is there a free online vpn?

If you want no data cap on a free plan

Proton VPN Free is the free plan of Swiss-based Proton VPN, with apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and Chrome. Proton says the free plan has no data, time or speed limits, shows no ads and does not log your activity. The catch is 1 device only, so if you use a laptop and a phone, you choose which one is covered. Proton also lists its full network of 140+ countries, streaming support and its NetShield ad-blocker as premium features, so you give up reach and extras in return for having no cap. Proton's paid prices did not load in the page we could read.

If you want nothing to install and no account

Opera Free VPN is built into the Opera browser on desktop and mobile, and you do not need an account. Opera says it is completely free, forever, with no bandwidth limits, data caps or ads. It covers Opera browsing, not the whole device, so anything outside the browser is not protected; for that, Opera points to its paid VPN Pro, with 48 locations, whose price is not stated on the free VPN page. You also choose from only three locations, the US, Singapore and the Netherlands, which matters if you need a specific country.

If you want more free data on a capped plan

Windscribe gives you 10GB of data every month once you sign up and confirm your email. It has apps for routers and TVs as well as computers, phones and browsers. The cost is the cap itself and the email step. Its upgrade page marks 10 of its listed countries as free locations, the UK among them, so check the list before you rely on it for anything location-specific.

Free VPNs make you hand over something, whether that's a data cap or an email address, and a link is the same sort of gamble. Before you click one from a stranger, there are sites that will check if a link is safe. The page covers three of them, and why a clean result from VirusTotal still isn't a guarantee, because it only gathers other vendors' verdicts.

If you want a fallback when the data runs out

PrivadoVPN Free, from Switzerland-based PrivadoVPN, gives you 10 GB every 30 days and says that if you go over, you can connect to one of its free emergency servers. That safety net is its main appeal. What you give up is 1 device on a free account, only a handful of server locations, and the cap. Unlimited data and 10 devices are paid features, and the paid prices we could read had no currency shown beside them, so we have not quoted them.

If you just want to try a VPN

TunnelBear describes its free plan as for testing and limited usage, with 2GB of secure browsing. It has apps for iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows. The 2GB is small next to the 10GB from Windscribe and PrivadoVPN, and TunnelBear's page does not say whether the 2GB resets. Country selection is listed under the paid Unlimited plan.

When paying is worth it

Each free plan gives something up. Proton trades devices for no cap. Opera trades whole-device coverage for convenience. The capped plans differ a lot: 10GB a month on Windscribe and PrivadoVPN against 2GB on TunnelBear.

Pay when you need more than one device, or more data than a free cap allows. Windscribe's yearly plan is US$69 (US$5.75 a month), or US$9.00 if you pay monthly, and its Build A Plan costs US$1 per location per month, with a US$3 minimum, each location adding 10GB. TunnelBear's Unlimited plan is shown as from US$3.33 a month, in US dollars. Proton's and PrivadoVPN's paid prices did not load in full for us, so we are not quoting them.

A free VPN has to pay for its bandwidth somehow. Opera advises that when an unfamiliar third party offers a free service, you ask how it pays for bandwidth, whether its no-log policy has survived an external audit, and why it needs an account. Those questions apply to any free VPN you install, including the ones on this page.

No-log promises are the vendors' own claims. Proton says it never logs activity, and Opera says its no-log policy is independently audited by Deloitte. Those are statements from the companies, not something we confirmed.

Device limits are easy to miss. Proton and PrivadoVPN both allow 1 device on a free account, so a second phone or laptop needs a paid plan or a different free VPN.