You don’t have to empty your wallet when picking from one of the best VPNs. Sure, some of the big-name services charge north of £10 a month, but there are cheaper services that still get the job done. You’ll want to dodge the ones that look good on paper, but will slow your connection down or disconnect when you’re actually browsing or streaming.
And of course, while there are free VPNs out there that are tempting, they’re usually not worth the price of admission. You’ll usually be looking at sluggish speeds, a bombardment of ads and data caps so tight you can barely load a webpage. And in a worst case scenario, they might sell your browsing history to whoever’s buying – the opposite of what a VPN provider should be offering.
The sweet spot is a budget VPN that’s fast, secure and doesn’t make you babysit your connection. I’ve tested a bunch of them, running real-world checks to see which ones actually hold up when you’re browsing and streaming. These are the cheap VPNs worth your time (and your money).
How I tested
To find the best cheap VPNs, I put each provider through its paces on a range of devices, including a Windows laptop, a MacBook Pro, an iPhone 15 Pro Max and an Android Nothing Phone. I installed the apps, connected to multiple servers and ran speed tests to see how well they performed during everyday browsing, streaming and gaming.
Since security is arguably more important than price, I also checked for key features such as encryption standards, no-logs policies and extra privacy tools such as kill switches, split tunnelling and any cybersecurity features. I looked at whether these budget-friendly VPNs could still access streaming services while travelling, how reliable their connections were and whether they had any data caps or restrictions.
Of course, the biggest thing was affordability, so, I compared pricing plans, discounts and money-back guarantees to make sure they offered real value. One thing to note is some of these providers only become cheap when you opt for a one- or two-year plan. Make sure you cancel before your plan is up, or you will be charged an extortionate fee in most cases, making the VPN the very opposite of cheap.
Why you can trust us
With more than eight years of experience testing and writing about tech and cybersecurity – including VPNs – senior tech critic Alex Lee knows what makes a service worth your time and money. He’s personally used VPNs, so, he understands which features actually matter. His recommendations are based on hands-on testing, detailed research and comparisons of key essentials, such as speed, security and pricing. Having also written extensively about cybersecurity, he knows what to look out for and is here to help you find the best VPN for your needs.
