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I thought that most reputable free VPNs would keep me safe online — but I was wrong. Many free VPNs are actually involved in malicious activity, which could expose you to financial fraud, identity theft, and malware.

I was also frustrated to find that many free VPNs don’t work well. Free services often have strict data caps and few server locations available. These limitations can cause slow speeds. I was disappointed that some free services didn’t let me stream or access other online platforms. The way I see it, if a VPN can’t let me access my favorite shows or games while overseas, it’s a waste — even if it’s free.

To help you avoid both dangerous and useless VPNs, I tested dozens of options and compiled this list of the best free VPNs. I was surprised that the top free service is also one of the highest-ranked VPNs on the market — ExpressVPN. You cantry all of ExpressVPN’s premium features for free for 30 days, which is perfect if you only need a VPN for a few weeks. For me, this was the best way to use a premium VPN service while on vacation. If you need a more permanent solution, jump to my quick guide to the best free VPNs to choose a reliable option in less than 1 minute.

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Quick Guide: The Best Free and Reliable VPNs (Updated December 2020)

How to Choose the Best Free VPNs

While there’s no perfect free VPN, I made sure that all the top providers had good security, speeds, and performance. When evaluating a VPN for yourself, you can use this list of important criteria to pick the best option for your needs:

• Strong encryption — Make sure the VPN you select has at least AES-256-bit encryption to keep you safe from hackers, government surveillance, and other prying eyes.
• Proven ability to bypass geo-blocks — Before downloading a VPN, it’s important to know if you want to stream on Netflix or other sites. This is because not all VPNs can get around the geo-blocks used by platforms like Netflix — only the best services like ExpressVPN can do that.
• Strict privacy policies — Many free VPNs track and sell user data. That’s why it’s important that you find a service that will keep your information private from advertisers and other prying eyes.
• Reliable connections — VPNs may slow down your connection speeds. Even if it doesn’t have many server options, make sure your VPN offers fast speeds to let you access the services you want.

5 Best Free VPN Services for 2020

1. ExpressVPN: Unlimited Data, Fast Streaming, Secure, and FREE for 30 Days

Pros:

Cons:

ExpressVPN is the top choice as it gives you unlimited access to all its premium features — unlike other free VPNs that only offer full features if you upgrade. However, you can only use ExpressVPN free for 30 days. This is ideal if you’re going for a short trip abroad, or just want to catch up on a Netflix series unavailable in your country.

To test the service, I downloaded ExpressVPN and connected to over 50 servers in the US, UK, Japan, and more. I was impressed that it gave me fast speeds up to 48.5Mbps! I didn’t have any problems with slow loading pages, buffering videos, or lagging video games.

I could even stream my favorite shows and movies in Ultra HD. In addition to fast speeds, ExpressVPN can consistently unblock streaming platforms like Netflix US, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and HBO Max. It can even bypass the Great Firewall of China and works in countries with strict online censorship, like the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

Another important feature is its top-of-the-line security. For example, ExpressVPN uses RAM-based servers, which guarantees that its servers clear your browsing history whenever the power cuts off. The way RAM servers are built means that whenever they are turned on/off, the data is permanently erased.

To make sure you can really get your money back, I signed up for ExpressVPN and tested out their 30-day money-back guarantee. I used ExpressVPN for 3 weeks, then requested a refund from customer support (on live chat). I was really surprised at how easy it was to get my money back! Other VPNs that I’ve tried wasted my time trying to troubleshoot or get me to stay, but ExpressVPN processed my refund straight-away — no questions asked. The money was returned to my bank account within 5 days.

Try ExpressVPN risk-free today!

2. Hotspot Shield: 15GB Monthly Data Allowance for Secure Streaming and Browsing

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Cons:

With a 500MB daily data limit, Hotspot Shield free has one of the more generous data allowances. You should be able to get about 15 hours of SD streaming time per month out of the limit.

During my testing, I was impressed by Hotspot Shield’s download speeds. Its patented Hydra protocol claims to “deliver unrivaled speed and performance” despite only having one US server connection for free users. The speed test I ran showed a speed of 27.5 Mbps, which was more than fast enough for bufferless streaming and gaming.

That being said, I did find a lot of annoying ads while I was watching YouTube and playing games — which was very frustrating. The free version may cost you nothing, but you’ll have to suffer through a lot of interruptions.

I thought that Hotspot Shield’s fast speeds would make it great for streaming — but I was wrong. Another big drawback is that you won’t be able to unblock Netflix and other restricted streaming services. This is reserved for Hotspot Shield’s premium users only.

If security is your main concern, Hotspot Shield’s free version has everything you need for secure web browsing. It has military-grade encryption to protect your privacy, using 256-bit encryption to keep your data safe. Hotspot Shield also doesn’t store logs and has a kill switch for your peace of mind. If you need a VPN to bypass a firewall or browse the web anonymously, this is a solid choice.

Get Hotspot Shield for free!

3. Windscribe: Torrenting Supported with 10GB of Data Per Month

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Windscribe offers 10GB of monthly data to free users and access to servers in over 10 countries. If you’re a serious downloader, 10GB might not seem like much but I found it was enough for more than 7 full movies.

While Netflix and Hulu are reserved for Windscribe’s premium users, I’m happy to report that I unblocked Disney+ using the free US server. Even better, I could stream for approximately 10 hours in SD quality before my data ran out!

Windscribe also takes security seriously, with a detailed privacy policy, ad-blocking features, and no-logs policy. These features plus the data allowance make this free VPN a great option for light torrenting and the occasional stream.

Use Windscribe for free today!

4. TunnelBear: Server Connections in 20 Countries

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For a free VPN, TunnelBear offers you a huge server network to help you bypass geo-blocks easily. With locations in 20 different countries and an easy-to-use interface, you can connect to a server with just one click.

Unfortunately, the mere 500MB per month data allowance means you’ll want to upgrade before the day’s over. I started watching a movie on Netflix and the VPN stopped streaming before the movie ended. I tried to claim the extra 1GB of data by tweeting about the service — only to learn that this was a one-time gift and the next month I was back to the 500MB limit.

Owned by the security giant McAfee, TunnelBear won’t let you down when it comes to online security and privacy. It uses AES 256-bit encryption and the company has a no-logs policy to keep your activity private. TunnelBear performs annual independent security audits so you can be sure your data is fully protected when you’re connected.

Get TunnelBear for free!

5. Hide.me: Ad-Free Browsing and Free for Life

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Hide.me free gives you the option to renew your free plan each month so this VPN is essentially free for life! It does have some limitations — 10GB of monthly data, 1 device connection, and 5 server locations. But free users can also enjoy the VPN’s strong encryptions, zero-logs policy, IP leak protection, and ad-free browsing to ensure your security.

I tested all 5 server locations (Canada, Singapore, Netherlands, and 2 in the USA) and none of them could unblock Netflix or access other streaming sites. Hide.me only offers 10GB of monthly data anyway, so it’s not a good option for watching shows or movies. However, I was happy to see that my speeds were consistently fast and averaged 19-20 Mbps.

While I wouldn’t recommend Hide.me free for streaming, torrenting, or gaming, it’s a great option for keeping your data secure while browsing.

Try Hide.me for free today!

Free vs. Paid VPNs: Hidden Costs You Should Know About

There are 2 different kinds of free VPN you should know about: unlimited free VPNs, and “freemium” VPNs.

Much like the name suggests, unlimited free VPNs give you unlimited access to the server connections. And while that may seem very tempting, these services make money by logging and selling your data. A huge number of unlimited free VPNs also contain malware, viruses, and other malicious software designed to obtain your data for profit. These should be avoided.

A “Freemium” VPN is like a sample of a premium service. The VPN services will be limited (by data caps, throttled speeds, or small server numbers) in the hope that you’ll get frustrated and upgrade to the premium VPN. These VPN services don’t monetize your data — paying customers subsidize free users, sharing network resources.

Why pay for a VPN if there are safe free options?

There are free VPNs available that don’t pose security risks — but the safe options are always limited. Whether it’s capping the amount of data you can use or limiting the number of servers, safe free VPNs are designed to make you want to upgrade. It’s inconvenient, but they are legal services you can trust. The only way to get around those inconveniences is to upgrade to a premium version. That way, you can stream, torrent, and browse as much as you want while keeping your data secure.

Remember: Paid VPNs don’t sell your information for cash

Paid VPNs can vary greatly in price and the higher-end services have a huge variety of security features — kill switches, multiple connections at the same time, strict no-logs policies, and 24/7 customer care. Paid VPNs can afford to offer you all these benefits because of the revenue they generate from subscription fees. They don’t need to sell your information, which assures your security and privacy.

Side-by-Side Comparison of the Best Free VPNs

No matter which free VPN you choose, you’ll have to deal with annoying data caps. If you want unlimited data and you only need a VPN for a short time, then I suggest getting ExpressVPN instead. It’s a paid VPN — but you can take advantage of the money-back guarantee and use it for free for 30 days (no bandwidth or data restrictions).

Try ExpressVPN for free for 30 days!

Avoid These Free VPNs Like the Plague

According to a recent study (CSRIO), 75% of free VPNs that claim to protect user privacy have at least one tracking library. Through my own research and testing, I found some shocking facts about several VPN services that I had to warn you about.

Betternet VPN

With over 5 million user installations to date, studies into Betternet have shown that it has one of the highest levels of malware among free VPNs. A test performed by Virustotal gave it an AV-Rank of 13, meaning it tested positive for malware on 13 different antivirus programs.

In addition, the CSIRO study found Betternet had 14 tracking libraries in its software. This is concerning as Betternet markets itself as a privacy advocate but logs a considerable amount of user data. This data includes general location (based on IP address), information device-specific information, and non-personal logs of domain names you visit when connected.

Cross VPN

In the CSIRO study, Cross VPN ranked as the 5th worst VPN service for taking advantage of users. It was flagged as containing potential trojan viruses by Virustotal, who gave Cross VPN an AV-Rank of 11.

HolaVPN

HolaVPN built a P2P server network instead of using worldwide servers, which in theory would be effective at bypassing firewalls, maintaining privacy, and masking IP addresses.

In reality, HolaVPN has been known to forward user traffic through other participating user nodes, breaking its promise that data would be kept private and anonymous. Even worse, HolaVPN was letting premium members use the bandwidth of free users. Free users would also end up with the premium users’ data on Hola’s servers. This left free users open to investigations as any online activities would be logged to their IP addresses.

Answered: Popular FAQs About Free VPNs

😅 Are free VPNs really safe?

The free VPNs I’ve recommended are safe. They’ve been thoroughly tested and researched to ensure they won’t compromise your data security when you connect. But the same can’t be said for all free VPNs, some of which have questionable privacy policies and are linked to China.

Some of the most downloaded free VPNs, like Snap VPN (10 million+ downloads) and X-VPN (5.5 million+ downloads) are owned by Chinese companies. Chinese ownership means using these VPNs could lead to data logging, tracking activity, and sharing your data with third parties.

By using one of my recommended free VPNs, you can be sure that your data is safe and your browsing activity is anonymous every time you connect.

🤑 How do free VPNs make money?

There’s always a hidden cost that allows free VPNs to make money.The most common way is by bombarding your device with pop-up ads. While it might seem harmless, all adware comes installed with trackers. Trackers keep tabs on your internet activity, which means your browsing history is no longer anonymous or private.

Free VPNs sometimes sell your data to advertisers. They keep track of sites you visit, your IP address, and data relating to your connection. This is a huge violation of your privacy and can compromise your security, depending on the data being tracked and sold.

Rarely, a free VPN will sell your data to the highest bidder — and this could mean your information in the hands of a cybercriminal. It’s not a common occurrence, but you should be aware of the potential risk when looking at free VPN services.

🤩 Can I watch Netflix with free VPNs?

Don’t waste your time with free VPNs.I tested all the best free VPNs and none of these services will unblock Netflix. Netflix is exceptionally tricky to unblock, and it costs VPN providers a lot of money and resources. If you find a rare free VPN that offers to grant you access to Netflix, then you can be sure that you’re paying in other ways.

An example is Hola VPN, which is one of the worst offenders you should avoid. It’s free but there are zero security or privacy features. Hola has even been caught (multiple times!) selling the personal data and bandwidth of its users to the highest bidder. If you want to connect to Netflix safely and stream in HD — don’t use a free service.

Luckily, the best Netflix VPNs all have 30-day money-back guarantees (like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and