Best Free VPN in Australia
Free VPNs come in three flavours: a free plan you can use forever, a free trial that turns into a paid plan, and a money-back guarantee that is only free if you remember to cancel. This page sorts the VPNs we cover into those three groups, using what each provider publishes on its own website.
One warning before the list. Running a VPN costs money, so a free one is paid for somehow: by paying customers, by a data cap that nudges you to upgrade, or, with the worst of the app-store crowd, by selling what you do online. We only list free plans from companies that also sell a paid service and publish a privacy policy.
The best free VPN for Australians: Proton VPN Free
Proton VPN is the only service we cover whose free plan has no data cap. According to Proton’s own free-plan page, checked on 13 October 2026, the free plan:
- has no data limit and no time limit
- shows no ads
- covers one device at a time
- is covered by the same no-logs policy as the paid plans
The trade-offs are in what it leaves out. Proton lists streaming support and file-sharing (P2P) as paid features, and the paid plans are the ones with the full list of countries. Free users get a smaller set of countries than paying customers, so do not count on an Australian server. If all you want is an encrypted connection on cafe or airport Wi-Fi, that will not matter.
Our own hands-on results for Proton VPN, from the paid plan in 2022, are in the Proton VPN review.
Other VPNs with a free plan
Two other providers we track advertise a free tier:
- Windscribe has a free plan with a monthly data allowance. The allowance changes from time to time, so check the current figure on their site. See our Windscribe review.
- hide.me also advertises a free plan; see its website for the current allowance.
Free trials and money-back guarantees
If you want the full paid product for nothing, a trial or refund period is the way to do it. The table shows what each provider offers.
| VPN | Free trial | Free plan | Money-back period | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Surfshark | 7 days checked 13 Oct 2026 | – | 30 days | Visit Surfshark |
 CyberGhost | – | – | 45 days | Visit CyberGhost |
 NordVPN | Not found checked 13 Oct 2026 | – | 30 days | Visit NordVPN |
 Proton VPN | – | Yes | 30 days | Visit Proton VPN |
 IPVanish | – | – | 30 days | Visit IPVanish |
 ExpressVPN | Not found checked 13 Oct 2026 | – | 30 days | Visit ExpressVPN |
| PureVPN | – | – | 31 days | Visit PureVPN |
| hide.me | – | Yes | 30 days | Visit hide.me |
| IVPN | – | – | – | Visit IVPN |
| Mozilla VPN | – | – | – | Visit Mozilla VPN |
– means the provider does not list one on its site. "Not found" means the provider's site did not list a free trial when we checked.
A money-back guarantee works as a trial if you are organised: pay, use it, and ask for the refund inside the window. Put the date in your calendar on day one. More detail is on our VPN free trials page.
Is a free VPN good enough?
It depends what you want it for.
- Public Wi-Fi and general privacy: yes. A free plan from a reputable provider does the job.
- Streaming overseas libraries: usually not. Free plans tend to leave streaming out, or cap data low enough that a couple of episodes uses the month’s allowance.
- Torrenting: usually not. Proton, for one, lists P2P as a paid feature.
- Every device in the house: no. Free plans generally cover one device.
If you hit those limits, the cheapest paid plans cost about the same as a coffee a month. Our cheapest VPNs in Australia list is ordered by price in Australian dollars and updates daily.
Free VPNs to be careful with
Search an app store for “free VPN” and you will find hundreds with names you have never heard of. Before installing one, check three things: who the company behind it is, whether it publishes a privacy policy that says what it logs, and how it makes money. If you cannot answer the third one, you are probably the product.
FAQ
Is there a completely free VPN in Australia?
Yes. Proton VPN’s free plan has no data cap, no ads and no time limit, on one device. Other providers offer free plans with data allowances.
Is it legal to use a free VPN in Australia?
Yes. Using a VPN, free or paid, is legal in Australia. What you do while connected is still covered by the usual laws. See are VPNs legal in Australia?
Can I get NordVPN or ExpressVPN free?
Not permanently. Both sell paid plans with a money-back guarantee, which lets you try them and ask for a refund. What each offers is in the table above.