Best Free VPN for 2024: Affordable Risk-Free Privacy (2024)

1. Free VPNs simply aren't as safe

Free VPNs can be very dangerous. Why? Because to maintain the hardware and expertise needed for large networks and secure users, VPN services have expensive bills to pay. As a VPN customer, you either pay for a premium VPN service with your dollars or you pay for free services with your data. If you aren't ordering at the table, you're on the menu.

Some 86% of free iOS and Android VPN apps -- accounting for millions of installs -- have unacceptable privacy policies, ranging from a simple lack of transparency to explicitly sharing user data with Chinese authorities, according to two independent 2018 investigations into free VPN apps from Top10VPN. Another 64% of free VPN app offerings had no web presence outside of their app store pages, and only 17% responded to customer support emails.

In June 2019, Apple reportedly brought the hammer down on apps that share user data with third parties. But 80% of the top 20 free VPN apps in Apple's App Store appear to be breaking those rules, according to a June update on the Top10VPN investigation.

In2021, 77% of apps were flagged as potentially unsafe in the Top10VPN VPN Ownership Investigation -- and 90% of those flagged as potentially unsafe in the Free VPN Risk Index -- still posed a risk.

"Google Play downloads of apps we flagged as potentially unsafe have soared to 214 million in total, rocketing by 85% in six months," the report reads. "Monthly installs from the App Store held steady at around 3.8 million, which represents a relative increase as this total was generated by 20% fewer apps than at the start of the year as a number of apps are no longer available."

On Android, 214 million downloads represent a lot of user login data, culled from unwitting volunteers. And what's one of the most profitable things one can do with large swaths of user login data?

2. You can catch malware

Let's get this out of the way right now: 38% of free Android VPNs contain malware -- despite the security features on offer, a CSIRO study found. And yes, many of those free VPNs were highly rated apps with millions of downloads. If you're a free user, your odds of catching a nasty bug are greater than 1 in 3.

So ask yourself which costs less: a secure VPN service for about $100 a year, or hiring an identity theft recovery firm after some chump steals your bank account login and Social Security number?

But it couldn't happen to you, right? Wrong. Mobile ransomware attacks are skyrocketing. Symantec detected more than 18 million mobile malware instances in 2018 alone, constituting a 54% year-over-year increase in variants. And in 2019, Kaspersky noted a 60% spike in password-stealing Trojans.

But malware isn't the only way to make money if you're running a free VPN service. There's an even easier way.

3. The ad-valanche

Aggressive advertising practices from a free plan can go beyond getting hit with a few annoying pop-ups and quickly veer into dangerous territory. Some VPNs sneak ad-serving trackers through the loopholes in your browser's media-reading features, which then stay on your digital trail like a prison warden in a B-grade remake of Escape from Alcatraz.

HotSpot Shield VPN earned some painful notoriety for such allegations in 2017, when it was hit with a Federal Trade Commission complaint(PDF) for over-the-top privacy violations in serving ads. Carnegie Mellon University researchers found the company not only had a baked-in backdoor used to secretly sell data to third-party advertising networks, but it also employed five different tracking libraries and actually redirected user traffic to secret servers.

When the story broke, HotSpot parent company AnchorFree denied the researchers' findings in an email to Ars Technica: "We never redirect our users' traffic to any third-party resources instead of the websites they intended to visit. The free version of our Hotspot Shield solution openly and clearly states that it is funded by ads, however, we intercept no traffic with neither the free nor the premium version of our solutions."

AnchorFree has since offered annual transparency reports, although their value is still up to the reader. More recently, however, HotSpot Shield was among just a handful of VPN apps found to respect users' refusal to permit ad-tracking. In a November 2021 study from Top10VPN, just 15% of free VPN apps respected iOS users' choices when they declined voluntary ad-tracking. The rest of the free VPN apps tested by Top10VPN simply ignored users' Do Not Track requests.

Even if possible credit card fraud isn't a concern, you don't need pop-ups and ad-lag weighing you down when you've already got to deal with another major problem with free VPNs.

4. Buffering... buffering... buffering

One of the top reasons people get a VPN is to access their favorite subscription services or streaming site -- Hulu, HBO, Netflix -- when they travel to countries where those companies block access based on your location. But what's the point in accessing the geo-blocked video content you've paid for if the free VPN service you're using is so slow you can't watch it, despite a good internet connection?

Some free VPNs have been known to sell your bandwidth, potentially putting you on the legal hook for whatever they do with it. The most famous case of this was HolaVPN, which was caught in 2015 quietly stealing users' bandwidth and selling it, mercenary-style, to whatever group wanted to deploy the user base as a botnet.

Back then, Hola CEO Ofer Vilenski admitted they'd been had by a "spammer" but contended in a lengthy defense that this harvesting of bandwidth was typical for this type of technology.

"We assumed that by stating that Hola is a [peer-to-peer] network, it was clear that people were sharing their bandwidth with the community network in return for their free service," he wrote.

If being pressed into service as part of a botnet isn't enough to slow you down, free VPN services also usually pay for fewer VPN server options. That means your traffic is generally bouncing around longer between distant, overcrowded servers, or even waiting behind the traffic of paid users.

To top it off, subscription streaming sites are savvy to those who try to sneak into their video services for free. These services routinely block large numbers of IP addresses they've identified as belonging to turnstile-jumping freeloaders. Free VPNs can't afford to invest in a long list of fresh IP addresses for users the way a paid VPN service can.

That means you may not even be able to log into a streaming service you've paid for if your free VPN is using a stale batch of IPs. Good luck getting HBO Max to load over that VPN connection.

5. Paid options get better all the time

The good news is that there are a lot of solid VPNs on the market that offer a range of features, depending on your needs and budget. You can browse our ratings and reviews to find the right VPN software for you. If you're looking for something mobile-specific, we've rounded up our favorite mobile VPNs for 2024.

If you'd like a primer before deciding which service to drop the cash on, we havea VPN buyer's guide to help you get a handle on the basics of VPNs and what to look for when choosing a VPN service.

Best Free VPN for 2024: Affordable Risk-Free Privacy (2024)

FAQs

Which VPN is the safest and free? ›

The best free VPN services in 2024
  • PrivadoVPN Free. The best free VPN—it even unblocks Netflix and iPlayer. ...
  • Proton VPN Free. Unlimited data allowance and advocates for digital privacy. ...
  • Windscribe Free. Powerful and secure with a generous data cap. ...
  • Atlas VPN Free. ...
  • Hide.me Free VPN. ...
  • Hotspot Shield Basic VPN.
Mar 15, 2024

Is there a truly free VPN service? ›

Proton VPN is currently the best free VPN. The vast majority of free VPNs impose heavy restrictions on things like data allowance, usage time and connection speeds, making them practically useless for anything beyond the most negligible of online activities. Proton VPN imposes no such limitations on its free users.

What is the best 100% free VPN? ›

A Closer Look at the Best Free VPNs of 2024
  • Surfshark - Best VPN Free Trial. Editors Rating: 9.5 /10. View Plans. ...
  • Hotspot Shield - Fastest Free VPN. Editors Rating: 8.9 /10. ...
  • NordVPN - Best Full-Featured VPN with Free Offers. Editors Rating: 9.7 /10. ...
  • PrivadoVPN - Best Free VPN for Unlimited Devices. Editors Rating: 9.0 /10.
Mar 22, 2024

What is the best VPN for 2024? ›

NordVPN tops my chart as the best VPN in 2024 thanks to its perfect blend of high-quality features, easy-to-use apps, reliable performance, and exceptional prices. Take advantage of one of the best streaming VPNs, and see for yourself why it's my go-to pick right now.

Can a free VPN be hacked? ›

While a VPN offers a significant level of security, it's important to acknowledge that it is not completely immune to hacking attempts. As with any internet-based software or service, vulnerabilities can exist in a VPN.

What is the least secure VPN? ›

Are all VPNs encrypted? All VPNs use encryption, but the quality of the encryption depends on which VPN protocol is used. OpenVPN, IKEv2, and L2TP support AES encryption, considered the gold standard, while WireGuard uses ChaCha20, which is also secure. PPTP uses the least secure encryption standard, MPPE.

Which is the unlimited free VPN? ›

Proton VPN is the best unlimited VPN with a free version. Thanks to its unbreakable security, fast connection speeds, no-logs policy, and unlimited data, you can surf the Internet freely without any limitations or risks.

Which VPN has no cost? ›

Finding a free VPN that provides unlimited data and fast internet speeds can be challenging. However, some options you can consider are: ProtonVPN: ProtonVPN offers a free plan with unlimited data, although it has limited server locations and slower speeds compared to their paid plans.

Is there a 100% free VPN Proton VPN? ›

We believe privacy should be accessible to all, which is why we have a 100% free VPN with no catches.

How can I use VPN for free without app? ›

Manually (built-in)
  1. Go into your Android settings.
  2. Click Network & Internet.
  3. Click Advanced.
  4. Select VPN.
  5. Click the plus sign.
  6. Enter in your administrator's information.
  7. Click Save.
Jan 19, 2024

Is Surfshark free? ›

Yes, you can try Surfshark for free for 7 days on Android, iOS, and macOS. The free trial isn't available if you're using other platforms, but you can take advantage of the 30-day money-back policy.

Is CyberGhost VPN for free? ›

CyberGhost is a trusted VPN provider, with over 15 million satisfied customers worldwide. CyberGhost's Chrome browser extension is FREE to use and available worldwide, including in internet-censored countries.

What is the number 1 VPN service? ›

ExpressVPN has it all, making it our top choice for VPN. Not only is it one of the fastest VPNs we've ever tested, but it also has a very easy-to-use Windows app. Its servers are all diskless, running everything in RAM—a welcome practice that's become fairly standard these days.

What is the number 1 VPN? ›

Comparison of the Best VPNs
SystemNordVPNSurfshark
Ranking1st2nd
Ratings9.7/10 Best for Privacy9.5/10 Best Security
Best Monthly Price$3.99$2.49
Maximum Monthly Cost$12.99$10.99
4 more rows
Apr 4, 2024

What is better than VPN? ›

One of the best alternatives to a VPN is a proxy server. A proxy server acts as a gateway that sits between a user's device and the internet. The user can activate the server in their web browser and proceed to reroute their traffic through it. This helps to hide their IP address from any web servers that they visit.

Is it safe to use a VPN? ›

A VPN connection is made through highly secure protocols at a level of encryption that has never been cracked. This, coupled with the anonymity of IP masking and location spoofing, renders your online presence nearly untraceable. If you or your organization handle sensitive information, then a VPN is a must.

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