Is a Free VPN Safe to Use?

Whether you’re casually browsing online or accessing internet banking services, you do not want anyone to take a peek at your activity and access your data. Unfortunately, hackers and other malicious parties are always trying to steal and sell any type of data they can access.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) will hide your IP address and online activity from hackers, advertisers, and other parties that want to use your data for malicious or monetary purposes.
There are many free and paid VPN services available today, and they all have their pros and cons. But trust is a huge part of what you should expect from any VPN service provider.
In this article, we will help you figure out whether it is worth paying for a paid VPN service or if going with a free one is perfectly adequate. Let’s get started!

Free vs Paid VPN Services

Free VPN Services

Free VPNs often come with very limited protection features and give users little to no choice of location or server to connect to. This can make activities like streaming content from your country of choice or accessing sites locked to a particular region difficult or impossible.

Free VPNs do not run in the background and can be a strain on your internet bandwidth. The connection is often throttled after a certain point, which is not ideal for streaming or continuous work.
A bigger issue with free VPNs is their low-end encryption protocols which may put your data and personal information at risk of exposure.

Some free VPN services may also store your activity logs and either sell them on the dark web or release them to the government on order.

But this doesn’t mean that all VPNs are unreliable, only that finding a reliable one can be very challenging.

Paid VPN Services

With a paid VPN service, there are undoubtedly many more benefits. The security standards are also much better because these companies have dedicated resources.
For starters, a paid VPN will have more robust encryption protocols to protect your data. They have a no-logs policy and provide users with a wide range of location and server options all over the world. This feature is crucial if you need a particular location-based VPN to access streaming content, workplace networks, or geo-blocked websites.

One thing you will surely appreciate with a paid VPN is how silently it works. It runs quietly in the background and does not affect your connection or online activity at all. This allows for more robust internet speeds with little to no limits on long-term usage.

Should You Use a Free VPN Service?

If you’re traveling and need to access the internet for basic browsing or content streaming, a free VPN should cover everything you need. They’re also a good choice if you only want to hide your data while accessing a public WiFi network.
Whereas a paid VPN might be better for high-risk activities, faster internet speeds, remote working, and more streaming options.
If you’re hesitating to pay for a VPN service, plenty of service providers offer trials before you need to commit.

What Is the Best Free and Paid VPN Service?

Here are three excellent VPN providers that are best in their category if you’re still stuck.

Best Free VPN

Hotspot Shield VPN

Based in the United States, Hotspot Shield is a top-rated VPN provider that provides high-quality VPN features for free.
With their free VPN, you can maintain excellent speeds and access over 115 virtual locations. They advertise unlimited data with their free services, but you will get ads if you go over 500 MB of browsing. Hotspot Shield also hides P2P activity from Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

One of the best features that come with this free VPN is AES-128 encryption and leak protection that ensures your traffic on their network remains secure at all times.
The free plan is only one click away!

If you enjoy their free VPN service and are interested in exploring more features, they offer a 7-day free trial for their premium plans along with a 45-day money-back guarantee.

Betternet

For your peace of mind, free VPNs must only be used for basic low-risk activities due to their unpredictable nature. This is especially true for this particular VPN service.
Betternet is another US-based free VPN service provider that works with Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows. Users don’t need to sign up for anything to get started—you just need to download the program or browser extension.
While Betternet also offers paid plans, the premium benefits they provide aren’t great for the asking price.

Overall, we suggest using their free VPN service for low-risk browsing, streaming, or gaming activities. They are a great option if you want to unlock content libraries in the US or UK.

TunnelBear

Tunnelbear VPN is another good free VPN option. The free service is limited to 500MB so it will only be sufficinet if your usage is browsing and you are not looking to stream media while the VPN is turned on.

Best Paid VPN Service

UltraVPN

If you need a high-performing VPN that provides every crucial security feature under the sun, this one’s for you. UltraVPN is a U.S.-based VPN provider that offers three paid plans for users with different security requirements. Their basic VPN service is accessible for an affordable monthly charge of $2.99 for 24 months. At this incredible price, you

Internet usage and downloads are unrestricted, so you are free to browse without delays or worry about advertisements or your ISP throttling after a certain point. UltraVPN also offer two other plans priced monthly at $7.99 (1 month) and $4.99 (12 months). Their 30-day money-back guarantee applies to all plans, so you can try out a month of their premium services before committing.
UltraVPN is also set to introduce a password manager and dark web monitoring service along with their plans, which are the icing on the cake!

Wrapping Up

Instead of debating between free or unpaid VPN services, the more critical factor to consider is the provider’s reliability. Whether it is top internet speeds you’re looking for or top-quality security, you want a service that will deliver.
For those who only want location-restricted content and a global browsing experience, a free VPN will do. For everyone else who prioritizes data security and private browsing, a paid version is the best option.