A virtual private network is a great thing to have in your digital toolbox today, but if you’re new to all this and just want to give one a spin, then it’s not a bad idea to look for a good VPN free trial.

Some virtual private network operators even offer free plans. Although a paid service is almost always going to be better, faster, and safer than even thebest free VPNs, this is still an option worth looking into if you just want to see what a VPN can do on the most basic level. Whatever your situation is, though, if you’ve arrived here, it’s because you’re hunting for a free VPN trial — and we’re here to help you find it. Below, we’ve rounded up a list of all the top services that offer a VPN free trial in 2021, along with some answers to any questions you might have.

NordVPN is our top VPNand has been for quite some time now, and we’re not the only ones — far from it, in fact, considering thatNordVPNremains the most trusted provider on the market today. You may have heard of NordVPN before even if you’re still asking, “what is a VPN?” Without getting too far into the weeds with details, just know that NordVPN has everything we look for in a good virtual private network: It’s fast, it’s reliable, it’s secure, it gives you several different encryption protocols to choose from (if you’re picky about that sort of thing, anyway), and it works well across multiple types of devices and software interfaces.

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ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is another top contender for the best virtual private network, with the caveat that it’s a bit more expensive than others including NordVPN. The advantage of this service is that it offers one of the widest selections of remote servers of any network operator — the provider boasts a spread of servers in more than 90 countries (160 locations altogether) throughout the globe, with excellent coverage in high-traffic regions like Europe and North America. That makes ExpressVPN an attractive option for users who are particular about the end-point for their VPN connection for things like streaming or government censorship that employ region-based content restriction.

When wereviewed ExpressVPN, we liked how easy it was to set up the VPN and run it on multiple devices. It is, as we mentioned, a little pricier than some others (the best value is the $100 yearly package, which averages to $8.32 monthly), but if you’re looking for the best VPN to bypass regional content restrictions, ExpressVPN is arguably the top choice. It also offers a 30-day risk-free money-back guarantee if you want a free VPN trial before you commit to a recurring subscription plan.

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If you’re looking for a VPN free trial with no device limitations, Surfshark is a fine choice that offers the same 30-day refund window asNordVPN and ExpressVPN. Better still is its unbeatable price: The two-year plan is billed at $60 for your first two years, which comes to about $2.50 month-to-month (just bear in mind you have to pony up the cash in advance). With a virtual private network that’s this cheap, there’s really no reason to even bother with sub-par free VPNs which won’t offer protection that’s nearly as comprehensive.

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Learn more in ourSurfshark review.

Ourreview of IPVanishfound it offers an optional data backup and recovery service as an add-on to its virtual private network. Along with letting you tunnel your connection through one of the 1,600-plus servers that IPVanish operates in 75 countries, its VPN + Backup plan allows you to select folders and files that you want to automatically keep uploaded to remote and secure cloud storage. This shields you from potential ransomware attacks by preventing your sensitive data from being held hostage, and it’s also useful in the event of a hardware or software failure that renders your local data inaccessible. And, like Surfshark, the IPVanish VPN has no restrictions on the number of devices you can use it on simultaneously.

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Hotspot Shield

If speed is your number one priority — maybe you’ve given some other free VPN trials a test run and found them to be too sluggish for your needs — then Hotspot Shield is worth a look. Virtual private networks reroute your connection through remote servers (i.e. you’re connecting to a remote server before whatever site or service you’re accessing, rather than connecting to the site or service directly), and one unfortunate side-effect of using a VPN is that download and upload speeds can suffer a little. That’s not a problem for most things but can become a noticeable issue for bandwidth-heavy activities such as gaming or 4K streaming.

Hotspot Shield attacks this problem by offering market-leading connection speeds of up to 1Gbps. This isn’t an idle boast, as this VPN operator has indeed been named the fasted virtual private network by Speedtest.net. Another notable benefit is that Hotspot Shield offers a genuine 7-day VPN free trialalong witha 45-day refund period. There’s even a free VPN plan, although speeds for that are capped at 2 Mbps. The annual Premium plan costs $96 (averaging to $8 per month) for five devices. A 25-device Premium Family plan is also available for $144 per year.

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Want to know more? See ourHotspot Shield review.

What is a VPN free trial?

Should you use a VPN free trial?

In our opinion, a VPN free trial should only be used as just that — atrial.The same goes for free VPNs. If you want real protection and the full suite of features, multi-device coverage, encryption protocols, connectivity speeds, and other benefits (not the least of which is peace of mind) that you get with a proper virtual private network, you should pony up the cash for one of the best VPN providers we mentioned above. The good news is that they’re pretty cheap for all they give you, and all of the ones listed offer a money-back trial period if a service you signed up for ends up not jiving with your digital lifestyle.

Is there a commitment with a VPN free trial?

Should you use a free VPN or a VPN free trial?

Can you do a VPN free trial without a credit card?

Why do VPN free trials exist?

As newbie-friendly as the best VPN services are nowadays, providers understand that some people might be wary about fully committing to a monthly or yearly (or even multi-year) subscription plan with no ability to get out of the contract. A VPN free trial period gives new users sufficient time to give the service a spin, get a feel for its capabilities, and decide if it’s a good fit for their needs before fully committing to a subscription.