The 3 Best Cheap VPNs of 2025  

In addition to being the best VPN we've tested, Mullvad is also the best cheap VPN if you pay monthly. Unlike most VPN services, which usually offer discounts for longer subscription periods, Mullvad has a flat-rate pricing model of €5 per month, no matter how long you subscribe. This could be a pro if you only need a VPN for a finite amount of time, but it can add up if you plan on being a long-term subscriber. That said, you can buy longer prepaid subscriptions through retailers like Amazon, which can offer discounts and use different pricing models than buying through Mullvad directly. If you decide to go through Mullvad directly, they accept several anonymous payment methods, including cash and cryptocurrency (the latter of which they take at a 10% discount).

Other than its pricing, there's a lot more to Mullvad that makes it stand out. Its strong privacy practices and transparency establish it as one of the most well-regarded VPN services in the privacy community. It has a novel registration process where you're assigned a randomly generated account number, which is more anonymous than using an email address and password, the standard practice for most other services. Mullvad also has fantastic core functionality. It has an intuitive user interface that looks great on both macOS and Windows, and the software effectively keeps your IP address hidden from third parties like your ISP (internet service provider). It also has consistently fast speeds and latency for a snappy experience while you use it. On top of all that, there are some useful additional features: Obfuscation can help you get around censors that block access to websites and services that don't allow VPNs, and DAITA (defense against AI-guided traffic analysis) makes it harder for third parties to find identifiable patterns in your encrypted traffic. One of Mullvad's biggest downsides is that it doesn't support port-forwarding, which could be a dealbreaker if you need that functionality. Proton VPN, our pick below, has more features like port-forwarding and can be had for a discount if you know you'll be a yearlong subscriber.

If you plan on subscribing for at least a year, you can get a great deal with Proton VPN. It has a pricing scheme similar to most VPN services, where you can get a better deal if you subscribe for longer periods. Like our top pick, Mullvad, Proton has a good reputation for its privacy practices and transparency, for the most part. This VPN also has a few more convenient features than our top pick. You can connect up to 10 devices simultaneously, and there are servers in over 100 countries, which is useful since it lets you connect to a server closer to you for a better connection. On top of that, you can configure port forwarding, an essential feature for some who need it for specific applications like game servers or P2P clients. Additionally, like Mullvad, it has obfuscation to make it look like you're not using a VPN, an adblocker, and 'secure-core,' a feature that ensures your connection goes through Proton's own servers before reaching the server in the country you choose.

Proton VPN still isn't perfect, though. Its latency performance is disappointing, so your connection won't feel as snappy, and it'll affect some activities like gaming. If you pay monthly, it's much more expensive than Mullvad, but it's a few bucks cheaper if you buy a one-year or two-year subscription. It's a good pick if you need those extra features, but if you don't (or don't know), you're better off going with Mullvad.

Surfshark VPN is one of the cheapest VPN services if you get a two-year subscription. There are also often sales and promotions where you can get a few additional months for your subscription, bringing the cost down over an even longer period. It's owned by the same parent company as NordVPN, one of the industry's biggest and most well-recognized names, and is generally well-regarded in the community. It has a slick UI and is available for many different platforms, from desktop PCs to mobile phones to smart TVs. There's also no limit to how many places you can be logged in simultaneously, so you're covered if you have a bunch of devices.

Surfshark isn't all show and no go, either. It's among the fastest and most stable VPNs we've tested, with consistently high download and upload speeds and low latency. It's effective at keeping your IP address hidden while you use it, and it has many nice features like split tunneling, obfuscation, and multi-hop. That said, its kill switch isn't effective after your computer restarts, as it leaks some unencrypted data before the VPN connection reestablishes, so it's important to bind sensitive applications, like your torrent client, to your VPN connection.