Top 3 Best Cheap VPNs of 2022

Computer with a VPN icon on-screen next to a hand adding coins to a savings jar
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The best cheap VPNs of 2022: a summary

A good VPN will protect your internet traffic and allow you to browse the web anonymously. Some people think this kind of service is bound to be expensive, but that isn’t true. There are several VPN providers that offer services of excellent quality, which are also very affordable. Would you rather pay as little as possible for your VPN subscription? You might want to check out Surfshark:

Besides this cheap provider, there are other VPNs that offer great and safe connections for very low prices. You can read our full article below to find out more.

VPN server icon

A VPN will help you surf the internet safely and anonymously. VPNs encrypt your internet traffic, better anonymize your IP address and help you get around geographical online restrictions. This is all very useful, but choosing the best VPN for you isn’t an easy task. The number of VPNs on the market is higher than ever, which makes it hard to make the right choice.

Each VPN provider claims to be the best, the fastest, or the safest. Still, there are plenty of differences between them. Free VPNs are nice enough, but a paid VPN generally does a better job. There even are quite big price gaps between the different paid VPNs. Of course, we would all like to get the best VPN service for the cheapest price. But which VPN provider actually offers the best deal? We’ve looked into it and created our own top 3 of best cheap VPN services.

Three Cheap VPN Services

Most VPNs ask for a monthly fee from their customers, so they can maintain and improve their services. The money they make might, for example, go to broadening their server network, improving client support, or updating servers that work with (American) Netflix. Partly due to this monthly payment, premium VPNs tend to be of better quality than free VPNs.

No one wants to pay too much for their VPN. Luckily, you won’t need to. There are many cheap VPNs out there that offer great quality despite their low prices. These providers are ideal for the average internet user who’s looking to increase their online privacy and safety without it costing too much. After research, we found that the following three VPN providers are the cheapest qualitative VPNs on the market right now.

RANK AND VPNOUR SCOREPRICE PER MONTHWEBSITE VPN-PROVIDER
1. Surfshark9.0$2.30To the Surfshark website
2. PIA8.5$2.03To the PIA website
3. PureVPN6.8$1.99To the PureVPN website

The scores we’ve given these different providers are based on our detailed reviews. The ‘price per month’ stated is the cheapest price you can get a subscription for. Usually, these are subscriptions for a year or longer. For more information on these cheap VPNs, you can read their short summaries below.


Surfshark

Surfshark is a very user-friendly VPN. Being a relatively new player on the VPN market, they’re trying to attract new customers with their low prices, high levels of user-friendliness, and impeccable speeds. Moreover, Surfshark works with Netflix and allows you to download it anonymously. It’s also one of the few VPNs that work on Chromebooks. If you ask us, this is the best VPN out there when you’re on a tight budget.

As a reviewing platform, we have little to nothing to complain about when it comes to Surfshark. We believe this provider will quickly grow to become one of the biggest VPN providers in the world. Let’s just pray they keep their prices the same on their way there!

Surfshark
Deal:
Safe and anonymous internet for only $2.30a month
From
$2.30
9.0
  • Very user-friendly and works with Netflix and torrents
  • 30-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked!
  • Cheap with many extra options
Visit Surfshark

Private Internet Access (PIA)

PIA is one of the most inexpensive top 5 VPNs on the market right now. This high-quality American VPN offers users an extensive server network of 33,000 servers in 78 countries with a high level of security and privacy, including an airtight no-log policy.

Private Internet Access’s VPN price doesn’t diminish the quality. This premium VPN provider offers all of the security and privacy features you would expect, just at a lower price. Plus, it works with American Netflix and offers an impressive 30-day money-back guarantee. This is perfect if you want to try out a provider before dedicating yourself to a long-term subscription. It’s also one of the best VPNs for online banking.

PIA
Deal:
PIA is always well-priced with a 30-day money-back guarantee
From
$2.19
8.5
  • Strong focus on privacy and security
  • Good price
  • Fast and stable servers
Visit PIA

PureVPN

PureVPN is also a very affordable VPN. This provider offers a big server network. It also has specialized streaming servers, which you can use to watch your favorite streaming services. A single PureVPN subscription can be used on multiple devices at the same time. Moreover, you’ll have an extensive day money-back guarantee in case you aren’t satisfied.

Our reason for placing PureVPN on number three in our list of best cheap VPNs, is its history. Back in 2017, PureVPN provided user logs to the FBI. This proves that PureVPN held on to identifiable logs on its users. Since then, a lot has changed for PureVPN. In 2019, PureVPN has been submitted to an independent audit. This audit showed that PureVPN no longer keeps any logs that allow anyone to identify a specific user and/or their online activities. Due to this improvement of their logging policy, we’ve decided to include PureVPN in our top three best cheap VPNs anyway. It’s simply one of the cheapest premium VPNs out there, which, in this specific case, convinces us to give this provider the benefit of the doubt.

PureVPN
From
$1.99
6.8
  • Large offer of servers
  • High speeds
  • Netflix doesn't always work
Visit PureVPN

Cheap VPNs: What Do You Need to Look Out For?

Before making a definite choice, it’s important to decide what you want out of a VPN. Do you want a VPN that allows you to stream or download torrents quickly? Then you’ll need a fast one. Would you rather have a VPN that’s all about increased safety? Choose a VPN with strong levels of encryption, a no-logging policy, and no safety problems. Finally, you might be in need of a VPN for the whole family. In that case, you need a service that’s user-friendly and can be used on many devices at the same time.

One thing to keep in mind, is that sometimes more expensive premium VPNs will be offered for cheaper prices on unofficial websites and fora. These VPNs are likely to be cracked, and can be very dangerous to your device. It’s entirely possible to get a cheap VPN, but make sure that you’re getting a valid deal. This article, among the others on our website, will provide you with trustworthy links and deals for all the best VPN providers.

Each decent VPN service will provide you with some level of safety, user-friendliness, and speed. Still, there are many differences between providers. One VPN might be much safer than the other, but also have lower speeds. Some VPNs offer many options and require some technical knowledge from their users, while others are installed within the blink of an eye and are easy to operate. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a sense of what features you’d like your VPN to have. Read reviews and try out some VPN services, if at all possible. If you’re looking for a detailed overview of the best VPNs of this moment, you can also have a look at a different article of ours: the five best all-round VPNs.

Free Or Paid VPN?

Two hands holding up VPN shields

Aside from paid VPNs, however cheap they may be, you might have run into some free VPNs. There are a couple of decent free VPNs out there, as you’ll be able to read in our article “Top 6 Free VPN Providers”. Even so, most free VPNs have certain limitations: even the best free VPN is far from perfect. They often have speed limitations, a data limit, or a limited server network. Therefore, free VPNs are generally useful if you wish to try out a VPN. However, using a free service intensively or for a longer amount of time will quickly become inconvenient. You can choose a cheap VPN such as BlufVPN that offers optimized streaming servers too.

Research has proven that a large part of the free VPNs available online is untrustworthy and unsafe. If you care about your online safety, you probably won’t want to have anything to do with these (sometimes fake) VPN providers. Always be wary when choosing a free VPN. Avoid cheap services that sell or share your data with third parties, such as Hola VPN and BeetVPN. Make sure to consult trustworthy reviews and, if at all possible, we’d advise you to choose a (cheap) premium provider.

Final Thoughts: The Best Cheap VPN

Savings jar and a trophy with a VPN shield icon inside of itCheap VPNs are an excellent choice for anyone who’s planning to regularly use a VPN but doesn’t want to spend too much money on it. Generally, it’s better to choose a cheap VPN over a free one. Since there are so many VPNs on the market, some providers try to compete by lowering their prices. This is convenient for you as a customer, as it means you’ll be able to get a great VPN for a lower price. Since everyone has different wishes when it comes to their VPN, it’s hard to pick one VPN service and claim it’s the very best cheap VPN in the world. We would personally choose Surfshark, but you might not agree. That’s why we’d like to leave you with our top three great and cheap VPNs:

RANK AND VPNOUR SCOREPRICE PER MONTHWEBSITE VPN-PROVIDER
1. Surfshark9.0$2.30To the Surfshark website
2. PIA8.5$2.03To the PIA website
3. PureVPN6.8$1.99To the PureVPN website
The 3 Best Cheap VPNs: Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have a question about cheap VPNs?  Simply click on a question below to see the answer.

Surfshark is one of the cheapest VPNs. Besides the low price, Surfshark also has a high level of user-friendliness and impeccable speeds. If our opinion, this is the best VPN out there when you’re on a tight budget.

If you’re looking for a cheap VPN, it’s important to decide what you want out of a VPN. Do you want a VPN that allows you to stream or download torrents quickly? Then you’ll need a fast VPN that doesn’s slow down your connection. Would you rather have a VPN that guarantees security and privacy? Choose a VPN with strong encryption and a no logging policy.

Aside from premium cheap VPNs, there are also free VPNs. A free VPN sounds great, but it’s important to make sure the service still offers good quality. Some free VPNs are untrustworthy and unsafe. Most free VPNs have speed limitations, a data limit, or a limited server network. Therefore, free VPNs are generally useful if you wish to try out a VPN. However, using a free service intensively or for a longer amount of time will quickly become inconvenient.

Cybersecurity analyst
David is a cybersecurity analyst and one of the founders of VPNoverview.com. Since 2014 he has been gaining international experience working with governments, NGOs, and the private sector as a cybersecurity and VPN expert and advisor.
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  1. Thanks for this very informative article. How is hotspot shield for a free VPN?

    • We haven’t revisited Hotspot Shield free for a while but what we remember is that the Android version is full of ads and that they severely throttle your download- and upload speed. On top of that, it only has servers available in the US. We do have an article on excellent free VPNs, but Hotspot Shield didn’t make the list.

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