When it comes to picking the best VPN, it used to be the case that a cheap VPN simply couldn’t match up to providers charging twice as much. Now, though, while you often do get what you pay for in tech, there are a few cheap VPN providers that offer absolute bargain value alongside all the essential features. And, in some cases, even more on top of that.
What’s tricky is picking a good one – there are still plenty of shoddy options out there that’d you’d be best off avoiding. So, as with any product, you should make sure to do your homework to make sure you won’t end up with a dud, and that can take a lot of trial and error plus a bunch of refunds to claim.
Or, you know, you could pick from the services we’ve outlined below – we’ve tested them all rigorously, and you can be sure they offer the best mix of value and function.
Just want the best cheap VPN? Look no further
1. Surfshark – Try the best cheap VPN risk-free for 30 days
If you want a service that can rival the very best but costs half as much, Surfshark is your best option. With powerful content unblocking, excellent privacy features, superb speeds and a 30-day refund policy, it’s right up there with the best. Plus, on the two-year plan, it works out at a very appealing $2.49 a month.View Deal
2. Hotspot Shield – An exclusive Tom’s Guide deal
Hotspot Shield is widely regarded as a premium VPN with a price to match, but now Tom’s Guide readers can claim an exclusive price. Sign up for the three-year plan and you’ll pay just $2.49 a month – yes, that’s exactly the same price per month as Surfshark, but with a 45-day money-back guarantee. Bargain.View Deal
3. ExpressVPN – Free Backblaze cloud backup adds value
Yes, there are cheaper options out there, but if you want our #1 VPN service plus free premium cloud backup, then you should certainly consider ExpressVPN. There isn’t a VPN that can compete with Express right now, and with three months free, it’s not bad value, either.View Deal
What makes a great cheap VPN?
The VPN market is huge, and thanks to that range, prices are competitive and even a cheap VPN shouldn’t demand huge sacrifices. A cheap VPN first and foremost should have excellent security, and you should also look out for great streaming performance, apps for most devices and P2P support.
All the services on this list tick those boxes, and while the cheapest VPN may have limitations in some cases – perhaps fewer servers, meaning fewer locations you can use – on the whole they offer a lot for the user.
Out of all the bargain options, in our Surfshark review the bargain provider came out as the best all-round product when it comes to value – in truth it’s better than many VPNs twice the price, doesn’t compromise on features or usability, and ranks highly in our leaderboard of best services overall. However, there are some other bargains on offer, so keep scrolling to find out.
The best cheap VPNs today
Surfshark might not have been around as long as some of its competitors, but what it lacks in age it more than makes up for in performance. This British Virgin Islands-based service does undercut many providers on price but it doesn’t scrimp on features – one of the most important being security.
Fire up Surfshark and you’re protected by a full complement of security features, including OpenVPN UDP & TCP and IKEv2 protocols, a private DNS, double-hop VPN using an AES-256 encryption, plus a kill switch. On top of that, there’s also a zero-logging policy, so no data is kept on you anywhere, and Surfshark is the only true fake GPS VPN available – there’s an inbuilt GPS spoofer to trick apps and games.
Despite that excellent security, the experience remains swift no matter where you are in the world, thanks to Surfshark’s 3,200+ servers spread across more than 100 locations in over 65 countries. That great selection of servers also helps with delivering excellent streaming power, giving access to 15 Netflix libraries, Hulu, BBC iPlayer and more.
However, one of Surfshark’s real party pieces is its unlimited simultaneous connection policy, meaning that even if your household has 20, 30, or even 50 devices you’d like to protect with a VPN, you can do it with Surfshark for less than $2.50 a month.
And, on that note, you’ll have a fine choice of apps for tons of devices too. While they’re not quite as in-depth as some of the pricier competition, Surfshark’s apps have a great amount of features, and pretty much everything the vast majority of users will need from a VPN.
Get the world’s best cheap VPN
It’s no surprise you’ll find Surfshark on many of our other top VPN lists – while it’s seriously cheap, it also provides a premium service that’s better than much of the competition, regardless of price. And now, if you sign up for a two-year plan, it works out at just $2.49 a month.View Deal
Not previously known as much of a bargain, Hotspot Shield is now offering massive deal to Tom’s Guide readers, matching Surfshark’s per-month price of $2.49 – and while you’ll have to commit to three years rather than two, the price doesn’t rise when you renew.
However, we wouldn’t feature a service on any of our guides if it didn’t do the job properly, and in our Hotspot Shield review we found that the provider had upped its game and can now really tangle with the big guns.
Most impressive is Hotspot Shield’s connection speeds. Using its in-house (and fantastically named) protocol Catapult Hydra, wherever you are in the world, and whatever device you’re using, you can expect to see speeds of up to 400Mbps. That does, of course, depend on your base speed, though.
Elsewhere it’s all good news too. Hotspot is impressive when it comes to unblocking streaming services, and Netflix, iPlayer, Amazon and more are available. The only blip was Canadian Netflix, and if that’s a dealbreaker for you, then Surfshark might be the better option.
All things considered, though, and Hotspot Shield is well and truly snapping at Surfshark’s heels when it comes to bargain VPNs – with both boasting simple, effective apps as well as all the essential features like a kill; switch and split tunneling. They’re both the same price, so the decision is up to you to consider which you prefer.
Sign up now on the Hotspot Shield website – claim your exclusive $2.49/pm price
CyberGhost is a Romanian-based VPN service that offers a staggering 6,200+ servers across more than 90 countries – that gives you tons of scope for finding the best connection. Security is also tight with a selection of protocols for you to pick from, plus automated HTTPS redirection and optional data compression for when on mobile – find our more in our full CyberGhost VPN review.
CyberGhost’s real power lies in its streaming and torrenting functionality. While the apps aren’t the very best, they do offer an excellent filtering system which helps users identify and connect to servers which will perform best at a certain activity.
These filters include the best servers for Netflix and torrenting, which for some will be a very useful feature that’s lacking from pretty much any other VPN service available – cheap or not.
Although CyberGhost’s user experience isn’t quite up there with the best, it’s a fantastic choice for those looking to stream and torrent without breaking the bank – and you’ll also be covered by an unusually long 45-day money-back guarantee, so you’ll be able to test it thoroughly before committing.
Sign up now on the CyberGhost website for just $2.25/mo
If you’re after a VPN stalwart for a bargain price, you could do a lot worse than IPVanish. In our latest IPVanish review we saw the provider give its pricing model a shake-up, and now new users signing up will get excellent value – just $2.40 a month on a year-long plan.
However, what’s really special about IPVanish’s pricing is that fact that it also caters to those who only want cheap monthly VPN cover for a holiday, or to test out the service. Gone are the inflated double-digit prices for a 30-day plan. You’ll simply pay $3.19 flat for your first month – and that’s just about as cheap as you’ll find anywhere.
It’s not all about price, though, and you need to get a good product. Thankfully, IPVanish delivers, and provides seriously configurable clients and tons of devices. While the aesthetic might not be to everyone’s taste, they’re super functional and do everything you want them to, and more.
In terms of streaming you’ll be able to watch overseas Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Prime and more, but unfortunately for BBC lovers, IPVanish does struggle to get access to iPlayer. If that doesn’t bother you, though, there’s not much we can fault – especially at this price.
Sign up now on the IPVanish website from just $2.40 a month
With seriously impressive performance in our NordVPN review, the Panama-based provider is one of the most secure and well-known VPNs on the market – but it’s also surprisingly one of the best value. While it’s not quite as cheap as Surfshark, it does offer a huge amount of configuration and security features few providers can match.
Recently independently audited for the second time in two years, it’s one of the few verified zero-logging VPNs, and that’s just the start. With excellent encryption, DNS leak protection, two kill switches and the choice to pay in Bitcoin, it’s the security-conscious user’s dream.
However, Nord doesn’t sacrifice usability for privacy, and it’s one of the easiest VPNs to get to grips with. The desktop clients are laid out well, and the map interface is pleasing. However, when using the mobile apps, be aware that the map interface is something of a hindrance rather than a help – but that’s a small quibble as you’ll usually set and forget.
If you love TV, though, Nord is one of the best streaming VPN services, and will give you access to tons of Netflix libraries, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Amazon Prime video, live sport events and more.
While it’s one of the finest VPNs on the market, it isn’t the absolute cheapest. However, if you’re looking for good security alongside streaming power, Nord does offer great value.
Sign up now on the NordVPN website from only $4.13 per month
OK, ExpressVPN isn’t quite as cheap as some of the other VPNs on this list, but we think the package it offers makes its worth its slightly higher price tag. In fact, our ExpressVPN review found it to be the best service we’ve ever tested.
With a wide range of server locations, all of which provide blazing speeds no matter where you are – or where you want to appear to be – you’ll be able to find a great connection.
Express’s apps are also incredibly easy to use, but under the surface you’ll find a huge amount of powerful features. There’s a wide range of protocols, split tunneling, a kill switch, and the VPN also uses ‘Perfect Forward Secrecy’, which uses a brand-new key each time you connect, as well as changing it every hour when you’re connected.
The big news, however, is that ExpressVPN has partnered with premium cloud backup provider Backblaze to offer a year’s free backup, as well as the regular three months free of VPN.
You’ll also be able to stream from plenty of Netflix locations, as well as access Hulu outside the US and iPlayer from outside the UK – plus, its great selection of mobile VPN apps means you can cover just about every device you own, no matter what it is.
Even cheap VPNs need great support, and Express has the best in the business – the live chat works very well with replies coming in seconds, and no matter what your issue is, the operator will be able to help.
The only downside is the fact that Express is a little more expensive than other services, but when you consider what you’re getting, we reckon it’s worth the investment.
Save 49% and get 3 free months of ExpressVPN
Tom’s Guide readers signing for a full 12 months on ExpressVPN will end up with 49% off the normal monthly price and three months additional coverage absolutely FREE. Backed up by a 30-day money-back guarantee plus free Backblaze, you’ll even be able to get a refund if you don’t like the service – but we’re sure you will.
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Is a cheap VPN worth it?
If you pick the right one, it certainly is. While some cheap services might not have many servers, provide poor connection speeds or, at worst, leak sensitive data, all of the options on this list provide premium-quality VPN protection for a great price.
If you really can only spare $2.49 a month, Surfshark is the absolutely the best cheap VPN. However, if you can spare a little more we’d steer you towards ExpressVPN. Although you might be spending a few extra dollars a month, Express’s functionality is class-leading, and is top of our best VPN services guide, and now offers a year of Backblaze backup absolutely free.
Are cheap VPNs secure?
While quality varies a lot in the VPN market, the five services on this list are all reliable, secure VPNs that we rank among the top VPNs no matter the price.
All feature at least AES-256 encryption, most have extra features to keep you and your data private, and they’ll all also work well as a Netflix VPN, Suffice to say, if you pick your cheap VPN from this list, your data will be as secure as it would be with any other VPN
Can you get a VPN for free?
It’s not impossible to get a free VPN, but if you do you’ll be sacrificing a lot in terms of performance and, in some cases, security.
Free services still have to make money, so if users aren’t paying the provider directly with a subscription, it uses other techniques to earn revenue. Often you’ll find the VPN might inject ads into pages you’re browsing, and in the worst case it may well be selling your data.
Also, many free providers offer paid options as well, so the free versions are limited to encourage you to upgrade. You may find your connection speeds are throttled, and you’ll usually have a data limit which is measured in Mb rather than Gb.
While free options are available, if you’re looking to stream TV or use a VPN daily, it’s worth spending the $2.49 a month on Surfshark rather than risking it – at least you know where your provider is making its money if you pay for a subscription.
Why are VPNs so expensive?
In actual fact, while some VPNs can be fairly pricey, on the whole they’re one of the cheaper digital subscription services – especially if you go with one of our recommended cheap VPNs.
However, good VPNs aren’t free because they need constant maintenance to ensure their servers are running reliably and securely, and technical teams to keep updating the service to ensure you can still access sites that actively block the use of VPNs – think Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
Also, none of the VPNs on this list will show you any sort of advertising when you’re using it, and you’ll also have unlimited bandwidth and data to use. Therefore, the only place they make their money is from user subscriptions, and starting at less than $2.50 a month, we think that’s a pretty reasonable price to pay for total internet anonymity and data security.