3 Best Free VPN For Download

A free VPN may sound appealing if you have heard about the benefits of using a VPN but aren’t quite ready for the investment. Are free VPNs really free? What may be the hidden costs? Are there any reliable VPNs to use? You’re in the right place to know more about them.

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Mind you, no VPN is truly free

Completely free VPNs are a dime a dozen on the market. The facts that most free VPNs do a fairly decent job and that it doesn’t charge you anything make it too good a bargain to resist for most unsuspicious users. But companies have businesses to run and profits to turn, if they don’t make money from you, they make money out of you in other ways. And this usually counters the very purpose that you use a VPN for.

Below are two nefarious practices many free VPNs exploit user data:

• Security violation. On a security level, proper premium VPNs protect your internet connection and online privacy by scrambling your internet traffic and re-routing it through a dedicated server. They also log minimum or no user activity so even they themselves have no access to your data. However, many free VPNs are prone to data leak due to less robust tunnels and/or poorly encrypted data.

• Data tracking, hijacking and/or selling. Setting up servers costs a fortune and they must drive revenue someway. One of the most common practices is to sell your data. When you’re connected to a free VPN, chances are you’re being eavesdropped by your own VPN service provider. They may log and monitor your online activity, your browsing habits and sell it to whoever interested in exploiting the data(advertising services, government agencies, unscrupolous individuals etc).

As people often say, there is no such thing as free lunch. VPN is no exception. We would advise you against using any no-fee VPN that doesn’t have a paid plan.

If you want a VPN just for casual use…

Some trustworthy providers offer a stripped-down version for free as a taster of the stronger premium product. They allow customers to give the service a test run while throttling the internet speeds, imposing daily or monthly data cap, or limiting the number of server stations you can access. This is usually harmless though, considering it is a more a commercial strategy than an activity conducted with malicious intent.

If you just want a VPN for occasional use, or that you can live with some of the aforementioned limitations, you can consider this option.

Below I have listed the free basic plans of four reputable VPN providers, you can compare them and decide the one that works for you.

Take a 30-day free trial with a premium VPN

A limited version can only get you this far. If you want to experience what a full-featured VPN has to offer, you can try your hands on a premium VPN. Below we have compared a dozen VPNs based on overall encryption level, jurisdiction, number of servers, price, abilities to stream, torrent and gaming, user experience and presented to you our top 3 recommendations.

1. Best Overall: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is our #1 VPN recommendation. It ticks all the boxes – great server coverage, fast connection speeds, industry-leading encryption security and the ability to easily unblock most popular streaming services.

Our ratings: 4.5/5

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2. Best known for security: NordVPN

With a user base of over eight million all over the world, NordVPN is easily one of the most popular VPNs. This is not without reasons. The VPN provides top-notch features and performance at an irresistible price. With AES-256 military-grade encryption, support for OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec protocols, a killer switch, split tunneling, DNS leak protection as well as a zero sensitive data logging policy, your data stays secure on the big, bad internet.

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Our ratings: 4.4/5

3. Best value for its feature-packed service: Surfshark

Surfshark is a quite an affordable option for those who want to protect their online privacy but do not want to shell out too much cash. Offered at a rate as low as 2.49/mo, the service doesn’t compromise on quality. It has solid security smarts, reliable connection speeds to stream and torrent with and it also allows unlimited simultaneous connection – perfect for those with a large household.

Our rating: 4.2/5

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By Enya Zhang

Meet Enya – a passionate content writer who loves crafting insightful and helpful articles. Since 2018, she's built a reputation as a reliable source of knowledge. She explores topics far and wide, from online dating and people search tools to new streaming platforms to identity theft protection services and the latest tech.

When researching, Enya digs in deep. She sees to it that every article is backed by first-hand testing, rigorous analysis, and/or thorough investigation. Her commitment to in-depth research and comprehensive testing ensures her articles deliver trusted guidance readers can count on.

Embracing both quiet and thrill, Enya is a reserved extrovert who happily cruises between me time and socializing. Outside of writing, you can find her soaking up sights and sounds, chilling with friends or lost in a good book.

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