Subscribing to a VPN isn’t the easiest thing to do for many people. And while going for a long-term plan drastically drops the price and allows for some fantastic savings, many people aren’t keen on shelling out their hard-earned money before testing the VPN first. Today, we’re talking about the best VPN free trial in 2024. While very few providers offer this option, many of them have an unconditional money-back guarantee, which is very similar, as it lets you use the VPN for a particular period and get a refund, not losing any money in the process.
A free trial VPN is an excellent option for testing out the service, seeing how well it works for you, and whether or not you’re satisfied with its security and privacy. After that, you will feel confident to buy it or avoid it based on the level of satisfaction you got from it.
So, what are the best VPNs with a free trial in 2024? Well, let’s talk about them in the following article and see which providers our team recommends.
VPN Free Trial & Money-Back Guarantee: What Is the Difference?
Okay, so before talking about our top 5 favorite VPNs with free trials, let’s first clarify a few things. Many providers offer what’s called a money-back guarantee, with very few of them offering actual free trials. Now, you will ask – what’s the difference?
The difference is that, with a free trial, you get to use the product and then pay after the free trial period ends. With a money-back guarantee, you have to pay first but you have the luxury of getting a refund in a particular, usually 30-day period.
Today’s article will consist of providers that offer both free trials and a money-back guarantee because, at the end of the day, these two are very similar. Actually, free trials are usually way shorter than a money-back guarantee, so the latter ends up being somewhat better.
A money-back guarantee can go up to 45 days, and even 60 days in some instances, whereas, a free trial is usually limited to a week or so. That said, today’s options are combining the two commodities, allowing you to get both of them as per your needs.
Best VPN Free Trials: The Top 5 Services in 2024
With our lengthy introduction out of the way, I think it’s the right time to talk about the subject matter. I prepared 5 high-quality VPNs for today that represent the pinnacle of this industry. The services you see below are the absolute best providers your money can buy, so let’s talk about them more.
1. NordVPN
Pros
- A 7-day free trial on Android
- Double VPN
- Threat Protection on all devices
- Support for Onion over VPN
- Ad blocker thanks to Web Protection
- Limitless streaming and torrenting
Cons
- Expensive 1-month plan
- A free trial is available only on Android
NordVPN is the largest, most popular VPN provider on the planet. A NordVPN free trial is, therefore, a great option to introduce yourself to this tech giant and start using it right away with no risk of losing money. What does it offer exactly? For the start, you get a 7-day free trial on Android.
The provider doesn’t have any more free trial offers but you do get a 30-day money-back guarantee for ALL plans, even the monthly one. This allows you to use NordVPN for free for 30 days, get a refund before the period expires, and not lose a single dollar.
NordVPN is a serious service with plenty of features, all described in our NordVPN review. The provider offers 6,500+ blazing-fast, 10 Gbps servers with full support for NordLynx. In addition, it offers a myriad of dedicated servers for torrenting and going on the dark web.
Its obfuscated servers are amazing as well, as they allow for bypassing censorship in China. Plus, there are Double VPN servers for doubling your encryption and increasing your security online. NordVPN stores no logs and has 3 security audits to back that up.
Its apps are modern-looking and available for all platforms and devices. We found NordVPN capable of lag-free gaming thanks to its Meshnet feature. It also sports Smart DNS for streaming on gaming consoles, as well as Private DNS for eliminating third-party DNS servers from the game.
I like NordVPN’s attention to security, as it packs 256-bit encryption with an automatic kill switch, split tunneling, and even Threat Protection Pro. The latter is very interesting due to the presence of antivirus, malware protection, and a formidable ad blocker.
NordVPN’s servers are extremely fast and you’ll enjoy streaming, torrenting, and everything else to a full extent. It’s simple to use and requires no previous knowledge. However, if you need help, its 24/7 support through live chat will help you out in the true fashion of a premium service.
To take advantage of the free trial of one of the best VPNs in 2024, click here:
Take Advantage of NordVPN’s Free Trial
2. ExpressVPN
Pros
- Offers a 7-day free trial
- Servers in 160 worldwide locations
- The fastest speeds
- No-logging policy audited by PwC
- Ad-blocker on iOS/Android
- A 30-day money-back guarantee for all plans
Cons
- Quite expensive
- Not very feature-packed
Let’s advance this list with ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN is one of my favorite services when it comes to a VPN free trial. This provider comes with a 7-day free trial for iOS and Android users, allowing you to use the service without paying a dime.
However, I found its 30-day money-back guarantee more attractive because it’s more than 4 times longer! Yes, you have to pay in this case but ExpressVPN has a huge 48% discount and 3 free months for the annual plan, which makes it an extremely attractive option for saving money that you’ll get back either way.
ExpressVPN packs 3,000+ servers in 105 countries and offers the Lightway protocol. This makes the service among the fastest VPNs in 2024, suitable for torrenting, streaming, and general browsing. ExpressVPN free trial is a great option because of the security you get.
Thanks to 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, and RAM-only servers, browsing the web anonymously will be a breeze. Plus, the service packs a full-fledged no-logs policy audited by PwC, ensuring your personal data remains unknown to the public eye.
ExpressVPN is very easy to use. You just take advantage of its free trial or money-back guarantee, install the app, and connect to a server. To get your money back, simply contact its support through live chat and they’ll refund you pretty much immediately.
A 7-day free trial on iOS/Android is awesome as well. ExpressVPN’s iOS and Android VPN apps are amazing, as they pack all the security features and even an ad-blocker for added convenience. ExpressVPN has no particular downsides either, except for the fact that you don’t get Multi-hop servers.
However, that shouldn’t be an issue, as we’re talking about a reliable service with the best track record in the industry. And today, you can use its VPN risk-free on any platform, so is there a better way of introducing yourself to this giant? I don’t think so!
Use ExpressVPN for 30 Days Risk-Free
3. CyberGhost
Pros
- Several free trial options
- A whopping 45-day money-back guarantee
- 256-bit AES encryption with IP/DNS leak protection
- RAM-only servers
- Great for torrenting and streaming
Cons
- It will not work in China and Iran
- A short 1-day free trial on desktop platforms
CyberGhost is another of the best VPNs with a free trial in 2024. While not better than NordVPN, this service has a lot going on. First of all, it offers a 1-day free trial for desktop users. Then, you get a 3-day trial on Android, a 7-day trial on iOS, and a 45-day money-back guarantee for long-term VPN plans.
If you get CyberGhost’s plan longer than one month, you get a whopping 45-day refund period so that you can use the provider risk-free during this time. The service offers a 14-day money-back guarantee for its monthly plan, which, I think, isn’t particularly attractive.
Speaking of attractiveness, this provider surely bears this attribute proudly. It packs 12,000+ servers in more than 100 countries with special streaming and torrenting servers. NoSpy servers are here too and they’ll increase your privacy through improved security and encryption.
CyberGhost is a no-log service with an audit from Deloitte, plus, it offers transparency reports every 3 months to increase its trustworthiness. I found CyberGhost VPN extremely capable of streaming and thanks to the WireGuard protocol, you can expect amazing speeds throughout.
Another perk of CyberGhost lies in its Private DNS and RAM-only servers, both of which will do wonders for keeping your personal data safe. Not to mention CyberGhost’s dedicated IP address which you can buy for a cheap price in multiple countries.
This is accompanied by its optional antivirus that you can use on Windows to prevent potential infections. CyberGhost is one of the best free trial VPN services out there, as it offers 24/7 live chat support in several languages.
This makes it easy to get its free trial or a refund if you want to go the money-back guarantee route. Either way, the VPN service offers plenty of trials for different devices and is the only provider on this list to offer a desktop free trial, which users will find very handy.
4. Surfshark
Pros
- A 30-day money-back guarantee for all plans
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
- It works in China thanks to NoBorders
- Solid performer for streaming, gaming, and torrenting
Cons
- Its performance could be improved
- Occasional kill switch problems in the past
- Antivirus and Dark Web Monitor are paid additionally
Surfshark is a Dutch VPN that’s also a very decent VPN for this country. However, that’s not the topic today. Today, I want to present this awesome free VPN trial for 2024 that packs quite a punch. Surfshark offers a risk-free 7-day trial for mobile users – iOS and Android.
If you’re on desktop platforms, you don’t get a free trial but you can enjoy a 30-day money-back guarantee. This is as good, if not better because you get 30 days of risk-free use with the ability to get a full refund in the first 30 days.
Surfshark comes with unlimited simultaneous connections coupled with easy-to-use apps. It offers 3,200 servers in 100 countries globally, with a focus on privacy, security, and accessing geo-restricted websites and platforms anywhere.
It’s indeed capable of streaming on BBC iPlayer and Hulu but I also want to mention its P2P-friendliness and support for Tor Over VPN. Additionally, Surfshark has MultiHop, which doubles your encryption and gives you another IP for increased privacy.
This provider offers split tunneling as well, and you get protocols like OpenVPN and WireGuard. Most notably, it has a NoBorders mode which is great for circumventing censorship in China. An IP Rotator is also here, which rotates your IP periodically and makes you untraceable.
Surfshark’s automatic kill switch makes its return, alas, it isn’t the best, as the service has some issues with it from time to time. While not the fastest VPN by any means, Surfshark is reasonably stable and offers solid performance for all online activities – gaming included.
Surfshark offers an incredible experience for the money. It’s among the cheapest services on this list, yet, it packs quite a punch and beats some of its more expensive rivals. Is it the best free trial VPN in 2024? Well, it’s pretty close to that, so check it out right now!
5. Private Internet Access
Pros
- It’s very affordable in the long run
- Port forwarding is supported
- Unlimited simultaneous connections per subscription
Cons
- The desktop app needs serious improvements
- Streaming isn’t the best with this provider
- It could benefit from faster speeds
The final VPN free trial offer for today is Private Internet Access – let’s call it PIA. PIA is an underrated service that offers a 7-day free trial for mobile (iOS/Android) users and a 30-day money-back guarantee, both of which can be combined.
You can, therefore, get up to 37 days of risk-free use without losing a single dollar. PIA comes with 30,000 servers worldwide and provides plenty of security features. This service offers 256-bit encryption with a kill switch, WireGuard support, and something called PIA MACE.
This is a valuable ad blocker that eliminates ads and pop-ups effortlessly. Additionally, PIA VPN offers a no-logging policy proven in court multiple times, and despite being based in the US, it’s incredibly secure. This service is a sister company of ExpressVPN and CyberGhost.
Thus, you can expect it to adhere to its bold security claims. PIA VPN is capable of torrenting and I like its SOCKS5, Shadowsocks, and port forwarding support. The provider even offers obfuscation, which allows it to bypass censorship in some countries – not China, though.
My complaint about PIA VPN lies in its clunky app on Windows and the fact that it’s not the best for streaming. However, this is remedied by stable connections with RAM-only servers and 10 Gbps speeds, allowing for smooth browsing and HD streaming.
Private Internet Access offers unlimited simultaneous connections and 24/7 live chat support that’s incredibly useful. Overall, this is a fantastic VPN free trial that you can use today without any risks. It’s easy to use as well and the whole subscription process lasts a minute or two.
That said, I suggest using the button below to get its cheapest deal. It’s the most affordable choice on this list, so if this is your main criteria, I think you’ll be pleased with what it has to offer, as long as you don’t expect it to be on the level of NordVPN or ExpressVPN, which it certainly isn’t.
How Did We Choose the Best Free Trial VPNs?
The point of this list wasn’t only to give you random VPNs with a free trial. We wanted to provide you with the creme de la creme of the VPN industry. Apart from possessing a free trial, our criteria for these providers included:
- Security. That’s mandatory for keeping online activities private. Features like AES-256 encryption, modern protocols, and RAM servers are in all VPNs. These services won’t leak your IP/DNS, ensuring the highest level of security at any moment.
- Privacy. Free trial VPNs from our list have audited no-logging policies. For your info, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and other VPNs have AT LEAST 2-3 audits under their belts.
- Unlimited traffic. None of the VPNs will limit your internet usage. You’ll be able to do anything you want online and not worry about spending all of the allowed traffic. Simply put, your possibilities will be limitless.
- Streaming/torrenting. You’ll be happy with our VPNs’ streaming and P2P servers. They work with a wealth of streaming services and allow for safe and secure torrenting. Pretty much all you need for additional entertainment.
- Device support. Whether you need a VPN for Android TV, smartphone, tablet, PC, or laptop, these VPNs will keep you covered. Surfshark and PIA even have unlimited simultaneous connections to protect all your devices.
- Ease of use. Do you want to connect to a server with one click or tap on the screen? Pick any free trial VPN and do that! Yes, they’re that simple to use even for the most “hardcore” beginners who never saw a VPN.
VPN Free Trials Benefits
Spending your money on a VPN feels like an investment, especially if you’re tight on a budget. That’s why many people look for VPN free trials to ensure their money isn’t spent in vain. The key benefit of this commodity is the ability to ensure you’re getting the right product.
A free trial lets you test out the provider’s features and functionalities and see whether or not you like them or find them useful. It’s one thing to read a review online but completely another thing to test the service yourself and see how it works.
Also, a free trial allows you to ensure the VPN service is compatible with your device or group of devices. You’ll be able to see if and how well it works with your phone, tablet, PC, laptop, or any other platform. All in all, the main goal is to test the service without losing money before buying it.
And, as you can guess, the best free trial VPN allows you to do exactly that. A similar thing could be said about a money-back guarantee, and although you have to pay for the service first, you’re eligible for a refund later on, which ends up being the same.
How to Get a VPN Free Trial
Now that you have 5 top-notch VPNs that you can test risk-free in 2024, the question is how to get a VPN free trial. I recently talked about how to use ExpressVPN for free for 30 days and the same principle applies here, so let’s discuss it more in-depth.
Getting a Free Trial
The first thing you might want to know is how to get a free trial in the literal sense of that phrase. The #1 condition is that the VPN provider you want actually offers a trial – thankfully, all services on this list offer it, albeit on mobile devices.
For this example, I’ll use NordVPN. NordVPN offers a 7-day free trial on Android and to get it, simply download the app from Google Play. Then, follow these steps:
- Open the app.
- Select “Start 7-Day Free Trial.”
- Confirm the purchase in the app. The payment will not start immediately but after the free trial period expires. This means you’ll have to provide your payment info or simply pay directly through Google Play.
- Once the subscription is complete, allow the VPN connection in Settings to make it work.
- Connect to a server of your choice and enjoy the benefits of a VPN.
Beware that the free trial can be canceled at any time during the first 7 days. If you fail to cancel it in this period, you’ll get charged but there’s a 30-day refund period as well, so if you don’t want to use it anymore, you can get reimbursed.
A free trial on NordVPN – or any other VPN service on this list – is available with mobile signups. However, once you sign up and get a free trial, you can use your subscription on other devices as well. The key, therefore, is to sign up using your phone.
Using a Money-Back Guarantee
Using a money-back guarantee functions the same way – almost. Here are the required steps.
- Subscribe to a VPN from the list.
- Set up a VPN on your device and sign in using the credentials from Step 1.
- Connect to a server and enjoy the benefits.
- Right before the first 30 or 45 days expire, which is the usual length of the money-back guarantee, request a refund through live chat support.
- If the support asks for a reason, say that you don’t need a VPN anymore and you want your money back.
- The refund will be processed right away and you’ll get your money back within a few business days. This way, you lost no money, yet, you enjoyed a premium service for 30 or 45 days.
VPN Free Trial No Credit Card: Which VPNs Offer It?
If you don’t want to give out your credit card information and you want to get a free VPN trial in 2024, you can do it as well. However, providers that offer this possibility are very rare, and in many cases, you’ll have to provide payment information.
One example I’d like to mention is PrivateVPN, which can give you a 7-day trial if you contact its support through email. CyberGhost offers a 24-hour free trial on desktop platforms without providing payment information, so it’s a great choice as well.
Now, there are a few more services that offer a no-credit-card free trial, such as:
- Avast SecureLine VPN (60 days)
- Trust.Zone (3 days)
- AVG Secure VPN (7 days)
- Cactus VPN (3 days)
But keep in mind that these services aren’t particularly great and they won’t give you the same level of quality as the ones we talked about. Still, if you want to introduce yourself to this service and see how it functions on the basic level, testing these out might still be a good idea.
Although, when you try NordVPN or ExpressVPN, for example, you’ll see they’re far better.
Why Not Get a Free VPN Instead?
With our recent analysis of fast free VPNs, many of you will wonder about getting a free service instead and not bothering with premium choices. Sure, free VPNs can be solid, especially if we talk about Proton VPN, Hide.me, and PrivadoVPN.
They are, however, inferior to premium services that offer unlimited bandwidth, top-notch speeds, solid security, and impeccable privacy. I don’t recommend using free VPN services due to their limited monthly bandwidth, poor performance, and lack of certain security features.
The majority of free services even collect your personal data and sell it to the highest bidder, destroying your privacy in the process. Moreover, they won’t be great for streaming, and in the majority of cases, they completely forbid P2P traffic (except PrivadoVPN), making them useless for torrenting.
The providers I mentioned in this guide are all very affordable, so I don’t see a good reason to use a free VPN, except for a short-term solution to the problem. In the long run, it’s better to take advantage of a VPN free trial and purchase a subscription if you like it.
Conclusion
The best free VPN trials in 2024 include NordVPN, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Surfshark, and Private Internet Access. Our team found these services very reliable and secure, making them great for people who want the best possible performance with the ability to get a refund if needed.
All of them offer a free trial for at least 7 days, as well as a money-back guarantee that can go up to 45 days in duration. As a result, each VPN service can be tested risk-free without losing a single dollar. We recommend NordVPN as our favorite option for pretty much any purpose.
However, if you find it unsatisfactory for any reason, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Surfshark, and PIA are also decent, albeit, inferior choices compared to NordVPN. In any case, it’s up to you to choose the best VPN free trial for your needs and enjoy the service – it’s easy and risk-free!
FAQs on Free Trial VPNs
To top it all up, I think it’s time to answer a few relevant questions regarding free trials for VPN services.
Which VPN has the longest free trial?
The longest free trial can be found in NordVPN and it lasts for 7 days. It requires you to register via a mobile phone, after which, it can be used on any of your devices. Here’s the list of the aforementioned VPN providers and the durations of their free trials:
- NordVPN – 7 days via Android
- ExpressVPN – 7 days via iOS/Android
- CyberGhost – 1 day via PC, 3 days via Android, and 7 days via iOS
- Surfshark – 7 days via iOS and Android
- Private Internet Access – 7 days via iOS and Android
Can I use a free trial VPN more than once?
No, you can’t if you’re using the same email/account. If you use another email, it is possible to get a trial again, although we don’t recommend abusing any service this way. If you like the service, purchase a subscription – simple as that.
Is a credit card mandatory for a free VPN trial?
Yes, it usually is, but all VPNs from our list offer multiple payment methods. If you don’t want to provide a credit card, you can use PayPal, Crypto, and other payment methods. If you don’t want to provide a payment method at all, you can use CyberGhost VPN and get a 1-day trial on desktop platforms.