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Cheap VPN services are a superb way to bolster your security and privacy online at an affordable price.
You could subscribe to a popular antivirus and adblocker to block advertisers and governments from tracking your activity online, and protect yourself from malware ... but a cheap VPN will do all that and more.
Not only that, but the best VPN deals also bundle features like password managers, alerts if your personal information is shared on the Dark Web in a data breach, and temporary email addresses to hide your identity.
You can enjoy all of this functionality at a low monthly cost, especially if you take advantage of the latest VPN deals.
We've scoured some of the most popular subreddits to find the brands that knowledgeable Redditors recommend time and time again. We've mixed these VPN brands with some of our own choices and rounded up the best offers and discounts available in the UK this month. Time to get started?
Surfshark tops our guide to the best VPN dealswith its cheap subscription prices. Starting from £1.49 per month, it's one of the most affordable VPNs around.
As well as its core VPN service, which boasts faster RAM-only servers in more than 100 countries, Surfshark offers packages with 24/7 data breach alertsthat flag when a website that you rely on has been hacked, antivirus software, its CleanWeb adblocker, and Alternative ID that generate a new email and phone number to enter into online forms — with communication forwarded to your real details, which remain anonymous.
Bundling all of these services into a single Amazon Prime-like subscription, known as Surfshark One, unlocks the biggest savings — with discounts of 86% available.
Both of these subscriptions are popular with Reddit users, we've included some examples of these testimonials below.
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If Surfshark doesn't strike the right balance between price and the number of features you might need to secure your data and improve your experience online, NordVPN might be a better option.
This award-winning VPN service starts from £2.29 per month, but bundles many of the extra features associated with Surfshark One. All NordVPN subscribers will enjoy automatic malware scans to save you from dodgy downloads and alerts about leaked credentials on the Dark Web. Of course, NordVPN also offers access to 6,400 server locations across the globe with fast connection speeds.
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Our next pick for the best cheap VPN used to be Google, which bundled a rudimentary VPN service with its Google One subscription that provides additional cloud storage. Starting from £1.59, Google VPN was very affordable, especially for those who needed more storage to back up their phone or photos. However, the US search giant has since discontinued its VPN for new and existing subscribers.
Our final pick for the most affordable VPN is CyberGhost.
Not only does this popular VPN service start from an affordable £1.92 per month, but it also has the longest money-back period, with 45 days to decided whether CyberGhost works for your particular use. At any point you can cancel for a full refund, meaning it acts like a VPN free trial. For a limited time, CyberGhost is offering an extra 2 months free with its longest contract. The remaining months will be discounted by 82%.
CyberGhost has all of the critical criteria for a VPN service ticked-off the list, including VPN servers in 100 countries, unlimited bandwidth and traffic, and DNS and IP leak protection. However, if you want some of the other functionality outlined above for added protection — malware scans for downloads, data breach detection on the Dark Web, ad blockers — then you'll be left wanting by this subscription.
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We haven't chosen any free VPN services ...but all of our picks come with at least a 30-day no-quibbles money-back guarantee, so you can treat the first month of your subscription like a one-month free trial. Customer support is available 24/7 so you'll be able to flag any issues or cancel any time, no matter what timezone you're in.
VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, are applications that protect everything you do online by encrypting your web traffic — making it anonymous and untraceable to anyone outside of the secure connection between you and the website or service you're using. It's like the difference between sending someone a heartfelt message on the back of a postcard (without a VPN) or a letter in a padlocked package (with a VPN).
To that, VPNs create an encryption tunnel where all of the communication between your gadget and the internet is funnelled. This is why it's so important not to rely on a VPN with speed or bandwidth restrictions, since you'll soon see a hit to your performance.
The best VPNs rely on the same military-grade encryption as governments in Britain and the USA, so even the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that provides your home Wi-Fi won't be able to record a list of the sites you're visiting, how long you spend on each site, and your devices.
VPNs work by encrypting all of your online traffic before it's sent over the internet. This prevents your ISP, advertisers, hackers, and fraudsters from tracking your online activity, stealing your personal data, or placing restrictions on you SURFSHARK PRESS OFFICE Advertisers, website owners, and hackers will all be blind when trying to track your activity.
When you're away from home and using a public Wi-Fi network, like those available in coffee shops and airports, any personal data entered into forms and other sensitive information beamed to and from your device will also be shielded with VPN encryption.
It means even someone on the same Wi-Fi network cannot intercept the data on its way to the intended recipient — a type of hack known as a man-in-the-middle attack or on-path attack.
Lastly, since VPNs work by encrypting your data and routing it via a secure VPN server, it's also possible to pick a server location that gives the appearance that you're located somewhere else in the world. Websites and online services rely on an IP address to determine the current location of your device, so with a few clicks, you can appear as if you've travelled thousands of miles.
That's useful to unlock TV shows, sports fixtures, and websites that might not be available in your hometown. It also means you can avoid price discrimination as you're able to check what other people around the world are being charged for the same service. This means you can unlock cheaper flights, and easier bot lobbies in Call of Duty.
Of course, nothing is cheaper than free... so you might be wondering why our guide to the best cheap VPNs doesn't have a list of free services. Well, while free-to-use options can be handy in a pinch, there's really too many compromises to make these VPNs a viable long-term solution.
That's because all free VPN providers will place restrictions on your account to incentivise you to upgrade to a paid subscription plan, including limiting the amount of data or slower transfer speeds. This can make browsing the internet, video calls, and streaming on Netflix and others arduous at best — and impossible at worst.
With at least a 30-day money-back guarantee, it's possible to use the cheap VPN services for one month without any restrictions. This'll give you the best possible sense of whether these services will work for you. If you're unhappy, you'll pay no cost for VPN access.
The best recommendations from Reddit, as well as our own experience testing VPNs, means we've only selected services with a wide range of compatible devices. Surfshark lets you sign into an unlimited number of devices with the same single subscription — in other words, it's like Netflix before it started to crackdown on password sharing. NordVPN tops out at 6 devices, while CyberGhost offers a maximum of 7.
Supported platforms include
If you've got a device that you need to secure with a VPN that isn't covered with this list, you can install the VPN onto the Wi-Fi router that so any gadget connected to your wireless network is automatically secured.
Using a reliable VPN can be a safe and secure way to browse the internet. But it's best not to unreservedly place your trust in every VPN provider on the market. You should be looking for AES-256 encryption — this is the standard used by most VPN protocols. If the VPN provider says that it uses PPTP, it's best to avoid this option as it only relies on 128-bit encryption.
