[ZURICH_ENDPOINT]Free VPN for Switzerland
VPNmine runs an OpenVPN server in Zurich that any VPNmine app can connect to for free. Traffic leaves the tunnel with a Swiss IP address, encrypted with AES on the way there. We record which server you used and when, and never the sites, lookups or content that passed through it.
What people use it for
- Reach Swiss services and pricing while you are outside the country
- Use a central European exit that sits outside the EU
- Encrypt everything you send over public, hotel and conference Wi-Fi
- Keep your browsing off the record your own internet provider holds
Estimated round trip
- Switzerland5-15 ms
- Central Europe and northern Italy10-30 ms
- US East Coast90-115 ms
Estimates from route distance, not measurements. Your provider's routing decides the real figure, and our speed test measures it in about twenty seconds.
Why Zurich
Zurich is the centre of Swiss interconnection and geographically central to Europe, which means short, predictable paths in every direction: Germany, France, Italy and Austria are all close, and the Alpine routes are well provisioned. Switzerland's data centre industry is also unusually mature for the size of the country, largely because of decades of demand from finance for local hosting.
What Swiss jurisdiction actually means
Switzerland is outside the European Union and outside the Five Eyes arrangement, and its revised Federal Act on Data Protection took effect in September 2023. The nuance people miss is BÜPF, the surveillance-of-post-and-telecommunications law: it does impose retention duties, but the Federal Administrative Court ruled in 2021 that derived communication services such as encrypted mail and messaging providers are not subject to the full obligations that apply to telecom operators. Swiss jurisdiction is genuinely favourable, and it is not the absolute exemption the marketing usually implies.
What this changes about your connection
With the tunnel up, your own provider sees encrypted traffic to a single VPNmine address, and sites see the Zurich server instead of you. Neutrality of jurisdiction only matters for records that exist, which is the reason the more useful question is what a provider stores. VPNmine stores which server a session used and when, and nothing about the traffic itself.
Confirm it rather than assume it
Connect to Zurich, then check what changed. Our IP checker shows the address and country sites now see. The DNS leak test shows whether your domain lookups are still going to your own provider, which is the most common way a tunnel protects less than it appears to. The WebRTC leak test catches the browser handing out your real address through an API the VPN never sees.
What we store while you are connected is the same in Switzerland as everywhere else: which server the session used and when, and nothing about the traffic. The full list is in the privacy policy.
Switzerland VPN questions
How do I get a Swiss IP address for free?
Install VPNmine on your desktop, phone, TV or browser, sign in, and choose Switzerland from the server list. The app opens an OpenVPN tunnel to our Zurich server and every site you open afterwards sees that address instead of yours. No charge, no advertising and no card details.
Are VPNs legal in Switzerland?
Yes. VPN use is lawful in Switzerland and standard in business, particularly in finance. The tunnel changes how traffic is routed, not what the law permits.
Is Switzerland really better for privacy?
It is a genuinely strong jurisdiction. It sits outside the EU and outside the Five Eyes arrangement, its revised data protection act took effect in September 2023, and a 2021 Federal Administrative Court ruling held that derived communication services are not bound by the full telecom retention duties under BÜPF. It is not a total exemption from legal process, and no jurisdiction is.
Zurich or Frankfurt from central Europe?
Frankfurt is usually a few milliseconds faster because more networks meet there, and Zurich is usually the better pick if you specifically want an exit outside the European Union or your destination is Swiss or northern Italian. Both should land within 10 to 30 ms from most of central Europe.
Connect to Zurich in one tap
VPNmine is a free no-logs VPN with its own OpenVPN servers in 19 countries, native apps for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Android TV and Apple TV, and browser extensions. No ads and no card required.