How Much Does a VPN Cost?

Below is a table comparing the prices of the top 15 VPN services we’ve reviewed and rated:

VPN Service	Price (per month)	Length of Plan	Money-Back Guarantee	Our Ranking
ExpressVPN	$6.67	15 months	30 days	#1
NordVPN	$3.30	24 months	30 days	#2
CyberGhost	$2.25	36 months	45 days	#3
IPVanish	$3.20	12 months	30 days	#4
Surfshark	$2.49	27 months	30 days	#5
PrivateVPN	$1.98	24 months	30 days	#6
PIA	$2.08	24 months	30 days	#7
Windscribe	$4.08	12 months	3 days	#8
ProtonVPN	$4.00	24 months	30 days	#9
VPNArea	$2.99	36 months	30 days	#10
Astrill	$10.00	12 months	N/A	#11
HideMyAss	$2.99	36 months	30 days	#12
VPN.ac	$3.75	24 months	7 days	#13
FastestVPN	$1.11	36 months	15 days	#14
Hide.me	$4.99	26 months	30 days	#15

^{A money-back guarantee is similar to a free trial, but you need to pay for the duration of the subscription first and then claim a refund.}

As the table above shows, price isn’t always an accurate indicator of quality within the VPN market.

That said, the best VPNs simply aren’t free. You should expect to pay a modest monthly fee to protect your privacy, security, and freedom online.

Based on the cheapest price for each of our top 15 VPNs, the average monthly cost of a VPN is $3.96. Paying for a month at a time, the average price rises to $11.32

To get the best deal on a VPN, you’ll almost always need to commit to at least a 12-month contract, and often payable up front.

Purchasing a VPN can therefore feel like quite an investment, so it’s worth doing your research.

Luckily, we’ve done the hard work for you. We regularly test and review over 68 VPN services, all listed in our VPN reviews section.

Alternatively, see our list of the best VPNs overall, which have excelled in our multiple VPN tests.

If you’re not willing to commit to a long-term subscription, there’s also the option of paying on a rolling monthly basis.

For an overview of the most affordable VPNs, read our list of the best cheap VPNs.

Below is a table comparing the VPNs with the cheapest month-to-month prices:

VPN Service	Single Month Cost	Netflix US	Works in China	Our Ranking
Mullvad	$5.80	Yes*	Unreliable	#19
AzireVPN	$6.08	Unreliable	No	#23
CactusVPN	$6.99	Yes	Unreliable	#26
AirVPN	$8.33	No	Yes	#21
PrivateVPN	$8.49	Yes	Yes	#6
Trust.Zone	$8.88	Unreliable	Unreliable	#27
Windscribe	$9.00	Yes	Unreliable	#8
VPN.ac	$9.00	Yes	Yes	#13

^{* Only Mullvad’s US servers in San Jose and Charlotte unblock Netflix.}

Pay-as-You-Go Plans

Mullvad is unique among VPN services in that it doesn’t offer any long-term subscription plans. You simply pay a fee of $5.80 each month, which you can cancel anytime.

As you can read in our Mullvad review, the VPN is one of the most privacy-conscious services we’ve tested. You can even pay for it in cash to maximize your anonymity.

Be aware, though, that Mullvad isn’t great for streaming, and it doesn’t work reliably in China or other high-censorship countries. It is, however, an excellent VPN for torrenting and P2P file-sharing.

If you’re not ready to commit to a long-term plan, another option is to try a VPN for free by taking advantage of a free trial or money-back guarantee.

The main difference between a true free trial and a money-back guarantee is whether or not you have to make a payment first.

Many VPN free trials, such as PrivateVPN, don’t require submitting payment details up front, so testing the service carries no financial risk.

100% Free VPNs

There’s also the option of using a completely free VPN that won’t cost you anything, ever.

Sadly, most free VPNs do little or nothing to safeguard your online privacy, and some are a greater risk to your safety than not using a VPN at all.

For example, Hola VPN collects huge amounts of data on all its users and even lets other people in the network use your IP address for their own activity.

Like a worrying number of so-called free VPNs, Hola isn’t actually a true VPN. It’s a network of proxy servers that falsely advertises itself as a VPN service, but won’t deliver the levels of privacy, security, and freedom expected from a VPN.

That being said, there are selected good free VPNs. They come with drawbacks, such as data limits and slow speeds, but at least they are safe to use.