Best VPN with a free trial? Reddit help please

I'm looking for the best VPN with a free trial and could use some help from Reddit. I recently started looking for free trial VPNs, mainly to unblock Netflix in other regions and improve my online privacy.

From my research, there are plenty of VPNs that come with a 30-day risk-free trials, but they do require payment. Nonetheless, I could test them out and cancel if needed, still getting a full refund. So that was my plan: test out different free trial VPNs and report the results, but also gather feedback from you.

I’ve managed to narrow down my search to a few services that seem very promising, but I still want Reddit's feedback on the best VPN with a free trial. I'll check all the comments, but first, here are my thoughts.

1. NordVPN - Maybe the best free trial VPN?

From everything I've seen and read on Reddit, this seems to be one of the most popular VPNs on the market. In my own tests with the NordVPN trial, I found speeds to be really fast and reliable, especially when using the NordLynx protocol. NordVPN let me easily unblock restricted websites and also access different regional libraries from Netflix and other streaming platforms.

  • Based in Panama (great privacy jurisdiction)
  • 7,100+ servers in 118 countries
  • Uses NordLynx (WireGuard), OpenVPN, and IKEv2/IPSec protocols
  • Has double-VPN, obfuscated, onion-over-VPN, and P2P servers
  • Protects traffic with AES-256 encryption
  • Apps for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, Apple TV, Firestick, routers, and more
  • Advanced leak protection features and a robust kill switch (I tested this during the free trial and there were no data leaks)
  • Audited no-logs VPN with RAM servers
  • 10 simultaneous connections
  • 24/7 customer support through email and live chat
  • 30-day refund guarantee
  • Price:$3.39/month (when you use the 72% off coupon below)

NordVPN 30 day trial offer: https://nordvpn.com/30-day-trial

Test results with NordVPN during the trial (top performer)

Of all the free trial VPNs I tested, NordVPN was the top performer. This was not only the case with speeds (see below), but also with streaming. In terms of reliability and security, it was also solid.

In testing out different free trial VPN services, NordVPN was the overall top performer giving me download speeds of 828 Mbps.

Note on the VPN trial: Nord offers the 30 day trial with all VPN subscription plans, even monthly. But if you want the best overall deal (cheapest monthly rates), you could use the Reddit coupon for 72% off here: https://nordvpn.com/reddit-offer

2. Surfshark - Affordable VPN with a 30-day trial

In my tests, Surfshark gave me good speeds around 500-600 Mbps with US servers. While this is fast, it's not quite as fast as NordVPN.

While Surfshark has fewer servers than NordVPN, it is also more affordable and lets me connect as many devices as I want. During the Surfshark VPN trial, you can test out all of the features as normal. My only issue is that it has fewer servers than NordVPN and I did have some issues with unblocking remote Netflix regions. Aside from that this VPN is solid and worth testing during the free trial.

  • Situated in the Netherlands
  • 3,200+ servers in 100 countries
  • Uses OpenVPN, IKEv2, and the WireGuard protocol
  • Various servers (P2P, dynamic multihop, obfuscated)
  • Military-grade AES 256 encryption
  • RAM servers and an audited no-logs policy
  • Unlimited simultaneous connections
  • Available on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS
  • 24/7 live chat technical support
  • Refund within 30 days
  • Price:$2.19/month

Surfshark Trial: https://surfshark.com/risk-free-trial

3. Proton VPN - Reliable free trial VPN app

Proton VPN is a Swiss-based security service that has been growing in popularity. It provides a big server network and gave me fast and reliable speeds. I was also impressed by the quality of connection on remote servers.

  • Over 8,700 servers in 112 countries
  • Uses IKEv2, OpenVPN, Stealth, and WireGuard protocol
  • AES 256 and ChaCha20 encryption
  • A VPN accelerator improves speed on remote servers
  • Audited no-logs VPN that operates on RAM servers
  • 10 simultaneous connections
  • Available on Windows, Linux,macOS, Android and iOS
  • Email and 24/7 live chat support
  • 30-day refund guarantee
  • Price:$3.69/month

Proton VPN Trial: https://protonvpn.com/trial-offer

4. ExpressVPN - VPN with a free trial (30 days) -- but expensive when signing up

ExpressVPN has a good reputation but is a bit out of my price range. And like the others, you need to pay up front for the 30 day trial. Of course you can cancel on day 30 for a 100% refund, but still, pretty pricey. I found it is perfect security-wise, but its Lightway protocol is slower than WireGuard. I also wished it held more connections.

  • Based in the British Virgin Islands 
  • 3,000+ servers in 100+ countries
  • Offers OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP/IPsec, and Lightway
  • Provides obfuscation
  • Data protected by AES 256 encryption
  • Audited no-logs VPN with TrustedServer technology
  • 8 simultaneous connections
  • Available on Windows, Linux,macOS, Android and iOS
  • Support available 24/7 via live chat
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
  • Price:$8.32/month

5. PrivadoVPN - Free trial VPN in Switzerland

I decided to try out their free trial with 10GB of bandwidth and found it quite limiting. It gave me only 1 connection and a dozen servers. Do you know if the paid version is any better? You definitely do not hear much about this VPN at all, so I think I'll go with another option.

  • 66 server locations in 49 countries
  • IKEv2, OpenVPN, and WireGuard protocols
  • Servers with P2P and SOCKS5 proxy
  • High-end AES 256 encryption
  • No-logs VPN with no RAM servers
  • 10 simultaneous connections
  • Available on Windows, Linux,macOS, Android and iOS
  • Support available via live chat and email
  • 30-day refund policy
  • Price:$1.99/month

It took me a few weeks to thoroughly test all of these VPNs, but I'm still not quite sure which one to keep using. Do you have any advice on the best free trial VPN?

Other free trial VPNs I'm forgetting to include, Reddit?

While I've been most impressed with the performance of NordVPN during the testing trial, I'm still looking for feedback. I'm sure there are some I'm missing. After all, I will probably choose a totally different service after my regular subscription expires. So what other free trial VPN services are out that that I forgot to include in this Reddit post?