Best VPN deals: At a glance

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Hunting for the best VPN deals? Good news – you won’t need to wait until Black Friday to unlock huge discounts on a VPN subscription as there are some incredible price cuts and promotions available on the biggest brands today.

For a limited time, you can unlock three months of our top-rated VPN supplier for free.

For maximum savings, you can get 4 months for free and a whopping 80% discount on the remaining months of your subscription. Not only that, there are discounts of up to 90% when you bundle your VPN with extras like password managers and encrypted cloud storage.

Whether you want to install a VPN to shield your web history from prying eyes, bypass speed restrictions on your broadband, unlock geo-blocked streaming from Netflix and Disney Plus, store photos and files in end-to-end encrypted cloud storage, generate secure passwords for all of your accounts, and more …we’ve scoured a dizzying number of VPN deals to find the best offer around for you.

Scroll down for a comprehensive rundown of the latest offers from the biggest VPN providers and in-depth reviews of the biggest brands. If you’re a VPN novice, you’ll also find everything you need to know about VPN services and how to unlock the best deal.

Short time? If you want to sign up for an incredible VPN deal right now – three of the most popular brands are currently offering multiple months of access for free. These offers are available to new and returning customers.

• Get 3 months of NordVPN for FREE + 64% off the rest of your subscription

• Get 3 months of ExpressVPN for FREE + 49% off the rest of your subscription

• Get 4 months of PureVPN for FREE + 80% off the rest of the subscription

On the surface, ExpressVPN might seem like a worse deal to both NordVPN and PureVPN due to its smaller discount.

However, it’s worth noting that ExpressVPN includes a few features as standard that’ll cost you extra with NordVPN, like its encrypted password manager. And while the discount with PureVPN is humongous, it’s only available when you add plump for optional extras like a password manager …so this deal is a particularly good pick for people who want a comprehensive service.

In our ExpressVPN review, we awarded this software five-stars due to its minuscule impact on download speeds and unmatched ability to unblock geo-restrictions on Netflix, Hulu, and ITVX. It’s also the reason that ExpressVPN ranks as the best VPN for streaming in our guide. ExpressVPN users save £130 on average when booking cheap flights too.

We praised its closest rival in our NordVPN review, which impressed us with its easy-to-use apps and military-grade encryption. Nord ranks highly in our guide to the best VPN for iPhone and best cloud storage deals.

7 Reasons you should be using a VPN

• Protect all of your data from hackers
• Unlock deals usually hidden from you
• Watch live sports blocked in your location
• Change your IP address at any time 

• Stream TV shows and films from anywhere
• Avoid restrictions placed on your Wi-Fi network
• Remain incognito from advertisers and trackers

For those who don’t know, VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) add an ironclad layer of privacy to your web browsing – protecting all of your online data from bad actors and keeping your browsing history hidden from prying eyes. VPNs also allow you to manually change your IP address, making it appear as if you’re connecting to the internet from another country.

This trick can be used to unlock TV shows, films, and live sports fixtures unavailable in your location due to geo-blocks.

Spoofing your location can also unlock better deals on travel too. You can use a VPN for cheap flights, as well as discounts on trains and hotels that you’d usually never get to see. VPNs can also have benefits when playing online multiplayer games, like Call of Duty Warzone, and when shopping for some of the most sought-after concert tickets.

With the latest VPN deals, you can unlock all of these features with a smaller price tag. Not only that, but a number of the best VPN deals will also bundle free access to a VPN service for months – saving even more money! Below, we have rounded up the best deals to ensure you never overpay for your subscription. All of the below prices are available to new customers.

NordVPN matches the 3 months FREE on offer from some of its biggest rivals but discounts the remaining months in your subscription by 63%.

You’ll be able to choose between a number of tiers based on whether you want access to NordVPN’s password manager, cloud storage, and more 

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

ExpressVPN offers 3 months for FREE when you purchase an annual plan. Even better, the remaining months of your subscription will be discounted by a whopping 49% too!

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

PureVPN is offering a mind-boggling 80% off your subscription with a very generous 4 months FREE bundled in too!

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

Surfshark has slashed subscription prices by a whopping 82% in its latest sale, and will bundle 2 months free with its 24-month plan too!

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

But that’s not all.

If you need a little more information about NordVPN, Express VPN, or any of the Virtual Private Networks featured in this guide, you can find answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about VPNs – including how these services keep you protected, the best features you’ll need from any VPN subscription – below.

Use the links to jump to the relevant section, or scroll down for our complete guide to the best VPN deals.

What is a VPN?

Let’s start with the basics. You’re probably familiar with the term “VPN”, but what does it actually mean?

In a very literal sense, the initialism stands for “Virtual Private Network”, but that’s unlikely to shine much light on the situation. Instead, the easiest way to understand VPNs is by learning how they work.

VPNs create a secure and private pathway between your devices and the internet. It’s easiest to imagine this as an encrypted tunnel that connects you with the website or online service that you’re interacting with. By routing everything through this tunnel, the VPN adds an iron-clad layer of protection to your internet connection – encrypting all of your data when you surf the web, stream a boxset from a video streaming service, make a video call, and more.

This protection works regardless of whether you’re connected via Wi-Fi or ethernet. It works at home or when using a public Wi-Fi network in a coffee shop or airport.

Since everything inside the tunnel is encrypted, nobody can see what data you’re sending or even what websites you’re visiting. This blocks advertisers from tracking the websites that you regularly visit – an important source of their revenue.

Because everything is blocked from outside eyes, if your broadband provider places restrictions on certain types of internet traffic (this is a common practice with free airport Wi-Fi, as well as complimentary internet from coffee shops, hotels, holiday resorts, and University campuses) you can avoid any of the usual limitations. These restrictions are usually reserved for the most bandwidth-intensive tasks, like streaming or downloading high-resolution video, or online gaming.

Chances are, you’ve heard of VPNs …but how do these apps actually work, and why should you install one?

As VPNs are already routing all of your web traffic through this “tunnel”, it’s easiest to re-direct all of that data via server locations across the globe. Why would you want to do that? 

Well, this allows you to manually change your IP address – the unique string of numbers used to identify your device and attribute an approximate location whenever you access the internet – to keep your identity shielded from your internet provider, advertisers, and hackers. Not only that, but switching IP addresses can make it appear as if you’re located in a different country.

This allows you to access websites and online services that aren’t available in your country. For instance, when you’re abroad and trying to load a UK website that you can’t visit from another region due to geo restrictions, you can change to an IP address based in the UK and unlock access.

Likewise, you can swerve geo blocks to watch everything available on Netflix in the United States, stream from services like Sling TV and Max (née HBO Max) that aren’t currently available in the UK.

If you’re in China, you’ll be able to access blocked services like Twitter, Google and Facebook.

This also allows you to view prices for airline tickets, car rentals, and hotels not usually available in your country. Since these companies tailor prices based on a vast amount of data – including demand, location of the airline, and average income – VPNs can be a way to find new deals. According to research by ExpressVPN, VPN users save £130 on flights on average.

Best VPN deals in 2023

NordVPN matches the 3 months FREE on offer from some of its biggest rivals but discounts the remaining months in your subscription by 63%.

You’ll be able to choose between a number of tiers based on whether you want access to NordVPN’s password manager, cloud storage, and more 

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

ExpressVPN offers 3 months for FREE when you purchase an annual plan. Even better, the remaining months of your subscription will be discounted by a whopping 49% too!

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

PureVPN is offering a mind-boggling 80% off your subscription with a very generous 4 months FREE bundled in too!

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

Surfshark has slashed subscription prices by a whopping 82% in its latest sale, and will bundle 2 months free with its 24-month plan too!

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

The dizzying number of VPN providers out there can be a little overwhelming.

If you’re looking for a top-rated VPN service, our comprehensive guide to the best VPN includes the providers that we’d recommend above the competition. Even better, a number of these brilliant VPNs have unleashed discounts on their monthly subscription plans at the moment – making them more affordable.

As a rule of thumb, if you want the biggest saving on your VPN subscription, you’ll need to sign-up for a lengthier subscription.

However, that shouldn’t be intimidating because our favourite VPNs offer at least 30-day money-back guarantee periods.

With 24/7 access to customer service representatives, you’ll be flag any issues or request a full refund if the subscription hasn’t lived up to your expectations no matter what timezone you’re in. Other VPN services offer interest-free payment plans so, even if you’re maximising the discount by signing up for a 2-year plan, you’ll be able to pay in small monthly instalments.

Of course, if you’d rather sign up for a shorter period, you’ll find 30-day rolling contracts available at checkout (albeit at a cost). Understandably, these monthly plans don’t include the same one-month money-back guarantee.

Best ExpressVPN deal

ExpressVPN

Brilliant VPN That’s Unmatched For Video Streaming

Things To Know

Money-back guarantee: Yes, 30 days
Customer support: 24/7 live chat
Server locations: 160+
Maximum number of connections: 5
Password manager: Yes
Read our ExpressVPN review

What We Love

• Fastest VPN Connections Around
• Brilliant Apps For All Platforms
• Dedicated Team To Unblock Netflix
• Split Tunnelling Included
• Never Stores Data On Customers

What We Don’t

• Expensive Compared To Rivals
• 5 Device Limit Can Be Restrictive

This is an absolutely brilliant VPN service that earned the full five stars in our ExpressVPN review. 

Unsurprisingly, it has also ranked highly in a number of our VPN guides, taking the coveted top spot in our best VPN rundown. We’ve also recommended ExpressVPN as the best VPN for streaming, the best Warzone 2 VPN for gamers, and the best VPN for cheap flights.

So, what makes this VPN service so special? ExpressVPN has a minuscule impact on download speeds compared to some of its closest rivals. That means you can change your IP address to a country on the other side of the planet and still have enough speed from your internet connection to watch shows on Netflix, Disney Plus, or play competitive multiplayer in Call of Duty.

ExpressVPN also has a dedicated team tasked with ensuring its servers always work with the biggest streaming services, including Netflix, Max (née HBO Max), Paramount Plus, Hulu, and Disney Plus, to name a few.

As such, if you’re planning on using a VPN to bypass geo restrictions and start streaming series, films, sports fixtures, and documentaries from across the globe not currently available in your current location, ExpressVPN comes highly-recommended.

While ExpressVPN has never been the cheapest VPN service on the market (and there’s no free trial available), there is some good news. ExpressVPN regularly offers a steady slew of discounts and deals to new customers that drop the cost of its subscription.

This makes it much more competitive than it might seem at a glance.

For example, ExpressVPN is offering 49% off its 12-month plan and 3 months of its VPN service for free with any purchase. It’s also worth remembering that ExpressVPN bundles some features that cost extra with rival providers – like ExpressVPN Keys, which securely generates and stores unique passwords for all of your online accounts.

Similar functionality from rivals, like NordVPN, adds to your monthly subscription plan.

ExpressVPN also offers Klarna payment plans at checkout, so you can take advantage of the huge savings available on its 24-month plans without paying the full price upfront.

Instead, you’ll be able to pay in small monthly instalments without accruing any interest. Klarna does not impact your credit rating, but rather breaks up the initial outlay into smaller monthly repayment without any interest added for the privilege.

Anyone who opts for a longer contract will be protected by the same no-fuss 30-day money-back guarantee from ExpressVPN as those who pay upfront, which means you can treat the first month of ExpressVPN like a free trial.

ExpressVPN offers 24/7 customer support, so no matter what time zone you’re in – you’ll be able to contact customer service to resolve any troubles or use the money-back guarantee to get a refund on your subscription.

And when it comes to savings, there are some stellar deals available. ExpressVPN packages include access to 24/7 customer support, high-speed internet connections, and unlimited bandwidth. And right now, ExpressVPN is offering a 49% saving on its 12-month plan. Those who plump for longer contracts will be rewarded with 3 months for free too.

ExpressVPN is offering 3 months for FREE with your purchase. Even better, the remaining months of your subscription will be discounted by a whopping 49% off!

24/7 Customer Support: Yes | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Yes

Best NordVPN deal

NordVPN

An Easy-To-Use VPN With Gorgeous Mobile Apps

Things To Know

Money-back guarantee: Yes, 30 days
Customer support: 24/7 live chat
Server locations: 80+
Maximum number of connections: 6
Password manager: Yes
Read our NordVPN review

What We Love

• Affordable Subscription
• Brilliant Apps For All Platforms
• Fast VPN Connection
• Monitors For Password Leaks
• Split Tunnelling Included
• Never Stores Data On Customers

What We Don’t

• Fewer Server Locations Than Rivals

Even if you’ve never used a VPN before, you’ve probably still heard of NordVPN. That’s thanks to its high-profile partnerships with the likes of Liverpool FC and YouTuber superstar PewDiePie.

But is NordVPN worth all of the hype? In a word: Yes. 

This incredibly capable VPN service managed to earn a coveted five-stars in our NordVPN review.

NordVPN earned that score thanks to its suite of incredibly user-friendly apps. VPN novices will find the NordVPN apps easy to get to grips with, thanks to the clean and beginner-friendly design. These apps are available for all major platforms too, including iPhone, Android, Fire TV Stick, Windows, Linux, macOS, and even your Wi-Fi router.

NordVPN has one of the best browser extensions available (included as part of your flat subscription fee), which we named as the best Chrome VPN. The firm’s introduction of iOS Home Screen widgets, iMessage stickers and Apple Pay support at checkout helped it earn the top spot in our guide to the best VPN for iPhone too.

It’s worth noting that while NordVPN won’t be intimidating to VPN newbies, those who are more experienced with these popular apps will find that NordVPN bundles the usual array of advanced functionality, from split-tunneling to multi-hop connections.

NordVPN also includes Dark Web monitoring, which keeps tabs on any data leaks from your favourite websites to warn you about a potential risk to your login credentials. Finding out about a data breach as soon as possible is key to mitigating the fallout – enabling you to change your password and lock out any potential hackers.

As you’d expect for such a security-conscious VPN service, NordVPN also offers a password manager to subscribers, although, unlike ExpressVPN, you will need to pay extra each month to unlock this functionality. NordVPN also offers cloud storage plans, so customers can back-up photos, apps, documents, and videos to its secure servers. If anything happens to your phone, desktop PC, laptop, or tablet, your data can be restored from the cloud to a replacement device.

If you’re already paying a monthly subscription for iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or BackBlaze… switching to a fully-featured NordVPN subscription could be a real money-saver.

NordVPN is the only provider in this guide that offers both Apple Pay and Google Pay at checkout for a one-tap payment. This means smartphone owners will be able to subscribe without hunting around for their credit card (and keep their card number hidden from NordVPN thanks to the tough security measures implemented by Apple and Google).

New customers can enjoy a 59% discount on NordVPN subscriptions. And that’s not all, NordVPN will also bundle three months of FREE access to its VPN service – saving you even more money! In total, you’ll enjoy 15-months for the price of a one-year subscription, with a hefty 64% off applied to the first 12-months of that contract.

While signing up for a longer contract might be intimidating – especially for VPN newcomers – it’s worth remembering that NordVPN offers a quibble-free 30-day money-back guarantee with all plans. Coupled with its 24/7 customer support, you’ll be able to get a full refund on your subscription if you run into any trouble with NordVPN – or simply decide it’s not quite right for you.

NordVPN is offering a superb deal with 3 months for FREE offer available with your purchase, plus it will discount the remaining months of your subscription by 68% off for even more savings!

24/7 Customer Support: Yes | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Yes

Best PureVPN deal

PureVPN

An Impressive VPN Packed With Extra Features

Things To Know

Money-back guarantee: Yes, 31 days
Customer support: 24/7 live chat
Server locations: 88+
Maximum number of connections: 10
Password manager: Yes

What We Love

• Very Affordable Subscription
• 10 Devices With One Plan
• Fast VPN Connection
• Split Tunnelling Included
• Never Stores Data On Customers
• Password Manager Available

What We Don’t

• Not All Apps Have Every Feature
• Fewer Server Locations Than Some Rivals

PureVPN has been around since 2006, so the team behind this popular VPN service has plenty of experience. And it really shows.

With over 6,500 servers across 70 countries worldwide, PureVPN tops both ExpressVPN and NordVPN when it comes to sheer choice. Only CyberGhost VPN offers more server locations spread across more nations.

Frankly, this mind-boggling amount of choice isn’t strictly necessary for most people – after all, the vast majority of VPN subscribers rely on a handful of popular locations to unlock their favourite TV shows, sports fixtures, discounted games, and more. However, those with more niche applications who need servers in a wide vareity of locations worldwide will be very happy with PureVPN.

If you’re not looking for a server in a specific country and simply want to ensure your internet connection is encrypted, PureVPN has a brilliant solution – it’s built an algorithm into its apps that can pick the fastest server for you. For those who want to use a VPN to unlock extra features in online multiplayer games, like a Warzone VPN for example, or those with limited knowledge on VPNs looking for extra protection online – this one-click solution is ideal. And hopefully more VPN providers will nab this idea in future. 

PureVPN offers a huge amount of choice – from the 6,500 servers worldwide to the dozens of dedicated apps

PureVPN says it never logs any data on its roughly 3 million customers worldwide.

Since VPNs hide all of your online activity from your broadband provider, then everything you do online will remains private. To reassure customers about its data practices, PureVPN is regularly audited by KPMG. These audits are random – not on a fixed schedule – so the company always stays accountable.

For those who don’t know, KPMG is a global specialist that helps firms with risk management, advisory, tax, and auditing. Since it is a globally-recognised brand, a number of Fortune 500 companies frequently approach KPMG for auditing and assurance services.

To reiterate its commitment to privacy, PureVPN has its headquarters in the British Virgin Islands. This location was specifically chosen as there are “no mandatory data retention laws” in this country. Unlike companies that operate in the UK, most European nations, or United States, PureVPN is not compelled by law to retain data on its users or share it with law enforcement.

PureVPN offers a collosal maximum speed of 20Gbps at its server sites. Of course, as with any VPN connection, the performance of your connection will be dependent on the download speed available from your broadband provider. But it’s great to see that PureVPN has put in the work and ensured that its servers shouldn’t be the bottleneck with your connection.

With a single subscription, PureVPN customers are able to sign-in on up to 10 devices. That’s more than ExpressVPN and NordVPN, but falls short of the unlimited number of sign-ins available with Surfshark VPN. 

PureVPN has dedicated apps for the most popular platforms, including Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Linux, Mac, Fire TV, Apple TV, browser extensions for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Android TV, to name just a few. Unfortunately, not all of these apps are created equally, with some features not available on certain platforms.

For devices without a dedicated app from PureVPN, the brand offers software to install on your Wi-Fi router – thereby protecting every device connected to your network with a single click.

Like NordVPN, those looking to bundle a few services together – like a password manager – into a single subscription will unlock the biggest discount with PureVPN. Dubbed PureVPN Max, the all-singing, all-dancing top-tier subscription includes a dizzying array of features and is available with a ludicrous 80% discount right now.

Those who only want to subscribe for the VPN service, or who want the flexibiilty of a rolling one-month contract, will find the price quickly starts to rise compared. That’s pretty standard with VPN services, but if you’re only interested in a simple VPN for added security, you might be better looking elsewhere for the ultimate VPN deal.

PureVPN is offering an incredible 4 months for FREE with your purchase. Even better, the remaining months of your subscription will be discounted by a whopping 80% off when you subscribe to its feature-packed PureVPN Max plan!

24/7 Customer Support: Yes | 31-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Yes

Best Surfshark VPN deal

Surfshark VPN

Unmatched Value

Things To Know

Money-back guarantee: Yes, 30 days
Customer support: 24/7 live chat
Server locations: 100+
Maximum number of connections: Unlimited
Password manager: No

What We Love

• Very Affordable Subscription
• Brilliant Apps For All Platforms
• Unlimited Connections
• Never Stores Data On Customers

What We Don’t

• Slower Connection Than Rivals
• Reconnection Needed At Times

If you’re looking to take advantage of the enhanced security and privacy provided by a VPN, but want one of the cheapest VPN subscriptions on the market, look no further than Surfshark VPN. This provider regularly offers some amazing discounts on its VPN subscriptions, especially on the 24-month contract.

Not only that, but it will also throw-in a couple of months access for free for those who sign-up for a longer plan too.

Don’t be fooled by the low price tag, Surfshark still offers a compelling suite of features for VPN users. For example, it’s the only provider on this list that offers an unlimited number of logins across your devices, so you can install the Surfshark VPN app on a range of your favourite gadgets – from mobile devices, like an iPhone or Android smartphone, tablets, laptops, desktop PCs, Fire TV Stick and other streaming set-top boxes, Wi-Fi router, and more. And you’ll never lose access on another device. 

Those who sign-up for a 24-month contract will unlock a whopping saving of 82%.

Surshark charges £9.39 a month for those who sign up for a 30-day rolling contract, but those who pick the two-year deal will be able to access the service for years for the cost of just a few months.

And just like NordVPN and ExpressVPN, Surfshark VPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 customer service, so you’ll be able to get a full refund if you’re unhappy with the app, the internet connection with Surfshark, or any of the other features included with this VPN.

If you want an incredible deal, look no further than Surfshark. It offers the same encryption and privacy as other VPNs, but does so at a much lower monthly cost. Surfshark lets subscribers sign-in to an unlimited number of devices too!

24/7 Customer Support: Yes | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Yes

More VPN deals

If you’re not tempted by the VPN deals above – do not worry, there are hundreds of other Virtual Private Networks services on the market right now. It will be easy enough to find one perfectly suited to your tastes. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the most celebrated and well-received VPNs on the planet, with their latest discounts and deals.

Whether you’re looking for a specific brand or a certain price… you should be able to download and install a VPN on your devices today with everything you’re looking for.

With a membership to Private Internet Access, you’ll be able to login with up to 10 devices simultaneously and connect to servers in 78 countries. PIA bundles an automatic email breach monitor for free with its VPN plans too!

CyberGhost offers the most generous refund period of all VPN providers listed, with a generous 45-day money-back guarantee! You’ll be able to use CyberGhost on a wide range of devices, including Android phones, iPhone and iPad, Wi-Fi routers, and Amazon’s popular Fire TV streaming devices – to name just a few!

Proton hasn’t followed the trend of bundling free months with its subscriptions, but it has discounted its monthly plan by a serious 57%

Ivacy VPN is running a MEGA money-saving deal that includes access to its VPN service for under £1 per month. You’ll also be able to connect to the internet with any of the 3,500 servers from across the globe!

How do I get the best VPN deal?

To always get the best VPN deal, you’ll need to avoid any brand loyalty. Like cutting costs on your broadband contract, a monthly phone plan, and even a mortgage …you’ll need to be willing to shop around. 

Securing the best discount on your VPN subscription often requires you to sign-up for a longer contract, typically between one to three years. That commitment allows brands to offer better discounts, extra functionality, and freebies.

At the end of that initial contract period, you will be billed on a rolling monthly basis. This is the ideal moment to strike a brand-new deal (ideally as a new customer, since the biggest discounts are almost always reserved to attract these users to the service) with a VPN service.

For example, if you’ve taken advantage of the 3-months of free access available from ExpressVPN then it could be a good time to get 3 months of NordVPN for free as a new customer. Of course, there is a limited number of genuinely brilliant VPN services, so this approach can’t continue forever.

Thankfully, as soon as you’ve stopped subscribing, most of these brands will roll-out the same discounts available to new customers to attempt to attract you back. So you can easily bounce between two trusted brands and always get the best deal on your VPN.

Why do you need a VPN?

Besides all of the extra privacy and security perks listed above, there are plenty of other upsides to using a VPN, such as fighting broadband bandwidth throttling, which can help improve your online gaming experiences.

You can also manually change your IP address (which is assigned to all devices when they connect to the internet for the first time) to make it appear as if you’re based in another country, allowing you to unblock Netflix and watch the complete catalogue of shows available in the United States, Asia, and UK when abroad.

Some VPNs, including NordVPN, also offer Dark Web monitoring as part of your subscription. This automatically keeps tabs on the shady forums on the Dark Web to make sure that your username, email and passwords have not leaked.

If they’re shared by bad actors following a breach at a website or streaming service that you use, you’ll be immediately notified – allowing you to change the login credentials for any services that use the same email-password combo.

Other services, like ExpressVPN, include a password generator. With a single click, you can generate a super-secure, unique password for your latest online login. This ensures you never use the same password for multiple online accounts.

Do you really need a VPN at home?

Given that part of the appeal of VPNs is the ability to encrypt and secure your internet activity …these apps might seem unnecessary when browsing at home, with only your trusted gadgets able to connect to the Wi-Fi router.

While it’s certainly true that the risk is smaller than when connected to an unsecured public Wi-Fi network, like those provided in coffee shops, restaurants, hotel lobbies, and airports – there are still huge benefits to using a VPN at home.

For starters, encrypting everything you do with a VPN service will shield your internet activity from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to prevent these companies from selling data about customer habits to advertisers and other third-parties.

Those who use a broadband connection provided by their landlord, building complex, University or school will be able to bypass restrictions on certain types of content (usually high bandwidth activities, like online gaming or live-streaming are prohibited) by disguising their online traffic with a VPN connection too.

Using a VPN can also prevent some advertisers and tracking services embedded into your favourite websites from keeping tabs on your movements as you browse the web.

And of course, you’re more likely to need the ability to spoof your location with a VPN service to unlock vast new libraries of TV shows, films and sports to stream when at-home compared to out-and-about. That’s one of the biggest draws of VPN services. 

What is the best VPN money can buy?

We’ve pitted the most popular VPN services against one another to determine the overall winner. After months of thorough testing, we’ve crowned ExpressVPN as the best VPN service that money can buy.

There are a number of reasons for this, including the recent introduction of ExpressVPN Keys – a fully-featured password manager that’s included at no extra cost for subscribers. Its closest competition NordVPN, which ranks very close second place, charges more for a subscription that includes a password manager alongside its VPN. It’s something that we’ve covered in-depth in our NordVPN review.

ExpressVPN offers the fastest download speeds of any Virtual Private Network in this guide. Even when picking a server located on the other side of the planet, ExpressVPN has a very marginal impact on your broadband bandwidth – making it perfect for those who need full-fibre speeds to stream from services like Netflix, make and receive video calls on Messenger, WhatsApp and FaceTime, or play online multiplayer on PC, Sony PS5, and Xbox.

Alternatively, you can continue scrolling to see the full rundown of our picks of the best VPNs on the market right now. If you’re looking for faster connections for the best Netflix streaming experience, lower monthly bills, or niche features like the ability to bypass CAPTCHA authentication screens …we’ve tested VPNs that offer all of these perks, and more!

For more details on this stellar VPN service, check out our in-depth ExpressVPN review.

Can you buy VPN for one month?

Yes, absolutely. All of the VPNs in this article offer 30-days rolling contracts which allow you to cancel anytime.

So, if you’re away on holiday and looking to stream a TV show or sports fixture that’s only available to watch back in your home country, you can subscribe to a VPN to stream everything as normal, just like you would sitting on your own sofa.

At any moment during the 30 days, you can stop your subscription from renewing to avoid racking up any extra charges.

Of course, the best VPN deals are only available to those who sign-up for longer contracts, so you might find that you’ll need to pay quite a bit more for a 30-day plan. All of the VPNs in this guide offer at least 30-day money-back guarantees, so you’ll be able to cancel at any time if you’re unhappy with the service.

Is a paid VPN better than a free one?

Absolutely. Although there are a number of VPN services that offer free subscription tiers, those who want to take advantage of all of the benefits of a Virtual Private Network should avoid these options. That’s because all of these providers hold back functionality to try to push users to upgrade to paid-for plans.

These restrictions often take the form of a bandwidth limit (not ideal for those who want to stream music or video with their VPN service), restricted download speeds (again, a pain in the neck if you’re looking to stream video or play video games via a secure VPN connection), a reduced number of server locations (not ideal for those who want to stream new TV shows, movies and sports fixtures from around the world), or a combination of two or more of the above.

Given that our top-rated VPN services all offer a one month no-quibbles refund period, you’ll be able to test a five-star VPN service with all of its features enabled, while still safe in the knowledge that you won’t have to pay anything if you don’t get on with the software. That’s our recommendation for anyone looking to get started with VPNs for the first time.

If you want more details, we’ve published a full guide on the best free VPNs available today.

Which VPN allows you to pay monthly?

All of the VPN services in this guide allow you to pay monthly.

However, it’s worth noting that a monthly subscription will often cost more than paying for a one-, two-, or three-year plan upfront. These longer contracts are where VPNs will offer the biggest discounts – with prices slashed by over 80% compared to the standard monthly fee.

Fortunately, you can still pay in smaller monthly instalments and still benefit from these longer plans. ExpressVPN offers interest-free payments via Klarna, so you won’t need to pay for a one-year contract in one lump sum but still benefit from the biggest savings offered by the top-rated VPN brand.

NordVPN matches the 3 months FREE on offer from some of its biggest rivals but discounts the remaining months in your subscription by 63%.

You’ll be able to choose between a number of tiers based on whether you want access to NordVPN’s password manager, cloud storage, and more 

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

ExpressVPN offers 3 months for FREE when you purchase an annual plan. Even better, the remaining months of your subscription will be discounted by a whopping 49% too!

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

PureVPN is offering a mind-boggling 80% off your subscription with a very generous 4 months FREE bundled in too!

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

Surfshark has slashed subscription prices by a whopping 82% in its latest sale, and will bundle 2 months free with its 24-month plan too!

Your subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions like a free trial

What devices are compatible with VPN?

The best VPN will be compatible with a swathe of popular devices, including the likes of Windows PCs, iPhone, Android phones and tablets, iPad, Linux, macOS, Fire TV Sticks, Chromebooks, Kindle Fire tablets, Nvidia Shield, and more. 

Unfortunately, not all operating systems and devices allow you to download and install a VPN app. This is a restriction imposed by the manufacturer of the device. However, there is a clever workaround, with all top-rated VPN services offering software to install onto your Wi-Fi router.

With a VPN service running on your Wi-Fi router at all times, every device that connects to the internet using your home Wi-Fi network will be protected by encryption, with all internet history hidden from prying eyes, and traffic routed via server locations scattered around the world (if you want to spoof your location). This allows you to enjoy all of the same benefits of a VPN app installed on your favourite device and enables VPNs to work with Smart TVs, Sony PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, LG Smart TVs, Samsung TVs, Chromecast with Google TV, Roku streamers, and much more.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/yCWNRzoQGis

What else is included with a VPN subscription?

It depends on the VPN service. While some providers just include the ability to manually change your IP address using server locations across the globe and encrypt all of your internet traffic …others have expanded into a number of other areas. For example, ExpressVPN offers a password manager to all subscribers at no additional cost.

Dubbed ExpressVPN Keys, this standalone app generates secure passwords (an unreadable jumble of lowercase and capital letters, symbols, and numbers) for each of your online accounts, with everything stored and synched in its database. All you’ll need to remember is a single password (to unlock the ExpressVPN Keys vault) and the app will autofill everything else for you.

With almost all of our most sensitive information stored in accounts online (and data breaches are becoming more common) it’s not surprising that password managers are becoming increasingly popular, with the likes of LastPass, 1Password, and DashLane available as standalone subscriptions. 

For those who already subscribe to these services, switching to ExpressVPN could enable you to remove one Direct Debit from your account.

NordVPN includes its NordLocker service with some subscription tiers, which includes a whopping 1TB of cloud storage for all of your family photos, payslips, mortgage documents, emails, and other crucial data. As you’d expect from a VPN provider that specialises in encryption and privacy, everything stored in NordLocker is end-to-end encrypted …so even the company behind the product has no way of determining what you’re storing online. 

If you already pay for the likes of iCloud, Google Drive, DropBox, or OneDrive for cloud storage… getting 1TB of storage from your VPN provider could be a more cost-effective solution.

You’ll need to check exactly what is available from your chosen VPN, but if you pick the best VPN subscription for you (and the best VPN deal) you could unlock huge savings on a number of different subscription services that you already pay for!

Does Netflix ban VPNs?

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming platforms on the planet, so it’s no surprise that millions of VPN users want to continue watching the latest must-binge shows, documentaries, and movies from the service. 

Unfortunately, Netflix has implemented some incredibly strict measures to block Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) from accessing its content over the years. When asked about the decision to crackdown on viewers who rely on VPNs, CEO Reed Hastings told Wired in 2016 that the community is “a very small but quite vocal minority.”

There are a few reasons for this clampdown, but the controversial decision was primarily driven by content licensing agreements and regional restrictions.

Firstly, content licensing agreements play a significant role in why Netflix does not allow VPNs. Netflix purchases the rights to stream content from various content providers and studios on a country-by-country basis. These agreements are typically geographically restricted, meaning that certain content is only authorized for streaming in specific regions.

By using a VPN, users can bypass these regional restrictions and access content that may not be available in their country. This can violate the terms of the content licensing agreements – potentially leading to consequences for Netflix.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, regional restrictions are also tied to Netflix’s business strategy.

Content availability varies by region due to factors such as language, cultural sensitivities, and local regulations. Netflix carefully curates its content catalogue for each region to provide a tailored viewing experience to its local subscribers. Allowing VPNs would disrupt this strategy, as users could access content from different regions and dilute the value of exclusive content rights for Netflix.

While it may inconvenience some users who rely on VPNs for various reasons, including privacy and security concerns, Netflix aims to protect its content licensing agreements and maintain regional content restrictions worldwide.

It’s also worth noting that Netflix’s recent decision to block users from sharing passwords – a common practice amongst friends, family, and ex-partners – will also have an impact on VPN users too. Netflix is slowly rolling out a new charge for customers who have shared their usernames and passwords.

However, as it is assumed to track users and IP addresses to determine when the account is being used by multiple people, this could adversely impact VPN users.

Ray Walsh, Digital Privacy Expert at ProPrivacy, told Express.co.uk: “Many consumers use VPNs with features like rotating IPs to gain online privacy and protect themselves against tracking. It would appear that under the new rules using a VPN could cause Netflix subscribers to receive an extra charge, even if they have never shared their account with anybody else.

“The idea that consumers should have to modify their online habits or disengage their privacy tools to prevent additional charges seems unfair when those users have not actually done anything wrong.”

Thankfully, ExpressVPN has a team dedicated to unblocking its server locations from the crackdown by Netflix, so it offers the most reliable connection for anyone looking to stream content from overseas on Netflix. This, amongst other reasons, is why ExpressVPN has earned first place in our best VPN guide.

Is it legal to use a VPN?

Using a VPN to encrypt your data and change your IP address is not illegal. In fact, if you work from home using a laptop given to you by your company …then it most likely has a VPN installed to protect sensitive information.

VPNs have been an essential part of day-to-day life for enterprise or government workers for years but, as we rely on the internet for more tasks in our daily lives, these apps are becoming increasingly common with individuals to enhance their privacy, block advertisers from tracking your every move online, unlock more TV shows, sports and films on streaming service, and find cheap flights.

That said, VPNs aren’t legal everywhere.

There are currently 10 countries around the world where VPNs are specifically outlawed: China, Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Iraq, Turkey, UAE, and Oman. If you live in one of these countries – or will be travelling to one of these soon – it might be a good idea to uninstall the VPN app from your device.

But aside from a handful of exceptions, anywhere else on the planet, VPNs are completely legal.

While using a VPN for your own protection is legal, it’s always worth checking the Terms and Conditions of each service that you intend to use with a VPN to make sure you aren’t breaking any of its rules.

For example, streaming boxsets, live television, and movies from BBC iPlayer is restricted to those located within the UK who are covered with a television licence – with the use of VPNs to unblock the streaming service from mainland Europe, the USA, and elsewhere, specifically called-out are against its T&Cs in the small print.

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