Scams and cybercrimes are no joke. As many as 96% of Americans say they’ve been targeted, and billions of dollars are stolen every year. Those figures are certainly frightening, but fortunately, there are some easy steps you can take to protect yourself. One of the easiest ways to keep your data away from prying eyes is by using a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. It creates an encrypted connection between your device and the internet, making it much, much tougher for third parties to sneak a peek.
Plus, getting signed up might not cost as much as you think. Many of the top VPN providers offer massive discounts for new customers, with prices starting at less than $2 per month. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best offers out there on top-rated VPNs so you can keep your information safe without breaking the bank.
Best VPN deals
CNET’s team of experts tested and reviewed the VPNs in this group. We can broadly recommend them with the caveats noted below. The fast-changing ownership landscape in the VPN market may continue to shake things up, but we’ll continue to update this list as we uncover more.
ExpressVPN: $3 a month for 28 months
Devices: Up to 8
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
ExpressVPN still tops our list of the best VPNs, and you can save on a subscription by going for its 24-month plan, which also gets you four months free, dropping the average price to just $2.79 a month, paid as $78 upfront. You can step up to the Advanced plan with a few more perks for just $3.59 a month, paid as $101, or go all-out for the Pro plan for $5.99 a month, paid as $168. We evaluate VPNs based on their overall performance in three main categories: speed, security and price. Express isn’t the cheapest, but it’s among the fastest and the most secure so far, even after its acquisition by Kape Technologies
Surfshark: $2 a month for 27 months
Devices: Unlimited
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
Surfshark, a relative newcomer to the VPN market, has quickly become known for its speed, which is why it’s one of our VPN experts’ top picks. Surfshark also supports unlimited devices, which is great for large households. Currently, all the plans are discounted by up to 87%. If you commit to 27 months of Surfshark Starter VPN right now, you’ll be billed $54 upfront for 27 months, averaging $2 a month.
If you want a few more perks, you can try Surfshark One, which sets you back just $2.29 a month or an upfront payment of $62 for 27 months. This gives you some added features, like a private search engine and 24/7 virus protection. In a similar deal, you can get Surfshark One Plus for just over $4 a month for a 27-month subscription. This will be billed at $113 upfront. You’ll get everything the other two packages offer, plus data removal from companies’ databases and people-search websites. Surfshark merged with rival NordVPN in 2022, although the companies continue to operate independently.
NordVPN: $3 a month for 27 months
Devices: Up to 10
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
An industry heavyweight and still one of CNET’s top picks, NordVPN has some substantial savings right now, with up to 77% off its plans supporting up to 10 devices. The basic two-year plan is $81 upfront for 27 months. If you want the upgraded Plus plan, with its added malware, ad-blocking and password management tools, you can get a two-year subscription (plus three free months) for just $105, which works out to about $4 a month. There’s also the Complete plan, which is just less than $5 a month and is billed as $132 upfront, and the $7 a month Prime plan, which is $186 upfront. As we noted, NordVPN and Surfshark have merged but have continued to operate autonomously so far.
Proton VPN: $2 a month for 24 months
Devices: Up to 10
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
Proton VPN is the only free VPN we recommend, but if you need more functionality, you can upgrade to Proton VPN Plus for $2.49 a month for 24 months. Keep in mind that you’ll be billed $60 upfront for this two-year plan, and that it renews at $84. You can also get a one-year subscription for just $52 upfront, or pay $10 month-by-month. Proton VPN Plus has no data caps or server-switching limits. Its ease of use, Tor support and ad-blocking capability also make Proton VPN popular.
PIA VPN: $2 a month for 28 months
Devices: Unlimited
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
Private Internet Access earned a spot on our list of the best VPN services as one of our favorite budget options. Right now, you can get this VPN for even less. You can get the two-year plan with four extra months for just a little more than $2 a month.
Despite its affordable price, PIA’s VPN tested fairly well. It offers AES 256-bit encryption, as well as a kill switch function. And it delivers a respectable speed loss of just 24%. You also get 500GB of cloud storage with this deal. It’s worth noting that PIA does fall under US jurisdiction, which might be a concern if you’re a security-focused user, although the company appears to be doing everything in its power to alleviate those concerns, including making its source code openly available.
Norton VPN: $3 a month for 12 months
Devices: Up to 5
Return policy: Fully refundable for 60 days
Norton might be a company better known for its antivirus software, but Norton VPN is a solid option for those who want a way to keep their data private while browsing the internet. Right now, you can save up to 54% on its annual plans. Prices for start at $3.33 a month for the Standard plan, which is paid as $40 upfront. You can also upgrade to the Plus plan with some extra protections for $50, or get the Ultimate plan for $60, which extends coverage to up to 10 devices.
IPVanish: $2 a month for 24 months
Devices: Unlimited
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
With one of the best user interfaces in the field, according to our reviewer, IPVanish is good for those who want to customize settings and for those who are new to a VPN. If this is your first time at the rodeo and you want to know more about the technology, IPVanish is a reliable service with a gentle learning curve. Normally, IPVanish goes for about $156 a year, but this deal gets you two years of service for about $53 (a little more than $2 a month). Note that IPVanish is also based in the US, which may be a concern if you’re focused on security. (Disclosure: IPVanish is owned by Ziff Davis, the same parent company as CNET.)
Additional VPN deals
We haven’t fully tested the following VPN. Because of that, we can only recommend it for casual use, such as bypassing geographic restrictions while streaming media.
PureVPN: $1 a month for 63 months
Devices: Up to 10
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 31 days
PureVPN presents another affordable option if you’re in the market for a simple VPN without a big price tag. With a solid server fleet numbering more than 6,500 in 78 countries, PureVPN promises reliable service, although we haven’t had the chance to verify that. Another disclaimer: PureVPN was reported by our sister site ZDNET as having provided timestamp-only logs to the FBI in a cyberstalking case in 2018. PureVPN has since stopped the timestamp logging practice and undergone a third-party audit to ensure that it keeps to its no-log policy.
It’s currently offering 88% off its five-year Standard plan, which includes three free months of service and drops the price down to just $1.49 a month. That’s a super cheap plan for the long term if you’re certain PureVPN is the service for you. Two-year plans start at a little more than $2 a month if you’re looking for a shorter commitment. Different service tiers offer additional features, like password management and up to 10 logins.
What is the best VPN deal right now?
If you’re on a budget, Surfshark offers the best VPN deal. Starting at just $2 per month, it’s the most affordable of our top three VPN services (which also include ExpressVPN and NordVPN), and there’s no limit on the number of devices you can use. It also comes with a few other services, such as an ad blocker and a masked email generator.
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How we evaluated these VPN deals
This list is almost exclusively focused on VPN services that have been tested and reviewed by our team of experts, as you don’t want to risk having your personal information leaked just to save a few bucks. Fortunately, almost all of our top-rated VPNs are offering some excellent deals right now. We’ve analyzed the discounts, subscription length, refund policy, internet speed loss, the maximum number of devices allowed and what each service is best suited for to bring you the best offers available.
There are also a few factors you should be aware of when choosing one of these deals:
- Some of these offers have countdown clocks saying the VPN deals end today. These are usually marketing gimmicks that have no relationship to the deal’s actual end date.
- We’ll update sale prices when we notice a change, so check back often.
- The VPN industry has undergone significant changes in the past few years, with all three of our top VPN choices announcing major shifts in corporate ownership. In 2021, ExpressVPN announced that it had joined Kape Technologies, a company that already owns several other VPNs and has raised privacy concerns in the past.
- In 2022, NordVPN and Surfshark announced they were merging, although they continue to operate autonomously. We regularly give ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark fresh reviews in light of these changes and continue to evaluate other VPN services as well. Our rankings are subject to change, as they reflect our latest findings.
- Most of the offers above are for two-year or longer subscriptions, which is a long time to tie yourself to a service that could change ownership or terms of service or even have a security incident. Although most services have a 30-day free cancellation policy, check the terms of service before signing up for a long-term commitment.
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