How VPNmentor works? Here is the business model:
VPNMentor is one of the new generation VPN so called “comparison or review sites”. The model is a simple one, ask the VPN providers to write their own reviews under the misapprehension that they will be treated fairly and build a large scale affiliate platform, promoting only the biggest commission payers. It has proved to be a great business model for them so far as they receive between $60-120 for every successful conversion from the largest VPN providers. A large part of these fees are then spent out bidding the VPN providers using paid search such as Adwords and Microsoft ads to generate even more traffic to their site. In addition, the smaller providers who use paid search, to sell their services, also find themselves pushing traffic to VPNMentor as consumers decide to check if this provider stacks up against the competition.
Are VPNmentor reviews reliable?
We contacted VPNMentor and they told us they are the “Trip Advisor” of VPN. I am laughing while I write this as nothing could be further from the truth and it seems their staff believe their own propaganda. Trip adviser is a platform entirely driven by the users reviews and scores are NOT the opinion of Trip Advisor. Trip Advisor does not get paid by the services reviewed. Trip advisor does not rank providers themselves, the ranking comes from the users scores.
I was on holiday recently at a Club Med and the staff complained constantly about Trip Advisor and asked us if were happy with the service and our holiday experience to give them a good review. This is because the most motivated to review are those that are not happy. I don’t know about you, but I always check Trip Advisor before a trip especially the 1 stars to try build a picture of the resort, hotel facilities and accommodation. The point of this is Trip Advisor works. Yes the providers don’t like it, but I am convinced that the existence of Trip Advisor has improved standards and service. In case of VPNMentor, the providers don’t like them, so they have that in common! But unlike Trip advisor they don’t write the reviews, the criteria used to rank the providers appears to be random for anyone outside the Top10 and based on the biggest commission payers for the top10.
Isn't it strange to always see the same 3 VPN providers recommended?
So why do Express, Nord VPN and other big providers pay them so much? The subscription business is all about scale and specifically the number of active subscribers. The number of active subscribers directly relates to the value of the business. The more subscribers the higher the value of the business. The cost of acquiring the subscribers doesn’t matter as long as the overall subscriber base is growing. Eventually you will “grow to greatness”. This model can’t survive for most, smaller providers will go out of business and larger providers who are left will be taken over or possibly issue an IBO, although this will be only the top 1 or 2. None of this appears good for the consumer as you are paying indirectly. If the provider can’t make a profit due to the incredible amount of money paid to VPNMentor, the price must rise, the service and choice must fall. New entrants to the market are locked out unless they are willing to pay VPNMentor and other so called “comparison sites” which ultimately will mean less choice.
VPNMentor is not a comparison site and does not provide anything useful to the consumer.
This is their mission statement
Our mission: "We started vpnMentor to offer users a really honest, committed and helpful tool when navigating VPNs and web privacy." Ariel Hochstadt
……………… and to make lots of money for providing not very much to a lot of mugs!
Ask yourself, who are they? Where are they? On what basis can they say they are the experts? Who are they accountable to?
Who are they? Don’t know their terms and conditions fail to give you any clue what the legal entity is. On the contact us page they say “We are transparent. We put ourselves in front of you right on the homepage. This is what we consider unique.” I am bent double laughing.
Where are they? They say:
vpnMentor Address:Guy Fawkes, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C. 20505 , United States. Just kidding, this is the CIA address :), we value our privacy, use email.
In fact VPNmentor is in Israel.
What makes them a good source of opinions about VPN? They say they are “Honest, Committed and Helpful” Ok that fine then! Falling off my chair now! Any third party or user feedback that would back this up? I thought not.
What accountability do they have? Simple, none.
Why would you take the word of these scammers over verified user reviews from Feefo, Trust Pilot or Zendesk? So please make the effort, go check what their customers say not the “so called” view of VPNMentor.
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