Why You Can Trust CNET Best VPN Deals: Save on Surfshark, ExpressVPN, NordVPN and More
A good VPN can offer great utility and extra security. We can help you save money on one.
Getting yourself a decent VPN is an excellent idea if you use the internet a lot, or you want to explore region-locked streaming services. They're often easy to use, and having one is a big boost to your peace of mind.
A VPN creates an encrypted connection between your device and the internet, keeping your data away from prying eyes as you surf the web. We've thoroughly tested some of the most trustworthy VPN services of 2024 and put together a list of the best ways to get signed up at a discount.
There are a plethora of reasons to use a VPN. Did you know your internet service provider amasses as much data as possible on your digital activity? A 2021 Federal Trade Commission report noted that the leading ISPs had gathered user data on topics as personal as race, sexual orientation and real-time location. ISPs typically combine this data, cross-reference it and share it with third-party partners.
A VPN can help protect you from such pervasive data-gathering practices. In addition to hiding your internet activity by providing a secure and private "tunnel" to your online destination, a VPN can let you virtually move your location to a different city or country, which is a nice bonus if you're looking to get around local censorship laws or try out streaming media offerings in different locales.
An important thing to keep in mind is that free VPN services aren't worth the risk. For the most part, they're playing that same game of scooping up and selling your data. The good news is there are some great VPN deals available right now, with prices starting at what amounts to less than $2 a month if you prepay for a year or two of service. We've tested a bunch of the market leaders and pulled together our recommendations for the best VPN deals. Just keep a few things in mind:
- Some of these offers have countdown clocks claiming the VPN deals are ending 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 change 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 February 2022, NordVPN and Surfshark announced they were merging, although they continue to operate autonomously. We've given ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark fresh reviews in light of these changes, and we continue to evaluate other VPN services as well. Our rankings are subject to change as they reflect our latest findings.
- Most of the offers below are for subscriptions of two years or more, 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.
VPN deals: Tested and recommended
The VPNs in this first group are also among our current top six best VPN picks. We can broadly recommend them, with the caveats noted above. 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.
Devices: Unlimited
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
Surfshark is a relative newcomer to the VPN market, but it 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 of the plans are discounted by up to 86%.
If you pick up 24 months of Surfshark Starter VPN right now, you'll pay only $2.19 a month, and you'll get three free months thrown in. That means you'll be billed $59.13 upfront for 27 months. If you want a few more perks, you can try Surfshark One, which sets you back $2.69 a month or paying $72.63 upfront. 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 $4.29 a month, with three months free for a 27-month subscription, billed at $115.83 upfront. You'll get everything the other two packages offer, plus data removal from companies' databases and people-search websites.
Note that Surfshark merged with rival NordVPN last year, although the companies have continued to operate independently. Read our Surfshark review.
Devices: Up to eight
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 12-month plan, where you'll snag an additional three months of service for free, dropping the equivalent monthly cost to just $6.67 (billed as $100 upfront) with promo code SPECIALDEAL. Those three months of "free" access just drop the overall cost per month, but spread the savings out over the longer term of 15 months. 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. Read our ExpressVPN review.
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 going on right now, with up to 68% off its plans that support up to 10 devices.
If you go for two years on any of the packages, you'll also get an eSIM data gift, which can be useful if you like traveling.
You can grab the basic plan for $81.36 for two years, which works out to $3.39 a month. If you want the upgraded Plus plan, with its added malware, ad-blocking and password management tools, you can get a two-year subscription for $71.88, which works out to $5.99 a month, or get two years for $105.36, which is $4.39 a month. Similar promos apply to Ultimate plans. Ultimate includes 1TB of cloud storage from NordLocker, cyberprotection benefits for users in the US plus all of the aforementioned benefits.
(Note that NordVPN and Surfshark have merged but have continued to operate autonomously so far.)
Devices: Unlimited
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
Private Internet Access earned a spot on our list of the best VPN services of 2024 as one of our favorite budget options. Right now, you can get signed up for even less. You can get the two-year plan with two extra months included on top, for just under $57, which works out at a meager $2.19 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 boasts 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 may 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. Read our PIA VPN review.
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 $155.88 a year, but this deal gets you two years of IPVanish for $52.56 ($2.19 a month). If you want to save without a multiyear commitment, there's a discount on the yearly plan that scores you 12 months for $33.48 ($2.79 a month). Note that IPVanish is owned by US-based Ziff Davis, which may be a concern if you're focused on security. Read our IPVanish review.
Devices: Up to 10
Refund policy: Fully refundable for 30 days
ProtonVPN is the only free VPN we recommend, but if you need more functionality, you can upgrade to ProtonVPN Plus for $4 a month for 12 months. Keep in mind that this deal is billed as $47.88 upfront. ProtonVPN Plus has no data caps or server-switching limits. Its ease of use, Tor support and ad-blocking feature make ProtonVPN a favorite with many users. This also comes with a free year of Proton Pass Plus, which adds even more security features, including things like password health checks and an integrated 2FA authenticator.
You may also opt for the 24-month plan at $4.49 a month (billed at $107.76), but this doesn't come with the Proton Plus Pass. Read our ProtonVPN review.
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.
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 over 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 currently has a special offer on a five-year Standard plan, knocking it down to $115 -- or $1.91 a month. That's a super cheap plan for the long term if you're certain PureVPN is the service for you. Other offers at PureVPN include two-year plans from $2.14 a month or one-year plans from $4 a month. There are different service tiers offering additional features like password management and up to 10 logins.