VPN apps for Android: 5 Best and 5 Free

Nowadays Android is the most popular platform for Internet connections. Many VPNs have been developed. They help to bypass blocking, protect in public Wi-Fi, relax with media content without borders and censorship.

What can you do with a VPN on a smartphone?
How to deal with the abundance of VPN apps and prevent installing malware?
How to choose a reliable and efficient application?
Why is it necessary to pay money for the best VPNs?
Is it possible to use a VPN on Android?

I will answer these and other popular questions in the updated review of VPN applications. Also, I will give you some recommendations based on the personal long-term experience of using VPN on different platforms, and I will help to prevent disappointing mistakes which may reverse the benefit from using Virtual Private Network.

5 best VPN services for Android

	7-day free trial, 6 multi-logins
	7-day free trial, 6 multi-logins
	1-day free trial, 7 multi-logins
	30-day refund, 10 multi-logins
	7-day free trial, 3 multi-logins

5 free VPNs for Android

	2 GB of traffic, 4 countries
	2-10 GB of traffic, 11 countries
	7-day trial of free plan
	500-1000 Mb of traffic
	3 locations

When do you need to install VPN on Android?

It’s easier to answer this question by the list of the tasks which a VPN app solves:

• Changing of your IP to another virtual address from any location all over the world of your choice (read more information in the article “How to hide your IP address on the Web” );
• reliable encryption of the data;
• full concealment of visited website addresses;
• unblocking of websites;
• protection of a smartphone and data in public Wi-Fi networks;
• additional protection of payments via the Internet;
• VoIP telephony without borders;
• anonymous torrenting;
• bypassing censorship;
• access to geo-limited content (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc.);
• free iGaming.

As you can see, the list is quite impressive. Moreover, there are only basic features. Every good VPN provider has extra functions that help to solve the tasks more effectively and open new opportunities. I will tell you about further features of VPN apps for Android in descriptions of this review.

So, I offer the top 5 best and the top 5 free VPN applications chosen from almost 100 candidates based on the tests, feedback, and my experience.

Besides, you can read our VPN comparison with 10 really best providers of 2019.

5 greatest Android VPNs

I begin review from the list of the best VPN apps because their use is more effective and open more possibilities than other free analogs.

1. NordVPN: the best VPN for Android, 7 days free of charge

NordVPN has been the leader on the list of the best VPNs in most categories for almost a year. The VPN provider with safe Panamanian jurisdiction is popular and reliable for both the users of Android and the users of other devices.

The distinctive feature of NordVPN is the biggest infrastructure with more than 5500+ servers in 60 countries all over the world and the greatest user-friendly apps. NordVPN is perfect for Android. The developers have achieved full compliance with the desktop version despite all the nuances of this platform. This is confirmed by our tests and a lot of positive reviews.

It bypasses even the Great Firewall of China. The application for an ordinary user is limited to the choice of a location and the choice of launching a VPN. You do not need to interact with a VPN later. VPN is activated for all applications at once.

The score of NordVPN in Google Play Market is 4.4 with 133K comments:

The application has a very comfortable virtual world map where you may choose the locations by one click. A 7-day free trial offers all app’s opportunities for users of mobile gadgets. There are many of them

• All 11 basic opportunities listed in the chapter “When do you need to install a VPN on Android?”
• Up to 6 simultaneous connections;
• CyberSec (protection from malware and attacks);
• Custom DNS (you can write your domain name server);
• Obfuscated servers (servers for hiding VPN traffic for bypassing censorship);
• P2P servers (special servers for safe torrenting);
• Dedicated IP (static IP).

Before the trial period starts, you have to subscribe to one of the paid plans If you want to save money, I recommend you to choose the cheapest plan for $3.49 per month for 3 years.

NordVPN’s tariffs:

• $3,49 per month ($125.64  for 3 years)
• $4,99 per month ($119.76 for 2 years)
• $6,99 per month ($83.88 for 1 year)
• $11,95 per month with the subscription for 1 month

There is an opportunity to use the NordVPN services for Android free of charge for 7 days. To be honest, in order to do this, you will need a payment card and a preliminary subscription to the annual plan.

You have a 30-day money-back guarantee. You may contact its customer support which is available 24/7. The highest standards of encryption and IP leak protection in combination with a high speed make the use of NordVPN on Android secure and barely unnoticeable. I recommend NordVPN because I think it’s number one.

Visit NordVPN

Or read the full review of NordVPN.

2. Surfshark: The cheapest from the best Android VPNs. 7 days free of charge.

Surfshark is the most accessible from the top three and generally the best provider. It offers users everything for proper use of the VPN for $1.99 per month.

The Android app allows you to either activate the VPN for a device at once or choose apps that don't need a VPN or exclude separate URLs. It’s comfortable when you need to visit local websites with a real IP address. Besides, the Android version has a Kill Switch that protects your applications during reconnecting VPN when changing locations or unstable connections.

The Popularity of SurfShark is lower than NordVPN or CyberGhost because the company is a bit over a year.

But the amount of positive reviews confirms its professionalism.

The score in Google Play Market is 4.1 with 1k comments:

It doesn’t have such extended infrastructure as other competitors, but its user-friendly application for Android works fast, safely and has important extra features which the competitors don’t have:

• Use small packets (including this setting makes higher the stability in certain mobile networks);
• The choice of encryption protocol (AES-256 or Chacha20Poly1305) and tunneling protocol (IKEv2 or OpenVPN);
• Kill Switch shutdown;
• Multihop (13 variants of chains of two VPNs for maximum privacy).

Furthermore, there are 2 functions which are similar to the features of NordVPN or CyberGhost:

• Whitelister (choice of applications and website URLs which should not be routed via VPN)
• CleanWeb (the protection from tracking and malicious websites)
• 6 devices simultaneously

Surfshark suggests the choice among 1000 servers in 60 countries. Speed tests showed controversial results. There are locations with a good speed more than 50Mbit/s, and there are locations with the speed lower than 20Mbit/s:

DE: 65 Mbit/s
US (Chicago): 7Mbit/s
US (Denver): 22Mbit/s

Surfshark is one of the perfect VPNs for Netflix, Torrenting, and KODI.  Surfshark’s safe jurisdiction on the British Virgin Islands beyond 5 eyes and 14 eyes alliances allows being loyal to the users’ actions.

“Bulletproof” encryption and the lack of IP leaks in the applications for all platforms guarantee the customer’s security. Unfortunately, the obfuscation of traffic in the app for Android hasn’t been developed yet. It’s necessary for working in China or in other countries with a blocked VPN. Only NordVPN from the top 5 leaders includes this opportunity for Android.

Surfshark’s tariffs:

• $1.99 per month with the subscription for 2 years ($47.74)
• $5.99 per month with the subscription for 1 year ($71.88)
• $11.95 per month with the subscription for 1 month

There is a handy way to try Surfshark for free. They provide a 7-day free trial on the Android application. Besides, you do not need a payment card to use it.

You have a 30-day money-back guarantee. You may contact its customer support which is available 24/7.

Although Surfshark was launched only in 2018, it has already had everything which is necessary for solving most of the VPN’s tasks. Of course, the speed on any location is not the highest, but the price is very affordable. I suggest Surfshark as an all-purpose VPN for any platform, if the greatest speed is not important for you.

Visit Surfshark

Or read the full review of Surfshark.

3. CyberGhost: A multi-purpose Android VPN. 1 day free of charge

CyberGhost is one of the largest VPN providers which has more than 5500 servers in 90 countries. It has a secure Romanian jurisdiction and a strict “No Logs” policy.

The application for Android fully repeats the functionality of the desktop version.

You can completely hide all network activity of a device, hide IP address without leaks, bypass most of the blocks. Thanks to smart settings, the CyberGhost application does not require any special knowledge from the user. You only need to choose a location (or trust the application which will find the one with an optimal speed) and activate a VPN.

Initially, it protects all the applications of any device at once, but unlike NordVPN, CyberGhost allows you to choose applications where a VPN can be disabled.

The reviews generally confirm the high level of services.

The score in Google Play Market is 4.3 with 54k comments:

Additional opportunities of CyberGhost for Android:

• Servers for Netflix;
• Up to 7 simultaneous connections;
• App Split Tunnel (you can choose apps with offline VPN);
• Ad-Blocker;
• The protection from malicious websites;
• Additional data condensation;
• Prevent online tracking.

CyberGhost is particularly interesting in the availability of special servers for unblocking streaming video (Netflix and others) in more than 10 countries. Perhaps, CyberGhost is the only one which includes much optimized geo-limited content for unblocking.

This is the smallest part of servers for streaming

App Split Tunnel is especially useful if you need to visit special local websites with your real IP address. In this case, you can use two different browsers on a smartphone or a tablet.

CyberGhost tariffs:

• $2,75 per month ($99  for 3 years) + 2 extra months for free
• $3,69 per month ($86,56 for 2 years)
• $5,99 per month ($71,88 for 1 year)
• $12,99 per month with the subscription for 1 month

Android VPN for $2,75 per month. 1 day free of charge

You have a 45-day money-back guarantee. You may contact its customer support which is available 24/7.

CyberGhost, like NordVPN, has fast servers, reliable 256-bit encryption and the lack of IP leaks.

I recommend CyberGhost for multi-purpose use and unblocking streaming services. The combination of reasonable prices and a high level of services ranks it as the third at the top 3.

Visit CyberGhost

Or read the full review of CyberGhost.

4. ProtonVPN: The price depends on the functionality

ProtonVPN gained popularity primarily due to its free version. I will tell you about it in the next section, but now I want to dwell on the interesting features of the paid version. To be exact, two versions.

Unlike most other VPNs, the ProtonVPN price depends not only on the duration of the subscription but on the set of available features, as well.

Well, there are 3 options for paid ProtonVPN version:

1. Basic (from $4 per month)
2. Plus (from $8 per month)
3. Visionary (from $24 per month)

Their differences are summarized on the screenshot:

It turns out that all the basic VPN features and torrenting are available for $4 per month. If you pay $8, you will get access to streaming, Tor, specific fast and protected servers on top of all.

You can study our full ProtonVPN review or the ProtonVPN website page to learn more.

ProtonVPN provides a convenient choice of prices depending on the user's needs.

What are the main characteristics of ProtonVPN that matter for Android?

• 509 servers in 41 countries;
• Netflix support;
• torrenting is allowed;
• good jurisdiction in Switzerland (outside intelligence alliances);
• high level of security.

Let me refresh the prices:

• $ 0 - Free plan (read about it in the section “The top 10 of free Android VPNs”)

With monthly pay:

• $ 5 - Basic plan
• $ 10 - Plus plan
• $ 30 - Visionary Plan

With annual subscription:

• $ 4 - Basic plan
• $ 8 - Plus plan
• $ 24 - Visionary plan

The service guarantees a 30-day refund, as well.

The Android application itself is developed in a professional way. Conveniently, the servers load can be seen on the location menu. Besides, such features as a Kill Switch and a DNS leak blocking are also available on all the servers since ProtonVPN uses its own DNS servers. Also, the provider claims that it does not keep logs.

Visit ProtonVPN

5. ExpressVPN: Premium Android VPN. From $8.32 per month

ExpressVPN has been popular for about 10 years.  It always combined the highest security standards and high speed. Moreover, it is regarded as a VPN service with the widest range of countries (95).

Nowadays it provides services for all platforms, including Android.

You can find a huge number of positive reviews on Reddit in a different range of VPN use. I completely agree with the users – ExpressVPN is a great provider, indeed.

However, there are 3 reasons why I placed it in the last, fifth place on our list:

1. The price. Over the past year or two, many “premium” VPNs have lowered prices, as far as former outsiders that were offering low-cost services have taken a big step forward. Now their characteristics are just as well or even better than other VPNs that have been on the market for 10 years or more have.  Even though ExpressVPN isn't going to cut the price yet. I cannot say that it is noticeably better than others.
2. Anonymity and security endangerment when using Android applications. ExpressVPN is not perfect. Its Android application does not correctly handle situations when a device in use switches between different networks and changes IP addresses. The VPN is simply turned off without any message, and the Kill Switch which is supposed to block all traffic during reconnection does not work at all. I wrote in more detail about this bug in my article “ExpressVPN vs NordVPN: 12 important features”.
3. High energy consumption. The battery with ExpressVPN runs out quickly. Even the OS itself warns that an energy-intensive application is installed.

In general, ExpressVPN for Android is not the strongest point of the provider. However, its features are noteworthy:

• Good Netflix support;
• High speed;
• Wide range of countries;
• ExpressVPN guarantees not to keep logs;
• Good for torrenting;
• Convenient trial version.

Thus, there are both significant disadvantages and advantages. What to prefer is up to you.

ExpressVPN tariffs:

• $ 8.32 per month ($ 99.95 for 1 year)
• $ 9.99 per month ($ 59.95 for 6 months)
• $ 12.95 per month with the subscription for 1 month.

Only the Android version has a free trial period. It includes 7 days of fully-featured use available without a payment card.

There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee for all platforms.

I often use ExpressVPN on Windows and Mac. However, I choose another VPN on Android over this one.

Visit ExpressVPN

You can also read the full ExpressVPN review.

The top 5 of free Android VPNs

There are two kinds of free VPNs:

1. Freemium VPNs;
2. Absolutely free VPNs.

The first ones are regular paid services with a free limited plan. They are in the absolute majority.

The second ones are actually the real free VPNs. There are only a few of them in the world.

Attention! Most of the VPNs which declare themselves free ones and which you can easily find on the Google Play Market are paid providers that offer a short free trial period. When the period exceeds, you have to either pay for a subscription or delete an application. 

Just a few words about the two types of free VPN.

100% free VPNs do not offer applications. They make money on advertising, so they cannot afford good software, high-speed servers, and do not allow streaming. Their use implies outdated manual settings or installation and configuration of additional software.

In real life, it’s convenient to install only freemium VPN on Android. They offer software, have a wide range of countries, and even support Netflix, but ...

But the only purpose of their development is to attract users and convince them to switch to a paid subscription. The implication is that the capabilities of such free VPNs are strongly limited.

In practice, the following restrictions are taken place (moreover, as a rule, they are combined or happen all at once):

Approximate restrictions of free VPNs

*- Free plans that are not limited by traffic also exist. But they are often restricted by speed or do not support torrenting and streaming.

Thus, there are no “handy” free VPNs. Something is missing all the time. Otherwise, it is not a Virtual Private Network at all.

Nevertheless, I offer you 5 least limited services with good security levels provided. Each of them has its pros and cons.

1. Free Hide.me VPN for Android

In my opinion, the Malaysian service Hide.me is the most convenient free VPN for smartphones.

There are the main advantages and disadvantages of this free VPN:

+ relatively fast servers

+ 2Gb of traffic per month

+ Kill Switch
+ Split Tunneling

+ the activation without email or credit card

- 4 available countries

- Netflix doesn’t work

Of course, 2 Gb of traffic per month is not so much. But you can hardly find free VPNs without restrictions. If you want more traffic with a good speed, security and privacy, so you need to use paid VPNs for Android.

Visit Hide.me

2. Free Windscribe VPN for Android

Canadian VPN Windscribe offers from 2 to 10Gb of traffic per month.

2Gb – if you register anonymously.

10 Gb – if you leave your e-mail.

Pros and cons of Windscribe VPN:

+ 2-10Gb of traffic
+ Firewall (Kill Switch)
+ 11 countries

- low speed (measurements showed from 0.6 to 6 Mbit/s)

The version for Android doesn’t include any additional opportunities.

Windscribe is good for unblocking websites without video content.
A free version offered by this provider is not appropriate for multi-purpose use on the Internet.

Visit Windscribe

3. Free ProtonVPN for Android

The Swiss VPN provider ProtonVPN highlights two directions:

1. A high-quality free plan
2. The best standards of security

The first 7 days of using a free version is a trial of a “Plus” plan. That’s why, starting with ProtonVPN, you may appreciate a high-speed VPN for free without any restrictions.

Besides basic capabilities, you will be able to:

• Unblock Netflix;
• Use torrents anonymously;
• Use a VPN in cooperation with TOR;
• 33 countries are available;
• The possibility to use specially protected servers located in a special bunker at a depth of 1 km.

On the eighth day you will get the message about the transition to a free plan:

After this message, only 3 countries (the US, NL, JP) will remain and other restrictions from the message will enter. I tested the ProtonVPN application for both regimes, so everything is true. I must add that the speed on accessible locations decreased significantly, but it remained enough for comfortable web-surfing. So, after the end of a free trial you will have only basic opportunities, but with unlimited traffic. ProtonVPN restricts only the speed.

Overall, free ProtonVPN may function the first 7 days for everything, and then you may use it for solving the tasks with the VPN servers in the US, NL or JP at a low speed, but with a high level of privacy.

Visit ProtonVPN

4. Free TunnelBear for Android

There is one more amazing VPN, which offers to learn more about a paid version during a free trial, but with a traffic restriction. TunnelBear provides from 500 to 1000 Mb of traffic per month for free.

You must admit, this is nothing. Moreover, in order to get 1000 Mb instead of 500, you should tweet it. There is a button in the application:

When you still have traffic, all the expanded functions are accessible in the application. There are lots of it:

• GhostBear (the obfuscation of traffic for the hiding of a VPN)
• VigilantBear (Kill Switch)
• SplitBear (It is available only for Android. It allows listing the apps with a disconnected VPN).

Therefore, TunnelBear will be particularly helpful for bypassing the censorship with high requirements for the privacy and local websites with VPN’s restrictions.

When I tested the app for Android, I found out two more significant characteristics:

1. unblocking Netflix
2. availability of torrents

It may be effective even with limited traffic when you use the VPN rarely.

The provider is located in Canada with strict copyright laws. So be careful when you use the torrents. Even though there is not a 100% guarantee that it is saved.

Visit TunnelBear

5. Opera VPN for Android

If you need a VPN only for the views on the websites, so you should try Opera VPN.

It is not a real VPN, but a proxy. Strictly speaking, almost all of the VPN services offer enhancements for web-browsers, which are also a proxy with the encryption of traffic. Opera did the same thing, but with simpler functionality.

What opportunities does the Opera VPN present for Android?

• hiding IP and visited addresses
• unblocking websites
• unblocking video streaming

Opera VPN isn’t suitable for:

• KODI
• Torrenting
• VoIP telephony

You may choose 3 locations in three regions of the world. Opera VPN doesn’t have any other configurations or additional opportunities, as well as a paid plan. Everything is free.

The test showed the speed of no more than 20 Mbit/s at all locations, which is less than the best VPN services with the speed up to 80Mbit/s.

There is a particular challenge in initial VPN activation for Android in Opera configurations. Originally, VPN is activated only in private tabs, so you need to create a private tab:

Only after this action, the “VPN” icon will appear, through which you may insert this function for all tabs and choose a location:

Opera VPN has a great disadvantage – you need to give up on your accustomed web-browser.

Visit Opera

Android VPN application features

In conclusion, I want to share the experience of using VPN applications for Android. There are some platform’s technical peculiarities, which you should keep in mind, especially if you solve very responsible tasks.

А VPN can shut down on its own on your device while the screen is off.

Unfortunately, I noticed one unpleasant feature at all devices with Android I used or tested. It doesn’t matter what VPN application I installed they shut down at a particular moment left my device defenseless. All the secure functions were disconnected from the application’s exit. I should mention that some VPNs less frequently emerged such as CyberGhost and Windscribe. You may control the VPN status via indicator at the top panel of a screen:

Many people don’t like an iPhone or an iPad, however, it has never happened on these devices. And isn’t about the settings or the applications, but it’s about the operating system architecture.

Battery life

When you use a VPN on mobile devices, you need to remember that an extra application working in the background and the encrypted traffic influence the time of battery life. The time decreases and sometimes it becomes much lower.

You may improve battery life by deactivating all the additional functions of the VPN application and lessening the level of encryption if the settings are available in the software of your provider.

Prompt connection

Android VPNs have positive peculiarities. A prompt connection is one of them. It happens much quicker than on Windows and takes only 1-3 seconds. It’s important in the cases when you need to choose an appropriate location and reconnect many times. The same task on the PC may take a very long time.

Secure downloading

The VPN providers have placed their software in Google Play Market. It’s an extra guarantee of the fact that the software is safe and doesn’t consist of viruses and Trojan horses. It’s also convenient that firstly you can download Android VPN. Then you may register and activate a subscription directly from the application avoiding the provider website.

I hope that the article was helpful to you.