VPN Free Trials Compared: How Long They Last and Who Wants a Card

How long VPN free trials last

Across the 179 services with a published length, seven days is the mode (72 providers), three days follows (51), and 16 give one or two. The window decides what you can check:

Of the 17 trials that run 28 days or longer, 8 belong to antivirus brands and 9 to regular VPN services, so the two groups are almost even. Avast Free VPN, Avast SecureLine and AVG Secure VPN stretch to 60 days, but at Avast Free VPN and Avast SecureLine the payment details at checkout mean the timer counts toward a charge, while AVG Secure VPN does not say whether a card is needed.

Where the trial starts decides your risk

84 services start the trial on the provider's website, 45 in the iOS App Store, 23 on Android or Google Play, 6 via a Telegram bot. The billing route matters more than the length.

App store trials and the cancel deadline

A store trial creates a subscription with a free first period, tied to your Apple ID or Google account. Removing the app changes nothing: open the store's subscription screen and cancel there, a day early. Store refunds follow store rules. DuneVPN works this way: Android-only, seven days via Google Play, with the yearly plan reading "7 days free, then $11.99".

Website trials and paid trials

Website trials are simpler: terms sit on the checkout page itself, and many never request a card. A few take a token sum instead. VPN Secure charges $1 for its 30-day trial, then bills $9.95 a month. With no payment method stored, an expired trial costs nothing.

The top three on this page

Missing a cancel date on Surfshark leads to a charge covering one or two years at once, since auto-renewal is on by default and the trial exists only with its long plans. DuneVPN's card-free claim comes from the vendor, not an audit.

How this page ranks trials

Value carries 40% here, privacy 21.2%, security 14.1%, censorship bypass 10.6%, with network and apps at 7.1% apiece. Cheap plans and card-free trials climb the list, which is why the page score rarely matches the overall one computed with standard weights. An independent no-logs audit exists at just 10 of the 190 services.

Free trial or money-back guarantee

When a month of testing matters, a refund window usually outlasts the typical 3 or 7 days a trial gives. 119 services here offer money back, most often for 30 days (71 providers), but you pay first and chase the refund afterward. Some large brands skip trials entirely: in this dataset, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN and Private Internet Access lean on 30-day refunds, so none appears in the ranking (Proton VPN keeps a permanent free plan). Access that survives the trial's end is covered by a separate list of 77 VPNs with a free plan afterward.

Ending a trial without a charge

Mark the end date in your calendar right after signing up. Check the auto-renewal flag: on by default at 99 services here. Cancel where you started, store or website account, then watch your card statement the following week. The FTC's guidance on free trials and auto-renewals adds one more habit: uncheck pre-selected boxes at checkout.

FAQ

The short answer

Expect seven days, sometimes three. Of 190 services, 50 demand a card or store payment method, 51 do not, and 89 stay silent. Store trials bill unless cancelled inside the store; website trials without a card just end. CitadelVPN leads at 8.37, Surfshark follows at 5.42, DuneVPN sits at 5.37. The cheapest paid plan costs €0.36 monthly, with €3.22 as the median.