Best free iPhone VPN app in 2025

If you want to get the absolute most out of your iPhone, you should seriously consider using one of the best VPNs to keep you and your data safe online, as well as unlocking streaming content from across the globe.

However, if you've just shelled out for a new iPhone, you probably don't want to also pay a premium for your VPN, too. This is where the best free VPNs come in. While they are less powerful than their paid-for counterparts, there are some free VPNs out there that are worth your time and offer the good speeds, top-of-the-line security and decent server spread that you need in a free iPhone VPN. These can be few and far between, however, with other free VPNs being plagued with ads and pop-ups, and others even tracking and selling your data to third parties.

So, how do you figure out which free iPhone VPNs are worth it? Thankfully, you won't have to download and test them all out for yourself, because myself and my team at Tom's Guide have already done so. We've tested and reviewed tons of VPNs to find the best free VPN for iPhone so you don't have to. Plus, we've also included the best premium iPhone VPNs below – ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark – if you fancy grabbing a premium VPN that doesn't have the drawbacks of a free VPN.

The best premium iPhone VPNs at a glance

1. ExpressVPN – the best VPN for iPhone overall
We rate ExpressVPN as the best iPhone VPN. Not only is its app really easy to use, bit it has top-notch privacy features and great connection speeds. It is a little on the pricier side at $4.99 per month for a two year contract with four months extra free. You'll even get a 30-day money-back guarantee to try before you commit.

View Deal

2. NordVPN – the best VPN overall
In our VPN testing, NordVPN stood out as the top VPN overall thanks to its vast array of features, excellent privacy, and incredible speeds. That being said, it ranks #2 for iPhone VPNs as its app is a little less intuitive than ExpressVPN's. That said, it is a fair bit cheaper at $3.09 per month. If you're stuck between the two, you can always use NordVPN's 30-day money-back guarantee to try it out, risk-free.

View Deal

3. Surfshark – the best cheap iPhone VPN
If you want a powerful iPhone VPN on a budget, Surfshark is a great option. Its privacy features are comprehensive, it's excellent for streaming, and it's super fast – even faster than NordVPN. With prices starting from $1.53 per month, it proves that high performance doesn't have to cost the world, and you'll even have a 30-day money-back guarantee for peace of mind.

View Deal

The best free iPhone VPN apps in 2025

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.

PrivadoVPN Free: The best free iPhone VPN overall

Privado VPN Free's plan tops the list as our best free VPN for iPhone as well as the best free VPN overall. This is due to its excellent standard on privacy, great speeds and tons of features you wouldn't usually get in a free VPN.

You get 10 GB of high-speed data a month, which is pretty generous and should be enough for most – and definitely comes in handy if you rely on your iPhone for sending emails on the go or when you're traveling for work.

Unlike other providers that just cut you off once if you use up your allowance, if you go over 10 GB, you'll still be able to use a single emergency server in Amsterdam, albeit at around 1 Mbps. However, if you think you'll be using more than 10 GB a month on a regular basis, rival Proton VPN Free may be a better choice thanks to its unlimited data plan.

PrivadoVPN's full speed peaks at around 950 Mbps – that makes it one of the fastest VPNs, faster than many paid providers, and likely much faster than your mobile data which will end up being your limiting factor.

In my PrivadoVPN Free review, I found that its iOS apps are pretty basic, but they do offer everything you need to get protected. It's easy to pick from any other free servers available, and you can also set up auto-connect and choose your protocol – all of which use industry-standard AES-256 encryption, so can feel safe that your data is being protected.

It even has a kill switch, something that is uncommon in both free and premium iPhone VPNs due to Apple's restrictions.

Most impressive, however, is the fact that Privado VPN Free is actually is the best streaming VPN on this list. In our testing, it was able to unblock both the US and UK libraries of Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, ITV and Channel 4. This is a huge bonus, and something that used to be reserved for paid VPNs – but PrivadoVPN has really changed the game in this respect.

It is worth mentioning that PrivadoVPN hasn't undergone an independent audit of its servers or privacy policy yet. That's disappointing, and something I'd like to see rectified, but I didn't find any red flags in my testing to indicate that it's in any way unsafe.

Overall, PrivadoVPN is easily the best free VPN for iPhone, and unless you need more than 10 GB of data or require a kill switch, it should be your first choice.

Proton VPN: The best free iPhone VPN for security

In my Proton VPN Free review, I was impressed right off the bat by the fact that the service actually delivers on its promise of unlimited data.

If you're a speed demon, you might feel let down by Proton VPN Free as it clocked in speeds of just 335 Mbps in our latest round of testing. While this definitely isn't as fast as PrivadoVPN Free, it's worth noting that this is still more than fast enough to stream video in 4K.

Proton VPN has recently overhauled its iOS apps, adding in widget functionality as well as restructuring the layout to make it even easier to use. They even got rid of my main gripe with the app, which was that its disconnect button used to be where most app's 'home' button is, leading to an accidental misconnect or two when I was running on muscle memory.

A huge bonus about Proton VPN is that they're hugely privacy-conscious as a VPN provider, and its free plan even includes the same basic security features as its paid plan. It's got a no-logs policy that it's proved via independent audit for the third time, confirming its commitment to the privacy of its users. On top of this, it offers super-secure encryption ensures hackers don't intercept your data, and you'll even be able to take your pick of protocols (though I'd recommend sticking to WireGuard if you're prioritizing speed).

Proton VPN is one of the few providers that does offer a kill switch – and we're talking about free and paid options here – so if you're truly looking to secure yourself, it's a better bet than PrivadoVPN. The no-logs policy is comprehensive too, and it has been fully audited – another plus point when compared to PrivadoVPN.

It's interesting to see that Proton VPN has partnered with Deutsche Welle, a German news broadcaster, to allow free and unrestricted access to its unbiased news coverage. You'll be able to check out the site whether you're a free or paid provider, and regardless of where you are in the world.

However, as you might expect, Proton VPN does have its limitations. Even though its free network coverage includes a hefty 314 servers, these are only located in six countries, and the extra-safe Secure Core servers are also excluded.

My biggest problem with Proton VPN Free, though, is the fact that you can't select which server you connect to yourself. When you tap "connect," you'll be assigned a server at random. if you want to change, you can tap "change server," but this will simply assign a new one at random. Don't think you can spam that button until you find one you like, either – there's a 90-second cooldown after every switch.

In use, this can be very annoying, and while it's understandable – Proton VPN wants to protect its network for the sake of paying customers – it's incredibly restrictive.

Proton VPN's free servers don't support P2P sharing, so it's not the best torrenting VPN, and its unblocking abilities are reserved for paid subscribers, too,. This is especially disappointing considering Proton VPN's premium version is one of the best Netflix VPNs on the market. So, if you fancy globetrotting on Netflix or any other platforms, you'll have to look elsewhere – or just download PrivadoVPN.

So, while there are definitely some drawbacks to Proton VPN, especially if you're looking for a free VPN you can stream or torrent with, it does have a lot to offer too. If you're looking for a provider that has been fully audited, offers a kill switch, and has a long history of privacy advocacy, Proton VPN is a great choice.

Windscribe Free: The free option for globetrotting

Windscribe has been around for a long time, and is well-known for its goofy online persona and an excellent free plan. In my Windscribe review I found it has one of the best Chrome VPN extensions, and it's also a decent choice if you're looking for a free VPN for iPhone.

One of Windscribe's biggest plus points is the fact that it has servers in more countries than either of the two providers I've featured above. That means you'll have a better chance of connecting to a server that's close to you physically for better speeds.

In our latest round of testing, Windscribe Free lagged behind in terms of speed, clocking in at just 509 Mbps. While this faster that Proton VPN Free, it's significantly slower than Privado VPN Free.

Privacy-wise, Windscribe is decent. You'll get access to the WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2 encryption protocols. However in 2023, Windscribe suffered a security breach in Ukraine which put users at risk. While the company has promised to remedy these issues, it's still a black mark on its copy book, and despite claims of a full independent audit being underway, the results are still nowhere to be seen.

In terms of limitations, you'll only have 10 GB of data to use per month. On paper, this is the same as PrivadoVPN, but Windscribe does not offer any emergency data after you've used your allowance. Of course, you could just start another free subscription but this is a bit of a hassle – and Proton VPN does offer unlimited data for those who are worried about running out

Similarly to PrivadoVPN, Windscribe is able to unblock a few streaming sites, including Netflix UK and BBC iPlayer. While it may not be the best iPlayer VPN overall, its ability to unblock these sites is very unusual for a free provider and makes it useful if you're just traveling with your iPhone on a train or car journey.

One of Windscribe's minor let-downs is the iPhone app itself. It's certainly not bad, but compared to PrivadoVPN and Proton VPN it's not quite as simple or as easy to use. That means beginners might find it a little tricky to get up and running. This is a very minor gripe, though, and most people will get on with it just fine.

Overall, Windscribe is a very usable free iPhone VPN. However, most people will probably have a better experience using either PrivadoVPN or Proton VPN.

Tested by

These are the experts who have tested, reviewed, and ranked the best free VPNs in this guide:

Mo Harber-Lamond

Mo is VPN Editor at Tom's Guide. He's covered VPNs since 2020, and in that time he has helped test and review over 100 providers. Mo handles the day-to-day testing of VPNs, making sure that they work for real people in real situations. He also undertakes ongoing streaming testing to make sure these services can unblock everything they claim, and produces video content to discuss and demonstrate the software. As an iPhone user himself, he has experience using these products, and gives first-hand insight into what makes which provider best for whom.

What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (or VPN) is a security tool that'll help you secure your information, and your device, whenever you're online.

How? Well, the VPN routes your internet traffic through one of its encrypted servers. This ensures that it can't be seen or snooped on – not by hackers, not by your ISP, and not even by your government.

VPNs also let you take your pick of servers in different countries. When you connect to a server, your original IP address will be masked and replaced with one based in the same location, so it'll look as though you're there physically, too. This is how a VPN can bypass geo-restrictions and instances of censorship.

Perhaps the most important of all VPN uses is the extra layer of protection that such software will give you when connected to unknown networks like public Wi-Fi. We're all guilty of connecting to these networks when we're on our mobiles, but they're notorious hotspots for hackers looking to snatch your data for their own ends.

How I test VPN services

When it comes to recommending a product that users will entrust with quite possibly every byte of their online life, I have to be absolutely sure that my choices are correct, and thoroughly tested.

For a comprehensive rundown, check out out our full methodology of how we test VPNs. For the time-poor, though, here are the crib notes.

Unlike some sites, we don't simply reel off a spec sheet and declare the provider with most impressive claims the winner. Instead, we have a dedicated team in-house that gets hands-on with all the providers listed (and more).

Every 6 months, after scouring the website for new claimed features or changes in policy, we sign up to a plan and install it on a range of devices – including iPhones and other iOS devices to prove they really are the best iPhone VPN. We'll then test all its features rigorously to make sure they can stand up to strain, including attempting to break their kill switch. We also make sure that all the settings offered work as they should.

As we use the apps, if anything appears to be behaving strangely we'll investigate that. We might dig into the source code, or view the contents of its RAM. This general usage stage is also how we make decisions on aesthetics and ease of use – although these are admittedly more subjective.

Then comes the streaming testing. This is something that free VPNs often fall down on, which is why its important to determine the best free VPNs that can actually unblock streaming sites. We test each VPN with all the big streaming sites from a number of locations to ensure it's working as claimed. As Netflix is still hugely popular and somewhat troublesome when it comes to VPNs, we test the biggest providers every month to make sure our recommendations are still relevant.

For free VPNs specifically, the focus is more on whether it will actually keep you safe online, as extras like antivirus, ad blocking or unblocking streaming sites are features usually reserved for premium VPNs. While some free VPNs do offer these extras, since they're nice-to-haves rather than need-to-haves, our testing focuses more on that all the free VPNs we test have good security fundamentals and useable apps.

Should I use a free VPN?

There's no straightforward answer to this question – it'll all depend on what you plan on using your free VPN for. One of the first things you'll need to keep in mind is that not all free VPNs can be trusted. There are countless instances of malicious free VPN apps used to scrape user data, and plenty of freebies use ads to make their revenue – and we all know how invasive these can be.

Even when an app's security is sound, a free iPhone VPN inevitably comes with some limitations compared to its premium counterparts.

For starters, the majority of providers impose a data limit on their free services. That's going to be an issue if you're after all-day protection or you want to use it while carrying out activities like torrenting or watching videos.

You're likely to experience slower connections, too. That's mainly because the network coverage is generally way smaller. Servers can get overcrowded, or they might be simply too far from your real location to deliver faster speeds, and you'll be slowed to a frustrating crawl.

People are increasingly using VPNs for streaming, too, and you'll have to be ready to make sacrifices here. I've already mentioned data caps, but many free VPNs aren't actually optimized for unlocking streaming libraries. If they do, well, they still can't compare to premium services in terms of reliability.

So overall, if you're looking for a VPN for casual, infrequent use just to keep your connection private and don't want to do anything too heavy-duty then a free VPN should work perfectly fine for you. If you're looking for a VPN for everyday use, streaming and have big data needs, then go for a premium VPN.

How to choose a free VPN

Let's face it, the internet can be a downright dangerous place to be – and there are constant threats to user anonymity and net neutrality. Even using your iPhone to connect to the coffee shop Wi-Fi can be majorly risky.

A VPN won't solve all these issues, but it can shore up your security.

Before you install your free iPhone VPN, however, you'll need to keep a few questions in mind – to make sure you're making the right choice.

1. What is its business model? Running a VPN takes money – there's no getting around it. As a result, providers need a stable source of income. That usually comes from subscriptions, but some free providers take the low road and sell user data to third parties that will undermine your privacy. On the other hand, some VPN services use their free plans as a marketing tool to tempt customers into upgrading to a paid plan once they've got a feel for the apps, features, and functionality.

2. What do I lose by going free? You've heard the old saying: 'There's no such thing as a free lunch.' The same is true in the world of VPNs, and you can usually expect free services to lack certain features and tools. Some providers are more generous with their bandwidth caps and server locations, sure, and a handful might even offer P2P-support and split tunneling. If there's a feature you can't do without, however, it might be worth upgrading to a paid plan.

3. Does the provider log anything? Simply put, if your VPN is keeping logs, there's no point using it – not if you're serious about safeguarding your privacy. You can check whether the service is storing user activities by combing through the terms and conditions page or the end-user license agreement. Some providers make these important documents impossible to parse, stuffed with jargon and miles long, trying to hide the weak spots in their policies. The best options out there will erase everything once you end your session and not keep a single log.

4. Can I sign up anonymously? To really maximize your online anonymity, you'll want to look for a VPN that doesn't demand all of your personal details when you sign up. This includes your name, email address, and even information about your physical location. There are even providers out there that'll let you pay for your plan with Bitcoin or cash.

Is there a truly free VPN for iPhone?

In short – yes! Providers like PrivadoVPN and Proton VPN offer freemium services that you can absolutely use long-term without paying a penny.

It's worth noting that you definitely won't get the full package – only a handful of locations, limited data, poor streaming performance – but if you're not able to pay for a premium VPN, free iPhone VPNs do exist.

Free iPhone VPN FAQ