In this article, I present the results of my comprehensive evaluation of numerous free VPNs, highlighting ProtonVPN as the best overall option.
ProtonVPN offers unlimited data, free servers in ten countries, no ads, and robust privacy features in its free tier. Additionally, the kill switch feature ensures data protection in case of an unstable internet connection or server disconnection.
Other reliable and risk-free VPN services worth considering include Hide.me, TunnelBear, or Hotspot Shield Basic.
Top 3 Truly Free VPNs (October, 2026)
Hide.me
Best for card-free privacy
- 8 free locations
- No email or card needed
- P2P allowed on free servers
ProtonVPN
Best for free privacy
- Excellent speeds
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Reliable kill switch
CyberGhost
Best for browser-only privacy
- Free Chrome and Firefox extensions
- US, Germany, Netherlands, Romania
- 45-day money-back on 6-month+ plans
Some users may be hesitant to commit to a VPN service without giving it a test run first.
Others may be working with a limited budget that doesn’t accommodate a monthly VPN subscription. In such cases, a free VPN can be a lifesaver.
Thankfully, I’ve discovered the top free VPNs that provide reliable security without any hidden costs.
5 Free VPNs With No Strings Attached
For those interested in trying a VPN, starting with a free plan is the ideal approach.
This allows you to gain insight into the service’s offerings before committing financially.
Here are some of the best free VPNs to consider:
- ProtonVPN: Top Overall Free VPN
- Hide.me: Best Free VPN With No Email or Card Required
- CyberGhost: Best Free Browser Extension, Backed by a 45-Day Guarantee
- TunnelBear VPN: Best Free VPN with Extensive Server Network
- Hotspot Shield Basic VPN: Best Free VPN with Unlimited Data
In the following sections, I’ll delve deeper into these five free VPNs and explain why they stand out from the rest.
Top Free VPNs: Mini-Reviews and Comparisons
I’ve evaluated numerous free VPNs, but only a select few offered impressive speeds, robust security, and sufficient servers to bypass geo-restrictions.
In the following sections, I’ll discuss the top five Virtual Private Networks that have consistently delivered excellent performance and explain what sets them apart.
ProtonVPN: Best Overall Free VPN
ProtonVPN is my best overall free VPN, thanks to its blend of quality features and user-friendly app.
While most free VPNs allow data limits between 500 MB to 10 GB, ProtonVPN offers unlimited bandwidth. I could use it as often as I liked to play games like Clash of Clans, use some streaming platforms, and download content.
Besides, ProtonVPN’s free plan now draws on free servers in ten countries: the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico, Canada, and the US. The catch is that the app assigns you one of them at random, so you can’t pick a country to target a specific content library.
When the app landed me on a US server, I wanted to see if I’d stream videos easily. The server worked, but the internet connection was relatively slow. Likewise, it took a while to connect.
Unlike most free VPNs that cancel vital security features, ProtonVPN’s free plan doesn’t omit the kill switch feature, P2P servers, and WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols.
Moreover, the VPN is compatible with mobile devices (Android, iOS) and PC units (macOS, Linux, Windows, and Chromebook), ensuring secure online coverage for your units.
However, the free plan lacks SmartDNS support for devices that can’t download a VPN app (like smart TVs), torrent-download support, specialty-streaming servers, or an ad-blocker. For torrenting, you’ll have to step up to a paid plan.
Furthermore, you can only connect to one device at a time on the ProtonVPN free plan, the same limit Hide.me’s free plan sets.
But you can upgrade to the premium plan to access more ProtonVPN features. That includes 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries, streaming support (on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, etc.), ten simultaneous connections, an ad-blocker, a double hop feature, and fast P2P servers for torrenting.
Original pricing screenshot
Offers shown in this screenshot may differ from the current deal.
Grab these huge ProtonVPN deals to upgrade to the premium version.
Pros
- Free servers in ten countries, with no card and no ads
- Unlimited bandwidth on all its free servers
- Multiple device support (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux)
- Fast servers for streaming content and playing games
Cons
- No multiple simultaneous connections
- Free servers are assigned at random, so you can’t pick a country
- Not optimized for torrenting or content unblocking on Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, etc.
Hide.me: Best Free VPN With No Email or Card Required
Hide.me takes my second spot because its free plan asks for less than any other on this page. There’s no email address to confirm and no card to enter: install the app, pick the free option, and you’re connected. At the time of writing, that’s the quickest route I know to a real VPN tunnel without leaving a trace of yourself behind.
The catch is speed, sort of. Hide.me doesn’t cap what you download, but it only promises unrestricted speed to its Premium users, so don’t expect paid-plan speeds on the free tier. For browsing, email, and the odd YouTube video, that’s fine; for nightly HD streaming, ProtonVPN’s free plan, with no data or speed limits, is the better fit.
You get eight free locations to choose from: the US, the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, and Singapore. That’s a wider spread than most free plans manage, and unlike ProtonVPN, which now assigns its free servers at random, you pick the country yourself. I’d still temper any streaming hopes, though: these servers are shared with everyone else on the free plan, and I wouldn’t choose them to unblock Netflix libraries.
Torrenting stays a paid-plan feature, as it does on ProtonVPN’s free plan, so if the point of your free VPN is to grab a Linux ISO or seed a few files without your ISP watching, budget for an upgrade.
Security is the part Hide.me doesn’t water down. The service runs AES 256-bit encryption over WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2, its apps include a kill switch and Stealth Guard (which pins chosen apps to the VPN so a torrent client can’t send a byte outside the tunnel), and IPv6 traffic goes through the tunnel instead of just being blocked. The company sits in Malaysia, outside the 14 Eyes, and its no-logs policy has been independently audited.
It’s also ad-free, which matters more than it sounds. Plenty of “free” VPNs earn their keep by injecting ads or selling browsing data; Hide.me does neither, and its free tier is funded by the people who upgrade rather than by you.
The limit you’ll feel is the single connection. One device at a time is the same deal as ProtonVPN, so a household that wants every phone covered will need a paid plan, such as Hide.me’s own.
If you outgrow the free plan, the paid one adds Hide.me’s no-throttling promise, opens up ten simultaneous connections and the full network, and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. When I checked in September 2026, the 2-year plan (24 + 2 months) came to $2.69 a month.
Grab these Hide.me deals when you’re ready to upgrade from the free plan.
Pros
- No email address or card needed to start
- Eight free locations across the US, Europe, and Singapore
- No data cap on the free plan
- No ads, an audited no-logs policy, and a Malaysian jurisdiction
- Kill switch, Stealth Guard, and WireGuard in the apps
Cons
- Unrestricted speed promised only on Premium
- One device at a time
- Not a pick for unblocking streaming services
CyberGhost: Best Free Browser Extension, Backed by a 45-Day Guarantee
CyberGhost is best known as a paid VPN, but it also gives away free proxy extensions for Chrome and Firefox, and that’s the part that earns it a place on this list.
I want to be upfront about what they are: a proxy extension only reroutes the traffic inside your browser, not your whole device. Your apps, games, and torrent client keep using your regular connection.
Within that limit, the extensions are genuinely handy. You get four free locations – the US, Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania – which is enough to hide your real IP address from the sites you visit or to check how a page looks from another country.
They’re also a practical option on a computer where you can’t install a full VPN app, like a locked-down work laptop.
What you don’t get for free is full-device protection. For torrenting, streaming apps, or covering your phone, you’ll need a paid plan, and CyberGhost’s own is one of the more forgiving ones to try.
Its full VPN runs 9,000+ servers in 100 countries and covers seven devices at once, and the 6-month and 2-year plans come with a 45-day money-back guarantee – six weeks to test it before you commit. On the 2-year plan, that comes to $2.19 a month, or $56.94 for the first 26 months.
Grab these CyberGhost deals when you’re ready to move from the free extension to the full VPN.
Pros
- Free proxy extensions for Chrome and Firefox
- Four free locations: the US, Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania
- Works where you can’t install a full VPN app
- Paid plan adds 9,000+ servers in 100 countries and a 45-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- The free extensions cover browser traffic only
- No torrenting or app coverage without a paid plan
- Only four free locations
TunnelBear VPN: Best Free VPN With a Wide Server Network
Another free VPN with a “no strings attached” plan is TunnelBear, offering a vast network of 40+ servers in 40+ countries.
Like ProtonVPN, TunnelBear free plan hasn’t omitted vital features such as a kill switch, the all-important AES 256-bit encryption, or split-tunneling.
I tested the VigilantBear (kill switch) feature by simulating a VPN connection drop (I switched from mobile network to Wi-Fi), and it blocked all traffic until TunnelBear reconnected again.
This protected my data from being leaked to third-party sites.
Thus, the kill switch feature proved reliable, especially when the connection became unstable.
Moreover, with the SplitBear (split-tunneling) feature, I separated several apps I didn’t want to use with the VPN. I could encrypt the connection on needed services while leaving the rest without VPN traffic encryption.
TunnelBear also offers a GhostBear feature, which makes all your connections look like regular internet traffic. This works best in regions like China or Russia, where the government may block your VPN connection requests.
To make things more fun, TunnelBear features bear sounds, which you turn on or off through the Settings tab.
But TunnelBear offers just 2GB bandwidth on the free plan.
Thus, I see it as more suitable for securely checking emails or simply browsing rather than downloading torrents or streaming HD content.
Fortunately, you can upgrade to the Unlimited or Teams plan to gain more benefits without bandwidth throttling.
Use these fantastic deals once you’re ready to unlock the premium features.
Pros
- 40+ servers in 40+ countries to securely unblock content
- A kill switch feature for protecting your data when your network drops
- Split-tunneling feature to separate apps you don’t want to use with the VPN
- GhostBear (obfuscation) for masking your virtual connections
Cons
- 2GB data limit
Hotspot Shield Basic VPN: Best Free VPN With Unlimited Data
Hotspot Shield Basic VPN offers unlimited bandwidth alongside Proton VPN, but its free plan gives you a single US location.
That’s fewer locations than ProtonVPN or Hide.me offers, but still enough for everyday browsing and bypassing basic restrictions.
I tested the Los Angeles server for speed, and while it wasn’t as fast as ProtonVPN, it wasn’t slow either. So I was able to surf the web without lag.
While we’re still at it, Hotspot VPN’s free servers aren’t optimized for streaming on Netflix, playing games like Fortnite, or using social networks like TikTok. The free plan also has no ad-blocker, so you won’t get that extra clean experience on torrent websites, manga platforms, and other ad-ridden services.
Furthermore, Hotspot offers less advanced security features in its free plan, especially lacking its anti-phishing tool and internet kill switch.
Thus, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium plan to access these services.
If you upgrade, you’ll get 115+ virtual locations, streaming-optimized servers, and up to 10 simultaneous connections.
Ready to try out the Hotspot Shield premium plan? Grab these incredible discounts and save more!
Pros
- A free US location for everyday browsing
- Unlimited bandwidth for unrestricted browsing access
- A split-tunneling feature to separate apps from the VPN
- Decent connection speeds without lags
Cons
- Servers aren’t optimized for streaming HD content or gaming
- No kill switch feature
- No ad blocker
How to Set up a Free VPN?
Once you’ve selected your preferred free VPN from my list, here’s how to set it up on your device:
- Visit your preferred free VPN and create an account. I’ll use ProtonVPN for this guide.
- Download the VPN app for your device. I’ve used the Windows PC app.
- Launch ProtonVPN and log into your account.
- Select the kill switch button under the “Countries” tab. You can choose between Kill Switch On and Permanent Kill Switch. I recommend “Kill Switch On” so you don’t mess up your device’s internet settings.
- Click Quick Connect to connect to a recommended server or select one from the list.
- Use your free VPN to unblock content and enjoy online protection.
Drawbacks of Using a Free VPN (Free VPNs vs. Paid VPNs)
Here are the main differences between free and premium VPNs, depending on what you need either or both for.
| Free VPN | Premium VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Security and Privacy | Offers simpler and fewer security features and protocols. | Provides better security and privacy features. Often uses more advanced encryption protocols. |
| Server Network | Small server network, thus, fewer options. | Usually has a larger server network. Hence, lots of options to choose. |
| Speed | Limited bandwidth and server speeds can be an issue when downloading large files or streaming 4K content. | Offers faster connection speeds and fewer bandwidth restrictions. |
| Customer Support | Fewer customer support options. May not offer 24/7 customer service. | Provides better customer support. Most premium VPNs have 24/7 customer support. |
| Cost | Free VPNs do not charge users an upfront cost. However, they may have hidden fees. | From about $2 a month on long-term plans; more if you pay monthly. |
| Device Compatibility | Supports a few device types and operating systems. | Compatible with multiple devices, including gaming consoles and streaming devices. |
| Simultaneous Connections | Usually offers limited simultaneous connections. | Support simultaneous connections from five to unlimited devices. |
Conclusion
If you’ve been wondering whether you can get reliable free VPN software with decent speeds and a generous number of servers, ProtonVPN has got you.
ProtonVPN stands out with its unlimited bandwidth, easy-to-use interface, kill switch, and free servers in ten countries.
Otherwise, grab these huge discounts to save more on a ProtonVPN premium plan which unlocks the best features – such as P2P torrenting support, streaming (Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, etc.) service unblocking, and multiple device connections.
