Best VPN Free Trials and Money-back Guarantees

Here's a list of the longest VPN free trial & money-back guarantee periods, so you can "try before you buy" with confidence and peace of mind. 

Is it your first time using a VPN? Or maybe you can’t decide which one is best for your needs? Or perhaps you’re just broke but need to use a VPN for a few days?

VPN free trials or money-back guarantees may be just what you’re looking for. We’ve compiled this comprehensive list of which VPNs offer the best trials and guarantees, so you can have plenty to choose from.

Don’t Confuse VPN Free Trials with Free VPN Services

There’s something we need to get straight right away.

While free trials (and money-back guarantees) can be a cost-effective way to try different VPN services, don’t confuse them with VPNs that claim to be entirely free.

However, if you absolutely insist on using a free VPN, then we would recommend sticking to PrivadoVPN, since it minimizes many of the issues that come with most free VPNs. 

But you'd really be better off by taking advantage of one of the free trials or money-back guarantees we highlight below. 

Best VPN Free Trials

VPN free trials don’t require any payment upfront. In fact, most of them don’t even require payment information. 

ProtonVPN – Free Plan

From the folks at ProtonMail, the privacy-centric email service, comes ProtonVPN. Rather than a free trial, ProtonVPN provides a free version of the service with less features. For instance, you'll only have access to a small number of servers in just 3 countries. 

Or you can take advantage of their money-back guarantee to take the full service for a spin, risk free. 

CyberGhost – 7-Day Free Trial

CyberGhost used to offer a free version of their VPN, but after some improvements to their software they’ve switched to a free trial. The free trial is available is 7 days for iOS, 3 days for Android, and 24 hours for Windows and Mac. 

TorGuard – 7-Day Free Trial

TorGuard’s P2P-friendly VPN service with “Stealth VPN” functionality is worth a try, especially since it’s free for 7 days. 

PrivateVPN – 7-Day Free Trial

PrivateVPN is a Sweden-based service with good speeds and a solid price point. You can try this VPN free trial for 7 days with their generous free trial.

HideMyAss – 7-Day Free Trial (But Credit Card Required)

We’ve rightfully criticized HideMyAss in the past for keeping logs and failing to protect their users’ privacy, but they still have a generous VPN free trial. Just make sure to cancel before it renews. Visit HMA's pricing page and click on the 7-day free trial option.

PureVPN – 7-Day Trial for $0.99

It's not quite free, but PureVPN's 7-day trial is pretty close, at least than a dollar. If you'd like to try it for longer (or you forget to cancel before the trial period is over), they also have a 31-day money-back guarantee. 

TunnelBear – 2GB Free Trial

Rather than a trial, TunnelBear essentially offers a free version of their VPN – but it only has a data allowance of 2GB per month. That'll handle some light web browsing, but any sort of downloading or streaming will use that allowance up very quickly. 

CactusVPN – 3-Day Free Trial

CactusVPN is a Moldova-based VPN service that offers 3 days of full access for free, with no credit card required. 

SwitchVPN – 3-Day Trial for $1

If you’re thinking about switching to SwitchVPN, you can give it a spin for 3 days for just $1.

SaferVPN – 24-Hour Trial 

You’ll be a little safer for 24 hours with SaferVPN’s free trial. Okay, we promise to lay off the puns. 

Best VPN Money-Back Guarantees

These money-back guarantee offers require payment upfront, but if you cancel within the allowed time frame, you still end up with up to 31 days of VPN service for free.

PureVPN – 31-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Looking for the longest VPN money-back guarantee in the business? That titles belongs to PureVPN at 31 days. Okay, so it’s only one day longer than some of their biggest competitors, but it’s still impressive!

Private Internet Access – 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Private Internet Access (or PIA for short) is one of the most affordable premium VPNs on the market (and our favorite VPN for torrenting). Plus, they even offer a 30-day money back guarantee, so you can be sure about your purchase.

NordVPN – 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

If NordVPN’s 3-day free trial (see above) isn’t enough time to find out if the service is right for you, they’ve got a 30-day money back guarantee as well. That’s how confident they are that you’ll be a satisfied with their service.

ExpressVPN – 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

This top-rated VPN even comes with a very generous money-back guarantee. Try it for 30 days, see how you like it, and request a refund if you’re not totally satisfied – but we think you will be.

ProtonVPN – 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

As we mentioned earlier, ProtonVPN does have a free plan, which has limited features. But they also have a full 30-day money back guarantee. 

VyprVPN 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

VyprVPN used to offer a 3-day trial, but now you'll have to take advantage of their money-back guarantee if you want to try the service. But it's a solid VPN provider, nonetheless.  

PrivateVPN – 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

PrivateVPN is another service that offers both a free trial and a strong money-back guarantee. You’ll be able to try it for 30 days, risk free.

CyberGhost – 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Along with CyberGhost’s free trial, they also offer refunds within 30 days for their paid service if you’re not completely satisfied.

SpyOff – 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

SpyOff is so confident you’ll love their service that they offer refunds within 30 days if you don’t like what you see.

CactusVPN – 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

CactusVPN’s 3-day trial doesn’t give you much time to get a feel for their service, so you may want to consider their 30-day money-back guarantee instead.

TorGuard – 7-Day Money-Back Guarantee

With TorGuard, you can choose between a 7-day trial and a 7-day guarantee. Either “try before your buy” or “buy with peace of mind”.

IPVanish – Conditional Guarantee

IPVanish does provide a 30-day money-back guarantee... but only for people who sign up for a yearly or two-year plan. It does not apply to monthly customers, so if you just want to try a VPN with minimal upfront investment, you'll probably want to give one of the providers above a try. 

How to Test Your VPN (Checklist)

Both the VPN free trials and money-back guarantees above can be a great way to try out a VPN service.

But what exactly should you be looking for? How do you know if the service is good or not?

Here's what you should pay attention to: 

• Privacy (no logging together with strong customer privacy & security)
• Speed (fast downloading & excellent performance)
• Ease of use (quick to launch and straight-forward installation & setup)
• Reliability (minimal downtime and connection drops)
• Coverage (number of VPN servers and country locations)
• Value (affordable prices, money-back guarantees or free trials and payment options)

Of course, if these sound a little too complicated, you can always check out our list of the best VPNs. We ran ‘em through the ringer, so you don’t have to.

And they all offer either free trials, money-back guarantees, or both. 

Conclusion

Choosing a VPN with a free trial or money-back guarantee is the best way to make sure you get a service that’s right for you.

And, remember, if you provided payment information for a free trial, make sure to cancel within the trial period.

That goes for requesting a refund from the money-back guarantee services as well. Make sure to do it within the guarantee period to get all your money back hassle-free.