Country brief · Updated August 13, 2026
Using a VPN in the Netherlands
VPNs are legal, connectivity is excellent, and the Netherlands is a Nine Eyes member that also hosts a large share of European VPN server capacity.
Legal and unrestricted
What actually matters here
A provider incorporated outside the Fourteen Eyes — worth noting that several popular providers are themselves Dutch.
Most country pages on the web recycle the same global ranking with a place name attached. This one filters on the capability that the situation in the Netherlands actually calls for, which is why 7 of our 11 providers qualify rather than all of them.
Highest-scoring provider that meets it: Proton VPN, 90.0/100.
Visit Proton VPNWe earn a commission if you subscribe through this link. It does not change Proton VPN’s score.
The legal position
No restriction on VPN use.
This is a summary of publicly reported regulation, not legal advice. Rules in this area change without much notice and enforcement varies. If the consequences of getting it wrong are serious for you, check the current position locally.
What the network does
Court-ordered blocking of specific piracy services. No protocol filtering.
Retention and logging
General retention obligations were struck down following European court rulings; targeted powers remain.
Providers that meet the requirement
| # | Provider | Based in | Protocols | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proton VPN | Switzerland | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, Stealth | 90.0 |
| 2 | NordVPN | Panama | NordLynx (WireGuard), OpenVPN, IKEv2 | 84.0 |
| 3 | IVPN Unpaid | Gibraltar | WireGuard, OpenVPN | 82.5 |
| 4 | ExpressVPN Unpaid | British Virgin Islands | Lightway, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | 74.0 |
| 5 | CyberGhost Unpaid | Romania | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | 70.0 |
| 6 | PureVPN | British Virgin Islands | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | 69.0 |
| 7 | FastestVPN | Cayman Islands | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | 48.0 |
Questions
- Is using a VPN legal in the Netherlands?
- Legal and unrestricted. No restriction on VPN use.
- Which VPN works best in the Netherlands?
- Proton VPN on the requirement that matters here: a provider incorporated outside the fourteen eyes — worth noting that several popular providers are themselves dutch. 7 of 11 providers in our dataset meet it.
- Does the network block VPN traffic in the Netherlands?
- Court-ordered blocking of specific piracy services. No protocol filtering.
- Are there logging or retention rules that affect me in the Netherlands?
- General retention obligations were struck down following European court rulings; targeted powers remain.