There are plenty of free VPNs out there. However, not all of them are trustworthy, and even fewer allow you to access services such as movie streaming and torrents. VPN providers have to make money, after all, so there’s usually some sort of catch, namely limitations related to bandwidth, connection speed, and server locations.
Others come at a more dangerous cost, such as putting your privacy at risk. Fortunately, this is not the case for all free VPN services. Some get the job done, especially if you just want to do the occasional light internet browsing or you’re looking to test the features of a VPN before becoming a paying customer. Here are your best options for 2020.
1. TunnelBear
Prior to being acquired by security giant McAfee, TunnelBear was already shaping up to be a great VPN service. It has only gotten better since, with a user-friendly design and both desktop and mobile clients. Unfortunately, the free version is limited to 500MB per month, which means it’s only suitable for times when you really need protection.
The good news is that paid plans are relatively affordable, giving you access to over 20 servers and the ability to connect more devices. TunnelBear’s free version is no long-term solution, but a good way to try out the features of the service.
2. HotSpot Shield
HotsSpot Shield is one of the top VPN providers at the moment, allowing you to link up to one of over 70 countries available on their service. That is, if you pay for the Elite version. The free service has less options, but a relatively high monthly limit of 15GB. You do get top-notch security features like military-grade encryption.
Setup can be fiddly, but the general user interface is clean and simple, whether you’re using it on Android, iOS or Windows. Since most of the Premium features are available with the free service, it’s well worth looking into.
3. Windscribe
Windscribe are best known for their excellent privacy policy and security features. The free version of their VPN service is limited to 10GB of data per month, but paid plans don’t start too high. If you’re looking to make the upgrade to a paid VPN or to find out more about any particular service, have a read of some of the VPN reviews which are available online.
4. ProtonVPN
Ending our free VPN review is ProtonVPN. The standout feature here is the complete lack of data restrictions, which makes it a viable long-term option. Granted, there are some limitations. This includes only being able to use the VPN on one device and lower speeds on the three locations that you can choose from.
ProtonVPN is available on just about every device and operating system, including Linux. Speeds tend to drop at peak times, but overall performance is on-par with the competition.
These are certainly some of the best VPN providers that you can try out for free. Remember that the paid plans are almost always a better bet, so be sure to look into them.
