Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are proving to be more and more consequential in the wide open world of the internet, where privacy is now so precious. While premium VPN services provide reliable protection, what about free VPNs?
A free VPN can be an attractive option for people seeking a no-cost solution to their anonymity and security concerns. But beyond the appeal of not having to pay for the service, free VPNs can come with serious drawbacks or even hazardous data collection practices.
To help you make the right decision with your VPN and keep you safe and secure online, I’ll cover what you can expect to get with a free VPN, the pros and cons of free vs. paid, and what free options are worth considering.
Further reading: How to use a VPN to watch Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max while traveling
What do you get with a free VPN?
Included features with free VPNs can vary widely. Some will impose myriad restrictions; only offering a laughably low data limit, one or two server options, or speed constraints. These are oftentimes free versions of popular paid services that want to draw in users and entice them to upgrade in the future. Other free VPNs will provide no such restrictions, but will hoover up user data and sell it in order to continually fund the service.
You’ll almost always encounter trade-offs when using a free VPN so it’s worth doing research about each individual service before you use it to understand what you’re truly giving up — performance or privacy.
That being said, many people still use free VPNs daily and never have issues. The right free VPN for the right purpose can fulfill your needs without you having to pay up for another monthly subscription.
Paid VPNs vs. free VPNs
It’s worth comparing what you get with a paid VPN versus what you get with a free VPN to better understand these trade-offs. Take this with a grain of salt, however, as features differ considerably between individual services (both paid and free).
When discussing the features you can expect to get with a paid service below, I’ll assume the minimum available. Many services go well beyond this with additional features and performance.
Server network
Paid services like CyberGhost offer huge server networks.
Paid services like CyberGhost offer huge server networks.
Sam Singleton
Paid services like CyberGhost offer huge server networks.
Sam Singleton
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</div></figure><p class="imageCredit">Sam Singleton</p></div>Most paid VPNs provide extensive server networks with 500 or more servers to connect to in countries all over the world. Some, such as CyberGhost and Private Internet Access, boast networks with close to 10,000 individual servers.
Free VPNs, on the other hand, typically limit users to around five to 10 servers in only a few countries. Most of the servers are located in the U.S., as well, so those looking for options in other countries might be out of luck.
Privacy
Privacy is one of the most important features a VPN can provide. Paid services will often prioritize this above all else by not logging or selling user data such as online activity or any other metadata. They oftentimes submit themselves to independent third-party audits to further back up these no-log claims.
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</div>The premium VPN Mullvad, one of our favorites for privacy, even goes so far as to accept mail-in cash payments and forgo personalized user login data so that no identifiable information is ever kept.
Free VPNs, on the other hand may, but not always, collect user data directly or indirectly through ads and pop-ups. Since free VPNs don’t charge subscription fees, they have to find alternative ways to generate revenue, and selling user data can be extremely lucrative.
This bizarrely defeats the purpose of using a VPN to protect your privacy. And in the worst case can result in identity theft, leaving users in a whole world of hurt.
It’s important to note that this is not the case with all free VPNs, but data collection is certainly more likely with free services than with paid services.
Access to location-restricted content
In today’s age of online streaming services, access to location restricted content has quickly become one of the most popular reasons for people to subscribe to a VPN.
Many paid VPNs advertise that their servers can access Netflix anywhere in the world. Some even come with special servers designed to successfully evade streaming service blocks. This is a huge benefit for those who still want to access the content they pay for while abroad.
Free VPNs don’t usually have server networks large enough to accommodate this, nor do they have the human bandwidth to keep on top of the constant cat-and-mouse game between streaming services to keep their servers unblocked.
Further reading: 14 VPN terms and features everyone should know
Speeds
All VPNs will lower your speeds just by the nature of how they work. The distance between your home computer and the VPN server, current server load, and the protocol are just some of the factors that can affect your VPN connection speeds.
That being said, paid VPNs offer large enough server networks that no one server is ever overcrowded. They also have the resources to pay for more robust servers that can handle large volumes of traffic. And they generally provide multiple protocol options for users to choose from.
This isn’t always the case with free VPNs. Server networks are usually smaller, the servers they employ likely aren’t as powerful, and they hardly ever provide multiple protocols as options.
Additional features
Paid services usually offer way more features than free VPNs.
Paid services usually offer way more features than free VPNs.
Sam Singleton
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