The 6 best free VPN providers out there!

If you are looking for privacy for your web browsing, VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) can be an excellent solution. There are many options for paid VPN providers on the market today, but the vast majority of users look for free VPN providers for their internet needs, and the same happens with VPNs.

For many, the idea of ​​a VPN may seem like the ideal solution, as it brings complete anonymity in browsing, unlocking the region of streaming sites and the freedom to browse wherever you want without fear of being tracked, all without spending a dime. And due to the pandemic, more and more people started to need a safe environment to work, as in the home-office model, or even to have fun at home. As a result, there has been an increase in free VPN users.

It should be noted that no free VPN solution is going to be as good as paid services, but for casual users they can be a useful tool at their disposal.

In this article, you’ll find a list of the 6 best free VPN providers options we have currently available, according to the capacity and amount of features  that each solution offers users.

Read also: How to use VPN on iPhone.

Among all the free solutions on the market, ProtonVPN is definitely the one that offers the largest list of features and the best performance. Its biggest difference in relation to the others is the fact that it provides unlimited data so that you can really browse without worrying about the amount of data you will use.

ProtonVPN free does not allow you to access regional Netflix content from other countries (upgrade is required), but you can still watch Netflix. Paying users have priority over bandwidth usage, so at peak times you will find that speed may decrease as you will only have access to one device at a time.

There is also no security support like P2P or Secure Core. If you are a more casual user, these limitations won’t bother you, otherwise you will need to upgrade.

However, as far as the competition is concerned, ProtonVPN free is an excellent choice, as it provides unlimited data, supporting a very wide range of devices. Other strengths of this provider are its functional leak protection, split tunnel and custom DNS servers. In summary, all the features combine to make ProtonVPN free by far the best and most complete free VPN on the market.

Windscribe has an excellent premium service, but its free version is not lacking either. When signing up for the service, you will have two possibilities. The first is to use 2GB if you don’t provide any personal data. And the second is to provide an email address and have access to 10 GB.

Another positive point is that the user can choose from a list of servers from around the world, including North America, Hong Kong, Europe and Turkey. Upgrading will give you a much larger selection, but it’s safe to say that the free list is pretty satisfying already.

One of the greatest strengths of Windscribe’s free VPN is the ability to access Netflix from anywhere in the world, but because the guidelines are always changing, access can be interrupted at any time and this feature cannot be guaranteed. permanently. The big downside of Windscribe is its app’s UI, which delivers an unintuitive interface causing you to encounter some usability difficulties, such as configuring settings, for example.

If you just follow the recommended settings to just activate and deactivate VPN, you won’t have so many difficulties and the application will be very useful. Another factor that is important to highlight is that there is no support 24 hours a day, neither in the paid nor in the free version, which should be kept in mind when committing to the service.

However, overall, Windscribe is an excellent and efficient free VPN that is well worth checking out.

The third VPN provider on our list is Hotspot Shield, which offers one of the best services on the market, but also has a great free version. Although not as fast as the paid version, it offers good speeds and provides a good amount of data of 500MB per day, which is enough to keep your browsing private.

As for the application, the interface helps a lot in terms of usability and is highlighted by its professional structure. For free users it is only possible to have access to one location, although they can see all of the provider’s premium servers.

Something to highlight is the fact that Hotspot Shield itself blocks access to Netflix for free users, which means you won’t be able to watch anything if the provider is active.

The services have advertisements in their navigation, which is a way of “subsidising” free users, and if you don’t like this type of experience, you may find it rather uncomfortable. For the vast majority, it may not make that much of a difference.

Generally speaking, Hotspot Shield’s free VPN is quite efficient and doesn’t fall short of its competitors. However, its paid version is excellent, even with the most complete and secure options on the market.

This service is owned by nothing less than the renowned McAfee company, one of the most established security companies in the world. This fact makes the TunnelBear free VPN service differentiated in some aspects and highly usable.

We can start talking about its app, which is very intuitive and clean, which can make the user experience easier, even for the most non-expert users.

It is easy to notice that the target audience of this provider is people who are not very interested in tweaking more technical settings like DNS or even want to know the difference between OpenVPN UDP and TCP. Because of that, the application doesn’t have many functions.

To register, you only need to inform your e-mail address and nothing else. This is a point that increases the level of confidence you can have in its VPN security. It’s great for checking your emails or online banking with a lot of privacy.

One of the downsides of TunnelBear is its small monthly limit of 500MB, which may not appeal to users who like to watch videos on YouTube or Facebook, as they will quickly reach the allowed data limit. As already mentioned, the scarcity of technical configuration features can serve more as a hindrance than a helping hand. This, therefore, is a VPN for very occasional and casual use and could be an excellent starting point for more inexperienced users.

The fifth free VPN provider on our list is Speedify, which in direct terms means “accelerate”. As the name suggests, this VPN focuses on providing excellent connection performance. Users will enjoy a fully encrypted security system, while the software’s turbo-boosting technology is able to guarantee that speeds remain at their maximum possible performance throughout the entire connection time, reaching speeds of over 400Mbps .

It’s an intelligent and well-made software, capable of allowing you to use multiple connections in order to increase speed. You can simultaneously use Wi-Fi and 4G data connections, for example, when you are on your cell phone, which guarantees maximum speeds. The problem with this is that mobile data usage can consume your data usage, if it is has monthly limitations.

Monthly, Speedify allows 10GB of free data. That’s a lot, and it’s great if you are going to use it for an extended period of time.

6. Hide.me

To close out our list, we brought you Hide.me, which is a provider that offers paid and free VPN solutions, also providing you with 10GB of data per month in the free version. Like some of its competitors, Hide.me allows you to connect with a maximum of one device and is limited to five server locations instead of the 50+ locations that premium users have access to.

On the plus side, however, the provider has no connection speed limitation for free users, and has the premise of not storing user records or data. Because of this, you will not have any data loaned or sold to ill-intentioned third parties. Another plus is that it has no ads, and still it offers P2P support on its five free VPN servers available.

The service has native applications for Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS, offering great accessibility to users, in addition to 24/7 technical support, which is also available to free users.

Finally, it’s fair to say that this software performs well and therefore can be a more than a solid free option to help maintain your privacy without too many restrictions.

How to choose a free VPN

The past few years have seen a growing increase in threats to individual privacy, ranging from the exposure of globally famous personalities to leaks of sensitive data from large corporations. While Virtual Private Networks are not the last option for maintaining privacy and security, they are an essential component for individuals who like to preserve certain freedoms.

If you don’t use a VPN yet, you can download one for free, without having to pay for a paid service. Just be careful, as many free VPN providers do not inspire trust and some can even compromise your security.