Best Free VPN Of All Time

What Is a VPN, and Why Would I Need One? 

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. VPNs can be used to access region-restricted websites, shield your browsing activity from prying eyes on public Wi-Fi, and more.

A VPN is a private network that uses a public network (usually the internet) to connect remote sites or users together. The VPN uses "virtual" connections routed through the internet from the business's private network or a third-party VPN service to the remote site or person.

1. Hotspot Shield Free VPN

Our #1 free VPN

Number of servers: 2,500 | Server locations: 70+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5

Easy-to-use
500MB daily data allowance
Security focused
Performance can suffer a bit
Set up is a bit fiddly

Those on the free plan can protect up to five devices simultaneously, and are limited to 500MB of data per day (so around 15GB per month). That may sound restrictive, but compared to TunnelBear below, it's actually one of the more generous free VPN limits. If security is your sole aim, then Hotspot is on the same wavelength, boasting 'military-grade encryption' - comforting if you do your banking and shopping online or by mobile.

2. TunnelBear
Protecting your identity doesn't get easier than this – TunnelBear is the best free VPN you can download today

Number of servers: 1,000 | Server locations: 20+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5

Really user-friendly
Both mobile and desktop clients
Not many options or settings
Low data limit

TunnelBear might have something of a cutesy design, but it's a serious free VPN, especially after its acquisition by security giant, McAfee. There are free and paid-for subscriptions to choose from. The only restriction with the free plan is that you are limited to 500MB of traffic each month. This isn't a huge amount, so you won’t be able to use TunnelBear all of the time without paying, but it's great for those times when you feel like you need a little extra protection and want to go down the VPN free route. TunnelBear offers a range of paid-for plans that remove the restrictions associated with the free plan, like the download limit, the numbers of countries available and the amount of connected devices. TechRadar has secured an exclusive deal from TunnelBear that gives you all this for as little as $4.99 per month, that's a whopping 58% saving.

3. Windscribe
Super secure, with a very generous data cap, Windscribe is a top-notch free VPN

Number of servers: 400+ | Server locations: 60+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: Unlimited

10GB of data per month
Sterling privacy policy
Android client is flawed

Windscribe is a relative newcomer to the free VPN scene, but its generous data allowance and commitment to protecting your privacy make it the best around if you need more data than the 500MB free tier with TunnelBear. You get 10GB bandwidth per month as standard and can choose from ten remote server locations with the Windscribe VPN free including UK, Hong Kong, Canada and US VPN). You only need to create a username and password to sign up (an email address is optional, but might prove handy if you forget your password).

Windscribe doesn’t store connection logs, IP stamps, or visited sites; when you’re actively connected to a server it stores your username, the VPN server you’re connected to and the amount of data transferred, but this is erased within three minutes of the session ending. Tweeting about the provider will earn you an extra 5GB, and you’ll get 1GB each time you invite a friend to join.

4. Speedify
Want a secure yet speedy connection? Then look no further

Number of servers: 200+ | Server locations: 50+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 1

Nifty performance boosting tech
Solid on the privacy front
Software has few low-level controls
No joy with Netflix

Speedify, as the name suggests, has one main aim as a free VPN provider: to ensure that while you benefit from encryption, your internet connection remains as speedy as possible. To that end, this provider will make use of all available internet connections to get the best possible performance, potentially combining, say, an Ethernet connection (fixed broadband) with a tethered mobile 3G/4G connection. Even if you only have one type of internet connection, the firm claims its turbocharging technology will still help speed things up.

The free plan boasts full access to those servers (just as with the subscription options), the only restriction of the free offering being that you’re limited in the amount of data you can download. Free users get 5GB of data each month, but that drops to 1GB during subsequent months. That’s not a huge allowance, and certainly not as much as some other rivals you’ll see elsewhere on this page, but it’s more than some, and still enough for covering some basic surfing and email duties. And this VPN provider is definitely worth a look on the performance front, as during our testing, the aforementioned speed-granting technologies did actually prove themselves to have a positive effect.

5. ProtonVPN Free
You won’t be constrained by a monthly data allowance with this free VPN

Number of servers: 628 | Server locations: 44 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5

No monthly data limits
Great on the privacy front
One device limit
Only three locations to choose from

ProtonVPN is another provider that offers a free VPN alongside a paid option, but the former has some very strong points, the most notable of which is that it doesn’t impose any bandwidth restrictions. In other words, you’re free to use as much data as you want every month. There are, naturally enough, limitations for the free plan to incentivize upgrading to the paid offering. And ProtonVPN Free’s restrictions include limiting you to only one device, only three locations, and free users get a lower priority when it comes to speed compared to paying subscribers. There’s no P2P support either. But if you can live with that, this is an impressive provider with a strict no logging policy, and you can sign up with nothing more than your email address. There aren’t even any ads on the website, let alone the client.

6. Hide.me
You’re on a hiding to something with this privacy-conscious VPN

Number of servers: 1,400 | Server locations: 55 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5

Strong on privacy
No adverts or speed throttling
Limited to one device
Only three locations

Hide.me offers both paid and free VPN providers, with the latter giving you 2GB of data per month to play with. There are other limits too: you can only connect a maximum of one device, and are limited to three server locations (Singapore, Canada, and Netherlands) rather than the 30 locations paying subscribers get. On the plus side, however, this provider won’t throttle the connection speed of free users, and Hide.me further promises that it keeps no logs and stores no user data, so won’t pass on any data to third-parties in order to try and make a profit (simply because it doesn’t have any data to pass on). There are no adverts here, either.

You get native software for Windows PC and Mac, Android and iOS, with the Windows client being smartly designed, plus there’s 24/7 technical support (which is in place even for free users). Performance was impressive in our testing, too. Overall, then, this is a more-than-solid free offering which tries to maintain your privacy, without too many restrictions.

7. SurfEasy (Opera Free VPN)
A good argument for switching your browser?

Number of servers: 1000 | Server locations: 25 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5

Five simultaneous devices allowed
User-friendly client
500MB monthly data limit
Performance not so hot over longer hops

SurfEasy is a Canadian-based free VPN from the same organization responsible for the Opera web browser, and indeed it’s bundled within Opera as an integrated VPN. There are both paid and free offerings, with the latter not restricting the amount of devices you can use – free users can hook up a maximum of five devices simultaneously, just like paid subscribers. You also get 1,000 servers across 25 countries, and a very user-friendly Windows PC client. Performance is solid enough, although we found that some longer distance trips to more remote servers (i.e. the US) could be rather sluggish.

The main restriction here is a monthly data limit of 500MB, which means you won’t get very much mileage out of this VPN on a free basis, and it’s really for very light or occasional use only (or testing it if you’re looking at signing up for a paid plan). It’s important to note, though, that if you’re using the Opera browser with its integrated VPN, there’s no data limit here (at least for protecting your browsing activities). Which could be a compelling argument to switch from the likes of Chrome or Firefox…

8. PrivateTunnel

A free VPN that’ll keep your data and identity safe on any PC or mobile device

Number of servers: N/A | Server locations: 9 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 3

Wide range of clients
Simple to use
Limited choice of locations
Inconsistent performance at times

Like some of the other free VPN providers featured in this roundup, PrivateTunnel is available for a number of platforms – specifically Windows PC, Mac, Android and iOS. Another characteristic shared with many of its contemporaries is the existence of a limited, free package in addition to paid-for subscriptions. Well, sort of. Rather than offering a traditional monthly subscription package, you are instead provided with 200MB of non-expiring data to use as you want. When this runs out, you can purchase more data in bundles of 20GB or 100GB. If you feel that you'd like to use PrivateTunnel all the time, you can opt for a $30 per year package which give you unlimited data – see the 200MB as something of a taster session to see if you like everything. As a VPN, PrivateTunnel works fairly well, although connections can be a little temperamental at times. It's all very easy to use, so there's little reason not to take it for a test drive.