What The Tor Project does

The Tor Project is a US-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2006 that maintains the Tor anonymity network and develops a portfolio of privacy and anti-censorship software. Its core technology is onion routing, which anonymizes internet traffic by passing it through distributed relays operated by volunteers worldwide. The flagship product is Tor Browser, a Firefox ESR-based browser that routes all traffic through the Tor network; supporting products include Arti (a Rust-based Tor client with RPC interface for embeddable use), Tails OS (partner portable OS), Snowflake (WebRTC-based proxy system with 150,000+ volunteer proxies), WebTunnel (HTTPS-mimicking pluggable transport), OnionShare (anonymous file sharing), Orbot (Android Tor proxy), and oniux (kernel-level Tor isolation). Recent technical investments include Counter Galois Onion encryption, proof-of-work DoS defense for onion services, congestion control, and stateless RAM-only relay servers with TPM-backed identity.

The organization serves users in internet-censored regions (China, Russia, Iran, Belarus, Egypt, Turkmenistan), journalists, human rights defenders, and privacy-conscious individuals globally, with named downstream users including Amnesty International and SecureDrop operators. Distribution is exclusively free and direct-to-consumer via torproject.org, Google Play, F-Droid, and the Apple App Store, with no commercial pricing tiers or paid product lines. Revenue is generated entirely through donations and grants: US government agencies (38.17% of FY 2020-2021 revenue, led by the State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor), individual donations (36.22%), private foundations such as Zcash Community Grants, Media Democracy Fund, and Ford Foundation (16.15%), Sweden's Sida (5.07%), and corporate memberships (2.89%), supplemented by one-off events such as a 2021 NFT auction that raised approximately $1.7M. Governance is provided by a board including co-founder Roger Dingledine and Executive Director Isabela Fernandes.

Name

The Tor Project

Legal name

The Tor Project, Inc.

Website

https://blog.torproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Tor Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that maintains the Tor anonymity network and develops free privacy and anti-censorship tools, including Tor Browser, Arti, Snowflake, and WebTunnel, serving journalists, human rights defenders, and users in censored regions worldwide through a donation- and grant-funded model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Internet Privacy Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Other Computer Related Services (541519)

SIC

Communications Services, Nec (4899), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

VPN & Remote Access Gateways (HDADABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Browser & Web Isolation Security (HDADAEAK), Web Security Gateways (SWG) & Secure Web Proxy (HDADABAE)

Keywords

• Privacy software
• Anonymity network
• Onion routing
• Censorship circumvention
• Secure browsing

Headquarters

HQ city

Winchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time gifts and monthly donations from individual supporters. Includes cryptocurrency donations. In FY 2020-2021, individual donations represented 36.22% of total revenue ($2,684,390). The 2023 year-end campaign raised $427,558.
2. U.S. Government Grants: Funding from U.S. government agencies including State Department Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor ($1,532,843), DARPA/RACECAR ($570,497), NSF ($224,617), and others. Represented 38.17% of FY 2020-2021 revenue.
3. Private Foundations: Support from foundations including Zcash Community Grants (for Arti development), Media Democracy Fund, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Ford Foundation, and others. Represented 16.15% of FY 2020-2021 revenue.
4. Non-U.S. Government Funding: Funding from Swedish government agency Sida for user research, localization, user support, usability improvements, and community training. Represented 5.07% of FY 2020-2021 revenue.
5. Corporate Contributions: Corporate membership dues and contributions. Represented 2.89% of FY 2020-2021 revenue.
6. NFT Auction Proceeds: One-time significant revenue event: NFT auction of 'Dreaming at Dusk' generative art piece derived from first onion service private key. Raised approximately $1.7M-$2M in unrestricted funds in May 2021.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Tor Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that develops and maintains the Tor anonymity network and a portfolio of free, open-source privacy and anti-censorship tools. Its flagship product, Tor Browser, is a privacy-focused web browser built on Firefox ESR that routes traffic through volunteer-operated relays to provide anonymous internet access. The portfolio also includes Arti (Rust Tor implementation), Snowflake and WebTunnel pluggable transports, Tails portable OS, OnionShare, Orbot for Android, and the oniux kernel-level isolation tool.

Product overview

The Tor Project develops a portfolio of privacy and anti-censorship tools centered on the Tor network. The flagship product is Tor Browser, a privacy-focused browser that routes all traffic through the Tor network, available across desktop and mobile platforms. Arti is The Tor Project's Rust-based rewrite of the Tor client, offering a more secure, modular implementation with RPC support, relay operation, and onion services for embedding in external applications. The anti-censorship toolkit includes Snowflake (WebRTC-based proxy bridges), WebTunnel (HTTPS-mimicking pluggable transport), and obfs4 bridges. Tails is a partner portable OS (maintained by its own team) that routes all traffic through Tor by default. Additional tools include OnionShare for anonymous file sharing, Orbot for Android proxying, oniux for kernel-level Tor isolation on Linux, and Conjure for improved bridge registration. These products function together as an integrated privacy ecosystem, with Tor Browser serving as the primary end-user interface, Arti powering both relay operation and programmatic integration, and the pluggable transports providing resilient access for users in heavily censored regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tor Browser: Privacy-focused web browser built on Firefox ESR with Tor network integration
• Arti
• Tails
• OnionShare
• Snowflake
• WebTunnel
• Orbot
• Onion Browser

Products and services

• Tor Browser
• Arti
• Snowflake
• WebTunnel
• Tails
• OnionShare
• Orbot
• oniux
• Conjure
• Onion Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 65 elections monitored for internet censorship in 2024 with Tor tools deployed to help users
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cure53coreTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2025Cybersecurity firm commissioned to perform penetration test on TorVPN for Android and Onionmasq networking layer. Found no fundamental flaws in tunnel establishment or routing.
• ASL19coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIranian digital rights organization. ASL19 develops Paskoocheh, a platform that helps people in Iran access trusted privacy and circumvention tools when websites, VPNs, and app stores are blocked.
• Blueprint for Free SpeechminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization providing tools like Ricochet Refresh and cybersecurity training to defenders of truth and democracy across lower- and middle-income countries.
• Guardian ProjectcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMobile security app developer. Subgrantee on U.S. State Department project for empowering communities in the Global South to bypass censorship.
• TailscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAmnesic Incognito Live System. Subgrantee on U.S. State Department project. Tails is a portable operating system that protects against surveillance and censorship.
• OONI (Open Observatory of Network Interference)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternet censorship measurement organization. Partner in U.S. State Department project for empowering Global South communities. Tor Project receives funding that passes through to OONI.
• Library Freedom Project / Library Freedom InstitutecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerInitiative bringing privacy tools to public libraries. Tor Project funding passed through to Library Freedom Project for delivering the Library Freedom Institute and health privacy webinar series.
• FSFE (Free Software Foundation Europe)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean free software advocacy organization. Collaboration on children's book about software freedom ('Ada & Zangemann') and shared advocacy for digital rights.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mullvad VPN: Mullvad is a privacy-focused commercial VPN service based in Sweden that, like Tor, emphasizes anonymity, no-logging policies, and accepts anonymous/crypto payments. Both target the same privacy-conscious user base and operate non-commercial-mission-aligned models.
• Signal Foundation (Signal Messenger): Signal is a nonprofit foundation providing end-to-end encrypted messaging, sharing Tor's nonprofit, privacy-mission, and donation-funded model. Both serve journalists, activists, and human rights defenders with privacy-first tools.
• Guardian Project: Guardian Project develops mobile privacy and security apps including Orbot (Tor for Android), which is itself a Tor Project sub-brand. They are an implementation partner and subgrantee on U.S. State Department projects with Tor.
• Proton AG (Proton VPN / Proton Mail): Proton offers end-to-end encrypted email and VPN services out of Switzerland with a privacy-first mission similar to Tor's. Both compete for the same privacy-conscious users, though Proton is a for-profit subscription model while Tor is free.
• Brave Software (Brave Browser): Brave offers a privacy-focused web browser with built-in Tor private window functionality, directly competing with Tor Browser. Both integrate Tor network capabilities and target users seeking surveillance-free browsing.
• Psiphon: Psiphon is a censorship circumvention tool focused specifically on users in restricted regions, similar to Tor's anti-censorship mission. Both provide VPN-like encrypted tunnels and target censored-region users with obfuscation techniques.
• Outline VPN (Jigsaw / Google): Outline is a free, open-source VPN tool from Google's Jigsaw incubator focused on helping journalists and activists bypass censorship, similar to Tor's anti-censorship mission. Both are used to circumvent state-level internet restrictions.

Broad incumbents

• Mozilla Foundation (Firefox): Mozilla maintains Firefox, the open-source browser that Tor Browser is built upon (Firefox ESR). Both share a nonprofit, privacy-advocacy orientation, though Mozilla is broader (general-purpose browser) while Tor specializes in anonymity.
• Nord Security (NordVPN): NordVPN is one of the largest commercial VPN providers globally, competing with Tor for privacy-conscious users but offering faster performance and a paid subscription model rather than free community infrastructure.

Others

• Tails (Tails Project): Tails is a separate nonprofit developing a portable amnesic operating system that routes all traffic through Tor. Listed by Tor Project as an adjacent partner project and U.S. State Department subgrantee.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/torproject
• YouTubeyoutube.com/torproject
• Facebookfacebook.com/TorProject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tor-project
• Instagraminstagram.com/torproject

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Tor Project