With Black Friday VPN sales in full swing, a lot of people will be looking into picking up one of the best VPNs for a bargain price, to boost their online privacy and tap into geo-restricted streaming libraries.
Although the biggest trick of the trade is to subscribe to a long-term plan, as that invariably gets you the cheapest rate possible, this does mean that you'll have to make a big upfront payment. So, it's only natural that you'd like to test out the VPN before committing your money.
The good news is that a vast majority of VPNs offer free trials, tester plans, and/or money-back guarantees, allowing you to test them out without risking your hard-earned money. Keep reading to find out the differences between these three, including their pros and cons, to decide which one's the right fit for you.
Free trials
A free trial is, simply put, the most user-friendly way of testing out a VPN. The biggest advantage of a free trial over, say, a money-back guarantee, is that it doesn't require you to make an upfront purchase – or even enter your credit card details, for that matter.
You can simply sign up for the VPN and activate the free trial, which would then allow you access to the full product (meaning no features are locked behind a paywall) free of charge.
It's worth noting that all three top VPN services offer a free trial. NordVPN provides a 7-day free trial to Android users; Surfshark's is the same length, but it's available for both mobile and Mac users, and ExpressVPN's 7-day trial is available on iOS and Android.
However, even the best VPN free trials are not without their drawbacks, with the biggest one being that they're often very, very short (from 24 hours to 7 days), so you might not get enough time to see if the VPN works day-to-day. Also, fewer and fewer providers are offering free trials.
Additionally, VPN free trials are often only available when you sign up on mobile, giving desktop users little to no opportunity to test the service out without having to spend cash first. This also means that although you're not directly entering your credit card details, you're consenting to being charged through the app store when your free trial ends.
Lastly, using a free trial may also mean that you miss out on special deals, and you end up paying more after the trial is up.
Money-back guarantees
Money-back guarantees give you the most amount of time to try out a VPN risk-free. The industry standard is 30 days (more than four times of most free trials), but some, like CyberGhost, offer up to a 45-day window during which you can cancel anytime and get a full refund.
Although it does require you to pay upfront, you can rest assured that you'll get full access to the product. Plus, you don't have to put up with any restrictions on what device you can use the VPN on – mobile, desktop, routers, gaming consoles, and smart TVs are all allowed.
It's also worth noting that money-back guarantees allow you to get the best price for the VPN if you do stick around. This is because they're often only available for long-term plans, which offer discounted rates as compared to monthly subscriptions.
The biggest drawback is that the upfront cost can be quite significant. Moreover, a money-back guarantee is only available once per VPN and is only valid for the first 30 (or 45) days from the date of purchase. That said, you can get another with the same provider should you choose to sign up with a different email.
Tester plans
Right off the bat, I should point out that tester plans aren't quite as good as free trials, but they can be a decent option for some users. Essentially, these allow you to use the VPN for a short time period in exchange for a very small fee – the norm is around $1 for 7 days.
It can come in handy if you want to try out a VPN that either doesn't offer a free trial, or you'd rather not go through the app store to get it.
However, the drawback's that it's not free, and it may auto-renew at a more expensive price, so you'll have to keep an eye out and cancel before.
Alternatively, I believe that a cheap monthly VPN plan offers a better proposition, not just for testing purposes but also if you're headed on holiday for a few weeks. Plus, it might offer a refund period, too, allowing you to get out scot-free if you're not impressed.
Bottom line
The main takeaway is that you must be able to test the VPN in some way before committing your money. If a provider doesn't offer a single avenue to do so, it's usually a red flag, and we'd suggest you stay away and look at other VPNs.
Speaking of ways to try on a VPN for size, money-back guarantees are, quite frankly, the best choice, seeing as they offer full access to the VPN and more than enough time. However, it involves paying for the full term (1, 2, or 3 years) upfront, meaning it won't suit everyone.
Free trials and tester plans, as well as the best cheap VPNs, are, therefore, really good choices for people who'd like a more affordable way of testing out a VPN.
