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Cybersecurity · head to head

CyberGhost VPN vs mySidewalk

C

CyberGhost VPN

Cybersecurity

Consumer VPN operated from Romania and owned by Kape Technologies, with a no-logs claim audited by Deloitte.

From
$2.19/month
Free plan
No
mySidewalk logo

mySidewalk

Government

Community data dashboards for local government and public health, prewired to federal datasets

From
On request
Free plan
No

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CyberGhost VPN kape Technologies, the parent, was formerly Crossrider, a browser extension platform whose technology was widely used to distribute adware, and Kape now also owns VPN review sites, so third-party rankings a buyer might use to verify the product can come from the same corporate group.; mySidewalk it produces analysis and presentation rather than operational change, so the value has to be re argued at every renewal against services with more visible outputs.
  • They diverge on capability: CyberGhost VPN covers NoSpy servers, mySidewalk covers Prewired federal datasets.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CyberGhost VPN and mySidewalk actually diverge.

Attributes where CyberGhost VPN and mySidewalk differ
AttributeCyberGhost VPNmySidewalk
Starting price$2.19/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, MobileWeb
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment
Founded2011Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in CyberGhost VPN

  • NoSpy servers
  • Audited no-logs policy
  • WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2
  • Streaming-labelled servers
  • Dedicated IP via token
  • Kill switch
  • Split tunnelling
  • Smart Rules

Only in mySidewalk

  • Prewired federal datasets
  • Margin of error handling
  • Custom geographies
  • Published dashboards
  • Local data integration
  • Report generation

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

CyberGhost VPN

  • A household that wants one subscription covering several devices for streaming and public Wi-Finot mySidewalk
  • A buyer who specifically wants a provider outside the Fourteen Eyes with a published third-party no-logs auditnot mySidewalk
  • Torrenting on a connection where the internet provider throttles or logs peer-to-peer trafficnot mySidewalk
  • Travellers needing to reach home-country services from abroad without configuring anything technicalnot mySidewalk

mySidewalk

  • A public health department producing a community health needs assessment on deadlinenot CyberGhost VPN
  • A city applying for federal funding that requires demographic and disparity evidence for a service areanot CyberGhost VPN
  • An agency that lost its only analyst who understood American Community Survey margins of errornot CyberGhost VPN
  • A council wanting published neighbourhood indicator dashboards residents can browsenot CyberGhost VPN

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

CyberGhost VPN

  • Kape Technologies, the parent, was formerly Crossrider, a browser extension platform whose technology was widely used to distribute adware, and Kape now also owns VPN review sites, so third-party rankings a buyer might use to verify the product can come from the same corporate group.
  • Pricing is structured so that the deep discount applies to the longest initial term and the standard rate applies at renewal, which means the figure used to make the decision is not the figure paid in year three unless the subscriber renegotiates or churns.
  • The Deloitte engagement is point-in-time assurance over stated policy and server configuration, so it confirms things were as described when examined and says nothing about how the infrastructure behaves today or after an ownership change.
  • Client capability differs sharply by platform: the Linux client is command-line only and lacks the kill switch and split tunnelling that the Windows client has, so a mixed-device household does not get the protection that reviews of the Windows app describe.
  • Streaming-optimised server labels go stale because platforms block address ranges continually, and the practical support answer is to try a different server, which makes the labelled-server feature less dependable than the marketing implies.

mySidewalk

  • It produces analysis and presentation rather than operational change, so the value has to be re argued at every renewal against services with more visible outputs.
  • Budget frequently comes from a grant, which means the subscription is exposed when the grant cycle ends rather than being protected as core infrastructure.
  • The prewired datasets are American, so the platform has effectively no value outside United States federal statistical sources.
  • Analytical depth is bounded by what the platform exposes, so an agency with a genuine analyst will hit the ceiling and move to a statistical environment.
  • Small area estimates remain small area estimates, and presenting them as polished dashboards can lend unwarranted confidence to figures whose error bars overlap.

Pricing, plan by plan

CyberGhost VPN

$2.19/month
  • 1 Month$12.99/month
    • 7 devices
    • 9000+ servers
    • Unlimited bandwidth
  • 2 Years + 2 Months$2.19/month
    • All features
    • Best value
    • 45-day guarantee
  • 6 Months$6.99/month
    • All features
    • 45-day guarantee

mySidewalk

On request
  • mySidewalk$undefined/year
    • Quoted annually by agency scope and dataset needs
    • Custom geography and local data integration work priced separately
    • No public price list, though agency contracts are public records

Which should you pick?

Choose CyberGhost VPN if

  • You need nospy servers.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want audited no-logs policy.

Choose mySidewalk if

  • You need prewired federal datasets.
  • You also want margin of error handling.

Questions people ask

Is CyberGhost VPN or mySidewalk better?
Neither clearly leads. CyberGhost VPN starts at $2.19/month and mySidewalk at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CyberGhost VPN or mySidewalk?
CyberGhost VPN starts at $2.19/month and mySidewalk at On request.
Does CyberGhost VPN or mySidewalk run on more platforms?
CyberGhost VPN runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile. mySidewalk runs on Web.
What is CyberGhost VPN best used for?
CyberGhost VPN is most often used for a household that wants one subscription covering several devices for streaming and public wi-fi, a buyer who specifically wants a provider outside the fourteen eyes with a published third-party no-logs audit, torrenting on a connection where the internet provider throttles or logs peer-to-peer traffic, travellers needing to reach home-country services from abroad without configuring anything technical. Of those, a household that wants one subscription covering several devices for streaming and public wi-fi and a buyer who specifically wants a provider outside the fourteen eyes with a published third-party no-logs audit are not what mySidewalk is typically brought in for.
What can CyberGhost VPN do that mySidewalk cannot?
CyberGhost VPN covers NoSpy servers, Audited no-logs policy, WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2, Streaming-labelled servers. mySidewalk covers Prewired federal datasets, Margin of error handling, Custom geographies, Published dashboards.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CyberGhost VPN: Who owns CyberGhost?

Kape Technologies, which acquired it in 2017. Kape was formerly called Crossrider and also owns ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access and Zenmate, plus the review sites vpnMentor and Wizcase.

mySidewalk: What problem does it actually solve?

Correct use of American Community Survey and federal health data for small geographies, which is difficult and is usually held by one person in an agency.

CyberGhost VPN: Has the no-logs claim been independently audited?

Yes. Deloitte has examined the no-logs policy and server configuration and published an assurance report. Note that this is a point-in-time engagement, not continuous monitoring.

mySidewalk: Is it useful outside the United States?

No. Its value is the maintained pipeline into US federal statistical datasets.

CyberGhost VPN: What jurisdiction is it under?

The service is operated from Romania, which has no mandatory communications data retention law in force and is not a member of the Five, Nine or Fourteen Eyes intelligence-sharing arrangements. Ownership sits with Kape, headquartered in the UK.

mySidewalk: Who buys it?

Mostly public health departments and city planning or performance teams, often funded from a grant that requires the evidence it produces.

CyberGhost VPN: Does it work with streaming services?

Often, using the servers labelled for each service, but this changes constantly as platforms block address ranges. Treat streaming access as a feature that may stop working on any given day rather than a guarantee.

mySidewalk: Can we see comparable contract values?

Yes. Agency contracts are public records and appear in council and health board agenda materials.

CyberGhost VPN: Can I use it on Linux or a router?

There is a command-line Linux client with fewer features than the desktop apps, and router use requires manual OpenVPN configuration rather than an official app.

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