Best cheap VPN services 2020

To be the best VPN service doesn’t mean you can’t also be the cheapest VPN service. There are a lot of VPN providers out there offering plans at a variety of different price points, some of which even have free VPN plans. Normally, when it comes to services and subscriptions the best ones are on the more expensive side, but when it comes to VPNs that isn’t the case.

You don’t have to go broke each month or pay a huge upfront cost to get a great VPN, some of the best VPNs are actually pretty cheap, seriously.

Today’s Best Cheap VPNs For You

• Surfshark: Less than $2 per month
• NordVPN: As low as $3.49 per month
• IPVanish: Starting at $3.25 per month
• Hotspot Shield: Under $3 per month
• ExpressVPN: 49% off + 3 mo. free

You’ll want to weigh out all your options here, but when it comes to cheap VPNs that are really affordable, we recommend Surfshark VPN for a number of reasons. At under $2 per month it’s really hard to beat what it offers, so be sure to follow along below for more!

You’d be surprised just how many cheap VPN services there are. For less than the price of a cup of coffee per month you can protect your entire month’s worth of browsing. To get the best deal on some of these you’ll need to sign up for an annual subscription or prepay for a few years at once, but at the prices they are listed for it’s well worth it.

There are a lof of affordable VPN services, and we’ve rounded up all the best cheap VPNs in one place to make it easier for you. Here are our favorites, and the best you’ll find.

Surfshark VPN | Under $2 per month

• Number of servers: 1,000+
• Server Locations: 60+
• Max Supported Devices: Unlimited
• IP Addresses: N/A

There is no limit to the number of devices you can connect at once, and with servers all around the globe it’s easy to keep your account safe and still access everything you want to see.

Surfshark VPN is a British Virgin Islands-based VPN provider that offers AES-256 encryption, a kill switch, DNS leak protection, and Double Hop capability to keep security in its DNA.

Don’t let the cute name fool you, Surfshark is ready to compete with all the other providers head to head. With over 1,000 servers spread across 60 different locations you can use its services for everything you’d normally think of. There are no limits in place as to how many devices you can have connected at the same time for each subscription, and the apps are super easy to use.

Surfshark stripped out the extra fluff in its apps to make them super easy to understand and navigate. The company doesn’t keep any user logs or histories.

It’s one of the best Android VPNs and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, giving you enough time to try it out and see if it’s the VPN service for you or not.

Pros:

• Priced from just $1.99/mo
• Over 1,000 servers available
• Company based in British Virgin Islands
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons:

• Privacy policy wording is vague

Surfshark VPN

From $1.99 per month at Surfshark

Unlike most other VPN services, Surfshark has zero restrictions on how many devices you can connect with. There’s even a 30-day money-back guarantee just in case you’re unhappy with the service.

NordVPN | From $3.49 per month

• Number of servers: 5,600+
• Server Locations: 60+
• Max Supported Devices: 6
• IP Addresses: N/A

Recent security concerns have bruised the NordVPN name a bit, but it’s still a great VPN service that is worth your consideration.

It may not be the absolute cheapest option, but the deal that NordVPN is running right now makes it quite a compelling option. Pricing for the service starts at just $3.49 per month, but right now when you sign up for the 3-year plan you can get up to an extra year of VPN service for free, which brings that actual cost down pretty significantly.

A recent bit of news revealed that back in 2018 one of the company’s servers was compromised. After investigating it, and the confirmation from Nord, it was understood that it was a single server with limited information being obtained. There’s a lot at play here beyond just Nord’s involvement, and our pals at TechRadar have a great breakdown, so be sure to check that out.

Aside from that, NordVPN offers some really compelling features that would make you want to use it. There are more than 5,600 servers available that are spread around over 60 different countries and Nord makes use of 2048-bit encryption, which exceeds what others are doing.

The company also offers a kill switch, apps for all the popular platforms, DNS leak protection, and more. You can use it to easily circumvent geo-restrictions with a built-in feature that makes it easy to conenct to the right server location.

You can sign up and pay monthly, but the way to get the best deal is to just go all-in on the three year plan, which is just $3.49 per month.

Pros:

• Recognized name
• Nearly 6,000 servers
• 2048-bit encryption
• Multiple plan options

Cons:

• Recent security breach

NordVPN

From $3.49 per month at NordVPN

NordVPN is one of our favorites, in part because of its near-6,000 servers that cover the world in over 60 countries. Its 2048-bit encryption is pretty unique, and compelling deals mean you could even score a year of service for free.

IPVanish | Priced from $3.25 each month

• Number of servers: 1,300+
• Server Locations: 50+
• Max Supported Devices: 10
• IP Addresses: N/A

When it comes to IPVanish, it falls inline feature wise with many of the other providers, but comes in a little bit cheaper than some of the others.There are more than 1,300 servers spread across 50 different countries and it offers up to 10 simultaneous connections on a single account.

It is a US-based provider, which some people may not like, but IPVanish does not keep logs or any other information on its users. There are apps for all major platforms and it’s very easy to use.

Pros

• 1,300+ servers in 50+ countries
• Reliable, speedy service
• Apps for all major platforms
• 10 simultaneous connections
• Free cloud storage

Cons

• Only 7-day money-back guarantee
• U.S.-based

Invisibility cloak

IPVanish

With its current deal, IPVanish is fairly-priced for its average feature set. It’s the best deal we’ve seen on it for a while, especially with the added cloud storage, though it only has a 7-day money-back guarantee.

$3.25 at IPVanish

Hotspot Shield VPN | Starting at $2.99 per month

• Number of servers: 2,500+
• Server Locations: 70+
• Max Supported Devices: 5
• IP Addresses: N/A

It’s our top pick for free VPNs for several reasons, but Hotspot Shield also makes it to the list for the best cheap VPN service on the paid side.

We had a few complaints when looking at Hotspot Shield as the best free VPN service, but almost every one of them gets solved when you pony up a few dollars each month and pay to use it. It comes in as one of the best cheap VPN providers for a few reasons, from unlimited bandwidth and devices to the 24/7 customer support.

There are over 2,500 servers in more than 70 locations across the world. You can connect up to five devices at the same time, and it’s completely ad-free. There is no data logging with Hotspot Shield, and the only major lacking things are OpenVPN support and Bitcoin for payments.

This is one that you’ll want to try out for just under $3 per month.

Pros:

• Great customer support
• Unlimited bandwith each month
• Over 2,500 servers
• Great free plan available

Cons:

• No longer supports OpenVPN protocol

Hotspot Shield VPN

From $2.99 per month at Hotspot Shield

If you’re looking for a free VPN to use, look no further. Hotspot Shield VPN is our #1 free pick for a myriad of reasons, and you can even upgrade to a paid membership at any time

ExpressVPN | $6.67 per month for 15 months

• Number of servers: 3,000+
• Server Locations: 160
• Max Supported Devices: 5
• IP Addresses: 30,000

While it may not be perfect, it offers you excellent speeds, a reliable connection, customer service that’s always available, and an app that you will understand how to use.

ExpressVPN combines the best of nearly all worlds and features when it comes to VPNs, but that comes at a price to you. It’s definitely more expensive than the other services out there by about double each month, but it’s also one of the most reliable offerings that we’ve tested with the fastest and most consistent speeds.

The service is easy to use and the mobile apps are super friendly. ExpressVPN offers 24/7 customer support so should you run into any issues, you can get them resolved pretty easily.

When it comes to downsides, there’s not much to complain about. The service checks a lot of the key boxes for what most VPN users will care about and want, though it does charge a bit of a premium for it. The pricing structure is higher than some of the competition, but using our link you can actually save up to 49% on your first year of service, along with an extra three months free. Remember, ExpressVPN gives you a free 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you don’t find it valuable or just can’t figure it out, you can always get your money back with ease.

Be sure to read our full ExpressVPN review and get started for yourself below.

Pros:

• Servers in 160 locations
• 100 Mbps download speed
• Great customer support
• Works with almost every device & browser

Cons:

• More expensive than others

ExpressVPN

See latest pricing at ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is nearly unbeatable. This is our favorite paid VPN for providing speed, reliability, and outstanding customer service. It’s certainly not the most affordable option, but if you’re looking for the best of the best, ExpressVPN is it.

What should I look for in a cheap VPN?

When looking at the various best cheap VPN options, you’ll want to look at a few different pieces of the puzzle to find the best offering. You’ll want something that offers fast, consistent speeds and has great customer service. The whole “you get what you pay for” thing doesn’t always hold true, especially with this list. The cheapest is one of the best here, and you can’t go wrong with it.

Make sure that there are servers in lots of locations so that you can connect to the ones you need. Otherwise, give them a look, try some of them out, and see which one works out best for you.

When should you upgrade your VPN?

Moving from a free VPN to a cheap VPN is a great option for many people. Paid VPNs tend to offer improved features, but unfortunately cheap VPN plans aren’t the best for everyone. You may notice that the plans don’t offer enough data for you each month or that you need the ability to connect more devices at the same time than the plan offers. That’s a good indicator that it’s time to upgrade to something else.

If you happen to be a business user, you’ll want to check out our top business VPN picks.