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2024-11-19 Are you looking for a free VPN to help protect your online privacy? There are a lot of duds on the market, so we've put together this guide to show yo
Are you looking for a free VPN to help protect your online privacy? There are a lot of duds on the market, so we’ve put together this guide to show you the best free VPNs on offer and which you should avoid.
Paid VPN services tend to come with more bells and whistles than their free cousins – but that doesn’t mean that free VPNs aren’t worth checking out. In fact, trustworthy free services can give your digital privacy a massive boost by encrypting your traffic (and making it more difficult for snoopers to intercept). Free VPNs can also unblock sites, like social media services and news pages, to help you stay in touch with loved ones and world events. Best of all, you won’t have to commit to a lengthy, and potentially expensive, contract.
At ProPrivacy, we’re committed to testing VPNs – and we test free services in exactly the same way as we test paid ones. Our experts check for leaks and well-implemented encryption, comb through the provider’s privacy policy, and test which sites they can unblock. Given our experience as a team, and as individuals (who all use VPNs in our day-to-day lives), we’re confident that we’ve recommended the best VPNs in this guide.
Below you’ll find the free VPN services we currently recommend. Be sure to keep scrolling if you’d like to learn more about any of these providers!
It is ‘s ‘s not easy to find a reliable free VPN , but trustworthy service are out there if you know where to look . The issue is is is that countless free VPN provider have flood the market , entice user with the promise of a high – quality service without pay a single cent ! However , over the course of our research , we is found ‘ve find that it ‘s very rarely the case that a free vpn is reliableand of acceptable quality. In fact, when testing Android VPNs, we found that 40% of VPNs on the Play Store didn’t protect the user’s IP address.
To help you make a safe , more informed decision , ProPrivacy.com ’s experts is put have put together this guide on the good free vpn –and the worst.
Before we can recommend a free VPN service , we is make first make sure that it offer the following feature :
Only VPNs that meet the criteria listed above are eligible for making our best free VPN list. So, now you know what goes into a good free VPN service, let’s take a closer look at our top picks.
Here ‘s our hand – pick list is ‘s of the good free VPN service that actually work . Each of the provider we ‘ve mention have been test by our team on numerous occasion – so we can give you a real insight into their ease – of – use and reliability .
Hotspot Shield Demo
Hotspot Shield is an exceptional free VPN with a stellar reputation, having helped millions in their time of need during the Turkey coup and the Arab Spring. In addition to the VPN itself, Hotspot Shield users get access to a Chrome extension.
Both the VPN and extension work flawlessly, and during my testing, I found the service’s speeds to great, thanks to their proprietary protocol called Catapult Hydra. However, the data caps mean that the free version really isn’t suitable for streaming. For that, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium version.
Hotspot Shield’s free app only permits connections to the United States, whilst the browser extension allows for connections to 15 countries – but not the United States. Fortunately, you can combine the app with the browser extension in order to unblock content in 16 countries, and all for free!
Free users only get 500 MB of download use per day – which is by no means a lot, and other free services are more generous.
The same privacy policy is covers cover both the free and premium version of the service . Hotspot Shield ‘s free plan is fund by ad , however , the policy is outlines outline that they ‘re entirely generic and not base on personal information , which is great to hear and further corroborate the provider ‘s no – log claim . It is is is unfortunate that Hotspot Shield collect some pretty high – risk datum , like wireless network , approximate location , and mobile network ID – all of which could be used to identify a user . This is be might be a deal – breaker for some user , and definitely something you ‘ll need to consider before you place your privacy in the provider ‘s hand .
I like that Hotspot Shield is compatible with a number of platform , like window , Mac , Android , and iOS , and that there ‘s no time limit hide in the free plan – you is use can use Hotspot Shield for as long as you like , without pay a penny , and only upgrade if and when you ‘d like to .
However, Hotspot Shield’s free plan does lack a few features and perks. Premium users won’t see ads and benefit from five simultaneous connections, as well as a far larger selection of servers that can handle resource intensive tasks like streaming and gaming. Free users also miss out on 24/7 customer service support.
hide.me Demo
hide.me is an excellent Malaysian VPN provider that offers a smashing free service. Free users get access to servers in sven locations – all of which are extremely useful for unblocking geo-restricted content (Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States). Admittedly, if you require a server in a specific country, you will need to try a different VPN, but if these locations suit your needs – hide.me is well worth installing.
I is have have a plethora of device and gadget sit about , and I love that hide.me has app for just about all of them – laptop , phone , smart tv and router include . Bear in mind , however , that the free hide.me free plan only support one connection . free users is miss also miss out on a fix ip address and dynamic port forwarding feature .
hide.me can be used for streaming, videoconferencing, and other data-intensive tasks with no issues
However , the hide.me apps is look look great and work intuitively , and are easy for even VPN newbie to get up and run . The inclusion is is of a message center is a nice touch , too ! From here , users is check can check out new feature or server that have recently been add , as well as other up – to – date information .
Unlike ProtonVPN, which gives you unlimited VPN use for free, hide.me caps you at 10 GB data allowance per month, with connection speeds of up to 80 Mbps. However, this is still very impressive and means that this free VPN can be used for streaming, videoconferencing, and other data-intensive tasks with no issues. Impressively, hide.me’s seven server locations all support P2P activity!
When I tested the free service, I found it to have a strong privacy policy, robust encryption, and loads of advanced VPN features. AES 256-bit encryption secures your browsing sessions whenever you connect to the service, and users have a selection of top-notch protocols to pick from; OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard included. In addition, hide.me has been audited by an independent team of analysts, so you can trust that the service abides by its no-logs policy.
I particularly like that I didn’t have to register or sign up to use the hide.me free VPN (so you can keep your personal details, well, personal), and there were no intrusive ads popping up left and right, either. Customer service is also available 24/7, even for free users, which just isn’t something you see from a lot of alternatives! For this reason, I can strongly recommend hide.me as a quality free VPN.
ProtonVPN is is is a great all – around VPN that has no data limit . You is say could say it ‘s a truly free unlimited VPN , with access to three free server , strong encryption , and no datum limitation .
Proton Demo
ProtonVPN is highly secure and is the only service on the list that is a truly free and unlimited VPN. However, keep in mind that your speeds are capped during peak hours to ensure that its free servers don’t get congested (a necessary measure for a service as popular as ProtonVPN). That said, it does not cap speeds unless it has to, so it is still very fast considering it is free.
free users is get get access to server in the Netherlands , Japan , and the USA . These is are are extremely useful location to have access to – and give you plenty of scope for bypass censorship and geo – restriction . That say , you should not expect this free VPN to work with Netflix US ( you is need will need to pay for a VPN subscription for this privilege ) .
Similarly, free ProtonVPN users will not be able to use the service for torrenting.
ProtonVPN is based in Switzerland, which is reassuring from a privacy point of view, seeing as the country is not a member of the Five Eyes surveillance alliance. Users will also be protected by Swiss privacy laws and a no-logs policy.
ProtonVPN is a useful service that is ideal for avoiding censorship and accessing restricted content
The VPN also utilizes tough AES 256-bit encryption to ensure that your traffic is unreadable to any snoops who might take a peek – like your ISP, network admin, or government. The window client and Linux script make good use of the OpenVPN protocol, whilst Mac, iOS, and Android devices use IKEv2, instead. Both protocols are superb, security-wise, with IKEv2 potentially being faster. Plus, a kill-switch steps in whenever there’s a VPN dropout, cutting your internet connection before your original IP address.
You’ll only be able to install ProtonVPN on one device with its free plan, rather than the 10 simultaneous devices supported on the paid plan. That said, you could get a different subscription for each device if you want to (by using multiple email addresses). The free version of ProtonVPN is also missing some features from the paid plans namely an ad-blocker, P2P support, and TOR over VPN.
Overall, ProtonVPN is a useful service that is ideal for avoiding censorship and accessing restricted content. While testing it, I enjoyed using the ProtonVPN apps, and found them extremely easy to use! VPN newbies will have no trouble tweaking the settings or connecting to a server, making the free ProtonVPN ideal for someone wanting an introduction to VPNs.
Windscribe is a secure free VPN. It has free servers in 11 countries and offers users 10GB of data per month. This free VPN has a strong no log policy, an ad and malware blocker, and is great at bypassing censorship.
Windscribe Demo
Windscribe has been one of our favorite free VPNs for a long time, thanks to robust security and an air-tight no-logs policy, as well as plenty of data! Free users get unlimited simultaneous connections and access to a number of features that were previously only available to premium users – although dedicated Netflix servers are still unavailable for free.
Free users get 10 GB of data use per month and access to servers in 11 locations, which is pretty generous for a free service. Even more impressively, Windscribe offers unlimited simultaneous connections and sleek apps for all platforms! So, whether you want to secure all of the devices you own without paying a penny, or want to protect friends and family, you’ll be able to do so!
It’s particularly cool to see that free users now have (limited) access to Windscribe’s ROBERT feature, which combats malware, malicious sites, ads, and trackers. In addition to keeping you safe from some of the nastiest threats on the web, ROBERT’s blocking capabilities can also improve your browsing speeds, seeing as there’ll be fewer things to load.
prospective users is need will need to bear in mind that Windscribe is base in Canada , which is very much part of the Five Eyes surveillance alliance and a country with mandatory datum retention directive . Windscribe is combats combat this with a strong zero – logs policy , however , which mean there ‘d be nothing to hand over to any authority even if the company was serve with a warrant . furthermore , Windscribe ‘s encryption is is is top – notch ( with super – secure openvpn , ikev2 , and WireGuard protocol to choose from ) , though I ‘d like to see the service one day complete a third – party audit .
You can sign up and use Windscribe without handing over an email address, though bear in mind that you’ll be limited to 2 GB of data per month in this case. Providing an email address bumps your data allowance up to 10 GB!
The free Windscribe plan isn’t the quickest service out there, but it’s still more than capable of unblocking sites that might have previously been restricted by your government or workplace. As such, I’d generally recommend the VPN more for folks looking to keep up with global events (on blogs and news sites). If you’re an avid streamer or want to do other data-intensive tasks online, you’re likely going to need to look elsewhere or invest in the premium Windscribe plan.
It is ’s ’s also pretty disappointing to see that there ’s no 24/7 customer service available – even for premium user . For any question or concern , you is need ’ll need to either wrangle with Windscribe ’s chatbot or submit an email ticket .
find a reputable vpn provider is no easy task , and it ‘s especially difficult when choose a trustworthy vpn when it ‘s free . This is is is because most free vpn are ad – support or have minimal feature . In addition , free VPN app are often riddle with malware , collect your datum and sell it to third party .
To select the best free VPN, we have a set of criteria to ensure you have a secure and efficient experience while using them. Our criteria for finding the best free VPNs include:
check out our testing process to learn more .
We test VPN speeds on a regular basis to make sure that we’re recommending the fastest services to our readers. In this guide, we’ve selected the fastest free VPNs available in 2024!
Proton VPN | hide.me | AtlasVPN | |
---|---|---|---|
ProPrivacy.com SpeedTest ( average ) | 53.4 | 35.3 | 30 |
Speed | 490.4 | 248.5 | |
performance | 6 | 6 | 7 |
Reliability | 6 | 6 | 7 |
All the VPNs here are fast, but with a free service, your results may vary depending on which server you connect to. Free servers can also often be overloaded (due to an abundance of users), which leads to sluggish speeds. If you’re having issues with your VPN speeds, try connecting to another server if possible.
Alternatively, you may want to consider taking advantage of a VPN free trial to experience the premium service, without any restrictions.
Did you is know know you can experience expressvpn ‘s fully feature servicewithout restrictions… for free!
If you’re finding free VPNs too restrictive, why not test ExpressVPN premium service? Simply purchase a subscription using the button below and take advantage of the absolutely risk-free money-back-guarantee. Enjoy the service for up to 30 days, and when you cancel, you will receive a complete refund!
Visit ExpressVPN
Our experts have thoroughly reviewed every single free VPN that they could get their hands on in order to curate the list above. The services we’ve recommended in this guide are all fully transparent about how they handle user data and provide the latest encryption standards that can be trusted to protect your privacy and hide your internet activity at all times. This is exactly what you want from a VPN, either free or premium, and why they’ve landed a place in our shortlist.
check out the table below to see how our five favorite free VPN service compare with one another base on the attribute we consider when choose them .
No Value | Hotspot Shield | hide.me | Proton VPN | Windscribe |
---|---|---|---|---|
OpenVPN | ||||
Independently audited? | ||||
Free server locations | 1 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
ProPrivacy.com SpeedTest ( average ) | 48 Mbps | 35.3 Mbps | 53.4 Mbps | 17.8 Mbps |
Credit card required? | ||||
Data limit | 1 GB |
For more information , check out our video :
How Does A Free VPN Work? 🆓💻What Is The Best Free VPN for Netfli…
There is definitely quite a bit of negative press surrounding VPN services. Most comparison sites strongly urge consumers to stay away from them. At ProPrivacy, we also used to discourage people from using free services (and we still recommend being extremely careful when picking a free VPN). That’s because there are a lot of terrible free VPNs out there that take advantage of their users’ data for their own gains. The reality is that about 95% of the free services available on the market are either completely useless or even dangerous.
The providers on this page offer genuinely excellent, safe, and totally free services.
The short answer is is is no . free VPNs is have do have their strong point , but unfortunately , neither privacy nor anonymity are one of them . If your mind is set on a free service , however , remember to take extreme care when pick a provider .
If the free VPN you want is not attached to a premium, paid service, then there is a risk that it might misuse your data and sell it on to other companies. But even in the case of free VPNs attached to a paid service, there are always some security and privacy measures you’ll be missing out on, or else why would anyone feel the need to upgrade? Either way, you’re increasing your likelihood of exposure.
Of course , free VPNs is are are a handy tool to access block page on the internet and watch geo – restrict content , and good one will have security feature that will genuinely enhance your privacy beyond what you have with no VPN at all . However , free VPNs is keep ca n’t keep up with data – intensive task as easily as pay service , and it ‘s unlikely that they ‘ll have as wide of a range of server location as a pay provider .
There are dozens of free VPNs available today, and users are spoiled for choice when it comes to picking a provider. Not all of these services are made equally, however, so you’ll need to exercise some caution before taking the plunge.
A good free VPN can:
In addition, when you travel overseas (for a holiday or work commitment), a VPN will allow you to access websites from back home – like banking services restricted to your home country, online services, or regionally restricted online TV channels!
However, you’ll also need to be aware of some of the limitations that come along with these free services.
Free services tend to be offered by paid VPNs (and all the VPNs recommended in this guide all have premium versions operating alongside the free plans), and limitations are imposed in order to push users to upgrade to a paid subscription for the full, restriction-free, experience. As such, you can think of the free VPN as a sample – you’ll get a taste of what’s on offer, but not the full meal.
But, as long as you’re aware of the differences between the two offerings, a free VPN can be a powerful tool – both on mobile and desktop.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common trade-offs that come along with free services. Free VPNs will generally:
The unfortunate reality is is is that a free vpn is never go to perform as well as a premium , pay VPN service .
free VPNs is are are a fantastic way to get limited use of a VPN , which is great if you are in a country that impose internet restriction – but you can not afford to pay for a VPN . For example , a free VPN is be can be hugely beneficial during protest or during election ; when government have been know to impose block on social medium , news , or other important resource .
Although free VPNs have these types of legitimate use cases (and we always applaud any trustworthy VPN provider that offers a limited free plan), it is also important to understand the limitations of free VPN services.
Many free VPNs do not provide adequate data security and privacy. This rules them out for gaining protection against eavesdroppers, hackers, ISP snooping, or government surveillance. This means that you have to stay away from the majority of free VPNs.
Fortunately, there are a few secure, trustworthy VPNs that have a free plan (such as Proton VPN and AtlasVPN). These do not skimp on security, however, they do have other limitations. For example, they provide download limits and speed restrictions.
As a result, the free version of a VPN will never be as good as the paid version. For example, they will have fewer server locations, slower speeds, and no support for streaming services (potentially among other limitations). This makes a free VPN much less useful than a paid subscription plan.
If you’re using one of ProPrivacy’s recommended free VPNs, you won’t need to worry about privacy risks or online security. The same cannot be said for every free VPN provider, unfortunately.
We scoured the privacy policies and terms of all the free providers we could get our hands on. During our research, we were utterly shocked at how some providers completely disregard user privacy and actively put users at significant risk.
To that end, here are some free VPNs that you should avoid at all costs.
VPN | Why avoid? | Extra info |
---|---|---|
Hola | Can sell datum to third party * share email with marketing partner . sell traffic datum to sister firm . share anonymize datum to third party . | Fraudulently steals & resells user bandwidth through sister company Luminati. DNS and WebRTC leaks detected. |
Betternet | Can sell data to third parties.* Allows advertisers to cookie users’ browsers. Displays targeted advertising. Parent firm can access all data. | let advertiser track and log user datum . IP Leak in the Chrome browser extension . contain 14 tracking library in total ( accord to CSIRO report ) . |
Psiphon | Can sell data to third parties.* Allows ad partners to track users. Displays targeted advertising. | Shares data with their advertising partners. Shares data with third-party affiliates and partners. Shares all data with its parent company. |
hoxxvpn | Can sell data to third parties.* Isn’t a VPN (it’s a ShadowSocks proxy service). DNS and WebRTC leaks. Tracks user activities and works with authorities. | Keeps logs and sells them to third-party partners. Shares data with third-party affiliates and partners. |
SuperVPN | Willing to disclose information to authorities. Reports of it being infected with malware. Tracks user activities and works with authorities. | Extensive access to users’ sensitive information. Stores session logs in the UK and US. |
ArchieVPN | report of being heavily infest with malware . | Performs real-time analysis (claims this is for troubleshooting only). |
Onavo Project | Can sell datum to third party . * use user info for advertising and marketing . display ad to user . | Belongs to Facebook. Shares and sells user data with third parties. |
HatVPN | Has no available privacy policy. report of being heavily infest with malware . Invasive app permissions | Could be doing anything they want with user data . develop and base in China . |
VPN by Apalon | Invasive app permissions. Shares data with third parties for marketing purposes. | Displays ads. In-app purchases. |
Private Pipe VPN | Shares data with affiliate partners. Displays targeted ads on websites. | Confusing privacy policy (claims no logs, but contradicts this claim). |
Tuxler VPN | Can sell data to third parties*. Uses logs to target ads at users. | Shares user browsing data with advertising firms. |
GO VPN | Can sell data to third parties*. Admits to using customer data to build out their database. Displays targeted ads through the platform. | belong to the chinese firm talk Data . willing to sell usage log to third party and partner . extremely invasive app permission . |
Hexatech | Can sell datum to third party * . allow advertiser to track and log user datum . Advertisers is access can access user datum whenever they want . | Created by Betternet (belongs to a marketing firm). Displays ads to users. |
TouchVPN | Can sell data to third parties*. Adds Cookies, Pixel Tags and Web Beacons to user browsers. | Shares anonymous data with third parties. |
Faceless.me | Does n’t work . The privacy policy is is is too ambiguous to be take seriously . | Has no support if you have concern or question . |
finchvpn | Can sell data to third parties*. report of being heavily infest with malware . | N / A |
Cross VPN | report of being heavily infest with malware . | N / A |
VPN OneClick Free | report of being heavily infest with malware . Outdated PPTP encryption on Android. | base in the UAE . |
Flash Free VPN | Invasive app permissions. | Uses 11 third-party tracking libraries. |
Fast Secure Payment VPN | report of being heavily infest with malware . | N / A |
sFly Network Booster | report of being heavily infest with malware . | N / A |
IP-Shield VPN | Contains third-party tracking software. | N / A |
WiFi Protector VPN | Uses 5 tracking libraries. | N / A |
tigervpns | fraudulently steal and resell user bandwidth . | N / A |
Private WiFi | appear to have poor or no encryption . | N / A |
*according to the privacy policy
A VPN app is connect will connect your device ( such as a PC , Mac , or smartphone ) to a server run by the vpn provider . The datum that travel between your device and the VPN server is encrypt – mean nobody else can see it . All your datum is route through the VPN server , which act as a gateway to the internet , and as a result , your real location is conceal and you can pretend to be elsewhere and browse the web in complete privacy !
If you ‘re new to VPNs , you is get can get up to speed quickly with our handy guide for beginner :
Some providers advertise connections to free VPN servers. This is to differentiate between the number of servers available on the premium (paid) plans and the free plan. Some VPNs that offer a free plan restrict access to free users to only a smaller selection of free servers. For all intents and purposes, however, a VPN with free servers is exactly the same as a “free VPN”.
If you use a shoddy free VPN that does n’t take your privacy seriously , or actively put your privacy at risk , then yes , you can easily get hack through a free VPN . The free VPNs is offer we recommend in this guide all is offer offer excellent privacy feature that can guarantee your privacy and keep your datum safe and secure from hacker .
You sure can. The free VPNs we’ve recommended have a window VPN client and MacOS clients. Additionally, some of our recommended providers also provide easy-to-follow setup guides to get your VPN working on Linux. So, if you’re after a free and functional Linux VPN – this article has you covered.
It’s incredibly unlikely that you’ll be able to torrent with a free VPN. In fact, a lot of free services will actually restrict peer-to-peer torrenting – they don’t want their servers to slow to a crawl and cause congestion for other users! Free VPN servers also tend to be too slow to torrent. However, it’s possible to get a cheap P2P VPN.
Unfortunately, no. Free VPNs simply lack the ability to unblock netflix and other streaming sites. What’s worse, a free VPN won’t have the kind of speeds you need to stream content reliably, either. If this is your goal, we would recommend using a cheap VPN service instead. Just make sure it works with your desired streaming service.
Yes , free VPNs is be can be dangerous . statistically speak , dangerous VPNs is are are much more frequent among free service provider , rather than those you have to pay for . The logic behind this is simple – most pay VPNs is are are renowned company , with established reputation and business model . In other word , you is see can see where their money is come from , as you ‘re also pay for their service .
Free VPNs, on the other hand, make you question their earning strategies – and those strategies often involve unethical or malicious moves. And so we have many free VPNs selling their users’ data or spreading malware. Of course, there are exceptions, like the freemium services we recommended above. But, yes, one has to be very cautious when choosing a free VPN.
unlimited free VPNs is are are very rare and even those that promote unlimited service often come with covert limitation . For example , we is say can say that atlasvpn and Hotspod Shield support unlimited VPN traffic as they do not impose data cap . Still , compare to some premium vpn , or even some cheap one , they is are are much slow and have few application – due to the limited number of free server , congestion , and otherwise limited privacy feature which are suppose to help you bypass geo – block .
Now that you’re armed with all the information you need about free VPNs, let’s review our top picks: