Summary: Many web users prefer to use a free VPN, instead of a paid service. Although keeping data private and bypassing geo-blocking is now a necessity for most, financial restrictions mean that not everyone can afford top-quality services. But if someone selects a free VPN option, they need to note that there are limitations. None of the available options provide comparable protection to their paid counterparts. There has also been increasing evidence that even the best free VPN services no longer work for watching Netflix overseas. Regarding privacy concerns, many free VPN providers log and sell user information. These limitations quickly supersede the benefit of the free price tag.
In light of the above, we recommend signing up to a free VPN trial to enjoy all the benefits of paid subscriptions for no cost.
What is a Free VPN Service
A free VPN Service offers much of the same features as their paid counterparts, but for no financial cost. This means they’re ideal if you’re on a budget or are downloading for one-off use. However, while free VPN options still provide increased privacy, anonymity and access, the difference from paid subscriptions is more than just the price tag.
The primary drawbacks of a free VPN are usage restrictions and low-quality connections. Whether you are protecting your online information or accessing blocked content, an unstable network that frequently drops out defies the point of using a VPN altogether. Another drawback of free VPN packages is their lack of tech support. Most only offer an email contact, and it’s likely you’ll have to wait for a response – which can be vexing as the products are prone to malfunctions.
For users looking to access Netflix content, the streaming service has succeeded in blocking all free VPN providers from bypassing their restrictions. Netflix geo-blocks each program, so certain regions have access to significantly less content than others. As the company continues to fight VPN use, the best options to unblock Netflix changes regularly. In 2017, free VPNs are completely blocked. However, we have an interesting alternatives to propose below.
It is because of these reasons that payment-free choices rarely feature in lists of VPN reviews. However, many highly-rated paid subscriptions offer trial periods with complete refunds guaranteed. Using this loophole, you can benefit from the platinum quality of leading providers. We recommend using these (somewhat) free VPN alternatives for accessing Netflix’s full catalog.
Best Free VPN for Netflix 2017
#1 ExpressVPN 30 Day Trial Money Back Guaranteed
ExpressVPN has long been rated as one of the top 10 VPN services, continuously providing first-rate connection speeds and unlimited bandwidth. Their vast server network has met the demands of the growing VPN market and secured their spot as an industry leader.
- Available on all devices and operating systems
- 24-hour customer support
- Guaranteed high-speed
- Secure connection
- Slightly more expensive than other competitors
- No ad-blocking features
Their 30-day trial allows you to enjoy free VPN use from one of the best products on the market! Because of this, we recommend ExpressVPN as the best free VPN for Netflix.
Sign up for a free trial at ExpressVPN here.
#2: NordVPN 30 Day Trial Money Back Guaranteed
NordVPN is another high-quality free VPN for Netflix. Although it offers fewer IP addresses than ExpressVPN, the 2000+ available in 62 countries are more than sufficient for your Netflix needs.
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Kill Switch and Double Data Encryption for extra privacy
- Six connected devices allowed per account
- OpenVPN available for Linux users
- No telephone support
- Fewer servers outside Europe
Although NordVPN has some minor drawbacks and an overall lower connection speed, it’s still one of the best free VPN options on the market. You can test it yourself with a 30-day trial with money-back guaranteed.
Sign up for a free trial at NordVPN here.
By capitalizing on these trial offers, it’s possible to enjoy a premium service when streaming Netflix. However, if you would still like to use a service that’s actually free, the following options can be downloaded with no charge at all.
Best Free VPN Service 2017
#1 Cyberghost Free VPN Service
While the majority of no-cost services limit bandwidth, some now provide complete access. Cyberghost currently reigns supreme as the best free unlimited VPN. It’s reliable and simple to use, and offers many extra features.
- Available on multiple platforms
- Do not log users IP addresses
- User-friendly
While their servers are mainly in the US and a small queue-time before connection is not uncommon, Cyberghost remains the best free VPN.
#2 Tunnelbear Free VPN Service
With any free VPN, unlimited data is a definite plus. While Tunnelbear VPN offers this feature, there are also some drawbacks that result in the service missing out on the title as the ‘premium free VPN provider’.
- High-quality security
- User-friendly interface
- Only owns 14 servers
- Not available on Linux
- Unreliable customer service
Regardless of these issues, Tunnelbear still provides a proficient and functional VPN service.
#3 Hotspot Shield Free VPN Service
Hotspot Shield is another free VPN that offers unlimited bandwidth. However, it proves less reliable than its competitors.
- No data logging
- Simple set-up
- Lack of transparency regarding available servers
- Unresponsive customer support
- Unknown encryption strength
- Difficult to use
While Hotspot Shield VPN is not our first choice, it is a sufficient free VPN for a backup option, should you have problems with the above.
Sign up with Hotspot Shield here.
Free VPN or VPN Free Trial
With so much uncertainty from free VPN providers, it’s clear that using a free VPN alternative is by far the best choice. The 30-day trial options ensure higher quality in the three most critical areas:
- Connection speed
- Reliability
- Server network size
Alongside this, you can benefit from their plethora of extra features and are assured excellent customer service. If you decide to continue with your subscription, the payments of up to $10 a month are a small sacrifice for guaranteed security. Especially since suffering a breach while using a poor-quality choice may quickly cost more than this monthly fee anyway!
We recommend ExpressVPN as the best alternative to a completely Free VPN, as it ensures reliable premium quality with no payment commitment up to 30 days.
cyber ghost and hotspot don’t work on netflix
Hello,
With some VPNs its a constant back and forth on how they’re working on Netflix. There’s a bit of a crackdown and workarounds (and workarounds to those workarounds) are being created often. Have you tried contacting the customer service of one of those VPNs?
Best,
Lyndon
CyberGhost is no longer providing free VPN. They say all free slots are blocked
Hello Jakes,
I just did a check myself about this. They do have a limited number of free slots, which are sometimes at capacity, but it is possible to use the VPN freely still. It does unfortunately require a bit of waiting.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Lyndon
Access to Netflix content on CyberGhost is now only available through their Premium (subscription) service ….. and still not garunteed to work!
Dear Andy,
Thanks for letting us know!
Best,
Lyndon
cyber host work with police , so may be try andorra vpn service ar another country whitch not have relation with europa/us country :))
tried 5 times it says connection droped
My experience with VPN has been a nightmare. NordVPN don’t have a live chat option and couldn’t log in nor set up the L2 encryption service. Express VPN do NOT respect users privacy, they started posting on their Facebook my friends personal details after she asked them if they respected peoples privacies. Do you really want to download an app, from the USA NAS
territory or Romania were they can either monitor all your details or steal them, like your financial details? how do you know who they really are? none of these VPN companies are certified by any regulations.
My dilemma is that I have had people online and near my area hacking remotely and nothing has stopped them. What else can you do to keep your details private even TOR have a backdoor problem where hackers have infiltrated, the last time I used them the websites kept stalling it was terrible.
Hello Maurice,
Sorry to hear that you’ve been having difficulties.
As for your problem, I would say it depends highly on what you have available to you. In some cases I wouldn’t rely on networks at all and use a data plan instead. As far as VPNs go, I understand your concerns. Right now we think Buffered VPN is the best for most circumstances. As for regulations, they know that if they betray the customer word will get around very quickly (much like your experience with ExpressVPN) and customers will jump ship to another VPN very quickly, so the best VPNs are trustworthy.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Best,
Lyndon
Cyberghost cuts the connection after some ours, and you have to re-connect (and wait for slots to be available). Very annoying, looking for alternative… but looks like I’m going to get a $5 VPS and setup my own VPN server.
Cyberghost is really nice VPN but it getting the error sometimes and need to reconnect. Overall it good in work
Yes, we can say that paid VPN is more secure as compare to free one. However, there is no surety that paid VPN to keep logs or not but as we are paying them that we can trust them a bit. They will not keep logs or sale our private data like free VPN because free service earning by selling our important data.
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