Best Free VPN in 2024: Fast and Secure Options

If you’re running low on money, the best possible free VPN is your only choice. Premium providers are by no means expensive. However, if your wallet is emptier than a banker’s heart and you don’t see yourself paying for such a service, we got you covered.

Using a good free VPN is a fine way of protecting your privacy. By installing it on your device, you can go online anonymously and prevent your ISP from spying on you. Security and privacy are bliss these days in the dangerous online world.

However, we must warn you that free VPNs aren’t always safe and secure. In fact, they rarely are. Free providers often store logs and collect your private data, later selling it to various companies. Think of this as “compensation” for providing a complimentary service.

Don’t worry, though. Our team of experts would never recommend such abominations to you. Today, we’re focusing on the best free VPNs that you can use and still get at least a decent experience.

Best Free VPNs for 30 Days [Premium VPNs free trial]

Before discussing the top really free VPNs, let’s take a quick detour and present to you a much better solution. Some premium providers let you use them risk-free and not lose any money in the first 30 days with a money-back guarantee.

This means you can enjoy a full-fledged premium service with no limits and still pay nothing.

In other words, you’ll get:

• Unlimited traffic
• Perfect security
• Large server network
• 24/7 client support
• Fast speeds
• and much more!

Our team of experts recommends three specific VPNs that we found extremely reliable and secure. They include NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Private Internet Access.

NordVPN: The Best Risk-Free VPN Overall

We know that NordVPN isn’t a free VPN. According to our ranking of the top paid VPN services, it’s actually #1. Now, this isn’t a problem because the service has a nifty 30-day refund policy. It’s not an average refund policy but rather a money-back guarantee!

This means you’re guaranteed to get a refund if you request it in the first 30 days. The solution to using NordVPN as the best free VPN is to get it, enjoy it for a month, and obtain a refund. Of course, the initial payment might be problematic for some.

Try NordVPN Risk-Free

That’s why our team ensured you can get a special discount and lower the price to just approximately $3 a month. In doing so, you won’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy this highly appreciated Virtual Private Network in all of its beautiful glory.

Why Use NordVPN?

We’ll briefly review its features as the most reliable VPN with free 30 days trial. This provider has 6,300+ servers in 110+ countries, with a high-quality RAM-only server fleet. NordVPN doesn’t skimp on security and includes features like Double VPN and Meshnet.

This VPN has Threat Protection for blocking ads and removing malware and viruses. Moreover, users enjoy its Obfuscated servers handy for bypassing Chinese censorship. NordVPN is a powerful all-arounder that includes a handful of dedicated IPs.

As stated in our NordVPN review, it doesn’t keep traffic logs and won’t infringe on your privacy by spying on your IP address or geolocation. We love NordVPN for its modern apps for all devices. Unlike the best really free VPNs below, NordVPN offers 10 simultaneous connections, which is more than enough.

Another point for NordVPN is speed. It’s swift and doesn’t limit your monthly traffic. This is phenomenal for streaming or torrenting, further improved by reliable P2P servers. As a free VPN with its 30-day trial, NordVPN also offers Onion Over VPN servers.

Streaming lovers will appreciate SmartDNS support. It allows NordVPN to work on the first-gen Firestick and non-VPN-supported devices like PlayStation/Xbox consoles. We don’t need to mention its state-of-the-art 256-bit encryption and a rock-solid kill switch.

NordVPN has every feature you’d ever want from the biggest free VPN on the market. As said, it’s not “really” free but for 30 days, you’ll get an unforgettable experience you’ll find in no other free or paid VPN.

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ExpressVPN: A Fast VPN with 30 days refund-policy

Moving on with the list of our favorite free VPNs for 2024, we have ExpressVPN. It’s a more expensive provider overall and in our tests, it was slightly inferior to NordVPN. Nonetheless, being slightly behind NordVPN is a compliment and ExpressVPN is excellent – trust us!

The VPN has a nifty 49% discount thanks to 3 free months for its annual plan. This drops the price to a few monthly dollars and makes ExpressVPN slightly more affordable. However, the same principle applies as far as using it as the best free VPN goes.

Try ExpressVPN Risk-Free

There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee. This allows you to subscribe to ExpressVPN and use it for free by getting a refund. In the end, you enjoyed an amazing VPN for nothing, and the entire subscription works without costing you a cent – or a penny if you’re in the United Kingdom.

Why Use ExpressVPN?

Our tests showed that ExpressVPN was the best-performing provider, being on par with NordVPN. Its fast speeds perfectly complement Lightway, a proprietary protocol with amazing security and privacy. This protocol uses AES-256 encryption.

Furthermore, the VPN relies on RAM-only servers and has superb IP/DNS leak protection. ExpressVPN doesn’t stop there, as it also includes split tunneling to run only specific apps through the VPN tunnel. Everything works so well thanks to Perfect Forward Secrecy.

This ensures you can’t be traced because each connection is assigned a unique encryption key that can’t be compromised. ExpressVPN’s no-log policy received multiple audits from renowned auditors such as PwC, KPMG, Cure53, and Deloitte.

ExpressVPN has Advanced Protection that keeps trackers and malicious sites at bay. There’s also Parental Control to block adult sites if you have children. If you use a free VPN for entertainment, you’ll be impressed. ExpressVPN works with streaming services and thanks to its hastiness, it’s ideal for online gaming.

Best of all, its P2P connections are stable and the VPN fully supports Tor Over VPN connections! ExpressVPN is more than decent if you’re on iOS or macOS. However, it also works on Windows and Android and boasts a reliable app for many Linux distros.

Unlike NordVPN, it allows for only 8 simultaneous connections, which while enough, is less imposing. In general, ExpressVPN is a great free VPN for speed, safety, security, and streaming. It’s risk-free, so check it out.

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Private Internet Access: Safety & Security at No Cost for 30 Days

Let us tell you about one more excellent VPN provider with a 30-day free trial – Private Internet Access. We’ll call it PIA. It’s the most affordable provider here, with a ludicrous 2-year plan with a couple of free months at just over $2/mo. It’s hard to beat PIA at its game of affordability.

This VPN isn’t “cheap” in terms of quality. As we’ll explain soon, it’s pretty capable overall, beating many of its more expensive rivals – Hotspot Shield, for instance. You know the drill by this point. PIA is equipped with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Try PIA VPN Risk-Free

Therefore, the process of acquiring it is the same. You’ll claim a discount through our site, download, and use the VPN for free for 30 days. Before 30 days are over, get a refund from PIA and you’re all set. That’s how you enjoy one of the best VPNs without paying anything!

Why Use Private Internet Access?

To be clear, PIA isn’t better than NordVPN or ExpressVPN but it has one BIG advantage. Unlimited simultaneous connections. This means protecting ALL your devices with ONE subscription. As a result, PIA is incredibly valuable as a free VPN service.

Other than that, the provider packs 30,000+ servers and covers every American state. This allows its users to access many Netflix catalogs and other streaming platforms. The VPN implements WireGuard as well. This protocol works pretty well with PIA’s 10 Gbps servers.

We noticed that the VPN’s performance is stable and reliable across all of its locations. Security is top-notch. PIA has the MACE feature, which blocks ads and trackers. It also sports advanced options like Shadowsocks Proxy for circumventing firewalls and various blocks.

The SOCKS5 proxy is there, as well as MultiHop, which routes your traffic through two servers and provides two encryption layers. PIA doesn’t keep logs. Its no-logs policy has been proven in court multiple times, on top of which, there’s an audit from Deloitte.

Despite being in the US, PIA is privacy-inclined and never had a single logging incident, unlike IPVanish or HMA. PIA’s apps are modern-looking and available for all devices except for Fire TV Stick. However, it’s not a big deal considering other notable qualities.

Other features include dedicated IPs, antivirus (optional add-on), a kill switch, split tunneling, and Private DNS. PIA is P2P-friendly, offers round-the-clock 24/7 support, and comes with unlimited bandwidth. What more to wish from one of the top-rated free VPNs for up to 30 days?!

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The Top 5 REALLY Free VPNs [NO Card Required]

If you don’t want to bother with risk-free VPNs and would rather use a VPN without a credit card, we understand. In that case, you must use one of the best VPNs that won’t cost you a cent. As promised, we’ll cover these services too.

However, we want you to pay special attention to their offerings. They’re far more stingy than NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and PIA.

1. Proton VPN

When you see what this great free VPN has to offer, you’ll think it’s some kind of scam. It’s not. Proton VPN indeed has unlimited traffic and is among the safest really free VPN services around. There is no wonder why it is so widely adopted. Don’t believe us? Well, read its privacy policy and see how it keeps ZERO logs.

Proton VPN is filled with security features too. From 256-bit encryption and a kill switch to the WireGuard protocol, Stealth VPN on macOS, VPN Accelerator, and split tunneling. Proton VPN’s free version relies on RAM servers too for superb security against snoopers.

So, what’s the catch? Is there such a thing as a free lunch? Proton VPN’s free version is noticeably slower than the paid. You also get no P2P support and every torrenting attempt will be met with stalled downloads/uploads.

We’re also disappointed by its server park. While its bare-metal 10 Gbps servers are of the utmost quality, they’re slowed down to “force” you to buy the premium VPN. This is also because of overcrowding, as Proton VPN offers only 5 server locations. Sadly, you can’t choose the location, and you can connect only to the “Fastest” one.

It has around 200 free servers in total, which explains why all servers are filled to the brim with users around the world. This results in unstable performance, which especially affects gamers. Another shortcoming is streaming support – or lack thereof.

Proton VPN can’t unblock any popular streaming platform. On top of that, the VPN lacks premium Secure Core servers, has no 24/7 live chat support, and can protect only ONE device at a time. In short, the polar opposite of our preferred free VPNs for 30 days.

Try Proton VPN for free

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2. Hide.me

Among the best free VPN services in 2024 is Hide.me. This one saw massive improvements recently, with unlimited bandwidth and stellar speed overall. Hide.me performs well and offers a crystal-clear no-logs policy. It’s based in Malaysia, after all, which explains strong privacy.

Hide.me’s security is top-notch. Its 256-bit encryption protects you without compromises. We also tested its kill switch which works like a charm. Hide.me takes full advantage of Private DNS servers to avoid leaking your DNS address to the public eye.

Hide.me’s free VPN has more servers than Proton VPN. With 8 server locations in total, you’ll find servers in countries like Singapore, the US, Canada, and a few more. Also, Hide.me performs a tad better for gaming, with slightly lower latency than the aforementioned rival.

As always, there’s a catch. Hide.me doesn’t allow torrenting as a result of unlimited bandwidth. This would make its premium VPN pointless for P2P. As expected, you can’t access geo-restricted streaming services either, except for a few foreign TV channels.

Compared to our top 3 favorite free VPNs from above, Hide.me is still a LOT slower and performs worse. This is exacerbated by the lack of WireGuard, which could’ve improved the performance. Hide.me doesn’t offer many of its premium features either.

For example, the fast Bolt proxy is absent. MultiHop is locked to a premium account, and SmartGuard won’t work. A small redeeming factor is the 24/7 live chat service but it’s not as important as other features you’d expect from a quality non-paid VPN.

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3. PrivadoVPN

PrivadoVPN isn’t our favorite free VPN but its qualities are undeniable. This VPN costs nothing but is still as fast as many premium services. That’s because it uses 10 Gbps servers and provides WireGuard as the main protocol. PrivadoVPN offers a few unexpected pros.

For example, we noticed its ability to unblock a few Netflix libraries. Torrenting is also allowed and the VPN can be bound to clients like uTorrent or BitTorrent for added convenience. We appreciate PrivadoVPN’s ubiquitous servers.

It offers them in 10 countries such as the US, France, Canada, the UK, Mexico, Switzerland, and others. Being a Swiss VPN like Proton VPN, the provider’s logging practices are privacy-friendly, so no traffic logs are kept on its servers.

The downside is the lack of third-party audits that would make this reputable free VPN more trustworthy. Oh, and another downside is the 10 GB monthly bandwidth cap. It’s pretty small even for iOS and Android phones, let alone Windows or macOS computers.

PrivadoVPN doesn’t have Linux apps, which is disappointing. On the other hand, users with Android Smart TVs can install it and enjoy limited streaming. PrivadoVPN uses bank-grade encryption and the implemented kill switch prevents IP leaks for more privacy.

It lacks the SOCKS5 proxy from the premium version and there’s no Control Tower Smart DNS that blocks ads, malware, and ransomware. PrivadoVPN’s support is helpful but the VPN will quickly annoy you because of its traffic limit and no simultaneous connections.

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4. TunnelBear

TunnelBear isn’t annoying when you’re just looking at it. Its beautiful apps crafted with surgical precision grace iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices. TunnelBear has been audited many times and is one of the safest and most reliable free VPNs in 2024.

Its GhostBear feature is great for obfuscating your VPN traffic. Even the VigilantBear feature, which is a kill switch, works completely fine. TunnelBear’s dependable DNS/IP leak protection stops leaks in tracks. And there’s a no-log policy that ensures the VPN’s safety.

TunnelBear is the largest free VPN too. With 3,000 servers in around 50 countries, you’re getting plenty for the money. TunnelBear isn’t a slouch and our tests have proven that it performs fairly well. Nowhere near NordVPN, however.

We said TunnelBear isn’t annoying but once you start to use it, it becomes infuriating. You see, the VPN’s bandwidth limit is 2 GB a month and we think it’s insolent. This amount of bandwidth is hardly enough for one DAY of browsing, let alone an entire month.

The VPN also isn’t P2P-friendly, so all torrenting endeavors are blocked. Despite the imposing server network, TunnelBear is poor at bypassing geo-blocks. It’s a Canadian VPN in the 5 Eyes country, which is a slight concern. But as explained, it keeps no logs either way.

TunnelBear is by no means the #1 free VPN overall strictly for its traffic limit. When we think about it, it lacks many things as well. There’s no Firestick VPN app, it protects one device at a time, customer support is subpar, and MultiHop is absent. So yeah, it’s not excellent.

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5. Hotspot Shield

At the bottom of our ranking of the most dependable free VPNs is Hotspot Shield. Its excellence is undeniable if we mention the proprietary Hydra protocol and plenty of US servers. The Hydra protocol is based on OpenVPN TLS, which brings many benefits.

One of them is obfuscation and swift firewall circumvention. Hotspot Shield is decent for schools when you want to unblock social media platforms. Another perk is the VPN’s split tunneling, which is available on all platforms and allows for a more bespoke experience.

Hotspot Shield’s free version comes with a kill switch and is reasonably fast. Its modern apps span all platforms and the VPN can be installed on routers and TVs. But the most annoying thing is the bandwidth restriction of 500 MB daily – not 15 GB monthly.

Unspent bandwidth doesn’t “spill over” to the next day, making the VPN quite limiting. No, it won’t work for streaming and torrenting will be limited to very small files – perhaps 2-3 songs daily. We said this free VPN has US servers but that’s all you’re getting.

No other locations are in play, which is another annoyance. Perhaps the second-worst thing is privacy. Hotspot Shield claims to not keep logs in the free version. Yet, its free mobile VPN apps are littered with targeted ads that wouldn’t be possible without logging.

We’ve heard that Hotspot Shield also sells your private data to earn money from its free VPN, making the VPN not exactly “free of charge.” Its security is great overall but if you care even slightly about not leaving your digital footprints exposed, you’ll despise it.

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Why We Don’t Usually Recommend Using Free VPNs

Now that our ranking of the top free VPNs is complete, let’s discuss another issue. Our team is against free services, especially with the presence of pretty affordable premium offers. Take NordVPN and PIA as examples. Their prices don’t go over $3.5/mo.

Yet, they offer staggering performance, impenetrable security, and amazing free VPN apps for all platforms. However, to clarify this subject further, we’ll go over some of the most notable shortcomings you can expect if you use 100% free services.

Bandwidth Restrictions

The obvious caveat with these providers is restricted bandwidth. Proton VPN and Hide.me are unlimited but think about the performance you’re getting. Both of these can be painfully slow and make the experience infuriating and discouraging.

VPNs with limited bandwidth, such as PrivadoVPN, usually offer faster speeds but then, you have only 10 GB a month to spend. As you can see, even the best free VPNs will limit you in some way and compromises will start to rear their ugly heads immediately.

You can’t get both unlimited bandwidth and fast speeds – sometimes neither. That’s not the case with risk-free providers like NordVPN or ExpressVPN whose performance, speed, and stability are far superior to the 5 top picks we presented previously.

No Streaming/P2P Support

One thing in common for most free VPN providers is the lack of streaming support. It just so happens that services with limited bandwidth can unblock a few popular streaming platforms – only a few, no more. In most cases, you can forget about this satisfaction.

No free VPN works with Netflix and their slow speed makes streaming a chore. As a result, you won’t be able to count on them to change region on Netflix.

What about torrenting? Proton VPN, Hide.me, and TunnelBear will prevent you from using P2P traffic. Hotspot Shield and PrivadoVPN allow it but guess what – their bandwidth is limited!

Once again, you’ll face severe issues with these activities, both of which require powerful VPNs and plenty of bandwidth. You’ll find these features in NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and PIA, all of which work with Netflix and fully embrace P2P support on thousands of servers.

Questionable Privacy & Security

We’re a team of cybersecurity experts who hate privacy-unfriendly providers. Our creme de la creme free VPNs (the first three) are amazing in this regard. But then, you have Hotspot Shield which stores logs and possibly sells your data, employing targeted ads as well.

While our 5 favorite options are safe and secure, plentiful other free VPNs aren’t. They come with a heap of problems, such as weak encryption, outdated protocols, and even IP and DNS leaks.

Worst of all is logging, which we can never forgive – and never will.

Subpar Compatibility

Have you noticed one stubborn trend up until this point? Free providers usually offer a few apps for basic platforms like:

• Windows
• macOS
• Android
• iOS

TunnelBear is a prime example of this but so is PrivadoVPN with its absence of proper Linux support. This usually isn’t a problem compared to the lack of simultaneous connections. Free providers are notorious for the lack of them, which can be tricky to overcome.

You can protect a single device at a time in all 5 really free VPNs we presented. If you use one of them on your PC, for example, you’ll have to log out of it and then log in on your phone to enjoy the provider’s features. Such an annoying trend.

Poor Customer Service

We haven’t gone in-depth about this but poor customer service is typical for such services. They prioritize paid users, leaving free users on the back burner. Proton VPN’s 24/7 live chat support is only for premium users, while free users rely on email support.

It’s much slower and if you have an urgent problem, you’ll wait for a day or two to fix it. Some free providers have NO customer support, which sounds funny but insulting at the same time. Urban VPN is one of them as one of the worst-rated services ever.

Which Free VPNs to Avoid?

Mentioning Urban VPN made us think about another thing. While our team doesn’t recommend non-paid options, we don’t think you should absolutely avoid all of them.

However, there are some examples of poorly designed services you should be wary of. They include:

• Urban VPN. Not the best pick – probably the worst. It offers a wealth of slow, unreliable, and IP-leaking servers. The provider doesn’t work for streaming, isn’t P2P-friendly, and comes with NO security features. Of course, it’s log-heavy and stores every bit of your private data, later selling it to third parties. Absolutely despicable.
• Hola VPN. This VPN at least works. It can (sometimes) be used with Netflix and offers unlimited traffic. On the other hand, the provider’s P2P nature means other users can hijack your IP address and use it for their own purposes online. Even worse, the VPN stores logs and sells them to companies like Bright Data and many others.
• Betternet. A provider from the same company as Hotspot Shield (Pango). It’s guilty of logging and frequent IP leaks. The provider offers an array of security features like Hydra and kill switch but offers a very small server park and is slow. Not to mention its annoyingly low daily bandwidth allowance of 500 MB per day.
• Mobile-only free VPNs. These are likely the worst examples. They’re usually available only on iOS or Android and offer free plans with sometimes unlimited traffic. However, they store traffic logs in the background and benefit from stealing your privacy. With ad-littered apps, they’re quite annoying and sometimes extremely slow. Avoid these at all costs.

Summary

After our comprehensive list of the best-rated free VPNs for 2024, it’s time to digress. For those too lazy to read, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and PIA are the obvious choices. They’re fantastic free VPNs for up to 30 days with no restrictions on security, privacy, and other aspects.

People on a shoestring budget will prefer not to pay at the start likely because they don’t have the money to spend on a VPN. This calls for another solution in the form of 100% free VPN services. Proton VPN and Hide.me are our favorites for unlimited monthly bandwidth.

Other providers that you can use without a credit card, like PrivadoVPN, TunnelBear, and Hotspot Shield are good but not great. You can use all five if you want but even those five combined aren’t enough to beat a risk-free VPN like NordVPN.

We gave you plenty of choices – 8 in total.

However, we want to come clean and be honest with you. Don’t expect a really free VPN provider to perform like some of our top picks. There’s a distinction between free and premium services and these two words should tell you enough about their differences.

Try NordVPN Risk-Free Now

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FAQs

Answering a few more questions is smart for a better understanding of the subject matter, so let’s do it to finalize this comprehensive free VPN ranking.

Are free providers a scam?

We’re against generalizing things. Not all of them are a scam but a good portion IS. That’s why it’s vital to pick a reputable and dependable free VPN to avoid unwanted problems. Our top picks fulfill this criterion, so you can pick which one you like.

Is there such a thing as a 100% free VPN?

Technically, there is if you think about money. You don’t pay anything with your money if that’s so important to you. But there are other means of payment and in today’s day and age, information is extremely valuable. Which information, you might be wondering?

Yours. Your private information is a good trading card for many free services. They use it to earn money and provide you with a “complimentary” service. That’s one way to pay for it. With your sensitive information. Another way is with your money – you choose.

How to get and set up a free VPN service?

Nothing is easier than that! You’ll need to create an account, download the app, and connect to a server. Some free providers don’t require an account and can be used right away, making them simple to set up and enjoy.

How to use NordVPN for free?

You can’t use this provider unless you pay for it. Fortunately, our guide mentioned a 30-day refund policy that can help. You’ll still have to pay for the service but with a refund at the end, it’s technically free for 30 days, as this is the refund period for every NordVPN subscription.