The best cheap monthly VPN services

Atlas VPN

Atlas VPN is one of a few providers on this list to offer a free plan. But it limits you to 3 server locations and only 5GB of monthly data. If you want the premium VPN experience, you should go with their paid plan.

While their 1-month plan isn’t the cheapest at $11.99/month, they do offer great value with their longest plan at $1.70/month for 3 years. You also get a 30-day money-back guarantee for long-term subscriptions, so you can get your money back within 30 days if you’re not satisfied with the quality of their service.

Atlas’s paid plan gets you access to 1000+ servers in 45+ locations, 24/7 customer support, unlimited simultaneous connections, unlimited data, and many other useful features. Considering that $1.70/month for their longest plan is one of the cheaper subscriptions in the business, Atlas VPN definitely deserves a spot on this list.

Surfshark

Surfshark is another VPN provider that doesn’t necessarily offer the best price for a 1-month plan at $15.45/month. But its cheapest monthly VPN subscription is priced at $2.49/month for 2 years, which is a killer deal considering what you get for the price.

The Starter package gives you access to 3200+ servers in 100+ countries, unlimited connections, industry-leading encryption, modern VPN protocols, and Ad blocker, amongst a whole heap of other features. Surfshark also has a strict no-logs VPN policy and undergoes regular independent audits, so you can rest assured that your connection always stays private.

You can upgrade your VPN subscription to Surfshark One or One+ plans for an additional price. Both plans include security features such as Antivirus, Real-time breach alerts, Webcam protection, and a private search engine, while One+ also includes the Incogni personal data removal service.

NordVPN

NordVPN may not be the cheapest VPN provider on this list, but its value for money is still one of the best. Nord’s Standard plan is their cheapest 1-month plan, priced at $12.99. If you choose a 2-year subscription, the price goes down to $3.99/month.

The Standard plan gives you secure encryption, modern VPN protocols, and 5000+ servers in 60 countries to connect to. It also includes NordVPN’s malware protection, ad blocker, and tracker blocker features.

If you want to take your online security even further, you can get the Plus plan, which includes the NordPass password manager and data breach scanner on top of everything offered with the Standard plan. Or go all out with the Complete plan, including 1TB of Nordlocker cloud storage and next-generation file encryption.

Proton VPN

Much like Atlas VPN, Proton VPN offers a free plan to its users. It includes 100+ servers in 3 locations and unlimited bandwidth. However, as with all free VPNs, you can expect those servers to be crowded, which can slow down your connection significantly.

If you want the premium VPN experience, you should go with one of their 2 paid plans. The cheaper plan, called Proton VPN Plus, costs $9.99 for a 1-month plan or $4.99/month if you go with a 2-year subscription. While the 1-month price is quite appealing, Proton VPN’s long-term subscriptions are some of the most expensive on this list.

The Plus plan gives you access to 3200+ servers in 70+ countries, an ad blocker, malware protection, and up to 10 simultaneous connections. As you’d expect from a premium provider, it also uses secure encryption and modern VPN protocols.

The Proton Unlimited plan includes encrypted calendars, 500GB of cloud storage, encrypted file sharing, and encrypted passwords. However, the price jump when upgrading to Unlimited is quite significant, especially for long-term plans, with the 2-year subscription costing $7.99/month.

PrivateVPN

With its 1-month plan priced at $9.90 and the cheapest subscription costing only $2/month, PrivateVPN is one of the most budget-friendly options on this list. It also doesn’t burden you with having to choose between multiple plans. You get one option with 3 subscription durations and 3 different price points.

For that price, you get the basics that you’d expect out of a paid VPN. Secure protocols, encryption, a no-logs claim, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Standard stuff. However, PrivateVPN is a smaller VPN provider, which is evident when looking at things like server infrastructure or additional features.

PrivateVPN only has 200+ servers compared to the thousands offered by the big boys of the VPN game. On top of that, it offers few additional security or user comfort features. An ad blocker, malware protection, or breach alerts are all useful for your digital security, yet they’re not a part of what PrivateVPN offers.

PrivadoVPN

PrivadoVPN is in the same boat as PrivateVPN — it’s a relatively smaller VPN provider.  While  it does offer affordable pricing, it may be lacking the infrastructure or features that bigger VPNs can offer.

Their 1-month plan, priced at $10.99, is within the range of what we’ve been looking at so far. PrivadoVPN’s cheapest premium VPN plan is a 2-year plan at $3.99/month, which is more expensive than some more popular options, such as Surfshark. It also has a free plan which offers 10 GB of data every month and gives access to 12 servers.

Its premium service offers servers in 48 countries, 10 simultaneous connections, an ad blocker, threat prevention, as well as modern VPN protocols, secure encryption, and a 30-day money-back guarantee for long-term plans. 

It’s worth mentioning that PrivadoVPN doesn’t officially disclose the number of servers they have. While that may not be a big issue, it’s useful to know the server count, as a larger server infrastructure implies that the servers are less likely to get crowded, directly affecting the speed of your connection.

Ivacy VPN

Ivacy is yet another provider to offer a limited free plan, although it includes only 2 GB of data a month, with only 3 server locations to connect to. That’s not enough to always stay private online, so if you want the premium experience, you’ll have to go with one of their paid plans.

If you want to choose a 1-month plan, it’ll cost you $9.95. But if you’re not afraid of committing to a long subscription, Ivacy’s cheapest monthly VPN plan priced at only $1.17/month. However, this price is only available if you sign up for a 5-year plan, which is by far the longest subscription period in this list.

The paid plan includes full access to 5700+ servers in 60+ countries, which is impressive considering the price. Ivacy also offers malware protection, up to 10 simultaneous connections, secure encryption, and claims not to collect user activity logs. While all of the above sounds great, Ivacy does leave a bit to be desired regarding VPN protocols. 

First of all, it doesn’t offer WireGuard, which is the fastest protocol in the market today. On top of that, it only offers OpenVPN on Windows. If you’re an Apple user, you have to settle with IKEv2 and LT2P/IPSec for iOS, while only IKEv1 is available for macOS. This is particularly alarming as IKEv1 has known security vulnerabilities. 

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is one of the biggest names in the VPN industry. And it wouldn’t have reached this point without having secure encryption, modern protocols, 24/7 customer support, a vast server infrastructure, and regular independent audits. These are cornerstones of any premium VPN service, and ExpressVPN is no exception.

However, when it comes to pricing, ExpressVPN isn’t the most budget-friendly option out there. Their 1-month plan is priced at $12.95, while their cheapest plan is set at $6.67/month, which is the most expensive subscription on this list. 

It’s worth mentioning that their cheapest plan is a 12-month subscription, which is a shorter commitment for the cheapest plan compared to most other VPNs. ExpressVPN also doesn’t complicate things with multiple subscription options — all subscriptions include the same set of features.

CyberGhost

CyberGhost is another popular provider offering an all-around VPN experience without glaring flaws. Their 1-month plan is set at $12.99 and even offers a 14-day money-back guarantee, which is rare for 1-month plans. The cheapest CyberGhost plan is $2.03/month for 2 years with a 45-day money-back guarantee, longer than the industry-standard 30 days.

When it comes to what you get for your money, it’s pretty much what you’d expect. WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 as VPN protocol choices, AES-256 encryption to keep you safe and an ad blocker to clean up your web surfing experience. CyberGhost also flaunts an impressive fleet of servers which includes 9200+ RAM-only servers in 91+ countries.

Private Internet Access

Regarding subscription costs, PIA (Private Internet Access) is right around the industry average for a 1-month plan at $11.95. Its cheapest plan is on the more affordable side, priced at $1.98/month for 2 years and backed up by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

PIA stands out of the pack thanks to an incredibly vast server infrastructure, with servers in all 50 US states and a claimed 30,000+ servers in 91+ countries worldwide. 

It’s also fairly feature-rich since it blocks ads, malware, and trackers, offers unlimited simultaneous connections, 24/7 customer support, and more. All are included in the plan at no extra cost. 

Mullvad VPN

If you’re looking for a VPN that stands out of the pack, Mullvad should definitely pique your interest. As far as pricing is concerned, Mullvad doesn’t use a subscription model. Instead, it charges a flat monthly price of 5€ (or roughly $5.24) a month, and you can choose the duration yourself.

This places Mullvad as the cheapest monthly VPN on this list as far as the 1-month price is concerned. However, if you plan to stay with Mullvad for a long time, the overall costs will be higher than a 2-year subscription with most premium VPN providers.

On top of that, Mullvad tries to provide the most anonymous user experience possible. To do so, they don’t require an email or a name when creating an account and even allow you to pay for your VPN by sending cash through the post. 

As you’d expect from a privacy-oriented provider, it uses secure encryption and VPN protocols. However, it does not offer WireGuard, which can be a bummer if you’re looking for the best VPN connection speed. It’s also not packed with additional features, doesn’t always work well with streaming services, and doesn’t offer 24/7 customer support.

As a result, Mullvad has found its place in the niche of privacy and anonymity seekers, but the overall experience isn’t always suited for the average VPN user. If you’re just looking for a VPN that encrypts your traffic without having any impact on your browsing and video-watching experience, Mullvad may not be the best choice for you.

IPVanish

At $12.99 for its 1-month plan and $3.25/month for a 2-year subscription, IPVanish doesn’t offer anything out of the ordinary as far as the subscription cost is concerned. Its 2200+ servers in 75+ countries is pretty much average as well when you compare IPVanish to other providers on this list.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with being average. The service isn’t overpriced, and the server network is big enough to cover the connection needs of most users. Most importantly, you’re still getting the most important things for a good VPN — secure encryption and modern protocols like WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2.

On top of that, IPVanish has brilliant customer support, which even includes phone support, something you won’t get from most of other VPN providers. So if you feel like calling them, you can do that. Otherwise, you can resort to a 24/7 live chat, a ticketing system, a vast knowledge base, and video guides.

PureVPN

Much like Surfshark or NordVPN, PureVPN offers more security solutions than just a VPN. However, they’re not included in the standard plan. PureVPN’s cheapest 1-month plan is priced at $10.95, but if you go for a 2-year subscription, the price is cut down to $1.96/month.

The standard plan includes pretty much everything you’d expect from a premium VPN service. 6500+ servers in 70+ countries, modern protocols, AES-256 encryption, 24/7 live chat support, and a 31-day money-back guarantee for long-term subscriptions. 

If you want to take your online privacy and security a step further, you can get their password manager and end-to-end file encryption feature if you upgrade to a Plus plan. Or get their Max bundle that also includes a Personal Privacy Manager on top of everything else that’s included in the 2 other plans.

Windscribe

Windscribe’s 1-month plan is priced at $9.00, which is cheaper than a lot of the competition. The same can’t be said about its cheapest subscription, though, as it turns out to be $5.75/month for a 1-year plan. It’s worth mentioning that Windscribe offers a free plan, which includes 10 GB of data every month and access to servers in 10 locations.

Windscribe has a relatively small server network with 480+ servers in 60+ countries. That said, you still get AE-256 encryption and a vast selection of modern VPN protocols, including WireGuard, IKEv2, and OpenVPN.

Windscribe does have some desirable features that other small VPNs may not, such as an ad blocker on browser extensions, a double VPN, and even GPS spoofing.

Hide.me

Hide.me is yet another provider offering a free plan; theirs even includes unlimited data. However, as with all free plans, the number of locations is limited, which means you can expect overcrowded servers and slow connection speeds.

When it comes to their paid plans, the 1-month plan is priced at $9.95, while their cheapest subscription is $2.69/month for 2 years. Hide.me doesn’t offer any additional plans that may bloat the subscription costs. Everything they offer is included in a single package.

The package includes exactly what you’d expect if you read this article all the way through to this point. WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 VPN protocols, secure encryption, 2000+ servers in 45+ countries, 24/7 customer support, and a no-logs claim. Pretty much standard stuff for a premium VPN provider.

If you just want a solid VPN experience without the option of other online privacy and security solutions, Hide.me is a good, affordable option to go with — both when it comes to a 1-month plan and longer subscriptions.

Is the cheapest really the best?

As you can see, pricing-wise, most premium VPN providers are fairly close. It’s up to you to decide whether a dime a month is enough to make a difference. At the end of the day, a VPN should protect your online activities without a noticeable negative impact on your connection.

If you go with a feature-packed, audited, reputable, yet still affordable VPN like Surfshark, you’re pretty much guaranteed a pleasant VPN experience without breaking the bank.

FAQ

How much does a VPN cost per month on average?

The prices of VPN subscriptions vary quite heavily. You can expect to pay anything between $9 and $15 for a 1-month plan, but you can usually get a great deal if you choose a long-term subscription. If you go for a 2-year plan, you can get a premium VPN at around $2 to $3 a month.

Which VPN providers offer a free trial?

Surfshark is one of the VPN providers to offer a free trial. Download the Surfshark app on the App Store or the Google Play Store, create your account, and choose the 12-month subscription to activate a 7-day free trial.

How much is Surfshark VPN per month?

The cheapest Surfshark VPN plan is priced at $2.49/month for a 2-year subscription. The same plan is $3.22/month for a 1-year plan and $15.45 for 1 month. Surfshark also offers One and One+ subscriptions at $3.06/month and $4.69/month respectively for a 2-year subscription.

How can I get a monthly VPN cheaper?

To get a great deal on a premium VPN subscription, you should choose a longer subscription period. For example, Surfshark costs $15.45 for a 1-month plan, $3.22/month for a 1-year plan, and only $2.49/month if you commit to Surfshark for 2 years.