The Best Cheap VPNs of 2025

Despite its bargain price, PIA doesn’t cut corners when it comes to internet security or privacy, which is great if you’re using a VPN for torrenting.

The VPN doesn’t collect any identifiable data, and its no-logs policy has been proven in a server seizure of its Russian servers and an FBI subpoena in 2016.

PIA also comes with high-end security features including OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols, AES-256 and ChaCha20 encryption, a VPN kill switch, a SOCKS5 encrypted proxy, and effective IP leak blocking.

This high levels of security, combined with very fast torrenting bitrates, are at the heart of PIA’s exceptional torrenting and P2P file-sharing performances.

Additionally, you’ll get access to the most user-friendly VPN port forwarding feature we’ve seen, and which is supported on all its non-US VPN servers.

PIA is a solid choice for unblocking geo-restricted content, particularly titles available on US and UK content platforms.

The VPN works with 6 Netflix regions, including Australia, India, the UK, and the US, and is also very useful for getting a cheaper Netflix subscription.

Moreover, PIA has reliably unblocked many popular geo-restricted streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Hulu, ITXV, and more.

And thanks to the VPN’s fast and stable international speeds, you won’t experience any buffering even when streaming from the other side of the world.

Private Internet Access offers access to the largest VPN server network, with 18,651 servers spread around the world.

This is especially impressive considering that VPNs with extensive server networks almost always come at a higher cost, yet PIA breaks that trend.

This expansive server park contributes to the VPN’s exceptional international connection speeds, with no severe slowdowns due to congested servers.

Connecting to servers close by, our Internet speed slowed down by only 4% while internationally the reduction was just 14%.

One of PIA’s other strong attributes is being able to offer VPN IP addresses from any US state. This is very handy for American users who want to bypass sports blackouts, or access content only available in certain states.

CyberGhost has the best range of free trials out of any VPN we’ve reviewed:

The VPN also has an extremely generous money-back guarantee, allowing you to claim a refund up to 45 days into your subscription, if you decide it’s not for you.

CyberGhost is one of the easiest VPNs to use, and its Smart DNS feature makes it ideal for streaming on multiple devices.

The VPN has clearly-labeled streaming servers that work to unblock streaming services in Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, the US, and the UK.

It works with 10 Netflix regions, including US, UK, France and Germany. The only servers we found not very reliable were the BBC iPlayer and HBO Max ones.

CyberGhost has one of the best-looking Fire TV Stick app interfaces, and our tests confirm it works reliably with US Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu.

CyberGhost also includes a useful Smart DNS feature at no extra cost. Unlike NordVPN and ExpressVPN, CyberGhost lets you manually choose your desired region, such as Germany or France, rather than being limited to the US or UK.

We used this feature to access geo-restricted content on devices that don’t support VPN installation, such as our Smart TV and Xbox.

Despite the very good streaming performance, CyberGhost’s speeds have been slowing down in the past few years.

It’s not yet affecting streaming picture quality, but the VPN is trailing the likes of PIA and NordVPN by some margin.

The most noticeable drop happens when connecting internationally: speeds slowed down by 19% on average compared to PIA’s much better 14%.

In order for CyberGhost to overtake PIA as the best cheap VPN, it has to improve its international server speeds.

Out of all the VPNs we recommend in this guide, Surfshark provides the richest selection of additional features.

Our favorite is without a doubt the fake GPS location spoofer in its Android app. This rare feature prevents Android mobile applications using location services to detect your real location. It’s very simple and works very well.

When activated, the function spoofs your GPS coordinates on your Android mobile device to match your VPN server location. This makes it highly effective at bypassing geo-blocks based on your phone’s location services.

While “GPS Override” is limited to Android, all Surfshark apps have another setting privacy seekers will enjoy: Rotating IP.

When enabled, this feature changes your IP address every five to 10 minutes without changing the server location you’re connected to, further strengthens your anonymity and security online without ever revealing your true location.

Surfshark’s built-in GPS spoofing feature comes in very handy to bypass the sophisticated geo-restrictions of apps that use GPS data to pinpoint a device’s location e.g. NFL+ and ESPN+.

For instance, we used the GPS location spoofer to easily bypass MLB.TV blackouts on our Android smartphone.

Surfshark’s great unblocking qualities are not limited to Android, though. The VPN has established itself as a dependable streaming VPN, working with many of the most popular content platforms around the world.

These include 9 Netflix regions, Disney+, HBO Max, Prime Video, JioHotstar, and BBC iPlayer.

Speed is where Surfshark loses its footing a bit. The VPNs speeds are not far off the fastest VPNs, but they don’t quite measure up to the likes of ExpressVPN, NordVPN or PIA.

When we connected locally, we experienced a slowdown of 4%, and over long distances, that slowdown climbed to 17%.

These aren’t bad results by any stretch, but PIA’s performance is simply better: international speeds dropped by just 14% in our latest speed checks.

Server connection times were also somewhat disappointing. Out of all the affordable VPNs on our list, Surfshark’s servers consistently took the longest to connect.

It’s only a few extra seconds, but an extra two or three seconds can feel like an eternity when you’re just trying to change IP address quickly.

Mullvad is an excellent choice if you prioritize privacy and security.

It’s no-logs policy was validated during a server seizure in 2023, where no user data could be extracted.

Implementation of its diskless VPN and DNS server network is further proof of its commitment to privacy. Its apps are also completely open-source on GitHub for greater transparency.

The VPN is extremely secure, offering both OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols as well as AES-256 and ChaCha20 encryption. In our tests with Wireshark (an internet packet inspector), it successfully encrypted our traffic beyond recognition.

Even with the suite of security features, Mullvad is still intuitive and joyful to use, regardless of your experience level.

If you want to unblock streaming services or bypass online restrictions, Mullvad is a poor choice for unblocking these websites.

The VPN has never claimed to unblock streaming services, and in our most recent tests we found it doesn’t work with Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, ITVX, and many other services.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though, with Mullvad still capable of unblocking the UK’s Sky Go and the USA’s HBO Max and Prime Video content catalogs.

That being said, PIA and CyberGhost are far better products for unlocking geo-restricted content around the world.

Unlike our other cheap VPN recommendations, Mullvad does not offer a free trial.

However, with a flat fee rate of just $5.50 per month, it’s not such a big risk compared to long-term plans.

You can also take advantage of its 30-day money-back guarantee if you decide the service isn’t for you.

Lastly, Mullvad’s top-up system means your subscription won’t automatically renew if your account balance is empty. This feature ensures you won’t face unexpected renewal fees at the end of your subscription period.