Virtual private networks (VPNs) are great tools to keep safe online and access sites you otherwise can’t, but most come with a price tag. However, there are a number of trustworthy VPN services that offer free VPN plans you can take advantage of.
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What to Look For With a Free VPN
When picking a free VPN, there are a few things you need to be aware of. Most free VPNs you can find online, whether in an app store, via web search, or in advertisements, are not trustworthy. Not only will these services do a poor job of protecting your privacy, they will often add insult to injury and sell your data themselves. Using a free VPNs without researching them first can be worse than not using a VPN at all.
Thankfully, this isn’t the case for every free VPN. Many well-known and well-trusted paid VPN services Also offer free plans for you to take advantage of. Unlike free trials, these free plans don’t have any time restrictions, so you can keep using them as long as you want. But, it’s important to know that even without a time restriction, these free VPN options are more like samples than full packages and are generally meant for you to try out a service before upgrading to a paid tier.
For example, our choices for the best free VPNs only let you use a set number of servers, and you’ll be limited on the locations you can connect to. Most will also restrict bandwidth, limiting you to a certain amount of monthly data before asking you to upgrade to a paid tier. While frustrating, the tiers are trials without time restrictions, so this isn’t unexpected.
Smart operators can use several accounts and thus keep their browsing private—though this can become a bit cumbersome to handle. If you’d like more VPN bandwidth and features but aren’t too keen on spending the premium VPN prices, check out our overview of cheap VPNs.
Best VPN Overall: NordVPN
The thing about completely free VPNs, even if they’re from reputable companies, is that your options are very limited when it comes to how you can use them. Your bandwidth may be limited, or there are only a few servers available that are likely bogged down by all the other free accounts accessing them. What you can do instead is sign up for the paid VPN options, almost all of which have a money-back guarantee, and cancel before the 30 days are up. That does mean you’ll be jumping around services often, but you can get he premium experience without the premium prices.
NordVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee regardless of the plan you pick—as long as you can pay the 2-year subscription amount upfront. Then, if you don’t want to commit, you can get that money back and try a new service.
That said, you may decide to keep NordVPN after you try it out. The VPN apps are easy to use, and you can connect up to 10 devices with it, so there’s no fussing around after you’re set up. The service is often available at deep discounts, too, so you’ll save a lot on a subscription if you decide to commit.
- Logging policy
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No-log policy
- Mobile app
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Android and iOS
- Free Trial
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30 days
- Encryption
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DES, RSA, AES
- Supported platforms
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Windows, MacOS, Linux, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Android TV, Apple TV, Android, iOS
NordVPN is one of the fastest VPN options available. It’s also easy to use and compatible with a variety of devices.
- 30-day money-back guarantee, regardless of the plan you pick
- Need to pay 2 years upfront, then cancel to get your money back
Best VPN With a Cheap Upgrade: Surfshark
Of course, even if you can get your money back, signing up for a service like NordVPN can be nerve-wracking, even if you plan to cancel after 30 days. It’s a bit of a financial commitment, after all, and an amount you may not have if you’re bouncing around free VPN options over sticking with one.
Surfshark is our favorite budget VPN for a lot of different reasons—but, as you may expect, it’s the low price that we love the most. The Surfshark Starter plan only requires $52.92 upfront as of the time of writing, and like NordVPN, you’ll have a 30-day money-back guarantee. So, you can use the service for a month and cancel, though considering how low the total is for 28 months of service, you’ll likely want to stay subscribed anyway.
This VPN service might sometimes be slower than premium VPN options, but given the low price, this is more than forgivable. Also, Surfshark easily bypasses region locks on streaming services like Netflix, so if the main reason you’re using free VPNs is for getting past geofencing, you may just want to stick with Surfshark.
- Logging policy
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No-logs policy
- Mobile app
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Android and iOS
- Free Trial
-
30 day money-back guarantee
- Encryption
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AES-256
- Number Of Servers
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3,200+
Surfshark is a low-cost VPN service that offers unlimited simultaneous connections, making it a great pick if you want to share the VPN account with friends and family.
- 30-day money back guarantee lets you try and service for a month
- With the way the pricing page is set up, it’s hard to tell if the money-back guarantee only applies to the two year plan
Best Free VPN for Netflix: Windscribe
Our favorite free VPN is Windscribe, a great paid service with a fantastic free plan. Like most services on this list, the free plan is a way to try the VPN before subscribing to the paid tier. Windscribe is at the top of the list for three reasons—it’s fast, easy to use, and, more importantly, can unblock Netflix’s regional restrictions on its free plan.
All the other free plans on this list will be unable to crack most streaming services (if any), but Windscribe rises to the occasion. While testing the free servers in our Windscribe review, we were surprised to find several connected to Netflix without any issues.
Windscribe does a solid job of getting through to Netflix. I tested about 10 servers in the U.S., U.K., and a few European countries, and eight got through without any issues, which is a pretty solid showing. Since it also maintained decent speeds throughout, Windscribe is a pretty good VPN for Netflix.
If you’re looking for a certain show and your local Netflix library doesn’t have it, Windscribe is your ticket to finding and watching it.
That said, you don’t want it to be a long show. Windscribe does cap free users at 10GB a month if you provide your email address—otherwise, it’s only 2GB. Compared to most other choices on this list, which require creating an account, just an email address for a 10GB cap is very good.
In short, Windscribe offers 10GB for free, fast servers, Netflix access, and a decent interface to boot. If you need a free VPN, this should be your first stop.
7/10
- Logging policy
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No-Log Policy
- Mobile app
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Android and iOS
- Free Trial
-
Free account with limited functionality
- Encryption
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AES-256
Windscribe is a fantastic free VPN option, and you can upgrade to a paid plan if you end up enjoying it.
- 10GB of bandwidth for free
- 10 free servers
- Free servers can access Netflix
- Need to create an account to get more than 2GB of bandwidth
- Not the best interface
Best Free Browser VPN: Hide.me
Hide.me is another great free VPN that offers 10GB for free, much like Windscribe. This VPN service also uses an easy-to-use interface, especially with its browser extension. The free tier has eight servers across the globe, so you should have no trouble connecting and using the VPN.
Though VPN browser extensions can have drawbacks, as long as you know what they can and can’t do, Hide.me’s extension is very good. It’s easy to use, and you can quickly connect and disconnect without going through the main interface. Everything is clearly marked, so there is no struggle to figure out what’s what.
However, as you can read in our Hide.me review, it has a few issues.
For example, the free German server gave me a speed of just 10Mbps. Then again, that’s to be expected since free servers will experience a heavier load, which is the biggest factor in VPN slowdown.
The biggest in terms of its free tier is that the available servers are slow, with speeds of only about 10 percent of your base speed. Still, with 10GB of browsing available for free (and being the only other entry that doesn’t require you to create an account to get started), Hide.me is a solid option.
7/10
- Logging policy
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No-Logs Policy
- Mobile app
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Android and iOS
- Number Of Servers
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2600+
- Free Trial
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30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Hide.me is a dependable free VPN that has a great extension for most browsers and a generous allowance of monthly bandwidth.
- 10GB of bandwidth for free
- 8 free servers
- Anonymous signup
- Interface is a bit drab
- Slow
Best Free VPN for Privacy: Proton VPN
Next up is Proton VPN, a solid VPN for anybody needing some extra privacy, as you can read in our Proton VPN review. In addition to being communicative about data requests and privacy, the company also has a no-logs policy:
However, no matter where a VPN is based, it won’t help if it keeps logs. Proton VPN seems like a solid choice here, promising a no-logs policy, meaning it destroys whatever records there are of your online activity. Its privacy policy goes into more detail, but overall I have a good feeling about Proton.
Proton VPN is also the only provider on this list that doesn’t cap its free users. In its campaign for more internet freedom, the company lets anybody use it as much as they’d like.
This is great, but it does mean that Proton VPN’s servers are often overloaded, the biggest cause of VPN speed loss. The free servers are painfully slow, and some are near unusable at peak times. This is a shame since the paid servers are much faster, but it’s bound to happen when many more people are trying to use the free servers.
Still, if you need a free VPN that doesn’t cap your usage and has a strong reputation for privacy, Proton VPN is a service to keep in mind. Free users get access to the special Stealth protocol that impedes detection by surveillance services. It also serves as a good way to get a feel for the service without using a credit card if you want to try Proton VPN before buying.
- Logging policy
-
No-Logs Policy
- Mobile app
-
Android and iOS
- Number Of Servers
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13,000+
- Free Trial
-
Free version with limited features
- Encryption
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AES-256, ChaCha20
- Supported platforms
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Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Chromebook, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV
Proton VPN is a VPN famous for being private and secure. Its free plan comes with the same guarantees, though its speeds can be a bit slow.
- No limits on bandwidth on the free servers
- Three free servers are available to try out
- Great reputation for privacy
- The free servers are slow
FAQ
What does VPN stand for?
VPN stands for virtual private network. A virtual private network reroutes your internet traffic through a secure tunnel, preventing your internet service provider and network operator from seeing what you’re doing. It also disguises your IP address from the services you use online, letting you access geographically restricted content and prevents websites from associating your browsing with your real IP address.
Are free VPNs safe?
Many free VPNs are not trustworthy and will sell your data instead of protect it. Most trustworthy free VPNs are free tiers of services with paid tiers.
Do free VPNs work?
If you are using a trustworthy free VPN, it will often work as well as a paid VPN, albeit with limitations such as limited servers and data caps. Some will also be slower than a paid VPN, as free servers can become overloaded.
Why should I use a VPN?
VPNs are a great way to hide from anybody trying to track you online while spoofing your location. As a result, they’re popular among torrenters and anybody worried about surveillance.
How do I set up my VPN?
Most VPNs can be installed with a single click. It will then take a click to connect, and you’re done. You can use the VPN’s app to configure any other settings.