Best VPN Free Trials of 2020

We test the VPNs on this list regularly and update our pages to ensure that all the facts are correct. When it comes to free trials, we find out:

• If you need to sign-up with payment details
• If you have to cancel or does it expire automatically
• How long do you have using the free trial period
• If there are restrictions when using the free trial
• If it works with streaming services such as Netflix
• If the free trial is available on multiple devices
• If the money-back guarantee is risk-free

We decided to mix VPNs that offer genuine free trials with VPNs that offer money-back guarantees. They both serve the same function, but we recognise that some prefer a free trial to a money-back guarantee, and vice versa. There are pros and cons to both.

The main difference is that signing up to a VPN on a money-back guarantee basis, money comes out of your account. If you don’t cancel before the end of the refund period, you won’t be able to get your money back. However, unlike with many true free trials, there are no restrictions and you get a much longer amount of time to test the VPN service.

There are three methods to use VPNs for free:

• Downloading an entirely free VPN service
• Downloading specific VPN software from a VPN provider that offers a free trial
• Subscribing to a VPN service with a money-back guarantee

While they all let you test a VPN free of charge for a period of time, there are some important differences that you need to be aware of. 

First of all, most free VPNs should not be used or downloaded. We’ve done extensive independent research on the threats posed by the countless free VPNs available. They are often riddled with security flaws, share your data with third-parties and possible governments, or contain malware and viruses. 

The only free VPNs we recommend are those from reputable VPN providers, who offer a free VPN alongside a premium service. The downside is that they come with limitations and restrictions. They are lifetime services, though – you can use it for as long as you wan’t, if you don’t mind the restrictions. 

If you want to try out a complete and unrestricted VPN service, then your next best bet is true free trials. They can span from one day to seven days, but are rarely available longer than that. The five providers we recommend in this guide all come with genuine free trials. 

The final option is to sign up to a VPN service (this involves making payment), and then requesting your money-back within the refund period defined by the provider. This can range anywhere from a 7 days to 45 days.

Taking advantage of money-back guarantees lets you test a VPN service for much longer. However, unlike free trials, you must remember to cancel within the refund period, otherwise you won’t be able to recoup your money. Also, while most VPN services guarantee refunds, some providers reserve the right to deny a refund under some circumstances. 

To make sense of it all, here is a quick glossary:

Risk-Free: You’ll have to pay for the VPN service but you’re guaranteed a refund within a certain period, usually 30 days. There is no risk of your refund being refused. 

Money-Back guarantee: Same as above, but there may be certain restrictions outlined in the refund policy. 

Free VPN: A VPN service that is completely free to download and use without time restrictions. As explained above, free VPNs come with several other limitations and risks.

Genuine Free Trial: Many VPNs advertise “free trial” when they are in fact referring to risk free money-back guarantees. A true VPN free trial doesn’t any require payment details. Some genuine free trials do ask for payment details, but won’t take payment until the free trial period ends. 

In addition to the VPN services we recommend in this guide, there are several other providers offering genuine free trials. Here is a selection of safe-to-use VPN free trials:

• AirVPN (3-days)
• Astrill (7-days)
• AvastVPN (7-days)
• AVG VPN (7-days)
• CactusVPN (3-days)
• HideMyAss! (7-days)
• Hotspot Shield (7-days)
• ProtonVPN (7-days)
• SaferVPN (1-day)
• Zenmate (7-days)

All of the above VPN providers will not ask for payment information on signup.

Whether a VPN offers a free trial or not, you can find out by checking the VPN provider’s website. We also include this information in our detailed VPN reviews. 

Each VPN service will work differently. For example, AirVPN requires you to contact them so that they can send you an activation code for your free trial. Other VPN providers will have a dedicated ‘free trial’ page on their official website. 

If the VPN you’re interested in doesn’t offer a free trial, you can take advantage of its money-back guarantee promise. This means that you will have to sign up to the VPN, and the provider will take payment from you. However, if you cancel within the refund period, you will get your money back.

If you’re using a VPN free trial, it’s important to know how to cancel or even if you have to cancel. For many free trials, if you don’t cancel you may end up in a contract with the service provider.

Let’s look at how to do this depending on which free trial you have…

No Payment Details Required

If you’ve downloaded free trial software but not inserted any payment details on sign-up, you won’t need to do anything. The VPN provider will interrupt the service once the free trial period has ended.

In the case of ProtonVPN, you need to sign up to its free service before you can access the free trial with all the premium features. But once the premium trial ends, you’re automatically returned to the free service with no payment details ever required. 

Free Trial with Payment Details Required

Some free trials require you to submit payment information in order to use the service. It’s highly likely that these VPNs will require you to cancel. The VPNs that offer genuine free trials but also require payment details include:

• HideMyAss
• Hotspot Shield
• NordVPN
• Surfshark

If you’re using a free trial on any of these VPNs you will need to contact support and cancel before the period is up. Some will allow you to cancel in-app, but it’s worth double-checking before signing up.

VPN Subscription with Money-Back Guarantee

If a VPN provider takes payment from you in order to use its service within a money-back guarantee period, this is usually called a “risk free” trial. In this case, you need to get in touch to get your money back. You are essentially buying the service for a specific timeframe. 

There are many ways to do this, but the best and quickest way is to contact a provider’s live chat support, simply stating that you want to cancel the service and get a full refund. 

Many VPNs say that there are ‘no questions asked’ if they receive a refund request. Some may however ask for a specific reason for cancelling (such as Surfshark), or if there is something they can do to keep you. Just politely express dissatisfaction, and the VPN service will start a refund process. 

If the VPN provider doesn’t have live chat, send them an email or any other contact method publicized by the VPN provider. We’ve found that the refund process is often extremely easy and very quick across most VPN providers, but there are examples of it being otherwise. 

You should bear in mind that while most do honor money-back guarantees, sometimes a VPN provider will refuse. However, this is an exceptional occurrence and is dependent on whether you’ve misused the service in some serious way. 

Although there are also less serious reasons. For example, Hide.me reserves the right to deny cancellations on the basis that you have “not consumed a significant amount of your transfer data”.

It’s always worth checking out the terms and conditions, but we also highlight whether a refund policy is particularly strict in our individual VPN reviews.

Many people want a VPN to watch Netflix. But what if you only want to watch a particular series and not invest in an entire VPN subscription? A free trial is an excellent way to give you access to Netflix libraries across the globe without any of the commitments. More than that, a free trial allows you to test whether a VPN will work if Netflix in the first place!

As not all of them work, so you shouldn’t pick just any. We’ve tested the VPN free trials with Netflix and recommend that you try out:

• CyberGhost
• ExpressVPN
• NordVPN

For this use case, we recommend taking advantage of the money-back guarantees that numerous VPNs offer. This way you get much more time than a free trial limited from anywhere between one day to seven days. You won’t have to binge a long series in a short time this way.

CyberGhost, ExpressVPN and NordVPN all work to unblock and stream Netflix. However, CyberGhost’s 1-day free trial restricts you from using its streaming servers, so we recommend its 45-day money-back guarantee option for Netflix.

If you’re interested in a free trial and are put off by the short duration but don’t want to use your credit card either, you could always consider completely free VPN services and essentially have a free trial for a lifetime.

There are a few good and safe free VPNs that offer a completely free, independent service, including:

• Avira Phantom 
• Hide.me
• ProtonVPN
• TunnelBear
• Windscribe

These are the safest and best free VPNs we recommend. The very best free VPN at the moment is Windscribe.

They do come with various limitations though, such as slower speeds, monthly data caps, and restricted access to streaming platforms and server locations. This means you won’t get a full VPN experience, even if you can use it for as long as you want.