The best free VPN in 2024 (2024)

The best free VPN sounds seriously tempting, and as online threats become more and more commonplace, almost everyone is thinking of ways to stay safer online. The idea of getting one of the best VPN services without even handing over your email address sounds great – but is it really possible?

Having an understanding of how VPNs work behind the scenes is essential. In simple terms, they encrypt all your traffic, hiding it from your ISP, and can virtually relocate you by sending you through one of their own servers anywhere in the world. That all costs money, so it's well worth being aware of how your free VPN is funded. Pick the wrong provider and you may be doing yourself more harm than good.

My team and I have tested tons of free VPNs, prioritizing privacy, speed, and usability, as well as useful extras like the ability to unblock streaming sites. I've found that 'freemium' services are the best – you'll get limited features and often data limits, but you can trust they're safe and secure. For daily users, I recommend a paid VPN, but for infrequent users, one of the quality free VPNs listed further down this page might be all you need.

The best paid VPN providers

The three providers below – ExpressVPN, Surfshark and NordVPN – are my highest-ranked VPNs overall. While they are paid products, they include 30-day money-back guarantees, which allow you to trial them risk-free for a month. Don't think it's worth your money? Just claim a full refund – no questions asked.

Are free VPNs safe?

It all boils down to which free VPN you choose. While there are a few decent ones, they're vastly outnumbered by dubious, ad-filled apps with no background and no privacy policies. What's more, these could be harvesting your data – exactly the opposite of what you want from a VPN.

That's why I've taken the time to review tons of free VPN services, both good and bad. In them, there's tons of info on where each service impresses and disappoints, and with that knowledge, I've pulled together this comprehensive guide on which I consider safe to use.

The best provider for you should be fully tested and proven to be secure, but your decision will also depend on what you're looking for from your free VPN. For example, those looking to stream overseas Netflix will likely need PrivadoVPN, while those looking for unlimited data may prefer Proton VPN. So, all you need to do is keep scrolling to learn more and make your choice.

The best free VPNs of 2024

If you're dead-set on bagging yourself a free VPN, I highly recommend choosing one of the options outlined below. The expert VPN team at Tom's Guide has thoroughly reviewed all of these providers, and we're confident saying that they are safe, secure, and work well day-to-day.

The best free VPN overall

Newcomers to the VPN industry tend to take some time to grow, but despite only being founded in 2019, PrivadoVPN has quickly become a powerful and well-known provider. In my hands-on PrivadoVPN review I found the paid service to be quite impressive, but what really stands out is the PrivadoVPN Free plan.

First and foremost, PrivadoVPN Free offers all the essential privacy features you need to stay safe online. A kill switch blocks any traffic getting through if the VPN loses connection, and split tunneling lets you route some apps through the VPN while excluding others. It's a fast VPN too, topping out at around 350 Mbps in my testing.

At its core, PrivadoVPN is built around AES-256 encryption, which is the industry standard. In short, even if your traffic is intercepted it'll be totally unreadable. OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols are both available, and while most users will now use the swift and secure WireGuard, it's nice to have OpenVPN as an option.

When comparing it to the competition, one of the few places PrivadoVPN falls behind close rival Proton VPN Free is its limited data cap. Proton sets no data limits, while Privado caps full-speed connections to 10 GB a month. However, if you go over this you'll still be able to browse – albeit restricted to a sluggish 1 Mbps.

▶ Sign up to my #1 free VPN PrivadoVPN

PrivadoVPN's party piece, however, is its incredible streaming performance. Free VPNs typically restrict this kind of unblocking power to their paid plans, but in my testing I found that Privado's free plan is capable of accessing US Netflix from around the world, and can also gain access to other streaming sites like BBC iPlayer.

You'll get a generous spread of server locations too, with 13 cities located in 10 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, France, and more. That's better than Proton VPN's 3 locations, but can't match paid providers like ExpressVPN or Surfshark, which boast 100 or more.

It's worth noting that while PrivadoVPN has a robust zero-logging policy, this is yet to be proved by an independent audit. This is apparently due to the disruption an audit can cause, and as a new service, Privado is intent on developing further before sacrificing a significant amount of time to an audit.

From my testing, I'm confident that PrivadoVPN is safe to use, but I've got my fingers crossed that the team will undertake an audit sooner rather than later to prove their claims without doubt.

For a free VPN, PrivadoVPN Free offers the most comprehensive package on the market. With the only real limitations being restricted fast data, a smaller number of servers and only a single device being allowed on each plan, it's well worth a try – especially if you're after a Netflix VPN for free.

Best free VPN with unlimited data

Proton VPN is a big name in the VPN industry, and in my hands-on Proton VPN Free review we found that the Swiss-based provider really delivers.

Its robust applications are open-source and secure, and it delivers an excellent privacy- and security-focused experience.

The biggest advantage Proton VPN has over the competition is its unlimited data policy – no matter how much you use this free VPN, you'll never find yourself restricted. What's more, in my speed testing it even outstripped PrivadoVPN, clocking in at an impressive 380 Mbps.

Just like PrivadoVPN, all the privacy essentials are available for any users, paid or free. You'll have a kill switch, AES-256 encryption, and access to both OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols. This is all very positive to see from a free service.

Unsurprisingly, the useful Secure Core feature isn't available for free users, but in reality fairly few people are really going to benefit from these ultra-secure servers in special locations.

▶ Sign up to Proton VPN Free now

However, there's a reason why PrivadoVPN has overtaken Proton in recent times, and it's the outside the essentials, Proton VPN Free is just a little more limited. You'll only get access to 3 servers (US, Netherlands, Japan) compared to Privado's 13.

This means that many people around the world may not have a nearby server, with the omission of a UK VPN server being the most noticeable.

The lack of any significant streaming support is also worth noting. While PrivadoVPN may have spoiled us by offering this, it's no longer a given that free services don't work as streaming VPNs, and this now has to be marked as a negative. Lack of P2P support will also be a red flag for some.

However, it's well worth noting that Proton has partnered with German news broadcaster Deutsche Welle, and both paid and free versions of the VPN have dedicated servers that allow free and unrestricted access to unbiased news coverage from anywhere in the world.

In truth, though, if you're just looking for a free VPN to help keep you private day-to-day with no data limits, Proton VPN Free is arguably the better choice over our #1 pick here – but you really can't go wrong with either.

Best free VPN Chrome extension

Windscribe is well-known in the VPN world for its zany marketing operations and commitment to user privacy. While its paid product is very good, in my Windscribe Free review I found the freemium version to be the pick of the bunch.

Its server spread is remarkably generous. With 14 locations in 11 countries, it offers greater range than our top 2 providers here – although PrivadoVPN isn't far off with 13 locations in 10 countries.

You'll also get a generous amount of data per month, matching my #1 provider at 10 GB. However, here Privado just pips it to the post by offering unlimited yet slow emergency data. As mentioned above, Proton VPN free outdoes both by offering truly unlimited browsing.

▶ Take Windscribe free for a test run

One of Windscribe's more impressive features is that in my testing, it was able to unblock UK Netflix and BBC iPlayer. This is better than many paid VPNs, and while PrivadoVPN again performs even better in this area, it's an added bonus that's worth mentioning.

In terms of connection speeds, Windscribe lags behind my top two picks, but at 240 Mbps it's still plenty fast. To put that into perspective, most domestic Wi-Fi connections top out at around 100 Mbps, so Windscribe is unlikely to slow you down.

One major drawback, however, is Windscribe's app design. Despite a recent refresh, they're still pretty clunky and cramped. There are some good features like a useful server search, but compared to roomier apps like Proton VPN's and paid rival Surfshark's, Windscribe isn't quite up to scratch.

Finally, it's worth mentioning Windscribe's Chrome extension. It's excellent, and although it's only a proxy – it provides no encryption, and simply changes your location and IP address – it still works very well when trying to avoid ISP content blocking or accessing restricted overseas websites.

Overall, Windscribe is a powerful free VPN service that's simple and effective, and although it can't match our previous two providers, it's still very usable. However, considering all the products here are free, there's little reason to pick it over PrivadoVPN.

The best of the rest

Recently acquired by the venerable NordVPN, in my full Atlas VPN review, I found the provider to be a decent choice – and the same goes for its free VPN.

With a decent data limit of 10 GB a month – and a mega 2 GB a day on Mac – Atlas VPN Free is a useful little tool for added privacy and changing your location to access geo-blocked websites.

The apps are usable, but they do leave something to be desired, and across different platforms there's little cohesion. Also, they're just not incredibly slick to use, and when compared to the providers above, they don't quite match up.

However, they are simple enough for newbies to get started with, and they're pretty stable, so this shouldn't put off all but the choosiest of users.

You get a selection of three servers, with two in the US and one in the Netherlands.. This doesn't quite match up to the likes of PrivadoVPN or Windscribe, so globetrotters best look elsewhere. However, it's a serviceable mix, and not far off Proton VPN Free's roster.

Connection speeds are impressive considering the limited servers, and in our testing it topped out at a healthy 320 Mbps. That's rivaling the very fastest free VPNs, and certainly shouldn't slow you down when browsing.

This is quite possibly down to the fact that Nord Security owns the two fastest providers I've ever tested – NordVPN and Surfshark. Perhaps some of that is trickling down to Atlas, which is no bad thing.

While you won't be able to put those speeds to use when streaming Netflix and the like, Disney+ subscribers are in for a treat. Atlas VPN can unblock the House of Mouse's streaming offering, which makes it the only provider on this list to do so.

In terms of privacy, Atlas VPN covers the basics with quality encryption and a kill switch, but additional features are thin on the ground. Don't expect split tunneling or port forwarding here. The iPhone VPN app has had an audit, but in general Atlas VPN hasn't undergone any external checking. I hope to see their claims backed up by fact soon.

Overall, Atlas VPN is decent free option, but unless you're a Mac user who only watched Disney+, there's little to put it ahead of PrivadoVPN or Proton VPN.

In our full Hide.me review, we found that the Malaysian VPN contender had made some key improvements and is now fighting it out with the big dogs.

However, most people will know this provider from its Hide.me free product, which offers online protection at no cost.

In terms of the basics, Hide.me free is a safe and secure VPN, with great encryption alongside a bunch of extrafeatures like Double VPN and split tunneling that will keep the techies happy.

With 10 GB of data a month, Hide.me is pretty much on par with most of its rivals, and with US, Canada, Germany and Netherlands servers, there's a passable spread of locations – although hardly class-leading.

One big plus is that it works well as a torrenting VPN, though, with P2P allowed on all of these servers.

A somewhat annoying omission from the free plan is WireGuard support. It seems like a strange decision to limit the modern protocol to paying customers only, while also giving them access to just about every other tool available. All of my other picks allow full protocol usage on their free plans, and I'd like to see hide.me do the same.

This restriction to OpenVPN shows when it comes to speed. Topping out at a measly 25 Mbps, Hide.me free could quite possibly have a noticeable impact on your internet speeds – and it looks even worse when you consider PrivadoVPN, Proton VPN and other free providers top out at 10 times this.

Overall, if you think that you'll genuinely use the extra features Hide.me offers while being able to live with a slight slowdown, it's a decent choice. But for the vast majority there are better out there.

My most recent Hotspot Shield review saw the US-based provider put in an admirable showing, and although it's no longer one of the very best, it's still a good product.

However, in my Hotspot Shield Basic review I found the free service had fallen behind in recent years, and is now one of the lesser options in a jam-packed space.

That said, Hotspot Shield Basic is one of the only free services to offer unlimited data (alongside the more well-rounded Proton VPN), which is a major plus point.

Unfortunately, that's just about all Hotspot has going for it. You'll only get a single US server – nothing compared to PrivadoVPN and Windscribe's generous offerings – and while top speeds of around 230 Mbps are pretty good, they're not quite class-leading.

The apps are also quite intrusive in terms of usability. Mobile clients shows ads on connection, and while the Mac app doesn't show adverts, it does insist on opening the Hotspot Shield website on connection and disconnection, which is seriously annoying when you're in the middle of things.

You also don't get a kill switch on the Basic plan, which seems like a miserly decision considering the other limitations present.

Combined with Hotspot Shield's slightly excessive logging practices (bandwidth used, your OS, the time you connect and more), it certainly won't please those looking to use the VPN as a true piece of privacy software.

Overall, Hotspot Shield is a fairly capable free VPN, but the fact of matter is that there are a number of more well-rounded, flexible, and secure options out there right now.

Tested by

These are the experts who have tested, reviewed, and ranked the best free VPNs in this guide:

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