{"description":"What a free VPN plan, a free trial, and a money-back guarantee give you, which providers here name a free plan, and how to judge a free VPN app.","language":"en","latest_measurement":"2026-10-17","method":"latency-v3","method_page":"https://crackthe.net/method/","source":"https://crackthe.net/","text":"Key points\nA free plan costs nothing and does not end, but the provider limits it: fewer countries, one device, or lower speed. A free trial gives you the paid plan for a short time. A money-back guarantee means you pay first and can ask for a refund. Free VPN apps from unknown companies need money from somewhere. Check who runs a VPN before you install it. Three ways to pay nothing Free planFree trialMoney-back guarantee Costnonenone during the trialfull price first Time limitnonea few daysa set number of days for the refund Limitsfewer countries, devices, or speedusually the full paid planthe full paid plan Payment detailsoften not neededoften neededneeded Providers in this archive with a free plan These providers name a free plan on their own pricing page. Where the archive has recorded the limits, they are shown with the date they were checked:\nhide.me: Unlimited data, restricted speeds, 8 locations, 1 connection at a time. (October 17, 2026) Proton VPN: 1 device at a time, servers in 10 countries chosen at random, medium speed, no data limit. (October 17, 2026) Windscribe: 10 GB of data per month once you sign up and confirm your email. (October 17, 2026) Instead of a free plan, many providers promise a refund: 5 of the 8 pricing pages that name a refund period promise 30 days or more.\nMoney-back period named on the pricing page hide.me30 days NordVPN30 days Private Internet Access30 days Proton VPN30 days Surfshark30 days Mullvad14 days OVPN10 days AzireVPN7 days Providers without a figure do not state a refund period on the pricing page that this archive reads.\nHow to judge a free VPN Is a free VPN safe? This site does not test apps, so it cannot say whether a particular app is safe. But there are simple facts you can check:\nWho runs it? A free plan from a company that also sells paid plans is paid for by those customers. An app from an unknown company has to make money in another way. What does its website load? The archive records which advertising and analytics services each provider\u0026rsquo;s home page loads. See What VPN websites track. Where is the company based? Its laws decide what data authorities can request. See Who owns your VPN?. What a paid VPN costs On the pricing pages in this archive, the lowest advertised prices in US dollars range from $2.03 to $5.75 per month for long first terms (6 providers). After the first term, prices can rise sharply: by up to 274 % for one plan.\nLook at the second price. The cheap monthly price usually applies only to a long first term. The price comparison shows what each plan costs afterward.\nNext step Read What a VPN really costs for a full price example, or use the VPN finder to filter by price and refund period.","title":"Is a free VPN safe? Free plans, trials, and refunds","url":"https://crackthe.net/learn/is-a-free-vpn-safe/"}