Best free VPNs

There’s always one compromise or another when opting for a free virtual private network (VPN), but there are some great picks for testing the VPN waters before shifting to the best (paid-for) VPN services. While speeds may be throttled and data limits are common, there are still free VPNs that keep you secure and don’t log what you do while connected.

ProtonVPN is our top pick for the best free VPN overall. Despite the premium version being superior (a common story in the world of VPNs), the free version of ProtonVPN is a great all-rounder. There are only 27 servers in three countries (none in Australia, alas), but the speeds are great despite the “medium speeds” claim.

More importantly, the free version of ProtonVPN lets you access blocked content without having to worry about logs. If you do like the privacy and security offered by ProtonVPN, we’d highly recommend upgrading to the premium version.

Understandably, the free version of ProtonVPN doesn’t hold a candle to the premium upgrade in terms of supported countries (three vs 63), devices (one vs 10), or access to advanced features. Still, the free version doesn’t have any speed limits, so you can still reasonably use the internet as you normally do, and the lack of data limits mean you don’t have to count daily megabytes or monthly gigabytes.

Despite being free, the complete lack of advertisements gives the free version of ProtonVPN a premium feel. Most importantly for your online security, ProtonVPN doesn’t log your online activities in any of the versions of its software, while Swiss privacy laws add extra peace of mind.

It’s also a great touch that the free version of ProtonVPN can be used on major operating systems, including Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Android, and Chromebook. Admittedly, the free servers are based in the US, Netherlands, and Japan—which isn’t ideal for the speedy webpage loading of lower-latency, close-proximity servers—but download and upload speeds were great in our tests.

Speedify is great for those who primarily browse and don’t use a lot of data, or people who are curious about testing the waters of what a VPN can do. Put aside the 2GB 30-day data cap, and Speedify is a truly free trial version of the premium service.

This means you can use the Windows, MacOS, Android, or iOS versions of Speedify across five devices with full access to the Speedify global server network, which includes speedy Australian servers. Speedify offered fantastic latency and decent download/upload speeds in our tests, and we like the ongoing statistics it shares while you’re connected (plus the option to run inbuilt speed tests).

Our favourite unique feature, though, is that Speedify lets you unite broadband and mobile internet connections to combine the speeds of both. Importantly, Speedify also doesn’t log personal information, including IP addresses, visited sites, or other data sent or received while connected to the VPN.

It’s best to treat Windscribe as an extended VPN trial across multiple devices, except it’s one that doesn’t require an upfront payment. The versatility starts with unlimited simultaneous connections, which covers a range of computer operating systems, browsers, phones, and other devices.

The 10GB data limit is more generous than other free VPNs (like Speedify), plus you can add 5GB of bonus data by logging into your account and clicking the ‘Tweet 4 Data’ button. The Windscribe software and app isn’t as flash as competitors, but it gets the job done with fast connection and disconnection. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the overall speeds, which isn’t helped by no Australian servers for the free version (even if there is a respectable selection of countries).

On the all-important privacy front, the free version of Windscribe has the same no-log policy as its upgraded premium version. This means you can browse privately, protect your browsing history, avoid data leaks when using public Wi-Fi, and access geoblocked content by masking your IP address. We also like that two-factor authentication (2FA) is just a click away from configuration on the Windscribe login portal.

Using a proxy is a great way to protect specific parts of your internet activity which, admittedly, does require an extra degree of care to ensure it’s on. Thankfully, connecting and disconnecting is a single click or tap away.

Split tunnelling is a feature used in premium VPNs that lets you control which apps are protected by a VPN, and which ones aren’t. CyberGhost VPN Free Proxy simplifies that by letting you only use a VPN when you’re browsing via Chrome or Firefox.

While CyberGhost VPN Free Proxy claims to not protect against webRTC leaks, our IP address was secured by the free proxy service in our leak tests. This makes CyberGhost VPN Free Proxy a good pick for those browsing the ’net on public Wi-Fi or looking to easily access geoblocked sites.

We also like that browsing data stays private, reportedly because it’s built on the Ethereum blockchain. Connecting is as simple as clicking the power button and takes only a few seconds, even if server choices are limited to the US, Romania, Netherlands, and Germany.

If that sounds like your jam, we’d recommend ignoring the admittedly decent monthly pricing and opting for either annual or biennial pricing, both of which offer killer value compared to Surfshark’s VPN peers. We also like that Surfshark VPN boasts some great advanced features.

NordVPN is our favourite premium VPN, which means it’s the one we recommend most to those happy to pay for a month to take advantage of a 30-day money-back guarantee. Considering we recommend paying for it, we don’t think you’d begrudge accidentally paying for an extra month (or getting extra ongoing value out of an annual or biennial plan).

In its simplest form, NordVPN combines top-tier privacy and security with military-grade encryption. It helps that it’s also incredibly easy to use. Whether this is your first VPN or your latest one, NordVPN is a cinch to configure with guided installation, plus there are some great advanced features beneath the hood for those looking to tinker.

In terms of the basics, NordVPN has a great server count in a respectable number of countries and locations, even if we wish it allowed for more than six simultaneous connections. There’s a NordVPN app or software for every major device and operating system, speeds have improved in recent times, and we also appreciate the inbuilt antimalware.

While we ultimately recommend a fully featured premium VPN service over a free offering, there are several great options on this page for those seeking to test out a VPN or for casual use. ProtonVPN, CyberGhost, Windscribe, and the NordVPN trial are all viable pathways to finding your next favourite VPN without worrying about cost.

Similarly, Speedify is a great way to test a fast VPN if you don’t mind a data limit. While all of these free VPN recommendations are held back in one way or another by their lack of costs, they all offer dependable privacy and security. Ultimately, whether you want a free or paid VPN, dependable privacy and security are what matters most.

Unfortunately, some of the most popular round-ups of the best free VPNs on other websites are exclusively or predominantly focused on money-back guarantees. We were determined to only have one category that involved an upfront fee for a trial, which means every other VPN on this page has no upfront cost.

Still, there are a lot of free VPNs out there that aren’t worth using, which is why we dug deeper into the features and avoided free VPNs that are overly reliant on ads or other intrusive features. The free VPNs on this page were tested for speed and IP leaks, while their overall security was also scrutinised.

Like our picks of premium VPNs, we lean towards recommending free VPNs that are easy to use and don’t compromise on privacy. We’ve only recommended one proxy service because we favour free VPNs that work at a device level, meaning you can connect and know that all of your internet activity is secure, not just at an app or browser level.