Psiphon Review
Psiphon is a censorship-circumvention tool, not a privacy VPN, and it is excellent at the job it was built for. Free, open source, and it works where commercial VPNs are blocked.
Review last updated 2026-08-20 · How we rate providers
Scorecard
Pros
- Purpose-built for getting through national censorship, and very good at it
- Open source, with funding disclosed and a long record in the field
- Free with no data cap and no account required
- Works when commercial VPNs are blocked
Cons
- Not a privacy tool: it collects aggregate usage statistics and says so
- Free tier is ad supported with reduced speeds
- No kill switch and limited platform coverage
- Not suitable for torrenting or streaming
Privacy, jurisdiction & audits
Who the company answers to legally, what it keeps, and whether anyone independent has checked.
| Legal jurisdiction | Canada in the 5 EyesCanadian non-profit-adjacent company focused on censorship circumvention rather than privacy. |
|---|---|
| Logging policy | Minimal metadata retained |
| Independent audits | None published |
| RAM-only servers | - |
| Warrant canary | - |
| Anonymous payment | Card / PayPal only |
Psiphon plans & pricing
Advertised rates as of August 20, 2026. VPN promo rates normally require the prepaid term shown and renew at the higher rate; proxy pricing falls with volume. Confirm on Psiphon's own site before buying.
| Plan | Price | Devices | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FreeFree VPN | Free | 1 | Unlimited data at reduced speed, no account needed |
| PsiphonPro (monthly)Consumer VPN | $4.99/momonthly | 5 | Removes ads and speed limits |
Features
Our Psiphon review
Psiphon exists to get people around national firewalls. It has been developed in Toronto since 2006, is open source, and combines SSH tunneling, obfuscation, VPN protocols and a rotating set of entry points so that blocking it is genuinely hard. When a country blocks commercial VPNs during unrest, Psiphon usually still works.
It is free, uncapped, and requires no account. The free tier is ad supported with reduced speeds; PsiphonPro removes both for a few dollars a month.
Crucially, Psiphon is honest about what it is not. It collects aggregate usage statistics to measure censorship events and to report to its funders, and it states plainly that it is a circumvention tool rather than an anonymity system. Anyone whose threat model includes their own government watching them closely should read those disclosures carefully.
There is no kill switch, no torrenting support, no streaming unblocking, and platform coverage is limited to Windows, Android and iOS.
Recommended without hesitation for its actual purpose: reaching blocked information from a censored network. Not a substitute for a privacy VPN.
Notable facts
- Open source and in continuous development since 2006
- Widely used during internet shutdowns and protest events
- Collects aggregate usage statistics for censorship measurement
At a glance
| Founded | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Toronto, Canada |
| Service types | Free VPN, Consumer VPN |
| Servers | 2K |
| Country coverage | 40 |
| Protocols | SSH, Obfuscated SSH, WireGuard, OpenVPN |
| Apps | Windows, iOS, Android |
| Starting price | $4.99/mo |
| Free tier | Yes |
| Support | email, knowledge-base |
Frequently asked questions
Is Psiphon a VPN?
It includes VPN modes but is better described as a censorship-circumvention tool. It prioritizes reaching blocked content over anonymity, and it says so.
Is Psiphon safe?
For getting past blocks, yes. For hiding your activity from a determined state adversary, use a dedicated privacy VPN or Tor instead.
Does Psiphon cost anything?
The core product is free and uncapped with ads and reduced speeds. PsiphonPro removes both for a monthly fee.
Bottom line
Psiphon is a censorship-circumvention tool, not a privacy VPN, and it is excellent at the job it was built for. Free, open source, and it works where commercial VPNs are blocked.
Check current Psiphon pricing →
