The best free VPN in 2025

PrivadoVPN Free apps running on an open laptop and a mobile, lying on a desk.
(Image credit: Future)

Free VPNs don’t compare well to paid ones, not if you’re looking for a VPN for everyday use. They almost always come with limited performance and functionality. Many are also dangerous, but there are some good free VPNs out there.

We make it our business to test as many free VPNs as possible. We benchmark them in our VPN lab and put them through their paces on multiple devices with real-world user testing too.

Below are the five best free VPNs according to our VPN team. They’re all safe to use and the only ones that we recommend. We look forward to reviewing the ad-supported free VPN, EventVPN, from ExpressVPN, in the coming weeks and taking a look at Firefox VPN too.

If you want something more full-featured, then take a look at our best VPN page.

What is the best free VPN in 2025?

1. PrivadoVPN Free – the best free VPN overall

1. PrivadoVPN Free – the best free VPN overall
Our lab and user testing show that PrivadoVPN Free is the best free VPN in 2025. It has a good choice of servers and it's very fast. That makes it good for streaming and torrenting, although with limited usage because of its data cap. Read our full PrivadoVPN Free debrief below ▼

2. Proton VPN Free – best for unlimited use

2. Proton VPN Free – best for unlimited use
Proton VPN Free is fantastic, so long as you don't need to choose from servers in different countries. Its unlimited data offering and top-notch privacy credentials make it excellent for regular use but it's not a good choice for streaming or P2P. Read our full Proton VPN Free debrief below ▼

3. Windscribe Free – best for performance

3. Windscribe Free – best for performance
Windsrcribe Free is the choice for a fully-featured, speedy, and consistent VPN that can pretty much do it all. The only downside is that you'll get through its free data limit very quickly and, once you've hit it, there's no more until next month. Read our full Windscribe Free debrief below ▼

4. Hide.me Free – best for torrenting

4. Hide.me Free – best for torrenting
Hide.me Free allows unlimited usage. Combine that with a healthy server spread across Europe and North America, and you've got a free VPN that's a good choice for torrenting, with connections often close by. On the downside, it's not very pretty, and it's one of the slower free VPNs we've tested. Read our full Hide.me Free debrief below ▼

5. Hotspot Shield Basic – best for free US use

5. Hotspot Shield Basic – best for free US use
Hotspot Shield Basic isn't quite in the same class as the others above, but it does have the advantage of good server coverage in the US. Apps are easy to use and there's unlimited data on offer but it can get very overcrowded and the in-app ads are hideous. Read our full Hotspot Shield Basic debrief below ▼

Paid VPN deals

Free VPNs are good for occasional use but we'd always recommend a paid VPN if you're looking for full functionality like streaming, torrenting, private browsing, ad-blocking and malware protection.

If a paid VPN sounds like what you need, then how about a VPN free trial? That way you can make sure it's what you need before you commit to purchase. Surfshark is the best VPN free trial around at the moment.

Surfshark is our no.2 rated VPN and it's the only top VPN that offers a 7-day free trial. It's well worth a go for a week's use and way, way beyond.

Why you can trust this guide

We've been reviewing VPNs for over 11 years at TechRadar. We have a team of five staff members whose job it is to test and write about VPNs, VPN news and VPN use, full-time.

Each week, we test and use the free and paid VPN products themselves, both in the lab and on the team, so that we know how each one performs and can keep an eye on any changes to the products.

We have buying guides for most use cases, locations, and platforms as well as a knowledge base of how-to articles on their different features.

We monitor the free VPN market by using a custom-built VPN crawler that scans app stores for free VPN products. We sift out the obvious bad actors and bogus services and add the remaining to our list of free VPNs to test in the lab.

For each free VPN we test, we comb through its privacy policy and any published audit notes. We check its no-logs policy and its description of how it handles user data, and that it has been verified by third-party companies.

Free VPN comparison tables

We've put together some key free VPN comparison tables to summarize all the facts and features of each of our five recommended products.

They're designed as a quick reference to help decide which free VPN will best suit your needs. You'll find full details on all this information in the product review section lower down on the page▼.

First up is a table comparing the key specs – the network infrastructure basics, performance, what each of these free VPNs can do, and how much you can use them each month:

Limitations of this guide

There are too many free VPNs and too many devices to test absolutely every possible situation. That’s why we keep our lab testing to the four major platforms. So, for example, we haven’t tested how well each of these VPNs works on Linux.

Instead, we’re confident that if we’ve tested these VPNs on Android, iPhone, Windows, and Mac, and they’ve all been satisfactory, their performance on other platforms will be comparable. But do please provide feedback on anything platform-specific that you find, and we’ll gladly investigate.

Speaking of which, we would love to hear why you want a free VPN?

The best free VPNs in 2025

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you're buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

PrivadoVPN Free Windows and Android apps

(Image credit: Future)

1. PrivadoVPN Free

The best free VPN – stream Netflix and BBC iPlayer and have protected P2P fun at up to 10 GB per month.

Available on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux | Data limit: 10 GB per month | Connections: 1 | Countries: 10 | Support: 24/7 live chat, email and website

Streaming & torrenting
Speedy performance
Never cuts you off
One device connection
10 GB fast data cap
No security audits

PrivadoVPN Free is the all-around best free VPN right now, according to our lab results and our real-world user testing. It has the fastest speeds of any free VPN we’ve measured, a good mix of server locations, and streaming and torrenting functionality. The only limitation is its 10 GB per month data cap – but even after that, PrivadoVPN won’t cut you off entirely.

What's good about PrivadoVPN Free?


Proton VPN Free – best for unlimited use

Proton VPN running on a laptop and mobile phone.

(Image credit: Future)

2. Proton VPN Free

Unlimited data and top-notch privacy protection.

Available on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux | Data limit: Unlimited | Connections: 1 | Countries: 8, but no server choice | Support: Website, email

Unlimited data
Top privacy features
Secure kill switch
No server choice
Single device connection
No P2P

Proton VPN Free is a premium-feel free VPN without the price tag to match. It boasts unlimited data, reliable speeds, and Swiss data privacy assurances.

If privacy is your top reason for using a VPN, then Proton VPN is an absolute shoo-in. If it’s streaming and torrenting you’re looking for instead, then try PrivadoVPN, Windscribe, or, better still, get a paid VPN.

What’s good about Proton VPN Free?


Windscribe Free – best for performance

Windscribe Free apps on laptop and mobile

(Image credit: Future)

3. Windscribe Free

A strong choice for global browsing.

Available on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and Linux | Data limit: 15 GB | Connections: Unlimited | Countries: 10 | Support: Website, email

10 server countries
Security suite included
Streaming & P2P
15 GB data cap
Hard data limit
Confusing apps

Windscribe is a well-known, handy, and lightweight free VPN service with a proposition more like PrivadoVPN Free than Proton VPN. It remains independent with no agenda-driven conglomerates or shady investors behind it. In the world of privacy software, there’s a lot to be said for that.

Windscribe is consistently one of the fastest free VPNs we tested. It also successfully unblocked every streaming service that we tried to trip it up with, although do bear in mind that Windscribe Free VPN is limited by its choice of only 10 VPN country locations and the 15 GB monthly usage cap. So, there are not many streamers you can actually access, nor much you can watch before you hit your data limit.

But, with a good selection of apps, including now one for Apple TV boxes, some excellent browser extensions, a strong feature set, and some audited, if slightly maverick, security software behind it, there’s very little not to like.

What's good about Windscribe Free VPN?


Hide.me Free – best for torrenting

Hide.me Free apps on laptop and mobile

(Image credit: Future)

4. Hide.me Free VPN

A great choice for torrenting with expert-level privacy protection.

Available on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS Linux, Chrome and Firefox | Data limit: Unlimited | Connections: 1 | Countries: 7 | Support: Website, email, live chat

P2P support
Highly configurable
Powerful mobile apps
Below average speeds
Apps can seem complex
No streaming

Hide.me Free might not top our rankings, but its core VPN product is surprisingly solid and it's particularly suited to torrenting. Advanced users will appreciate the high level of customization.

Having no monthly data cap means you can use it without worrying about hitting your limit, but PrivadoVPN and Windscribe are better options for streaming.

What’s good about Hide.me Free?


Hotspot Shield Basic – best for free US use

Hotspot Shield Basic apps on laptop and mobile

(Image credit: Future)

5. Hotspot Shield Basic VPN

Absolutely no data limits, but look out for ads.

Available on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux and Chrome | Data limit: Unlimited | Connections: 1 | Countries: 3 | Support: Website

Unlimited bandwidth
Easy to use
Respectable speeds
Only 3 countries
No streaming
Video ads on the mobile apps

Hotspot Shield Basic is a no-frills free VPN with some good speeds but mobile users will have to contend with ads, too. It lacks features compared to Windscribe, Proton VPN and Hide.me, and though the unlimited bandwidth comes in handy for browsing social media and torrenting, Hotspot Shield Basic isn't a viable VPN for streaming.

What's good about Hotspot Shield Basic?

Are free VPNs secure?

Some free VPNs are safe, and some are not. We've applied speed tests, encryption tests, DNS leak tests, and more to all the free VPNs we've recommended on this page. You can rest assured that any we've mentioned here are safe to use. You can read more about how we test VPNs.

As we say, though, there are a lot of free VPN services out there that you should avoid like the plague. Three VPNs have been topping the app store charts which actually pose huge risks to user data.

Are free VPNs slow?

Some free VPNs, like PrivadoVPN Free and Windscribe Free, are pretty fast, but they’re not quite as quick as their speediest premium alternatives. Using our 1 Gbps testing line and the WireGuard protocol, PrivadoVPN clocked in at an impressive 900 Mbps, which is quick enough to rival the paid providers in our fastest VPN rankings. Windscribe Free’s performance of 496 Mbps, and Hide.me Free at 415 Mbps, is similarly impressive.

Proton VPN Free and Hotspot Shield Basic both failed to achieve over 350 Mbps, however. This isn’t what we’d call “slow”, per se, as you’ll still be able to browse, stream content, and torrent with these speeds. Keep in mind, however, that we test VPNs with a 1 Gbps internet connection, which is way faster than the connection speed in most homes, so your results probably won't look like ours. If you experience, say, 50 Mbps at home, using Proton VPN Free won't boost you up to 350 Mbps. Having sluggish home speeds can play a big part in the overall quality of your streaming and gaming, too, and a VPN can't help you there.

Do free VPNs sell your data?

A lot of free VPNs will sell your data but none of the ones we recommend on this page do.

Some free VPN services will, at least, anonymize your data before selling it on but we see this as a complete contradiction of why most people will want to use a VPN in the first place, i.e. to maintain their privacy. In fact, in a recent poll, we discovered that privacy is, in fact, the no.1 reason why TechRadar readers get a VPN.

Are free VPNs full of adverts?

It varies depending on the service. Free VPNs offered by paid providers tend not to have ads, especially on their desktop apps, as they’re sustained by subscriptions to their premium packages.

The exception here is EventVPN, by ExpressVPN, which was launched in September 2025. Despite its backing by a paid VPN provider, EventVPN offers something different. Unlike most other VPNs, you get unlimited access to a full-featured VPN. The trade-off is that you have to put up with long video adverts every time you connect and disconnect.

Do free VPNs have customer support?

Paid providers that offer free VPNs will sometimes allow free users to access the support team – and Windscribe Free even lets free users reach out via live chat and email ticketing system. Others, however, will direct you to a knowledgebase and encourage you to do your own troubleshooting.

Mobile-only free VPNs tend to lack any sort of customer support. When we test these services, we find that most only offer a single Gmail address as a point of contact, and we rarely receive answers to the questions we send during the testing process.

Back up to the best free VPN ▲

Can you use a free VPN for unblocking streams?

Yes. Many free VPNs, including the five on this list, can be used for unblocking streaming services. The catch is that no good ones will give you unlimited data to stream with as well as offering you a full choice of server locations. In other words, yes, you can stream with a free VPN but not from any country you choose for as long as you like. It’s a taste of streaming only.

This is a table comparing our five recommended best free VPNs and the countries where they have servers.

Disclaimer

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Dan Sung
Editor-in-Chief, VPN and How to Watch

Dan is Editor-in-Chief, VPN and How to Watch, at Future. He heads up all the VPN content and how to watch articles. So, if you want to know about what is the best VPN or how to watch just about anything on TV, anywhere in the world, he's a good bet to ask. Dan has worked in tech journalism for over 15 years, writing for Tech Digest, Pocket-lint, MSN Tech, Wareable and What Hi-Fi? as well as freelancing for T3, Metro and the Independent. Dan has a keen interest in playing and watching football. He has also written about it for the Observer and FourFourTwo and ghost authored John Toshack's autobiography, Toshack's Way.

With contributions from