The best free VPN 2022 Can you trust a free VPN to keep you safe? Downloading a VPN free of charge is tempting, especially if it's something you need for a brief time or if you don't feel ready to pay for a paid service. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which are also known as virtual private networks, can be used to make browsing safer and more anonymous. You can even stream or view movies and TV from other countries using VPNs.Often, things that sound too good to be true are false. There are hundreds of free VPNs, but most are not that great. Many of these free VPN apps may send you unwanted ads or sell your data. You won't be able to use a VPN service for torrenting or streaming, and you may not even have access to it.This guide will explain the dangers of free VPNs as well as how to avoid them. The best free VPNs are good enough to provide some security for your mobile devices and computer when you use public Wi-Fi. ExpressVPN may be our favorite premium provider, but Proton VPN is currently the best free VPN. We'll explain why below. The problems with free VPNsAlthough free VPN services might seem like a waste of money, there's usually a reason. It means that the provider is making a profit. This could be through invasive advertising or selling your browsing data (rather than achieving privacy). Additionally, the free services can limit how much data and at what speed you can use them. This makes them virtually useless for streaming video, torrenting, or adding security to your online activities. You won't get the same level of support and server range as paid services. Before we dive into our list of best free VPN downloads it is worth noting that a paid-for one can be as low as $2/PS2 per month and these best VPNs will provide you with much better performance as well as protection. The best free VPNs for 2022 1. Proton VPN Free Proton VPN Free is currently our top-ranked free VPN service. It's partly because of its well-judged combination of features, power, and app quality. It's also because the service doesn’t put on any restrictions or limits to persuade users to upgrade. You could also use this free VPN long-term. Proton has no data caps, for example. Proton VPN Free, unlike other free VPNs that offer 500MB-10GB per month, offers unlimited data. You can use it as many times as you want. This is convenient but also offers privacy benefits. You don't have the option to choose which locations you want to use the VPN when your data is low. You can connect if you feel there is a risk or are unsure. Proton VPN Free will always be available. Proton doesn't penalize users who don't use key features. While some free VPN providers may drop the Kill Switch, WireGuard, or support, Proton VPN Free still offers all the essential privacy features that you need to be safe online. However, there are significant restrictions. Only three countries are available to you, such as the USA, Netherlands, and Japan. Proton VPN can be installed on as many devices as you wish, but you can only connect one device at a time. Proton VPN does not offer P2P support or access to specialist streaming servers. You can only connect one device at a time. Proton VPN Free does its core job well, and better than many of its competitors. The well-designed, open-source, and audited apps are simple to use and packed with useful tools, tweaks, and technologies. It also topped our free VPN speed charts with 380Mbps - faster than some paid services. Proton VPN Free might not be right for everyone. PrivadoVPN or Windscribe has approximately 10 countries available to you if you need to have a location within the UK. Proton VPN Free is a great choice for users who need it. It's fast and secure, has powerful features, and it's easy to use. This is the best free VPN. 2. PrivadoVPN Free PrivadoVPN free might not have been our top choice, but it has many unique and valuable features that could make it your preferred provider. Although the company cannot match Proton VPN’s unlimited data plan, its 10GB monthly allowance suffices for many. Even if your data tap is full, you can still access unlimited data via an "emergency server". This feature is very basic. We only had one location in the Netherlands with 1Mbps speeds. It's still great to have as a backup and something you won't find with the rest. The first 10GB of data is more valuable than the rest. Proton VPN Free is not able to offer the same 12 locations in nine countries. PrivadoVPN's 350Mbps connection rate is another plus. It has been ranked second in our VPN performance charts. PrivadoVPN Free's ability to unblock websites is a real surprise. PrivadoVPN Free offers both paid and free access to the same streaming servers. PrivadoVPN has unblocked US Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Even paid VPNs cannot say the same. There are some limitations and issues with the service. PrivadoVPN free only supports one connection. If you have PrivadoVPN on both your phone and your laptop, you can only use one. Although the apps are reliable and solid, they lack Proton's features. The company has not performed an independent audit to verify its privacy credentials. PrivadoVPN is an excellent service that scores highly in every area. PrivadoVPN is a great service, especially its streaming results. Even if you are currently using a paid VPN to unblock, PrivadoVPN free may be worth it. 3. Windscribe is Free Windscribe free VPN is a Canadian quality service that offers more than three times the number of features. Our top VPNs have a data limit of 10GB per month, but Windscribe Free VPN is slightly less restrictive. This is enough to protect a lot of online activity. Windscribe Free VPN offers its compensation. Windscribe is unlimited. You can use it on any number of devices at once, unlike most free plans that limit you to one connection. Another highlight is the network, where Windscribe Free VPN users can choose from 14 locations in 11 countries. This is better than PrivadoVPN (nine countries), Proton VPN (3 countries), and many other VPNs. In our latest tests, speeds were around 240Mbps. This is only about two-thirds of what we experienced with Proton VPN Free. However, it is likely to be sufficient for most situations. These apps are more powerful than simple, so if you're not familiar with VPNs, it might be confusing to use them. They are easy to use at a basic level. More experienced users have access to more tools and features. Our tests also show that they are reliable and keep their promises. There are also some unexpected plus points. Windscribe Free VPN does not include Windflix streaming servers. However, the service was still unblocked by the UK Netflix and BBC iPlayer. It all adds up to Windscribe Free VPN, which while it can't match PrivadoVPN and Proton VPN, is very close. This could make the service a good choice for some people. 4. Atlas VPN Free Atlas VPN free was the first thing that caught our attention with its huge data allowance. It's not the 10GB that you get with WindowsVPN, AndroidVPN, and iOSVPN. Although this is good, it's all about MacVPN users who can use an amazing 2GB per day. It isn't as generous in its location coverage. There are only three locations: New York, Los Angeles, and the Netherlands. Although you can connect to multiple devices at once (our top two VPNs only allow one), our speed tests revealed that Atlas VPN Free achieved an average speed of 320Mbps. Atlas VPN Free could be an excellent choice for torrenting if you add P2P support. The apps are not convincing enough for us. They provide the essentials, and the apps work well. The kill switch, for example, passed all of our tests. They are lacking in features and have a few usability issues that can be compared to Proton VPN. Independent audits are available for the service, which is a significant advantage over many other services. It only covers the iOS app. TunnelBear Free VPN has now established an annual audit that covers all of its apps, servers, and infrastructure. Atlas VPN Free did deliver in other areas though. Although it doesn't allow you to unblock streaming sites like Netflix, we were able to use the service to get into Disney Plus. Maybe you'll find other sites that work well with it. Although Atlas VPN Free does have some problems, it did a great job protecting us online. Mac users will especially love the 2GB per day data allowance. 5. Hide.me VPN Free Hide.me FREE VPN is an excellent mid-range service that doesn't quite hit the mark in all areas but still offers enough outstanding features to be worth a closer inspection. The service offers a good 10GB data allowance per month and access to five locations that are P2P-friendly: the east and west coast USA, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands. It's not the most powerful, but it's enough for most users. Unfortunately, Hide.me free VPN does not support the WireGuard protocol. This is only for paid customers. While we expect VPNs that are free to provide some advanced features, it does not offer something as fundamental. Hide. me VPN is a free VPN that does everything it can to compensate. The apps offer more options, tweaks, and tools than any other. You can auto-connect to untrusted Wi-Fi, custom DNS, split tunneling, and a powerful kill switch. There are also advanced protocol tweaks and browser extensions. This is great news for professionals, but others may feel it makes for a more complicated and intimidating interface. Performance is a greater concern. Although its paid service is the fastest VPN service, we found that Hide.me free VPN only averaged download speeds of 25Mbps. This is less than 10% of what we experienced with Proton VPN or our other top providers. This is enough speed to stream, browse, and perform most other tasks. However, if you use Hide. me Free VPN's advanced features, it may be the right service. 6. Hotspot Shield Basic VPN Hotspot Shield Basis is a popular, free VPN plan that offers unlimited data across all platforms. It was launched in June 2022 by Hotspot Shield. As we write, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android now allow unlimited data. Windows will join the party later. It is hugely beneficial to have the ability to use the service at your leisure in a world where VPNs typically limit you to 10GB per month or less. You might wonder, "Why is Hotspot Shield Basic not higher on our Best List?" The service only allows you to connect to one US location. PrivadoVPN, Windscribe, and TunnelBear support approximately ten countries. TunnelBear supports almost 50. Mobile apps that display video ads every time you connect can cause irritations and usability problems. Although the Mac app does not display ads, it opens pages at Hotspot Shield every time you disconnect or connect. Hotspot Shield Basic does not include a kill button, which is a major privacy issue. Your traffic could be exposed if the VPN connection is lost. You can also contact the support team via email or live chat if you have any questions. The Hotspot Shield website is your best option to find a solution. It's difficult to recommend Hotspot Shield Basic over the rest, even though it has unlimited data. It may still be useful for simple tasks or as an emergency backup provider for another provider. You should check it out for yourself. 7. TunnelBear Free Most VPNs are known for their extensive technology features. TunnelBear free VPN is focused on creating an easy-to-use service that anyone can use. This is taken to an unexpected extreme. VPNs are proud to support all protocols and offer a variety of settings. This is great if your VPN protocol knowledge is good, but what if it's not? TunnelBear Free VPN makes this easy by not mentioning protocols on its website feature pages, support pages, or in most of its apps. It's not because it's weak; the Windows app supports WireGuard, OpenVPN, and other top protocols. They are handled by the app, and not exposed to users. TunnelBear attempts to make these features more accessible by using less technical language. For example, there's VigilantBear which kills you, and SplitBear which splits your tunneling. There are some positives to the result. It is easy to use with 48 locations in 46 countries. TunnelBear's annual VPN audits, which are the most thorough in the industry, provide a lot of assurance that your privacy will be protected. TunnelBear's 500MB monthly data allowance is a serious problem. If you need to secure check your email only occasionally or unblock one website, this might be sufficient. It's not as much as the 10GB free of charge that you will typically find elsewhere. Our methodology for testing VPNs without any charges We start our VPN reviews with a thorough look at the provider's site. What are the features you get? What is the utility of the support site? What is the result of an audit? Are there any hidden catches? VPNs can differ greatly between platforms so we compare apps on Windows and Mac as well as Android and iOS. Each app is tested for usability, features, and settings. You can find a lot of useful information by looking under the hood. We also explore the settings and files used by the Windows app to see if it is properly setting up your VPN connection for maximum privacy. Although providers may claim that they have a kill button, does it provide the protection you need? We employ various methods to force the VPN connection to shut down and monitor each app to ensure it is handling each situation correctly. Because of the limited data available on free VPN plans, they are not ideal for streaming unblocking sites. It's interesting to see which providers deliver on unblocking and who don’t. We check to see if each provider has access to exclusive content in a particular region, depending on where it is available. This includes US Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus. Even for free VPNs, speed is important. Performance is tested from a UK cloud computer with an ultra-reliable 1Gbps connection. This gives each VPN ample bandwidth to show us what it can do. Is it worth downloading a free VPN? There is no easy answer. It all depends on the purpose of your free VPN. They can provide a little extra security for your laptop and mobile devices when you use public Wi-Fi. You can use the service to turn on encryption server connections and continue your online activities in complete safety. A free VPN is not going to work if you are looking for a streaming VPN or to download terabytes of torrent files. Most VPNs limit you to a monthly or daily data allowance, which you will quickly exhaust. Many don't offer the server range or easy access support required to make these activities simple with a virtual personal network. Five questions you must ask to help you choose the right VPN. In the past few years, we have seen a rise in global privacy threats. Long-held rights to anonymity as well as net neutrality were undermined by a veneer of legitimacy. Although virtual private networks may not be the best way to stay safe, secure, and private online, they are an important part of the arsenal for those who want these freedoms. You don't need to spend a penny to get one if you don’t already have one. Be aware that not all VPN providers are free and some may compromise your security. Before you download or install one, here are five things you should ask yourself. 1. What is the business model of the company? Providers want to make money, and it can be expensive to run a business like this. As with Dropbox, some will offer a free version and use it as a marketing tool to encourage potential customers to upgrade to the paid version. However, most will sell your data to third parties or give you something that could compromise your privacy. 2. It protects my computer by running in the background. Most providers use this program to encrypt your data as you surf the internet. But that doesn't solve all the problems. Because of the permissiveness and accessibility of tracking solutions on most websites online, your laptop can still be fingerprinted. Some, such as WIndscribe, take a more holistic approach and integrate the equivalent of an ad-blocker. 3. What are the risks of going free? You can usually expect free products to be a bit more expensive than others. This is true for all providers. Some providers offer more bandwidth than others, in major locations, and even ad blocking and firewalls. They also have an easy paid upgrade path that unlocks unlimited bandwidth and OpenVPN configurations. 4. Is your provider logging anything? Check to make sure your provider does not store internet activity. This information can be found on the terms and conditions page, or in the end user license agreement (also known as the EULA). Unfortunately, many providers will frustrate users by enforcing lengthy T&Cs and privacy statements that hide important details about their business. Providers that erase all data after your session ends and don't retain logs are at the opposite end of the spectrum. 5. Can I sign up anonymously? For maximum privacy and anonymity, it is best to sign up with a provider you can use without an email address. Double hopping is a way to hide your traffic even further. Are free VPNs dangerous? Although the main complaint about free VPNs is their ineffectiveness, some proponents do have real dangers. Thankfully, this is not the case with the services mentioned above. research in 2020 found that 40% of free VPNs on the Google Play Store don't adequately protect users' privacy. The extra protection you thought you'd get online isn’t there. How to get a premium VPN free of charge Are you still unsure whether to get a paid-for premium VPN or a free VPN? You may find a compromise as almost all the top providers allow you to try them risk-free and without any cost. You can find one by consulting our dedicated guide to the best free VPN trials. There will be some familiar faces there. ExpressVPN is the #1 service worldwide. You can give it a go for 30 days. Hotspot Shield (opens in a new tab) offers even more news. The money-back-guarantee is extended to 45 days. These services require that you pay upfront. They pride themselves in making it as easy as possible for you to get your money back.
