The best free VPN in 2019

It's no surprise that free VPN downloads have become so popular. Installing a VPN gives your Windows PC, Mac, Android device or iPhone an extra layer of security - and it feels like everybody now has one!

The extra functionality that a VPN's URL-shifting nature gives - watching sports and TV in other countries, getting around geo-blocked websites, anonymous torrenting - means that there's little surprise free VPN services have become so highly sought after. And on this page, you'll find our pick of the best free Virtual Private Networking options available to download today. We've tested and retested dozens of them and assessed their ability to keep your online activity safe and anonymous without you having to spend a cent. That goes whether you're looking for the best free VPN for Android, iPhone, Mac or your Windows PC.

The best free VPN at the moment is Hotspot Shield Free. We really like the fact that - despite the fact it's a freebie - you still get cover for five devices at the same time from just one account. The data usage limit is more generous than other packages, too.

But (there's always one) is it really possible to get a good and completely free VPN that does the job you need? The answer is... sort of. Ultimately, if you're looking for a free VPN for casual use you will find something that meets your needs - just so long as you are happy with the limitations that free VPNs usually come with.

And before we get stuck in to our list of the best free VPNs, it's worth knowing that a paid-for version can cost as little as $3 per month and can give you much better performance and protection, so we'd recommend checking out the overall best VPN service page as well. Just remember: free VPNs may cost nothing but there is usually a good reason for that - it might be that the provider may be turning a profit with invasive advertising or, in some cases, by selling on data to third-parties (rather defeating the whole drive for privacy in the first place).

The best VPN in the world right now is: ExpressVPN
We have reviewed more than one hundred VPN providers, both free and paid and our top recommendation right now is ExpressVPN. That's because, while it's a paid option, its speed and robustness as well as the servers it has in nearly 100 countries worldwide and accommodates almost any of your devices.

The best free VPN in 2019:

1. Hotspot Shield Free VPN

Our #1 free VPN

Number of servers: N/A | Server locations: 25 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5

Not only is Hotspot Shield Free one of the better known free VPN options in our rankings, we also reckon it's the best. You can choose to anchor yourself to one of 25 countries if you pay for the Elite version of Hotspot, and this should enable you to access just about anything you want; in the free version, you're limited to locations that Hotspot Shield chooses for you and put up with ads.

Those on the free plan can protect up to five devices simultaneously, and are limited to 500MB of data per day (so around 15GB per month). That may sound restrictive, but compared to TunnelBear below, it's actually one of the more generous free VPN limits. If security is your sole aim, then Hotspot is on the same wavelength, boasting 'military-grade encryption' - comforting if you do your banking and shopping online or by mobile.

In addition to security, Hotspot Shield Free also won plaudits in our testing for being so friendly to use. Whether on its mobile version or on desktop, you won't find it the hair-pulling user experience offered by some competitors.

That said, getting started is a little bit of a pain with Hotspot requiring you to go through a seven-day trial of the premium version first. That's all very well and good, but that involves giving them your credit card details in case you decide to carry on with the full version once the trial is completed. However, can of course then go for the free version once the premium trial has expired.

2. TunnelBear

Protecting your identity doesn't get easier than this – TunnelBear is the best free VPN you can download today

Number of servers: ~1,000 | Server locations: 20+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5

TunnelBear might have something of a cutesy design, but it's a serious free VPN, especially after its acquisition by security giant, McAfee. There are free and paid-for subscriptions to choose from. The only restriction with the free plan is that you are limited to 500MB of traffic each month. This isn't a huge amount, so you won’t be able to use TunnelBear all of the time without paying, but it's great for those times when you feel like you need a little extra protection and want to go down the VPN free route.  TunnelBear offers a range of paid-for plans that remove the restrictions associated with the free plan, like the download limit, the numbers of countries available and the amount of connected devices.  TechRadar has secured an exclusive deal from TunnelBear that gives you all this for as little as $4.99 per month, that's a whopping 58% saving.

It’s also interesting to note that TunnelBear recently tuned up its privacy policy, so the VPN now collects even less data on users – removing the need to supply a first name to sign up, and ditching its record of the user’s number of total lifetime connections. 

3. Windscribe

Super secure, with a very generous data cap, Windscribe is a top-notch free VPN

Number of servers: N/A | Server locations: 10 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: Unlimited

Windscribe is a relative newcomer to the free VPN scene, but its generous data allowance and commitment to protecting your privacy make it the best around if you need more data than the 500MB free tier with TunnelBear. You get 10GB bandwidth per month as standard and can choose from ten remote server locations with the Windscribe VPN free including UK, Hong Kong, Canada and US VPN). You only need to create a username and password to sign up (an email address is optional, but might prove handy if you forget your password).

Windscribe doesn’t store connection logs, IP stamps, or visited sites; when you’re actively connected to a server it stores your username, the VPN server you’re connected to and the amount of data transferred, but this is erased within three minutes of the session ending. Tweeting about the provider will earn you an extra 5GB, and you’ll get 1GB each time you invite a friend to join.

As an added perk, if anyone you’ve referred decides to upgrade to a Pro subscription (starting at around $4 per month billed annually), you’ll get the unlimited plan as well and far more servers (60+ in total). If that isn’t enough to tempt you, there’s even a built-in adblocker and firewall. Give it a try today – we think you’ll be impressed.

4. Speedify

Want a secure yet speedy connection? Then look no further

Number of servers: 200+ | Server locations: 50+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 1

Speedify, as the name suggests, has one main aim as a free VPN provider: to ensure that while you benefit from encryption, your internet connection remains as speedy as possible. To that end, this provider will make use of all available internet connections to get the best possible performance, potentially combining, say, an Ethernet connection (fixed broadband) with a tethered mobile 3G/4G connection. Even if you only have one type of internet connection, the firm claims its turbocharging technology will still help speed things up.

The free plan boasts full access to those servers (just as with the subscription options), the only restriction of the free offering being that you’re limited in the amount of data you can download. Free users get 5GB of data each month, but that drops to 1GB during subsequent months. That’s not a huge allowance, and certainly not as much as some other rivals you’ll see elsewhere on this page, but it’s more than some, and still enough for covering some basic surfing and email duties. And this VPN provider is definitely worth a look on the performance front, as during our testing, the aforementioned speed-granting technologies did actually prove themselves to have a positive effect.

5. ProtonVPN Free

You won’t be constrained by a monthly data allowance with this free VPN

Number of servers: N/A | Server locations: 3 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 1

ProtonVPN is another provider that offers a free VPN alongside a paid option, but the former has some very strong points, the most notable of which is that it doesn’t impose any bandwidth restrictions. In other words, you’re free to use as much data as you want every month. There are, naturally enough, limitations for the free plan to incentivize upgrading to the paid offering. And ProtonVPN Free’s restrictions include limiting you to only one device, only three locations, and free users get a lower priority when it comes to speed compared to paying subscribers. There’s no P2P support either. But if you can live with that, this is an impressive provider with a strict no logging policy, and you can sign up with nothing more than your email address. There aren’t even any ads on the website, let alone the client.

Speaking of clients, there are a good range of these – with native software for Windows PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, plus Android – and we found performance levels were pretty solid too. However, speeds may drop at peak times when lots of users are around and paying folks get priority; at which point you may be tempted to upgrade to a paid plan. But clearly, with its unlimited data allowance, this is one freebie which is well worth considering.

6. Hide.me

You’re on a hiding to something with this privacy-conscious VPN

Number of servers: N/A | Server locations: 3 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 1

Hide.me offers both paid and free VPN providers, with the latter giving you 2GB of data per month to play with. There are other limits too: you can only connect a maximum of one device, and are limited to three server locations (Singapore, Canada, and Netherlands) rather than the 30 locations paying subscribers get. On the plus side, however, this provider won’t throttle the connection speed of free users, and Hide.me further promises that it keeps no logs and stores no user data, so won’t pass on any data to third-parties in order to try and make a profit (simply because it doesn’t have any data to pass on). There are no adverts here, either. 

You get native software for Windows PC and Mac, Android and iOS, with the Windows client being smartly designed, plus there’s 24/7 technical support (which is in place even for free users). Performance was impressive in our testing, too. Overall, then, this is a more-than-solid free offering which tries to maintain your privacy, without too many restrictions.

7. SurfEasy (Opera Free VPN)

?A good argument for switching your browser

Number of servers: 1000 | Server locations: 25 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5

SurfEasy is a Canadian-based free VPN from the same organization responsible for the Opera web browser, and indeed it’s bundled within Opera as an integrated VPN. There are both paid and free offerings, with the latter not restricting the amount of devices you can use – free users can hook up a maximum of five devices simultaneously, just like paid subscribers. You also get 1,000 servers across 25 countries, and a very user-friendly Windows PC client. Performance is solid enough, although we found that some longer distance trips to more remote servers (i.e. the US) could be rather sluggish. 

The main restriction here is a monthly data limit of 500MB, which means you won’t get very much mileage out of this VPN on a free basis, and it’s really for very light or occasional use only (or testing it if you’re looking at signing up for a paid plan). It’s important to note, though, that if you’re using the Opera browser with its integrated VPN, there’s no data limit here (at least for protecting your browsing activities). Which could be a compelling argument to switch from the likes of Chrome or Firefox…

8. PrivateTunnel

A free VPN that’ll keep your data and identity safe on any PC or mobile device

Number of servers: N/A | Server locations: 9 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 3

Like some of the other free VPN providers featured in this roundup, PrivateTunnel is available for a number of platforms – specifically Windows PC, Mac, Android and iOS. Another characteristic shared with many of its contemporaries is the existence of a limited, free package in addition to paid-for subscriptions. Well, sort of. Rather than offering a traditional monthly subscription package, you are instead provided with 200MB of non-expiring data to use as you want. When this runs out, you can purchase more data in bundles of 20GB or 100GB. If you feel that you'd like to use PrivateTunnel all the time, you can opt for a $30 per year package which give you unlimited data – see the 200MB as something of a taster session to see if you like everything. As a VPN, PrivateTunnel works fairly well, although connections can be a little temperamental at times. It's all very easy to use, so there's little reason not to take it for a test drive. 

How to choose a free VPN: 5 must-ask questions

The couple of years have witnessed the rise of global threats to individual privacy with long maintained rights to anonymity and net neutrality being undermined with a cloak of legitimacy.

While VPN - virtual private networks - are not the panacea to being safe, secure and private on the internet, it is an essential component of the arsenal for individuals inclined to seek these liberties.

If you don’t have a VPN yet, you can grab one for free, without having to pay a single penny for one. Just be careful though as not all free VPN providers are created equal and some might even compromise your security.

Here are five questions you need to ask yourself before you download and install one.

 1. What is its business model? VPN providers are in for the money and running such a business does cost a lot especially if it is a popular one. Some, like Tunnelbear, will use free, just like Dropbox, as a marketing tool to entice potential customers to move to a paid version once they are happy with the free one. Most however will sell user data or provide a something to a third party that will, again, compromise your privacy.  

 2. How does it protect my PC? Most VPN providers usually use a desktop application that runs in the background encrypting your data while you surf the web. However, that’s only solves part of the problem. Your laptop can still be fingerprinted because of the permissiveness of tracking solutions that can be found on almost all websites online. A few, including WIndscribe, have a more holistic approach by integrating the equivalent of a super ad-blocker

3. What do I lose by going free? Usually one can expect a free product to have some corners cut and that is indeed the case for all VPN providers. Some offer more free bandwidth than others, major locations and even ad blocking, P2P and firewall with an easy paid for upgrade path that unlocks unlimited bandwidth with more locations and OpenVPN Configs.

4. Does your provider log anything? Make sure that your provider doesn’t store users’ internet activity. You can usually check that in the terms and conditions page or the end user license agreement, commonly known as EULA. Sadly, a lot of VPN providers prefer to frustrate end users with long T&Cs or privacy statements that often hide significant details about how they operate. On the other end of the spectrum are VPN providers that will erase everything after your session closes and don’t keep logs.

5. Can I sign up completely anonymously? Having a VPN provider that you can subscribe to without an email address and one that accepts Bitcoin payments, for maximum privacy, is pretty much the best you can expect online.  Some providers also offer double hopping where you can obfuscate your traffic further by essentially doubling down on privacy.