Subcategory
VPN Services
This index adds up the scores of 8 questions. 32 brands are ranked.
- Edition
- Nov 12, 2026
- Methodology
- v5.0
- Panel
- 6 AI surfaces
AI Visibility Ranking
Brands across every question in this category, ordered by GenRank score.
#BrandScore
- 1Proton VPN573.8
- 2NordVPN532.6
- 3Surfshark391.5
- 4ExpressVPN273.3
- 5Mullvad260.2
- 6Windscribe112.7
- 7PIA88.6
- 8CyberGhost61.4
- 9IVPN49.7
- 10PrivadoVPN Free38.9
Show all 32
- 11PrivadoVPN36.7
- 12Hotspot Shield36.5
- 13TunnelBear Free34.3
- 14Hide.me VPN34.2
- 15IPVanish28.6
- 16Tor Browser28.0
- 17Norton VPN12.5
- 18iCloud Private Relay11.2
- 19Obscura9.2
- 20Google Play8.4
- 21Apple App Store8.2
- 22Brave8.0
- 23Mozilla Firefox7.8
- 24Netflix6.5
- 25SuperVPN5.0
- 26GeckoVPN4.7
- 27ChatVPN4.5
- 28Windows4.3
- 29macOS4.2
- 30iOS4.1
- 31Android4.0
- 32Linux3.9
- 1Proton VPN573.8
- 2NordVPN532.6
- 3Surfshark391.5
- 4ExpressVPN273.3
- 5Mullvad260.2
- 6Windscribe112.7
- 7PIA88.6
- 8CyberGhost61.4
- 9IVPN49.7
- 10PrivadoVPN Free38.9
- 11PrivadoVPN36.7
- 12Hotspot Shield36.5
- 13TunnelBear Free34.3
- 14Hide.me VPN34.2
- 15IPVanish28.6
- 16Tor Browser28.0
- 17Norton VPN12.5
- 18iCloud Private Relay11.2
- 19Obscura9.2
- 20Google Play8.4
- 21Apple App Store8.2
- 22Brave8.0
- 23Mozilla Firefox7.8
- 24Netflix6.5
- 25SuperVPN5.0
- 26GeckoVPN4.7
- 27ChatVPN4.5
- 28Windows4.3
- 29macOS4.2
- 30iOS4.1
- 31Android4.0
- 32Linux3.9
The GenRank score sums each brand’s question-level visibility inside this category. Higher means AI names the brand more often and earlier. It is not bounded, so compare brands within one category, not across categories. Methodology
The questions behind this index
8Each question with its top three brands by GenRank score and how many brands its answers named.
Rank trend
Rank trends are drawn once two weekly editions under the same methodology exist. Only the first edition is in so far.
Named by surface
Each cell: of the surface's 8 answers, how many named the brand. Darker means named more often.
- Window
- Oct 18, 2026 ~ Nov 8, 2026
| Brand |  Google AI Overviews |  ChatGPT |  Claude |  Gemini | Google AI Mode |  Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Proton VPN | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| 2NordVPN | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
| 3Surfshark | 6 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| 4ExpressVPN | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| 5Mullvad | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| 6Windscribe | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 7PIA | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8CyberGhost | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 9IVPN | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 10PrivadoVPN Free | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11PrivadoVPN | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12Hotspot Shield | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13TunnelBear Free | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14Hide.me VPN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 15IPVanish | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Named alongside
Brands named in the same answers in the last four weeks. Circle size: answers naming the brand. Line width: answers naming both.
- Answers naming the brand
- 1
- 3
- 54
- Answers naming both
- 1
- 46
- Answers naming the brand
- 1
- 3
- 54
- Answers naming both
- 1
- 46
| Brand | Answers naming the brand | Named alongside |
|---|---|---|
| Proton VPN | 54 | NordVPN (46), Surfshark (40), ExpressVPN (29) |
| NordVPN | 47 | Proton VPN (46), Surfshark (38), ExpressVPN (30) |
| Surfshark | 41 | Proton VPN (40), NordVPN (38), ExpressVPN (26) |
| ExpressVPN | 30 | NordVPN (30), Proton VPN (29), Surfshark (26) |
| Mullvad | 28 | Proton VPN (28), NordVPN (24), Surfshark (21) |
| Windscribe | 14 | Proton VPN (14), NordVPN (11), Surfshark (8) |
| PIA | 12 | Proton VPN (12), Surfshark (12), NordVPN (10) |
| CyberGhost | 9 | Proton VPN (9), Surfshark (9), NordVPN (8) |
| IVPN | 7 | Mullvad (7), Proton VPN (7), NordVPN (6) |
| PrivadoVPN Free | 3 | Windscribe (3), Proton VPN (3), NordVPN (2) |
| PrivadoVPN | 3 | NordVPN (3), Proton VPN (3), Mullvad (2) |
| Hotspot Shield | 3 | Proton VPN (3), TunnelBear Free (2), NordVPN (2) |
| TunnelBear Free | 3 | Windscribe (3), Proton VPN (3), Hotspot Shield (2) |
| Hide.me VPN | 4 | Proton VPN (4), NordVPN (3), Windscribe (3) |
| IPVanish | 5 | NordVPN (5), Proton VPN (5), Surfshark (5) |
| Tor Browser | 3 | Mullvad (3), Proton VPN (3), NordVPN (2) |
| Norton VPN | 1 | NordVPN (1), Surfshark (1), ExpressVPN (1) |
| iCloud Private Relay | 1 | NordVPN (1), Mullvad (1), Proton VPN (1) |
| Obscura | 1 | Tor Browser (1), NordVPN (1), Mullvad (1) |
| Google Play | 1 | NordVPN (1), Apple App Store (1), Windscribe (1) |
| Apple App Store | 1 | Google Play (1), NordVPN (1), Windscribe (1) |
| Brave | 1 | Tor Browser (1), NordVPN (1), Mullvad (1) |
| Mozilla Firefox | 1 | Tor Browser (1), NordVPN (1), Mullvad (1) |
| Netflix | 1 | TunnelBear Free (1), Windscribe (1), Proton VPN (1) |
| SuperVPN | 1 | GeckoVPN (1), Hotspot Shield (1), NordVPN (1) |
| GeckoVPN | 1 | SuperVPN (1), Hotspot Shield (1), NordVPN (1) |
| ChatVPN | 1 | SuperVPN (1), GeckoVPN (1), Hotspot Shield (1) |
| Windows | 1 | SuperVPN (1), GeckoVPN (1), Hotspot Shield (1) |
| macOS | 1 | SuperVPN (1), GeckoVPN (1), Hotspot Shield (1) |
| iOS | 1 | SuperVPN (1), GeckoVPN (1), Hotspot Shield (1) |
Most cited sources
Sites cited by the answers to this category's questions and its subcategories'. Counts are citing answers. All of this week's questions. Earlier ranks appear once two weekly runs of the same methodology exist.
| Rank | Source | Citing answers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | pcmag.com | 16 |
| 2 | youtube.com | 14 |
| 3 | security.org | 14 |
| 4 | gizmodo.com | 13 |
| 5 | techradar.com | 12 |
| 6 | tomsguide.com | 11 |
| 7 | thebestvpn.com | 11 |
| 8 | rtings.com | 11 |
| 9 | cnet.com | 10 |
| 10 | reddit.com | 10 |
Sources and brands
Which cited sources appear in the answers that name each brand, counted in answers.
| Cited sources | Brand | Answers naming the brand |
|---|---|---|
| pcmag.com | Proton VPN | 17 |
| security.org | Proton VPN | 16 |
| security.org | NordVPN | 16 |
| techradar.com | Proton VPN | 15 |
| techradar.com | NordVPN | 15 |
| thebestvpn.com | NordVPN | 14 |
| techradar.com | Surfshark | 14 |
| youtube.com | Proton VPN | 14 |
| security.org | Surfshark | 14 |
| thebestvpn.com | Proton VPN | 14 |
| gizmodo.com | Proton VPN | 13 |
| thebestvpn.com | Surfshark | 13 |
| pcmag.com | NordVPN | 13 |
| security.org | ExpressVPN | 13 |
| gizmodo.com | NordVPN | 13 |
| youtube.com | Surfshark | 12 |
| pcmag.com | Surfshark | 12 |
| gizmodo.com | ExpressVPN | 11 |
| gizmodo.com | Surfshark | 11 |
| reddit.com | Proton VPN | 11 |
| thebestvpn.com | ExpressVPN | 11 |
| youtube.com | NordVPN | 11 |
| reddit.com | NordVPN | 10 |
| allaboutcookies.org | Proton VPN | 10 |
| allaboutcookies.org | NordVPN | 10 |
| techradar.com | ExpressVPN | 10 |
| reddit.com | Surfshark | 10 |
| techradar.com | Mullvad | 9 |
| allaboutcookies.org | Mullvad | 9 |
| allaboutcookies.org | Surfshark | 9 |
| security.org | Mullvad | 9 |
| allaboutcookies.org | ExpressVPN | 8 |
| pcmag.com | Mullvad | 8 |
| reddit.com | Mullvad | 8 |
| youtube.com | ExpressVPN | 7 |
| pcmag.com | ExpressVPN | 7 |
| youtube.com | Mullvad | 7 |
| gizmodo.com | Mullvad | 6 |
| gizmodo.com | PIA | 5 |
| thebestvpn.com | Mullvad | 5 |
| pcmag.com | Windscribe | 5 |
| thebestvpn.com | PIA | 4 |
| reddit.com | ExpressVPN | 4 |
| security.org | PIA | 4 |
| reddit.com | Windscribe | 4 |
| techradar.com | CyberGhost | 3 |
| techradar.com | Windscribe | 3 |
| pcmag.com | PIA | 3 |
| thebestvpn.com | CyberGhost | 3 |
| allaboutcookies.org | PIA | 3 |
| reddit.com | PIA | 3 |
| youtube.com | CyberGhost | 3 |
| youtube.com | Windscribe | 3 |
| pcmag.com | CyberGhost | 3 |
| allaboutcookies.org | CyberGhost | 2 |
| techradar.com | PIA | 2 |
| security.org | CyberGhost | 2 |
| reddit.com | CyberGhost | 2 |
| gizmodo.com | Windscribe | 2 |
| security.org | Windscribe | 2 |
| youtube.com | PIA | 2 |
| thebestvpn.com | Windscribe | 1 |
| gizmodo.com | CyberGhost | 1 |
Citations by source type
How many citations in this edition point at each kind of source.
Other indexes in Security & Privacy
The other indexes under the same parent, each with its top five brands.
Password Managers
Questions 7Top 5 of 43 brandsScore
Antivirus & Endpoint Protection
Questions 8Identity & Access Management Tools
Questions 5Top 5 of 56 brandsScore