The Best Cheap and Free VPN Providers ?️️
VPNs are, for many people and many situations, quickly becoming almost a necessity in 2023.
What’s more, the free VPNs people have been using are no longer cutting it like they used to. Investing in a decent VPN is increasingly becoming a good choice when it comes to safety.
This is considering more and more things on the internet are becoming larger problems, with online security has never been more of an issue than it is now.
In case you don't want to read the entire article, here’s a quick summary of the best VPN services according to our independent tests and research:
- NordVPN Best VPN for general work and entertainment purposes. I found it to be reliable, high-speed, and easy to set up, and it's one that I use daily for work.
- ProtonVPN (Free Version) Proton is often referred to as the single most trustworthy company in the VPN business. They focus on security over anything else and offer the best free VPN available. This is the company behind ProtonMail.
- CyberGhost VPN was voted as the best gaming VPN for 2023 and is one of the cheapest VPN services among the whole top 10.
Cheapest VPN 2023
RANK
BRAND
DEVICES
STATS
DOWNLOAD
1
6
6 simultaneous devices.
- ● Fastest VPN 2023
- ● Servers: 5300+
- ● Countries: 60+
WHY I LIKE NORDVPN NordVPN has long been regarded as one of the strongest brands in cybersecurity. With one of the largest server offerings on my list and support for most, if not all operating systems, making NordVPN an obvious choice for many. They have 24/7 customer support if you need help getting started. Their app is one of the most well-designed apps I have ever used. NordVPN even accepts cryptocurrencies as payment for extra anonymity.
2
∞
Unlimited simultaneous devices.
- ● Best Cheap VPN 2023
- ● Servers: 3200+
- ● Countries: 65+
WHY I LIKE SURFSHARK: Surfshark VPN is perfect for those who want a cheap and reliable VPN that also has many extra features. "Camouflage Mode" hides your usage from your ISP, "Kill Switch" suspends your connection and protects your information if you temporarily lose Internet access, "MultiHop" to connect from multiple countries at the same time just to name a few. My favorite feature of Surfshark is "Whitelists" which allow the user to exclude specific apps and programs from the VPN connection.
3
7
7 simultaneous devices.
- ● Best Torrent VPN
- ● Servers: 7400+
- ● Countries: 91+
WHY I LIKE CYBERGHOST CyberGhost VPN is the first choice of many other cybersecurity experts, and the reason is clear; they have the most complete VPN service. An incredible number of extra features that are best suited for the more advanced users but also work flawlessly for every-day purposes like P2P-filesharing. Cyberghost VPN also has the longest stretching money-back guarantee at a full 45 days.
4
∞
Unlimited simultaneous devices.
- ● Best Netflix/Streaming VPN
- ● Servers: 35500+
- ● Countries: 84+
WHY I LIKE PIA VPN: PrivateInternetAccess is at the top of my streaming tests, which is a great combination with their easy-to-use UI, Open-Source software and built in adblocker. PIA is also perfect for those who want to be able to pay with PayPal which for some reason, many other VPN services do not support. 30-day money-back guarantee, multiple Netflix libraries, and extremely affordable are the three main selling points for this VPN service.
5
∞
Unlimited simultaneous devices.
- ● Robust/Security focused
- ● Servers: 750+
- ● Countries: 43+
WHY I LIKE ATLAS VPN: Atlas VPN is one of the best new free VPN services. With the free version, you get unlimited data, no ads and zero logging. During my speed tests, Atlas VPN performed very well and could compete with mainstream services. Kill Switch, Ad-blocker, and P2P support all included with a regular subscription, which is incredibly cheap for such a robust service.
6
10
10 simultaneous devices.
- ● Best Free VPN 2023
- ● Servers: 1713+
- ● Countries: 63+
WHY I LIKE PROTONVPN: ProtonVPN is based in Switzerland and is most known for their e-mail service ProtonMail. They currently offer the safest free VPN services on the market. There is also support for TOR usage and P2P file sharing. I highly recommend ProtonVPN if you are intending to do some extensive online sharing. It goes without saying that Proton does not collect logs of any kind and is completely safe to use.
7
10
10 simultaneous devices.
- ● Best VPN for Gaming and Streaming
- ● Servers: 200+
- ● Countries: 63+
WHY I LIKE PRIVATEVPN: PrivateVPN is the strong underdog in the world of VPNs. With a shy number of servers, it is evident that they are focusing on quality over quantity. Overall, PrivateVPN is a very decent choice of VPN, especially if you had enough of the excessive advertising by some of the other more known brands in this list. Setting up the VPN requires extremely little intervention, and you can even pay with Bitcoin.
8
49%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
30 day money-back guarantee.
- ● Best Mobile VPN app
- ● Servers: 3000+
- ● Countries: 94+
10
77%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
45 day money-back guarantee.
- ● Fastest free VPN
- ● Servers: 3200+
- ● Countries: 80+
11
85%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
7 day money-back guarantee.
- ● Great free VPN
- ● Servers: 1000+
- ● Countries: 26+
12
68%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
10 day money-back guarantee.
- ● Best reputation
- ● Servers: 91+
- ● Countries: 17+
14
79%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
15 day money-back guarantee.
- ★ Great adblocker included
- ★ Servers: 1800+
- ★ Countries: 20+
15
66%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
30 day money-back guarantee.
- ● 5 devices simultaneously
- ● Unlimited usage
- ● 50+ locations
16
70%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
30 day money-back guarantee.
- ● Unlimited traffic
- ● Up to 1 Gbps
- ● Free trial
17
85%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
30 day money-back guarantee.
- ● 10 devices
- ● Unlimited bandwidth
- ● Countries: 60+
19
$5.00 /user
14 day free trial/money-back guarantee.
- ● Simple Cloud VPN Setup
- ● Site-to-site VPN Tunneling
- ● Easy Server & User Management
21
67%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
7 day money-back guarantee.
- ● 5 devices
- ● Locations: 65+
- ● 24/7 live support
22
80%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
30 day money-back guarantee.
- ● 10 devices
- ● Countries: 20+
- ● P2P Optimization
23
66%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
Basic, advanced, and pro plans.
- ● Countries: 22+
- ● Locations: 36+
- ● 24/7 live support
24
79%
DISCOUNT
DISCOUNT
30 day money-back guarantee.
- ● Best multi-device VPN
- ● Servers: 1000+
- ● Countries: 200+
cheap can still be good quality
All of the options listed in this article are quite affordable. However, just because they are “cheap” doesn’t mean that they don’t work as intended. All of the below options get the job done very well and will give you no unpleasant surprises as a customer.
You may ask yourself how it’s possible to get such quality for such a low price. The answer in a word is competition. All of these companies are in very tight competition with each other to attract business. This means that you, the customer, get your choice of great products with great features at very affordable prices.
ExpressVPN Price
So the question at hand is: is ExpressVPN‘s extra cost worth it?
The first thing to point out here is that, in general, the competitors’ best prices are often only obtainable by paying 1 year or even up to 3 years upfront. If you decide to pay monthly (not everybody is ready for a big cash outlay for a VPN), the prices become that much more similar.
As for features and bang for the buck, I honestly think ExpressVPN is worth it for many people. For starters, ExpressVPN truly lives up to its name in terms of the speed and smoothness of its service. These issues are often sticking points with not just the cheaper VPNs, but with any of them.
Another point strongly in favor of ExpressVPN is the wide range of servers it has. At this moment, it appears that ExpressVPN is the winner in this category, with an eye-popping 94 different countries available. Besides the 94 countries, many of the more important countries for VPN servers (the US, UK, etc.) have multiple server options.
Also, ExpressVPN works seamlessly on any kind of device one could possibly imagine. This is another issue with many VPNs worldwide; since they started out as apps for computers, many of them lag behind a bit in the area of mobile support. This means that often, mobile VPN apps have issues with things like lag and glitches. This is absolutely not the case with ExpressVPN.
Another strong suit of ExpressVPN is its excellent customer service. They have a live chat that is manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by experts who are capable of resolving any possible issues. I tested out this live chat feature, and each time, the agent connected within mere seconds. Express VPN gets lots of points for being serious about supporting their customers.
Last but not least, ExpressVPN’s encryption completely outclasses that of its competitors. Especially sweet is their feature where the encryption key automatically changes in the background every hour. This means that even if the extremely unlikely occurs and someone has somehow hacked you, they have an hour maximum before they get shut out again.
NordVPN Cost
Many people consider NordVPN to be the best value for money, and many very demanding users swear by it and use it exclusively. In fact, a lot of people find it good enough that they don’t need to pay the extra money for ExpressVPN.
NordVPN also has excellent performance, roughly on par with that of ExpressVPN. It also has very high-quality 2048-bit encryption and access to great customer support. It also accepts payment in Bitcoin (BTC), something that its competitors still have to roll out.
NordVPN is also unique in the fact that it submits its servers to independent audits on a periodic basis. Nobody else yet has seen fit to go so far regarding online security.
So, what is missing compared to the more expensive ExpressVPN?
One sacrifice users will have to make would be in the area of servers. NordVPN does indeed offer a pretty wide variety of servers; this much is true. However, NordVPN at the time of this writing has around 60 countries represented on its servers, compared to ExpressVPN’s 94. This may or may not be of importance to you.
Also, NordVPN’s mobile app works very well, but the user interface is felt by many to be a little clunky compared to that of ExpressVPN. In particular, the map feature for selecting a server tends to bog down slower mobile devices. I recommend that prospective customers check out the free trial version to see if this is a big deal for them personally or not.
Surfshark VPN Cost and Pricing
Every one of these VPNs has some unique feature that will appeal to certain users, and Surfshark is not the exception to this rule.
In Surfshark’s case, its biggest selling point that sets it apart from its competitors is that you are allowed unlimited devices with a single account. Yes, you read that right. There is no limit to the number of devices you can use with Surfshark.
This is especially impressive because ExpressVPN allows for only five devices, NordVPN allows for up to six, and CyberGhost seven devices. And it’s surprising how quickly that device count can get up there and wind up totaling more than seven devices when you include multiple phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and smart TVs in the mix!
Unlike CyberGhost, which is described in the section below, SurfShark is more geared to the user who just wants a hassle-free VPN that works for the basics and doesn’t have a lot of (for that person) needless complications.
This is not to say, however, that Surfshark is lacking security options. AES-256 encryption is standard here. Like the other three options mentioned in this article, Surfshark also boasts of a kill switch.
There is a very adequate array of servers in over 65 countries to choose from, some 3200 or so servers in all. And there are apps for every conceivable device you may wish to connect using those unlimited connections.
More advanced users may prefer one of the other options simply because there is less depth to the apps than with their competitors. Once again, this is largely a matter of personal preference. The trade-off for having more options is having more complexity to go along with it.
In short, for family-based and everyday non-advanced use, Surfshark is an excellent option. It’s also only slightly more expensive than the next VPN we are going to look at, CyberGhost.
CyberGhost VPN Monthly Cost
CyberGhost is a newer offering in the VPN world, developed by a team of geniuses from the newly booming tech sector of Romania.
CyberGhost is, of course, the cheapest option available out of these four. However, you will have to pay 3 years upfront in order to get the best price, or at least a year to get a good price. The price jumps by more than 300% if you go monthly with them.
Just like NordVPN, CyberGhost has a couple of unique features that will appeal to certain classes of users. First off, CyberGhost doesn’t offer the most discrete countries from which you may wish to connect, but it does offer the highest total amount of servers.
Furthermore, CyberGhost has an intelligent system built into it where it constantly analyzes which servers are the best for the task at hand, which is an extremely unique and powerful feature you won’t find on any other VPN.
CyberGhost is ideal for people who are fans of systems such as peer-to-peer (p2p) because of this. In general, any time you have to upload or download large files, CyberGhost beats the competition hands down because of this innovative and creative feature. This also means that CyberGhost is the best option for streamers, or for people who like to watch movies or listen to music online.
The main negative factor in dealing with CyberGhost is that, at least for many people, its user interface leaves a lot to be desired. Many people feel that as far as ease of use goes, the other VPNs mentioned here pull ahead of CyberGhost.
Once again, I could recommend checking out the trial version of CyberGhost to see for yourself if the trade-off is worth it. It could be that it’s not much of a problem for you as an individual to interact with the user interface. It could be that this is the perfect (and cheapest) option for you personally.
Conclusion
After having read the summaries of the four excellent products described above, you, the informed user, should be much better positioned to go out and make a correct decision when getting a new VPN. This article will have served to get rid of much of the confusion that all too often plagues the modern consumer. It’s a complex world out there, but the right information makes things a little bit less complex for you.
There are, of course, other options available that have not been reviewed in-depth in this article, such as ProtonVPN (which is still considered the best free VPN, although the free version is quite limited compared to any paid VPN).
Keep the methodology in mind
In fact, if you follow the methodology used in this article, you almost can’t go wrong in selecting a good VPN that will give you an excellent bang for your buck.
New options are going to be coming down the line all the time, and it’s not a bad idea to keep your eyes open for what’s out there. If you as a potential customer see a new VPN that captures your interest, all you have to do is apply the same criteria I have applied here to review these four amazing products to see how the new offering measures up.
Full price comparison data
| VPN | Average Rating | Logs | Netflix | Lowest Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LimeVPN | 76,40% | No* | Yes | $1.49 |
| VyprVPN | 78,14% | No | Yes | $1.67 |
| ZoogVPN | 79,75% | No | Yes | $1.87 |
| Namecheap VPN | 61,60% | No | No | $1.88 |
| CyberGhost VPN | 75,20% | No | Yes | $2.25 |
| Trust.Zone VPN | 68,50% | No | No* | $2.33 |
| Bitdefender Premium VPN | 67% | No | Yes | $2.49 |
| Surfshark VPN | 88% | No | Yes | $2.49 |
| PrivateVPN | 81% | No | Yes | $2.50 |
| PrivateInternetAccess VPN | 74,71% | No | Yes | $2.69 |
| HideMyAss VPN | 63,57% | Yes* | Yes* | $2.99 |
| Hola VPN | 55,75% | Yes* | No | $2.99 |
| ProtonVPN | 76,37% | No* | Yes | $3.29 |
| Malwarebytes Privacy VPN | 74,25% | No | No | $3.33 |
| TunnelBear VPN | 71,50% | No | No* | $3.33 |
| PureVPN | 62% | No | Yes | $3.33 |
| NordVPN | 86,66% | No | Yes | $3.29 |
| IVPN | 80,16% | No | Yes | $3.80 |
| Avast VPN | 59,40% | No | No | $3.99 |
| Windscribe VPN | 75,50% | No | Yes* | $4.08 |
| IPVanish VPN | 72,42% | No | Yes | $4.16 |
| LiquidVPN | 79% | No | Yes | $4.75 |
| OVPN | 74% | No | Yes | $4.99 |
| VPNUnlimited | 70,50% | No | Yes | $4.99 |
| Mullvad VPN | 84% | No | No | $5.50 |
| Hotspot Shield VPN | 77,14% | No* | Yes | $7.99 |
| ExpressVPN | 91.25% | No | Yes | $6.67 |
FAQ
What is the cheapest monthly VPN?
If you disregard everything else that we took into consideration in this article and only focus on price – LimeVPN currently got the lower monthly cost of $1.49.
How much should a VPN cost?
If you sign up for 1-2 years, a VPN service should not cost you more than $2-5 per month.
Why would you pay for a VPN?
Free services need to make money somehow, and often it’s not ethical. In the best-case scenario, you will watch a lot of ads. Worst case scenario, your information will be sold to the highest bidder.
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