The 5 best VPN deals of 2021, from just $1.13 a month

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While you might not think it, one of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to increase your online privacy – and thanks to the best VPN services, it's much easier than cutting down on the booze!

We're all aware of the ever-growing presence of surveillance and tracking online, and by bagging one of these VPN deals, you can hide your activity from your ISP, and access sites that are blocked in your country. That's not all, though.

A VPN can get your access to tons of streaming sites that might be blocked or limited where you live. So, for example, if you bagged a new Amazon Fire TV Stick over the holidays you can install a VPN on it and watch content from all around the world on services like Netflix, Disney+, and BBC iPlayer at the touch of a button.

What's more, there's a ton of deals available right now, so you can pick and choose which service fits you best, from our top-rated provider to the very cheapest, which comes in at just $1.13 a month. Just keep scrolling to learn more.

1. The best VPN at a great price

ExpressVPN | 12 months + 3 FREE | $6.67/mo
If you're after the best service we've tested, it has to be ExpressVPN. With a sleek, smooth interface that's consistent across all devices combined with unrivalled streaming unblocking power, its rivals just can't keep up.

If you want to expand your streaming options, it'll get you access to US Netflix, as well as UK, Canadian and Australian libraries. You'll also have access to Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and a whole load more global streaming services.

That's not to say privacy doesn't come first though, and in our ExpressVPN review we found that every feature from the kill switch to DNS leak protection worked a charm – and with rock-solid encryption and 100% in-house servers, it'll keep you safe.

The best bit, though, is that ExpressVPN is offering three free months to Tom's Guide readers on the 1-year plan, and to make sure that you like the service, you'll also be covered by a 30-day money back guarantee. At $6.67 a month it's not the very cheapest, but we certainly think it's the best.

2. The cheapest VPN deal today

PureVPN | 5 years | $1.13/mo | Code: TECH15
From one end of the spectrum to the other, PureVPN's current deal is, quite simply, ridiculously cheap. By using our exclusive TECH15 code at checkout, you'll knock an extra 15% off the already rock-bottom 5-year plan, bringing it to just $1.13 a month. That's less than $70 all in, making 5 years of PureVPN cheaper than 1 of ExpressVPN.

While we don't rate it as highly, PureVPN is still a capable provider that can unblock US Netflix, iPlayer and Disney+, provides ample protection online, is verified as zero-logging and works on a huge range of devices.

It has a couple of weaknesses, and in our PureVPN review we thought its apps needed a little work and that it wasn't quite as fast as rivals, but if you're running an Internet connection under 100Mbps, you shouldn't notice a thing.

So, if you're after the cheapest VPN deal today without too much of a sacrifice, PureVPN is a great choice.

3. The fastest VPN deal

NordVPN | 2 years | 72% off | $3.29/mo
As quite possibly the most famous VPN of them all, NordVPN is about as close to a household name as cybersecurity software is going to get – and thankfully, it's a quality provider as well.

The biggest benefit of Nord is that it delivers incredible connection speeds, topping out at a searing 880Mbps when we tested it on a 1Gbps connection for our NordVPN review.

That's faster than any other VPN we tested, and alongside that Nord also offers a bunch of really useful security focused features like Double VPN and Onion over VPN.

What's more, NordVPN's current deal sees the monthly price drop to a seriously tempting $3.29 a month on the 2-year plan, which makes it a great compromise between the most expensive services and the very cheapest.

4. The best cheap VPN deal

Surfshark | 2 years +3 months FREE | 82% off | $2.21/mo
While it's not quite as rock-bottom as PureVPN, Surfshark hits a keen balance between value and performance.

With very few weaknesses, we rate it as the best cheap VPN available, and a huge bonus is the unlimited simultaneous connections policy – you'll be able use one plan on as many devices as you like.

Until the end of the year, Surfshark's added a little festive cheer too, by adding three months extra free on top of its 2-year plan. That drops the price down to an incredible $2.21 a month, making this powerful VPN excellent value for money.

5. Our top rated free VPN deal

ProtonVPN | Unlimited data | FREE
While free VPN services come with a host of limitations –
limited server choice and throttled speeds are the biggest – ProtonVPN offers what we consider to be the best free option on the market.

With the privacy of its excellent paid version plus an unlimited data cap, if you really can't stretch to a PureVPN subscription, it's the next best thing.

With the free version, you won't be able access streaming content, you'll only have three server locations to choose from, and at peak times speeds will be limited, but compared to the competition it's far better. And, if you ever do want to upgrade, ProtonVPN Plus is one of the very best paid VPNs on the market, and is on offer at just $4.99 a month until the end of the year.

Which festive VPN deal should you go for?

If you're looking to spend as little as possible on a VPN that's reliable (if not spectacular), we'd say go for PureVPN. It's capable, and is verified as zero-logging, so you can browse the web in private.

However, if you want a top-tier service that's still great value, we'd recommend Surfshark. It's great for streaming and staying private, and is an all-round better product than PureVPN. Beyond that, NordVPN is still great value, and is rated at #2 in our best VPN guide.

If you want the very best available, we'd recommend ExpressVPN. It's not quite as cheap as the competition, but it's more than worth the extra cost thanks to its superior usability, unrivalled Netflix unblocking power (you'll be able to watch UK, US, Canadian and Australian content anywhere), great range of servers, and impeccable customer support.

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Mo is VPN Editor at Tom's Guide. Day-to-day he oversees VPN, privacy, and cybersecurity content, and also undertakes independent testing of VPN services to ensure his recommendations are accurate and up to date. When he's not getting stuck into the nitty-gritty settings of a VPN you've never heard of, you'll find him working on his Peugeot 205 GTi or watching Peep Show instead of finally putting up those shelves.