5 Best VPNs With a Free Trial in 2020

Try before you buy – VPN access without the commitment

Did you know that it is possible to get online anonymously with the security of a premium VPN, but without paying for it? Yup, you can get one of the world’s best virtual private networks without either paying a cent or sacrificing quality by grabbing a VPN with a free trial.

Obviously this will only ever be for a limited time. And, in truth, actual free trials as we know them are usually pretty few and far between – generally, VPN providers prefer the ‘money-back guarantee’ route. But that’s still ideal if you want to dip your digital digits in the virtual waters before you commit completely.

A VPN is a fantastic tool to keep you secure and anonymous online, making it the go-to service if you’re on a potentially insecure network connection, say at a hotel abroad or using public Wi-Fi. Beyond security, a VPN can also help you get access to geo restricted content. Say you want to watch Hulu when outside the US, or BBC iPlayer when outside the UK. Fire up your VPN and it’ll look like you’re back home, so you can enjoy the latest episode of your current TV addiction, no matter where you find yourself in the world.

Best free trial VPNs at a glance:

1. ExpressVPN – best overall VPN of them all
2. Surfshark – free for 7 days and no need for credit card details
3. Hotspot Shield – market-leading free version to try out
4. SaferVPN – try for 24 hours before you buy
5. CyberGhost – a full 45 days money-back guarantee

While ExpressVPN is our top choice (and, crucially, comes with a 30-day money back guarantee), there are other services also worth a look. Read on to find out which are the top VPN with free trial options out there.

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Our top 5 VPN with free trial providers:

1. ExpressVPN

Number of servers: 3,000+ | Server locations: 160 | IP addresses: 30,000 | Maximum devices supported: 5 | Free trial type: 30-day money back guarantee

• Huge selection of servers
• Simple and clean client
• Super secure
• Fewer simultaneous connections than some others

Best free trial VPN 2020 – Get a no quibble 30-day money back guarantee

The greatest VPN of them all, regardless of free trial, is ExpressVPN. And the fact it has a 30-day money-back guarantee is just another sweetener. On top of that you also get some of the best security out there thanks to enterprise-level encryption, DNS content unblocking, no logging, a kill switch, P2P support and leak protection. Even payment, if you decide to go beyond the free trial, is secure with Bitcoin as an optional method.

– HEAD HERE TO CLAIM YOUR VPN FREE TRIAL

Beyond security you also have all the benefits of a geo-location workaround system meaning you can flit between countries always appearing to be where you need to be seen from. And that works across devices too thanks to iOS, Android, Mac and Windows clients.

The 24/7 customer support service is a huge draw with help available whenever you need it. The only negative we have is that you can only use this on five devices at any one time. It’s still not bad (just fewer than some other services) and since you can set this up on the router, that helps bypass that issue at home.

On top of the 30-day money-back guarantee the best value comes if you simply sign up for an annual sub, as that gets you 49% off and an extra 3 months FREE.

2. Surfshark

Number of servers: 1,000+ | Server locations: 60+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: Unlimited | Free trial type: 7-day free trial (mobile only) and 30-day money back guarantee

• Loads of features
• Unblocks Netflix
• Very cheap two-year plan
• Speedy live chat support
• Trial is for mobile apps and Macs only
• Support website needs work

Surfshark VPN is proof that you can have an affordable version of a product that still delivers powerful features. This little gem offers a seven-day free trial that requires no credit card details at all and a 30-day money-back guarantee. When you do come to pay, you get a price that’s near half that of the competition, yet still crams in loads of security and geo restriction unblocking powers.

It’s worth noting that the free trial is for mobile apps and Mac only, at time of publishing. However that does get you access to over 1,000 servers across more than 60 locations and, crucially, works to unblock Netflix – something many cheaper VPNs struggle with. Speeds are great and security is fierce with AES-256 encryption, IKEv2 protocols, OpenVPN UDP and TCP and a kill switch, to name but a few. Despite the complex sounding systems, the app is clear and easy to use, even for beginners.

3. Hotspot Shield

Number of servers: 2,500+ | Server locations: 70+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5 | Free trial type: Free version and 45-day money back guarantee

• Free version is an ideal test bed
• Affordable
• Great speeds
• Ease of use
• Official app only

Hotspot Shield is a superb VPN that is most notable for the connection speed across its 2,500 servers running over 70 countries. Thanks to its very own Catapult Hydra protocol this gives you superb speeds no matter where you are and works with clients for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows.

But perhaps even more noteworthy is the fact that you can take advantage of its full free version, that is a great reflection of its premium plan but limited to 500MB use per day. If you want to know just how good Hotspot Shield is then download the free version first and give it a whirl. Or, if you already know that 500MB will never be enough, then there’s a 45-day money-back guarantee of the unlimited plan you can try instead.

4. SaferVPN

Number of servers: 700+ | Server locations: 70+ | IP addresses: 200,000+ | Maximum devices supported: 5 | Free trial type: 1-day free trial and 30-day money back guarantee

• Good speeds
• Netflix unblocked
• Plenty of client options
• Manual router setup
• Relatively small network
• P2P supported on only three servers

SaferVPN is a great option for anyone that wants a lot of clients as this covers (deep breath) Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox and OpenVPN so you can set it up on a router and more. Struggling with any of that? This has 24/7 live chat support so accessing the 700 servers across 34 locations should be simple – even for tasks like unblocking Netflix, which this does well.

Security is tight with the likes of L2TP, PPTP, IKEv2 and OpenVPN protocols supported and no logging of any kind – keeping you anonymous. Speeds are fast even across longer distances.

If you want a VPN with a free trial that isn’t bound up with a retrospective money back promise, then SaferVPN has the option of a 24 hour trial with no need to supply credit card details. Beyond that, there’s a more familiar 30-day money-back guarantee.

5. CyberGhost

Number of servers: 5,700+ | Server locations: 110+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 7 | Free trial type: 45-day money back guarantee

• Great client options
• Excellent performance
• Torrent support
• Interface issues

CyberGhost is one of our favorite VPN services for unblocking video content thanks to its server selection. Just pick the service you want, be it Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer and more, then the VPN will select the best server to get you the ultimate performance.

The basics are well covered with a whopping 5,700 servers spanning 60 countries, all the usual clients and an impressive live chat support service. You also get automated HTTPS redirection and optional data compression to keep you secure and save you money respectively. The interface could be simpler and the desktop trial period is only 24 hours. But the money back guarantee does last a decent 45 days.

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