Best Cheap VPNs of 2021

Ranked #1 Best Cheap VPN

Surfshark is the best cheap VPN of 2021 and is excellent value for money at $2.21 per month. This is on a two-year subscription, billed at $59.76 the first two years, and annually thereafter.

It’s a highly-secure VPN service, headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, which is an ideal privacy-focused location for a VPN company. It operates a zero-logs policy and it encrypts its connections with the AES 256-bit cipher and various secure VPN protocols, including OpenVPN.

Surfhsark also comes with additional security and privacy features including the MultiHop, which routes your traffic through two different VPN servers, and the NoBorders mode, to bypass aggressive web censorship in countries like China.

However, one of Surfshark’s standout highlights is its ability to unblock 15 Netflix regions, as well as BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime Video.

Surfshark works on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Fire OS. The service also comes with a Smart DNS tool for easier use on Apple TV and games consoles like Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. And you can use Surfshark on an unlimited number of devices.

In summary, there is no better VPN than Surfshark at a cheaper monthly price. You won’t be disappointed with this VPN service, but if you happen to not enjoy using it then don’t forget that it comes with a no-questions-asked 30-day refund policy.

Ranked #2 Best Cheap VPN

PrivateVPN suits beginners and experienced users alike, and costs only $1.98 per month, in other words $45.36 ever two years.

Despite its small number of servers, it’s an impressively fast VPN that unblocks 32 Netflix libraries on it’s dedicated streaming servers. It also works well with BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO and Amazon Prime Video.

As far as security goes, PrivateVPN is a very safe no-logs VPN. Security highlights include AES-256 encryption, OpenVPN protocol, an effective VPN kill switch, and robust IPv4, IPv6, and DNS leak protection. It also operates its own DNS servers, which is added peace of mind especially if you want to torrent with a VPN.

The downside to using PrivateVPN is that it has a much smaller server network than its rivals, which could impact performance in the near future as it acquires more customers.

Moreover, live chat support is not available 24/7, unlike many other top VPNs. If you have a problem using PrivateVPN and you can’t find a solution online, you’ll have to email customer support and wait for a response.

Ranked #3 Best Cheap VPN

CyberGhost is more expensive than Surfshark and PrivateVPN, costing $2.75 per month on a three-year plan. But, it’s still a great budget VPN.

It’s one of the easiest VPNs to use and it currently has one of the best Fire Stick TV app interfaces. It works very well with US Netflix, Hulu, HBO and other US streaming platforms. It’s also very good for torrenting, as long as you’re not based in Australia (it’s not allowed on Australian servers).

CyberGhost is also a very secure VPN service that doesn’t collect any personally-identifiable web logs. It protects its VPN connections using AES 256-bit encryption, and it also has a VPN kill switch (called ‘Secure Connect’) for unexpected VPN connection drops.

One of CyberGhost’s strengths is the size of its server park: it counts 6,700+ servers across 90 countries. That’s the second biggest server network after Private Internet Access.

Sadly, CyberGhost VPN isn’t a good choice for bypassing aggressive web censorship. If you’re based in, or travelling to, China, Turkey or the UAE, then use Surfshark or PrivateVPN instead.

Ranked #4 Best Cheap VPN

Private Internet Access is one of the fastest VPNs you can get. 

When connecting locally, it probably is the fastest available, with barely any speed loss.

It doesn’t skimp when it comes to privacy either. This is a solidly no-logs VPN. 

If you don’t believe us, PIA has been verified as such in multiple court cases.

PIA also releases an annual transparency report, which you can read here.

Private Internet Access keeps absolutely no logs at all. Even if you don’t believe us, you can believe the (multiple) court cases and seizures of the servers that verify it.

It also comes with high-end security features: OpenVPN protocol, AES-256 encryption, and a bespoke ad and malware blocker called PIA MACE. You can find out more about that here.

All of which is great. But PIA doesn’t forget that you might just want to put your feet up and binge-watch Netflix: you can do that on a number of servers without hassle. 

The server network here is smaller than the competition, but it’s not bad and $2.69 per month (billed as $79.00 every three years) remains excellent value for money. 

Ranked #5 Best Cheap VPN

NordVPN is a quality all-round VPN service worth the $3.71 per month it charges on a two-year subscription plan ($89.00 upfront every two years).

It is the most expensive option on this page, however you do get an extremely fast VPN service across a wide server list. This makes streaming Netflix and BBC iPlayer fast and stable. And you can also torrent on on most of its servers.

With NordVPN, you’re paying for guaranteed privacy. When it comes to your data, NordVPN is 100% no-logs and it was even the first VPN to undergo a third-party audit to confirm it.

More evidence of its commitment to privacy can be found where it’s set up: in the privacy haven that is Panama. There’s no way that privacy-unfriendly nations or intelligence-sharing networks such as Five-Eyes can touch your sensitive personal information, as Panama has absolutely zero legal obligation.

However, it’s important to make you aware of a security incident involving NordVPN. In October 2019 it came to light that a NordVPN server had been breached by a hacker. No user information was taken, no data was logged, and the VPN encrypted tunnel wasn’t compromised. That said, it was a worryingly simple vulnerability and we were disappointed by NordVPN’s delayed response.

Nevertheless, NordVPN has introduced numerous security measures since the security incident, and it is without a doubt one of the best affordable VPNs available in 2021.