The cheapest VPN isn't always the best deal. A $1/month VPN that harvests and sells your data is more expensive than a $5 VPN that doesn't. This page ranks VPNs by value: price relative to what you actually get — speed, privacy, streaming performance, and audit status. Updated monthly.
All prices reflect the cheapest available plan (usually 2-year). Verified June 2026.
| Rank | VPN | Best Price/mo | Plan | Devices | Streaming | No-logs Audit | Score | Get Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivacy | $1.16/mo | 5-year | 10 | ✓ | ✗ | 77/100 | View Deal |
| 2 | Atlas VPN | $1.99/mo | 3-year | Unlimited | ✓ | ✓ | 83/100 | View Deal |
| 3 | Surfshark ⭐ | $2.19/mo | 2-year | Unlimited | ✓ | ✓ | 90/100 | Best Value |
| 4 | PIA | $2.19/mo | 3-year | Unlimited | ✓ | ✓ | 85/100 | View Deal |
| 5 | CyberGhost | $2.19/mo | 2-year | 7 | ✓ | Self-audited | 82/100 | View Deal |
| 6 | NordVPN | $3.39/mo | 2-year | 10 | ✓ | ✓ | 91/100 | View Deal |
2-year plan · $52.56 billed today · 30-day money-back guarantee
Most free VPNs monetise by selling user data. These three don't — each has verified no-logs policies and sustainable business models based on paid upgrades, not data brokering.
The only free VPN with no data cap — a genuinely unique offering. Proton VPN is operated by the same Swiss company behind ProtonMail, with a verifiable no-logs policy and open-source apps. The free tier uses WireGuard, imposes no speed throttle beyond server load, and covers 3 server locations (US, Netherlands, Japan).
Speed is slower on free servers due to load — not throttled, just busy. Paid plan unlocks 90+ countries and streaming servers.
Get Proton VPN Free →Windscribe's free tier is generous by free VPN standards: 10GB monthly data, servers in 11 countries, and R.O.B.E.R.T. — a built-in ad and malware blocker that works even on the free plan. The company is based in Canada and publishes a transparent privacy policy. No third-party audit, but a solid track record with no data breaches.
Good for occasional browsing, not daily streaming. Upgrade from $5.75/mo for unlimited data.
Get Windscribe Free →hide.me stands out among free VPNs for having completed an independent no-logs audit — rare for any free tier. The service offers 10GB monthly data across 5 locations, and unlike many competitors, shows no ads on the free plan. Malaysian jurisdiction means it sits outside Five Eyes, though Malaysia has its own surveillance laws to consider.
The audited no-logs policy is the key differentiator here. Paid plans from $4.99/mo.
Get hide.me Free →Not all low-cost or free VPNs are created equal. Some are actively harmful to privacy.
Hola VPN is not a traditional VPN — it routes your traffic through other users' devices and sells their bandwidth in a botnet-style network. This means a stranger's criminal activity could be attributed to your IP address, and vice versa. Multiple security researchers have documented this behaviour. Do not use Hola VPN under any circumstances.
Both TouchVPN and Betternet are ad-supported VPNs with documented records of collecting and sharing user data with advertising networks. Security researchers have identified fingerprinting SDKs in their Android apps. The free tier is funded by building an advertising profile of your behaviour — the exact opposite of what a VPN should do.
Any VPN registered in Panama, Seychelles, or the British Virgin Islands with anonymous ownership and no verifiable team should be treated with extreme caution. These jurisdictions are popular for two reasons: legitimate privacy protection, and as a place to operate without legal accountability. Without knowing who runs a VPN, you can't evaluate whether their no-logs claim is credible. NordVPN (Lithuania-registered, Nord Security team publicly known) and Proton VPN (Swiss AG, public team) are the gold standard for corporate transparency.
The maths strongly favours long plans — but there are real risks to understand first.
On a 2-year plan, VPNs offer their deepest discounts. The savings versus monthly billing are substantial and the VPN itself is the same service either way.
The 30-day money-back guarantee means there's no real financial risk to trying: commit for 2 years, get the discounted price, and cancel within 30 days if you're unhappy.
The VPN market is consolidating rapidly. Kape Technologies has acquired several major VPNs — something worth knowing before you commit 2+ years to a provider.
Ownership verified as of June 2026. Kape is a publicly listed company — not inherently untrustworthy, but worth knowing.
Every reputable VPN on this list offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Here's how they actually work in practice.
We've tested the money-back process at Surfshark, NordVPN, PIA, CyberGhost, and Proton VPN. All of them honoured refund requests within 5–10 business days without requiring a reason. The live chat agents are helpful and don't attempt to negotiate you out of the refund. This is genuine — not a marketing claim.
Get the discounted price and any included bonus months (often 3 months free).
Test speeds, streaming performance, and apps across all your devices for up to 30 days.
Contact support via live chat or email before day 30. Full refund, no questions asked.
Money returns to your original payment method. Credit card and PayPal both work reliably.
Surfshark at $2.19/month (2-year plan) offers the best combination of low price and genuine trustworthiness — it has passed an independent no-logs audit by Deloitte, supports unlimited simultaneous devices, and uses WireGuard. Ivacy is technically cheaper at $1.16/month but lacks an independent audit and requires a 5-year commitment. If you need the absolute lowest price with reasonable privacy, Ivacy works — but Surfshark is the smarter spend for the extra dollar per month.
If budget is truly no object, NordVPN at $3.39/mo scores 91/100 and leads the market on security features and server network quality.
Most free VPNs are not safe — they typically monetise by harvesting and selling your browsing data, which defeats the entire purpose of using a VPN. A 2019 CSIRO study found that 38% of free Android VPN apps contained malware.
The exceptions are Proton VPN free (unlimited data, no logs, Swiss law), Windscribe free (10GB/month, built-in ad blocker), and hide.me free (10GB/month, independently audited). These are safe because they have paid tiers that fund the free offering — your data isn't the revenue model.
Avoid Hotspot Shield free, TouchVPN, Betternet, and Hola VPN. Hotspot Shield free was the subject of an FTC complaint for data harvesting. Hola VPN routes your traffic through other users' connections — a serious security risk.
Yes — Surfshark is the best value proposition in the sub-$3 VPN market. At $2.19/month on a 2-year plan, you get:
It scores 90/100 on our methodology — just one point behind NordVPN, which costs 55% more. The main trade-offs vs NordVPN are slightly smaller server network and the 2022 merger with Nord Security (shared infrastructure).
The best VPN deals come from committing to a 2-year plan and choosing a provider that bundles extra months. Here's how to maximise value:
Current best deals: Surfshark $2.19/mo (2yr) and NordVPN $3.39/mo (2yr) are both strong options as of June 2026.
Yes — all the paid VPNs in our comparison table reliably unblock Netflix. Surfshark, NordVPN, and CyberGhost have dedicated streaming servers with the highest success rates. Ivacy and Atlas VPN also work, though their server infrastructure is smaller, which can mean slower streaming performance during peak hours.
Netflix blocks VPNs by identifying data centre IP addresses — premium VPNs continuously rotate IP addresses to stay ahead of Netflix's detection. Free VPNs generally do not work with Netflix because they can't afford the infrastructure required to maintain unblocking capability. Proton VPN free is the exception — it can unblock Netflix US on free servers, but connection speeds may limit 4K streaming.
For the most consistent Netflix streaming experience, Surfshark is the best value option — it unblocks Netflix in over 15 countries including US, UK, Canada, Japan, and Germany.