Mullvad VPN
The most honest VPN on the internet, and in 2026 still the one this industry is measured against: numbered accounts, cash or Monero accepted, open-source client
court-proven no-logs audit open source crypto accepted
intro $5.71 /month
VPNs in North Korea
illegal unless registered
Any unauthorized contact with foreign communication networks is criminally banned; the 2023 revision of the Radio Wave Control Law adds fines and up to three months of unpaid labor or 'labor education' for violations. Ordinary citizens only reach the Kwangmyong intranet; smartphones are locked down to approved software.
Honest advice: Do not treat this as a VPN-usage question: unauthorized network use here is a criminal matter, full stop.
// Providers built for censored networks
IVPN
The anti-affiliate champion candidate holds up: no affiliate program (stated out loud on the homepage), flat honest pricing, quarterly warrant canary, annual th
audited canary open source crypto accepted
intro $6 /month
Proton VPN
The most honest mainstream deal in 2026: open-source apps, real audits, a genuinely usable free tier with no data cap, and a transparent renewal model - and in
audited open source crypto accepted
intro $3.59 /month renews $9.99
VyprVPN
A genuinely interesting infrastructure story wrapped in a jurisdiction problem: Golden Frog built one of the few fully self-owned server networks and invented C
audited
intro $3 /month
AirVPN
Community-run Italian operator with the best power-user transparency stack in the business: fully open-source Eddie client (GPL-3.0), 258 bare-metal entry IPs a
open source crypto accepted
no free tier; paid 3-day trial (EUR 2)
NymVPN
The only consumer VPN with a real metadata-protection architecture - a 5-hop noise-generating Sphinx mixnet with cover traffic - and it costs just $4/mo on the
open source crypto accepted
intro $4 /month renews $8
// FAQ
Is using a VPN legal in North Korea?
Any unauthorized contact with foreign communication networks is criminally banned; the 2023 revision of the Radio Wave Control Law adds fines and up to three months of unpaid labor or 'labor education' for violations. Ordinary citizens only reach the Kwangmyong intranet; smartphones are locked down to approved software.
What actually works in North Korea?
Not documented with enough confidence to answer. Check the linked sources.
Which providers ship the needed obfuscation?
<a href="/provider/mullvad/">Mullvad VPN</a>, <a href="/provider/ivpn/">IVPN</a>, <a href="/provider/protonvpn/">Proton VPN</a>, <a href="/provider/vyprvpn/">VyprVPN</a>, <a href="/provider/airvpn/">AirVPN</a>, <a href="/provider/nymvpn/">NymVPN</a> document obfuscation features. Self-hosted AmneziaWG or VLESS/Reality on your own server is the strongest option.
last checked 2026-09-27 · information, not legal advice