A free VPN on windows is appealing in a variety of ways. For starters, it allows you to get a feel for the service before completely committing to it. It may also be a fast answer for the requirement for a VPN while traveling, utilizing public wi-fi, and other situations. Not to mention the increased degree of internet security.
Unfortunately, company restrictions apply to everything, including free VPN for windows. Things are given away for a cause. And using an unsuitable free VPN service might get you in hot water. Slow, congested servers, inability to access your favorite streaming services, obtrusive spam adverts, and poor data security and selling practices: free VPNs may do more damage than good.
The Dangers of Free VPN for Window
Before we go into the thorough list of the best free VPN for windows, it’s important to warn you about the hazards. Although receiving a free program is usually appealing, it may come with a catch, and VPNs are no exception:
Data limitations: A irritating data restriction will almost certainly ruin your free VPN experience. You’ll normally only receive a limited monthly MB allowance, which will ultimately lead to the purchase of a commercial VPN version.
Speed limitations: The connection speeds of free VPN services are sometimes limited. It signifies you won’t obtain the performance you need.
The server fleet is small. You will have a limited number of server options. Most free VPN services enable you to pick between three locations, which is insufficient if you need to unblock a wide range of material.
Lack of features: If you utilize a free VPN, you will not get any of the stated functions. Only premium VPN services include obfuscated servers, split tunneling, and ad filtering.
Shady behavior: There is also the possibility that your data may be acquired and sold to other parties. Invasive advertisements, privacy breaches, and a variety of other concerns are connected with completely free VPN services which is why all of the VPNs we mentioned are financed by paying consumers of the same service.
In summary, you must exercise extreme caution when selecting your free program – do not blindly accept what a VPN website claims.
We understand how tough it is to locate a solid free VPN. That’s why we worked so hard to make things simple for you.
Our final list of the top free VPN services for Windows pc is provided below. Download any of these applications to enjoy benefits such as limitless bandwidth and a wide range of encryption technologies.
Atlas VPN Best Free VPN for Windows 10
Atlas VPN is our current top recommendation for the finest free VPN service provider. The free plan includes 5GB of monthly data. If you want to eliminate all restrictions, the commercial edition of Atlas VPN is just $2.05 per month.
Security and privacy: both the commercial and free versions of Atlas VPN provide enough protection. Atlas VPN, like the great majority of the top VPNs, employs AES-256 encryption, which is widely trusted by governments and military groups. In terms of privacy, Atlas VPN promises that it does not gather any records that may be used to track you down, including your true IP address. Furthermore, the VPN does not save any online activity data.
Atlas VPN employs the WireGuard tunneling technology, which provides the finest mix of speed and security. It’s fantastic that the free edition of Atlas VPN has no connection speed restrictions. However, the fact that free users share just three places suggests that there may be overpopulation difficulties.
Atlas VPN permits torrenting (or other forms of P2P traffic) on all of its servers, in addition to a kill switch and solid encryption. You may also set the VPN to start automatically when you activate it for faster access.
Streaming: It is vital to know that Atlas free VPN does not allow you to view geo-restricted Netflix material (even though it lets you access Youtube just fine). Fortunately, most Atlas VPN servers will unblock most streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO, and others.
Even though Atlas VPN is the best free VPN for windows 10, it has certain flaws. You only receive 5GB of data each month, so if you want to stream, this may be insufficient. Another factor to examine before utilizing this free VPN is the server fleet.
Hotspot Shield VPN Free VPN
Hotspot Shield VPN is the best free VPN for windows 11 that includes all the basics. While their website claims 500MB, we were able to utilize up to 4.5GB, which is plenty for not just casual everyday surfing but even downloading a few things.
Even if it is based in a nation that is a member of a surveillance alliance, Hotspot Shield VPN does not track your browser habits (The US). You also get over 160 servers in one area (the US).
Hotspot Shield VPN’s premium edition employs the Catapult Hydra tunneling technology, which provides little to no speed dips. Unfortunately, free users may only access speeds of up to 2Mbps.
Hotspot Shield VPN’s free edition includes all of the basics. While the subscription plan includes an antivirus and a password manager, the free version has robust encryption and IP leak prevention.
When trying out the free version of Netflix, a message appeared claiming that accessing worldwide content is only accessible with the premium plan. Aside from that, Hotspot Shield VPN’s premium plan can unblock YouTube TV and BBC iPlayer.
Users of the free Hotspot Shield VPN must accept connection speed constraints of up to 2Mbps. The data limit is also on the low side; technically, you receive 500MB, but it’s also feasible to gain an extra 4GB every month. Although there are a good number of servers here, they are all situated in the United States.
Proton VPN Best Free VPN for Windows 10
Proton VPN is an excellent pick for the top free VPN services with fast connections. It is an open-source VPN with an unlimited free version for Windows, Mac, Android, and other devices.
its strength is in total security, with military-grade encryption and the WireGuard protocol’s safety. Furthermore, the service has a rigorous no-logs policy, which means it does not gather any private user data.
If you use the free version of Proton VPN, you can only pick from three countries: Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States. Keep in mind that free servers often have a lot of internet traffic, so don’t anticipate lightning-fast speeds. Premium subscriptions start at $4.99/month if you want to access all 1800 servers in 66 locations.
The majority of Proton VPN’s capabilities, such as P2P file sharing, NetShield, Secure Core VPN, Tor over VPN, and the ability to access geo-blocked streaming services, are reserved for paying customers. The free edition of Proton VPN, on the other hand, includes a kill switch to safeguard you if your connection breaks, as well as DNS leak prevention.
Because the Proton free VPN version only provides three locations, you must subscribe to the premium version to access geo-restricted streaming sites such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu.
Proton VPN, like the majority of other free VPNs, provides just the most essential security features. You get a free kill switch and DNS leak prevention here. Even though there is no speed limit, the small server fleet might have an influence on your connection performance since servers get overloaded rapidly.
Windscribe VPN Best Free VPN for Windows 11
Windscribe VPN is another company that belongs on the list of top free VPNs. It’s jam-packed with features and offers 10GB of free monthly bandwidth in exchange for your email address. You may also get an additional 5GB by tweeting about Windscribe.
Despite being situated in one of the Five Eyes nations (Canada), Windscribe VPN swears by its no-logs policy. In other words, it does not keep or recognize your true IP address or connection timestamps.
This VPN supports the WireGuard protocol, and 11 of the 60+ countries accessible to premium customers are also available to free Windscribe users. Germany, the United States, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Hong Kong are among the countries represented. The VPN will recommend the quickest server to connect to from among these countries.
Windscribe’s free VPN service includes an effective kill switch, a free SOCKS5 proxy, ad-blocking, the ability to create a secure hotspot, and the multi-hop function. In addition, it allows you to customize your settings, such as opening the program on startup, auto-connecting to the most recent location, and enabling LAN traffic when the firewall is on. There are also around 25 languages accessible.
While it is often assumed that free VPNs do not typically unlock geo-blocked material, Windscribe VPN may be able to unblock Netflix if your desired library is in one of the 11 server locations offered to free customers.
If you sign up for this VPN using your email address, you will be able to utilize up to 10GB of data every month. Otherwise, the monthly data limit is reduced to 5GB. In addition, free users get access to almost six times fewer server locations than premium users.
Hide.me VPN Best Free Windows VPN for Gamers
Hide.me is a free VPN that offers 10 GB of free bandwidth per month and servers in four countries, including the United States. It’s one of the most feature-rich free VPNs available.
Hide.me is not obligated to maintain any user or activity records, including your browsing habits, since it is headquartered in Malaysia. Furthermore, DefenseCode Ltd. inspected the VPN and recognized it as one of the most anonymous VPN services. Furthermore, your data is protected using military-grade AES-256 encryption.
Hide.me free VPN customers may choose between the OpenVPN and IKEv2 tunneling protocols, as well as the IP version (IPv4 or IPv6). There are also four nations to pick from: Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. It is nice to check the ping beside each location, which actually aids you in selecting the quickest server. Subscription costs for full access to all servers and usage of WireGuard begin at $3.00 per month.
It’s great that the free edition of Hide.me VPN has the same features as the commercial version. This means you may enjoy the benefits of split tunneling, custom DNS, and Stealth Mode without investing a dime. The Windows and Mac programs have a kill switch, and virtually all Hide.me VPN servers enable P2P file sharing, so you may use this VPN for secure torrenting.
Despite the claims on its official website, Hide.me free VPN was unable to unblock Netflix regardless of which server I tested. The same thing occurred with the BBC iPlayer and Disney+.
Aside from receiving just 10GB of monthly bandwidth, there is also a limited option of only four countries from which to pick servers. Furthermore, free Hide.me VPN failed to unblock any of the streaming services we tried. So, if you like Netflix, it’s time to think about using a premium VPN.
To understand more, read our whole Hide.me VPN review.
ZoogVPN Best Private Browsing Option
ZoogVPN is another fantastic free VPN that enables you to connect to 5 servers in three different countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. The enrollment process requires no money or credit card information and provides 10 GB of data. You may use this VPN for free for 7 days.
Free ZoogVPN protects data with AES-128 encryption and does not maintain records. The only information ZoogVPN stores is your email address. However, you may create an account using a temporary email address, making the whole procedure absolutely anonymous.
When utilizing a free ZoogVPN, you will have the option of employing PPTP, OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSEC, or the newest IKEv2 tunneling protocols. We suggest using OpenVPN for the best performance.
The free version of ZoogVPN does not include sophisticated features such as split tunneling, which are accessible with the subscription plan. On the other side, there is a perfectly adequate kill switch and the ZoogShadowing tool, which assists in circumventing limitations in strongly controlled nations. Furthermore, even with the free version, the Dutch server permits torrenting.
Unfortunately, the free edition of ZoogVPN does not allow you to access geo-restricted Netflix and other streaming services. You must pay at least $1.87 each month for this.
To summarize, this VPN is only accessible for free for one week. It is no different in terms of data limit, as you may use up to 10GB of data every month. The free server fleet lacks many features, however you may utilize the kill switch and Zoog Shadowing functions.
TunnelBear Free User Oriented VPN
TunnelBear is another VPN with a decent free version that gives you access to all 3000 servers in 48 countries.
Security and privacy: your data is encrypted using military-grade AES-256, and TunnelBear does not track your surfing activity. They may, however, acquire certain identifying information such as the cardholder’s last name, email address, and, in some situations, even your Twitter handle
TunnelBear’s performance is unremarkable due to the lack of WireGuard. Furthermore, any performance measurements recorded will be imprecise since the VPN automatically changes between OpenVPN and IKEv2 (on Windows and iOS).
TunnelBear provides something that other free VPNs do not. The Vigilant Bear takes the necessary kill switch to a new level, not only shutting your internet if the connection to a safe server is lost, but also halting it while you wait for the server to react.
After successfully unblocking Netflix and YouTube, the free version is still inadequate for streaming. The 500 MB data restriction is insufficient to view even half an episode of your favorite program. Only popular programs are available if you subscribe to a premium subscription, which starts at $3.33 per month.
Overall, you only receive 500MB of monthly bandwidth, which is plenty if you just want to use a VPN in select locations, such as shopping malls. Aside from the kill switch function, you are also not permitted to utilize the whole suite of capabilities. Meanwhile, a little dollars each month may work wonders.
FAQ on Best Free VPN Software For Windows
Atlas VPN is the clear victor in 2023 when it comes to free VPNs. It not only provides infinite connection speed, but also military-grade encryption, works on a variety of devices, and is simple to use.
It all depends. Some free VPNs may gather and sell your data to other parties, or they may steal your personal information and infect you with malware. It is critical to choose a reliable provider that has been thoroughly evaluated by privacy experts.
Yes. For its free customers, ProtonVPN and Atlas VPN provide limitless data and bandwidth.
Yes. The same restrictions apply to both free and premium VPN services, which means that if VPN use is lawful in your country, using a free VPN is also legal.
Yes, since some free VPNs can unblock Netflix. For example, the free edition of Windscribe gives you access to Netflix in the United States. Keep in mind, however, that the vast majority of free VPNs will not unblock any streaming services.
