Free VPN services are good in some areas, but for the most part they are not very reliable.
They come with limited data plans, and the servers aren’t usually fast enough to stream video or play online games. As my dad use to say “You get what you pay for”, so don’t expect a lot of features on the free services. Some free VPN solutions include:
- Hide.me is a relatively small VPN company based in Malaysia, and has been growing exponentially as of late. In addition to their affordable prices, they have several other features that make them one of the best choices for those looking for a reliable VPN provider. The first is their server network. Hide.me has a whopping 240 VPN servers in 109 countries. This should cover you for pretty much any location that you desire to access geo-restricted content from. Hide.me also offers both Windows and Mac OS clients as well as an iOS and Android app.
- Hotspot Shield is an American based VPN service that offers both free and paid subscriptions. Hotspot Shield is popular because it works on any device, supports multiple protocols and offers server locations from all over the world. The major downside to Hotspot Shield is that it keeps user activity logs and has a reputation for dishing out compensation to copyright holders following an infringement notice.
- ProtonVPN is a new service that has been gaining a lot of popularity recently. They are another great choice for those who want the security and privacy that VPN solutions provide, but don’t want to pay a monthly subscription fee. Like Hide.me, ProtonVPN also offers free and paid accounts. Paid plans start out at about $5 per month, and also come with a 7 day money back guarantee. Although they may have a few more bells and whistles than Hide.me, ProtonVPN has one downside that puts them behind; their server network is considerably smaller with only 1 server in the U.K., 1 in Japan, and 3 in the United States.
- AtlasVPN is another VPN solution that comes with free and paid subscriptions. It features multiple free servers that you can connect to without paying a cent. AtlasVPN keeps no logs and provides AES-256 bit encryption to all users.
Free vs Paid
There are hundreds more out there, these are the top ones that come to my mind, but I tend to lean toward the paid VPN services as I enjoy the additional features.
As you can see there are many choices for VPN services, and selecting one will depend on what your specific needs are. However, free services don’t usually provide the same level of service as paid ones. If you want to keep your data secure and private make sure to check out multiple places before deciding on a service.
Remember, security and privacy aren’t as hard as they sound, and deserve to be a priority for everyone.
