VPN costs: providers listed from most expensive to cheapest

VPN costs vary enormously. Some providers allow you to use their service without charge, while others demand a fairly substantial subscription fee. Generally speaking, the free ones don’t get you as much as the paid ones, and each service offers a slightly different package.

We’ve made this guide to list the VPN costs of all the top providers, so that you can easily compare the amount that each one costs. We’ve listed providers based on what their monthly fee works out as, in addition to listing the amount that you’ll pay upfront.

Each VPN has different payment plans, so what we’ve done is select the ones that cover the largest span of time, and, consequently, get you the cheapest monthly cost. This was the simplest way to standardise the costs – making it easier for you to skim over the expensive (but comprehensive) VPN services, the best cheap VPNs, and the best free VPNs.

VPN costs, from most expensive to cheapest (GBP prices shown where available):

• ExpressVPN – $6.67 USD / £5.42 GBP per month
• VyprVPN – $5 USD / £4.50 GBP per month
• NordVPN – $3.49USD / £2.79 GBP per month
• IPVanish – $2.58 USD  / £2.92 GBP per month
• Surfshark – $2.53 USD / £2.29 GBP per month
• PureVPN – $2.29 USD per month
• CyberGhost – $2.11 USD / £1.85 GBP per month
• Private Internet Access – $2.11 USD / £1.63 GBP per month
• Ivacy VPN – $1.00 USD per month
• PrivadoVPN – available for free
• TunnelBear – available for free

 

1. ExpressVPN – $6.67 USD / £5.48 GBP per month

ExpressVPN is the most expensive provider on this list. Its pricing works out as $6.67 USD or £5.48 GBP per month when you go for its year-long plan that costs $80.04 USD or £81.04 GBP (with three three months thrown in).

Pros:

• TrustedServer system prevents any of your data being written to servers
• Lightway protocol offers enhanced performance
• Impressive selection of server locations

Cons:

• Expensive
• Small overall server total
• No free trial

This is easily one of the biggest VPN services, with impressive features like the Lightway protocol (which enhances performance) and the TrustedServer system (which prevents the servers from writing anything related to your online activities). Its server range and limit on simultaneous devices may be less than some others, but it’s still a fantastic VPN.

To find out more about this provider, read our ExpressVPN review.

2. VyprVPN – $5 USD / £4.50 GBP per month

The second most expensive provider on this list is VyprVPN. Its pricing works out as $5 USD or £4.50 GBP per month, based on their year-long plan, which cost $60 USD or £54 GBP.

Pros:

• Based in Switzerland
• Allows up to 30 simultaneous connections
• Decent choice of server locations

Cons:

• Expensive
• No free trial
• Small server total

Though it has fewer servers than some the other expensive providers on this list, it still manages to span 70 countries, and it impressively allows up to 30 simultaneous connections. You’ll want to think carefully before going for a costly option like this, but if you do, it offers an impressive package.

3. NordVPN – $3.49 USD / £2.79 GBP per month

NordVPN is going to work out as $3.49 USD or £2.79 GBP per month if you go for the two-year plan that costs $83.76 USD or £33.48 GBP.

Pros:

• Fastest VPN service
• Broad streaming service compatibility

Cons:

• Slightly more expensive than others
• Slightly smaller number of servers and locations

NordVPN is easily one of the most well-known and respected VPN brands, partly because it is the fastest VPN. This provider offers a number of different packages, including password managers, encrypted storage space, and a data breach scanner, but the prices listed above are for the standard package, which is the VPN without any extras. It even comes with three free months, making it more of a 27-month plan.

Read our NordVPN review for more information.

4. IPVanish – $2.58 USD / £2.92 GBP per month

The pricing for IPVanish works out as $2.58 USD or £2.92 GBP per month if you go for the $30.96 USD /  £35.04 GBP year-long plan.

Pros:

• Options for up to 250GB of encrypted storage space
• Unlimited simultaneous connections

Cons:

• Small server selection
• Small selection of server locations

Going for the IPVanish one-year package means that you also get access to its Ransomware and Malware Protection services. On top of that, it also allows you to enjoy an unlimited number of simultaneous connections. Though it’s another one with a smaller server count, the benefits of this VPN more than make up for it. Unfortunately for shoppers in the UK, IPVanish does not include GBP pricing.

5. Surfshark – $2.53 USD / £2.29 GBP per month

Surfshark pricing works out as $2.53 USD or £2.29 GBP if you go to $60.72 USD or £54.96 GBP two-year plan.

Pros:

• Allows unlimited simultaneous connections
• Lower price
• Offers a free trial

Cons:

• Smaller server selection
• Fewer server locations

Surfshark offers a good price on its two-year package, but it’s important to keep in mind that this is a one-time deal. Afterwards, you’ll be paying the same amount annually, so in the long-term, the pricing isn’t quite so good as it seems. Still, for a provider with a healthy selection of servers that allows you an unlimited number of simultaneous connections, it’s still pretty great. (In the UK, this works out cheaper per month than CyberGhost, the next choice on the list).

Read our Surfshark review.

6. PureVPN – $2.29 USD per month

The pricing of PureVPN works out as $2.29 USD if you go for the $54.96 USD two-year plan.

Pros:

• Regular third-party audits
• Good number of simultaneous connections

Cons:

• Limited Linux support
• Limited server selection

What makes PureVPN stand out from the crowd is the fact that it submits itself to regular third-party audits to confirm that it genuinely isn’t keeping logs on any of its users’ activities. For this reason, it’s arguably the most secure VPN. It comes with three free months (making it a 27-month package), but reverts to charging you the same amount annually after that time has passed. Unfortunately, it does not list GBP pricing.

7. CyberGhost – $2.11 USD / £1.85 GBP per month

The pricing for CyberGhost works out as $2.11 USD or £1.85 GBP per month, if you go for the $50.64 USD / £44.40 GBP three-year plan.

Pros:

• Decent price
• 45-day money-back guarantee
• Broad streaming service compatibility

Cons:

• No third-party privacy audits
• Slower than some other top providers

You can get some pretty good pricing from CyberGhost if you’re willing to spend a big chunk in one go. This also includes three free months, making it more of a 39-month package. If you’re hesitant about making a financial commitment, you can rest easy, because it has a 45-day money-back guarantee that will give you plenty of time to make sure it does everything you want/need it to do.

Read our CyberGhost review for more information.

8. Private Internet Access – $2.11 USD / £1.63 GBP per month

The pricing for Private Internet Access works out as $2.11 USD or £1.63 GBP per month if you go for the two-year plan at $56.94 USD or £43.94 GBP.

Pros:

• Low prices (exclusive deal for our readers)
• Enormous selection of servers
• Allows a decent number of simultaneous connections

Cons:

• One of the slower VPNs
• No third-party audit

Despite being at the cheaper end of the VPN spectrum, Private Internet Access manages to boast the highest server count of any provider on this list. With a whopping 35,000+ servers, it leaves all the other VPNs in the dust (although some of them do span more countries with their smaller totals). As an extra bonus, the two-year package also gets you an extra two months, but keep in mind that this is another one that starts billing annually after the first two years have passed.

9. Ivacy VPN – $1.00 USD a month

Ivacy VPN works out at $1 USD or £0.80 GBP per month when you go for the $60 USD/£48 GBP five-year plan.

Pros:

• Fantastic price for PCGN readers
• Military-grade 256-bit encryption
• Decent total on simultaneous connections

Cons:

• No Apple kill switch
• No WireGuard protocol

As for paid VPN services, Ivacy VPN is probably the best deal you’re going to find, and it’s an exclusive deal for our readers too. Even though it’s such a cheap option, it still has a lot of impressive features, from military-grade 256-bit encryption, through to servers in more than 100 countries. Unfortunately, this provider does not list GBP pricing.

11. PrivadoVPN – free plan available

Privado VPN can be used for free indefinitely (with data limitations).

Pros:

• No-logs policy intact under free plan
• Sever selection not bad (for a free plan)

Cons:

• Only one connection at a time
• Limited to 10GB per month
• No streaming service compatibility on free plan

Though PrivadoVPN is slightly lesser-known than some others on this list, it actually has a really impressive free plan. Not only does it maintain a no-logs policy, but it gives you a selection of 12 servers to choose from. It does, however, limit you to 10GB of data per month.

12. TunnelBear – free plan available

TunnelBear can be used for free indefinitely (with data limitations).

Pros:

• Allows up to five simultaneous connections on free plan
• No-logs policy intact on free plan
• Decent server selection

Cons:

• Measly 500MB data limitation
• No streaming service compatibility on free plan

Last, but not least, we come to TunnelBear, the final free VPN on this list. With the free plan, its no-logs policy remains in place, and it has an impressive selection of servers. The catch? You can’t exceed more than 500MB of data per month, but if you only want to protect certain searches, that might be all you need.

We compiled this list by comparing the pricing for a number of the most popular VPN providers, making sure to note any regional differences for the US vs the UK. You might also want to take a look at our guides on VPN deals, or on the best VPN overall.