VPNs with a free trial: The best providers to try for maximum security
On the fence when it comes to VPNs? With a range of money-back guarantees on offer, you don’t have to be
If you’re looking for the best VPNs with a free trial, we have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that currently no VPNs are offering a free trial. The good news is that all the best VPNs offer money-back guarantees, so if you don’t like the service, you can just ask for your money back.
The reason why VPNs don’t offer free trials is probably because there was just too much room for abuse. VyprVPN had one for a while: you could use the service for free up to 2GB of data, though you did have to enter your credit card details to get it.
However, VyprVPN’s parent company Golden Frog cancelled the trials on desktop and now only offers them for Android and iOS. If you want to try out any other service, you’ll have to pay for it. If you decide you don’t like it, though, you can ask for your money back. Every service we’ve reviewed so far will give you a refund, though some will give it up more easily than others. That said, there are still ways to use VPNs for free, just check out our selection of the best free VPNs if money is tight.
Best VPNs with a free trial: At a glance
How do I pick the best VPN refund policy?
Picking which refund policy is best is tricky as they’re pretty much all the same: you sign on, and if you cancel in the first 30 days you can get your money back. Some VPN services have shorter or longer durations, but the overwhelming majority offer 30 days (on this list only CyberGhost breaks the rule, with 45 days).
Read on to see how some of the major players in the VPN industry handle refunds.
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Best VPNs with a free trial in 2022
1. NordVPN
We think NordVPN is the best VPN out there thanks to its speed and ability to get past blocks. Still, though, it could be that you’re not happy with the service for one reason or another. Maybe you don’t like the interface, or maybe it doesn’t have the server spread you’re looking for; there are all kinds of reasons.
If so, you can get all your money back as long as you cancel in the first 30 days of your subscription. Simply contact the NordVPN support team – live chat is usually the best option – and that should take care of the issue.
Generally speaking, they’ll ask you why you want to quit, but once you’ve provided an answer they’ll start processing your cancellation and refund straight away. If they do ask further questions, remind them that they have a no-questions-asked policy and that should do the trick.
Read our full NordVPN review for more details
2. ExpressVPN
Our second pick is ExpressVPN, which we like mostly for its great interface and excellent security. However, we can’t deny that it’s a little on the pricey side and it could be that, after using it for a few weeks, you’d rather have a more cost-effective service.
In that case, you’ll be happy to learn that ExpressVPN has one of the more pleasant customer experiences for getting refunds. Just ask for your money back and as long as it’s within the first 30 days you’ll get it. There are no endless questionnaires to go through.
For the details, take a look at ExpressVPN’s refund page: there’s a link to the contact support centre there. We got the best results using the chat feature, but requesting your refund via email will work too.
Read our full ExpressVPN review for more details
3. Surfshark
As you can read in our full-length review, there’s plenty to like about Surfshark: it offers good security and speed, all at a great price. Still, though, it could be that you need a VPN that’s a bit more reliable at breaking through blocks like that of Netflix. In that case, you’ll be happy to know Surfshark has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The details of how it works can be found on Surfshark’s website. Unfortunately, of all the entries on this list, Surfshark gave us the most trouble when it came to getting our money back. In our email exchange with support staff, we were reminded time and again of the service’s positive points, despite us insisting that we just wanted our money back.
Though they did relent eventually, it could have gone a little more smoothly. Still, though, in the end we did get our money back, so we can’t complain too much.
Read our full Surfshark VPN review for more details
4. Hide.me
Our fourth pick, Hide.me, does have a trial of sorts in the form of its free plan, though we have to admit it’s pretty rudimentary as it restricts the servers you have access to (we go into more detail in our review). If you make the jump to the paid plan and still aren’t too sure about it, you’ll be happy to know that you can claim your money back as long as you do it within 30 days.
Like ExpressVPN, Hide.me will not ask any questions about why you want a refund, though it does lay out its terms a little more strictly than other services do: you can’t have asked for a refund before, and you can’t be in violation of the terms of service. It also has one of the slowest processing times, taking up to 10 days before the money is back in your account.
Read our full Hide.me VPN review for more details
5. CyberGhost
Last but not least is CyberGhost, which holds the distinction of having the longest money-back guarantee in the business at 45 days. We’re not sure why it needs to be this long: it’s a good service with a great interface. But it’s a great option for anybody that isn’t too sure about whether the service will meet their needs.
Like all of our other picks, cancelling CyberGhost and getting a refund is pretty easy: just contact customer support, make sure you mention your purchase number and that should be it. We’ve had some back-and-forth in the past on why we were cancelling, but generally it was just an email or two and our money was on its way back to us.
Read our full CyberGhost VPN review for more details