Best Free VPN in 2026: 8 Tested for Speed, Data and Streaming

Most people don’t need a VPN every day. They need one for a single job, like watching a match that isn’t shown in their country or reading a news site that’s blocked where they live. Paying for a long subscription to do that once can feel like a lot. So the question is whether a free VPN is good enough, or whether “free” comes with a catch. The answer depends on who’s behind it.

The good free VPNs come from companies that also sell a paid version, so they’re happy to let you try it for free and hope you’ll upgrade one day. The others make their money from your data, which defeats the point of using a VPN. Out of the 30+ free VPNs we’ve tested, these are the ones we’d actually trust.

Free VPNs Compared Side by Side

Speed loss comes from our own tests on a 190.36 Mbps connection, on the free plan if the VPN has one. We tried nine streaming services on each VPN, and the streaming column shows how many it unblocked.

VPN	What’s free	Data	Speed loss	Streaming	Devices
NordVPN	30 days, refunded	Unlimited	3.8%	9 of 9	10
Proton VPN	30 days, or a free tier	Unlimited on both	7.4% paid, 19.3% free	7 of 9 paid, 0 free	10 paid, 1 free
ExpressVPN	30 days, refunded	Unlimited	4.7%	9 of 9	10-14
Windscribe	Free tier	10 GB a month	10.0%	6 of 9	Unlimited
PrivadoVPN	Free tier	10 GB a month	9.5%	6 of 9	1
Hide.me	Free tier	Unlimited	30.5%	0 of 9	1
TunnelBear	Free tier	2 GB a month	Server assigned	0 of 9	1
Hotspot Shield	Free tier	500 MB a day on PC, unlimited on mobile	25.0%	1 of 9	1

Free for 30 Days: Paid VPNs With a Money-Back Guarantee

NordVPN’s and ExpressVPN’s money-back guarantees make them free for the first month, as long as you request the refund within 30 days. For that month, you have unlimited data, every server, streaming, torrenting, and live support, a combination no free plan offers. Proton VPN’s refund covers only the unused part of the term, so it’s cheap to try for a month, though not free.

NordVPN: Best Free VPN Overall (30-Day Money-Back Guarantee)

NordVPN is a paid VPN, so you pay first and claim the refund before the month ends. Its speed loss was the smallest of any VPN we tested, free or paid, at 3.8% across our UK and US servers, low enough that you’d struggle to notice it. It unblocked all nine streaming services we tried, though Pluto TV and Prime Video detected it on a few attempts, and its servers cover 152 countries. It also tops our list of the best paid VPNs.

Its no-log policy has passed six independent audits, the last four by Deloitte, and the Complete plan adds next-gen antivirus, which blocks malware and ads. NordVPN has browser extensions too, and our free VPN for Chrome and Firefox guides cover that side. One subscription connects 10 devices at once. The Basic plan is under $3.50 a month through our link, so set a reminder a few days before the 30 days end if you only want the free month. The NordVPN review covers the rest.

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Proton VPN: Best Free Plan for Unlimited Data

Proton VPN comes in two versions, and the paid one with a 30-day guarantee is the better deal. Paying unlocks all 149 countries, 10 devices, streaming, torrenting, and the NetShield ad blocker. Ping, the round-trip delay to a server, was the lowest we recorded on a US server, at 109 ms, and the paid version lost 7.4% of its speed on UK and US servers. It couldn’t unblock Pluto TV or ITVX, the only two misses among the nine streaming services we tried.

The free plan is unusually generous. There’s no card, no expiry date, and no data cap, and it shows no ads, because subscribers pay for it. Outside auditors have checked the no-log policy on both plans. The limits showed up quickly in testing, though. Free accounts are assigned a country from a pool of 10, and the two we were given behaved very differently. A Dutch server came in at 176.41 Mbps with a 32 ms ping, close to the paid version.

A US server came in at 131.00 Mbps with a 253 ms ping, a delay you’d normally see on a connection to Japan. More people share the free servers than the paid ones. Netflix US blocked that American IP address, and with no server choice, there was no way to try another one. The free plan also blocks torrenting and connects only one device at a time. If you want to torrent without paying, use PrivadoVPN instead. Our free vs paid VPN comparison covers the trade-off.

Visit Proton VPN

ExpressVPN: Best Free VPN for Distant Servers (30 Days)

ExpressVPN was the quickest VPN we tested on distant servers. Its Japanese server tested at 163.94 Mbps, a figure no other VPN beat, so it’s a good fit for connecting to Japanese servers. On UK and US servers, it lost 4.7% of its speed, and it unblocked every one of the nine streaming services, with ITVX and Prime Video flagging the connection a few times. Its servers span 113 countries, its no-log policy has been through a KPMG audit, and one subscription connects up to 14 devices.

A 44 ms ping to the UK also makes it a solid VPN for gaming. The settings list is short, and there’s still no multi-hop option, which sends traffic through two servers and which NordVPN and Proton VPN offer, though most people won’t miss it. The Basic plan costs under $3 a month for the first 28 months, and its 30-day refund window matches NordVPN’s.

For more, the ExpressVPN review covers the apps, our fastest VPN guide has the full speed table, and our ExpressVPN vs NordVPN comparison puts the two head to head.

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5 Best Completely Free VPNs (No Credit Card)

No card, no deadline, and no refund to remember. Instead, each of these five limits something: data, locations, or what the connection allows.

1. Windscribe: Best Free VPN for Covering Every Device

Most free plans protect one device. Windscribe covers as many as you own, and we had five connected at once, so phones, a laptop, and a TV can share one free account. Its London server tested at 182.21 Mbps, within a few Mbps of NordVPN, and its 10.0% average speed loss leaves far more speed than HD streaming requires. Of the nine streaming services, it unblocked six, including the Netflix libraries, and it failed on ITVX, Pluto TV, and Prime Video. Its R.O.B.E.R.T. filter blocks ads and trackers on the free plan.

Packetlabs audited its server software in June 2024, and Leviathan Security Group audited the desktop and mobile apps in 2021 and 2022. Windscribe is based in Canada, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, but a Greek court case showed it had no user logs to hand over. In July 2021, its Ukrainian servers were seized while unencrypted, which could have exposed user traffic, and the company has since moved to servers that wipe on every reboot.

The free plan includes 2 GB a month, or 10 GB once you confirm your email, about 5 hours of HD video. Once it’s used up, Windscribe disconnects you, so confirm your email right after signing up.

2. PrivadoVPN: Best Free VPN for Streaming and Torrenting

PrivadoVPN was the fastest free plan we tested, with a 9.5% speed loss, and it’s the only one that keeps working after the cap. Once the 10 GB is used, it switches you to emergency servers at 1 Mbps, slow but enough for email and messages. Torrenting is allowed and worked with uTorrent and BitTorrent. It couldn’t unblock ITVX, Netflix Canada, or Prime Video, and it unblocked the other six streaming services.

The free plan covers 10 countries across 13 locations, four of them in the US, with others including the UK, France, Canada, Mexico, and India. Connections were as quick as on its paid app. PrivadoVPN is based in Iceland, and no outside firm has audited its no-log claim, so we’d use it for streaming and torrenting and pick an audited VPN for online banking. Linux support is limited, and the free plan covers a single device. Android TV owners can install it, though.

3. Hide.me: Best Free VPN for Unlimited Data and Location Choice

Hide.me combines unlimited data with a list of locations to choose from, which Proton VPN’s free plan doesn’t offer. Eight locations in seven countries are free, including two in the US and others in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Speed is the trade-off. Hide.me’s London server came in at 152.31 Mbps, but the US server dropped to 112.48 Mbps, for a 30.5% average speed loss.

That still leaves enough speed for HD video, though large downloads take noticeably longer. It couldn’t unblock any streaming service, and torrenting is blocked. For free streaming, use Windscribe or PrivadoVPN. Hide.me is based in Malaysia, which belongs to no intelligence-sharing alliance. An independent audit has confirmed its no-log policy, and the kill switch cut our connection the moment a server dropped, so our IP address was never exposed.

Connecting through two servers and the malicious-site filter are for paying customers. If you play online, our free VPN for gaming guide explains why none of these free plans works well for competitive play, and the Hide.me review covers the paid plans.

4. TunnelBear: Best Free VPN for Beginners

TunnelBear is the easiest of these free VPNs to install and understand. Independent auditors have checked it more than once, the kill switch works, and TunnelBear disguises its traffic so it keeps working on networks that restrict VPNs. However, free accounts can no longer choose a server. In our latest check, TunnelBear assigned Romania and the Netherlands, at 178.44 and 166.20 Mbps, so your speed depends on where it places you.

Connecting took 4 to 5 seconds even on WireGuard, its fastest protocol, which is slower than TunnelBear’s paid version. It failed on every streaming service, so it’s best kept for browsing on public Wi-Fi. The 2 GB monthly allowance covers about an hour of HD video. Torrenting is blocked, and the connection cuts off when the data is gone.

There’s no Linux app and no Fire TV Stick VPN app, and the free Firestick VPN guide covers what works there instead. In the UK, the free VPN for UK guide has local results, our TunnelBear review goes through the paid version, and the NordVPN comparison shows what a paid VPN adds.

5. Hotspot Shield: Best Free VPN for US Servers

Hotspot Shield’s free plan offers US servers only, which puts it in our free VPN for USA roundup and makes it a poor fit for other countries. It unblocked Netflix US and failed on Prime Video, Pluto TV, and HBO Max. Its American server matched the paid version’s speed, a 25.0% speed loss, so the free plan isn’t throttled. The Hydra protocol works on school and office networks that filter VPN traffic, split tunneling, which lets chosen apps skip the VPN, works on every platform, and the VPN installs on routers and TVs.

On iOS and Android, the free plan has no data cap, and ads pay for it. On a computer, the allowance is 500 MB a day, and unused data expires at midnight. Privacy is the weak point. By its own account, the company keeps a record of which domains its VPN users visit, and the targeted ads in its free mobile apps rely on user data. We’d keep it for Netflix US and use an audited VPN for everything else, and our Hotspot Shield review has the full picture.

What a Free VPN Costs You Instead

• Data. Proton VPN and Hide.me lead the unlimited free VPN list, though they’re slower than the capped plans, and Hotspot Shield’s phone apps are uncapped in exchange for ads. Windscribe and PrivadoVPN cap you at 10 GB a month, and TunnelBear at 2 GB. When the data is gone, PrivadoVPN slows to 1 Mbps, while the other two cut off.
• Streaming and torrenting. Windscribe, PrivadoVPN, and Hotspot Shield unblocked Netflix US on their free plans, and our free VPN for Netflix guide has the details. Changing your Netflix region reliably still requires a paid VPN. The free plans from Proton VPN, Hide.me, and TunnelBear block torrenting, which the free VPN for torrenting guide covers. NordVPN and ExpressVPN unblock Netflix and BBC iPlayer and allow torrenting during the free month.
• Devices. Windscribe is the only free plan with no device limit. The others protect one device at a time, compared to 10 on the paid subscriptions, and the same limit applies to the free plans in our free VPN for India guide.
• Support. Free accounts are usually limited to email support. Proton VPN keeps live chat for paying customers, and some free VPNs, including Urban VPN, have no support desk.

Free VPNs to Avoid

• Urban VPN. Slow, leaks users’ IP addresses, and sells user records to third parties.
• Hola VPN. Sends traffic through other users’ connections, so a stranger’s activity can appear to come from your IP address. It also sells logs to data brokers.
• Betternet. Same parent company as Hotspot Shield, with the same logging record, frequent leaks, and a 500 MB daily cap.
• Mobile-only free apps. Usually paid for by ads, often logging in the background, and rarely available beyond iOS and Android.

Summary

Yes, a free VPN can be good enough, provided it has a paid version behind it and you can live with its limit. Windscribe covers every device in a household and has a fast London server, as long as 10 GB a month is enough. Proton VPN’s free plan never caps your data, though it chooses your country and won’t unblock streaming. PrivadoVPN is the fastest free plan for streaming and torrenting.

Our best free VPN for Australia guide applies the same tests locally. For heavy use, a month of a paid VPN beats every free plan. NordVPN lost less speed than any VPN we tested and unblocked every streaming service we tried, and its money-back guarantee makes that month free. If a free VPN has no paid version and no audit, don’t install it.

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FAQ About the Best Free VPNs