With increased cyber risks, the demand for VPNs has surged. Free VPNs are top-rated despite offering inadequate protection, limited server selection, and bandwidth. This is the reason for thousands of supposed free VPN providers online. But when there’s an eternal pool of reputable and shady VPNs, how can you know which best free VPN services to use. We have thoroughly tested over 60+ VPNs, both free and premium, throughout the years. In this article, we show you the best free VPN services that are secure and trustworthy.
We’ll also highlight the essential features and drawbacks of the free VPNs that we have mentioned below. If you don’t want to be worried about the limits or privacy hazards with free VPNs, we suggest using ExpressVPN and it provides a 30-day money-back guarantee. They will enable users to test out all of its features, such as limitless bandwidth, 3000+ servers, military-grade 256-bit encryption, etc. Another fantastic thing about this VPN is that it also offers a 3-months free subscription if you choose their 12-months plan.
10 Best Free VPN Services Of 2022
After evaluating 60+ free VPNs on a variety of parameters like data allowance, speed, server access, and security, we’ve compiled a list of the top ten safe free VPNs for 2022. The following is a comprehensive review of the top ten free providers:
1. Windscribe VPN – Best Free VPN
Windscribe is without a doubt one of the best free VPN services available, with no hidden fees or dubious scams. The free version of the service has ten server locations. Its free edition includes a monthly data allowance of 10 GB. To receive the ten gigabytes of data, you must register using an email address. Otherwise, you will receive only 2 GB of bandwidth per month. Additionally, you may get 5 GB of additional bandwidth simply by tweeting about Windscribe. The provider’s free edition has a number of security features, including an Internet Kill Switch, an ad blocker, and even multi-hop connectivity, which enables you to connect to more than one VPN server. Additionally, Windscribe protects against DNS and IPv6 leaks.
2. ProtonVPN – Free VPN with Unlimited Bandwidth
ProtonVPN is the most widely used free VPN service, offering limitless bandwidth and data. Its free edition includes an unlimited data allowance, allowing you to download and stream as much as you like. This is remarkable given that the majority of free VPNs offer a maximum of 500MB to 10GB of data. Additionally, free users are limited to connecting to servers in three countries (Japan, the United States, and the Netherlands).
It is not compatible with Netflix, but we can unblock other services like YouTube, Spotify, and others. However, the free version of ProtonVPN does not allow torrent downloads. ProtonVPN’s strength is in its total security, which is provided by military-grade 256-bit encryption and the OpenVPN protocol’s security. Additionally, there is an automatic kill switch that protects you at all times.
3. Hotspot Shield
Hotspot Shield is a highly recommended free VPN for torrenting. The sole disadvantage of this VPN service is that its free version restricts you to connect to servers in the United States. Additionally, it only provides 500 MB of data per day, which is insufficient for enthusiastic broadcasters. Hotspot Shield includes a unique technology called the Catapult Hydra protocol, which enables high-speed connections across great distances. It achieved a speed of 44.63 Mbps while testing on a 100 Mbps connection. It was more than sufficient for downloading torrent files, however, we rapidly ran out of daily data.
4. TunnelBear – User-friendly Free VPN
TunnelBear is one of the most user-friendly free VPN services available, with intuitive interfaces that are ideal for novices. It has a charming, animated bear that helps you around the app, which contributes to the program’s attractive UI. TunnelBear’s free edition limits users to 500 MB of data per month, which is insufficient for streaming and other bandwidth-intensive operations. You may earn 1 GB of additional bandwidth for free by tweeting about TunnelBear or referring a friend.
It is one of the best free VPN services on the market, with a large server network in comparison to the other VPNs on this list. It provides over 49 server locations, which is more than the majority of other providers provide for free. These servers are located in nations such as the United States of America, Australia, the United Kingdom, and India.
5. Hide.Me
Hide.Me is one of the most secure free VPN services available, with 256-bit encryption and additional privacy and security features. It includes a monthly data allowance of 10 GB and access to four server locations. These servers are spread across Canada, the United States of America (East and West), Germany, and the Netherlands. While these servers do not operate with Netflix US or other popular streaming platforms, Hide.free Me’s servers do permit torrenting. It allows torrenting but lacks the ability to unblock streaming programs such as Netflix, iPlayer, and others. However, the 10 GB data constraint limits the amount of file-sharing you can accomplish.
6. Speedify
Speedify is one of the list’s fastest free VPN providers. Speedify provides 2 GB of data each month. While 2 GB of data per month is plenty for web browsing and social media, it is insufficient for streaming or torrenting. It does, however, provide access to over 1,000 servers located in 35 countries. Thus, with such a large array of servers, you can obtain an IP address from any nation.
Regrettably, it does not work with Netflix or other popular streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and others. It features an innovative channel bonding technology that accelerates your connection speeds by utilising both Wi-Fi and cellular data (4G). However, you may run out of data because it transmits twice as much traffic as a standard connection.
7. OperaVPN
OperaVPN is the name of the browser’s built-in VPN plugin. Although it is not a full-featured VPN, it is one of the top suppliers of free services. It conceals your IP address as you browse other websites and access restricted content. To use this VPN, you must first enable it in your browser’s options. Consider it a browser extension that will protect your online behavior while you’re browsing.
However, as a browser plugin, it encrypts only the traffic between your Opera browser and the Internet. Anything you do outside of the protected area will be unencrypted. There are just three virtual locations available: America, Europe, and Asia. However, it does not allow users to connect to specific countries, which means that Opera VPN cannot be used to effectively bypass geo-restrictions.
8. Betternet – Free VPN
Betternet is a highly anonymous free VPN service that does not require registration. It provides 500 MB of data each day, which is insufficient to stream high-definition video or download huge torrent files. With this amount of data, you can broadcast for approximately 1-2 hours. With only one possible location (the United States) on the free account, you will be unable to access geo-restricted websites from other regions or countries. It does not, however, operate with popular American streaming services such as Netflix US, Hulu, and HBO Max.
However, when it comes to security, Betternet delivers 256-bit encryption, lightning-fast speeds, and perfect forward secrecy. Additionally, it supports the IPSec and OpenVPN protocols with AES 256-bit and AES 128-bit AES-CBC encryption.
9. Avira Phantom VPN
Avira Phantom VPN’s free subscription includes 500MB of bandwidth per month. It is insufficient for streaming movies or television programs. You may, however, use it to access social media and browse the web. Avira Phantom VPN has servers in 36 countries. However, it is not the ideal solution for streaming geo-restricted websites, as we were unable to unblock Netflix US on its US servers, and other regional libraries and local material remained blocked.
And Avira Phantom VPN is not the quickest available, as we witnessed a speed reduction of more than 70% on its server. It achieved a speed of 25.63 Mbps during testing on a 100 Mbps connection, which is not the fastest we have seen in this guide.
10. Zenmate
Zenmate provides a no-cost version of its software for Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. Due to the absence of a free VPN version of the app, you cannot test all of its capabilities. It has four server locations: Germany, Romania, Singapore, and the United States. This provider does not impose any data or bandwidth constraints. However, it will limit your rates to a maximum of 2 Mbps.
That is, you will be unable to enjoy HD streaming and other features. Surprisingly, while testing, Zenmate was able to unblock Netflix US on its American server. However, the speeds for bufferless streaming were quite poor. The movie continued to load approximately every 5 minutes.
Conclusion:
The free VPN services mentioned in this article are generally compatible with a wide range of platforms and operating systems. So, whether you’re looking for a free VPN for your iPad, Android, or iPhone, the above VPN services should work.
However, if you use a free VPN on a regular basis or for streaming, you will quickly run into data and speed constraints. When using a free VPN to download episodes and movies, you will frequently encounter constraints. In such instances, a low-cost commercial VPN will be far more beneficial. Free VPNs are ideal for occasional use or when you simply require a small amount of bandwidth.
We haven’t yet included some new free VPN providers in our top ranking because they aren’t currently available. Some providers appear promising, but they can only be labeled “safe to use” once they have been thoroughly tested.
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