Proton VPN is the best free VPN, and it's the only no-cost virtual private network provider we recommend. Most free VPNs impose heavy restrictions on things like data allowances, usage time and connection speeds, making them practically useless for anything beyond virtually negligible online activities. Some free VPNs may even sell your data or plaster your screen with ads, but Proton VPN imposes no such limitations on its free users.

Proton VPN's free tier isn't without its restrictions, however. It has access to only five server locations and doesn't let you manually select a server -- you're stuck using the country's server that Proton automatically routes you through. It also lacks the full suite of features you get with a paid subscription, like creating custom profiles to connect to certain servers. By comparison, PrivadoVPN's free plan lets you pick a server manually while limiting you to 10GB of monthly usage. However, Proton VPN has had its no-logs policy audited and gives you unlimited data, so it's better than Privado, particularly for privacy-conscious users. Plus, Proton's zero-dollar tier delivers the same level of encryption and includes the same foundational privacy features as its premium version. Proton VPN's free plan is fast and works well with some streaming services. You can even use Proton's free plan on Android without signing up or creating an account.

If you're willing to step up to Proton VPN's paid plan, you'll get a massive international server network that's excellent for geo-unblocking. It's a fantastic upgrade path for folks with more demanding needs like a larger server selection and more simultaneous connections. Whether you've got critical privacy needs, want to stream foreign Netflix and Disney Plus libraries or need a VPN for travel, Proton VPN is a compelling choice.

VPN are useful privacy tools that let you hide your browsing history from your internet service provider (ISP), unblock region-restricted content like foreign Netflix libraries and avoid censorship or throttling. If you want to boost your privacy without paying, a free VPN service could be the answer. But you'll want a reputable no-cost VPN, because even if you're not paying money, you might be paying in other ways -- like sacrificing privacy. Our years of accumulated experience in VPN testing at CNET have shown us that most free VPNs are subpar in almost every imaginable aspect. For starters, the privacy protection offered by free VPNs is often questionable at best, with some of these services not even offering a zero-log policy (let alone any third-party audits). This means you have no way of knowing whether your internet data is in safe hands.

Free VPNs also usually only feature a limited number of server locations compared to paid VPNs. Even if you can find the location you want, the performance of these servers may be underwhelming, and your server speeds may be throttled. Many free VPN apps are plastered with ads. In the very worst case scenario, a free VPN you've downloaded could contain malware, so you'll want tolook out for red flags when downloading apps. To sum it up: If you're not paying for your VPN with cash, it's almost certainly true that you're paying with something far more valuable instead.

At CNET, we’re constantly testing and comparing VPN providers, and based on our testing, Proton VPN is the best free VPN -- and only no-cost VPN we enthusiastically recommend. Proton VPN offers strong privacy guarantees thanks to several third-party audits of its no-logs policy. Best of all, there's no data usage cap and no time limits, so you can really use Proton's free version as a day-to-day VPN.

However, many paid VPN providers offer free trials, which allow you to try out a VPN and see how you like it before committing to a purchase. As such, we've also listed a few of the best VPN providers, which offer either a timed trial or a money-back guarantee. By taking advantage of the money-back guarantees from VPNs inour list of trusted VPN companies, you can take any of the services we've listed for a trial run with access to all of the features you'd find available in the full version, without the risk of committing to a long-term subscription.

Privacy

The primary consideration for any VPN should be privacy. If a free VPN can't protect your online privacy, that VPN is useless. At a minimum, your VPN should employ industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption (over the OpenVPN and IKEv2VPN protocols) or ChaCha20 (WireGuard or IKEv2) along with offering basic privacy protections like a kill switch, DNS leak protection and a no-logs policy. For critical privacy needs, you'll also want a VPN provider that is based in a privacy-friendly jurisdiction. Look for a VPN with jurisdiction outside of the Five, Nine or 14 Eyesdata-sharing alliances.

While secure VPN protocols should ensure proper data encryption, you may want RAM-only server architecture -- which doesn't save any data to a hard disk, meaning your VPN session data theoretically isn't recoverable. Alternatively, we find full-disk encryption for servers perfectly acceptable. While they don't paint a full privacy picture, look for a VPN that undergoes regular third-party security audits, which can help bolster trust in the VPN's ability to protect its users' privacy. It's important to do your research and make sure the company behind the free VPN you're considering is legitimate and isn't tracking and selling your data.

Speed

The speed of your VPN can have a major effect on activities like streaming, downloading, video conferencing, gaming and general web browsing. To keep things running as smoothly as possible, you'll want to look for a VPN that will have as minimal an impact on your regular internet speeds as possible. Some VPNs can cut your internet speed in half, but we find that the fastest VPNs reduce your internet download speed by only 25% or less. Many free VPNs put limitations on speeds, but there are some -- like Proton VPN, which clocked an impressive 16% average internet download speed loss in our 2025 testing -- that don't. In such cases, you can actually achieve decent speeds.  

All VPNs slow down your internet connection somewhat, but the highest-performing VPNs only reduce your internet download speed by an average of 25% or less. We benchmarked VPNs by running over 250 different speed tests -- with and without a VPN enabled -- and across various international servers. Especially when looking for one of the best free VPNs, you'll want to make sure your virtual private network provider doesn't slow your speeds down. NordVPN was the fastest VPN we clocked, with Mullvad, Surfshark, Proton and ExpressVPN delivering excellent connectivity. Here's how the internet speed loss of our top VPNs stacked up:

Usability

A good free VPN should run smoothly and be easy to use regardless of your technical expertise. It should also be free of severe limitations that prevent it from doing what you need it to do. You'll want all essential functions -- enabling or disabling your VPN, changing servers, switching protocols and enabling features like split tunneling or the kill switch -- to be clear and obvious.

When evaluating a free VPN, the main things we focus on are safety and privacy. In other words, we want to be as certain as possible that the VPN isn't logging user data or selling it to outside parties, and we want to ensure that the encryption the VPN employs is up to industry standards. Accordingly, we only recommend no-cost VPNs that prioritize privacy and have been audited regularly by reliable third parties.

We test zero-dollar VPNs with the same rigor as paid options, checking for leaks, ensuring privacy features like kill switches work properly, poring over privacy policies and running over 250 individual internet speed tests. We evaluate how useful the free VPN is for the average user, in a practical sense. Is it fast enough for general browsing? Does it allow for streaming? Does it have data or usage limitations? A good free VPN is safe to use and is actually useful because it doesn't impose overbearing limitations that render it essentially ineffective as a VPN, like extremely restrictive monthly data allowances.

PrivadoVPN

PrivadoVPN is a decent no-cost VPN for casual users, with cheap VPN plans as upgrade paths. Whereas Proton VPN provides unlimited usage but doesn't let you pick a server manually, Privado limits you to 10GB per month of data but lets you pick from servers in 13 cities. The company features a privacy-friendly Swiss jurisdiction, a reader-friendly privacy policy and a great streaming service unblocking for watching foreign Netflix, Disney Plus, BBC iPlayer or other content libraries. Because of its Apple TV app, Privado is a goodApple TV VPN option. You'll pay $11 a month, $20 for the first year or $30 total for the first two years (the one-year plan renews at $60 and the two-year package renews at $96 every two years).

PrivadoVPN has a no-logs policy, but it hasn't been audited and hasn't published any transparency reports, meaning it's not ideal for folks with serious privacy concerns. Investigative journalists, political activists, asylum-seekers or paranoid torrenters may consider a VPN with better privacy, like Proton. Additionally, Privado's uneven internet speed loss (we clocked an average of 48% internet download speed loss in our 2024 testing) was pretty high. Its modest network of servers in 50 countries falls well below the 100-plus countries that many of our top VPN recommendations provide. Still, Privado could be a worthy choice as a free or cheap VPN, especially for basic privacy and streaming service unblocking.

Read our PrivadoVPN review.

Mullvad VPN

Mullvad VPN is a good budget VPN. It costs $5 a month with no price hikes, has blazing-fast internet speeds, cutting-edge privacy initiatives like a RAM-only server infrastructure and a privacy-conscious signup process. For privacy-concerned folks -- like investigative journalists, political activists or worried torrenters, Mullvad is a great option. Its small server network of 690 servers in 49 countries, coupled with its uneven streaming service unblocking capabilities, makes it a tough sell for people who want to stream foreign Netflix libraries or globetrot. If you want beefy privacy on a budget, Mullvad is a good choice.

Read our Mullvad review.

Hotspot Shield

PIA is a wallet-friendly VPN that’s cheaper than most competitors at $12 per month, $40 for the first year (renewing at $50 annually) or $79 total for three years of service. While there's no free tier, PIA is cheap, and does offer a 30-day free trial. PIA also offers unlimited simultaneous connections, a benefit that pricier VPNs like Proton, ExpressVPN and NordVPN don’t have. It’s suitable for streaming service unblocking, provides a solid network of 35,000-plus servers in 91 countries and has highly customizable, albeit a little unpolished, apps. Folks who live in or frequently travel to the US may appreciate PIA’s servers in all 50 of the United States -- this can be helpful for streaming regional sports, likeNFL games. 

We like that its apps are open-source, meaning anyone can inspect the source code for bugs or vulnerabilities, which is solid transparency. Only a few other providers, including Proton VPN and Mullvad, have open-source apps. While PIA largely sticks to covering the basics, it features some neat privacy amenities, including split tunneling on MacOS (which lets you use a VPN for certain apps and services but not others) -- a rarity among VPN providers. Notably, Surfshark also has Mac split tunneling. 

But unfortunately, PIA was rough around the edges in our latest round of testing. We clocked its internet speed loss at an underwhelming 49% average, meaningfully higher than the 25% average we like to see. Additionally, we encountered many CAPTCHAs while trying to perform basic tasks like running a Google search. Although streaming was largely decent, we had to change servers more often than with other providers, like NordVPN, Proton VPN, ExpressVPN or Surfshark. You can get Surfshark, which delivers far faster speeds, a better streaming experience and more forward-thinking privacy features, for a little more money. Still, PIA can be good on a budget for folks who need comprehensive US server coverage. Otherwise, your money is probably better spent on Surfshark or Proton VPN, both of which offer faster server performance and robust privacy while charging slightly more cash than PIA.

Read our PIA review.

Free VPNs simply aren't as safe

Free VPNs can be very dangerous. Why? Because to maintain the hardware and expertise needed for large networks and secure users, VPN services have expensive bills to pay. As a VPN customer, you either pay for a premium VPN service with your dollars or you pay for free services with your data. If you aren't ordering at the table, you're on the menu.

Some 86% of free iOS and Android VPN apps -- accounting for millions of installs -- have unacceptable privacy policies, ranging from a simple lack of transparency to explicitly sharing user data with Chinese authorities, according to two independent 2018 investigations intofree VPN apps from Top10VPN. Another 64% of free VPN app offerings had no web presence outside their app store pages, and only 17% responded to customer support emails. 

In June 2019, Apple reportedly brought the hammer down on apps that share user data with third parties. 80% of the top 20 free VPN apps in Apple's App Store appear to be breaking those rules, according to aJune update on the Top10VPN investigation.

In 2021, 77% of apps were flagged as potentially unsafe in the Top10VPN VPN Ownership Investigation -- and 90% of those flagged as potentially unsafe in the Free VPN Risk Index -- still posed a risk. 

"Google Play downloads of apps we flagged as potentially unsafe have soared to 214 million in total, rocketing by 85% in six months," the report reads. "Monthly installs from the App Store held steady at around 3.8 million, which represents a relative increase as this total was generated by 20% fewer apps than at the start of the year as a number of apps are no longer available."

On Android, 214 million downloads represent a lot of user login data, culled from unwitting volunteers. What's one of the most profitable things one can do with large swaths of user login data? 

You can catch malware 

Let's get this out of the way right now: 38% of free Android VPNs contain malware -- despite the security features on offer, aCSIRO study found. Yes, many of those free VPNs were highly-rated apps with millions of downloads. If you're a free user, your odds of catching a nasty bug are greater than 1 in 3. 

Ask yourself which costs less: a secure VPN service for about $100 a year, or hiring an identity theft recovery firm after some chump steals your bank account login and Social Security number?

It couldn't happen to you, right? Wrong. Mobile ransomware attacks are skyrocketing. Symantec detectedmore than 18 million mobile malware instances in 2018 alone, constituting a 54% year-over-year increase in variants. In 2019, Kaspersky noted a60% spike in password-stealing Trojans. 

Malware isn't the only way to make money if you're running a free VPN service; there's an even easier way. 

The ad-valanche

Aggressive advertising practices from a free plan can go beyond getting hit with a few annoying pop-ups and quickly veer into dangerous territory. Some VPNs sneak ad-serving trackers through the loopholes in your browser's media-reading features, which then stay on your digital trail like a prison warden in a B-grade remake ofEscape from Alcatraz.

HotSpot Shield VPN earned some painful notoriety for such allegations in 2017 when it was hit witha Federal Trade Commission complaint (PDF) for over-the-top privacy violations in serving ads. Carnegie Mellon University researchers found the company not only had a baked-in backdoor used to secretly sell data to third-party advertising networks, but it also employed five different tracking libraries and actually redirected user traffic to secret servers. 

When the story broke, HotSpot parent company AnchorFree denied the researchers' findings in an email toArs Technica: "We never redirect our users' traffic to any third-party resources instead of the websites they intended to visit. The free version of our Hotspot Shield solution openly and clearly states that it is funded by ads, however, we intercept no traffic with neither the free nor the premium version of our solutions."

AnchorFree has since offered annualtransparency reports, although their value is still up to the reader. More recently, HotSpot Shield was among just a handful of VPN apps found to respect users' refusal to permit ad tracking. In aNovember 2021 study from Top10VPN, just 15% of free VPN apps respected iOS users' choices when they declined voluntary ad-tracking. The rest of the free VPN apps tested by Top10VPN simply ignored users' Do Not Track requests.

Even if credit card fraud isn't a concern, you don't need pop-ups and ad-lag weighing you down when you've already got to deal with another major problem with free VPNs.

Buffering... buffering... buffering

One of the top reasons people get a VPN is to access their favorite subscription services or streaming site --Hulu,Max (formerly HBO Max),Netflix -- when they travel to countries where those companies block access based on your location. What's the point in accessing the geo-blocked video content you've paid for if the free VPN service you're using is so slow you can't watch it, despite a good internet connection?

Some free VPNs have been known to sell your bandwidth, potentially putting you on the legal hook for whatever they do with it. The most famous case of this wasHola VPN, which was caught in 2015 quietly stealing users' bandwidth and selling it, mercenary-style, to whatever group wanted to deploy the user base as a botnet.

Back then, Hola CEO Ofer Vilenski admitted they'd been had by a "spammer" butcontended in a lengthy defense that this harvesting of bandwidth was typical for this type of technology.

"We assumed that by stating that Hola is a [peer-to-peer] network, it was clear that people were sharing their bandwidth with the community network in return for their free service," he wrote.

If being pressed into service as part of a botnet isn't enough to slow you down, free VPN services also usually pay for fewer VPN server options. That means your traffic is generally bouncing around longer between distant, overcrowded servers, or even waiting behind the traffic of paid users.

To top it off, subscription streaming sites are savvy to those who try to sneak into their video services for free. These services routinely block large numbers of IP addresses they've identified as belonging to turnstile-jumping freeloaders. Free VPNs can't afford to invest in a long list of fresh IP addresses for users the way a paid VPN service can.

That means you may not even be able to log into a streaming service you've paid for if your free VPN is using a stale batch of IPs. Good luck getting HBO Max to load over that VPN connection. 

Paid options get better all the time

The good news is that a lot of solid VPNs on the market offer a range of features, depending on your needs and budget. You can browse our ratings and reviews to find the right VPN software for you. If you're looking for something mobile-specific, we'verounded up our favorite mobile VPNs for 2024.

If you'd like a primer before deciding which service to drop the cash on, we have a VPN buyer's guide to help you get a handle on the basics of VPNs and what to look for when choosing a VPN service.