An online search for the best VPN will tell you how almost every VPN service is the best according to one or the other source. Everyone is busy blowing their own trumpet, and it leaves you more confused than ever.
When you add pricing to this already convoluted mix, there is nothing but utter chaos. Who knew finding the right bargain for a virtual private network can be so tricky.
Well, for starters, here is a table showing the pricing of most of the noteworthy VPN services out there.
| Product Name | Free Trial | Monthly | Yearly | Yearly Total | Read Review | Visit Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenmate | 7 days | 9.99 | 4.49 | 53.88 | Zenmate Review | Visit Website |
| NordVPN | Yes | 11.95 | 6.99 | 83.88 | NordVPN Review | Visit Website |
| ExpressVPN | No | 12.95 | 8.32 | 99.84 | ExpressVPN Review | Visit Website |
| Hide.me | Yes | 14.95 | 9.99 | 119.88 | Hide.me Review | Visit Website |
| CyberGhost | No | 12.99 | 5.99 | 71.88 | CyberGhost Review | Visit Website |
| Private Internet Access | No | 6.95 | 3.33 | 39.96 | Private Internet Access Review | Visit Website |
| Windscribe | No | 9 | 4.08 | 48.96 | Windscribe Review | Visit Website |
| PureVPN | - | 10.95 | 5.81 | 69.72 | PureVPN Review | Visit Website |
| HidemyAss | 7 days | - | 5.99 | 71.88 | HidemyAss Review | Visit Website |
| Hotspot Shield | Yes | 12.99 | 7.99 | 95.88 | Hotspot Shield Review | Visit Website |
| TunnelBear | Yes | 9.99 | 4.99 | 59.88 | TunnelBear Review | Visit Website |
| SpyOff | 14 Days | 7.79 | 0 | 0 | SpyOff Review | |
| IPVanish | 10 | 6.49 | 77.99 | IPVanish Review | Visit Website | |
| Hola | Yes | 11.95 | 6.99 | 83.88 | ||
| F-secure Freedome | - | - | 1.11 | 39.9 | F-secure Freedome Review | Visit Website |
| Avira Phantom VPN | Yes | 10 | 0 | 0 | Avira Phantom VPN Review | |
| Hide My Name | $8 | $3 | $36 | Hide My Name Review | ||
| Kaspersky Secure Connection | Yes | 4.99 | 2.49 | 29.99 | Kaspersky Secure Connection Review | Visit Website |
| SaferVPN | Yes | 12.95 | 5.49 | 65.88 | SaferVPN Review | Visit Website |
| VyprVPN | Yes | 12.95 | 3.75 | 45 | VyprVPN Review | Visit Website |
| Tunnello | - | €5.99 | €3.75 | €45 | ||
| Hidester | - | 9.99 | 3.99 | 47.88 | Hidester Review | Visit Website |
| ProtonVPN | Yes | 4 | 8 | 96 | ProtonVPN Review | Visit Website |
| VPNHub | Yes | 13.99 | 6.99 | 83.88 | VPNHub Review | Visit Website |
| iVacy | - | 9.95 | 3.33 | 39.96 | iVacy Review | Visit Website |
| VPN Unlimited | Yes | 9.99 | 5 | 59.99 | VPN Unlimited Review | Visit Website |
| Browsec | - | 3.99 | 2.5 | 29.94 | Browsec Review | Visit Website |
| Trust Zone | 3 Days | 8.88 | 3.33 | 39.96 | Trust Zone Review | Visit Website |
| Torguard | 7 Days | 9.99 | 9.99 | 59.99 | Torguard Review | Visit Website |
| Smart DNS Proxy | 14 Days | 4.9 | 3.99 | 39.9 | Smart DNS Proxy Review | Visit Website |
| Speedify | - | 9.99 | 5.99 | 71.88 | Speedify Review | Visit Website |
| Astrill | - | 20 | 10 | 120 | Astrill Review | Visit Website |
| Private Tunnel | 6 | 36 | 36 | Private Tunnel Review | ||
| PrivateVPN | - | 5.48 | 1.95 | 23.4 | PrivateVPN Review | Visit Website |
| AzireVPN | - | €5 | €3.75 | €45 | AzireVPN Review | |
| Unlocator | Yes | 4.95 | 4.16 | 49.95 | Unlocator Review | Visit Website |
| Disconnect | Yes | - | 50 | 50 | Disconnect Review | |
| Mullvad | - | €5 | €5 | €60 | Mullvad Review | |
| XVPN | - | 11.95 | 5.99 | 71.88 | XVPN Review | |
| AirVPN | - | 7.8 | 4.54 | 54.48 | AirVPN Review | Visit Website |
| StrongVPN | 10 | 5.83 | 69.96 | StrongVPN Review | ||
| SurfEasy | - | 1.99 | 0 | 0 | SurfEasy Review | |
| Unblock Us | 7 Days | 4.99 | 4.15 | 49.9 | Unblock Us Review | |
| GetFlix | 14 Days | 4.95 | 3.32 | 39.95 | GetFlix Review | Visit Website |
| ZPN | Yes, 10 GB/month | 9.99 | 5.99 | 71.88 | ZPN Review | |
| SurfShark | - | 11.95 | 5.99 | 71.88 | SurfShark Review | Visit Website |
| Fastest VPN | - | 10 | 2.49 | 29.88 | Fastest VPN Review | Visit Website |
| LE VPN | 7 days | 9.95 | 4.95 | 59.4 | LE VPN Review | Visit Website |
| Hide My IP | Yes | 4.95 | 2.91 | 34.92 | Hide My IP Review | |
| FlyVPN | - | 9.9 | 6.67 | 80.04 | FlyVPN Review | |
| ZENVPN | Yes | 5.95 | 4.16 | 49.95 | ZENVPN Review | |
| IBVPN | - | 10.95 | 4.84 | 58.08 | IBVPN Review | Visit Website |
| iVPN | - | 6 | 5 | 60 | iVPN Review | |
| SumRando | Yes | 6 | 0 | 0 | SumRando Review | |
| Buffered | 12.99 | 6.59 | 79.08 | Buffered Review | Visit Website | |
| Perfect Privacy | 12.99 | 9.99 | 119.88 | Perfect Privacy Review | Visit Website | |
| Goosevpn | Yes | 12.99 | 4.99 | 59.88 | Goosevpn Review | Visit Website |
| CactusVPN | Yes | $6.99 | $4.5 | $54.99 | CactusVPN Review | |
| Hideman | Yes | $9 | $5.75 | $69 | Hideman Review | |
| Personal VPN | $5.99 | $4.1 | $49.99 | |||
| VPN.ac | $9 | $4.8 | $58 | VPN.ac Review | ||
| BolehVPN | 1 Day | $9.99 | $6.66 | $79.99 | BolehVPN Review | |
| ZoogVPN | Yes | $7.99 | $2.99 | $35.99 | ZoogVPN Review | |
| VPNSecure.me | 30 Days | 9.95 | 2.99 | 107.64/3 Years | VPNSecure.me Review | Visit Website |
| Average | 9.22 | 6.11 | 61.92 |
Notes: (1) Unless otherwise stated, pricing is in USD. (2) Pricing mentioned is the pricing we checked on the respective website while researching for this article. These providers often offer discounts and change their pricing temporarily. (3) The products listed here are sorted by Alexa traffic rank popularity of the respective website. Since that rank keeps changing everyday, we haven’t included that here.
While this table would provide answers to a lot of your questions, there are a lot of segments left untouched by a pricing table.
There isn’t a direct relationship between the price of a VPN service and the quality of experience it provides. And if someone needs to subscribe to a private network for very specific reasons then there is no need to break the bank and going for one with all the bells and whistles.
Let’s go through some of the VPN features that would help you gauge the network better against its price.
Higher costs for bigger server networks
A private network prevents others from knowing your location, and to do so it reroutes your internet traffic through one of its servers located somewhere around the world.
It is these servers that play a critical role if offering anonymity to the user on the internet. It is these servers that make a VPN user almost untraceable on the internet.
Now there are plenty of other features that contribute towards one’s privacy while using a VPN service, but these servers are the only physical elements in the whole setup.
A VPN service provider needs to rent or buy servers in a lot of foreign locations and then take care of the management and maintenance of those servers, as well. The bigger a server network is, the higher will be the associated costs for a service provider.
If you can imagine yourself benefitting from the vast server network, then you might want to consider shelling some extra bucks for the service.
Another thing to keep in mind is this case is the proximity of server locations. North American and European netizens enjoy better server options under most VPN services, but it isn’t the same case for people living in other regions of the world.
Hundreds of servers won’t matter if they aren’t physically closer to your location. Those connections would only ruin the experience for you.
Paying the price for security and privacy
VPNs make the internet a much more open and private space for the user. It’s a wonderful tool that somehow manages to give you the best of both worlds.
A private network lets you surf the internet without any boundaries and without the risk of compromising your identity, and location on the internet.
It doesn’t allow internet service providers to keep a log of your online activities or let them know of the websites you are visiting. VPN services also claim to keep you away from the watch of government bodies, and cybercriminals.
In a nutshell, a private network makes the internet a merrier place than it actually is.
Again, the service provider needs to invest in some resources to establish all the security measures. They need to take care of data encryption, protocols, and even lawyers, in case someone tries to get a hold of their data (which is usually about you) using legal means.
Security is the primary reason that makes most people invest in VPNs, and you should always try to get the best security measures for whatever you are investing.
An AES 128-bit or better encryption, OpenVPN protocol, a no-logs policy, a non-14-eyes jurisdiction, and a possible warrant canary statement are some of the features that you would almost always want to have on a virtual private network.
If a service provider is offering to keep you secure with the best possible measures, then you should not shy away from throwing in a few extra bucks. After all, security is one of the primary reasons that got you into buying a VPN subscription in the first place.
You also need to keep in mind that VPNs don’t provide you security against anything and everything. There are possibly countless ways to compromise one’s online security. But you can expect to stay immune to the usual threats of the internet if you are subscribed to a good-enough internet service.
The deal for speed
The average attention span of an online user has been doing a barrel roll down the hill for quite some time now, and it is believed to be well below eight seconds at the moment. And that includes you too my friend.
But what has the attention span got to do with a VPN service? Well, maybe nothing, but the internet speed has got everything to do with the online experience.
When someone with an attention span as low as yours gets on the internet and finds out that all the websites are taking too long to upload, they would eventually end up doing nothing but getting riled up after every online session.
No matter which VPN service you subscribe to, there is always going to be a significant drop in the internet speed. It is a byproduct of all the encryption, tunneling, and rerouting of the internet traffic.
However, some private networks are more efficient and resourceful than others and they minimize this loss in the internet speed. You might be able to retain more than 90% of your initial internet speed in the best-case scenario for some VPN services.
If you plan on streaming or doing some other speed-intensive activity on the internet while connected to the virtual private network, you might want to consider investing in one that provides faster speeds.
Otherwise, you will end up pulling your hair while trying to do whatever it is that you set out to do in the first place.
You can go through the VPN reviews on our website to find out if the one you are considering subscribing to a VPN service to know if it provides faster speeds or not.
Can it bypass Netflix restrictions?
Who would’ve thought that whether or not a VPN service can help you bypass geo-restrictions of a streaming service, will become one of the key factors while buying a VPN subscription?
Let’s dive deeper into the matter. Netflix is one of the first successful streaming services, an OG of sorts in the field. They first started providing their services in the US and didn’t face much friction from anyone.
As time progressed and Netflix saw unprecedented success, a lot of other streaming services showed up, most of which were backed by giant media houses responsible for producing a lot of shows and movies.
The other roadblock they faced was the streaming rights of movies in foreign countries. They found it difficult to compete with local players when it comes to getting the streaming rights of a lot of shows and movies.
All these incidents led to shrinkage of Netflix’s library, especially in countries other than the USA. Everyone knows that Netflix US is probably the richest source of content if you want to stream content online.
Even if you get a Netflix subscription in the US and then travel at a foreign location, you won’t be able to stream all the shows that you were otherwise already watching in the US. People with Netflix subscriptions around the globe try to find ways to bypass Netflix’s geo-restrictions to be able to watch the content they like.
A lot of VPN services often fail to provide users with effective ways to bypass the restrictions. Netflix has already blacklisted a lot of VPN servers and is continuously adding more to its list.
There are only a handful of VPN services that have been able to manage to stay ahead of Netflix restrictions and allows users to access content from Netflix US library.
You can know more about such VPN services from our VPN for Netflix article on the website.
If you know that Netflix is going to be a big part of what you’d do after connecting to foreign servers, then spending a few extra bucks for the luxury should not be that big of an issue for you.
People are torrenting again
Torrenting was almost dead as a result of aggressive crackdowns of torrenting engines and libraries. Media corporations around the world also pushed for laws that made downloading pirated content using torrents a punishable offense.
Even the people seemed less interested in torrenting amidst the availability of so much content on streaming services such as Netflix.
But soon enough the internet was swarmed with streaming services, and it wasn’t possible for everyone to get so many subscriptions.
People have now started moving back to torrenting once again, but it isn’t that easy to download torrents anymore. In some countries such as the US and France, media houses don’t even allow torrenting servers anymore.
A lot ISPs also throttle internet connections when users try to download content using torrenting applications.
A lot of VPN services provide dedicated torrenting servers to users. These servers are strategically placed in a location so that they experience the least resistance, and even the bandwidth of such servers is usually higher.
If you want to be able to torrent using the VPN service, you will have to spend some time finding the right one, and then probably some extra money to be able to do so.
Our VPN for torrenting article might turn out to be of some assistance in this matter.
Because all your devices need protection
How many devices do you use to connect to the internet on a regular basis? It is usually 2 or more for most people.
There is a great deal of irregularity when it comes to the number of permissible devices on VPN services. There are some which would allow you to connect to the private network with only two devices at a time, and there are some which come with no such limitations.
You should have a clear idea of how many devices are you going to use for simultaneous VPN connections. And it is not just the number of devices but the kind of device. A lot of VPN applications won’t work on Linux devices, for instance.
Make sure you find a service that would not stop you from getting protection on any of your devices. And it is obvious that the service provider would charge you accordingly.
There are a lot more factors that contribute to deciding the price of a VPN service. Our suggestion is that instead of trying to buy the best VPN service, you should find one that suits your needs the most. The price would then take care of itself automatically.