The Best Gratis VPN of 2022
You don't have to spend a penny to encrypt your web traffic with a VPN.
We can cite dozens of reasons why getting a VPN subscription is a worthwhile investment, but that doesn't modify the fact that paid VPNs just aren't for everybody. If you're looking for a free plan that tin take your digital security up a notch, proceed your personal data private, and protect your figurer or mobile phone from the prying optics of hackers, this review is especially for you.
Quick Glance: Complimentary VPN Trial Catamenia
| Hotspot Shield | No limit |
| Surfshark | 30 days |
| TunnelBear | No limit |
| Windscribe | No limit |
Why We Don't Always Recommend Free VPNs
You might find in our review of the best VPNs that our pinnacle picks are all paid VPNs. While nosotros've tested out many decent free VPNs, they're only not as comprehensive every bit paid VPNs. Why? Considering many costless VPNs put limits on things similar:
- The amount of servers we tin connect to
- Our daily data usage
- The number of devices we tin can connect
- The corporeality of time we can use the VPN for.
You know what they say: there's no such matter as a free lunch, and that's never been more true than for free VPNs. In order to turn a profit off of your service, many of them volition sell your personal information, or fifty-fifty your web traffic or private IP addresses, to 3rd-party companies. These companies will then sell your information to advertisers and marketers to create targeted ads. For someone looking for a VPN, you desire to proceed your personal data and web activeness individual, and so depending on the service, a VPN'south privacy policy could defeat the purpose of a VPN itself. Then, with a final plea, here are the VPNs we recommend the most overall. Although they're not costless, their prices are so affordable we call up y'all merely might modify your minds.
With NordVPN, nosotros could torrent and even lookout man Netflix without our Internet Service Provider (or hackers) knowing about it.
With Netflix and torrenting access, every bit well every bit carve up-tunneling and other groovy features, this British Virgin Islands-based VPN really does the play tricks to go along you safe online.
Having said that, you may be fine with these limitations and logging policies. If that's the case, read on to discover out our superlative picks for the best gratuitous VPNs, which we all tested personally. Note that all of these VPNs too have paid options and so if you end upwardly wanting to utilise them on more devices, utilize more bandwidth per day, or what have y'all, you can always upgrade if you so please. Without further ado, we bring you 2022's best free VPNs!
Side-past-Side Comparing of the Best Gratuitous VPNs of 2022
| System | PrivadoVPN | Hotspot Shield | Atlas VPN | Surfshark | TunnelBear | Windscribe VPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 1st | 2nd | tertiary | 4th | 5th | 6th |
| Ratings | ix.0/10 | 8.nine/10 | 9.0/10 | 9.5/ten | viii.viii/10 | 8.7/10 |
| Works on | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, FireTV, AndroidTV | Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS | Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS | iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, Linux, Fire Television receiver Stick apps, Xbox | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux with browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera | Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS with browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera |
| Data Usage Limit | 10 GB every 30 days | 500 MB per day, refreshes every 24 hours | 10 GB | None | 500 MB per month | 2 GB per month or 10 GB if you lot log in and confirm using your email accost |
| Connection Speed Limits | No speed limit | 2 Mbps | No speed limit | No speed limit | No speed limit | No speed limit |
| Server Locations | 12 cities | US-based server location only | iii locations | 63 | Over twenty locations | 10 locations (USA, Canada, France, Federal republic of germany, the netherlands, Kingdom of norway, Romania, Switzerland, the Uk, and HongKong) |
| Separate Tunneling | No | No | No | Aye | Yeah (Android only) | Yep (Android app only) |
| 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, or 14 Optics Member | No | Yes | Yeah | No | Yeah | Aye |
| Limitations of Freemium Version |
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| Premium Subscription Pricing | $7.99 monthly or $59.88 yearly | $12.99 monthly or $95.88 yearly | $nine.99 monthly, $29.89 yearly, or $49.99 for three years | n/a | $nine.99 monthly or $59.88 yearly | $9 monthly or $49 yearly |
| Read Review | PrivadoVPN Review | Hotspot Shield Review | Atlas VPN Review | Surfshark Review | TunnelBear Review | Windscribe VPN Review |
The All-time Free VPNs of 2022
- PrivadoVPN - Best Free VPN with Unlimited Speeds
- Hotspot Shield - Best Costless VPN for Windows and Mac Users
- Atlas VPN - Best Free VPN for Privacy
- Surfshark - All-time Free VPN for Short Term Users
- TunnelBear - Best Gratuitous VPN for Beginners
- Windscribe - All-time Free VPN for the Security
A Closer Look at the Best Complimentary VPNs of 2022
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1. PrivadoVPN - Best Free VPN with Unlimited Speeds
What We Like:
- No speed limits
- Based in Switzerland
- Free and paying users get the aforementioned security and speed
- Uses OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2 VPN protocols
What Nosotros Don't Like:
- Requires an email address upon signing up for the complimentary version
- Complimentary version gives yous access to ix server locations only
- ten GB per month data usage limit
- No split up tunneling
Unlimited Speeds
VPNs are great for security, just many gratuitous VPNs aren't and so great when it comes to speed. In fact, a lot of them impose speed limits when you connect to their servers. With speed limits in place, even with a one Gbps internet connection, your browsing speed will be throttled to every bit low as 2 Mbps. That'southward not ideal, which is why we selected PrivadoVPN as our elevation pick. It provides great security and privacy features, and at the same time, the free VPN offers unlimited speeds. Our 50 Mbps internet connexion notched a reading of 34 Mbps while connected to Privado, which nosotros'd say is the normal speed drop when you lot connect to a VPN. Cracking, not bad at all.
A Elementary Interface
Whether we used PrivadoVPN on our laptops or mobile devices, the software proved easy to use. Yous won't have to bound through hoops to connect, and the almost important VPN features are laid out neatly nether 1 tab. Information technology even has the option to switch VPN protocols between OpenVPN, Wireguard, and IKEv2, which we don't unremarkably see in free VPNs. And lastly, the software's home screen shows how much information y'all have left on your monthly information assart and then you can budget your 10 GB monthly allotment.
Serious About Privacy
PrivadoVPN is based in Switzerland, a state with keen privacy laws. In that location are no strict data retention policies at that place, which means PrivadoVPN isn't required to keep usage data. In fact, Privado doesn't store any usage information as function of its no-logs policy. On top of that, Privado uses tiptop-notch encryption in 256-fleck AES, plus, it has a kill switch to protect its users' privacy in case of sudden network loss.
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2. Hotspot Shield - Best Free VPN for Windows and Mac Users
What Nosotros Liked:
- Generous 500 MB data usage allowance per day
- Works on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS
- Doesn't log browsing activities
- Upward to 5 devices per account
What We Didn't Like:
- Allows only one connection at a time
- United states-based servers only for free users
- 2 Mbps speed limit
- Based in the US, a Five Centre alliance member
500 MB Daily Information Usage Limit
Hotspot Shield did limit our data usage, but information technology was more than generous than virtually other free VPNs. Hotspot Shield refreshed our information allowance every 24 hours, giving united states 500 MB of bandwidth to swallow every day. That's about xv GB per calendar month, provided that we max out our allowance daily. Withal, unused data didn't roll over to the next day, so if we used only 400 MB in ane day, nosotros would withal only receive 500 MB the next day. The daily limit made sense equally information technology helped us control our data usage. Instead of giving usa 15 GB per month, which bluntly, we could blow through in just a calendar week or and then, it limited our daily usage so we'd still have bandwidth left towards the end of the month. Now that's simply smart.
Works On Up to V Devices
We've been able to log in using our Hotspot Shield account using five different devices. It worked on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, so whether we were in the office working on our MacBooks, at a coffee shop browsing on our smartphones, or at home with our Windows PC, we had access to Hotspot Shield. Only one device connected to Hotspot Shield at a time, though, but information technology was easy enough to switch betwixt devices thanks to the VPN's fast connection times. It unremarkably took the VPN less than five seconds to plant connections, which was impressive for a free VPN.
Hotspot Shield Windows Kill Switch No Ads on Windows and Mac Clients
Most free VPNs generate acquirement by injecting ads into the websites nosotros visit. While Hotspot Shield did that in the past, it changed its policy recently and only placed ads in its mobile apps. Also, instead of injecting the ads into websites, Hotspot Shield only showed us short ads after we connected and asunder our mobile phone VPN. Of class, it's never fun to see ads, just with a freemium VPN with a generous data usage allowance, going through a couple of ads every session didn't hurt.
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3. Atlas VPN - Best Gratis VPN for Privacy
What We Like:
- Tracker blocker and information breach monitor
- Supports streaming
- Unlimited devices
- No-logs policy
What We Don't Like:
- ten Gbps monthly information limit
- Allows only i connectedness at a time per account
- Servers in three locations merely
- No live conversation support
Data Privacy
Using a VPN increases your privacy, simply Atlas VPN takes information technology a notch higher by offer tools that can help you lot proceed rail of your digital wellness. The gratuitous version includes Tracker Blocker, a tool that automatically blocks trackers injected by websites you lot visit into your estimator. It too includes a breach monitor, wherein you can input your email address and Atlas will find if it has always been a office of a data breach. It's these little things that earned Atlas a spot on our list of the all-time free VPNs.
Streaming Access
Most complimentary VPNs do not offering access to streaming websites, only Atlas does. While connected to Atlas, we were able to stream from Netflix and Prime Video. Still, keep in mind that there'south a ten GB information usage limit per month, which could hamper your rampage watching sessions. A couple of episodes of Bones, and your information allowance is gone. Nonetheless, if you're willing to sacrifice the video quality, you might be able to binge a bit using Atlas.
Unlimited Devices
Atlas VPN doesn't require yous to create an account if y'all're on the free plan. That ways that you can load Atlas on all your devices and connect them all to the VPN simultaneously. You won't need to pay a monthly fee to protect all your computers and mobile phones, just as long as you lot're not doing any bandwidth-heavy tasks.
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four. Surfshark - All-time Complimentary VPN for Short Term Users
What We Liked:
- Five Eyes non-member
- Torrenting and Netflix access
- Split tunneling
- AES-256 encryption
What We Didn't Like:
- Complimentary VPN just lasts 30 days (Yet better than others)
- Static IP addresses
- Latency on Windows
- No telephone support
Low Prices After Trial Ends
Sure, we're not thrilled that SurfShark's costless trial only lasts a month. But that trial flow does have its advantages. One, we weren't limited at all on how we could apply the VPN in terms of servers, information, or speed limits, so we could really try it out accurately. That'due south what makes it so perfect for those looking for a free VPN to use brusque term. We got all the features of a premium VPN without spending a unmarried cent. And even once the free trial month is over, the prices didn't exactly break the depository financial institution.
Time Length Overall Cost Monthly Price 2 Years $59.76 $2.49 6 Months $38.94 $6.49 one Month $12.95 $12.95 We signed up for two years to lock in that $two.49 a month rate, billed one time as virtually $60. We were confident nearly committing for two years thanks to the free trial. If you're looking for other free trial options, other than SurfShark, check out our review of the best VPNs with costless trials.
Unlimited Simultaneous Connections
Information technology'south no hush-hush that we spend a ton of time online. Nosotros frequently find ourselves on our laptops, watching Netflix using ane of the best VPNs for Chrome and Chromecast, while checking Instagram on our phones at the same time. So we demand a VPN that doesn't limit united states on how many devices we can connect simultaneously. Enter Surfshark, which allows for unlimited connections at the same time. Not only that, but information technology worked on a ton of our devices, including:
- iOS
- Android
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
- Burn down TV Stick
- Xbox
This opens up SurfShark to most people online, plus, anyone that uses Chrome or Firefox, every bit it has browser extensions for both.
Netflix Admission
We'll allow y'all in on a little secret: even though at that place are VPNs that work well with Netflix, Netflix is not a fan of VPNs. Afterward pressure from TV networks and studios, it blocked a ton of VPN IP addresses, forcing VPN companies to scramble for new servers. Fortunately, we had no problems watching Surfshark on Netflix, and so if yous need to finish that show that's simply on Netflix in some other country, you can connect to Surfshark and switch your Netflix region.
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5. TunnelBear - All-time Complimentary VPN for Beginners
What Nosotros Liked:
- Easy to utilize and intuitive user interface
- Over 20 server locations for gratis users
- Upwardly to five simultaneous connections
- Works across all major operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS)
What We Didn't Like:
- Based in Canada, a Five Eye alliance member
- No Netflix access
- No phone or live chat support
- 500 MB per month information usage limit
Fun and Easy To Use
Most VPNs have a serious vibe going on with their user interface, but TunnelBear took a different approach with its intuitive yet fun and easy-to-use user interface. It connected to the encrypted tunnels with i click of a button and in one case connected, the application showed us our server location through a virtual map That was incredibly helpful because choosing a server location closest to our physical location normally yielded faster upload and download speeds. Whenever we felt a slowdown, we simply clicked on the "tunnel", an icon representing TunnelBear's server locations, closest to united states of america to get a amend connection.
FYI: FYI: TunnelBear offers over 20 server locations to choose from, all of which are attainable even to free users.
Up To Five Simultaneous Connections
Although TunnelBear is a free VPN, it allows upwardly to five connections at any single time. In fact, on several occasions, nosotros used it to encrypt our MacBook Air, Android smartphone, and iPad that nosotros connected to a public library Wi-Fi network. And that'south another advantage of the TunnelBear as a complimentary VPN: it worked across all major operating systems for desktop and mobile, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. It too had browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, which allowed u.s. to encrypt merely our browsing data rather than encrypting our laptop or smartphone's entire online activeness.
The TunnelBear App 20+ Server Locations
While other VPNs limit the number of virtual locations accessible to free users, we loved that TunnelBear permit us connect to over 20 different server locations. Information technology allowed us to choose a server closest to us for faster speeds and to switch over to different servers if our electric current connection wasn't good. And for those like us who aren't geography buffs, TunnelBear's interface makes information technology easier to visualize the location of the servers. The interface also makes it easier to observe other close proximity servers in case the closest i doesn't yield good speeds, or if you desire to change your iPhone'southward location to a specific country.
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6. Windscribe - Best Free VPN for the Security-Minded
What We Liked:
- At least 10 server locations for gratuitous users
- Adware and malware blocker with the browser extension
- The desktop client includes a built-in firewall
- Split tunneling on the Android app
What We Didn't Like:
- Based in Canada, a 5 Eyes alliance fellow member
- Logs more than data than the blank minimum
- 10 GB per calendar month data usage limit
- Live conversation back up through an automated bot
Worked On Desktops, Smartphones, and Browsers
Windscribe worked on just about any device nosotros used at home. At that place were desktop clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux, apps for iOS and Android, browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, and even an app for our Amazon Fire TV. Now that'due south impressive, but allow'south become back to the basics. We used Windscribe mostly on our MacBook Pro. The desktop customer connected all our apps to the VPN tunnel, while the Windscribe extension we installed on our Chrome browser merely encrypted our browser activity. That was helpful because, given the x GB per month information limit, we used Windscribe mostly to browse the Internet. If, for case, we wanted to Google something while on a Skype call, we could simply connect our browser to Windscribe without having to connect Skype and all our other desktop applications.
Pro Tip: You can become additional data allowance past tweeting about Windscribe, referring friends, or hanging effectually Windscribe'due south official Subreddit.
Ads, Tracking, and Social Network Blocking
There was another reward to using the Windscribe browser extension: it blocked ads, trackers, and social network widget buttons that oftentimes contain trackers. You know those Similar, Tweet, and Share widget buttons that appear on diverse websites? Turns out, they tin runway our browsing data even if we don't click on any of them.2 Windscribe blocked those widgets and so that we could browse the Web, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks couldn't track u.s.a.. That just goes to show how serious the company is about keeping its customers' online action private. Merely don't worry, we could however access our social networks even with the blocking feature.
Windscribe Data Logging Policy Data Logging Policy
As far as logging data goes, Windscribe didn't go on track and store any identifying data such as our real IP accost and the websites we visited while connected to the VPN. However, information technology did log a fiddling more information than the blank minimum, including the amount of data we've used during our sessions and the times of our connections. That'south a little bit concerning, but to be fair, Windscribe's data privacy policy requires its servers to discard such information equally shortly equally we disconnect from the service. The only records Windscribe kept were the number of parallel connections at whatever given time to prevent corruption and account-sharing and our information usage within a xxx-day period.
Our Video Review
If you liked our listing, be certain to also check out our video review of the best costless VPNs. It has additional information nigh our top picks and you'll get to come across our featured complimentary VPNs in action as well.
Methodology: How We Tested Gratuitous VPNs
That's pretty much information technology for our list of the best VPNs you lot can access for gratis. But if you lot desire to explore your options yourself, here'due south an insider's expect at our review procedure and what we look for when we compare VPNs, whether free-to-use or otherwise.
Speed
First of all, nosotros want our VPN to protect our privacy without making much of an bear on on our browsing experience, peculiarly our net speed. Almost whatsoever VPN we've e'er tested slowed down our connectedness, simply ideally, the difference should non exceed 40 percent in any of the speed categories— namely, the latency (ping), download speed, and upload speed.
We tested gratis VPNs using Speedtest by Ookla. To make the results uniform, we continued only 1 device to our router at a fourth dimension, and then nosotros took a speed examination using the device without a VPN. Nosotros so performed a second speed test, this fourth dimension with the VPNs. We logged the results and computed the difference between the latency, download speeds, and upload speeds in terms of a percentage. We performed the tests both on our Mac and Windows computers.
Keep in mind that speed test results don't always tell the whole story. There are a number of other factors that may touch on the results, like our proximity to the server, the current online traffic of both our net service provider and the VPNs, and the device we used, only to name a few. So while we try to keep our exam results equally authentic as possible, nosotros don't fully rely on the speed lone to make up one's mind our top picks.
Security
VPNs preserve personal data by encrypting web traffic that could contain personally identifiable information. Unfortunately, while most VPNs do encrypt web traffic, there are some that collect other kinds of metadata that they sell to third parties to turn a profit.
That's peculiarly truthful with costless VPNs. As they say, "if you lot're not paying for a product, you are the production." To see which VPNs do that and which ones don't, nosotros looked into their privacy policies and checked which kinds of data they collect and store. In that location are some, like ProtonVPN, that have strict logging policies, simply there are likewise others that store some types of data but immediately delete everything as before long as you disconnect. Both are adequate, simply ideally, nosotros desire our VPN to not collect any data at all aside from the bare minimum it needs to uphold our account.
We also looked at each VPN company'south legal obligations to share client data with the government. Companies based in member countries of the Five Eyes, Nine Optics, and 14 Eyes international surveillance alliances are particularly risky because their government could force them to hand over customer information. While we won't get as far as to avoid them, we want our readers to know the risks.
On the more than technical side of things, we tested for DNS and WebRTC leaks using online tools. We tin can see if VPNs take DNS leaks by comparing our IP accost that appears on the DNS Leak Test website.3 A like method applies to WebRTC leaks, which we test using ExpressVPN's online tool.4
Features
The performance of VPNs also matters to us. Nosotros are ever on the scout for useful VPN features. For instance, nosotros checked if VPNs take a kill switch, which stops all online activity in the issue that the VPNs fail to prevent our data from leaking to our internet provider Split tunneling is another useful feature as it allows devices to connect to the Internet through two different tunnels. One tunnel passes through a VPN tunnel, while the other connects to a public network as if there's no VPN. This feature is useful for multi-tasking and it creates faster speeds every bit it allows lower bandwidth. Finally, we gave special credit to VPNs with multi-hop or at least double-hop connections, as they encrypt data several times as information technology hops through unlike servers.
Subscriptions
For this review specifically, we didn't put much weight on the pricing, given the subject thing. Nevertheless, we'd like to notation that all five free VPNs on our list have paid versions. We base our assessment on a number of factors, including the features the VPNs offer and their pricing compared to competitors. In our experience, paid VPNs could cost as low as less than a dollar per month, but the more expensive ones could cost upwardly to $15 per month.
Customer Support
No matter how tech-savvy we are, we still run into issues we can't troubleshoot ourselves, so we as well like to know how easy (or difficult) it is to contact the VPNs' customer back up teams. Email support is not the most ideal for us because most companies are irksome to respond to electronic mail tickets. We prefer companies with live chat or phone back up, and if those channels are available 24/seven, even better.
Apps
Finally, we looked into both the Android and iOS apps of the VPNs, focusing on their functionality. Are they piece of cake to employ? Exercise they piece of work well? What are other users saying nearly the apps? We also read client reviews and compare their observations with ours to see if any patterns emerge.
FAQs About Gratis VPNs
- What are the best gratis VPNs of 2022?
The best costless VPNs of 2022 are PrivadoVPN, Hotspot Shield, Atlas VPN, Surfshark, TunnelBear, and Windscribe. PrivadoVPN is our favorite, as it doesn't impose speed limits, has several servers in 12 cities total, and its apply of the best encryption and VPN protocols shows its commitment to protecting its users' privacy.
- Can free VPNs featherbed geographic restrictions?
Well-nigh gratis VPNs can featherbed geographic restrictions, but for all-time results, nosotros recommend free VPNs with servers in more than than 10 locations.
- What are the limitations of gratuitous VPNs?
The limitations of free VPNs often include data usage limits, speed capping, and express simultaneous connections. Some VPNs may too limit the number of server locations you can access.
- Are free VPNs safe?
Not all gratuitous VPNs are safe, which is why we recommend getting a free version of a reputable paid VPN rather than downloading a VPN advertised as 100 percent free.
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The Federal Council. (1999). Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation.
admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html -
Wall Street Journal. (2011). 'Like' Push button Follows Spider web Users.
wsj.com/manufactures/SB10001424052748704281504576329441432995616 -
dnsleaktest.com. (2020). DNS Leak Test.
dnsleaktest.com/ -
Limited VPN. (2020). WebRTC Leak Test.
expressvpn.com/webrtc-leak-test
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