Best free VPN for iPhone in 2024 (2024)

A virtual private network, or VPN, is the go-to tool for millions around the world who use its privacy and security features to safeguard their data and their devices from snooping bad actors and cybercriminals. By hiding your IP address and encrypting your internet traffic, the best VPNs anonymize you on the internet and make it impossible for hackers, ISPs, and government authorities to track your online activities.

Getting a free VPN is often the first thought of those new to VPNs who would like to get to know the service and ascertain whether or not they need a VPN for their iPhone in the first place. While a free service is great for trial purposes—and some of the best ones come with unlimited data, tens of servers, and even unblocking capabilities—they are still miles behind their premium counterparts.

Additionally, the chances of a free VPN logging and selling your data or infesting your device with malware are a lot higher than if you just got the cheapest VPN on the market. However, there are some reliable free VPN providers as well that you can install on your iPhone right now and enjoy basic protection along with plenty of extra useful features. Read on to find out what they are, what purposes they serve, and if a free VPN is going to cut it for you.

Best VPNs for iOS in 2024 - paid for services

Even the best free VPNs are limited in their offerings—because they want to entice you with upgrades so that you ultimately switch to a paid plan for more benefits. Considering this, and given that you would actually need one of the best VPNs for iPhone if you are serious about protecting your device and your digital privacy, it makes so much more sense to sign up for a premium service from day one.

The best part is that you can get a paid-for VPN service for free by using its money-back guarantee. These are usually around 30 days, meaning you will have ample time to try out the service without putting any money on the line. Plus, ‘premium’ VPNs are premium in their offerings and not necessarily their pricing—you can get one of the best cheap VPNs for less than $3 a month!

On that note, here are my top three iOS VPN recommendations:

The best free VPNs for iPhone in 2024

The best free iPhone VPN overall

In our full PrivadoVPN review, we mention how despite being a relatively new entrant in the VPN industry (launched in 2019), PrivadoVPN has continually improved and added to its services to become a well-known provider—and its free version is right at the heart of its popularity with an impressive feature-set and security benefits.

PrivadoVPN Free is not only the number one free VPN for iPhones but also the best free VPN overall, displacing the previous #1 Proton VPN, as it is one of the only services that can reliably unblock the entire suite of streaming services including Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer—others like Windscribe and Atlas VPN Free can bypass some but not all of them.

▶ Try PrivadoVPN: the best free VPN

Plus, Privado’s server list is significantly better than Proton VPN—you get access to 13 cities in 10 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and France. Proton VPN, on the other hand, only offers 3 servers in 3 different countries.

Like Proton VPN, PrivadoVPN Free, too, gives you the full security package, ranging from a tried-and-tested kill switch and no-logs policy to AES-256 encryption and protocols like OpenSource and WireGuard. What’s more, it also comes with split tunneling, so you can route some apps through the VPN while using regular internet connection on the others.

Where PrivadoVPN isn’t as lovely as Proton VPN is data allowance. While Proton VPN Free gives you unlimited data, PrivadoVPN (like most free VPNs) limits you to just 10GB of data per month. However, the silver lining with PrivadoVPN is that you won’t have to shut shop after you’ve used up your allotted 10GB for the month—you can continue browsing and enjoy VPN protection, although only at a sluggish speed of 1Mbps.

Next, while all Proton VPN services are independently audited, PrivadoVPN’s servers and privacy policy are yet to undergo an independent audit. Although the service is extremely reliable, we’d like to see the company back up its claims with proof.

PrivadoVPN iOS apps are pretty basic but easy to use, so those new to VPNs and looking for a plug-and-play solution will swear by it. However, if you need a premium iPhone VPN app for free, we’d point you towards Proton VPN.

Overall, PrivadoVPN does almost everything right when it comes to offering a completely free VPN—it’s fast, secure, comes with tons of servers, and is the best choice if you want a Netflix VPN for free. So, while it is a clear winner for most users, if you want unlimited data and proven security, consider Proton VPN Free instead.

The best for digital privacy

Proton VPN is one of the most secure VPNs on the market right now and the same Swiss-backed privacy and reliability is what you get with its free plan as well. For starters, it offers open-source apps on all platforms whether that’s iOS, Android, Windows, or Mac.

Plus, all its apps have been independently audited by third-party experts—and security essentials like rock-solid encryption, a kill switch, and a no-logging policy, too, are all available on all its free apps, including the iPhone VPN app, and they work as expected.

In our review of Proton VPN Free, we mention how its biggest advantage over PrivadoVPN Free and the rest of the competition is that it doesn’t come with any data limits.

So, while PrivadoVPN limits you to just 10GB of data per month, Proton VPN allows you to use its always-on VPN feature for what it’s actually built i.e. connect once and enjoy 24/7 protection—you don’t have to keep tabs on your VPN usage so as not to exhaust it. Moreover, the service is anything but sluggish, with lightning-fast speeds of 380Mbps.

▶ Sign up to Proton VPN Free Now

The iPhone VPN app is easy to use and comes with a funky yet sleek-looking dark mode that gives it a futuristic look. Plus, as you’d expect from a high-ranking provider, the app has zero ads and the overall experience is simply fantastic, which is why it has managed to garner a 4.4 rating on the App Store.

A unique Proton VPN Free offering is that it has partnered with Deutsche Welle, a German news broadcaster, to allow unrestricted (and free, of course) access to its independent and unbiased news coverage.

A major reason Proton VPN didn't quite manage to grab the top spot here is its server limitations—just 3 servers (US, Netherlands, Japan) compared to Privado's 13 and Windscribe’s 14. Then there’s the lack of streaming support, an area where PrivadoVPN reigns supreme but even providers like Windscribe and Atlas VPN are slowly catching up.

So, needless to say, we would like to see Proton VPN Free join the party as well. Moreover, it doesn’t offer P2P support either, meaning you will have to look elsewhere if you want a VPN for torrenting.

All in all, if you’re looking for a free VPN for 24/7 protection, excellent usability, and class-leading security, there simply isn’t a service better than Proton VPN Free.

Free iPhone VPN with most servers

Windscribe is a popular VPN service from Canada with a decent paid version. However, the party piece is its free plan that comes with good privacy, excellent unblocking, and useful extra features.

When drafting our full Winscribe Free review, we were seriously impressed by its staggering 14 server locations in 11 countries—an excellent showing that’s better than every other provider on our list. The only other service that comes close to challenging Windscribe Free’s list of servers is Proton VPN with 13 locations in 10 countries.

▶ Check out Windscribe for free

Although Windscribe’s streaming support isn’t as comprehensive as PrivadoVPN, most users will be happy that it can unblock UK Netflix and BBC iPlayer. You will be able to stream your favorite British movies and TV shows on your iPhone, even when you’re on the go, thanks to consistent speeds of around 240Mbps.

However, a major drawback of the service, and also why it is not higher up on our list, is its data cap—just 10GB of data per month and nothing after that. If you’re looking for a free VPN to use extensively day in and day out, you’d be much better off with Proton VPN or Hotspot Shield which come with unlimited data. Even PrivadoVPN Free, which offers 10GB data at full speed and then unlimited data at 1Mbps speed, is a better pick.

Windscribe’s iOS apps could do with a bit of polish. That said, while they look and feel basic, they don’t cut back on functionality a lot—yes, you won’t see server locations by availability, but there’s a search option, so it’s overall decent but far behind the more roomy and clutter-free apps of PrivadoVPN and Proton VPN.

To conclude, Windscribe is a simple and effective free VPN that has more than just a few things going for it, including unlimited simultaneous connections, top-notch privacy, and an expansive list of servers. Unfortunately, though, a strict data cap limits its functionality to a great extent, so that’s something you will have to live with—or you can look at our top 2 options instead.

Free iPhone VPN with unlimited data

Hotspot Shield Basic might not be as comprehensive as the three providers above but it is still free and offers a few but very likable features. This is also true for the paid Hotspot Shield package, which is decent but lags behind the competition.

As we concluded in our full Hotspot Shield VPN review, its biggest advantage is that it comes with unlimited data—so, you can scroll TikTok, watch high-definition YouTube videos, and/or send large files on your iPhone without worrying about exhausting your data.

▶ Try Hotspot Shield Basic for yourself

This puts it right beside Proton VPN Free and above the rest of the competition which all offer limited data. Additionally, with a decent speed of 230Mbps, buffering won’t be much of an issue either.

However, that’s all there is to Hotspot Shield Basic, unfortunately. This is because it offers only a single US server and logs a surprising amount of user data as compared to its rivals—and contrary to what you would expect from a privacy tool. Logged data includes bandwidth used, your OS, the time you connect, and more.

In addition to the absence of an indispensable kill switch, the iOS apps show pesky video ads on connecting, and while the Mac VPN apps don’t, they instead insist that you open the Hotspot Shield website every time you connect/disconnect the VPN. What’s more, there’s also no live chat or email support, meaning the Hotspot Shield website and your browsing skills are all you have should you run into an issue.

Overall, Hotspot Shield Basic pulls back a few punches when it comes to security, user experience, and features, but it makes a strong case for itself by offering unlimited data. However, it’s difficult to recommend it over Proton VPN Free, though, which also offers unlimited data but is head and shoulders above Hotspot Shield in everything else.

How to pick a free VPN for iPhone

Figuring out which VPN is right for you is a subjective process that hinges on one key question: what are you going to use your VPN for? Folks after a reliable streaming VPN will have different priorities than those looking for a torrenting-friendly provider, after all, but there are a few universal criteria to keep in mind.

These include:

Security: not all free VPNs are created equal and some low-ranking and unscrupulous providers can log your data and sell it to third parties for a profit. This is why it is crucial to only pick providers with a clear-cut no-logs policy, a reliable kill switch, and strong encryption—and it’s good to have extras such as split tunneling and port forwarding as well.

Number of servers: look for a VPN that offers a generous amount of servers in several countries on its free plan. In particular, prioritize those that have servers in regions of your choice, as free VPNs are often limited in this regard.

Speed: while you certainly cannot expect a free VPN to compete with the fastest VPNs, connections should be both consistent and speedy enough for most activities whether that’s everyday browsing or streaming in HD.

Bandwidth: one of the major considerations when shopping for a free VPN is the amount of data you get. If you want unlimited data, providers such as Proton VPN Free and Hotspot Shield Basic will be ideal choices.

Unblocking capabilities: very few free VPN services can reliably unblock streaming sites. If you want to watch foreign movies and TV shows for free, you’d be better off with PrivadoVPN, Windscribe, and Atlas VPN, in that order.

How we test free iPhone VPNs

We follow our comprehensive VPN testing methodology to cut through the myriad of options on the market and zero in on only the best free iPhone VPNs. Our testing starts at the provider's website where we look for clues to gauge how reliable the service is. This includes looking for and thoroughly reading the VPN's privacy policy, any claims it makes, and its support options.

Then we install the provider's free VPN apps on various platforms (iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux) and put them through intensive real-world testing where we check the working of essential security features such as kill switch and leak protection—as well as any other feature on offer, such as split tunneling and/or auto-connect.

User experience is a big one for us, so we check the apps for any ads, clutter, and design shortfalls. Then we try to connect/disconnect to every single server location on offer by the free VPN to evaluate if the service lives up to its claims.

Next, we test the VPN’s speeds at least 120 times by using a US home connection and a 1Gbps UK data center. Lastly, to check the truthfulness of free VPNs that claim to unblock streaming sites, we try to access geo-blocked content from big-name streaming sites including Netflix, Disney Plus, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime Video.

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