Updated on: September 12, 2023
Short on time? Here’s the best cheap VPN:
- 🥇 Private Internet Access: Comes with excellent security features, maintains very fast speeds, works with Netflix, support torrenting, provides intuitive apps for all OS, allows unlimited simultaneous connections, and offers very cheap pricing plans, which start $2.19 / month.
I spent a couple of weeks researching and testing the top VPN services on the market to find the best cheap VPNs in 2023.
Unfortunately, I learned that many low-cost VPNs aren’t worth the cheap price — they lack essential security and privacy features, don’t come with any extra features, log user data, have slow speeds, don’t work with the top streaming services, and don’t have money-back guarantees.
However, I still managed to find a handful of very good cheap VPNs. In addition to providing budget-friendly prices and lengthy money-back guarantees, all of the VPNs on this list are secure, feature-rich, fast, and good for streaming and torrenting — my #1 choice is Private Internet Access.
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Quick Summary of the Best Cheap VPNs:
- 1.🥇 Private Internet Access ($2.19 / month) — Best cheap VPN in 2023.
- 2.🥈 CyberGhost VPN ($2.19 / month) — Great streaming & gaming capabilities.
- 3.🥉 NordVPN ($3.19 / month) — Excellent security & fast speeds.
- 4. Surfshark ($2.30 / month) — Great for beginners.
- 5. PrivateVPN ($2.00 / month) — Customizable VPN apps.
- Plus 5 more!
- Comparison of the Best Cheap VPNs.
🥇1. Private Internet Access — Best Cheap VPN in 2023
Private Internet Access (PIA) is my favorite cheap VPN in 2023 — it offers affordable monthly and yearly plans, with prices starting at just $2.19 / month. In addition to offering some of the cheapest plans on the market, PIA also often gives away additional months for free, and its yearly plans also frequently include free encrypted cloud storage.
PIA has advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy, RAM-only servers, and full leak protection against DNS, WebRTC, and IPv6 leaks. Perfect forward secrecy changes your encryption keys after each VPN session, preventing hackers from accessing any past or future keys. And RAM-only servers means that no data is stored on the hard drive (and each server is wiped clean of data each time it’s reset).
PIA is really fast as well — my average speed loss was only 25%, which is really good. What’s more, it’s very easy to use, and it allows unlimited connections so you can use it on as many devices as you want.
PIA also offers great extra features, such as:
- Split-tunneling — This feature allows you to choose which apps and IP addresses to route through the VPN, and which ones to route through your local network. PIA offers split-tunneling on Android, Windows, and Macs.
- Ad blocker (MACE) — It’s the best ad blocker out there, as it blocks ads, trackers, and malicious websites.
- Obfuscation — PIA’s Shadowsocks proxy servers are able to bypass internet restrictions in censor-heavy nations like China and Iran.
- Identity Guard — Lets you see if any of your personal information (email addresses, passwords, date of birth, etc.) has been involved in a data breach.
One of my favorite things about PIA is how all of its apps are fully open-source, which allows anyone to examine its code for holes in security or privacy. And PIA’s no-logs policy has been proven in multiple court documents that it doesn’t store user data, such as IP addresses, websites you visit, and files you download.
PIA is also one of my top choices for streaming. It works with 30+ streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. And thanks to PIA’s fast speeds, I was able to stream TV shows and movies in HD and 4K quality without any interruptions.
Private Internet Access offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans and accepts 4 credit cards, PayPal, Amazon Pay, and cryptocurrencies.
Bottom Line:
Private Internet Access is the best overall cheap VPN on the market — it’s secure, comes with intuitive apps, maintains very fast speeds, works with all streaming apps, and offers several plans that start at $2.19 / month. PIA also often gives away additional months for free and backs all of its plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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Read the full Private Internet Access review
🥈2. CyberGhost VPN — Great for Streaming & Gaming
CyberGhost VPN offers monthly and yearly subscription plans that start at just $2.19 / month and is also known to give away 3 months for free. It comes with dedicated servers that are optimized for streaming, torrenting, and gaming (it’s one of my favorite gaming VPNs in 2023).
CyberGhost is excellent for streaming and torrenting. For one, it has 100+ streaming servers across 20+ countries that are optimized for 50+ streaming apps, like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Also, it has dedicated torrenting servers in 70+ countries — although the torrenting servers worked great in my tests, I still prefer Private Internet Access, as it conveniently allows torrenting on all servers.
It provides good speeds. CyberGhost only had an average speed decrease of 30% in my tests, which isn’t as fast as Private Internet Access, but it’s still pretty good for all online activities.
CyberGhost has the largest server network on this list (9200+ servers in 90+ countries) — this allows virtually any user in the world to connect to a nearby server to get fast speeds, and it also helps prevent server overcrowding, which causes slowdowns.
Plus, it has very good security features, including perfect forward secrecy, RAM-only servers, NoSpy servers that only CyberGhost VPN employees can access, and protection against DNS and IPv6 leaks. It also comes with Identity Guard (alerts you if your login details are leaked) and Content Blocker, which protects you from shady sites.
I’m also a big fan of the provider’s Smart Rules feature, which lets you automate VPN connections. For example, you can configure the VPN app to automatically connect you to a specific streaming server and launch your desired streaming app on launch.
CyberGhost VPN offers a generous 45-day money-back guarantee (the monthly plan comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee), and it accepts credit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and Bitcoin.
Bottom Line:
CyberGhost VPN has dedicated servers for streaming and gaming, and it offers low-cost plans starting at $2.19 / month — plus, its longest plan typically comes with an additional 3 months for free. CyberGhost has great security features, good torrenting support, and it backs all annual plans with a generous 45-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full CyberGhost VPN review
🥉3. NordVPN — Great Security Features & Fast Speeds
NordVPN’s plans start at $3.19 / month and include some pretty good security features. The VPN uses RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy, offers full leak protection, and has one of the best VPN ad blockers (Threat Protection) on the market. It also has a transparent no-logs policy that has been confirmed multiple times by outside auditing firms.
What’s more, I also like its Dark Web Monitor feature, which sends you alerts if your NordVPN login credentials are compromised. If you use the same credentials for other accounts, you can use this feature to keep tabs on them. Not to mention it also comes with double VPN servers, which send your data through 2 servers instead of just 1 server, thus providing better security.
I was fairly impressed by NordVPN’s speeds. Web pages and videos in HD quality loaded immediately and 4K streams loaded in 3–4 seconds. That said, it was slower than both Private Internet Access and CyberGhost VPN.
NordVPN has really good streaming support, and I had no problem accessing my Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ accounts when connected to the VPN. NordVPN also supports torrenting and works with popular torrent clients, but it doesn’t allow P2P traffic on all of its servers. Still, you can torrent on 4,500+ servers in 45+ countries, so you can easily find a nearby server that’s P2P-optimized.
NordVPN has an impressive server network of 5,600+ servers in 55+ countries and extra features like split-tunneling, which lets you route some of your traffic through the VPN. It also offers obfuscation but only on 100+ servers in 15+ countries.
NordVPN backs all of its plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee and accepts many payment options, including credit cards, Amazon Pay, cryptocurrencies, Union Pay, and ACH Transfer.
Bottom Line:
NordVPN provides good security and speeds for an affordable price. Your connections are protected by perfect forward secrecy and full leak protection, and you get great privacy with an audited no-logs policy. It works with most popular streaming services including Netflix and Disney+, and its speeds are good enough for torrenting and streaming. All plans are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
4. Surfshark — A Beginner-Friendly VPN
Surfshark offers very intuitive apps and some really cheap plans, starting from $2.30 / month, which makes it a great pick for VPN beginners and anyone on a tight budget.
Surfshark also offers very easy-to-use apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android TV, and Fire TV. And it takes just 1–2 minutes to download and install the apps. Plus the interface is very simple to navigate, and I really like how the VPN allows unlimited connections.
I was impressed by Surfshark’s security features. The VPN has advanced security features like RAM-only servers, perfect forward secrecy, and an audited no-logs policy. It also offers DNS leak protection, though I’d like to see it include WebRTC and IPv6 leak protection, like Private Internet Access and NordVPN. That said, I never experienced any leaks during my tests.
Surfshark comes with an ad blocker, called CleanWeb, which blocks ads, trackers, and malicious sites. In my tests, CleanWeb performed really well — it blocked most ads on ad-heavy sites and stopped me from visiting shady sites 100% of the time.
You also get good speeds on nearby servers, but I did experience slowdowns on distant servers. The good news is you can improve your speeds with the split tunneling feature. I was able to watch Netflix in UHD, though I was disappointed to find I couldn’t access my Disney+ account.
Surfshark covers all of its plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee and accepts credit/debit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and different cryptocurrencies.
Bottom Line:
Surfshark offers beginner-friendly apps and cheap plans, starting at only $2.30 / month. It comes with advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy, RAM-only servers, DNS leak protection, and a good ad blocker. It works well with a lot of streaming services (but not Disney+), and it gets good enough speeds for streaming on local servers. It covers all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Surfshark review
5. PrivateVPN — Highly Customizable Apps
PrivateVPN has customizable apps with budget-friendly plans that start at $2.00 / month. One of the things I love the most about PrivateVPN is that its desktop apps have a Simple View mode that keeps user functions to a bare minimum, only allowing you to choose a server, contact customer support, and review your account — the Advanced View gives users full access to all features and preferences.
PrivateVPN also has good security and privacy features, including a clear no-logs policy and DNS and IPv6 leak protection (but not WebRTC). However, unlike Private Internet Access and CyberGhost VPN, PrivateVPN is missing advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy as well as some key extra features like split-tunneling and an ad blocker.
Plus, it maintains fast speeds (dropping by an average of about 40%), but it’s not as fast as Private Internet Access — I experienced similar speeds as PIA on local servers, but websites took longer to load, and there was some buffering while watching content on distant servers.
PrivateVPN also works with all of the popular streaming services. For instance, I was able to access Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max. PrivateVPN is also good at bypassing internet firewalls in restrictive countries with its Stealth VPN feature. It supports torrenting on all of its servers and works with popular torrent clients.
PrivateVPN’s plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee and accepts multiple forms of payment, including Bitcoin.
Bottom Line:
PrivateVPN has several plans starting at $2.00 / month, and it sometimes offers extra months completely free of charge. It has good privacy and security, maintains fast speeds on local servers, and provides user-friendly apps that make it a great choice for people who have never used a VPN. PrivateVPN allows 10 connections and has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full PrivateVPN review
6. Proton VPN — Great Free Plan & Top-Notch Privacy Features
Proton VPN offers very affordable plans that start at $4.99 / month. What’s more, it has one of the best free VPN plans on the market, so you can test it risk-free before picking one of its paid plans. The free plan allows unlimited data, but it limits you to servers in 3 countries (the US, the Netherlands, and Japan) and 1 device.
Proton VPN shines in its dedication to privacy and security. The company is based in Switzerland, which is renowned for its strong privacy laws. Proton VPN also has an independently verified no-logs policy and issues regular transparency reports, two things that not all of its competitors can claim. On top of that, it offers perfect forward secrecy and open-source apps that anyone can check for security vulnerabilities.
As for speeds, Proton VPN performed well but failed to match Private Internet Access. Websites loaded in about 3 seconds and videos started in about 4 seconds. It also has VPN Accelerator, a unique tool that boosts connection speeds on distant servers.
Proton VPN offers apps that are remarkably simple to use, providing a minimalist interface for those who wish to focus on the essential features — you’ll easily be able to select a server, change different settings, and manage your account.
Proton VPN offers a range of payment options, including Bitcoin, which upholds its commitment to privacy. It also comes with a prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Proton VPN is affordable, has a great free plan, and comes with exceptional privacy features, including open-source apps, an audited no-logs policy, transparency reports, and a privacy-friendly location (Switzerland). It also provides good speeds and is easy to use. It backs all purchases with a prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Proton VPN review
7. TunnelBear — Fun & Easy-to-Use Interface
TunnelBear has prices that start from $3.33 / month. The main thing I love about this VPN is how beginner-friendly it is — its apps are very intuitive, the interface is easy to navigate, and you can use a digital map to connect to servers. Even better, when you connect to a server, a digital bear digs a tunnel to it on the map (and on mobile, it even roars when it connects to the server).
In terms of privacy and security, TunnelBear is excellent. Its server infrastructure and apps undergo regular audits, and the provider issues an annual transparency report, all of which assures me of its commitment to privacy. It also provides full leak protection.
In my speed tests, the provider performed pretty well, though it was still slower than Private Internet Access. Most sites took around 3 seconds to load, HD videos loaded in around 2–3 seconds, and 4K videos took 5 seconds to load.
The VPN works with most top streaming sites, but it can’t access Disney+. If that’s a deal-breaker, I suggest trying out CyberGhost VPN instead.
TunnelBear has a free plan, but you only get 2 GB per month, which is only enough to really test it out. Also, it doesn’t come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. TunnelBear accepts a variety of payment methods, including credit/debit cards and Bitcoin.
Bottom Line:
TunnelBear is a fun and easy-to-use VPN that’s particularly suited to beginners. Alongside a unique and easy-to-navigate app interface, it provides solid security features and good speeds on most servers. There’s no 30-day money-back guarantee but you can try it via the free plan.
Read the full TunnelBear review
8. IPVanish — Good for Torrenting
IPVanish is an affordable VPN with excellent torrenting support, starting from $2.99 / month. It allows torrenting on all of its 2,000+ servers, works with top torrent clients like BitTorrent and Vuze, and has SOCKS5 proxy servers that provide more secure connections and faster speeds than traditional proxies. In my tests, I usually had 10% faster download speeds on the SOCKS5 proxy servers.
IPVanish offers good security, including a no-logs policy that has been independently audited and confirmed, and leak protection against DNS and IPv6 leaks. It doesn’t have protection against WebRTC leaks, but I never experienced any leaks in my tests.
In terms of speed, IPVanish performed really well on nearby servers. Sites loaded instantly, HD videos took 1–2 seconds to load, and I didn’t experience any buffering. However, I did notice some slowdowns on more distant servers.
It’s also very easy to use. The apps are intuitive and make it very simple to find and connect to any of IPVanish’s servers.
One area where IPVanish falls short is streaming support. It doesn’t work consistently with popular streaming platforms, and I think that Private Internet Access and CyberGhost VPN are a much better choice for streaming.
IPVanish offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all of its plans and accepts various payment methods, including credit/debit cards, PayPal, and cryptocurrencies.
Bottom Line:
IPVanish is an affordable VPN with great torrenting support. Its plans start at $2.99 / month, it comes with good security features, and it has well-designed apps that are very easy to navigate. It also has good speeds on nearby servers and backs all of its plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
9. VyprVPN — Great for Bypassing Censorship
VyprVPN’s prices start at $5.00 / month, making it pricier than most of my other top picks. But I still think it provides good value, especially if you travel through restrictive countries. That’s because it works without issues in places like China.
One of VyprVPN’s standout features is its proprietary Chameleon protocol. It’s designed to combat deep packet inspection and refresh your IP address multiple times during your VPN session. This makes it particularly effective at bypassing restrictive government censorship.
In terms of streaming support, VyprVPN accesses a variety of platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. However, it’s unable to access Disney+ (unlike Private Internet Access).
VyprVPN comes with a slew of robust security features. It uses the strong WireGuard protocol, has perfect forward secrecy, and operates exclusively on RAM-only servers. It also features a well-documented, audited no-logs policy.
And the provider also had good speeds in my tests. Most sites loaded instantly, HD videos took just 2 seconds to load, and 4K videos loaded in around 3 seconds.
VyprVPN has engineered intuitive apps that are compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. The interface makes it simple to find and connect your preferred servers.
VyprVPN has a 30-day money-back guarantee on all of its plans and accepts various payment methods, such as credit/debit cards, PayPal, and UnionPay.
Bottom Line:
VyprVPN is affordable, but still a bit pricer than most VPNs. Still, it’s a great pick for accessing the web in restrictive countries, mostly thanks to its proprietary Chameleon protocol. It also provides strong security, good speeds, and easy-to-use apps. It backs all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
10. Hotspot Shield — Fast Speeds & Good for Streaming
Hotspot Shield is an affordable, fast, and streaming-friendly VPN. Its plans start at $2.99 / month, and its speed performance is exceptional, thanks to its proprietary Hydra protocol. I ran several speed tests with that protocol and the results were great — sites loaded instantly, HD videos loaded instantly, and 4K videos took just 3 seconds to load. Overall, my speeds were on par with Private Internet Access.
You also get strong security, as the VPN employs perfect forward secrecy for robust data protection and maintains a clear no-logs policy. It has DNS leak protection on all platforms, but WebRTC and IPv6 leak protection are only available on Windows and Android. Still, during my tests, I never experience any leaks.
And the VPN is also really good for streaming, as it’s compatible with tons of popular platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.
Hotspot Shield has a generous 45-day money-back guarantee and accepts a variety of payment methods, such as 6 types of credit cards and PayPal.
Bottom Line:
Hotspot Shield provides really good speeds on all servers, and it also works with the most popular streaming sites. In addition, it comes with strong security features, and it backs its affordable plans with a generous 45-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Hotspot Shield review
Comparison of the Best Cheap VPNs in 2023
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How to Choose the Best Cheap VPN in 2023
- Compare the pricing. All of the VPNs on this list offer very cheap pricing, especially on long-term plans — Private Internet Access is my top pick for the best cheap VPN, whereas ExpressVPN is my overall favorite VPN in 2023 (but it’s pricier than the other options on the list).
- Look for a good value. I only recommend VPNs that support multiple platforms and devices, offer flexible payment methods, and allow multiple connections. My top pick, Private Internet Access, offers unlimited connections.
- Find a VPN with great security. The VPNs I recommend all come with industry-standard security features, including a kill switch, 256-bit AES encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and leak protection.
- Choose a VPN with fast speeds. All VPNs will slow down your internet speed due to the encryption process. However, my top picks maintain consistently fast connection speeds on all servers. On average, these VPNs only reduced my speeds by about 43%, which is a fair trade-off for the security boost.
- Consider streaming and torrenting. All of the VPNs on this list work with top streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, and each of these VPNs supports torrenting.
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Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut
- ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN is my favorite VPN in 2023, but I didn’t include it on this list because its plans are somewhat pricey. That said, it provides the best combination of super fast speeds, excellent streaming and torrenting support, and top-notch security and privacy features of any VPN I’ve found.
- Ivacy VPN. Ivacy VPN has affordable plans, but I didn’t add it to this list because it doesn’t work with Amazon Prime and Disney+, and it also has slower speeds than all of the VPNs I mentioned here.
- Mullvad VPN. Mullvad VPN has impressive security and privacy features, maintains pretty fast speeds, and works in restrictive countries. However, it’s not great for streaming, and it’s a little expensive — its flat-pricing model means you won’t save any money by getting a long-term plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best cheap VPN?
Private Internet Access (PIA) is my top choice for the best cheap VPN in 2023. It has excellent security features, very fast speeds, works with all of the top streaming apps, supports torrenting on all servers in 80+ countries, and offers very cheap prices, which start at $6.67 / month.
Are cheap VPNs safe?
It depends on the VPN. Many cheap VPNs aren’t safe and some low-cost VPNs are actually dangerous — they lack essential security features, may log your online traffic, and leak your personal data on the internet.
However, all of the cheap VPNs I recommend are very safe. They have industry-standard security features (256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, and a strict no-logs policy), protection against DNS, WebRTC, and IPv6 leaks, advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy, and also include extra features like split-tunneling and an ad blocker.
How to get a cheap VPN?
There are 3 very quick and simple steps to get a cheap VPN in 2023:
- Pick a reputable VPN. Choose a good VPN that offers cheap pricing (I recommend Private Internet Access, which starts at $2.19 / month).
- Download and install the VPN app. It typically takes just a couple of minutes to download and install a cheap VPN on your devices — all you have to do is follow the in-app instructions. If you plan to install the VPN on multiple devices, check to see the number of simultaneous connections the provider allows — Private Internet Access allows unlimited connections.
- Connect to a VPN server. Open the app, scroll through the list of server locations, and connect to a server — you can either use the quick-connect tool to connect to the fastest server based on your location, or you can manually choose any server.
Do cheap VPNs work with Netflix and other streaming platforms?
Most cheap VPNs don’t work with Netflix and other popular streaming apps, but the VPNs I recommend are able to access Netflix and other streaming platforms.
