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Best VPN Free Trials in 2024 (30 Days Free)
Give them a try—there's nothing to lose.
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Last Updated: December 20, 2024
Hit enter to show more results
Give them a try—there's nothing to lose.
Last Updated: December 20, 2024
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Choosing the best VPN free trial can be difficult and time-consuming since almost every VPN service provider claims to be the best. Free trials allow you to test VPNs before getting one for the long term. However, top-tier VPNs rarely offer a free trial long enough to test all of the VPN’s features. Plus, such trials include limited bandwidth or restrictive data caps.
However, we still tested dozens of VPNs to find the best ones that offer a free trial, money-back guarantees, or both, so you don’t have to. Among all the VPNs we tested, ExpressVPN has the best free trial. It allows you to test all its premium features for free for 7 days without limitations or data caps.
However, if 7 days are not enough, ExpressVPN also has a solid money-back guarantee to test it risk-free for 30 days. If you don’t like it, you can claim a full refund within this time—that’s what we did to test it out. We prefer using the refund since the free trials are rarely long enough to test the features of any VPN properly.
We tested the free trials and money-back guarantees of more than 70 VPNs, and only 9 stood out as good enough. The ones that made the shortlist allowed us to test all their features during their trial period, and we highlight how each of their trials differs from money-back guarantees, even though many of them try to pass off the refund period as a trial—which it isn’t.
Our list of VPN free trial providers was tested for speed, reliability, unblocking capabilities, gaming, and torrenting. Read on to find out which performed the best.
ExpressVPN offers a 7-day free trial for mobile devices with complete access to all its features and unlimited bandwidth. To use it for free, download the ExpressVPN app on your device through Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store and click on “Start Free Trial.” After this, sign up with your email ID and choose a plan to begin your 7-day free VPN trial on your device.
You will not be charged if you cancel your subscription during these 7 days. In addition, you can also use ExpressVPN on any other device with the same login credentials.
However, if you want to test ExpressVPN risk-free for longer, you’ll be charged and have to ask for a refund per its money-back guarantee. It gives you access to all of the VPN’s features and unlimited bandwidth for 30 days. You can claim a full refund if you don’t like it. It’s what we did. We tested the money-back guarantee and canceled our annual subscription through ExpressVPN’s live chat after using it for 25 days. The agent approved our request immediately, and we got our money back in 4 days.
Performance-wise, ExpressVPN is the best VPN in terms of speed and reliability. We got a 19.2 Mbps speed on a base connection of 20 Mbps, so a net speed drop of just 4%. This is very impressive, considering most VPNs reduce your speed by 10-20%. We could watch 2 episodes of The Witcher in HD without any buffering.
The provider keeps your online data secure with military-grade encryption and leak protection. We found no IP/DNS leaks while testing ExpressVPN on any device. It follows a strict no-logs policy and does not record your online activity. Part of its secret sauce is RAM-based servers. Even if its infrastructure is compromised at any point, whatever is on its servers gets deleted with every reboot or shutdown.
Due to its global network of servers across 94 countries, ExpressVPN has excellent unblocking capabilities. During our evaluation, it reliably accessed the US, UK, Japan, and French libraries of Netflix every time we tried in less than 3 seconds. We also unblocked other streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu from my location.
Our only issues with ExpressVPN are that it is a bit expensive compared to other VPN free trial options and that its free trial isn’t that amazing. However, this cost is definitely worth paying for its ultra-fast speeds and reliability. Plus, regular discounts throughout the year make it even more affordable. I got ExpressVPN for just $6.67/month with 3 free months on its annual plan.
All its subscription plans come with a solid 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test it risk-free. The 7-day free trial wasn’t enough time to test all the premium features, so we got a subscription and asked for a refund after a few weeks.
CyberGhost offers a 24-hour VPN free trial for all Windows and Mac devices. On mobile, you can test it for free on Android for 3 days and 7 days on iOS. The 24-hour trial does not require any credit card information but does require you to sign up with an email. Every free version of CyberGhost VPN offers you complete access to all its features and unlimited bandwidth, except simultaneous connections.
For the free trial, choose a subscription plan and add your payment details for Android and iOS devices. You will not be charged during your trial, but automatic payments are set up, so cancel your subscription before the trial ends.
Neither of CyberGhost’s free VPN trials is enough for proper testing, so you can try it risk-free for 45 days with its money-back guarantee. With this subscription, you can connect 7 devices and test all its features. Don’t like it? Request a full refund, and you’ll get it in a few days. We canceled our 2-year plan after 27 days to test this claim and got our money back in 4 days.
CyberGhost VPN offers optimized streaming, torrenting, gaming, and security servers. Streaming-optimized servers are designed to unblock different libraries of popular streaming platforms worldwide. We could unblock Amazon Prime US, Sky Go UK, and BBC iPlayer with their dedicated servers every time we tried. Regular servers can also unblock these platforms but are less reliable than optimized ones.
Gaming-optimized servers ensure that your lag is minimal. Its dedicated gaming servers in Germany always had a ping of less than 70ms, which is very impressive for an international VPN server. You can download torrents at very fast speeds with CyberGhost VPN. Our speeds never dropped by more than 7%, and we could download a 1GB file in just 9 minutes, even on the VPN free trial plan.
CyberGhost VPN keeps your data safe with AES-256-bit encryption, leak protection, and an effective kill switch. For added online security, you can connect to the ultra-secure NoSpy servers. These servers are located in CyberGhost’s headquarters in Romania, and no other party can access them. In addition, it adheres to a strict no-logs policy that was independently reviewed.
Although CyberGhost offers a free VPN trial for different devices, we couldn’t test all its features with them. The money-back guarantee allows you to test CyberGhost VPN for a generous 45-day period without risk. You can easily get a full refund if you don’t like it. That’s what we did!
Private Internet Access (PIA) offers a 7-day VPN free trial for Android and iOS. Unfortunately, you must download and sign up on the app after adding your payment details to use these free trials. If you don’t want to get charged for your subscription, cancel it before your 7-day free trial period ends.
You can try PIA for free with its 30-day money-back guarantee. All its features are available without any restrictions, and you also get unlimited bandwidth during this time. If you are unsatisfied with its service, you can claim a full refund within this period. We tested this policy by canceling our subscription after 22 days and getting our money back in just 5 days. It’s that easy.
PIA allows you to customize different security settings, such as encryption and internet protocols. It offers both 128-bit and 256-bit encryption options, and we alternated between them for various activities. The 128-bit is excellent for streaming and browsing and has better speeds, whereas the 256-bit is more suitable for security-sensitive tasks like accessing an e-bank account.
Besides this, PIA has excellent speeds on par with CyberGhost VPN. Our speed never dropped by more than 9% while using it, and it has an extensive network of servers if you want to stream geo-restricted content. We could unblock Netflix US and UK, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.
The VPN providers have country-specific streaming-optimized servers for different regions, including Japan, the US, Denmark, Finland, Italy, and more. These servers are designed to unblock all geo-restricted streaming services and other restricted content in a country. However, we noticed no considerable difference between these optimized and regular servers.
Our only issue with PIA was that it’s part of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances in the US. That said, PIA adheres to a strict no-logs policy that is independently audited and tested in federal court twice. Nothing existed when a court requested PIA to hand over data associated with certain users.
We prefer a money-back guarantee over a VPN free trial since it’s much longer, and there’s no risk. For example, in this case, PIA offers you full access to all its features for 30 days without risk because you can get a full refund if you don’t like it.
IPVanish offers a 7-day VPN free trial for Android and iOS, but you must sign up and choose a subscription plan. You won’t be charged for this subscription if you cancel it by the end of the 7th day of your trial, which is a bit of a hassle.
If you forget to cancel your IPVanish subscription, you can easily claim a refund using the 30-day money-back guarantee. It’s there for a reason! During the first month, you can take the time to test all its features on all your devices. Since 7 days is not enough time to thoroughly test any VPN, the money-back period is a great way to experiment with the VPN client on your own terms.
Like PIA, IPVanish offers unlimited simultaneous device connections, making it ideal for large households. During our tests, we used IPVanish to unblock streaming services on five devices: two Android phones, one iPhone, and two Windows. We did not notice any issues with the VPN connection on any of the devices.
VPN services usually give you full access to all their features during the VPN free trial period, and IPVanish is no different. Military-grade encryption, an automatic kill switch, and DNS leak protection keep your online data secure. It adheres to a strict no-logs policy and does not record your activity to safeguard your internet privacy.
IPVanish is considerably fast, and my speeds never dropped more than 13% after connecting to it. Plus, it can reliably unblock platforms like Netflix. However, during testing, we did notice that it struggled with accessing HBO Max. We had to try a couple of servers before we could get past the dreaded proxy error.
IPV has a straightforward process for claiming a money-back guarantee. You don’t even have to contact VPN support and can easily cancel your subscription through your account dashboard. We canceled our subscription through this method and didn’t even need to give a reason for cancellation. After we submitted the request, the money was returned to our account within 5 working days.
These prices are for the Standard plan, which does not include add-ons like cloud storage or a password manager.
NordVPN is among the few VPN providers offering a free Android trial. As you might have expected, the Google Play Store initiates this free trial, and you must follow its terms and conditions to get it. The free trial period is 7 days, and you must cancel your subscription if you don’t want to be charged after your trial ends.
We prefer NordVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee to its free trial to avoid the hassle. This way, you can also download the VPN from the official website and follow the refund policy—twice, if need be! In addition, you get to test Nord for a comfortable 30 days, which means you have a lot more time to see if it fits your needs.
NordVPN has decent speeds and excellent unblocking capabilities. We never noticed a speed loss of more than 15% while testing it. These speeds are enough to stream content in HD without buffering, but it also depends on your connection. The VPN won’t work if your regular connection does not support HD streaming. Nord unblocked the global libraries of Netflix and other streaming platforms in less than 7 seconds.
The VPN client has a Threat Protection feature that can block external ads, trackers, or malware. We didn’t experience any intrusive pop-up ads while browsing with this feature activated. It also adheres to a strict no-logs policy and has military-grade encryption, an automatic kill switch, and leak protection to protect your online data.
Nord has dedicated obfuscated servers that can make your traffic appear like regular internet browsing. This feature is particularly useful in bypassing security firewalls designed to restrict VPN access, such as those in regions that enforce censorship.
Our only disappointment is that the NordVPN free trial is unavailable for more devices. In addition, the one free trial it runs for Android is not available in all countries. If you want to use it on multiple devices, you must buy a subscription and then use a money-back guarantee, which is a reliable solution. If you are not satisfied, you can get a full refund. We tested this policy and got our refund just 4 days after I canceled my subscription.
PrivateVPN offers a 7-day free trial for all major devices, including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and more. You must download the VPN and sign up by choosing a free trial plan. After this, you can use your login credentials to use the VPN on any of your devices.
As with all services on our list, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee you can count on if you continue your subscription after this trial ends. If you don’t like its service, you can cancel your subscription and claim a full refund.
Service-wise, PrivateVPN offers all the features of a premium VPN at an affordable price. You can get it for just $2.00/month with its 3-year plan.
Private offers a Stealth VPN feature that obfuscates your VPN traffic to make it appear like regular internet. This is very useful in countries with strict internet censorship, such as China, Russia, and Turkey, with this protocol.
PrivateVPN has a straightforward app that is ideal for beginners. It has two modes: Simple and Advanced. In Simple mode, you only need to select your required server and press connect. With all the servers we tested, we could always unblock geo-restricted content on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more.
Our main concern with PrivateVPN is its tiny server network with just 200 server locations. We were initially worried about slow speeds due to overcrowding on these servers. However, we did not notice a significant slowdown—our speeds averaged above 17.6 Mbps compared to the base connection of 20 Mbps.
The VPN provider keeps your online data secure with AES-256-bit encryption and an effective kill switch. It safeguards your privacy by following a strict no-logs policy and prevents your data from accidentally leaking with IP and DNS leak protection. We found no data leaks while using PrivateVPN during our free trial testing.
You can get the Surfshark free trial on your Android, iOS, or MacOS devices for 7 days by downloading the app and signing up. After you activate your free trial, you can use your login credentials on all other devices for your trial period.
Surfshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, which we ended up using. Although generous, the 7-day free trial still requires insufficient time to decide whether the VPN service is worth your money. And there’s no risk as long as you can claim a complete refund anytime during your 30-day money-back. The VPN costs just $2.49/month with its 2-year plan.
Surfshark recently got independently audited, and its no-logs policy proved once more that it does not record any of your activity. It also has security features like military-grade encryption and an automatic kill switch. The NoBorders mode automatically activates when it detects internet censorship, which is helpful.
Surfshark is a reliable VPN service in terms of speed and unblocking capability. We could unblock and watch two episodes of Wednesday without any buffering in HD, and we never had to wait for more than 9 seconds during each episode’s initial loading. We didn’t notice any interruptions or pixelating streams while watching Netflix with it.
You can use Hotspot Shield’s free trial for 7 days on any device, but you have to sign up and add your payment info to use the VPN service. If you don’t want to get charged, cancel your subscription before your trial period ends.
In addition to the free trial VPN option, Hotspot also has an ad-supported free version. However, the free VPN tier has a data cap of 500 MB/day, collects your data to run ads, and only supports SD streaming. This shows that no free VPN deal is good, no matter where it comes from.
We don’t recommend the free version of Hotspot Shield since the data cap is barely enough to browse the web for a day, let alone stream anything. To test Hotspot Shield properly, you should consider getting a premium plan and using the 45-day money-back guarantee. The paid-for version of the VPN service adheres to a strict no-logs policy and can reliably unblock popular streaming sites like Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, Sky Go, etc. The best part is that you can get a full refund if it’s not up to par.
Hotspot Shield uses its proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol, consistently giving good speeds and stable connections. Unlike NordLynx and Lightway, this one is built on OpenVPN. During our tests, Hydra did well, and our speeds consistently exceeded 15.9 Mbps on its US servers on a base 20 Mbps connection. Although slower than top-tier VPNs, our connections were always stable, and we never experienced any disconnects during our testing.
It also has servers in more than 80 countries that are optimized to access geo-restricted content. During my testing, its US servers always unblocked Netflix US, and I never experienced any buffering while streaming HD content. In addition, Hotspot Shield claims that all its servers are also optimized for games like Fortnite, and I did not face any ping issues while playing games with it.
Our main issue with Hotspot Shield is that it’s costly. You can even get ExpressVPN for less, one of the best VPN services. Unlike ExpressVPN, Hotspot Shield allows you to test all its features for 45 days, which is impressive. We tested the refund policy by canceling our subscription through its 24/7 live chat feature. The agent only asked us a few questions about user experience and immediately approved the request.
These prices are for the Plus plan, which includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Proton has a free version of its VPN service that you can use without charge. You can use its servers in the US, Netherlands, and Japan without any data cap, which is fantastic as far as free trial VPN offers go. It’s compatible with all major devices, including Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux.
The only difference in Proton’s free version is that it’s less reliable in unblocking streaming services. We couldn’t even unblock Netflix US most of the time we tried. This free version of the VPN service also lacks some crucial security and privacy features, like an automatic kill switch, strict no-logs policy, and obfuscation.
If you value your privacy, we advise using Proton’s premium version with the 30-day risk-free money-back guarantee. During this time, you can claim a full refund if you decide it’s not for you. The premium version can also reliably unblock popular streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu.
You’re likely to get very decent speeds with Proton VPN. Ours consistently averaged above 16.4 Mbps, so an 18% loss from our baseline connection. These speeds are more than enough for streaming content in HD, and we never noticed any buffering while streaming with it.
Our only issue with Proton VPN is that it doesn’t offer 24/7 dedicated customer support, even with its premium version. So, responding to your queries might sometimes take up to 48 hours. However, it does have a very informative help section on its website, and we found the answers to a couple of issues we faced through support articles within minutes.
Remember the following points when choosing the best VPN service. We ranked our VPN list based on these benchmarks, and they can be helpful if you want to test any other free VPN trials yourself.
A free trial VPN is a paid VPN service with a free trial period or money-back guarantee to enable you to test all its features. Some paid VPNs limit your speed or data during the free trial. The best free trials don’t have any data, speed, or other hard limitations. Some don’t give you access to all server locations, while others prefer to restrict the app in other ways. So, always choose a VPN that offers a trial without significant restrictions.
A completely free VPN does not require any subscription or even a sign-up in some cases. The problem is that nothing is actually free. Free VPNs are notoriously slow and have little bandwidth in most cases. They don’t have the resources to protect your online data, which might get into the hands of dangerous third parties such as cybercriminals. There have been many cases of data leaks from free VPNs.
Some premium VPNs also have a free trial version, but that’s usually limited in terms of data. So, we typically prefer a premium VPN and rely on a refund instead of a free VPN. This way, we can get a full refund if you decide it’s not for you.
Many VPNs claim to offer free trials but charge you as soon as you share your payment details. We tested dozens of services to find the best VPN free trials that only charge after the trial period. Some of our options also have fee versions that don’t require any details to sign up.
Among all the free trial VPNs, ExpressVPN is our top pick. It offers a 7-day free trial for Android and iOS devices without data or speed restrictions. Once you sign up for the trial, you can use your login credentials to use ExpressVPN on other devices. It offers a trustworthy 30-day money-back guarantee in case 7 days are not enough for you to test it out.
Yes, free trial VPNs are mostly safe. This is because most free trials give you full access to a VPN's security and privacy features, including its no-logs policy. This means that none of your activity is recorded, and the VPN also protects your information with military-grade encryption, DNS leak protection, and an automatic kill switch.
Nonetheless, to avoid any privacy issues, you should always try to avoid VPNs that are not transparent about their logging policies.
It depends on the VPN's policy to offer the trial. Some free trials, like CyberGhost VPN's 24-hour desktop trial, do not require credit card details.
That said, most VPNs require your credit card details to charge you for your chosen subscription after your trial ends. So, there is nothing to worry about as long as you cancel your subscription before your free trial ends.
Some VPNs, like ExpressVPN, even email you two days before your trial ends to remind you to cancel if you don't want to be charged, which is nice.
No, they are different. Free trials are shorter, usually no more than seven days, and might have limitations on your speeds or data usage.
By comparison, a money-back guarantee is usually longer and gives you access to all the features. Plus, you can get a refund with a money-back guarantee if you don't like it.
There are multiple ways to cancel your free trial. If your VPN has 24/7 support, you can cancel it by talking to a customer support agent anytime before your trial ends. You can also cancel your free trial by emailing your VPN support, which we did during our testing process.
Some VPNs allow you to cancel your trial through your account dashboard, which is even easier. However, remember that you might have to cancel your trial through your Google or Apple account subscriptions if you have downloaded the VPN app from your respective app store.
Yes, you can. However, choose a VPN strong enough to bypass the streamer's geo-restrictions. It should offer unlimited bandwidth and fast speeds so you can watch your favorite shows in HD without any buffering or data issues.
All the VPNs I have included in my list can reliably unblock multiple libraries of Netflix and other popular streaming platforms in seconds. Some of them, like CyberGhost VPN and PIA, have dedicated servers optimized to unblock Netflix and other popular streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, ITV, etc.
If you sign up for a VPN-free trial on your Firestick or smart TV using your email address, you can use these login credentials on the VPN app for your Firestick or smart TV.
Unfortunately, in most cases, the trials are limited to select devices like Android, macOS, or Windows, so it's better to confirm this with your VPN's customer support.
You can, but we don't recommend it. Free VPNs don't have the resources to upgrade their security infrastructure regularly. This can compromise online privacy and reveal your location and identity to cybercriminals or trackers. Plus, they can hardly access geo-restricted content and usually offer servers in only a few locations.
So, instead of a free VPN, we suggest a top-tier VPN like ExpressVPN, which also offers a reliable money-back guarantee. This way, you can test the VPN thoroughly and get a full refund if you don't like it.
Yes, mostly, but it is a bit more complex. Countries like China and Turkey have tough geo-restrictions that block almost all VPNs. In order to use a free trial there, you will most likely need to download the VPN before you go there.
Make sure to choose a VPN that can work in these regions. My team members have tested multiple VPNs in China and found ExpressVPN to be one of the country's best VPNs. But recent user reports indicate that the service is spotty—sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
VPNs are still available in India. You can download and use their free trials inside the country. However, do keep in mind that any illegal activity done using VPNs is still considered illegal, and vpnHunt does not condone any activity that is not by applicable laws. So, read about a country's laws and regulations before using a VPN there.
Free trials are usually short, not extending beyond 7 days. So, if you want to test a VPN for longer, try using one with a trustworthy money-back guarantee. This way, you can test the VPN risk-free for anywhere between 30 and 45 days without restrictions and on all your popular devices. Plus, you can claim a full refund during this period if you don't like it.
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