Whoever said there's no such thing as a free lunch must have been thinking about the best free VPNs. There are a lot of free VPNs out there. We've spent over 11 years testing them at TechRadar. Many will play fast and loose with your data and maybe your identity too.
That's why we've compiled this list of free VPNs that you can actually trust. Read it carefully and make sure you understand what you're getting. Free VPNs, for example, are not a good choice for regular streaming, torrenting, or choosing servers in specific locations. If that's what you want, then take a look at the best VPN services instead.
What is the best free VPN in 2025?
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. Proton VPN is the best free VPN for security and privacy features. The very best VPN of all, though, is NordVPN.
Free VPNs are good for very occasional use but we'd always recommend a paid VPN for regular use. These are the ones we rate highest and why:
The best free VPNs in 2025
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You get a lot for nothing with PrivadoVPN Free. That's why it's our top choice as the best free VPN. It's the only free VPN that offers some streaming functionality, if only in a limited way. Its privacy credentials are difficult to confirm but if this Swiss company's word is to be taken at face value – and there have never been any breaches or security issues to say otherwise – then PrivadoVPN Free is a good way to take your first taste of a VPN before you decide to upgrade.
READ MORE ABOUT PRIVADOVPN FREE ▼
What do you get for free?
Access to 13 streaming and torrenting-optimized servers across 10 different countries and a 10 GB monthly data allowance to use on them, at blistering 900 Mbps speeds – those are the key freebies from PrivadoVPN that make its free tier so compelling. They include servers in the US and UK which means unblocking access for Netflix libraries, BBC iPlayer, ITV, Sling, Max, and more.
On top of that, you still get a fast VPN with AES-256 encryption, apps for Windows, MacOS, Android, Android TV, iOS, Apple TV, and Fire TV; a Chrome extension for browsing, a kill switch to prevent accidental data leaks, and split-tunneling, so you can access local services while streaming your favorite shows abroad. Plus there's the ability to switch up your VPN protocol depending on whether you're prioritizing speed or security. Not bad at all.
What don't you get with PrivadoVPN Free?
Peace of mind is the biggest absentee from PrivadoVPN Free. PrivadoVPN has never paid for a third party to audit its security and no-logs policies, so can you really trust that your details and internet traffic are safe and untracked?
And, of course, the streaming functionality is pretty limited. You're looking at about 10 streamed TV shows per month before you hit your limit and, if you're after a show or sports event in, say, Australia, then you're out of luck.
What's the better alternative?
We rate NordVPN as the best streaming VPN available. We also rate it as the best VPN service overall. There are no limits to the amount of data you can use each month and there are servers in pretty much every country with a local streaming service that you might need. What's more, it can handle 10 simultaneous connections, i.e. you can use a NordVPN app on 10 different devices at the same time. Take a look at the NordVPN website for the latest deals.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | ||
|---|---|---|
Servers | 10 countries | 118 countries |
Data limits | 10 GB per month | Unlimited use |
Simultaneous use | 1 devices | 10 devices |
Max speed | 900 Mbps | 950+ Mbps |
Fully audited | No | Yes |
Review score | 79/100 | 89/100 |
We used to rate Proton VPN Free as the best free VPN. The only reason PrivadoVPN Free comes out top is because PrivadoVPN is crazy enough to give the streaming and location hopping features away for nothing. In terms of a high-quality core VPN product packed with privacy, security, and user-protection features, though, you really can't do much better than Proton VPN.
READ MORE ABOUT PROTONVPN ▼
What do you get for free?
Proton VPN's mission is to provide privacy for all – and that's very much the case on its free plan. There's very little that's been stripped away when it comes to features for protecting your personal data.
You still get a kill switch, WireGuard support, and live chat customer service too. It's brilliantly engineered, with CERN minds behind it, and a set of open-source, regularly audited, highly usable, ad-free apps available for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromebook, Apple TV, Android TV plus extensions for Chrome and Firefox browsers.
What's more, those mobile and Windows apps have just had an overhaul which we find makes them easier to use and more informative for getting to grips with the VPN's features. We also like the improved Profiles which meant we could switch from streaming to gaming modes with a single tap, instead of having to reconfigure our server and protocol choice.
Unlike PrivadoVPN Free and most other free VPNs, there are no data restrictions on the free plan, and we rate it as the most secure VPN we've tested. So, if all you want are the privacy features of a VPN, this could be your long-term answer.
PrivadoVPN and Windscribe are a little quicker but, with recorded speeds of 335 Mbps, Proton VPN is one of the fastest VPNs around – free or otherwise.
What don't you get with Proton VPN Free?
Unlike PrivadoVPN Free, or the paid VPN services, you can't pick and choose which server you join on Proton VPN's free plan. That means that streaming shows abroad isn't an option. It's never going to be the best Netflix VPN. With only five servers on offer, it also means that things can get congested with speeds dropping significantly at peak times. There's no P2P support either. So, you can forget about torrenting too.
The other downer is that, much like with PrivadoVPN Free, you only get to connect one device at a time. So, you'll need to remember to log out on your laptop before you head out with your mobile phone. Upgrade to Proton VPN Plus for 10 simultaneous connections. Speaking of which...
What's the better alternative?
Proton VPN Plus! If you love all the digital privacy options you get for nothing with Proton VPN's free plan, but you want some streaming, gaming, or torrenting on the side, then it's an easy step to upgrade to the paid version – Proton VPN Plus.
It rates as one of our best paid VPNs and it's part of an excellent ecosystem of privacy-focused web applications too, including Proton Mail, Proton Pass, and Proton Drive. Fall in love with the free version and treat yourself to some premium. You're worth it.
Take a look at the latest deals on the Proton VPN website.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | ||
|---|---|---|
Servers | No server choice | 115 countries |
Data limits | Unlimited use | Unlimited use |
Simultaneous use | 1 device | 10 devices |
Max speed | 335 Mbps | 950+ Mbps |
Fully audited | Yes | Yes |
Torrenting | No | Yes |
Review score | 60/100 | 83/100 |
Headquartered in Canada, Windscribe is a well-known, handy, and lightweight free VPN service with a proposition more like PrivadoVPN Free than Proton VPN.
There are apps for all the major platforms, including Linux, some excellent browser extensions – perfect for anyone who needs to pretend to be in a different part of the world to get the right information while reading the internet – and there's even a little taste of streaming to the tune of 10 GB each month. That's certainly enough usage to get the idea of whether a VPN is something that's going to improve your life or not.
READ MORE ABOUT WINDSCRIBE ▼
What do you get for free?
Windscribe comes with as many simultaneous connections as you like on a single account! That's the biggest differential for Windscribe users. No need to worry about where you're logged in and on what devices and, whisper it, even sharing your credentials with your family. One free Windscribe account has you covered.
You get some excellent ad, pop-up, and tracker-blocking through the R.O.B.E.R.T. customizable domain and IP blocking tool which did a brilliant job of steering us away from dodgy sites in our test.
With the USA and UK among the 10 server choices, unblocking access to BBC iPlayer and geo-specific Netflix libraries is also a reality – very nice for catching up on a little bit of Studio Ghibli or The Apprentice.
It's nice and fast with WireGuard speeds over 900 Mbps and it offers the kind of encryption and leak-proof data transfer you can count on. Lots to like.
What don't you get for free with Windscribe Free?
Windscribe's free plan offers almost the same bundle of features as the paid version. You get 10 server countries compared to 69 but, apart from the 10 GB monthly data cap, it's only port forwarding (important for torrenting) that's off the menu with this free VPN.
The 10 GB data cap is less than Proton VPN and all the paid VPN services which usually come with unlimited usage. You can add 5 GB per month to that if you write about Windscribe on social media platform X but that's as good as it gets. It's not much and not enough for regular streaming and torrenting.
The other frustration is that Windscribe hasn't had a third-party audit of its no-logs policy. So, it's not the best VPN for privacy.
Here are all the differences between Windscribe and Windscribe Free.
What's the better alternative?
If you're after the best VPN service with unlimited simultaneous connections, and the bonus that it's the fastest VPN on the block, then it has to be Surfshark.
You get all the ad-blocking features that Windscribe offers and more, plus over 100 different server countries to choose from. There's also unlimited data use, giving you as much streaming and torrenting as your heart desires. The icing on the cake is that, while it's not free, Surfshark is dirt cheap, making it the best cheap VPN we recommend.
Go and take a look at today's Surfshark prices.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | ||
|---|---|---|
Servers | 10 countries | 100 countries |
Data limits | 10 GB per month | Unlimited |
Simultaneous use | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Max speed | 900 Mbps | 950+ Mbps |
Fully audited | No | Yes |
If you're looking for the best free VPN for torrenting, then Hide.me is an excellent choice. That's because it has seven carefully placed P2P servers spread over Europe and North America to make sure most customers have one nearby for optimal torrenting performance. You don't even need to give away your personal details when you sign up. Just an email address will do.
Be warned, though: Hide.me apps are quite complex. Newbies might want to opt for something a little more beginner-friendly.
READ MORE ABOUT HIDE.ME ▼
What do you get for free?
Hide.me Free offers a good set of features, compatibility across Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, and Firefox, and that limited but very effective set of torrenting servers.
Those seven, free P2P-optimized servers are in the US, Germany, Finland, France, Switzerland, UK, and the Netherlands. We had good experiences torrenting files using the USA server.
VPN veterans will love the depth of customization available. The standout feature is split tunneling. Multihop is reserved for paid customers but at least Hide.me Free now offers a choice of protocols including WireGuard.
What don't you get for free with Hide.me Free?
Too good to be true? Like most free VPNs, Hide.me has limits. The most significant is its 10 GB data cap – enough for a taste of the torrenting action but not a permanent solution.
And, those five, fancy P2P servers across Europe and the States are well and good but what if you live in Oceania, Asia, Africa, or South America? That's a long way there and back for your torrents to travel. Don't expect the best speeds or performance.
Speaking of which, speeds of just 25 Mbps were all Hide.me managed in our tests over WireGuard, which is very disappointing. Compare that to the likes of PrivadoVPN and Proton VPN above. The other unfavorable comparison is that you only get one connection at a time with a Hide.me free account.
Another downside to consider is that Hide.me is pretty intimidating for beginners. The interface is not super straightforward and all those options can confuse. At the same time, experienced torrenters won't get to enjoy port forwarding with Hide.me unless they go for the premium plan, which leaves this free VPN in something of a no man's land as far as torrenting goes.
The streaming crowd should also look elsewhere. Hide.me Free VPN struggled to unblock major streaming services in our tests. We didn't get very far trying to unlock Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ libraries in different locations. Hide.me doesn't have any streaming optimized on the free tier, so perhaps that should be of little surprise.
It's not the best news for the privacy-conscious either. Hide.me has had a successful audit of its logging policy, but that was in 2015 and there hasn't been an audit since.
What's the better alternative?
If you're serious about getting the best VPN for torrenting, save yourself the time and turmoil and sign up for ExpressVPN. We rate it as the top torrenting choice whether you're an experienced user or a total P2P newbie. It has over 105 server locations, all optimized for P2P activity, and a kill switch to stop any data leaks in case the VPN drops out.
As a paid VPN service, there's also the enormous advantage of unlimited monthly usage and solid, fast speeds. The icing on the cake is that ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, outside the jurisdiction of all the big surveillance alliances. So, the chances of ExpressVPN getting successfully subpoenaed to hand over your user information are very, very small. How's that for file sharing with confidence?
Take a look at the latest prices on the ExpressVPN website.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | ||
|---|---|---|
Servers | 7 countries | 105 countries |
Data limits | 10 GB per month | Unlimited |
Simultaneous use | 1 devices | 8 devices |
Max speed | 25 Mbps | 898 Mbps |
Fully audited | No | Yes |
Protecting IPs since 2008, Hotspot Shield is part of the VPN establishment – a name that many will trust, and for good reason. Its free Basic plan allows unlimited usage, very respectable speeds, and comes with very user-friendly apps. It's a good, free VPN that could be handy in a pinch but there are two big caveats to consider. Free users only get access to a single server. They also have to put up with adverts. Lots and lots of adverts.
READ MORE ABOUT HOTSPOT SHIELD BASIC ▼
What do you get for free?
Hotspot Shield Basic is unlimited! There are no monthly caps, so you can use it as much as you want. Proton VPN is the only other of our recommendations that can match that.
Speeds aren't too shabby either. Hotspot Shield Basic recorded up to 70 Mbps levels which is easily enough to stream 4K video through the single US server where all free user traffic is sent. We were able to successfully unblock access to Hulu and US Netflix using Hotspot Shield Basic from anywhere in the world which is worth pointing out if all you want is a VPN to catch up on your favorite US shows while you travel the globe.
What don't you get for free with Hotspot Shield Basic?
Quite a lot. One-server to use isn't particularly compelling for a VPN. It's also not much use if you want to unblock or access any site or service in any other part of the world than America. So, no BBC iPlayer, no free Aussie sports on 9Now, and a really long way to send your internet traffic if you don't live in the States.
Speaking of which, speeds might be OK but Hotspot Shield Basic showed inconsistent performance in our tests which left streams dropping out more often than not. And how about those ads?
Hotspot Shield Basic is available on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Chrome, and smart TVs but, if you want the app on your mobile phone you'll need to put up with video adverts and that really grates after a while. You also have to suffer unwanted Hotspot Shield web pages opening up here and there whether you're on mobile or desktop.
In terms of security, Hotspot Shield Basic isn't the best either with no kill switch feature and therefore no protection when your VPN connection drops. Tech support is also seriously limited. There's no live chat or email contact. So, you'll have to do any troubleshooting on your own.
What's the better alternative?
Hotspot Shield Basic has just one single US server but if it's VPN access for the US that you want, there's no better choice than Private Internet Access (PIA). PIA subscribers get access to not 1 but 50 servers inside the USA, as well as 90 across the rest of the world. That's because PIA has servers in every single State in America.
So, if you're looking for a local server to connect to for optimum speeds, or you want to appear to be in specific places in the US to avoid sports blackouts or get the right in-market TV network action for your streaming services, then PIA is a really good decision. That's why we rate PIA as the best USA VPN.
Take a look at the latest prices on the Private Internet Access website.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | ||
|---|---|---|
Servers | 1 country | 91 countries |
Data limits | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Simultaneous use | 1 device | Unlimited |
Max speed | 70 Mbps | 436 Mbps |
Fully audited | No | Yes |
Free VPN FAQs
Should you use a free VPN?
Yes. Do use a free VPN but please, please be careful about your choice. Ensure that your free VPN offers the features and functionality you want, and do your due diligence to ensure it's a safe VPN. Using one of the free VPNs on this page is an excellent way of making sure it's safe.
If all you want is basic VPN functionality for safe browsing and public Wi-Fi use, then go for a free one. Choose one from the list above and you'll have everything you need for free.
Just bear in mind that if you want a VPN for streaming, torrenting, or gaming, then, because of data caps, a lack of server choice, and limited speeds, you probably shouldn't choose a free VPN. They just don't offer those in any serious way.
That said, trying a free VPN on for size before you open your wallet and take the plunge on a paid VPN service is not a bad idea. Pick a free VPN that's safe and it won't cost a thing.
Are free VPNs safe?
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. Some are glorified data harvesting tools – they secure your internet traffic but then sell your browsing information and internet usage details to third parties – with any luck that information is, at least, anonymized.
Other free VPN providers pull nasty tricks like offering up your IP address for other people to use, as with the recent case of Big Mama VPN. At the very worst, a free VPN service might just be a vehicle to deliver malware to you and your devices. (Sadly, even seemingly legitimate VPN services can do this too, now, as Google has warned.)
If you insist on trying out a free VPN not mentioned on this page, check to see if it stores user internet activity. What you're looking for is that it's got a no-logs policy. Search for those words in the terms and conditions in its end user license agreement and make sure there's something there.
Is there any mention in the marketing of whether its privacy policy has been audited by a third party? Lastly, if you get repeated messages about changes to its Ts & Cs while using the product, consider it another red flag. A VPN's commitment to its customers' privacy should not be variable.
As ever with free products, it's the adage that if it's free, there's a good chance you're the product. Most free VPN services are, at the very least, trying to get their foot in the door. If you sign up for a free account, then maybe you can be upsold to a paid tier eventually. Take a look at our full explanation of the real cost of a free VPN.
What don’t you get with a free VPN?
A good free VPN usually offers the basics of a secure VPN tunnel for your online activity but not much more. You'll be able to go online without worrying about leaking your personal data, financial details, or having your browsing information tracked and sold. What you don't get with a free VPN are the smoother surfing tools and the higher data use fun!
For example, features like email aliasing, so you don't get spammed every time you buy something; or built-in advert and pop-up blockers – these all exist even in paid, but relatively inexpensive VPN services such as Surfshark, for example.
You don't usually get unlimited data use each month with free VPNs either, certainly not in combination with global server choice. This often means unblocking streaming services worldwide isn't an option. The only exceptions to this are the likes of PrivadoVPN Free and Windscribe which offer a limited taste of the action with enough data for a handful of TV shows per month.
Those looking for the best VPN for torrenting will also find a free VPN frustrating. Many don't offer dedicated servers optimized for P2P usage and some don't include the handy port forwarding feature either.
You should also expect slower speeds with free VPNs compared to paid services. A typical free VPN might operate at around 70 Mbps whereas the likes of NordVPN, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN went beyond the 950 Mbps capabilities of our VPN speed testing rig.
The main exception here is Proton VPN which offers excellent speeds to its free and paid customers. Do bear in mind, though, only three servers are available to Proton VPN free customers and they can get busy and slow during peak times.
So, the bottom line with VPN speed is that, if having a fast VPN connection is important to you, a paid VPN is the only way to go.
Finally, a third-party audit is something that's not always on offer with free VPN providers. Sure, the VPN service might say it's got a no-logs policy but has anyone checked it? Audits cost money and you're not paying.
How to get a free VPN
All of the VPNs featured in our recommended list above are completely free to use. From the moment you download them until you finish using them, you don't pay a penny. But there are also some opportunities to get paid VPNs for free too.
A few premium VPN services offer free trials, and that's a great way to see if you like the product. We have a list of the best VPN free trials if that sounds appealing to you.
In that list, we've included VPNs that offer money-back guarantees, such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Surfshark. To trial those VPNs, you do need to hand over some money on day one but you'll get a full, no-questions-asked refund if you decide not to continue within 30 days of signing up.
Lastly, when signing up for any VPN, free or otherwise, a few have the bonus of allowing customers to register without an email address and to pay using cryptocurrency. That way you'll avoid having any of your personal details connected with your account whatsoever – one for the truly privacy-conscious.
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.
