Are these the best deals of a lifetime – or money down the toilet?

Are the best deals, the deals that last a lifetime? That’s certainly the sell from plenty of services out there today in the 2024 end-of-year sales – but if something sounds too good to be true then, often, that’s because it is.

We’ve picked out some of the most prominent lifetime deals and looked at what they're promising. Are they the deals of a lifetime or is there a better deal on offer?

Note: all prices are in US$ but the deals are available in UKP too.

Lifetime deals – quick list

• Lifetime VPN deal: FastestVPN – $22.90 for life!
• Best cheap VPN deal: Surfshark – $1.99 per month

• Lifetime password manager deal: Proton Pass – $199 EXPIRED
• Best password manager deal: NordPass – $1.16 per month

• Lifetime Ad Blocker deal: AdGuard – $33 for life!
• Best Ad Blocker deal: uBlock Origin – Free!

• Lifetime cloud storage deal: pCloud 3-in-1 – £599 for life!
• Best cloud storage deal: anything free

Lifetime VPN – FastestVPN vs Surfshark

FastestVPN is offering a lifetime VPN deal right now. Reach into your wallet for $22.90 and you’ve got FastestVPN forever!

So, is it a good deal?

YES! It’s an excellent deal. FastestVPN normally comes in at around $40 for a lifetime plan, so you can consider it a genuine 2024 lifetime deal bargain!

Drawbacks

We reviewed FastestVPN and we rate it as a 3.5-start product. That’s not bad at all. It’s got you covered for the basics of privacy and it’ll do the trick for most of your streaming, torrenting, and gaming needs. It’s a little more limited on some of the security trimmings, it’s got fewer server locations than a lot of our best VPN service providers and, despite its name, it’s a bit on the slow side but, at $22.90 for life, it’s a stone cold bargain. Go for it.

Alternative: Surfshark ($1.99/month)

But, discerning price-conscious VPN buyers should consider Surfshark. Ok, it’s not $22.90 for life. It’s $55 for 2 years ($1.99 per month is how it’s marketed) but it’s a 4.5-star VPN and it really is the fastest VPN on the market.

Lifetime password manager – Proton Pass vs NordPass

Privacy-centric Proton was offering a lifetime's access to its password manager and it's very handy email alias service and all with premium features. That came in at $199 for Pass + SimpleLogin. Sadly, the deal has expired but our alternative suggestion is still available:

Alternative: NordPass ($1.16/month)

We rate NordPass as the best password manager on the market right now. Does it have a lifetime deal, though? No but the $1.16 deal is pretty compelling and only commits you to spending $34.83 which is a lot less than $199.

Lifetime ad blocker – AdGuard vs uBlock

Tired of viewing the internet through a tiny space between massive adverts that follow you around the page? Of course you are. AdGuard is a browser add-on that removes adverts and other kinds of annoying page elements. That makes for a better user experience as well as quicker loading pages, and it saves you data too. This AdGuard has a 45% discount on its lifetime plans. So, is it a good deal?

HELL, YES! We rate AdGuard as one of the best ad blockers out there and give it a 4.5-star rating in our AdGuard review. It’s particularly good for desktop use.

Drawbacks

None really. There are even better ad blocker services out there but, at this price, and for this length of time, it’s hard to beat AdGuard today.

Alternative: uBlock Origin

uBlock Origin is our top-rated ad blocker and, if all you need is a browser extension, then it’s arguably a better choice. Why? Because it’s free.

Lifetime cloud storage – pCloud vs free services

Lifetime deals are fairly commonplace in cloud storage but if you’re looking for a lifetime special, look no further than pCloud. You can get the 3in1 Lifetime for $599 instead of $1,563. So, is it a good deal?

NOT BAD. pCloud is one of our best cloud storage providers and the discount is certainly welcome.

Drawbacks

Lifetime deals are a bit more limited when it comes to data storage. 5TB is a big deal now, but 100GB felt like a lot 20 years ago. How’s that looking these days?

Alternatives: free services

There are a lot of free cloud storage services out there. In fact, pCloud and most other providers offer a certain amount for free. Just check that you really need all that space before you pay.

BONUS: Lifetime language learning – Babbel

Language learning app Babbel has a few 2024 Black Friday deals still live including the fairly chunky $299 lifetime offer. So, is it a good deal?

MAYBE. Babbel is one of the biggest language learning platforms but we’ve never reviewed it ourselves on TechRadar. It's very well-liked, won awards as the best product in its category, and it’s certainly well-established, having been around for 16 years. More to the point, the lifetime plan normally costs $599, so it’s certainly a discount. It's a pretty good deal, so long as you're committed to the learning.

Drawbacks

It’s not exactly cheap, particularly when Babbel’s main rival has a free tier...

Alternative: Duolingo

Duolingo is free to use, so it costs absolutely nothing. That’s a pretty good deal all year round. Granted, functionality is more limited than what Babbel offers but it’s still a daily available language learning tool.

Another alternative: Rosetta Stone

Not to be outdone, the other big-three language learning app has a lifetime deal of its own. Right now, you can get a lifetime's subscription to Rosetta Stone for $149. That's full access to all 25 languages for half the price that Babbel's offering.