The Best Free VPNs in 2026
Hotspot Shield is the best free option in 2026 based on our tests. It offers unlimited data, delivers fast speeds, and is both secure and easy to use.
&
Last Updated on Oct 22, 2026
- Free version provides unlimited bandwidth
- Provides great security and privacy features
- Offers extremely fast speeds
- Has a 30-day refund that lets you test the VPN risk-free
- Protects against malware-infected downloads, ads, and malicious websites
- Has extra security tools, including a dark web monitor and double VPN servers
- Works with dozens of popular streaming platforms
- Maintains very fast speeds for streaming HD and 4K videos
- Offers a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee
the security.brief
Hotspot Shield is tops for desktops in 2026, while NordVPN offers the best value and Proton VPN excels in privacy.
Free VPNs are a perfectly valid starting point — as long as the one you pick has been properly vetted for security and you go in knowing the trade-offs around data caps, server selection, and device limits. Based on our hands-on testing, this guide highlights the free options we’d actually feel comfortable recommending to a friend.
Privacy is the bigger concern. Many free VPNs log your browsing activity and sell it to advertisers, which is essentially their business model. In our research, we’ve consistently found that many free VPN apps request excessive device permissions or contain embedded trackers in their code. On the more serious end, some have even been caught distributing apps bundled with malware or adware.
If you’re set on a free VPN, our top pick is one we’ve verified as safe to use. The premium VPNs on this list are also worth a look, since each comes with a money-back guarantee that works as a risk-free trial.
>> Check Out: The Best VPNs
The Best Free VPNs of 2026
- Hotspot Shield - Best Free VPN Overall
- NordVPN - Best for Security
- Surfshark - Best for Streaming
A Disclaimer About Free VPNs
Free VPNs come with real tradeoffs, and in most cases, we don’t recommend them. Common limitations include daily or monthly data caps, throttled speeds, restricted simultaneous connections, broken compatibility with streaming platforms, and no support for torrenting.
Privacy is the bigger concern. Many free VPNs log your browsing activity and sell it to advertisers — that’s essentially the business model. In our own research, we’ve consistently found that a significant number of free VPN apps request excessive device permissions or contain embedded trackers in their code. On the more serious end, some have been caught distributing apps bundled with malware or adware.
If a free VPN is the only option you’re considering, our top pick is one we’ve verified as safe to use without reservation. That said, the premium VPNs on this list are worth a look — each comes with a money-back guarantee generous enough to function as a genuine risk-free trial.
Side-by-Side Comparison of the Best Free VPNs of 2026
| System |
Hotspot Shield
|
NordVPN
|
Surfshark
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Ratings | 8.9/10 | 9.7/10 | 9.5/10 |
| Displays Ads | Only on mobile | No | No |
| Data Caps | None | None | None |
| Connection Speed Limits | No speed limit (desktop) 2 Mbps limits (on mobile) | No speed limit | No speed limit |
| Number of Countries | 1 (free version) 85 (paid version) | 137 | 100 |
| Split Tunneling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, or 14 Eyes Member | Yes | No | Yes |
| No-Logs Policy | Yes (independently audited) | Yes (independently audited) | Yes (independently audited) |
| Read Review | Hotspot Shield Review | NordVPN Review | Surfshark Review |
A Closer Look at the Best Free VPNs of 2026
-
1. Hotspot Shield - Best Free VPN Overall
View Plans Links to Hotspot Shield
Product Specs
Server locations 80+ countries Average Speed Loss 3% download & 80% upload Apps Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, Firestick **Best monthly rate** **$2.99/mo with a 3-year plan (free plan available)** Money-Back Guarantee 45 days full refund
How to Use Hotspot Shield for Free
Hotspot Shield’s free plan is easy to get started with. Just download and install the VPN’s app, create a free account, and you’re ready to go. On desktop, we got unlimited data, unrestricted speeds, and solid privacy protections across our checks. Mobile is a different story, with speeds capped at 2 Mbps and ads displayed. We confirmed both across multiple test sessions.
What We Like
- The free plan provides unlimited data and speeds on desktop
- Access the same strong security and privacy in the free plan as in the premium plan
- Has pretty fast speeds
What We Don’t Like
- On mobile, the free version limits speeds to 2 Mbps
- The free version limits you to one connection
- Only paid users get access to the smart TV apps
Security & Privacy
Hotspot Shield’s free version has strong security and privacy protections in place. It has a strict no-logs policy, which we read through and can confirm it claims to not log user IP addresses or browsing traffic. We trust it since those claims have been independently audited. Free users also get access to a kill switch, which protects against traffic leaks (most free VPNs lack this security feature).
Streaming, Torrenting, & Speeds
Hotspot Shield’s free plan doesn’t officially support streaming and torrenting, but it doesn’t restrict VPN speeds. Hotspot Shield doesn’t guarantee streaming and torrenting support with its free version. We tried using it to change our Netflix region, and we were unsuccessful as the free plan only supports U.S. connections. But when we used a free server to download a few torrents, it worked. We can’t promise you’ll have the same luck as us, but at least there’s a chance.
Hotspot Shield’s free plan doesn’t impose speed limits on desktop. In our tests, download speeds dropped by an average of three percent. That’s impressive, considering you only get access to a single U.S. virtual location.
>> Related: The Best Free VPNs for Torrenting
Pricing
1-Month Plan $12.99/month 1-Year Plan $7.99/month -
2. NordVPN - Best for Security
Get NordVPN Links to NordVPN
Product Specs
Multihop Yes Camouflage Mode Yes Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes
How to Use NordVPN for Free
NordVPN backs all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which you can use to your advantage to test it for free. Buy the VPN, test it for up to 30 days, and get your money back if you’re not happy with it. Plus, NordVPN often runs special promotions and deals that sometimes offer additional months of service for free (like NordVPN’s Black Friday sale, for example).
>> Learn More: NordVPN Deals
What We Like
- Backs all of its plans with a risk-free 30-day refund
- Often runs special promotions that offer extra months of service for free
- Provides excellent streaming and torrenting support
- Is one of the fastest VPNs on the market
What We Don’t Like
- Price increases after the initial term
- Not the most affordable VPN option available
- Money-back guarantee applies only to your first purchase
Security & Privacy
Next-generation antivirus nails a virus in the wild. NordVPN offers excellent security, as it protects against malware-infected downloads with its next-generation antivirus feature. The tool also blocks ads and connections to shady websites. In our testing, it got rid of over 90 percent of ads, even YouTube video ads, a result we verified by running the same set of ad-heavy sites and videos with the feature on and off.
NordVPN also uses RAM-only servers, ensuring that data is never written to the hard drive. This way, all data is wiped every time a server is rebooted. Add to that the VPN’s strict, independently audited no-logs policy, which we reviewed directly, and it’s clear why NordVPN is our pick for best security and privacy.
Did You Know: The Center for Strategic and International Studies regularly reports over five significant cyber incidents per month.1 NordVPN’s next-generation antivirus can help you avoid becoming a victim of one of these incidents.
Streaming, Torrenting, & Speeds
NordVPN is excellent for streaming — we used it to watch Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix, and it always worked without issues. It’s also one of the best torrenting VPNs in 2026, as it allows P2P traffic on servers in over 137 countries. Plus, it has SOCKS5 proxy servers that change your IP address, but don’t encrypt your traffic, offering much faster P2P speeds.
NordVPN is also one of the fastest VPNs in 2026. In our tests, it reduced download speeds by no more than six percent, and upload speeds by only four percent. We used it while streaming on Netflix, and all videos loaded instantly, plus they didn’t buffer when we skipped through them.
>> Read More: Speed Test Results from Top VPNs
Pricing
NordVPN has several tier-based subscriptions: “Basic,” “Complete,” and “Prime.” “Basic” has all VPN features, except next-generation antivirus, whereas “Complete” adds next-generation antivirus and NordPass, a good password manager. We picked the “Complete” subscription for this guide, but “Basic” is also a good pick if you already have an antivirus or a password manager.
NordVPN Subscription 1-Month Plan 1-Year Plan 2-Year Plan Basic $14.99/month $5.49/month $3.49/month Complete $19.99/month $6.49/month $4.49/month Prime $29.99/month $9.49/month $7.49/month If you want more security services, “Complete” adds encrypted cloud storage on top of next-generation antivirus and NordPass, and “Prime” adds Coveron – an identity theft protection service that offers dark web monitoring, one-bureau credit monitoring, and up to $1 million to go towards recovery costs.
>> Read More: How Much Does NordVPN Cost?
-
3. Surfshark - Best for Streaming
Get Free Trial Links to Surfshark.com
Product Specs
Multi-hop Yes Camouflage Mode Yes Kill switch Yes Split Tunneling Yes Netflix Yes Torrenting Yes
How to Use Surfshark for Free
Surfshark has one of the best free VPN trials in 2026. It offers a 7-day free trial that provides access to all VPN features, allowing you to test it risk-free. And once the trial ends and you buy a plan, you’ll also be covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee (just like with NordVPN).
What We Like
- Offers a free 7-day trial
- Provides excellent streaming support
- Allows unlimited simultaneous connections
What We Don’t Like
- Upload speeds are pretty sluggish
- The monthly plan is a bit expensive
Security & Privacy
Surfshark’s CleanWeb is good at blocking ads and dodgy websites, but it doesn’t block malware-infected downloads like NordVPN’s next-generation antivirus. Alternative ID is a useful privacy tool that lets you create email aliases, so you don’t have to sign up on sites you don’t fully trust.
The VPN also has a strict no-logs policy that has been independently audited. Plus, it provides enhanced privacy via Dynamic MultiHop, which hides your real IP behind two VPN IPs instead of just one.
FYI: Dynamic MultiHop also adds an extra layer of encryption. This provides better security, but could also cause noticeable slowdowns — up to 20 percent, according to our tests.
Streaming, Torrenting, & Speeds
Surfshark is an excellent pick for accessing streaming services. Surfshark is one of the best streaming VPNs in 2026. We used it to successfully watch Netflix, Disney+, Crunchyroll, YouTube TV, and Max. Plus, it’s particularly good for Netflix, as it works with over 20 libraries.
Surfshark also allows torrenting on all servers, but doesn’t have extra speed-boosting features, like NordVPN has. If you’d like to read more, check out our Surfshark vs. NordVPN comparison.
The VPN has good download speeds, as it reduces them by no more than eight percent. However, its upload speeds are slower than NordVPN — we experienced a 50 percent speed decrease. NordVPN only slowed down upload speeds by four percent.
FYI: Surfshark can also hide GPS data on your Android device. This makes it much harder for mobile streaming apps to block your connection.
Pricing
Surfshark backs all plans with a 30-day refund and offers four paid tiers: “Surfshark Starter,” “Surfshark Starter+,” “Surfshark One,” and “Surfshark One+.” We recommend “Surfshark Starter” since it includes all core VPN features, and the 2-year plan costs just $2.49 per month.
Surfshark Starter Subscription Costs 1-Month Plan $16.45/month 1-Year Plan $3.39/month 2-Year Plan $2.49/month “Surfshark Starter+,” “Surfshark One” and “Surfshark One+” add more security services. Surfshark Starter+ adds email scam protection, a privacy-focused search engine, and Alternative ID. Surfshark One also adds Surfshark Antivirus, while “Surfshark One+” includes Incogni, a data removal tool.
>> Read More: How Much Does Surfshark Cost?
Methodology: How We Picked The Top Free VPN Services
Our Testing Process
Every service on this page earned its spot through a comprehensive real-world test process that closely adheres to our Editorial Guidelines. Our testers install and test each VPN as a real user would. During our tests, we measure download and upload speeds across multiple servers, verify leak protection under active and disrupted connections, test kill switch reliability, scrutinize no-log policies and third-party audits, and check unblocking performance across Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+. We also scrutinize monthly and long-term subscription costs. The VPNs that earn our recommendation are those that protect your privacy without slowing you down at a reasonable price.
Our Primary Review Criteria
Our cybersecurity team has spent over 2,500 hours testing more than 50 VPNs with free options or free trials. We evaluated each one based on four main criteria:
- Free Server Performance: We run speed tests on each server available in the free plan of every VPN we test. Oftentimes, these servers are slower than the premium-tier servers, so specifically testing the free-tier servers is essential.
- Privacy and Security: Before installing each VPN, we thoroughly research its privacy policy, free-tier security protocols, and any past security or privacy breaches. Some free-tier plans limit access to certain security protocols, which can impact your privacy and security.
- Free Plan Limitations: Every VPN limits the capabilities of its free plan in one way or another. We look for providers that offer unlimited bandwidth without compromising on privacy and security.
- Torrenting and Streaming Support: We also prioritized free VPNs that support torrenting and streaming, as some block those activities. For streaming specifically, we check how well the free-tier servers unblock websites with geo-restricted content as well.
Most importantly, these criteria ensure that the free VPNs we recommend are safe to use. Once that’s established, we rank them based on the free plan’s capabilities and overall usability.
About Our Team
All our privacy and security guides, including this one, are spearheaded by Brett Cruz. His methodical approach and cybersecurity experience spanning over 10 years guides our editorial team in testing VPNs, privacy tools, and cybersecurity software.
Brett is backed by an independent team of security experts. This includes 20+ researchers and testers who have collectively spent over 25,000 hours testing security products since 2018. The team members helping Brett with our VPN guides are:
- Ozzie Enriquez: Former DHS Senior Watch Officer and DHS Duty Director for Current Operations with 30+ years of national security experience, contributing expertise in threat analysis, and digital privacy as a senior advisor
- Gene Petrino: Retired law enforcement sergeant and S.W.A.T. commander, contributing 30+ years of real-world security expertise as a subject matter advisor
- Cort Honey: Engineering graduate with over 1,000 hours of hands-on testing and a specialty in making complicated security tech digestible for everyday consumers
- Corey Birnstengel: Editor, videographer, and product reviewer responsible for 200+ hands-on video reviews spanning eight product categories
Our editorial recommendations are never affected by advertiser relationships or affiliate compensation.
What to Avoid When Looking for a Free VPN
Not every free VPN is worth your time — some are outright dangerous. Here are the red flags to watch out for:
- Unclear, vague, or non-existent privacy policy. A free service should still mention what data it collects, how it uses it, who it shares it with, and how it secures it. Free options that don’t provide that information are likely going to profit off of your data.
- Community-powered networks. Some free VPNs operate without servers by utilizing their users’ devices and networks as proxy servers. If you connect to a “server” in Australia, for example, that’s actually the network of another user in Australia. So, your IP address will be tied to the internet activity of whoever’s connected to your network. If they use it for illegal activities, you could be legally liable.
- No company background. It’s best to avoid VPNs with generic names, especially if they don’t make their company background public. You need to know who owns the service you’ll entrust with protecting your data.
- Too many ads. It’s normal for free VPNs to show ads — that’s one of the main ways they keep the lights on — but some take it way too far. Even worse, certain free VPNs inject ads directly into your browsing sessions (which is essentially adware), and that’s a hard red flag you should not ignore.
- Malware. Free VPNs that are malicious will obviously try to hide it. That’s why we recommend installing antivirus software on your device before using a free VPN. The antivirus will detect the malware, and immediately get rid of it.
- Confusing or buggy VPN apps. If you need to sideload or use third-party software to install the free VPN, it’s best to avoid it. We also recommend staying away from free VPNs whose apps are hard to use, crash frequently, or have features that don’t work.
- Lack of customer support. Free VPNs generally don’t provide live chat support. But at the very least they should offer a detailed support section or responsive email support. If the free service doesn’t offer any support options, it’s best to avoid it.
- Device performance issues. If your device starts slowing down or behaving strangely after installing a free VPN, take that seriously. Some shady free VPNs run processes in the background that go way beyond just routing your traffic — we’re talking password sniffing, bloatware downloads, or outright malware infections.
If a VPN has any of these issues, it’s likely more trouble than it’s worth — and in our experience, these problems rarely appear in isolation. A VPN that cuts corners in one area usually cuts them elsewhere. Any of the free VPNs we recommend in this guide have cleared these bars.
Heads Up: VPN-related scams continue to flood app marketplaces.2 In fact, research has found that hundreds of fraudulent VPN apps remain available across major app stores, many quietly harvesting user data in the background. Always vet any free VPN before downloading it.
Do Free VPNs Offer The Same Protection as Premium VPNs?
Yes, the top free VPN services (like the ones we recommend above) secure your data just as well as paid VPNs do. They achieve this by having:
- Military-grade encryption. Good free VPNs use 256-bit AES encryption or any similarly strong encryption (such as ChaCha20 for WireGuard connections) to make your internet browsing completely unreadable.
- Secure protocols. A reliable free VPN will give you access to secure VPN protocols, such as WireGuard, IKEv2/IPSec, or OpenVPN. Some even use proprietary protocols, which are developed in-house. A good example of that is Hotspot Shield’s Hydra protocol (which is also used by UltraVPN)
- A no-logs policy. All the free VPNs we included in this guide come with a no-logs policy. This ensures the VPN doesn’t monitor your web browsing or collect your IP address.
- Good leak protection. Free VPNs that are actually good will protect you against IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC leaks. We also tested all the VPNs for leaks to make sure we only recommend services that work and are safe to use.
- A kill switch. Top free VPNs equip their apps with a kill switch, which is a security feature that protects you from traffic leaks. Basically, it shuts down all web access if your VPN disconnects to ensure no sensitive data is exposed.
But there are free VPNs out there that could compromise your data. They could lack essential security features or log your personal data and share it with third parties. For example, VPN Gate doesn’t have a kill switch, which means it can’t protect you from traffic leaks.
Do Free VPNs Work on All Devices?
Free VPNs are generally available on all devices, including desktop, mobile, and smart TV apps. That said, we’ve seen some companies lock certain apps behind a paid subscription. Hotspot Shield, for instance, requires a paid plan for its Android TV and Fire TV apps.
FAQs About Free VPNs
-
What are the best free VPNs of 2026?
Hotspot Shield is the best free service overall. However, we also recommend testing NordVPN and Surfshark risk-free, just so you can compare what free and premium VPNs can do. Both are paid VPNs that offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
-
Can free VPNs bypass geographic restrictions?
Usually no, as they don’t refresh the IPs of their free servers very often. So, it’s very easy for streaming services to detect and block them. However, some free VPNs we tested occasionally worked with streaming sites.
-
What are the limitations of free VPNs?
The limitations of free VPNs often include data usage limits, speed capping, and limited simultaneous connections. Some VPNs may also limit the number of server locations you can access.
-
Are free VPNs safe?
Not all free VPNs are safe, which is why we recommend getting a free version of a reputable paid VPN rather than downloading a VPN advertised as 100 percent free.
-
Are free VPNs the same as proxies?
No. Most free VPNs encrypt your data and hide your IP address, whereas proxies only change your IP address (so, they’re less secure).
-
Center for Strategic & International Studies. (2025). Significant Cyber Incidents. https://www.csis.org/programs/strategic-technologies-program/significant-cyber-incidents
-
Google. (2025). Our latest fraud and scams advisory. https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/safety-security/fraud-and-scams-advisory-november-2025/
