26 September 2019

The 10 Best Free VPNs for Google Chrome


chrome-vpn

Are you thinking about using a free VPN for Chrome? Frustratingly, there are many Chrome VPN extensions to choose from—you need to be sure you’ve picked the best plugin for your needs.

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So, if you want to learn about the best free VPN for Chrome, keep reading. Note: Remember, all the free VPNs for Chrome can double as a free VPNs for Chromebooks!

Best VPN for Chrome: Free vs. Premium

With all VPNs, you get what you pay for. Free VPNs are not comparable to a premium VPN service in terms of quality, speed, or security.

For example, many free VPN services only offer the PPTP protocol. PPTP is not as robust as other VPN protocols such as L2TP/IPSEC, OpenVPN, SSTP, or SSH—most of which are offered by the leading paid services.

You also need to consider browsing speed. VPN servers are expensive to run and manage. If you’re on a free service, it’s likely to be overloaded with other users. Premium providers reinvest a lot of their income on servers and bandwidth.

There are also other things to think about. Can you expect reliable support from a free provider? Is the uptime close to 100 percent? And most importantly, why is the service free?

Remember, the following VPNs are for Chrome. If you want a full VPN subscription for any device, check our guide to the best VPN services.

Free VPNs for Chrome

Once you understand the risks, you can make a more informed choice about which Chrome VPN to use.

Here’s our pick of the 10 best VPN Chrome extensions.

1. Browsec VPN

browsec vpn

The big selling point of Browsec VPN is the connection speed. It offers up to 100 Mbits/sec, which is far in excess of many other Chrome Store VPNs.

On the downside, Browsec is based in Russia. It’s a country that’s not known for its tolerant attitude to VPNs. Some users might be uncomfortable with the situation. The service also only offers four locations—Netherlands, Singapore, the US, and the UK.

In addition to the Browsec for Chrome extension, you can also use the VPN on Android and iOS.

Download: Browsec for Chrome (Free)

2. DotVPN

DotVPN is another powerful Chrome VPN. Some of its best features include:

  • Unlimited bandwidth.
  • 30 virtual locations.
  • Unlimited switches between locations.

DotVPN uses 4096-bit key encryption— that’s two times greater than modern banking standards. It can also instantly detect the least busy server in your preferred virtual location for increased speeds.

Download: DotVPN for Chrome (Free)

3. ZenMate for Chrome

There are two versions of ZenMate for Chrome—ZenMate Free and ZenMate Premium.

ZenMate Free will encrypt all your browser’s traffic and allows you to spoof a virtual location. The free VPN offers 30 server locations. They include the US, several European countries, Brazil, Singapore, and more.

Free users also get access to the VPN “Smart Price” feature. It provides shopping recommendations based on the lowest prices for items you want.

ZenMate also has full-featured apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

Download: ZenMate for Chrome (Free)

4. Betternet Chrome

Betternet Chrome does not keep logs and—unlike many free Chrome VPNs—it is not ad-supported. But don’t worry; you are not the product. Betternet makes its money by showing videos.

We think Betternet Chrome is a great option for people with little experience of using VPNs. The Chrome extension’s interface is a straightforward on/off toggle.

Download: Betternet Chrome (Free)

5 Hola VPN

hola vpn chrome

Hola VPN on Chrome has a shocking reputation and rightly so. It was caught using its customer’s VPN connections in a botnet.

Today, the situation is not a great deal better. The Chrome VPN plugin does not have encryption; it uses proxy tunneling and is thus nothing more than a Chrome proxy extension. The free VPN also logs all your information and is based in Israel. Israel is a known collaborator with the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes groups.

So, why do we include it? Simply, speed. Independent research places it among the top 20 percent of fastest VPNs, both free and paid.

Download: Hola (Free)

6. Hotspot Shield Chrome

Hotspot Shield Chrome is another of the best free VPNs for Chrome. Like DotVPN, the VPN addon offers unlimited bandwidth.

A recent upgrade has seen several new features introduced. They include ad blocking, tracker blocking, cookie blocking, and anti-malware protection. It has servers in 70 countries.

Download: Hotspot Shield Chrome (Free)

7. TunnelBear VPN

tunnelbear vpn chrome

TunnelBear’s Google Chrome VPN extension provides users with an encrypted proxy (remember, Hola’s is unencrypted.)

Keep in mind, however, that TunnelBear’s free VPN for Chrome will only encrypt your browsing traffic. It does not encrypt other traffic on your machine. For that, you need to upgrade to the paid version of the VPN.

TunnelBear supports 22 countries. They include the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Japan, Spanish, Hong Kong, and India.

Download: TunnelBear VPN (Free)

8. Gom VPN

Gom’s free VPN for Chrome specializes in letting you access geo-blocked content. The app offers users 1000Mbit servers and proxies, one-tap activation, and an easy-to-configure user interface.

The VPN is also secure. Whenever you’re using Gom, all your traffic is encrypted using HTTP2 SSL, and the company does not keep logs.

Download: Gom VPN (Free)

9. SetupVPN

setupvpn chrome vpn

The next VPN on Google Chrome worth considering is SetupVPN. You can enjoy unlimited bandwidth and a solid selection of servers. More than 100 are available around the world.

SetupVPN for Chrome will encrypt all your browser’s traffic with 4096-bit military-grade security.

Download: SetupVPN (Free)

10. Windscribe

Windscribe has built its reputation as a fast, secure, and reliable paid VPN provider, but the company also offers one of the best VPN extensions for Chrome.

It will block ads and trackers and let you access blocked content. It also offers some additional privacy features like WebRTC blocking, API spoofing, time zone spoofing, and notification blocking.

Free VPN servers are available in more than 30 countries.

Download: Windscribe (Free)

The Best Free Proxy?

The services in this article are all among the best free VPN extensions for Chrome. Just heed the advice from the start of the article and remember that free VPNs are not as secure as paid ones. You should never use them for browsing sensitive content.

If you like to learn about changing your location while you are browsing the web, check out our articles on the best free proxy servers and the best unlimited free VPN providers.

Read the full article: The 10 Best Free VPNs for Google Chrome


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