The best free VPNs of 2020

There are several virtual private networks on the market, commonly known as VPN (virtual private network), which can be downloaded from their website completely free of charge.

In general, all of them will allow you to use the Internet anonymously and change the location of your IP so that you can access that content blocked in your country and available only in one or more others.

But before you drown in the sea of ​​options that you have at your disposal, at PCWorld Spain we have done the field work for you and today we bring you the 5 best free VPNs of today.

You also have payment options at your fingertips , with which, on the other hand, you should not worry about the restrictions that you will find to a greater or lesser extent in services at zero cost. We especially recommend NordVPN .

What is the best free VPNs?

VPN service to determine which is the best of all is no easy task, especially because they all have some drawback. While some can only be used from a single device, others will stop working beyond the limit of contracted megabytes.

Considering all the pros and cons, CyberGhost’s free proxy is surely the best option. It is true that it takes a while to connect and that you lose the connection after three hours, but it is highly recommended to watch videos.

Despite the fact that TunnelBear and Hide.me outperform the CyberGhost VPN in some respects, it is more than likely that the user finds insufficient the available MB in its free versions, especially the first one.

On the other hand, Hotspot Shield has not taken the first position in this ranking because, when installed, you automatically give it permission to flood you with advertising and change your system settings. That has led some to classify it as malware .

The best free VPNs

ProtonVPN

• From free ($ 5 per month for Basic)

The ProtonVPN is the only software of its kind that we know that offers a completely free full service. In this sense, it is not financed by ads and, even so, it does not impose speed restrictions or data limits.

The operation of this VPN is very simple and secure, especially since it works under the zero-logs policy , which means that no information is stored on the server and that ensures your anonymity. In addition, it follows the Swiss data protection policy.

Obviously, not everything is perfect and there are certain restrictions. Surely the one that can affect you the most is that you only have the possibility to connect to servers in three different countries: United States, Netherlands and Japan.

That means, for example, that if you are outside of Spain and want to see content that can only be seen in Spanish territory, the ProtonVPN will not do you any good. Instead, it is very useful for viewing Hulu or Disney + content limited to the United States.

On the other hand, another of its major drawbacks is that you can only use your account on a single device. However, it is the least restrictive free VPN that we know and that is why it is the one we recommend the most.

Windscribe

• Free

Although it is not as good as its paid version, the free Windscribe VPN connection also offers very useful functionalities that will help you keep your identity private and trick your browser into thinking that you are in a different city.

Among the benefits that you will get when you download Windscribe, we highlight the possibility of using it on an unlimited number of devices, so that you can use the same account on all your computers and laptops.

In addition, you can protect your device from viruses and malware content with the built-in firewall, and say goodbye to annoying and tiresome ads with an excellent ad blocker.

Of course, among its limitations is the fact that you can only choose between 11 servers, which means that you can only change your IP for another from 11 different locations. In the paid version, you can choose between 50 countries.

On the other hand, if you download Windscribe on your device for free, you can only use a maximum of 10 gigabytes per month. This means that, once used, your computer or laptop will no longer be protected.

Hide.me

• Free

Hide.me’s VPN has a data transfer limit, in this case 2 GB. Whoever wants more, can opt for the Plus quota -with 75 GB at your disposal- or, better yet, with the Premium quota with unlimited data.

This means that customers who choose to use the network for free will surely not be able to enjoy high-quality videos, despite the fact that the broadband it offers can be enough to surf the Internet.

The free registration also allows you to connect only one device simultaneously, be it Windows, macOS, Android, iOS or Linux. Instead, with the Premium account, you can enjoy your private connection on five devices at the same time.

It is true that the subscription has more advantages than betting on free, but it is no less true that the free option is one of the best of all we have tried. It will also help you to know whether or not it is worth paying for it.

With any of your paid subscriptions, yes, you will enjoy maximum privacy and freedom of expression, since it will also unlock the most popular restricted sites in the country where you are.

TunnelBear

• From $ 4.19 per month

The first drawback of the TunnelBear VPN  used to be that it did not operate from Spain, so users residing in Spain could only use it to consult pages only available in their country when they are abroad.

Now it is no longer the case. In addition, this service has servers also operating from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France and Japan. It can also be used from Australia but only if a paid subscription plan is contracted.

One of the most attractive features of this VPN is undoubtedly the high speed it can reach: about 12 MB per second, and also both the installation process and the use of the interface are very intuitive.

TunnelBear seems very suitable to protect your browsing data when connecting to a public Wi-Fi network, especially thanks to the ‘Vigilant Mode’ function, which blocks any suspicious content when you lose connection to the private network.

If you hesitate between betting on the free service or choosing one of the two premium installments, keep in mind that the option at zero cost has a limit of 500 MB per month, which you can increase up to one GB if you write a tweet talking about TunnelBear.

Hotspot shield

• From $ 3.49 per month

The Hotspot Shield private virtual network is one of the most used by Internet users, surely because it does not set any data transfer limit and also offers a more than sufficient download speed: 6.5 MB per second.

However, it has certain disadvantages compared to paid versions. First of all, the free VPN is exclusively financed by advertisers, which means that by installing it you will accept the presence of annoying ads while surfing the net.

In addition, indirectly you will also be giving permission to change certain settings of your operating system, such as the default web browser.

On the other hand, subscribing for free to this VPN is only recommended if you want to access exclusive content for residents of the United States, since the service will assign you a random server based in this country.

And even so, the free option will block certain pages of popular use in the North American country. Despite all this, it is a VPN to consider if you are only looking for secure Internet browsing and that is protected from possible hacker computer attacks.

Opera

• Free

Although it is not even the most widely used browser, as we discussed in this other article, Opera is the only one that includes a VPN. It is not an extension, but one more benefit of its most updated version.

Apart from being completely free, the fact that it is integrated in the browser means that this network has no limits in terms of data transfer or browsing speed.

Its only limitation, however, is the origin of the servers. For now you can only find some from the United States, Canada and Germany, which means that you cannot see content only available in Spain from abroad.

It is very useful to watch soccer games in streaming or also live television from the official page of American channels such as NBC, which restricts its reproductions outside its country of origin.

This is largely due to the fact that for now it is only a beta version. Opera is working to improve its free VPN and now you can change your location by selecting one of these three regions: America, Europe and Asia.

To enjoy the VPN, open the drop-down menu by clicking the red “O” icon in the upper left corner. Select ‘Settings’, followed by ‘Privacy and security’ and click on the box next to ‘Activate the VPN’ under the ‘VPN’ section.