The “per month” price in the shop window is only the start of the sum. To see what a VPN costs you, convert it to the term, to the number of devices, and check the conditions that change what gets charged. Below: how to do that with any offer, what a subscription usually includes, and our prices worked out. Everything here is as of 2 October 2026.
In short. At Mayak the plan price is 300 ₽ a month for 3 devices, 500 ₽ for 5, 700 ₽ for 10; a year is 3,600, 6,000 and 8,400 ₽, with no discount for a longer term. Speed and volume do not depend on the plan. With any service, compare not the advertised price but the price per term per device and the charging conditions. Our trial is 3 days with no card once you confirm your email.
We make Mayak, a private network, and our prices are below. You do not need to pay to try it: the trial needs no card. Only one section is about us; the rest is how to work out the price anywhere.
🍎 On iPhone Mayak works with the subscription link from your account, in Happ or INCY (INCY is in the Russian App Store): where to tap on iPhone.
What a VPN's price is made of
A service pays for the same things you then pay for. There are few cost lines, and they are the same everywhere:
- Servers in different countries. Renting machines and their links. More countries and wider links cost more.
- Traffic. Everything you watch and download passes through the server twice: to it and from it.
- Payment processing. The payment service takes its share of every payment.
- Apps and people. Someone writes the app, fixes it when networks change, and answers support.
A simple consequence: if a service charges noticeably less for access than these four lines cost, the money for them comes from somewhere else — ads, your data, or a future charge. We do not list our own costs line by line here, and we have not measured a market “average price”: we do not compare other services' plans.
How to convert the price: month, year, device
Three steps bring any offers to one number:
- Price per term. Find out how much will be charged for the whole term you pay for, not “per month equivalent”. A “from … per month” price often means paying for a year at once.
- Price per year. Multiply the monthly price by 12 and compare it with the yearly price. That shows whether there is a discount for a longer term and how much you risk by paying ahead.
- Price per device. Divide the monthly price by the number of devices that work at the same time. A phone, a laptop and a TV are three devices, and a “one device” plan would have to be bought three times.
An example with our prices: Start at 300 ₽ for 3 devices is 100 ₽ a month per device, Max at 700 ₽ for 10 is 70 ₽. If you have two devices, there is no point counting by the bigger plan: pay for the slots you use.
What a subscription includes, and what it does not
Two subscriptions for the same money can sell different things. Before comparing prices, check what stands behind them:
- How many devices at once, and how a device is counted: when you change phones, is the slot freed or lost (how it works with us).
- Is there a traffic or speed cap on the cheap plan.
- An app for your systems. The price is one, but on a TV or laptop there may be nothing to connect with.
- Can you share with family without a second account and without handing over a password.
- What the rules do not allow. Often file sharing: rights holders' complaints about it go to the service.
What money cannot buy anywhere: speed above what your operator gives, and a promise that a particular site will always open. More in “What money does not buy”.
Where the price differs from what gets charged
The number in the window may be honest and the charge still different. Four places where that happens most often:
- A cheap first period. The first month costs less, renewal is at the full price. Look at the renewal price, not the first payment.
- A trial with a card. The card is asked “for verification”, and when the trial ends you are charged unless you cancelled in time (the breakdown).
- Auto-renewal from a card. A subscription that charges silently stays your expense until you find it. How to switch it off with a bot, in an app store or through your bank: a separate article.
- Refunds. “The paid period is non-refundable” turns a yearly payment into a bet: if it does not suit you after a week, the money stays with the service.
Separately from the service price, a fee to mobile operators for foreign traffic above a limit has been discussed in Russia. It is not connected with the subscription price; where it stands now is in a separate article.
A free VPN: how you pay for it
Servers and traffic cost money for a free service too. If you do not pay, ads, data sales or a future paid plan you are being led to pay instead. That is not always bad, but it is also a price, and worth knowing in advance. Five questions to ask any service before paying are in “Paid or free VPN”.
Our prices, worked out
Plans differ by the number of devices, not by speed: we do not throttle speed and do not cap volume. The term is 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, and the price for a term is a simple multiple: that is how the invoice is calculated in our code, with no discount for a longer term.
| Plan | Devices | Month | 3 months | 6 months | Year | Per device per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | up to 3 | 300 ₽ | 900 ₽ | 1,800 ₽ | 3,600 ₽ | 100 ₽ |
| Family | up to 5 | 500 ₽ | 1,500 ₽ | 3,000 ₽ | 6,000 ₽ | 100 ₽ |
| Max | up to 10 | 700 ₽ | 2,100 ₽ | 4,200 ₽ | 8,400 ₽ | 70 ₽ |
The table shows the plan price. The account area shows the final invoice amount before you pay, on the same screen where you choose the term. Current prices are always in the help centre and in your account area.
- What every plan includes. The Android app (phones, tablets, Android TV), a subscription link for iPhone, Windows and Mac, a settings file for Linux; all devices up to the limit work at the same time.
- Sharing with family. You can hand out the slots of your plan: each person gets their own account, and only you pay (how).
- How charging works. There is no recurring card charge: you confirm a card or SBP payment yourself. Auto-renewal is a separate switch and draws on the account balance, not a card; we warn you before charging.
- After the term ends access keeps working for 3 more grace days — for those who paid.
- Refunds. You can cancel at any time: on a written request to support we refund the full unused days (terms). We do not refund the whole sum “if you did not like it” — which is why we ask you to try for free first.
- What is not included. File sharing (P2P): why. Paying in cryptocurrency.
How exactly to pay from Russia, step by step, and what to do if a payment did not go through is in the article on paying from Russia.
Check first, pay later. We ask for no payment details for the trial. A confirmed email opens the access — 3 free days on two devices. An email is optional: without one the trial is 1 day.
How to pay less without losing what matters
- Pick a plan by the number of devices, not “to grow into”. You can move to a bigger plan in the middle of a paid month: the remainder is credited and you pay only the difference (how).
- One plan for the family instead of several accounts. On Max a device costs 70 ₽ a month against 100 ₽ on Start. How many devices two people really need: “A VPN for two”.
- Invite a friend. When they pay for a subscription and stay paid for 31 days, you get 100 ₽ on your balance and they get 50 ₽ (terms).
- Do not pay ahead before you have checked. A long term is not cheaper than a month with us, so it makes sense to make the first payment for one month.
What we checked
- Prices and device limits — on 2 October 2026, from the same system the account area and payment page take prices from: 300, 500 and 700 ₽ for 3, 5 and 10 devices.
- That the price for a term is a simple multiple — from the invoice calculation code, 2 October 2026.
- The charging, grace-day and refund terms — from our offer and help centre as of 2 October 2026.
What we do not know
- What a VPN costs “on average in the market”. We have not collected other services' prices and do not compare them.
- Whether our prices will change. Right now they are as in the table; if they change, the current price will be visible in your account area before you pay.
- Whether operators will charge separately for foreign traffic. That is not ours to decide.
- How Mayak will behave on your network. Only you can see that — that is what the trial is for. If it did not work, write to us before you pay.
Quick answers
How much does a VPN cost per month? At Mayak the plan price is 300 ₽ for 3 devices, 500 ₽ for 5, 700 ₽ for 10. With other services, compare the price per term and per device.
How much is a VPN subscription for a year? With us 3,600, 6,000 or 8,400 ₽ — exactly twelve monthly prices, with no yearly discount.
Why is one VPN cheaper than another? A different number of devices, traffic caps, a cheap first period, or another source of money such as ads. Compare the terms, not the number in the window.
Are there hidden charges? We do not charge cards by ourselves: you confirm each card payment; auto-renewal draws only on the account balance and only with your switch on. The account area shows the final invoice amount before you pay.
Can I try it for free? Yes, 3 days on two devices after you confirm your email, with no card.
Can I get a refund? For full unused days, yes, on a written request to support.