Is your VPN actually working?
Free VPN test with a real-time check. Three leak tests. No signup, no email, no cookies. We never store your real IP.
VPNs that pass every test
Tested with this tool. We earn a commission if you sign up, at no cost to you.Check your provider
Top-tier audited (recommended)
Multiple independent audits + transparent operations + strong default leak protection.
Budget tier (audited)
Cheaper than the top tier, audited or court-verified. Solid for daily use if budget matters.
Privacy maximalist
Outside Eyes alliances, open-source apps, anonymous payment accepted.
Free tiers worth using
Genuinely safe free tiers backed by audited paid offerings.
Veterans (legacy concerns to know)
Long-running brands with past incidents (HMA 2011, IPVanish 2018, PureVPN 2017) since cleaned up via audits + ownership changes.
Best VPN for
Single tests
Frequently asked
How do I know if my VPN is actually working?+
If our checker says VPN WORKS in green, your VPN is hiding your real IP from websites. The check looks at three signals: whether your IP belongs to a known VPN provider or datacenter, whether your detected country matches your system timezone, and whether your three leak tests (WebRTC, IPv6 and DNS) come back clean. When they all agree, you're protected.
What is a VPN test and how do I run one?+
A VPN test checks whether your VPN actually hides you, not just whether the app says connected. To run one: turn your VPN off and note the IP this page shows, turn the VPN on, reload the page and compare. The IP should change to one owned by your VPN provider, the country should match the server you picked, and the WebRTC, IPv6 and DNS leak tests should all show SAFE. Our tool runs every check automatically in a couple of seconds, free and without signup.
Why is my VPN not working / not connecting?+
The most common reasons are: VPN server is overloaded (try switching server), firewall or antivirus blocking the connection, conflicting VPN apps running at once, expired subscription, or the VPN protocol being blocked by your network (try switching from OpenVPN to WireGuard or vice versa). If our tool shows NO VPN even though your VPN app says connected - your VPN client is lying to you and you should switch providers.
What is a WebRTC leak and should I worry?+
WebRTC is a browser feature for video calls (Zoom, Discord, Google Meet). It can accidentally expose your real IP address even when a VPN is active, because it talks to STUN servers at the OS level rather than through the VPN tunnel. A good VPN blocks WebRTC at the firewall or routes it through the tunnel - that's why our test shows SAFE for proper VPNs. If you see a LEAK badge, your VPN is letting your real IP slip through and websites can see it.
What is a DNS leak?+
When you visit a website, your computer first asks a DNS server to translate the name (like google.com) into an IP address. If your VPN is configured properly, that DNS query goes through the encrypted tunnel. If not, it goes to your ISP's DNS server - which means your ISP sees every website you visit, completely defeating the point of the VPN.
Is this checker safe? Are you logging my data?+
We never store your real IP and we have no accounts or tracking of individuals. The leak tests (WebRTC, IPv6 and DNS) run in your browser. The DNS one asks your machine to look up a name only our own nameserver can answer, so what we learn is the resolver that answered, not the one configured on your machine. The IP lookup goes through our server to public APIs (ipwho.is, proxycheck.io) so the result is accurate. When those APIs confirm you are on a VPN, we keep the VPN server's address and provider name to track which providers leak - that address belongs to the VPN, not to you.
Why does the test sometimes say my VPN doesn't work when it does?+
Two common reasons: (1) some smaller VPN providers use IP ranges that haven't made it into public datacenter databases yet, so we can't be 100% sure they're a VPN; (2) if you use split tunneling and our site happens to be in your direct-traffic list, you'll appear unprotected to us specifically. Check your other tabs - if Netflix shows your VPN country, you're fine. The checker is a sanity check, not a court ruling.
My VPN works on the website but Netflix still says VPN detected. Why?+
Netflix and other streaming services have their own commercial VPN-detection databases and they update them constantly. Just because we don't detect your VPN doesn't mean Netflix can't - they buy access to specialized fraud-detection feeds that flag known VPN IP ranges within hours. The fix is to switch VPN servers (try smaller cities) or use a VPN with dedicated streaming IPs like NordVPN or Surfshark.
Do I really need a VPN in 2026?+
If you only browse from home, mostly use HTTPS sites (which is everything now), and don't torrent or watch geo-restricted content - you can probably skip it. If you use public Wi-Fi, want to watch shows that aren't in your country, torrent anything, live in a country with internet restrictions, or just don't want your ISP building a profile of every site you visit - yes, get one.
The long read - everything you need to know about VPN leaks
Quick version: a VPN that "works" in a marketing sense (the app says connected) and a VPN that actually hides you are two different things. This page exists because that gap is bigger than most people realize.
How to test if your VPN is working
A VPN test takes under a minute:
- Turn your VPN off and open this page.
- Note the IP address and country the checker shows - that is your real connection.
- Turn the VPN on and connect to a server.
- Reload the page and let the test run.
- Compare: the IP must be different, the country must match the server you picked, and all three leak tests (WebRTC, IPv6 and DNS) must come back clean.
The fastest way to check if your VPN is working is to look at the IP your VPN tells you it has versus the IP that websites actually see. If they match, and the country matches, and no leak tests fail - your VPN is working. If any of those three things disagree, your VPN is leaking somewhere. Our tool above runs all three checks at once, but the principle is something you can check manually too.
The reason a manual check matters: VPN apps are notorious for showing a green "Connected" indicator even when their actual tunnel is broken or only partially routing your traffic. The app polls its own server, gets a response, and declares success - even if half your packets are still leaving through your normal connection.
The four signals that prove a VPN is working
1. Your visible IP is not your real IP
When you visit any website, the website sees an IP address. If your VPN is on, that IP should belong to your VPN provider, not your ISP. The fastest way to verify: turn the VPN off, note the IP shown above, turn it back on, refresh, and check the IP changed. If it didn't change, your VPN isn't routing your web traffic at all.
2. The detected country matches what your VPN claims
If your NordVPN app says you're connected to "Netherlands - Amsterdam #423" and our checker shows you in Germany, something's wrong. Either your VPN connected to a different server than displayed, or its server is mis-labeled, or you're getting routed through a transit network. Either way, you can't trust the location.
3. WebRTC doesn't leak your real IP
WebRTC is a browser technology designed for peer-to-peer connections - video calls, file transfers, multiplayer games. To make those work through firewalls, WebRTC asks your operating system "what are all your network interfaces?" and dutifully shares them with the website. Including the one your VPN is supposed to be hiding.
Good VPNs solve this by either blocking WebRTC's STUN requests at the firewall level or routing them through the tunnel. Bad VPNs (often free ones, browser-extension VPNs, and many corporate VPNs) don't. The result: you get a green padlock and a fake IP from the site's perspective, but anyone running a tiny piece of JavaScript can see your real IP via WebRTC.
4. DNS queries route through the VPN
Your computer asks DNS questions ("what's the IP for nytimes.com?") constantly - every page load triggers dozens of them. If those questions go to your ISP's DNS server, your ISP sees every site you visit even though the actual page traffic is encrypted. This is called a DNS leak, and it's the most common way VPNs fail without users noticing.
How each of these leaks works and how to fix it is laid out on the VPN leak test page.
The kicker: DNS leaks often happen on Windows because of a feature called "smart multi-homed name resolution" that sends DNS queries out every interface simultaneously, "for speed." Your VPN tunnel gets the question, but so does your ISP. Killing this requires registry edits or a VPN app that does it for you.
Why does my VPN say it's connected when it's not working?
Three reasons, in order of frequency:
- Browser cache. Your browser cached the previous IP-detection result. Hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R) and re-test.
- Split tunneling. Some VPNs have a feature where specific apps or domains bypass the VPN. If our checker domain happens to be in that list, you'll appear unprotected to us specifically. Disable split tunneling for the test.
- The VPN client is lying. Some apps (especially free ones and ISP-bundled "security" tools) display "connected" based on whether the app process is running, not based on actual tunnel state. Our checker reflects reality. Trust ours.
What about VPN browser extensions?
Browser-extension VPNs (the kind you install from the Chrome Web Store) are not real VPNs. They're HTTP proxies pretending to be VPNs. They only route browser traffic - not your other apps, not background processes, not even WebRTC in many cases. They're better than nothing for casual unblocking, but if you're worried about privacy or doing anything sensitive, install a real VPN application.
Free VPNs vs paid VPNs - does it actually matter?
For leak prevention specifically: yes, almost always. Free VPNs are funded by selling your data, injecting ads, or both. They have weaker leak protection because that costs money to maintain. We've tested dozens of free VPNs with this exact tool, and almost all of them fail at least one of the three checks it runs.
The exceptions: ProtonVPN's free tier is genuinely safe (limited servers but no leaks), and Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 with WARP isn't really a VPN but does encrypt DNS. Everything else free should be assumed compromised.
How often should I check if my VPN is working?
Realistically: once when you first set up a VPN, and once after each major OS update. VPN behavior can change after Windows or macOS updates because the OS sometimes resets network settings or introduces new features (like Apple's Private Relay) that interact weirdly with VPNs.
If you're using a VPN for serious privacy reasons (journalism, activism, living under a hostile government), check before every session. It takes 5 seconds and a leak you don't catch can be the difference between fine and not-fine.
I'm using a VPN and your tool says I'm not. What now?
Run through this checklist:
- Confirm in your VPN app that it shows "connected" - not "connecting", not "reconnecting"
- Try a different server (preferably in a different country)
- Disable split tunneling temporarily
- Disable IPv6 in your VPN settings or in your OS
- Restart the VPN application completely (not just disconnect/reconnect)
- If still failing, your VPN is broken - switch to one of the three we recommend in the box above
The bottom line
VPNs are infrastructure. Like seatbelts: most of the time you don't need them, the day you need them you really need them, and the only acceptable failure mode is "always works." Test yours occasionally, especially after any system change. The 30 seconds you spend on this page is the cheapest insurance you'll buy this year.