Best free VPNs for streaming in 2024

In 2024, the quest to find the best free VPN for streaming remains a popular yet challenging endeavor. While the market overflows with free VPN options, they often fall short in delivering a seamless streaming experience. Many free VPNs come with hidden costs, reduced speeds, data limitations, and questionable security measures.

However, not all hope is lost for budget-conscious streamers. We suggest exploring the realm of premium VPNs offering free trials or money-back guarantees. These services typically provide the robust performance and security that free versions lack, elevating your streaming experience without immediately committing to a subscription.

The best free streaming VPN alternative

NordVPN is the best risk-free alternative to a free streaming VPN. With its 7-day free trial for Android and a 30-day money-back guarantee, you can be sure of having the best streaming experience with no data or speed limits.

cybernews® score

4.9 /5

• Excellent speeds
• Powerful unblocking capabilities
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Visit NordVPN

Stay tuned and continue reading our guide to the best free VPNs for streaming.

The best free VPNs for streaming: shortlist

1. NordVPN –overall best free trial VPN for streaming with exceptional speeds
2. Surfshark – versatile free streaming VPN with a user-friendly interface
3. Norton Secure VPN – free streaming VPN with an extensive money-back guarantee
4. ExpressVPN – top free streaming VPN for a buffer-free experience
5. CyberGhost – free trial VPN with dedicated servers optimized for streaming

Is it worth using a free streaming VPN?

In the realm of online streaming, using a free VPN for streaming can be a tempting option, but it's crucial to choose carefully. Not all free VPNs ensure safety, often lacking robust encryption and security protocols. This compromises your data privacy, potentially exposing your online activities to third parties. Additionally, many free streaming VPNs impose limitations like data caps, fewer server options, and slower speeds, which can severely hinder your streaming experience.

Given these concerns, it's generally advisable to opt for a premium VPN, which offers a free trial or a money refund policy. These VPNs typically provide enhanced security, better streaming quality, and more reliable connections. They also offer a wider range of servers and higher speeds, ensuring a seamless streaming experience. While free streaming VPNs might seem cost-effective, the trade-offs in security and performance make premium free trial VPNs a more worthy choice for streaming enthusiasts.

Best free streaming VPNs in 2024: detailed guide

In our comprehensive review, we rigorously tested 41 services to identify the best free VPNs for streaming. Up next, we delve into the top 5 VPN providers, offering an in-depth look at each one's unique features and benefits.

1. NordVPN – best free streaming VPN for 2024

Visit NordVPN

NordVPN stands out as the best free VPN for streaming with market-leading speeds. Its 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee make it a compelling choice for budget-aware streaming enthusiasts.

NordVPN doesn't skimp on security features during its free trial. Users benefit from the modern NordLynx tunneling protocol, an automatic kill switch, and DNS leak protection, ensuring no data leaks.

With its extensive server network, NordVPN ensures stable, high-speed connections and mitigates overcrowding, providing consistent performance. Our comprehensive NordVPN review revealed an impressive speed retention rate of 90%.

NordVPN is highly compatible with various devices and allows up to 10 simultaneous connections. Its strong streaming capabilities enable users to unblock and stream content globally.

Despite lacking a permanent free version, NordVPN's 7-day free trial and affordable subscription plans, starting at $3.09/month with a 30-day money-back guarantee, offer a thorough test drive.

2. Surfshark – intuitive and flexible free VPN for streaming

Visit Surfshark

Surfshark is a great free streaming VPN with unlimited simultaneous connections. This, together with the 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, allows free use across multiple devices without any cost for over a month.

Surfshark prioritizes security with RAM-only servers and an independently audited no-logs policy. Additional layers of protection are provided by a reliable kill switch and a double VPN option.

Known for its rapid speeds, Surfshark leverages the WireGuard protocol for consistently fast connections. With its huge network of servers worldwide, server congestion is rarely an issue. Our Surfshark research revealed it retains around 86% of the original speed.

Surfshark VPN is compatible with a wide range of devices. It also offers antivirus, ad blockers, and excellent unblocking and streaming capabilities.

Surfshark's accessible pricing starts at $2.19/month post the 7-day trial and includes a 30-day money-back guarantee, making it a cost-effective option for long-term use.

3. Norton Secure VPN – free streaming VPN with robust security features

Visit Norton Secure VPN

Norton Secure VPN is an excellent free VPN option for streaming, offering solid security, stable connections, and a user-friendly interface. Available with an antivirus purchase, it includes a 7-day free trial and an impressive 60-day money-back guarantee.

Norton VPN secures your online activities with top-tier AES-256 encryption and adheres to a strict no-logs policy. Bundling this VPN with Norton's robust antivirus enhances your device's defense against malware.

Though its server network, spanning 28 countries, is less extensive than others, Norton Secure VPN avoids overcrowded servers and manages to maintain a decent speed performance. Our in-house Norton VPN tests showed a sufficient 74% speed retention rate.

We found that on some devices, this provider offers fewer features, for example, lacking a kill switch and split tunneling on Mac. However, it includes a helpful ad blocker and a Wi-Fi security feature that activates the VPN on insecure networks.

Norton VPN includes a 7-day free trial and a generous 60-day money-back guarantee. After that, it’s priced only at $3.33/month independently or $49.99/year with antivirus. Norton VPN is truly a valuable package for users seeking security and simplicity while streaming.

4. ExpressVPN – top free VPN for streaming without buffering

Visit ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is a great free VPN for streaming that offers top-notch security with exceptional performance. Known for its excellent speed, it supports global streaming on all servers and allows for up to 8 simultaneous connections.

ExpressVPN includes AES-256 and ChaCha20 encryption, ensuring your online activities are untraceable. Its commitment to anonymity is evidenced by its independently audited no-logs policy.

A key to ExpressVPN's high-speed performance is its proprietary Lightway tunneling protocol. It’s designed for speed and efficiency, using less battery while maintaining strong cryptographic standards. We researched ExpressVPN and found it retains around 77% of the baseline speed.

ExpressVPN offers a reliable kill switch, IP & DNS leak protection, and RAM-only servers. The Threat Manager feature actively blocks tracking and cyber threats.

ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 7-day free trial, allowing users to experience its premium features risk-free. Subsequent subscription costs are reasonable, considering all the features, starting at $6.67/month.

5. CyberGhost – free VPN with specialty servers to enhance streaming

Visit CyberGhost

CyberGhost distinguishes itself by offering a free trial that doesn’t ask for payment details. Additionally, there's a generous 45-day money-back guarantee for longer subscriptions.

This provider ensures your digital privacy with its rigorously audited no-logs policy. For security, it employs AES-256 encryption and includes a Content Blocker to ward off ads, CyberGhost also boasts the largest server network.

CyberGhost supports common protocols like OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard. In our in-depth CyberGhost tests, its speeds were satisfactory – it retained around 86% of the original connection speed.

The application is feature-rich, offering specialized servers for streaming, torrenting, and gaming, along with an ad blocker and other key security tools.

CyberGhost offers a generous 45-day money refund policy and has a limited free trial – 24 hours for Windows and macOS, 3 days for Android, and 7 days for iOS users. Afterward, its full suite of features is available starting at $2.19/month. CyberGhost also allows up to 7 simultaneous connections across different operating systems.

Free VPNs for streaming comparison

Winner

Get NordVPN, now 74% OFF!

How we tested and selected free VPNs for streaming

To determine the best free VPNs for streaming, we rigorously tested and evaluated each service based on several key criteria:

• Free trial. We searched for VPNs with either a free trial or a trustworthy money-back guarantee to facilitate full-feature testing without financial risk.
• Streaming support. The VPN must reliably work with a variety of streaming sites and apps.
• Speed. We looked for VPNs that offer high-speed connections for buffer-free streaming.
• Data usage limits. VPNs with at least 10 GB per month were preferred.
• Security features. We focused on VPNs that offer 256-bit AES encryption, a no-logs policy, and a kill switch feature.
• Server network. A wide range of servers is crucial for accessing various regional streaming platforms.
• Compatibility. The selected VPNs had to be compatible with major operating systems and ideally offer router integration.

Free VPNs for streaming you should avoid

When selecting a free VPN for streaming, it's crucial to be aware of services that might compromise your security and privacy. Here are a few examples to steer clear of:

• Betternet VPN. Now part of the Aura group, Betternet is known for its lax approach to user privacy. They log a range of personal data, from account and billing details to device and usage information, including your approximate location.
• Hola VPN. This VPN has a tarnished reputation due to its previous practices. It infamously used the devices of its users as part of a botnet, potentially involving them in DDoS attacks and other malicious activities without their knowledge.
• Thunder VPN. An Android-specific VPN, Thunder VPN collects a variety of information, including ISP details, OS version, device model, and language, as well as app version, connection timestamps, and daily data transfer amounts.

The primary issue with these VPNs is their disregard for privacy, undermining the fundamental purpose of a VPN. For streaming, to ensure your data remains secure and private, it's best to choose premium VPNs with strict no-log policies, utilizing their free trials. Check our free VPN vs paid VPN article for an in-depth comparison.

Try NordVPN risk-free

Final thoughts

In the landscape of free VPNs for streaming, our comprehensive testing has shown that most free VPNs are not worth the risk due to potential privacy issues and usage limits. It’s best to utilize a free trial of a Premium service. NordVPN stands out as the best option. Its blend of high-speed performance, robust security features, and a user-friendly interface makes it ideal for streaming enthusiasts.

Our selected top free streaming VPNs offer reliability in bypassing geo-restrictions and allow a smooth, buffer-free streaming experience. While completely free VPNs can be tempting, it's crucial to choose one that doesn't compromise on security or streaming quality. We recommend choosing VPNs with a free trial and money-back-guarantee for flexible and secure streaming in 2024.

FAQs