Best Free VPN Services in 2026
Updated
In short: Proton VPN is ranked #1 of 43 as of 27 September 2026, ahead of Avira Phantom VPN Free and hide.me. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Avira Phantom VPN Free. The lowest first paid tier on this page is PrivadoVPN at $0.09/mo.
A free VPN may suit you if you want to try a VPN without starting with a paid subscription, but the free-plan details can shape how well it fits. Compared on free data allowance, device limit, server choice and speed policy, the services also differ in whether they show ads. Logging policy is worth checking, and the paid-from price can matter if you might upgrade later. Proton VPN, Avira Phantom VPN Free and hide.me are among the entries to consider. Think about how much data you use, which devices need coverage and how much server choice you want; those needs help make the tradeoffs clearer.
43 free VPN services ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Free VPN Services, one module each. A lit port is something its maker publishes; 0 of the 25 on this page have a public API.
- 01 Proton VPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 02 Avira Phantom VPN Free API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 03 hide.me API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 04 Hotspot Shield API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8$6.99/mo
- 05 PrivadoVPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8$0.09/mo
- 06 Windscribe API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8$1/mo
- 07 ZoogVPN Free API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8$0.83/mo
- 08 iTop VPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.7Free
- 09 TunnelBear API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.7$3.33/mo
- 10 Bitdefender Total Security API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.6$5/mo
- 11 Speedify API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.5
- 12 AdGuard VPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.3
- 13 Turbo VPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.3$0.35/mo
- 14 VPN Proxy Master API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.3$0.56/mo
- 15 VPNIFY API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.3
- 16 Betternet Free API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 17 Cloudflare WARP API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 18 Psiphon API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 19 BBVPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 20 Cap VPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 21 HarmanVPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 22 Hawk VPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 23 Hola VPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 24 Planet VPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 25 StarVPN API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Free data allowance | Free server choice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proton VPN | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 2 | Avira Phantom VPN Free | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 3 | hide.me | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 4 | Hotspot Shield | 5.8 | Free plan | $6.99/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 5 | PrivadoVPN | 5.8 | Free plan | $0.09/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 6 | Windscribe | 5.8 | Free plan | $1/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 7 | ZoogVPN Free | 5.8 | Free plan | $0.83/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 8 | iTop VPN | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 9 | TunnelBear | 5.7 | Free plan | $3.33/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 10 | Bitdefender Total Security | 5.6 | No | $5/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 11 | Speedify | 5.5 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 12 | AdGuard VPN | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 13 | Turbo VPN | 5.3 | No | $0.35/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 14 | VPN Proxy Master | 5.3 | No | $0.56/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 15 | VPNIFY | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 16 | Betternet Free | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 17 | Cloudflare WARP | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 18 | Psiphon | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 19 | BBVPN | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | — | broad |
| 20 | Cap VPN | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | — | limited |
| 21 | HarmanVPN | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | 1 GB/mo | country choice |
| 22 | Hawk VPN | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | — | country choice |
| 23 | Hola VPN | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | 2.99 /user/mo | — | broad |
| 24 | Planet VPN | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | — | limited |
| 25 | StarVPN | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | 100 GB/mo | limited |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which free VPN service is ranked first on Inferse?
Proton VPN is ranked #1 of 43 with a score of 5.9. Avira Phantom VPN Free is second and hide.me third.
How many of these have a free plan?
9 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, PrivadoVPN has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.09/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it.