Best Free VPN
We find you the best free VPN for PC
This is our comprehensive break-down of the best free VPNs currently available. And not that fake-free where you end up having to pay after a couple of weeks either. The five VPNs we recommend are not only free but also showcase excellent connectivity, high data allowances, and multiple device compatibility.
We currently live in a time where hacking and fraudulent activity is the norm. You’ve no doubt seen the TV ads. That’s why keeping your online communications private is now more important than ever before. If only there was some form of protection out there that would help shield our browser activity…
Luckily, such an application has emerged from the depths of the technological universe. No, we’re not talking about antivirus software. We’re talking about the mighty VPN!
Our Top Picks
Things To Consider
What is a VPN?
A VPN – for those who’ve been living under a rock for the past ten years – is a Virtual Private Network that allows users to create a secure connection between themselves and other networks over the internet. VPNs have a number of different features which include; being able to access region-restricted content, shielding your browser activity from third party’s eyes, and much, much more.
Unfortunately, like most things, a lot of these browser-protection services come at a price. That being said, there are a couple of free options available that we feel are certainly worthy of your consideration.
Choosing the Best Free VPN
Choosing the right VPN for your needs really comes down to a couple of primary factors;
- How much data allowance do you require per month?
- How many devices do you need protection for?
- Which country locations do you require?
For us, these are the main aspects that will decide whether or not a VPN is right for you. There are, of course, more contributing factors in good and bad VPNs such as privacy policies, connection speeds, how user-friendly they are, and so on.
Ask yourself these simple questions before starting your search for the right VPN, and it will save you a lot of messing around in the long run.
How Do VPNs Work?
So how exactly does a VPN work? Well, let’s try and explain that as simply as possible.
When connecting your computer, phone, laptop, tablet, or other multimedia device to a VPN, the device will act as if it’s on the same local network as the VPN. All your networking traffic is sent via a secure connection to the VPN, which can act from any location.
When you first load the VPN, it will ask you where you want to be located. This means you can choose exactly where your local network is situated. Great for people wanting to gain access to geo-blocked websites. The VPN effectively changes your IP and its location to make it seem as though you are connecting from somewhere else.
So, when you browse websites while connected to a VPN, your computer gains contact with the website via the encrypted VPN connection. It will send a request to the desired website via that connection. Meaning, if you live in the UK and have your VPN set to the USA, connecting to a website will go via the VPN connection in the USA, instead of the UK.
This means services such as Netflix will think you are viewing the content from the USA, and not the UK. Ultimately, giving you access to content that is locked to a specific country or region.
We could go into more detail, but we feel this will give you a good enough idea of how the VPN works.
When to Use a Free VPN
Many of you will already understand the need for a VPN. I mean, would you really be reading this article if you didn’t know?
Anyway, rhetorical questions aside, most people use a free VPN to gain access to region-restricted content such as BBC and Netflix. However, there are a couple of other reasons why people get into the VPN game that you might not be aware of.
A VPN will protect your browsing activity from third parties sources, making things like online transactions, banking, and shopping, much safer.
They can also protect your data when using unsafe Wi-Fi hotspots. Something we have all be exposed to in the past, I’m sure.
How Safe is a Free VPN?
There’s a lot of speculation surrounding VPN services, even more so when we reference the free options that are currently available. What I mean by speculation is; companies selling your data to third parties for profitable gains.
The whole point of a VPN is to keep your data secure. By selling your personal details to third parties, it’s surely voiding the whole point of the VPN in the first place?
With this in mind, many VPN providers now claim to store very little data and have a no-logs policy which should, in theory, eradicate any possibility of third party sales.
It’s still pretty difficult to be able to pinpoint which providers do/don’t deal with third parties, but we like to think that the recommendations we have selected are some of the safer out there right now.
With that in mind, let’s see what’s in store!
The Our 5 Best Free VPNs
In-depth Review
- Completely unlimited data limit
- Excellent privacy policies
- No ads
- Quite slow
- Only three available locations
Proton’s free VPN service gets the coveted top spot in this best free VPN guide and for good reason. Not only does it come to the table boasting truly unlimited data usage, but it also boasts an extremely user-friendly layout, excellent privacy policies, and zero ads. That’s right; I said no ads.
Let’s get the flaws out of the way first. It will be no surprise to anyone to hear that Proton has restricted several areas of their free VPN service. Connections speeds aren’t the best, you only have access to three locations, and you can only use your email with one device. Not ideal for people wanting to use several media devices with one VPN.
To quickly touch on connection speeds. When we say they aren’t the best, that doesn’t mean you’re going to get dial-up speeds. That isn’t the case. Proton Free is still very much usable; however, it isn’t as quick as others on this list.
As far as pros go, Proton is the only VPN on this list that offers completely unlimited data usage. Pretty unique as far as free VPNs go.
Ultimately, if you’re looking to get a taste of a premium VPN but aren’t willing to fork out the cash, then this might be the stepping stone you’re looking for.
Excellent data usage, limited servers, top security.
- Very easy-to-use
- Security focused
- Good daily allowance
- Quite taxing on performance
- Initial setup a little fiddly
Next, in the pecking order, comes PrivadoVPN. This free VPN flourishes in all the places that Proton falls short. Think lightning-fast speeds and up to 12 server locations.
PrivadoVPN boasts (as many others do) military-grade encryption levels and guarantees quick, secure browsing. The free VPN is compatible with every operating system, has a no-logs policy, and even offers dedicated 24/7 tech support as well.
As far as data usage is concerned, Privado is allowing for up to 10GB of data usage over a 30 day period. That works out to roughly 333MB per day – pretty considerable when you consider others in this list only offer you 500MB a MONTH!
Some of the downsides of PrivadoVPN include putting up with ads and only having a limited number of servers to choose from. The free option also only allows for 1 connection at a time as well.
Another area worthy of praise is the user-friendly aspect of the software. It’s extremely easy to use, even for those who are not savvy in the tech department.
Ultimately, as far as free VPNs go, this is a close second to Proton. It offers excellent security, good speeds, and a few locations to choose from.
- Very secure
- Excellent data cap
- Unlimited devices
- Only allows for 10GB usage a month
Winscribe is the next contender in this list of best free VPNs and one that, again, offers a different bunch of pros over both Proton and Hotspot. Windscribe is a VPN that offers its free users generous data usage, a bunch of server locations, and a tonne of supported devices.
It falls short in the data usage department to both VPNs above, however, if you don’t use Windscribe for two weeks, you technically have 10GB to use in the remaining two weeks of the month. Making your daily usage more than Hotspot.
Windscribe has an extremely easy signup procedure which only requires a username and password to get things up and running.
Another plus for this VPN is the no-log policy it adheres to. It doesn’t store IP stamps, browser history, or login connections. It does, however, store your username, password, and the amount of data that has been transferred. If this is an issue though, don’t worry. That information is deleted three minutes after the session has ended.
Windscribe also offers a little incentive for mentioning them in a tweet with an addition 5GB of data up for grabs. Not only are they offering extra data for shoutouts, but they also offer free unlimited plans for any referrals that upgrade to a pro subscription.
This VPN has a tonne of pros and not many cons; it really is a top-level free VPN and one that should definitely be considered.
- Access to all the servers
- Very user-friendly
- Good speed test results
- Very limited monthly allowance
- Only a few features
As far as VPNs go, I think TunnelBear is right up there with the most well-known out of this list. Mainly due to streamers and YouTube stars marketing them left, right, and center. Popularity aside though, TunnelBear is certainly on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to data allowance. It only offers a measly 500MB per month. Pretty poor when you consider some of the others in this guide offer the same, if not more, per day.
That being said, TunnelBear’s free VPN does offer excellent connection speeds, a very user-friendly hub, and access to all the paid servers. It really does give you a taste of what the premium version is like. Something that can’t be said for others in this list.
You get superb security when using TunnelBear thanks to top-level encryption. You get the same security across the full range of available devices as well.
TunnelBear was taken over by security giant, McAfee, recently and with that, we have seen an increase in its privacy policy. This means the VPN collects even less data than it did before.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for a true taste of what a paid VPN option is like, TunnelBear’s free VPN provides this in abundance.
- Good connection speed
- No-log policy for greater privacy
- No Netflix access
- Only 2GB data usage
Like TunnelBear VPN, Hide.me is more of a taste of what is available in the paid version. I’m not sure you could fully make use of this VPN on a day-to-day basis.
That being said, Hide.me does offer more than TunnelBear when it comes to data allowance, raising TunnelBears 500MB a month to 2GB, respectively. I’m all in folks. Furthermore, connections speeds of Hide.me are not restricted in any way.
If you want to access the full extent of Hide.me’s 30 server locations you’re going to have to upgrade to the pro version. The free option only accommodates three locations (Singapore, Canada, and the Netherlands).
Like many others in this list, Hide.me also offers a no-logs policy and stores no user data what so ever. Or so they say. They have also decided to rid the free version of ads which is most welcome.
Hide.me like to make their users feel valued and have provided 24/7 technical support for all customers.
There are many pros to Hide.me, but ultimately, the big question that needs answering is whether or not you can make use of this software on a day-to-day basis? I’m not sure. If you can, this should certainly be up there in your considerations.
Final Word
And there you have it, our comprehensive breakdown of the best free VPNs currently available. Each one has its own unique set of pros and cons, so choosing one that is right for you should be a relatively easy process of elimination.
For me, Proton VPN is the best of the bunch as it allows for totally unlimited data usage. It might not be as quick as Windscribe and Hotspot, but it’s right up there as far as free VPNs go.
Let us know what you think is the best free VPN currently available by leaving us a comment in the section below.
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