Atlas VPN was shut down in 2024. Here's what to use instead in 2026

Atlas VPN no longer exists. Nord Security shut down the service on April 24, 2024. The apps stopped working that day. The website now redirects to NordVPN. If you’re seeing an “Atlas VPN” download link anywhere in 2026, it’s not Atlas VPN, and you shouldn’t trust it.

TL;DR

What happened: Atlas VPN, owned by Nord Security since 2021, was discontinued in April 2024. Paid users were offered prorated refunds or NordVPN credit. Free users lost service overnight.

Where to go now: If you liked the free tier, switch to Proton VPN Free (no data cap, no account needed for the free tier). If you want a paid replacement that’s a clean upgrade, NordVPN is the obvious move (Atlas’s parent company; former users got transfer credits). If you want the anti-Atlas, privacy-first, no marketing Mullvad at flat €5/mo.

The bigger lesson: two of the biggest VPN groups (Kape, Nord) now control about half the consumer VPN market. Trust signals matter more than ever, recent independent audits, RAM-only servers, open-source clients, and transparent ownership.

This article was originally published in August 2018, when Atlas VPN was a scrappy freemium underdog with about six million users and a generous free tier. We kept it online through the Nord Security acquisition in 2021. We’re rewriting it now, from scratch, because the product no longer exists, and a 2018 review pretending otherwise helps nobody.

Below: a brief honest history of what Atlas VPN was, why Nord killed it, and the seven alternatives former Atlas VPN users should look at in 2026, split by what you originally liked about Atlas (free tier, low price, unlimited devices, mainstream VPN, or privacy-first).

What happened to Atlas VPN

The shutdown was announced on March 25, 2024 and took effect on April 24, 2024. On that date, Atlas VPN apps stopped functioning, servers were decommissioned, and the website began redirecting to NordVPN’s signup funnel.

Paid subscribers had two options: a prorated refund, or NordVPN credit equivalent to their remaining Atlas time, often paired with a “first two years 69% off” promo on NordVPN’s long plans. The migration was opt-in. Free-tier users got nothing. They simply lost VPN access overnight.

Why it ended (Nord’s stated reason): “insurmountable challenges” of running two consumer VPN brands in parallel, plus rising costs and competitive pressure. Nord publicly committed in 2021 to running Atlas independently, that promise was abandoned 2.5 years later.

Why it ended (the deeper context): three pressures stacked up.

September 2023 zero-day. A critical Linux client vulnerability (port 8076 unauthenticated localhost API) leaked users’ real IP addresses. It was disclosed publicly via Reddit before Atlas was notified, a reputational hit. Patched in v1.1, but trust damage lingered.
Brand cannibalization. Atlas’s freemium tier directly competed with NordVPN paid signups. Running a free product that converted poorly was a margin drag for a paid-only parent brand.
Consolidation arithmetic. Nord Security already absorbed Surfshark in 2022. Atlas was the smallest of the three brands and the easiest to fold. The math didn’t work to maintain duplicate apps, server infrastructure, and support across three properties.

The Atlas VPN brand is essentially a marketing asset for Nord now, typing “atlas VPN download” into a browser leads to a NordVPN signup page. Anyone offering an “Atlas VPN APK” in 2026 is distributing something that isn’t Atlas VPN. Don’t install it.

What Atlas VPN was, while it lasted

For the historical record (and because some people still google this):

Founded: 2019, by a Lithuanian team led by Rytis Grybauskas. Headquartered in Delaware/Lithuania.
Original positioning: Aggressive freemium VPN. Generous free tier (5 GB/mo, 2–3 server locations) and very low long-term pricing (often $1.39–$1.99/mo).
Acquired: October 15, 2021 by Nord Security (terms undisclosed). Nord publicly promised Atlas would remain independent.
User base: ~6 million at acquisition. Still being cited as 6 million at shutdown, growth had stalled.
Notable features: SafeBrowse, MultiHop+, WireGuard support, Tracker Blocker, kill switch, split tunneling, Data Breach Monitor. Atlas wasn’t a scam. The features were credible. The shutdown surprised users.

That’s the honest history. Atlas was a real product that worked well for its users until the parent company decided otherwise. The lesson is structural: VPN reviews age fast, and ownership changes can invalidate a recommendation in months.

Which Atlas VPN replacement is right for you?

By what you originally liked about Atlas

You used the free tier: Proton VPN Free, unlimited data, no account required, ~10 server locations. The strongest free tier in 2026.
You used Atlas because it was cheap: Surfshark at ~$2.19/mo on long plans, with unlimited devices.
You used Atlas’s unlimited connections: Surfshark (unlimited devices) or NordVPN (10 devices, generous in 2026).
You want a clean upgrade with transfer-credit history: NordVPN. Atlas’s parent. Migration credits may still be in your account if you opted in during 2024.
You want the anti-Atlas (privacy-first, no marketing tricks): Mullvad at flat €5/mo. Anonymous account numbers. No upsells.
You loved the freemium model in principle: Honest read standalone freemium VPNs are dying. Proton’s free tier survives because Proton Mail/Drive subsidize it; nobody’s running pure free VPN at scale anymore. See the industry note below.
You’re a small-business owner / household: Surfshark One ($2.08/mo on long plans) bundles VPN + antivirus + identity-leak monitoring.

The 7 alternatives, ranked

VPN	Price (long plan)	Free tier	Audit recency	Best for	Score
Proton VPN	$2.99/mo (long plan)	Unlimited data	Open-source apps, regular audits	Free-tier replacement; privacy on a budget	9.4 / 10
NordVPN	$3.39/mo (2-yr)	3-day free trial via Play	Deloitte (Dec 2025, 6th)	Default migration; full-featured	9.2 / 10
Mullvad	Flat €5/mo	None	Cure53, Mullvad transparency reports	Maximum anonymity; no upsells	9.0 / 10
Surfshark	$2.19/mo (long plan)	None	Deloitte (Jun 2025, 3rd); Cure53 (Jan 2026)	Households; unlimited devices	8.9 / 10
Windscribe	$5.75/mo (or build-a-plan)	10 GB/mo, 10 countries	Cure53 audit history	Solid free backup; build-a-plan flexibility	8.4 / 10
PrivadoVPN	~$2.50/mo (long plan)	10 GB/mo, 12+ cities	Audited 2023, due for refresh	Free streaming-capable servers	7.9 / 10
hide.me	~$2.59/mo (long plan)	Unlimited data (cap removed)	Independent audit history	Best free unlimited-data outside Proton	7.8 / 10

1. Proton VPN, the free-tier replacement

Best for: Former Atlas VPN free-tier users. Privacy-conscious users who want a credible no-cost option.
Score: 9.4 / 10

Proton VPN’s free tier is the strongest in 2026, unlimited data (most free VPNs cap at 10 GB/mo or less), no account required for the free tier, and ~10 server locations. The reason it survives where Atlas didn’t: Proton Mail, Proton Drive, and Proton Calendar subscribers subsidize the free VPN tier. Atlas had no such cross-product subsidy.

Open-source apps across Android, iOS, desktop
Switzerland-based (privacy-friendly jurisdiction; outside the 14 Eyes)
NetShield ad/malware/tracker blocker on paid tiers
Secure Core (multi-hop through Switzerland/Sweden/Iceland) on paid tiers
Free tier doesn’t ask for a credit card, actually free, not “free trial” in disguise

Where it falls short: the free tier doesn’t unlock streaming services (no Netflix, Disney+ regional libraries). Free servers can be slow at peak. Paid tier ($2.99/mo on long plan) fixes both.

Pricing: Free unlimited tier. Plus $2.99/mo (long plan), 10 devices.

2. NordVPN, the natural migration path

Best for: Atlas paid subscribers who took the migration credit; users who want the safest mainstream pick.
Score: 9.2 / 10

NordVPN is Atlas VPN’s parent company, and it’s where the migration credits went. If you opted in during 2024, your NordVPN account may still have credit on it, log in and check before paying. Beyond the migration angle, NordVPN is genuinely one of the two safest mainstream VPN picks in 2026. Six consecutive Deloitte no-logs audits (most recent December 2025) and a Cure53 source-code audit place it ahead of most competitors on independent verification.

NordLynx protocol (built on WireGuard), fast on Android
Threat Protection Pro, ad/malware/tracker blocking, optional URL scanning
Meshnet, encrypted peer-to-peer connections between your own devices
Specialty servers. Onion-over-VPN, Double VPN, Obfuscated
Audit history. Deloitte 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025; plus Cure53

Where it falls short: the price renewal off long plans is steep ($12.99/mo monthly). Lock in a 2-year plan or stay on alternatives.

Pricing: Basic ~$3.39/mo (2-yr plan); Plus and Complete tiers add password manager and cloud storage. 30-day money-back guarantee.

3. Mullvad, the privacy-first anti-Atlas

Best for: Users who want to leave the freemium-funnel ecosystem entirely.
Score: 9.0 / 10

Mullvad is everything Atlas wasn’t. No free tier. No discounts. No upsells. No marketing partnerships with content sites. You pay €5/mo flat, you get an anonymous account number (not an email, a number), and you can pay with cash mailed in an envelope if you want.

Flat €5/mo, same price for 1 month, 1 year, 10 years
Anonymous account numbers, no email, no signup data
RAM-only servers, nothing persists on disk
Open-source apps, regular Cure53 audits
Sweden-based with strong transparency reports

Where it falls short: Mullvad removed port-forwarding in 2023, which broke some torrent-seeding workflows. No streaming-optimized servers. Smaller server network than NordVPN/Surfshark.

Pricing: €5/mo flat. No annual discount. No promotions, ever.

4. Surfshark, unlimited devices for households

Best for: Multi-device households; replacement for Atlas’s unlimited-connections feature.
Score: 8.9 / 10

Surfshark is the other Nord Security property (acquired 2022), but unlike Atlas it’s still operating under its own brand. Long plans drop to ~$2.19/mo. The killer feature is unlimited simultaneous device connections, install on every phone, tablet, laptop, and smart TV in the house with one subscription.

Unlimited devices on a single account
CleanWeb ad/tracker blocker
MultiHop for double-VPN routing
Surfshark One add-on bundles antivirus + ID-leak monitoring at $2.08/mo on long plans
Audited by Deloitte (3rd, June 2025) and Cure53 (January 2026)

Where it falls short: renewal pricing is steep like NordVPN. Lock in long. Some users prefer Mullvad’s anonymous-account approach over Surfshark’s standard email signup.

Pricing: ~$2.19/mo on 24-month plans; Surfshark One ~$2.08/mo extra.

5. Windscribe, solid free, build-a-plan paid

Best for: Users who liked Atlas’s freemium model and want it back; anyone with unusual device/region needs.
Score: 8.4 / 10

Windscribe’s 10 GB/month free tier is more limited than Proton’s, but the paid model is uniquely flexible. The “build-a-plan” tier lets you pick exactly which countries you want and pay only for those. Useful if you specifically need, say, Japan + UK + nothing else.

10 GB/mo free with email, 15 GB if you tweet about it (yes, really)
Build-a-plan $1/mo per country, $1/mo per static IP
R.O.B.E.R.T., server-side ad/malware/tracker blocker with custom rules
Privacy-friendly Canadian jurisdiction with audit history

Where it falls short: the standard pricing tier ($5.75/mo or so) is more expensive than Surfshark or Mullvad. Build-a-plan is for niche needs only.

Pricing: Free 10 GB/mo. Pro $5.75/mo (or $5.75/yr on flash sales). Build-a-plan starts at $1/mo per country.

6. PrivadoVPN, free streaming-capable

Best for: Free users who specifically want streaming-capable servers.
Score: 7.9 / 10

PrivadoVPN’s free tier (10 GB/mo, 12+ cities) is one of the few free options that actually unblocks Netflix US and similar streaming libraries. Most free VPNs are blocked by streaming platforms; PrivadoVPN is the exception, at least for now.

Where it falls short: 10 GB/mo runs out fast on streaming. Audit refresh is overdue (last public audit was 2023). Smaller server network.

Pricing: Free 10 GB/mo. Paid from ~$2.50/mo on long plans.

7. hide.me, best free unlimited-data outside Proton

Best for: Users who want unlimited free data and don’t want to use Proton.
Score: 7.8 / 10

hide.me removed its free-tier data cap in 2024, the only standalone free VPN besides Proton offering unlimited bandwidth. Smaller server network than Proton, but a credible alternative if you’ve had a bad experience with Proton’s free tier or just want variety.

Where it falls short: smaller free server selection than Proton. Paid tier is fine but doesn’t stand out vs. the alternatives.

Pricing: Free unlimited tier. Paid from ~$2.59/mo on long plans.

What Atlas’s shutdown tells us about the VPN industry in 2026

Two consolidation groups now dominate the consumer VPN market.

Kape Technologies owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access (PIA), and ZenMate. It also owns several VPN review sites, a longstanding conflict-of-interest concern. Kape went private under Teddy Sagi’s Unikmind group in early 2026, removing public visibility into its operations.
Nord Security owns NordVPN, Surfshark (operated independently), and absorbed Atlas VPN. Holding-company structure; named leadership; multiple recent independent audits.

Together, these two groups control roughly half the consumer VPN market. The independent operators that remain, Proton, Mullvad, IVPN, increasingly position on transparency and ownership clarity as their differentiator.

Trust signals to look for in a VPN going forward:

Independent third-party audit of no-logs claims, dated within 18 months
Transparent ownership, single jurisdiction, named leadership, no holding-company opacity
RAM-only servers (Mullvad, NordVPN, Proton all qualify)
Open-source clients (Mullvad, Proton, IVPN)
Warrant canaries and published transparency reports
Privacy-friendly jurisdiction (Switzerland, Sweden, Panama)

Atlas VPN had some of these but not all. Its successor pick, whichever you go with, should hit at least four.

Our verdict

If you’re a former Atlas VPN user, here’s the move

Free-tier user: install Proton VPN Free. Unlimited data, no account, no card. Closest spiritual successor to what Atlas’s free tier did right.

Paid user with migration credit: log into NordVPN and check whether your transfer credit is still active. Use it.

Paid user without migration credit, looking for value: Surfshark long plan ($2.19/mo) for unlimited devices, or Mullvad flat €5/mo if you’d rather pay for clean privacy with no marketing.

Privacy purist: Mullvad, full stop.

Skip: any site offering an “Atlas VPN APK” download. The brand is dead. The download isn’t Atlas.

How we picked

How we evaluated VPN replacements

Each VPN on this list was tested on Android (Pixel 9 Pro running Android 16, Galaxy S25 Ultra running One UI 8) over a 14-day window. We measured: connection time, kill-switch behavior under simulated network drops, DNS leak via dnsleaktest.com, and audit recency from each provider’s published transparency materials. Pricing verified against each provider’s website on May 8, 2026; promotional pricing changes frequently. See our full testing methodology.

FAQ

Is Atlas VPN still working?

No. Atlas VPN was shut down on April 24, 2024 by its parent company, Nord Security. The apps stopped working that day, the servers were decommissioned, and the website now redirects to NordVPN. Any “Atlas VPN” download offered in 2026 is not the original Atlas VPN.

Why did Atlas VPN shut down?

Nord Security cited the “insurmountable challenges” of running two consumer VPN brands. The deeper context: a September 2023 zero-day vulnerability that leaked user IPs damaged Atlas’s reputation, and Atlas’s free tier cannibalized NordVPN paid signups. Nord chose to consolidate on NordVPN.

Did Atlas VPN users get refunds?

Paid users with subscription time remaining were offered a prorated refund or NordVPN credit equivalent (often paired with a discounted NordVPN long-plan offer). Free-tier users got nothing. Migration was opt-in, not automatic.

What’s the best free Atlas VPN replacement in 2026?

Proton VPN’s free tier. Unlimited data, no account required, ~10 server locations. It’s the only major free VPN with no data cap besides hide.me. Proton’s free tier survives because Proton Mail and Drive subsidize it.

Should I just switch to NordVPN since Nord owned Atlas?

It’s the obvious migration path and a solid VPN, six consecutive independent audits, RAM-only servers, strong Android app. But NordVPN doesn’t have a free tier, and it isn’t the only option. If price matters, Surfshark (also Nord-owned) is cheaper at long-plan pricing. If you want to leave the Nord ecosystem entirely after Atlas’s experience, Mullvad or Proton are stronger picks.

Can I trust any VPN long-term given Atlas’s shutdown?

Yes, but pick on structural signals, recent independent audit, RAM-only servers, open-source clients, transparent ownership, and privacy-friendly jurisdiction. Mullvad and Proton score highest on those signals. Atlas had some of them but not all. The lesson is that VPN reviews need to be re-audited annually, not bookmarked from 2018 and trusted forever.

This article was originally published August 30, 2018 as “Is Atlas VPN Any Good & Safe .” Updated May 2026 to reflect Atlas VPN’s April 2024 shutdown and to recommend current alternatives. Some links are affiliate links, they don’t change which VPNs we recommend; if you click through and subscribe, we may earn a commission. See our disclosures policy.