The Best Free VPNs Offered By Reliable Companies (Updated 2024)

In A Nutshell

  • ProtonVPN (Switzerland) offers the best free VPN by far — you can get a free account and access to 86 servers located in the U.S., Netherlands, and Japan. You get the full VPN service with no monthly data limit or speed limits. It is limited to one device though and streaming or torrenting are not allowed. Also, please note that some users have trouble getting a refund if they create a PayPal dispute instead of first asking the company for a refund.
  • Windscribe (Canada) — By signing up for Windscribe’s free plan with your email, users can access 100GB per month of data, unlimited connections, and access to more than 10 countries.
  • Hide.Me (Malaysia) — free account offers five server locations, one simultaneous connection, a limit of 10 GB data transfer
  • AtlasVPN (USA) — three server locations, unlimited connections, 5GB of monthly data

Details on Free VPNs

Most free VPN services contain ads. The services listed below are reliable and offer limited versions of their full services for free.

If you need a VPN for more demanding tasks, such as streaming or downloading large files, you may want to consider a paid VPN service.

ProtonVPN (Switzerland)

ProtonVPN‘s free service offers a full-fledged VPN service for free.

Proton VPN offers both a free plan and a 30-day free trial for its premium services. Here’s an overview of each:

Proton VPN Free Plan

  • Unlimited Bandwidth: The free plan provides unlimited data usage and is free to use indefinitely.
  • Server Access: Users have access to 86 servers located in the U.S., Netherlands, and Japan.
  • Security Features: It includes essential security features such as a kill switch and DNS leak prevention, but lacks advanced features like malware and ad blocking.
  • Limitations: The free plan supports only one simultaneous connection and does not allow streaming or torrenting. Additionally, users cannot choose their server country, as they are automatically connected to the fastest server available.

Proton VPN 30-Day Free Trial

  • Full Access: The trial provides access to the full suite of Proton VPN’s premium features, including advanced security protocols, a broader server network, and privacy-focused tools.
  • Subscription Requirement: To activate the trial, users must subscribe to a plan and provide payment information, but they can cancel within 30 days for a full refund.
  • Evaluation Opportunity: The trial period allows users to assess the VPN’s performance, security, and compatibility with their devices and online activities without financial commitment.

Proton VPN emphasizes privacy and security as fundamental rights, offering a no-logs policy and robust encryption across all its plans. The free plan is supported by paying users and is designed to provide online privacy without any catches or data selling.

Service Summary

AtlasVPN (USA)

The AtlasVPN free service offers servers in three locations:

  • Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Los Angeles, USA
  • New York, USA

There is a 5GB of monthly data limit on free accounts.

Service Summary

  • Website: AtlasVPN
  • Headquarters: USA
  • Owned by: Nord Security (Tesonet)
  • Number of connections allowed: unlimited
  • Servers: 3
  • Apps available: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux

Windscribe (Canada)

Compared to other free VPNs, Windscribe offers a wide range of server options. It boasts over 500 servers in more than 60 countries. This broad server coverage provides users with a variety of location options for their VPN connections.

With Windscribe’s free plan, users get 10GB of data per month, unlimited connections, and access to servers in more than 10 countries.

  • Website:Windscribe
  • Headquarters: Canada
  • Owned by: Windscribe Limited
  • Servers: 11
  • Number of simultaneous connections allowed: unlimited
  • Apps available: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android

Hide.Me (Malaysia)

Hide.Me’s free service offers servers in five locations:

  • USA West
  • USA East 
  • Canada
  • Netherlands
  • Germany

Only one device can be connected at one time. There’s a data limit of 10 GB.

Service Summary

  • Website: Hide.Me
  • Headquarters: Malaysia
  • Owned by: independently owned by Leon Juranic
  • Servers: 5
  • Number of simultaneous connections allowed: 1
  • Apps available: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux

4 thoughts on “The Best Free VPNs Offered By Reliable Companies (Updated 2024)”

  1. PROTON IS JUNK—-THEY TRIED TO SCREW ME OVER…..THEY DON”T HONOR THEIR 30 DAY MONEY BACK EITHER……HAD TO SIGN COMPLAINT WITH PAYPAL TO GET MONEY BACK…..THANK HEAVEN FOR PAYPAL ……STAY AWAY FROM PROTON UNLESS YOU LIKE ANGER……….Gary

    1. I don’t enjoy problems with money-back guarantees, however they don’t like people creating a Payapl dispute before contacting them first. Here is a response to a user with a similar issue:

      Hello Ace,

      Thanks for the follow-up.

      As per our Terms and Conditions, if you rely on dispute or chargeback mechanisms of third-party payment processors, you waive your right to the above-mentioned refund from the Company. Furthermore, if the result of the dispute or chargeback mechanisms causes the Company to be liable for an amount exceeding the price paid for the service (e.g. dispute fee), you authorize the Company to charge that amount on your account. https://protonvpn.com/terms-and-conditions 1

      You can find this section clearly displayed in the Money Back Guarantee clause.

      Activating a Dispute is not the proper way to ask for a refund. Simply contacting us and requesting one is.

      Since you’ve activated a Dispute for the payment, and the Dispute was dismissed by PayPal, unfortunately, we are in no position to issue a refund for the payment.

      I hope this clarifies the situation.

      We have already added 15 credits to your account and you can use them to clear the unpaid invoice and continue using it in the future.

      To clear the invoice, please do the following:

      Log-in to protonvpn.com 1
      Navigate to the Payments category
      Next to the invoice under the “ACTION” tab, click the drop-down arrow
      Select “Pay”
      Proceed

      Once you submit, the credits that we have added will be automatically applied and you’ll be able to continue using your account and connect without issues.

      If you need any additional assistance, please let us know.

      Have a nice day!
      Kind regards,
      Dimitar

      Customer support
      ProtonVPN

  2. Has anyone had problems with free ProtonVPN and Avast Security? I ask because I recently swapped my old Mini Mac for a newer version and decided to download Avast anti-virus., which I hadn’t used before. After doing this I found I couldn’t activate Proton VPN. Proton said it wouldn’t work with certain anti-virus systems. But having deactivated Avast, I still can’t use Proton VPN.
    Any suggestions?

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *