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Home » General » Best Free VPN List 2020

Best Free VPN List 2020

William Platt by William Platt
January 7, 2021
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It’s not easy to find a reliable free VPN, but these services do exist, as long as you know where to look. ProPrivacy.com’s experts have put together this guide on the best free VPNs – and the worst.

What are the best free VPNs?

The best free VPNs provide their service for nothing without skimping on privacy and security. If you are in a rush, you can get a quick look below at who made our best free VPN list:

The Best Free VPNs: Detailed Comparison

In the list below, our privacy experts analyze each of their favorite free VPN providers in detail and explain why they made it into the top 5.

Hide.Me free offers fast speeds and a generous data allowance

Hide.Me is an awesome Malaysian VPN provider has an excellent free service. Although users are limited to just three server locations (Singapore, the Netherlands, and Canada), users get a whopping 2GB per month of free use at up to 80Mbps.

When reviewing hide.me, we found the lack of server locations means it isn’t good for unblocking content from all over the world. If you need US or UK servers, please look elsewhere. On the plus side, this VPN has a strong privacy policy and provides robust encryption to keep your data secure.

Windscribe free offers a mammoth 10GBs per month.

Windscribe has always been one of our favorite free VPNs. Compared to some other free services, Windscribe gives more– 10GB data allowance per month! This is pretty amazing because Windscribe is actually trying to encourage people to buy its premium service.

What’s more, this VPN has strong encryption and keeps zero logs – making it fantastic for privacy. With unlimited simultaneous connections permitted, this VPN is truly outstanding.

ProtonVPN free offers unlimited usage and decent speeds

ProtonVPN made it two-years on the bounce to claim the award of ‘Best Free VPN’ at our illustrious awards in Las Vegas. This superb service, provided by the developers of Proton Mail, is a secure VPN that lets people use the service for free on an unlimited basis, with only slight speed capping during times of high congestion. This makes it perfect for privately surfing the web on a daily basis, unblocking content, avoiding censorship, and bypassing geo-restrictions to gain added freedom online.

This makes ProtonVPN perfect for unblocking censored news or for accessing vital social media services during times when political regimes black them out unfairly. Overall, it’s an incredibly good free VPN that provides access to servers in the Netherlands, Japan, and the USA.

TunneBear free offers limited usage but a quality service.

TunnelBear VPN is a free service that constantly impresses people. This VPN is super-secure and even opened up its software to a third-party analysis last year. The outcome? Security researchers found the VPN to be secure and reliable. It also keeps no logs.

Unfortunately, The service is restricted to just 500MB per month. Despite this, it is brilliant for locations with severe censorship and where privacy is essential. It is perfect for securely unblocking news.

Hotspot Shield free offers an extensive server network for free users

Hotspot Shield is an awesome free VPN that has helped millions of people in their time of need. It was the most used VPN during the Turkey coup and the Arab Spring. Users get free access not only to the VPN but also a Chrome extension.

The free service permits connections to the US only, but the extension permits connections to 14 countries (but not the US). The result is that Hotspot Shield users can unblock content in 15 countries for free! What’s more, Hotspot Shield’s free plan lets people have 500MB of download use per day. That is a massive usage allowance considering it is free.

Why are these the best free VPNs?

There is a lot of negative press when it comes to free VPNs. Most comparison sites urge consumers to stay away from them. At ProPrivacy, we also used to primarily dissuade people from using free services (and we still recommend being extremely careful when picking a free VPN). That’s because there are a lot of terrible free VPNs out there that take advantage of their users’ data for their own gains. About 95% of the free VPNs available on the market are either useless or even dangerous.

A free VPN can be a hugely powerful and useful tool – both on mobile and desktop

However, there are a few providers that do offer genuinely excellent free services. They do come with certain caveats compared to their premium cousins, but as long as you are aware of the differences between the two offerings, a free VPN can be a hugely powerful and useful tool – both on mobile and desktop.

The VPNs in the list above were selected by ProPrivacy.com’s experts, who carefully reviewed every free VPN on the market. All of our VPN recommendations are transparent about how they handle user data. They also provide up-to-date encryption implementation that can be trusted to protect your privacy and hide your internet activity at all times.

During our research, we considered the following attributes:

  1. Encryption availability and implementation
  2. Privacy policy and data handling
  3. Server locations and availability
  4. VPN speeds and performance levels
  5. Reputation and history
  6. Relationships with third parties such as advertising and marketing firms

All the free VPNs that we selected for you offer a planthat is completely free. None of them require you to hand over your credit card details to download and use their service.

For more information, check out our free VPNs explained video:

How a free VPN works

The free VPN app connects your device (such as a PC, Mac or smartphone) to a server run by the VPN provider. All data that travels between your device and the VPN server is encrypted to ensure that no-one else can see it. The VPN server acts as a gateway to the internet, and all your internet data is routed through it. As a result, your real location is concealed and you can pretend to be elsewhere.

If you’re new to VPNs, you can get up to speed quickly with our handy guides for beginners:

The benefits of free VPNs

A free VPN is a useful tool for people who need access to online information or websites that are blocked. When governments block websites – including social media platforms, or Voice Over IP (VoIP) messengers such as Skype – a VPN will help you to:

When you travel overseas for business or pleasure, a VPN will let you access websites from back home and allow you to:

  • Use online banking services that are restricted to your home country
  • Log in to online services that are only available in your home country
  • Watch regionally restricted online TV channels while you are on vacation

A VPN provides online security at home and on public WiFi. No matter whether you are on vacation or using the internet in a local coffee shop, a VPN:

  • Protects your login and passwords
  • Stop cybercriminals stealing your credit card details
  • Connect to any WiFi, at any time, without worrying about ‘evil twin’ hotspots
  • Protect against KRACK vulnerability
  • Finally, a reliable free VPN will stop your ISP and the government, from keeping tabs on what you do online.

Free VPN restrictions and limitations

If you decide to use a recommended free service, the VPN will be more limited than one of our recommended premium (paid) VPN subscriptions. This is because the trustworthy free VPN plans we recommend in this article are designed to tempt users into eventually upgrading to a paid (unrestricted) subscription. Thus, free VPN plans may do some (or all) of the following:

  • Cap the amount of data you are allowed to download via the VPN
  • Limit the bandwidth (connection speed) making your internet too slow to stream, etc
  • Only provide access to a few server locations (that many people use and become congested – causing more connection speed problems)
  • Limits what you are allowed to do with the VPN (blocks Netflix or disallows torrenting)
  • May not provide full customer support because you are a free user

Free VPN servers

Some providers advertise connections to free VPN servers. This is to differentiate between the number of servers available on the premium (paid) plans and the free plan. Some VPNs that offer a free plan restrict access to free users to only a smaller selection of free servers. For all intents and purposes, however, a VPN with free servers is exactly the same as a “free VPN”.

Some of the worst free VPNs

If you use one of ProPrivacy.com’s recommended free virtual private networks, you do not need to worry about privacy and online security. All of our recommendations offer the same level of data protection, encryption, features (such as a killswitch or DNS leak protection), and watertight privacy policies – on both paid and free plans.

This is not always true of every free VPN provider. We’ve scoured the policy terms of all the providers and listed some free VPNs you should avoid at all costs.

VPN Why avoid? Extra info
Hola Can sell data to third parties* Shares emails with marketing partners. Sells traffic data to sister firm. Shared anonymized data to third parties. Fraudulently steals & resells user bandwidth through sister company Luminati. DNS and WebRTC leaks detected.
Betternet Can sell data to third parties.* Allows advertisers to cookie users’ browsers. Displays targeted advertising. Parent firm can access all data. Lets advertisers track and log user data. IP Leak in Chrome browser extension. Contains 14 tracking libraries in total (according to CSIRO report).
Psiphon Can sell data to third parties.* Allows ad partners to track users. Displays targeted advertising. Shares data with their advertising partners. Shares data with third-party affiliates and partners. Shares all data with parent company.
HoxxVPN Can sell data to third parties.* Isn’t a VPN (it’s a ShadowScos proxy service). DNS and WebRTC leaks. Tracks user activities and works with authorities. Keeps logs and sells them to third-party partners. Shares data with third-party affiliates and partners.
SuperVPN Willing to disclose information to authorities. Reports of it being infected with malware. Tracks user activities and works with authorities. Extensive access to user’s sensitive information. Stores session logs in the UK and US.
ArchieVPN Reports of being heavily infested with malware. Performs real-time analysis (claims this is for troubleshooting only).
Onavo Project Can sell data to third parties.* Uses user info for advertising and marketing. Displays ads to users. Belongs to Facebook. Shares and sells user data with third parties.
HatVPN Has no available privacy policy. Reports of being heavily infested with malware. Invasive app permissions Could be doing anything they want with user data. Developed and based in China.
VPN by Apalon Invasive app permissions. Shares data with third parties for marketing purposes. Displays ads.In-app purchases.
Private Pipe VPN Shares data with affiliate partners. Displays targeted ads on websites. Confusing privacy policy (claims no logs, but contradicts this claim).
Tuxler VPN Can sell data to third parties*. Uses logs to target ads at users. Shares user browsing data with advertising firms.
GO VPN Can sell data to third parties*. Admits to using customer data to build out their database. Displays targeted ads through the platform. Belongs to Chinese firm Talking Data. Willing to sell usage logs to third parties and partners. Extremely invasive app permissions.
Hexatech Can sell data to third parties*. Allows advertisers to track and log user data. Advertisers can access user data whenever they want. Created by Betternet (belongs to a marketing firm). Displays ads to users.
TouchVPN Can sell data to third parties*. Adds Cookies, Pixel Tags and Web Beacons to user browsers. Shares anonymous data with third parties.
Faceless.me Doesn’t work. The privacy policy is too ambiguous to be taken seriously. Has no support if you have concerns or questions.
FinchVPN Can sell data to third parties*. Reports of being heavily infested with malware. N/A
Cross VPN Reports of being heavily infested with malware. N/A
VPN OneClick Free Reports of being heavily infested with malware. Outdated PPTP encryption on Android. Based in the UAE.
Flash Free VPN Invasive app permissions. Uses 11 third-party tracking libraries.
Fast Secure Payment VPN Reports of being heavily infested with malware. N/A
sFly Network Booster Reports of being heavily infested with malware. N/A
IP-Shield VPN Contains third-party tracking software. N/A
WiFi Protector VPN Uses 5 tracking libraries. N/A
TigerVPNs Fraudulently steals and resells users bandwidth. N/A
Private WiFi Appears to have poor or no encryption. N/A

What can I use a free VPN for?

Using a free VPN for streaming

People who want to unblock streaming services like BBC iPlayer require a VPN service that provides high speeds. Streaming with a VPN also requires a VPN with a large network of servers that doesn’t suffer from congestion. Free VPNs usually don’t support highly in-demand streaming sites such as BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video.

If streaming is your main desire, a free service might not always suffice. However, because these recommended VPNs cost nothing – it will do no harm to try them.

There are some fantastic cheap VPN services on the market that will let you unblock content on streaming services from anywhere in the world, in HD. These services provide high speeds, strong encryption and cost less than $2 a month.

Using a free VPN for torrenting

A free VPN is not likely to be good for downloading via BitTorrent. This is because there’s no such thing as a truly unlimited free VPN (that also provides strong privacy levels). Free VPN download limits and speed restrictions can make downloading via Peer-to-Peer time-consuming and difficult. If you want a VPN to torrent with ease, you will need a VPN with unlimited data and no speed restrictions. Why not check out our Torrenting VPN to see our recommendations.

Using a free VPN service to bypass censorship

Free VPNs have shown their worth time and time again when governments around the world block websites. During times of political upheaval, as well as during protests and riots, governments often block websites. In some countries, websites may be blocked on religious or moral grounds. A VPN can help people bypass these restrictions. Free VPNs have helped many people in acute times of need.

However, please remember that accessing government-restricted content could land you in trouble with the authorities. In the very worst cases, you could go to jail, or worse. For this reason, it is wise to consider your local environment.

If you are in a ‘high risk’ location such as China, UAE (Dubai), Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea, or Pakistan – and plan to visit high-risk websites, great care should be taken to ensure you only use a secure VPN with strong encryption. The free VPNs in this guide should provide what you need to bypass censorship securely (please check each summary carefully), but if you have concerns feel free to contact us via the link at the end of this article.

If you are wondering whether a free VPN will unblock sites, such as Popcorn Time, The Pirate Bay, putlocker – or other websites blocked by ISPs – the answer is yes!

FAQs

Can I get a free VPN for Mac?

Yes, all of our recommended free VPNs have Mac VPN clients.

Can I get a free VPN on iPhone?

All of the VPNs recommended in this guide have a free a iPhone VPN app. However, it is worth bearing in mind that the ProtonVPN iOS app is still in beta testing at the moment.

Can I sign up to a free VPN anonymously?

Most free VPNs will not require any details from you. However, if you are asked to create an account you can sign up using a fake name and a ”burner” email. This will give you more anonymity when you use the VPN. However, the VPN provider will know your real IP address; which can be tied to you. This is why it is important to subscribe to a trusted free VPN with a strong privacy policy (like the ones in this guide).

Do I need a VPN at home?

if you do not want your ISP to know everything that you do online you will require a VPN. ISPs know everything you do online by default,and can report this to the government if they are asked (mandatory data retention). VPN encryption provides digital privacy and stops your ISP tracking your web browsing habits.

Free VPN vs proxy

Most proxy services do not provide the level of privacy and security that you get with a VPN. A proxy may help you to unblock content, but it will rarely provide solid digital privacy.

Can I get a free VPN with no logs?

Yes, the VPNs that we have recommended are either no logs – or keep connection logs only. Please check the VPN summaries to find a zero logs VPN.

Will a free VPN work with Tor?

If you are looking for a VPN for Tor browser, you will be fine with any of the free VPNs we have recommended. However, using a non-trusted VPN for accessing Tor is highly inadvisable, as you could end up sending your requests via a VPN that is purposefully collecting your data and creating a paper trail.

Can I use a free VPN for android TV boxes?

Free VPNs are not considered fast enough for streaming. In addition, they limit downloads making it hard to stream content. Thus, you will have to pay for a VPN that works with Android TVs and Android set top boxes.

Can I use a free VPN for Torrenting?

Many free VPNs restrict peer to peer torrenting on their free servers because they don’t want you to slow down the server – causing congestion for other users. In addition, free VPN servers tend to be too slow for torrenting anyway, however you can get a cheap P2P VPN.

Are Free VPN extensions secure?

If you stick to using the recommended free VPNs from this list, you will be able to make use of their VPN extensions, for Chrome or Firefox, without concerns. Each of the free VPNs in this guide were all selected because they provide a free service that is secure and trustworthy in every way – including all the software they provide. However, if you opt for a random free VPN from the app store, it is possible you could wind up with a dodgy service with an insecure extension.

Can I stream movies with a free VPN?

If you are looking for the best free VPN for streaming movies, you should pick the service from this article that provides the largest download limit each month. This will allow you to unblock movie streams in private and watch as many movies as possible. Once the download limit is reached, you could either choose to cycle onto one of the other free VPNs in this guide or, if this is too frustrating, you could opt to pay for a cheap VPN with an unrestricted download capacity.

Are there any free VPNs that support Linux?

Yes. Some of the VPNs we have recommended provide setup guides for getting the VPN working on Linux. So, if you need a free Linux VPN – this article has you covered.

Are there any VPN free trials that do not need credit card details?

Our recommended free VPNs all permit you to use the VPN free trial service without handing over your card details. However, if you decide to try a full, unrestricted VPN service using the money-back guarantee, you will need to pay with your card and then ask for a refund within the specified period (usually 30 days).

Can you be tracked if you use a VPN?

A VPN encrypts your data so that your ISP cannot track your web browsing habits. This stops the ISP from collecting your web history and metadata on behalf of government agencies. VPN encryption also stops local network administrators from tracking you as you use WiFi. A VPN also conceals your IP address, so that online services and websites cannot track you each time you visit their site. However, other kinds of tracking that occurs via cookies, for example, may still occur even when you use a VPN.

Can I use a free VPN on Firestick?

Yes. If the VPN can be installed on a Firestick and it has a free plan, then you can use that VPN on your Amazon Firestick for free. The free VPNs in this guide all work on Firestick apart from TunnelBear, which does not.

Will a free VPN work in China?

China actively blocks VPN services, which means that getting hold of a free VPN can be tricky. However, if you can access the website and download the software, you will be able to use a free VPN in China. If you download and install one of the VPNs in this guide before going to China, you will be able to use the free VPN when you go to China. Alternatively, if you are already in the country, then you can request a direct download from the VPN provider, and they might just be able to help. For more details on this topic, check out our China VPN article.

Is SoftEther a secure alternative to commercial VPNs?

SoftEther is a VPN client that can be used to set up your own VPN. If you don’t mind setting up a VPN server yourself, you can use SoftEther to create a free VPN connection. However, you will not get a list of possible server locations unless you pay to set up your own VPN with multiple locations (by renting servers), and this will not be free. Some commercial VPNs do offer SoftEther as a connection option. However, no free VPNs other than the community-run VPNGate have this feature (and because VPNGate runs on volunteer nodes, there are concerns that the network could be compromised).

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