NordVPN: From $3.69 a month
Billed at $99.63 to $180.63 for 24 months of service and 3 months free
Whether you’re using the internet to complete tasks for work or school, paying your bills or even streaming content, the internet is a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. And as the digital age redefines how we get things done, protecting your privacy and staying safe is important. To guard yourself online, it’s a good idea to use a VPN. Whether you’re looking to reduce the chance of falling victim to a cyberattack, aim to keep your browsing history private or want to unlock streaming content while you’re abroad, VPNs make sound sense for most people. If you’ve been considering signing up for a VPN but haven’t made a decision yet, we’ve got you covered. We’ve gathered a variety of VPN brands offering spectacular deals on subscriptions to help you hold onto more of your cash.
A VPN, or virtual private network, creates an encrypted connection between your device and the internet, keeping your data away from prying eyes as you surf the web. We’ve thoroughly tested some of the most trustworthy VPN services of 2024, and below, we’ve put together the best ways to get signed up at a discount.
There are a plethora of reasons to use a VPN. For example, did you know your internet service provider amasses as much data as possible on your digital activity? A 2021 Federal Trade Commission report noted that the leading ISPs have gathered user data on topics as personal as race, sexual orientation and real-time location. The ISPs typically combine this data, cross-reference it and share it with third-party partners.
A VPN can help protect you from such pervasive data-gathering practices. In addition to hiding your internet activity by providing a secure and private “tunnel” to your online destination, a VPN can let you virtually move your location to a different city or country — a nice bonus if you’re looking to get around local censorship laws or try out streaming media offerings in different locales.
An important thing to keep in mind is that free VPN services aren’t worth the risk. For the most part, they’re playing that same game of scooping up and selling your data. The good news is there are some great VPN deals available right now, with prices starting at what amounts to less than $2 a month if you prepay for a year or two of service. We’ve tested a bunch of the market leaders and pulled together our recommendations for the best VPN deals. Just keep a few things in mind:
- Some of these offers have countdown clocks saying that the VPN deals are ending “today.” These are usually marketing gimmicks that have no relationship to the deal’s actual end date.
- We’ll update sale prices when we notice a change, so check back often.
- The VPN industry has undergone significant change in the past few years, with all three of our top VPN choices announcing major shifts in corporate ownership. In 2021, ExpressVPN announced that it had joined Kape Technologies, a company that already owned several other VPNs and has raised privacy concerns in the past. In February 2022, NordVPN and Surfshark announced they were merging, although they continue to operate autonomously. We’ve given ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark fresh reviews in light of these changes, and we continue to evaluate other VPN services as well. Our rankings are subject to change as they reflect our latest findings.
- Most of the offers below are for subscriptions of two years or more, which is a long time to tie yourself to a service that could change ownership (see above) or terms of service, or even have a security incident. Although most services have a 30-day free cancellation policy, check the terms of service before signing up for a long-term commitment.
VPN deals: tested and recommended
The VPNs in this first group are also among our current top six best VPN picks. We can broadly recommend them, with the caveats noted above. The fast-changing ownership landscape in the VPN market may continue to shake things up, but we’ll continue to update this list as we uncover more.
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ExpressVPN still tops our list of the best VPNs, and you can save on a subscription by going for its 12-month plan, where you’ll snag an additional three months of service for free, dropping the equivalent monthly cost to just $6.67 (billed as $100 upfront) with promo code SPECIALDEAL. Those three months of “free” access just drop the overall cost per month, but spread the savings out over the longer term of 15 months. We evaluate VPNs based on their overall performance in three main categories: speed, security and price. Express isn’t the cheapest, but it’s among the fastest and, so far, the most secure — even after its acquisition by Kape Technologies. Read our ExpressVPN review.
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Devices: Unlimited
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
PIA, or Private Internet Access, earned a spot on our list of the best VPN services of 2024 as one of our favorite budget options. Right now, you can get signed up for even less. The two-year plan is currently 83% off and includes four free months, which drops the price to just $2.03 a month for your first 28 months. After that, it will renew at the then-current rate every year.
Despite its affordable price, PIA’s VPN tested fairly well in our tests. It offers AES 256-bit encryption, as well as a kill switch function and boasts a respectable speed loss of just 24%. You also get 500GB of cloud storage with this deal. It’s worth noting that PIA does fall under US jurisdiction, which may be a concern if you’re a security-focused user, although the company appears to be doing everything in its power to alleviate those concerns, including making its source code openly available. Read our PIA VPN review.
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Devices: Up to 10
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
Go off the grid with ProtonVPN for $4.49 a month, good for two years. Keep in mind that this deal is billed as $107.76 upfront. ProtonVPN Plus (the paid plan) has no data caps or server-switching limits. Its ease of use, Tor support and ad-blocking feature make ProtonVPN a favorite with many users. You may also opt for the 12-month plan at $4.99 per month (billed at $59.88). To access the biggest savings, choose the 24-month plan option. Read our ProtonVPN review.
Additional VPN deals
We either haven’t fully tested the following VPNs or have only tested them anecdotally. Because of that, we can only recommend them for casual use, such as bypassing geographic restrictions while streaming media.
