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Best Cheap VPN Services
No matter what you do online, using a VPN is totally essential to protect your privacy, but that doesn’t mean it has to cost the earth.
We’ve rounded up five VPNs that offer excellent value for money, with not one of them costing more than $3.00 per month.
They all offer excellent speeds and access to all your favorite sites, as well as top-class security features and privacy-friendly logging policies.
The Most Important Factors When We Review a Cheap VPN
- Excellent value for money
- Reliable and fast speeds
- Useful privacy features
- Works with Netflix
- Transparent, fair and privacy-focused logging policies
- Well-designed and easy to use apps
Wondering why you should trust our reviews? Take a look at How We Test VPNs
Read More Information on the Top 5 Best Cheapest VPN Services
Works with
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Sky, HBO, Torrenting, Kodi
Available on
The Bottom Line
Not only is NordVPN our overall second best VPN, it’s also incredibly good value for money on its longer plans.
Users benefit from great speeds, access to major streaming services and loads of privacy extras, not to mention it’s totally zero logs.
True, it’s not quite the premium experience you get with our more expensive #1 overall pick ExpressVPN, but it’s not far off.
Works with
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Sky, HBO, Torrenting
Available on
The Bottom Line
CyberGhost made its name as a budget provider and continues to provide top-class service at a very low price.
It’s a great choice if you’re looking for hassle-free access to sites like Netflix and BBC iPlayer, as well as secure torrenting.
It comes with loads of privacy extras and only collects anonymous usage stats, so it’s not bad on the security front either.
Works with
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Sky, HBO, Torrenting, Kodi
Available on
The Bottom Line
PrivateVPN offers an excellent all-round VPN experience that’s well-suited to beginners and experienced users alike.
Not only does it pack in a ton of advanced settings, it’s also great for streaming and comes with a zero-logs policy to boot.
One slight downside is the small, largely untested server network, but we’re yet to see any impact on performance.
Works with
Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Now TV, HBO, Sling TV, Torrenting, Kodi
Available on
The Bottom Line
Private Internet Access is by far the fastest VPN we’ve seen, and it doesn’t skimp when it comes to privacy either.
A minimal logging policy combined with high-end security features and access to Netflix makes it appealing in all areas.
The server network is a little smaller than we’d like but it’s excellent value for money, regardless.
Works with
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Sky, HBO, Torrenting, Kodi
Available on
The Bottom Line
Surfshark is a relatively unknown VPN that’s currently one of the cheapest premium providers we’ve tested.
It’s sleek, user-friendly, and users can expect reliable local speeds and consistent access to streaming services.
It offers a high level of privacy too, and a zero-logs policy combined with a privacy-friendly jurisdiction is reassuring.
How We Picked the Best Cheap VPNs
These top VPN services provide the best all-round VPN experience at the most reasonable monthly price.
Just because you pay less for a VPN doesn’t mean your performance should suffer. We test the speeds of all our recommendations to ensure they’ll provide a seamless online experience.
We also looked for transparent, privacy-friendly logging policies, as well as security essentials such as a VPN kill switch and protection against DNS leaks.
Providers also earned bonus points for easy access to streaming sites like Netflix and BBC iPlayer, as well as user-friendly apps for a wide range of devices.
How To Get the Cheapest VPN
Most VPN providers will have a few different pricing options but as a general rule, the longer you sign up for, the cheaper the monthly cost.
This means that the longer you’re willing to commit to, the more money you’ll save. Generally these come in the form of two or three-year plans, which could save you up to 80% (or even more in some cases). Just bear in mind you usually have to pay the full subscription cost upfront, though.
For the more dedicated bargain hunters, there’s also a handful of providers (such as KeepSolid VPN Unlimited) that offer ‘lifetime’ subscriptions. Obviously the saving will depend on how long you use it for, but usually anything longer than five years should save you a huge chunk of money.
Another way of reducing the monthly cost a little more is by using a discount coupon – these are available for most major providers.
How to Choose a Cheap VPN: 6 Tips
Cheaper VPNs can sometimes operate smaller server networks, so make sure you check all the available locations before you sign up.
Connecting to a server close to your physical location will ensure the best possible speeds, so ideally opt for a provider that at least has a server in your country (or one very close by).
Most VPNs will work on Microsoft Windows, MacOS and Linux machines, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices. However, if you want to use a VPN on anything different, such as a router, games console or streaming device, you need to be sure that the one you choose is compatible.
If a VPN can be installed at router level, it will automatically protect all of the internet-connected devices in your home, so look out for that. If you want to avoid manual configuration, keep an eye out for providers that sell pre-configured VPN routers.
There’s no point choosing a fast, secure VPN if it won’t allow you to access the apps and websites you use on a daily basis.
Not all providers will work with popular sites such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer, but we test all our top picks regularly and publish the results in the Streaming & Torrenting section of our independent VPN reviews.
Even if you’re pretty tech-savvy, the amount of VPN jargon on some providers’ websites can be overwhelming.
Key things to look for are a solid VPN protocol (preferably OpenVPN), top-class AES-256 encryption, and features such as a kill switch and protection against DNS and IPv6 leaks.
An alarming amount of providers claim to be totally zero logs, but unfortunately that is very rarely the case. Most VPNs need to collect at least some connection stats in order to maintain a decent level of performance.
This information is usually buried deep within your chosen provider’s privacy policy, but we look through these and summarise them in plain English in each review. Just look out for any personally identifiable data being collected, such as your true IP address.
A “no questions asked” money-back guarantee is essentially like a free trial period, as long as it genuinely is no questions asked and isn’t subject to any hidden bandwidth caps or ‘fair usage’ policies.
Most providers will offer a 30-day guarantee, which should be plenty to thoroughly test out the service, but hopefully you won’t need this at all.
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