Best Free VPNs in 2026 (That Are Actually Safe)
Running VPN servers costs money, so a free VPN is paying for itself somehow. Usually that's with your data, sometimes with ads, occasionally with a data cap that pushes you to upgrade. We have not run our own leak or logging tests on the wider free-VPN market — this list is limited to providers with an independently audited no-logs policy and a free tier that doesn't monetise you some other way.
Proton VPN Free is the one we recommend without hesitation: no data cap, no ads, no logs, funded by Proton's paid plans. Windscribe's free tier is honest and useful with a 10 GB monthly cap. Everything else on this page is a paid VPN's refund window, which for a short trip is the better free option.
The 4 best VPNs for vpns, ranked
- 1Best free VPN#3 overall · 8.9/10
Proton VPN
No data cap, no ads, no logs, open-source apps on every platform. Limits: one device, an auto-chosen country, no streaming or P2P.
- Free plan
- no data cap, no ads, 1 device, auto-chosen country
- Refund
- 30 days
- Devices
- 10
- Refund
- 30 days
- 2Best free VPN with location choice#10 overall · 5.2/10
Windscribe
10 GB per month free with a choice of locations and a built-in ad blocker; audited, and honest about what the free tier can't do.
- Free plan
- 10 GB/month, 10+ locations
- Refund
- 7 days
- Devices
- Unlimited
- Refund
- 7 days
- 3Free for 30 days (refund)#5 overall · 8.8/10
Surfshark
Not free — but a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 7-day mobile trial. For a short trip, cancelling within the window costs nothing.
- Free plan
- No — 30-day refund
- Refund
- 30 days
- Devices
- Unlimited
- Refund
- 30 days
- 4Free for 30 days (refund)#6 overall · 8.7/10
NordVPN
A 30-day refund window on a fully-featured VPN. Try the real thing before settling for a free one.
- Free plan
- No — 30-day refund
- Refund
- 30 days
- Devices
- 10
- Refund
- 30 days
We earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes a rating or this order. Disclosure
Side by side
| VPN | Score | Free plan | Devices | 2-yr price | Refund | Port fwd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proton VPN | 8.9 | no data cap, no ads, 1 device, auto-chosen country | 10 | $3.49 | 30 days | |
| Windscribe | 5.2 | 10 GB/month, 10+ locations | Unlimited | $5.75 | 7 days | |
| Surfshark | 8.8 | No — 30-day refund | Unlimited | $2.49 | 30 days | |
| NordVPN | 8.7 | No — 30-day refund | 10 | $3.49 | 30 days |
How we picked
Free tiers had to come from a provider with an audited or open-source no-logs policy, show no ads inside the app, and describe their limits accurately. We have not run our own leak tests across the wider free-VPN market — check any free VPN yourself with the site's DNS and WebRTC leak-test tools before trusting it.
All scores come from the same published rubric, checked monthly — how we test. Rank order on this page is by the category criteria, not by commission.
Questions
What is the best free VPN?
Proton VPN Free: no data cap, no ads, an audited no-logs policy, and a paid business funding it. Windscribe's free tier is the runner-up.
Are free VPNs safe?
Many are not — logging despite no-logs claims, ad injection and data reselling are all documented problems across the free-VPN market. We have not tested that market ourselves; Proton VPN Free and Windscribe Free are the exceptions we rate because both are independently audited.
Can I use a free VPN for Netflix?
We're not aware of one that works. Proton's free plan doesn't attempt streaming by design. Use a paid VPN's 30-day refund instead.
Is there a free VPN with no data limit?
Proton VPN Free has no data cap. The limits are one device, auto-selected country, and no streaming or torrenting.