A free VPN sounds perfect – complete online anonymity without spending a penny. However, as you may have guessed, there are very few free VPNs worth considering, and even those are significantly limited in terms of features and performance.
Free VPNs have to support themselves somehow, so it's important that you understand exactly how the provider can afford to offer its services without taking your money. The best are 'freemium', meaning that you'll get unlimited usage of a restricted version of the full paid product.
It's also worth mentioning that if you're thinking of downloading the first free VPN you find on the App Store, don't. Many are known to sell your data, and often provide no VPN protection at all.super vpn free download for pc It's a fact of life that you get what you pay for, and no free VPN can match the best VPN. However, if you're just looking for infrequent basic protection, they can be useful tools to have at hand. Just make sure to do your research and choose wisely – and don't expect to be able to unblock streaming sites.
The best providers overallThe three providers below – ExpressVPN (opens in new tab), Surfshark (opens in new tab) and NordVPN (opens in new tab) – are our highest-ranked VPNs overall. While they are paid products, they include 30-day money-back guarantees, which allow you to trial them risk-free for a month. Don't think it's worth your money? Just claim a full refund – no questions asked.
Are free VPNs safe?Well, it all depends on which free VPN you choose. While there are a few decent ones, they're vastly outnumbered by dubious, ad-filled apps with no background and no privacy policies. What's more, these could be harvesting your data – exactly the opposite of what you want from a VPN.
Beyond any risk to your privacy, though, it's important to understand that every free VPN comes with limitations, even the good ones. Almost all impose some sort of data limit, speed caps, and restrict you to a handful of servers at best.
If you want the best experience possible, we'd recommend signing up to a paid provider. Our top-rated VPN is ExpressVPN, but if you're looking to save some money we'd recommend Surfshark. For just $2.05 a month you'll have unlimited data and simultaneous connections, excellent streaming performance, rock-solid security, as well as in-depth features not available with free VPNs – and you'll also have a 30-day money-back guarantee to test it out risk-free.
However, if you're dead-set on testing out a free VPN for PC, Mac, or any other device, below we've rounded up the best five which manage to avoid compromising usability too much. Plus, all offer an upgrade plan should you like the service and want to get all the available features at a later date.
Our complete list of the very best free VPNs:(Image credit: Proton VPN) (opens in new tab) 1. Proton VPN FreeTruly secure with unlimited data – the best free VPN
Number of servers: 100+ | Server locations: 3 | Maximum devices supported: 1 | Data limit: Unlimited | Support: Website, email
ProtonVPN Free
(opens in new tab)Unlimited data allowance
Great privacy
Excellent speeds
Powerful desktop app
Secure Core and P2P restricted
We've tested a bunch of the best free VPNs, and out of the whole lot, Proton VPN Free impressed us the most. The Swiss provider is as close to being a long-term free VPN solution as we've found, and its history of great privacy and security addresses many of the fears that come along with free services.
First up, what sets Proton VPN Free apart from the pack is the fact it delivers truly unlimited data – this is one of the only free VPNs you really can set and forget without worrying about how much data you're using. And, with peak speeds of 380Mbps in our testing, you're unlikely to be slowed down.
While you won't get some premium features like Proton's Secure Core servers, you'll still get all the basics like WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols, a kill switch, access to the support team through email and a comprehensive knowledgebase. Proton is zero-logging as standard, and you'll also get split tunneling and useful leak protection. Many paid plans don't offer this – let alone a free option with unlimited data.
Of course, there are still some pretty big catches. You'll only have access to 3 server locations (US, Netherlands, Japan), you'll only be able to use your plan on a single device at a time and, unlike some free competitors, P2P isn't supported. If you're after a streaming VPN you're also out of luck, and malware and ad-blocking is off the table.
However, compared to the competition, Proton VPN Free is the most comprehensive free VPN download we've tested, especially in terms of privacy and security. If you really can't justify signing up to a paid provider, it's the service we'd recommend .
Today's best Proton VPN Free deals
ProtonVPN Free
(opens in new tab)(Image credit: Privado VPN) (opens in new tab) 2. Privado VPNA free VPN that can unblock Netflix (for now)
Countries: 9 | Server locations: 12 | Maximum devices supported: 1 | Data limit: 10GB per month (+ very slow unlimited data) | 24/7 live chat: No
Free VPN
(opens in new tab)Generous data allowance
Good speeds
Can unblock Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer
Apps are intuitive
Mobile offerings are a little weak
PrivadoVPN hasn't been around for long, but it's certainly made a splash, especially when it comes to free VPNs. In fact, PrivadoVPN Free can do something very few other services can – unblock some regional Netflix content.
