Best VPN free trial in 2025

Whenever you make a purchase, whether it’s a new coat or a new car, it’s always the best idea to try it out before committing. The same goes for VPNs, which is why many of them offer VPN free trials so you can try before you buy, or money-back guarantees so you can get a refund.

Here at Tom’s Guide, we comprehensively test all the best VPNs (and some not-so-good VPNs) in order to provide a definitive ranking of them. By using a VPN’s free trial, you’ll be able to combine our hands-on testing with your own experience to pick the VPN that’s right for you. It’s important to note, however, that if you go for a free trial you may not be eligible for any money-back guarantees the VPN service offers.

Read on for an in-depth look at why these VPNs are the best on the market, and why you should seriously consider taking advantage of their free trials. If you’re pressed for time, though, you can check out our top three below – NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Surfshark.

The 3 best VPN free trials at a glance

1. NordVPN: the best VPN with a free trial
In our testing, NordVPN came out on top as the best VPN overall thanks to its speed, security and unblocking abilities. When it comes to free trials, NordVPN not only offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, but a 7-day free trial for Android as well. If you want to buy after you try, prices start from $3.39 per month plus tax for the 2-year plan ($81.36 plus tax all-in).

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2. ExpressVPN: an easy to use VPN with a free trial
ExpressVPN is extremely easy to use, meaning it’s super simple to get started and try it out during its 30-day money-back guarantee. Plus, as it doesn’t have tiered subscriptions, you can gain access to all its added features like a personal data removal tool and ID theft insurance during this period. However, this does mean it is a little more expensive than others on this list with prices starting at $4.99 per month for a 2-year plan ($139 for 28 months coverage).

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3. Surfshark: the cheapest VPN with a free trial
Surfshark offers a 7-day free trial for iOS and Android, as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee. Paired with unlimited simultaneous connections you really can make sure you get the absolute most out of these free trials. Plus, at $1.99 per month plus tax for its two 2-year plan ($53 plus tax all-in for 27 months coverage), it’s one of the cheapest VPN providers on the market.

View DealHow we chose the best VPN free trials

Why you can trust Tom’s Guide

Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what’s best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

For this guide, we’ve firstly taken a look at what these VPNs offer in terms of free trials, and what the limitations on these free trials are. We’ve also evaluated them on ease of use, unblocking ability, privacy and security in order to make sure that they actually deliver as VPNs.

To check unblocking ability, we use semi-automated system, combined with manual checks, to test how effective they are for unblocking Netflix and other streaming sites.

In speed tests, we check the VPNs maximum speed on a 1 Gbps line. While this is just a snapshot of the VPN’s speeds, it does give us an idea of what they’re capable of.

In my personal tests, I tried out all the VPN providers on both desktop and mobile to get a feel of how they performed on each device, and how was it was to set up and use them.

You can learn more about how we test VPNs by checking out the linked page.