The first thing anyone looking for a VPN should know is that not all VPNs are created equal. A few are great, but many fall short when it comes to providing the best security you can get.
At Security Gladiators, we’ve tried, tested and reviewed tons of VPNs and we know what to look for in a good VPN service.
One thing we always look for in a VPN is a free trial. A free VPN trial indicates that a VPN provider is confident enough in their product that they’re willing to prove its quality to you by allowing to use if for free. Often when a VPN doesn’t have a free trial option, their product is substandard.
Many VPN providers don’t offer a free trial and we generally stay away from them. Others offer a week or even a month of free service. On top of that many offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and other perks that make them well worth their price.
In this article, we’ll discuss what we look for in a VPN service so you know how we decided which VPN providers to include on this list. Once we’ve discussed our criteria, we’ll then discuss each of the VPN providers we chose and tell you what we liked about them and what we didn’t like. Let’s get started.
NordVPN is a market leader with over 5,100 servers in 62 countries.
What we like about NordVPN
No logs (excellent anonymity)
Easy to use
Awesome price
Based in Panama, (non-U.S. jurisdiction)
Can use to unblock and stream Netflix, Kodi, Hulu, HBO and other streaming platforms
Up to six simultaneous connections
High-quality customer support with 24/7 live chat
30-day money back guarantee
What we don’t like
Need to login after each update
Limitation to specificity of server locations
NordVPN is a giant in the VPN industry. From its super simple interface to its user-friendly design, NordVPN has built its name on being the best VPN for beginners in the VPN market.
NordVPN boasts over 5,200 servers in 62 countries and offers limitless bandwidth. The NordVPN free trial gives new users access to the same experience and all of the features they would have with a paid membership.
Users can choose between a monthly plan, a 1-year plan, a 2-year plan or a 3-year plan after the free trial. They also offer a 30 day money back guarantee so if you decide you’d rather not use the service even if you paid for it after the free trial.
CyberGhost was founded in 2011, which makes it one of the oldest and most reputable VPN providers. This time has allowed them to rack up over 3.7 million users worldwide. All of this combined with the fact CyberGhost has over 6,100 servers around the world makes CyberGhost a reliable option for anyone who wants a free trial VPN.
CyberGhost supports every major device and, with one subscription, can seven simultaneous connections. Unfortunately, they allow only a 24 hour free trial of their service on desktop but offer seven days for Android and iOS users. With a VPN free trial, you can get access to all of CyberGhost’s premium features without a credit card to try out their service, which makes it no-risk.
You need a credit card to sign up for the free trial
Free trial is combined with money back guarantee
ExpressVPN has everything you could ask for in a VPN service. It has 256-bit AES encryption for the best security, a kill switch for leak protection and no bandwidth limits so you can use it as much as you like.
One downside is that the free trial and the money back guarantee are one and the same with ExpressVPN. While other VPNs have a free trial and then a money back guarantee once you sign up for a paid plan, ExpressVPN requires that you sign up for a paid plan and then take advantage of the money back guarantee if you’re not satisfied. While this is less convenient than other free trials, it still allows you to get the service for free for a month to test it out.
They hide the seven-day free trial from most visitors
Some newer VPN services offer more cutting-edge features
They keep logs
HideMyAss was founded in 2005, making it one of the oldest and most reputable names in the VPN world. Rest assured, a VPN company doesn’t last that long in the VPN space without providing a great product.
HideMyAss consistently ranks among the best VPNs by offering one of the simplest and easiest user interfaces, with limitless bandwidth and great 24/7 live chat customer support. On top of that you can connect with one-click and they’re constantly updating the list of devices and operating systems they can work with.
The SaferVPN free trial gives users access to over 700 servers in over 35 locations around the world with unlimited data transfer and 256-bit encryption, the highest encryption level in the industry.
SaferVPN promises to secure your private information from hackers, ISPs and the government. The one sticking point is the 24-hour free trial length, which comes and goes a little too quickly. Luckily, users don’t need to provide a credit card to start the VPN free trial, which is a huge positive.
Matthew is an avid technology, security, and privacy enthusiast while also a fully qualified mechanical engineer. I love to see the crossover between these two fields. When he's not working or studying he can be found fishing, playing guitar, playing video games, or building something.