Discover the Leading Free Virtual Private Network (VPN) Options for Optimal Online Privacy

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.

This Cybersecurity Awareness Week article is brought to you in association with Incogni .

Windscribe

Best Free VPN for Netflix
Windscribe

Hide.me

Best Free VPN for Browsers
Hide.me

Proton VPN

Best Free VPN for Privacy
Proton VPN

PrivadoVPN

Best Free VPN with Lots of Servers
PrivadoVPN

What to Look For in a Free VPN in 2023

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 .

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Best Free VPN for Netflix: Windscribe

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.

Best Free VPN for Netflix

Windscribe

7/ 10

Windscribe is a reliable free VPN that offers good speeds and lets you access streaming servers even on the free plan.

Windscribe

Best Free VPN for Browsers: Hide.me

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 , which gave the VPN a 7/10, 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.

Best Free VPN for Browsers

Hide.me

7/ 10

Hide.me is a dependable free VPN that has a great extension for most browsers and a generous allowance of monthly bandwidth.

Hide.me

Best Free VPN for Privacy: Proton VPN

ProtonVPN

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.

Best Free VPN for Privacy

Proton VPN

7/ 10

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.

Proton VPN

Best Free VPN with Lots of Servers: PrivadoVPN

PrivadoVPN

If you want a large number of free servers to choose from, PrivadoVPN is your best choice. With 12 servers worldwide and 10GB of bandwidth, this free tier is pretty good— for example, Windscribe offers the same bandwidth but only ten servers. We give it a shout out in our PrivadoVPN review :

PrivadoVPN’s free plan is the real deal, all you need to do is sign up, and you’re good to go. It offers up to 10GB of bandwidth per month and gives you access to 12 servers around the world. These are located in North and South America as well as Europe, so they have a pretty decent spread.

However, quantity is not always better than quality. The free service comes packed with speed issues, and with few features, there isn’t much you can do to improve your VPN experience.

In addition, PrivadoVPN has some default settings you should change to ensure you remain safe while browsing—something you don’t need to do with the other services on this list. The VPN kill switch , which is normally on by default with most VPN services, is disabled with PrivadoVPN. The service can also automatically assign you to a VPN protocol , which not unusual for a VPN service, has a few protocols that aren’t as safe as other options.

Still, 10GB of protected browsing for free is pretty good once you tweak the settings, especially if you already used up the limits with Windscribe and Hide.me.

Best Free VPN with Lots of Servers

PrivadoVPN

6/ 10

PrivadoVPN isn’t a great VPN, but its free plan comes with a generous allowance of 10GB of bandwidth and a massive 12 servers worldwide.

PrivadoVPN

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.

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