The best free VPNs

The short answer

Most free VPN apps are not worth the risk. Researchers have found free VPNs with no encryption, hidden owners, tracking libraries and open log databases; our guide are free VPNs safe? sums up a decade of that research. The safer route is the free tier of a company that makes its money from paid subscriptions.

Five providers in our files offer a real free plan. Proton VPN Free is the clear first choice. Windscribe and TunnelBear are reasonable for light use. Opera's browser VPN and Hotspot Shield have bigger gaps, which we explain below.

Free VPN limits compared

1. Proton VPN Free: no data cap

Proton's pricing page lists the free plan's limits: one device at a time, medium speed and servers in 10 countries chosen for you at random. Its FAQ says there's no data limit and no artificial speed limit. Proton's free VPN page says it will never show you ads, and it lists the free plan on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone and iPad, Chromebook, Android TV and Fire TV. There's no streaming and no P2P on the free plan. Those are paid features.

The record behind it is the best in our files. Securitum has audited Proton VPN's no-logs claim every year from 2022 to 2026, the apps are open source, and a Swiss non-profit foundation is the largest voting shareholder. Proton pays for the free tier from paid subscriptions, which is the business model you want behind a free VPN.

2. Windscribe Free: 10 GB a month

Windscribe's homepage says you get 10 GB of data every month once you sign up and confirm your email. Windscribe says it has no device limit, and a 2022 Windscribe blog post said free users could reach servers in 11 countries. Its desktop, Android and browser-extension apps are open source. Free users don't get port forwarding.

In 2025 a Greek criminal case against Windscribe's CEO was dismissed; Windscribe says it had no logs to hand over. Its published audit record is thin: one third-party audit, in 2024, with the auditor not named on its timeline. If you later want more data without a full subscription, its Build A Plan option charges $1 per location per month, with a $3 minimum.

3. TunnelBear Free: 2 GB a month

TunnelBear's pricing page describes the free plan as 2 GB for testing and limited use. Since December 3, 2025, free users can't choose a country or use split tunneling, though they keep the VigilantBear kill switch and GhostBear obfuscation. No payment details are needed. Two gigabytes covers some browsing on public Wi-Fi, not daily use.

Cure53 has audited TunnelBear's apps and servers since 2016, and its privacy policy is easy to read. McAfee has owned it since 2018, and there's no no-logs assurance report.

4. Opera's free browser VPN

The free VPN in the Opera browser needs no account and no payment, and Opera says it has no data cap. It's available in Opera on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. The limit that matters: it protects only traffic inside the Opera browser. Your other apps, including email clients, games and torrent clients, go out unprotected. Free locations are limited to three regions.

Opera cites Deloitte and Cure53 audits but doesn't publish the reports or dates on the pages we read. Opera Limited is majority-controlled by Beijing-based Kunlun Tech. Tunnelcheck isn't Opera and has no link to it. For a side-by-side, see Opera VPN vs a real VPN.

5. Hotspot Shield Free

Hotspot Shield's help center says free users can link one device. Its free VPN page lists Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, but it contradicts itself: it lists "No ads" for the free plan and also says "We're ad supported", and it gives two different location counts. Apple's privacy label for its Mac app says it collects identifiers used to track you.

Our review rates it Weak. We found no independent no-logs audit, ownership is hard to pin down, and in 2017 the Center for Democracy and Technology asked the FTC to investigate data sharing and traffic redirection in the free app. It's on this list because it is a real free plan, not because we recommend it over the four above.

What about other free VPNs?

We found no free plan from the other ten providers we've reviewed. Several offer long refund windows instead, which let you try a paid service and get your money back if you cancel in time: CyberGhost gives 45 days on longer plans, and PIA, ExpressVPN, Surfshark and IVPN give 30. Rules differ, so see our VPN prices page for the exact terms.

We don't list free VPN apps from companies we can't identify. If you're looking at one, check the warning signs in are free VPNs safe?: no verifiable company, a privacy policy that mentions advertising partners, permissions a VPN doesn't need and no paid plan to explain where the money comes from.

When a free VPN is enough

• Enough: occasional browsing on hotel, airport or café Wi-Fi. See public Wi-Fi safety.
• Enough: trying a provider's apps before you pay.
• Not enough: protecting several devices at once, except on Windscribe within 10 GB.
• Not enough: torrenting. Proton's free plan bans P2P, and the others don't clearly allow it. See free VPNs for torrenting.
• Not enough: streaming. No free plan here lists it, and streaming services block VPNs anyway. See why streaming services block VPNs.

Our free vs paid VPN comparison covers the trade-offs, and the best VPNs overall ranks the paid options.