Any one of these free trials would make an excellent choice. However, we’ve got to go with CyberGhost. You get a 24-hour trial on PC with no credit card or payment required, a three-day trial on iOS, and seven days on Android. If you sign up for a subscription, you’ll have a 45-day money-back guarantee. Contact 24/7 customer service live chat before the trial ends, and you’ll have your money back within five days. If “try before you buy” is the old adage, there’s no industry that makes it easier to do just that than VPNs. While there are plenty of monthlong money-back guarantees on the market, there are also some great VPNs that let you download them and take them for a spin with no credit card or payment required at all. If you use some of the tips and tricks from our recommendations below, you’ll even be able to try out a premium VPN for 52 days!
Quick Overview: The Best VPN Free Trials for 2023
Here is a quick overview of our top VPN free trials:
Difference Between a VPN Free Trial and Money-Back Guarantee
30-day money-back guarantees are pretty common in the VPN industry. Some reviewers (and even some VPN services) advertise them as “free trials.” For clarity, let’s outline these two trial approaches and how they differ:
A free VPN trial requires no upfront payment or commitment. In most cases, you will need to provide credit card details, or sign-up with a Google Play Store or Apple App Store account, where you already have credit card details on file. But it won’t cost anything. You just need to cancel before the trial period is up. A money-back guarantee is a promise that, barring extreme circumstances, you can get a refund on your payment in the allotted time (usually 30 days). But it does entail an initial payment for the VPN service.
Money-back guarantees are common for VPNs, and in 99% of cases, you’ll get your money back, no questions asked. So for this roundup, we considered both the actual trials and the money-back guarantees. Both can help you try an app for free. Both also offer full access to the VPN app’s features, like unlimited bandwidth, quick connections, a huge server network for changing your IP address, and privacy protection through advanced encryption.
The Six Best VPN Trials You Should Be Trying for Free
We’ve found that the best VPN free trial at the moment is CyberGhost. But all our other alternatives are excellent ways to try out a provider too. Let’s see how they all stand out.
1. CyberGhost: Best free trial VPN, no credit card required
Features:
No credit card required for the free trial Long money-back guarantee period (45 days) Top security and connection speeds
Not only is CyberGhost one of the best free trial VPNs, but also one of the best VPNs on the market. It has a massive network of over 8,800 servers, reliable connections, and outstanding privacy features. CyberGhost offers PC users a 24-hour free trial with no credit card required to sign-up. But you can get more if you sign-up from a mobile device. Android users get a three-day free trial, and iOS users get a seven-day free trial. Just remember that if you sign-up on mobile, your payment information is on file with the app store. You might get charged if you forget to cancel the subscription. If you sign up for a full-year subscription (or longer), you also get a 45-day money-back guarantee. That’s one of the longest money-back guarantees we’ve seen. With CyberGhost, you either get a VPN you like, or your money back after a month and a half of free service. For a full refund, you can use the 24/7 live chat feature on CyberGhost’s website. The agent will only ask why you want to quit. After that, your refund will be approved. The money will be returned to your account within five business days. To learn more about CyberGhost and what it offers, you can check out our full CyberGhost VPN review.
2. Surfshark: Affordable VPN with a long trial period (37 days!)
Features:
Credit card required for a free trial Affordable VPN provider Decent trial period of up to 37 days
Surfshark doesn’t have a free VPN trial for PC users. But you can try Surfshark for free for up to 37 days. They have a seven-day free trial for iOS, Android, and macOS. You just have to sign-up with one of those devices and try the tool for free for seven days. During this time, you can actually use Surfshark on your PC. Just sign-up on one of the other devices and then log in with your PC and you’re good to go. After the trial period ends, Surfshark offers several premium tiers, which come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. And if you contact Surfshark’s 24/7 live support, you can get your money back really fast. The agent will request your reason for the cancelation and provide an estimate of when you’ll receive your money back. All of this may seem a bit complicated. But if you want a lengthy VPN free trial with a top-tier service, Surfshark’s a smart choice. To learn more about this VPN and what it offers, you can check out our full Surfshark VPN review.
3. Private Internet Access (PIA): Best VPN free trial with the largest server network
Features:
Credit card required for the free trial Large server network Stable connection speeds for streaming, gaming, and even torrenting
PIA has over 17,000 servers, the largest network you’re going to find in a VPN service provider. This ensures you’ll get stable connections no matter where you are, and plenty of servers dedicated to specific activities, like streaming, torrenting, and more. And, of course, you can get a free trial for it. To get a PIA seven-day free trial, you’ll need an Android or iOS device. After you sign-up, you can use PIA on other devices during the free trial. It’s just the initial login that needs to be on the phone. Just remember to cancel the plan before the seven days. Both Google Play Store and the App Store have your card on file. If you don’t cancel, you’ll be charged. If you forget, you can still get your money back in the first 30 days. Just fill out a contact form and submit it to customer support. After around five to ten business days (possibly sooner), you’ll receive a full refund. To learn more about Private Internet Access and what it offers, you can check out our full Private Internet Access review.
4. NordVPN: A 30-day money-back guarantee for the best VPN on the market
Features:
Credit card required to try NordVPN The best VPN provider we’ve tested Lightning-fast connection speed
After our extensive reviews, we’ve found that NordVPN is hands-down the best VPN on the market. It has reliable connection speeds and a solid security package. It’s easy to use, and it’s not too expensive either. When we tested NordVPN, the drop in internet speed was negligible. This means you’ll be able to use it for streaming or online games without worrying about buffering or lag. NordVPN also has a strict no-logs policy and an all-around good security infrastructure. If you’re looking for anonymity, very few providers can top NordVPN. And the best part is that all NordVPN subscriptions come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. So you can basically use NordVPN for a month for free. Check out our full NordVPN review to check out its security and privacy protection features.
5. ExpressVPN: Best free VPN trial for streaming sites
Features:
Credit card details are required for the free trial Great at unblocking streaming platforms World-class security infrastructure
ExpressVPN is another juggernaut in the world of VPN services. It’s highly secure, fast, and it has over 3,000 servers across 94 different countries. While VPNs on this list can unblock US Netflix and other streaming services like HBO Max, Disney+, and Hulu, we’ve found ExpressVPN’s servers to be the most consistent in accessing websites that impose VPN blocks. In addition to top streaming speeds, you typically won’t have to hop servers in case an anonymous IP address has been flagged. You’ll have a combined 37 days of refundable time to test it to find out for yourself. The seven-day free trial option is exclusive to iOS and Android users. But ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee to everyone. So there are a lot of ways to try it for free. To get your refund, contact customer support within the 30-day period. It won’t take long before you see the money back in your bank account. To learn more about ExpressVPN and what it offers, you can check out our full ExpressVPN review.
6. IPVanish: Easy money-back guarantee, solid VPN
Features:
Credit card details required to try it Decent performance overall Works with US Netflix
IPVanish is a pretty solid VPN provider and offers an excellent trial period. It’s performed well in our speed reviews, and its 2,000+ servers have proven to be very stable and reliable. Not to mention, it has a well-organized app, it works with US Netflix, and it doesn’t throttle torrent download speed. So it’s still a good choice if you want to try a VPN at a bargain. IPVanish has a 30-day money-back guarantee, and it makes getting a refund in your first month of use much easier than other VPNs. They have an automated system for it, so you don’t have to get in contact with customer support. Just fill out a form, and wait for your money back. No questions asked. To learn more about IPVanish and its features, take a look at our full IPVanish review.
A Free Trial VPN vs. a Free VPN
Free VPNs might look like a great alternative to popular choices like CyberGhost, Surfshark, or PIA. But they’re not the same. Free VPNs aren’t going to give you access to as many features as free trials of popular VPNs. They usually have a limited server network, unstable connection speeds, and some can even keep logs of your activity. Free trials for VPNs provide access to a full premium service. Whereas a free VPN will only give you a fraction of what a paid plan offers. In fact, some free VPN options can trick you into thinking they’re safer and more reliable than they actually are. Nonetheless, there are good free VPNs out there if you’re looking to take that route. Especially if you get the free version of a premium VPN. Some of the best free VPN services for PC you’ll find are:
PrivadoVPN ProtonVPN Hide.Me TunnelBear Atlas VPN
While these are solid options, we recommend trying out a premium VPN to enjoy its full range of services and features, like CyberGhost, Surfshark, or ExpressVPN.
How to Get a Free Trial with CyberGhost
Ready to get your free trial going? Since CyberGhost offers the most options, we’ll show you how to get your free trial set up right away. If you have a PC, you can simply visit the CyberGhost website. Click on “VPN Apps” on the homepage, then “Windows VPN.” There will be an option to “try it free for 24h,” which requires no registration or payment to try out the software. Whether or not you’re interested in the 24-hour free run, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use CyberGhost free:
45-day money-back guarantee
Check out our full guide on getting a free trial from CyberGhost for more details. The process for getting a free trial will also be similar for our other picks, like ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark.
Choosing the Best VPN Free Trial
While many services offer free trial periods, some don’t give you ample time to use their services. Of course, not all VPNs are of the same quality, and some make it harder to get your money back than others. Here’s how we decided on our top picks.
Trial period and limitations
Some VPNs will actually let you use their full features and services, but with limited data — which means limited time. For example, if you’ve only got 200MB or 500MB of data to use, that can give you anywhere from an hour to mere minutes, depending on your online activities. Streaming HD, for example, would burn up 500MB of data in about 30 min. You need time, so we’ve selected VPNs that offer at least a week of free, unlimited service, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee. After you’ve used one of our picks for a month or more, you should be able to have a feel for their features extensively enough to go through with a purchase or move on to another VPN.
Speed and reliability of the VPN
Whether or not it’s free to try out, why bother with a VPN that’s too slow or doesn’t connect consistently? We’ve tested countless VPNs over the past five years and know how frustrating it can be to get stuck with a VPN that just doesn’t make the grade. In our recommendations for free trials, we’ve also taken the speed and reliability of their servers into consideration. You can take our word for it, but feel free to run your own speed tests. You can do this easily through a service such as Speedof.me or Speedtest.net. Just keep in mind that a lot can affect your VPN’s speed. This includes things like your own internet connection’s speed, the distance between you and the VPN server, and the VPN server load itself.
Protection while browsing the web
The web poses a lot of cybersecurity threats. Hackers, trackers and third-party snoops abound, and having your real IP address, login credentials, or any other details exposed can lead to a world of trouble. So we’ve also looked at what security features each VPN offers. You’ll want features like 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, ad blockers, and a strict no-logs policy. When you’re looking for free trials, you certainly don’t want to get mixed up with a VPN that provides subpar security from the get-go.
Customer support
Not all VPN trials — or VPN service providers, for that matter — offer 24/7 customer support. This isn’t a deal breaker in most cases, but it’s best to test how fast the response time is in addition to the help provided. You never know when you’ll run into an issue you can’t fix or questions you can’t answer. For this, you’ll want a high level of customer support. Since most free trials require communication with customer support to get your refund, you’ll also need reliable agents on call — something we’ve taken into consideration when coming up with this list.
VPN Free Trials You Should Avoid
Be cautious about the VPN free trial you sign-up for. There are a few free trials for VPNs out there that are either falsely advertised, hard to cancel, or even downright dangerous. Here are a couple of the VPN free trials you’d do well to avoid:
PureVPN: This VPN free trial may leak your IP and DNS query information. On top of this, PureVPN claims a strict no-logs policy, yet still provided records of users’ data to the FBI in a recent case request. If you’re concerned with privacy protection when using a VPN, you’ll want to steer clear. Ivacy: The issue with this VPN free trial is that it claims a 7-day free trial yet will still charge you a small fee to use it. In addition, once the trial period concludes, the service seems to automatically lock you into its most expensive tier. This practice seems a little unfair, and we suggest skipping this “free” trial and going with some others. Hola VPN: While this VPN offers a free service, it also has a 30-day money-back guarantee on its premium tiers. While getting your money back isn’t a problem, Hola VPN received one of our lowest-ranked security scores. It’s more of a proxy service than it is a VPN, and it logs all your activity while not providing suitable encryption. It’s best to avoid this one in general.
Best VPN Free Trials: Conclusion
The opportunity to take advantage of free online trials is waning. Unfortunately, many online streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ no longer offer them. Even some of the most popular news sites, like the New York Times or Washington Post, only let you read a few free articles per month before you have to subscribe. The VPN industry, however, has made it easier than ever to test out their services before you commit to buying anything. After testing dozens of VPN apps over the years, we can recommend trying out any of the excellent options below for free:
CyberGhost Surfshark Private Internet Access ExpressVPN NordVPN IPVanish
If you don’t mind fronting a credit card for a money-back guarantee, you could take all of our recommendations for a trial run for well over six months! That should be plenty of time to test out all the restriction-circumnavigating, privacy and security features they have to offer. Let us know which one worked best for you in the comments below!
