According to a report by Security.Org, 110 Million Americans faced cyberattacks in the year 2019 alone. That’s what made people go for VPNs.
VPN or Virtual Private Network is a savior for life when one needs to stay safe in the world of online vulnerabilities, here are some VPN statistics. It keeps tons of dangers at bay. Now, when buying VPN is the need of the hour, we have free and paid VPNs available.
This is where the actual confusion comes as it’s hard to ignore whatever comes with the tag of “Free”. Hearing the word ‘Free’ makes everyone excited. But are free VPNs good, or investing money in a paid VPN is a better move to make?
In this post, we’ll try to answer all these questions. So, let’s begin the ultimate free VPN vs paid VPN battle.
Is It Possible To Offer a Quality Free VPN?
Running every service demands some resources. Paid VPNs manage all these expenses from the subscriptions. But how does a free VPN service provider manage? Is it a social service? Of course, not.
As far as we know, the viable ways to generate revenue for free VPNs are:
- Selling out customers’ information to others
- Promoting third-party services/products on their website/app
- Re-directing the traffic to other websites
Yes, all these processes are helping free VPNs to make their living.
They sound scary, right? But there is more.
Some free VPNs even act as a platform for hackers to introduce viruses and malware. So, if you think that you’re getting a VPN service for free, then always keep in mind that nothing comes for free in the world. You have to pay the price, and with a free VPN, the price is hefty.
Risks Of Using Free VPN
In our free VPN vs paid debate, the next thing we’re going to discuss is the risk of using the free VPN. With a free VPN:
- You will have nearly zero protection as high-end security encryptions and protocols are not adopted.
- Speed drop is very high, and you won’t be able to access any page
- The server network is very limited
- Torrenting & streaming is a nightmare
- All your activities are logged. As per the need of the hour, there are no strict zero-log policies, and audits are not done.
Is There Any Hope?
Google searches for VPN-related keywords have doubled up, as visible in Google Trends. As you can conclude, no one likes to pay for a service before trying it out directly. So, it is a strong possibility that people expect a bit from free VPN options.
Now, here is some good news.
We must admit that it’s not always that a free VPN loses the paid vs free VPN battle. There are still some good free VPNs that are doing the job perfectly. Though they are the only handful. TunnelBearVPN, WindscribeVPN, Hide.meVPN, or Hotspot ShieldVPN. While picking a free VPN, don’t go for the one which is:
- Promising to offer unlimited services
- Not providing any support and doesn’t have an informative website
- Not bothered to disclose the privacy policy
Perks of Paid VPNs
Paid best VPNs, even though asked for some investments, they are ultimate peace of mind as:
- They are equipped with all kinds of leading security features and protocols
- Enough customer and technical support is provided
- They support all kinds of activities like torrenting, streaming, gaming, and downloading easily
- All sorts of geo-restrictions can be eliminated
- IP address hiding is possible
Paid VPN vs Free VPN – Which One Wins
We know it’s hard not to get tempted after hearing the word “ free,” but when you’re planning to buy a VPN, this should be the last thing that one should be bothered about, as free VPNs are nothing but a way to lure you in the trap of endless hassles.
Paid VPNs are the only resort when you need real protection at the peanut’s cost. They can keep you safe, hide your actual location, and having ultimate peace of mind is a sure thing. So, the winner of free vs paid VPN is surely paid VPNs.