outside the 14-Eyes alliance. We gave you a group of solid options, letting you pick the one that works best for you. However, you’ll also want to know which VPNs to avoid. So, let’s talk briefly about the VPNs found inside the 14-Eyes alliance. Check out the following table.

You’ll be surprised to know that many of the VPNs listed above have the same owner. For example, IPVanish is owned by the same company (Ziff Davis) as SaferVPN (merged with StrongVPN), ibVPN, BufferedVPN, and more. And then, VPNs such as Hotspot Shield, Betternet VPN, and Ultra VPN are owned by AURA. 

If you wish to dive into this topic a bit more, here’s which companies own today’s most popular VPNs. You’ll see that many of them originate from the United States, known for its overly aggressive and often illegal data logging. 

Should You Avoid VPNs From the 14 Eyes Alliance's Jurisdiction? 

Yes, you should avoid VPNs that fall under the 14 Eyes jurisdiction – if you want to be 100% sure that your private data doesn’t leave your device.

In all fairness, there are perfectly capable VPNs from countries that belong to the 14-Eyes alliance. For example, Private Internet Access comes from the United States. However, it’s been available for a long time now, without a single report of a single individual being exposed. 

Then, we have Surfshark, which comes from the Netherlands. That’s a very powerful VPN that we often recommend, especially for streaming and privacy. And lastly, we have Mullvad, which comes from Sweden. Even though it comes from a 14 Eyes country, Mullvad is one of the most secure VPNs you can find on today’s market. 

So, it all depends on how safe you want to be. If you’re overly concerned about your privacy, play it safe and pick a VPN from outside the 14 Eyes jurisdiction. However, if you want to unblock media streaming services or use a VPN for any benign purpose, you’ll have more freedom to pick pretty much any VPN.

That would be all for our guide on the best VPNs found outside the 14 Eyes alliance. If you have any questions, let us know using the comments section below. Thanks for reading!