The 5 best VPN deals right now: March 2023

The 5 best VPN deals right now: March 2023

When you’re shopping around for the best deal on a VPN service, you’ll be bombarded with “limited-time” offers and deals that look like they’re expiring in minutes. But there’s no need to rush; that countdown timer may just be a marketing tool to create an artificial sense of urgency.

While there are limited-time deals, to get the best price on a VPN subscription, you’ll need to opt for the long-term plan. You’ll have to pay more upfront, but the average monthly cost will be less.

As you review these deals, you should also remember that taxes will apply — and for the cheapest long-term plans, the cost usually increases when you renew. You may be able to find offers for a free trial, but you’ll typically only get seven days free, and these services are almost always limited when it comes down to bandwidth or server and country choice. Afterwards, you might get stuck in an annual plan, which usually isn’t the cheapest option. 

So read the fine print before taking advantage of these offers. In most cases, you’ll be better off opting for the longer plan and taking advantage of the money-back guarantee period (typically 30 days or longer) to test the service.

Also: The 4 best VPN services for torrenting in 2022

Let’s take a look at the best VPN deals available right now in February 2023.

Surfshark VPN pricing

  • Monthly: $12.95
  • 1-year: $59.76 ($3.99 per month)
  • 2-year: $59.76 (billed annually, $2.30 per month)
  • Money-back guarantee: 30 days
  • Simultaneous connections: Unlimited

Surfshark VPN isn’t the least expensive service, but it is a good compromise between cost and performance. When ZDNET tested the VPN, It had top-notch performance, features, and customer service. And it’s only a fraction of the cost of many of the best VPNs.

The plans include access to over 3,200 servers in over 100 countries, multihop functionality, and a kill switch to protect your privacy should your connection drop.

Surfshark also has several add-ons included in the Surfshark One package. For an extra $3.98 monthly, you can add safe search, antivirus, and data breach alerts to the 2-year plan.

It also has unlimited simultaneous connections and the standard 30-day money-back guarantee. You can use standard methods to pay including credit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, or Amazon Pay, alongside cryptocurrencies.

Read the review: Surfshark VPN review

NordVPN pricing

  • Monthly: $12.99+
  • 1-year plan: Standard: $4.99 p/m | Plus: $5.99 p/m | Complete: $7.49 p/m ($59.88 to $89.88 billed annually)
  • 2-year plan: Standard: $4.19 p/m | Plus: $5.19 p/m | Complete: $6.69 p/m ($100.56 to $160.56 billed annually, free months)
  • Money-back guarantee: 30 days 
  • Simultaneous connections: Six devices

NordVPN is a well-respected and feature-rich VPN solution. This is our most expensive VPN choice, but as a solution which constantly features in our top VPN recommendations, NordVPN’s current promotions are worth looking at if you’re willing to spend a little more.

The Standard plan includes a VPN, tracker and ad blocker, as well as malware protection. The Plus plan also provides a password manager and data breach scanner. Finally, the Complete plan includes 1TB of cloud storage and file encryption. 

As part of the company’s ‘birthday’ promotions, NordVPN has discounted its subscription plans by up to 59%. Furthermore, subscribers to a two-year plan will be given either three months or one year of extra subscription time for free, chosen at random. If you’re lucky enough to win a free year, that equates to saving at least $100 over 12 months. 

The promotion ends on March 8.

See: NordVPN review: Consistent speed and performance

PureVPN pricing

  • Monthly: $10.95
  • 1-year: $39.95 ($3.32 per month) 
  • 2-Year: $54.95 (billed in full, $2.29 per month, three months free. $2.08 promotion currently available)
  • Money-back guarantee: 31 days
  • Simultaneous connections: 10

If a 30-day refund period is just short of what you need, you’re in luck because PureVPN gives you an extra day to try out its service risk-free. It has the standard monthly and one-year plans, but the two-year plan is the lowest average monthly cost.

At the time of writing, PureVPN has a promotion on the two-year plan for $2.08 p/m ($49.95 total), which includes a free password manager and three months for free. 

PureVPN has cross-platform compatibility, over 6,500+ VPN servers in 70+ countries, a kill switch, a modern user interface, and generally positive reviews as a midweight VPN service. However, the firm’s privacy policy is confusing and needs an overhaul. 

CyberGhost VPN pricing

  • Monthly: $12.99
  • 6 months: $41.94 ($6.99 per month)
  • 2-year: $56.94 ($2.19 per month with two free months)
  • Money-back guarantee: 45 days
  • Simultaneous connections: 7

CyberGhost has good prices, and its two-year plan (with two free months) has an average cost of only $2.19 per month, which is competitive with the cheapest VPNs on the market. What makes CyberGhost VPN a good deal is its money-back guarantee period, which is 45 days. That’s over two weeks longer than other top VPN services.

The VPN provider offers over 9000 servers in 91 countries with free ID guard monitoring and a kill switch. If you want to add a dedicated IP address, this bolt-on will cost you $4 per month.

The refund period should give you plenty of time to test drive CyberGhost on all of your devices (up to seven at the same time) and in just about any situation you could need it. 

The free trial period could make sense If you’re not interested in CyberGhost VPN’s two-year subscription. Otherwise, you’ll have a lower monthly cost with one of the longer plans.

Read the review: CyberGhost VPN review

Atlas VPN pricing

  • Monthly: $10.99
  • 1-year: $39.42 ($3.29 per month, use code BIGDEAL)
  • 2-year: $49.19 ($1.82 per month with three free months, use code BIGDEAL)
  • Money-back guarantee: 30 days
  • Simultaneous connections: Unlimited

Atlas VPN’s two-year subscription with three free months is a solid deal because it only costs an average of $1.82 a month, and it also comes with unlimited simultaneous connections. For less than $2 a month, you’ll have protected connections on every device you own, whether you want a VPN for your mobile device, PC, or other connected device.

Also: Best cheap VPNs

Atlas VPN markets itself as a VPN solution suitable for torrenting and offers SafeSwap servers, multihop functionality, a kill switch, and over 750 servers in 45 countries.

Students in the US, UK, Mexico, or Spain are also eligible for additional discounts on the two-year plan. You can register for the student discount here.

What is the best VPN deal?

We put Surfshark VPN at the top of our list as the best overall VPN deal because it has the best combination of price and performance. Surfshark has a solid reputation, good customer service, and fast connection speeds in our testing. Although it’s not as cheap as other services on this list, it made our best VPNs list and is a steal compared to what you could pay for other top VPN services. 

VPN # of  connections Monthly Price Cheapest plan
Surfshark Unlimited $12.95 $2.30/mo
Atlas VPN Unlimited $10.99 $1.82/mo
NordVPN 6 $12.99+ $4.19/mo
PureVPN 10 $10.95 $2.08/mo
CyberGhost 7 $12.99 $2.19/mo

Which is the right VPN deal for you?

What makes one VPN a great deal for you depends on your personal situation. For example, if you have a lot of devices on-the-go that need protecting, you will want to focus on the number of connections you can have linked to one account. However, if budgeting is your first priority, you might be willing to compromise on a VPN’s flexibility and features for the best price.

Choose this VPN… If you want…
Atlas or Surfshark Unlimited connections
NordVPN A premium plan for less
CyberGhost An extended money-back period
Surfshark Top-tier performance and reliability
PureVPN The lowest monthly cost

How did we choose these VPN deals?

To find the best VPN deals we didn’t go through the full review process and test every aspect of each VPN service. We simply looked at what it costs and what you get, with a focus on how many devices you can have connected to the VPN at the same time. 

When you’re looking for a VPN deal, it’s important to read the advertised price with a pinch of salt. The overwhelming majority of VPNs advertise their standard prices as a huge discount, but if the price is always 83% off, then that’s just the regular price. Also, limited-time deals often have the same upfront cost with extra months added to the subscription length. Those types of deals will reduce the average monthly cost but not what you pay out-of-pocket when you purchase the service.

Do any VPN services offer a free trial period?

All of the VPN deals we’ve highlighted basically give you a month to try out the service and get a full refund if you’re not satisfied. But you will have to pay upfront and navigate the provider’s refund process if you want to discontinue service during the money-back period.

Very few VPN services advertise a free trial period these days, but you can sometimes find an offer for a free trial period (typically seven days) when you sign-up through mobile.

Keep in mind, if you take the free 7-day trial, you may end up paying more in the long run. I’ve noticed that the longer-term (cheaper) plans are sometimes unavailable when taking advantage of the free trial period. So be sure to pay attention to the plan you’ll be subscribed to and factor that into your decision.

What price will I pay for my VPN service when it renews?

To lock in the lowest average monthly cost, you’ll need to subscribe to the longest plan, which can be anywhere from a 2- to 5-year commitment. And you’ll have to pay the full cost for the entire term upfront in one lump sum.

Even with the lump-sum cost, the longer subscriptions can be worth it, you just need to pay attention to the renewal price. When you subscribe to a VPN service, you’ll want to take a look at the fine print. Once your initial subscription plan expires, your cost is likely to increase. Although it could vary by service, after the lower-priced introductory offer period ends, you’ll usually be renewed at the annual rate. A 1-year subscription typically is 30% to 50% more than longer-term plans, so it’s something to be aware of when your plan is close to renewal.

Wouldn’t a free VPN service be a better deal?

I’m a firm believer that “free” makes everything taste better — but not when it comes to VPN services.

A free VPN may sound like a great deal, but it comes with a non-monetary cost. First is performance: free VPNs have fewer features, slower speeds, and aren’t likely to have great customer service. But that’s not the real reason you should think twice about a gratis VPN.

If you’re not paying for a VPN, the company is making money some other way. This could be from ads or worse, selling your information. And malware is a potential risk with free VPNs.

Also: Best free VPNs for iPhone

One possible exception to this rule is a reputable VPN service that offers a limited free version to get customers to try out the product. In this case, be sure to do your research and know that your options will be limited — and your speed will be throttled. 

An example of a free and reputable VPN is Proton VPN. However, the caveat is that the free service will only give you access to servers in three countries. 

Are there alternative VPN deals worth considering?

If the offers we’ve highlighted aren’t a good fit for you, there are other VPN deals to consider. Each of the alternate offers listed below has a money-back guarantee period of at least 30 days (Hotspot Shield has a 45-day MGB period!), so you can try out the service for a month and back out if you don’t like it.

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