VPNs come with a wealth of benefits to improve your internet experience. Before getting one, people often wonder how much is a VPN and the price of the subscription. In short, we can say that the typical VPN price is roughly $2 to $7 a month, depending on the provider.
That’s a few quids a month, which isn’t too high. However, the VPN pricing is dictated by many things, among which are the quality and subscription length. In today’s article, we’ll analyze the VPN cost of some of the most popular providers to see how much you’ll pay.
Also, we’ll discuss other price-influencing factors and give you some money-saving tips. Since we mentioned them, you might want to check out this guide on the cheapest VPNs. If not, let’s begin our analysis and determine your subscription cost.
VPN Price Variables: What Influences the Cost?
At the start, we explained that the price of these services is approximately a few dollars a month. Some exceptions to the rule exist, especially if you opt for an outrageously-priced Astrill VPN or a business-grade VPN. These services operate in a different realm.
If you need a commercial VPN, chances are you’ll land in the few-dollar-per-month area. Before we go over the VPN pricing of popular providers in 2025, we’ll quickly examine the factors that can influence their price.
Subscription Duration
How much is a VPN directly depends on the subscription length. These services operate by charging you less for longer plans and vice versa. Let’s say you want a monthly plan. You can, for example, pick NordVPN because it’s the best option overall, and pay $12.99/mo.
In 2 years, you’ll pay 24 times $12.99 a month and spend over $310 for 2 years.
However, if you immediately opt for its 2-year plan, you can pay as low as $3 or so a month, in which case, the price is roughly $80 for 2 years. That’s a substantial difference.
The cherry on top? You don’t even need a NordVPN coupon to enjoy such a discount. Just click the button below.
This doesn’t apply only to NordVPN. As you’ll see in our VPN cost analysis, all providers do this.
It’s a great way to keep their subscribers but also offer incentives for people willing to invest in their online privacy in the long run.
Optional Features
Optional features can quickly skyrocket the VPN cost. Surfshark and NordVPN offer plenty of them. They’re very useful if you’re willing to pay a few more dollars each month. For instance, NordVPN’s Basic plan offers just the VPN and related features.
Paying for the Plus plan already gives you anti-malware, web protection, tracker blocker, password manager, and so on. The Complete plan tops you up with 1 TB of encrypted cloud storage and a few other tidbits. Surfshark’s mid-tier plan includes Antivirus – awesome!
However, implementing all of these features requires additional investment from these companies. If you work hard to implement a new feature, you’ll want ROI, which produces higher costs for the end-user. As you’ll see, this isn’t always the case but in most cases, it is.
Server Network Size
Maintaining a huge server park takes a LOT of money and work. Imagine having tens of thousands of servers, the majority of which must function properly and be ready for you. This takes a load of maintenance and careful planning, which exudes a lot of time.
Time is money nowadays and hard work must be paid for. That’s why having plenty of servers can potentially raise the cost. If you wonder how much is a VPN with the most servers, however, you’ll find it’s not that much – around $2 a month (Private Internet Access).
That doesn’t mean all providers with large server fleets are affordable. Some will cost more, especially if you want a dedicated IP address or “non-typical” servers for special needs. A good example of a correlation between a large server network and the price is a free VPN.
Free providers rarely offer more than 100 or 200 servers in a few countries. Paid providers offer hundreds of countries and thousands of servers. Why? Because they earn more money and can afford them!
Torrenting & Streaming Prowess
Do you want to download torrents in privacy, not worrying about your snooping ISP? You got it. Do you want streaming on Netflix, HBO, and BBC iPlayer without geo-blocks? You got it as well. Just be aware you’ll need to PAY for these providers. They’re not free.
To be clear, the cost of a VPN subscription isn’t always tied to these factors. However, some providers with better streaming and torrenting prowess will cost more. Again, we can mention free providers that don’t work for these purposes compared to paid ones.
Torrenting and streaming are some of the most popular reasons to use a VPN. Providers capitalize on this by sometimes charging you slightly more. However, the enjoyment level is higher when you can enjoy P2P and stream on all devices, even on the fly.
How Much Does a VPN Cost? Most Popular VPNs Compared
Now that you’ve got the basic principles of VPN prices, it’s time to get on with our analysis. By far THE most influencing factor is the subscription length, which is clearly displayed in the table below, where we compared the prices of 20 popular providers.
As you can see, monthly plans are way more expensive compared to others.
| Provider | Monthly Price | Six Months Price | Annual Price | Biennial Price | Triennial Price |
| NordVPN | $12.99 | $4.99 | $3.09 | ||
| ExpressVPN | $12.95 | $9.99 | $6.67 | ||
| Private Internet Access | $11.95 | $7.50 | $2.03 | ||
| Proton VPN | $9.99 | $3.99 | $3.59 | ||
| Surfshark | $15.45 | $2.99 | $2.19 | ||
| CyberGhost | $6.99 | $2.03 | |||
| Hide.me | $9.95 | $4.57 | $2.69 | ||
| IPVanish | $12.99 | $3.33 | $2.19 | ||
| TunnelBear | $9.99 | $4.99 | $3.33 | ||
| Hotspot Shield | $9.99 | $6.67 | |||
| PureVPN | $12.95 | $3.99 | $2.14 | ||
| Ivacy VPN | $12.95 | $3.99 | $2.14 | ||
| PrivateVPN | $9.99 | $2.00 | |||
| Speedify | $14.99 | $7.49 | $4.99 | ||
| Windscribe | $9.00 | $5.75 | |||
| PrivadoVPN | $10.99 | $2.99 | $1.99 | ||
| Mullvad | $5.52 | $5.52 | $5.52 | $5.52 | $5.52 |
| VyprVPN | $10 | $5 | $3 | ||
| Avast SecureLine VPN | $4.59 | $4.39 | $4.39 |
On the other hand, we have great biennial plans that go as low as roughly $2 a month. Many of them even come with 50-plus percent discounts and a few free months, which technically drop the price further. Very few providers at the moment offer longer plans as 2 years seem to be the sweet spot.
We’d like to separate a few VPN providers from the pack:
- NordVPN at just over $3/mo
- ExpressVPN at $6.6/mo
- Private Internet Access at just over $2/mo
- Proton VPN at just over $3.5/mo
- Surfshark at just over $2/mo
- CyberGhost at just over $2/mo
These five are the best you can get. NordVPN, in particular, is the #1-rated VPN in 2025, yet, its price seems to be among the lowest. The second-best is ExpressVPN but its price is nearly $6.7 a month. We’ll also address the third-best, which is PIA, costing only $2 a month.
We can see that the best VPN options don’t cost much. This is great news for those wondering how much is a VPN and if they have to spend a fortune. They don’t, as long as they opt for long-term plans and choose to save more from 50% to 86%.
Don’t be afraid to explore our table above fully and meticulously analyze the prices. You’ll see a recurring trend of long-term plans being cheaper and costing no more than $8/mo.
Expensive vs Cheap VPNs: Should You Always Pay More?
We’ve noticed a few trends outside the VPN marketplace. Food, tech, and vehicles that cost more are usually better, with higher quality standards. Buying a cheap, half-rotten chicken will get you as far as the first medical center. VPNs are a bit different.
A paid VPN IS indeed better than a free one. However, a cheaper provider usually isn’t worse than a more expensive one, unless we’re talking a suspiciously cheap option. We’ll take NordVPN as the numero uno option and Astrill VPN, which can be $30 a month.
NordVPN costs roughly 9 times LESS while providing more. It’s not only more popular but also equipped with a Double VPN, Threat Protection, unlimited bandwidth, 6,400+ servers, and much more. Astrill VPN’s only advantage is working in China slightly better.
If you factor in its bonus add-ons, the price can go well over $40 a month, unless you pay for its 2-year plan and end up with $12.5 a month. Racking up all of NordVPN’s add-ons can cost you as much as $14.99 for the monthly plan and as low as $5.5 for the 2-year plan.
Don’t be fooled by the higher cost of some providers. As you see in the table above, Hotspot Shield is far from an affordable option but even further from the best. The same goes for Urban VPN, a free provider with a premium plan at nearly $8 and poor quality.
So, how much does a VPN cost to get the best possible outcome? It can be, again, anywhere from $2/mo to $7/mo. At the time of writing, the top-rated picks, on average, will cost you way under $4 monthly for their 2-year and sometimes 1-year plans.
How to Cut the Total VPN Cost? Money-Saving Tips
We all look for ways to save money, especially with today’s prices of food, bills, and other basics. This rings true for non-essential things, some of which are VPNs. Here are a few honest tips from our experts on how to get the most out of them and not spend much.
Go for Long-Term Plans
You don’t have to have eagle-like eyesight to see that long-term plans yield the best savings. To save the most money per month, it’s easiest to pick a 1-year or 2-year plan, pay upfront for the entire thing, and forget about it until the next billing cycle.
Instead of paying over $11 a month, you’ll pay $2 or $3, resulting in staggering savings. This is great for people who want long-term privacy and security. They’ll get everything they need and reduce the price of the VPN, which is a win-win situation.
Don’t Always Pick the Cheapest Plan
Okay – we know this is a bit contradictory but hear us out. Long-term plans are the cheapest, which we discussed in our recommended Black Friday VPN deals (don’t miss them if Black Friday is around the corner!). But some people don’t need a long subscription. They, perhaps, need a VPN briefly.
If you’re in China for a week or two, you might need this service to bypass censorship. People on vacation abroad might need it to access local TV channels from their countries of origin. Such cases call for short-term plans that seem to be much more befitting.
Instead of paying $80 or so for 2 years, they can pay $11 to $15 for the monthly plan. While it’s more expensive per month, you’re paying for ONE month only – not 24 – leaving you with dozens of dollars in your bank account. Think about this.
Would you buy 10 pounds of apples at $0.5 per pound or a pound of apples at $2? You’d likely opt for the latter because only a lunatic can mow down five pounds of apples before they’re devoured by worms!
Use a Free Trial
Getting a free trial is another option you can consider. We answered your “How much does a VPN cost” question but we haven’t mentioned you don’t always need to pay. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and the rest of the “pack” have nifty free trials.
They’re not long and last about 7 days. However, you can opt for them, provide your credit card, and NOT be charged until these 7 days are out. This means you can use the VPN for free, see whether you like it, and cancel your trial before you’re charged.
Test NordVPN For Free for 30 Days
Isn’t this a great money-saving tip? You get to use a premium provider without spending a single dollar! If you’re unsure how to do this, read our VPN free trial tutorial which goes into detail on this topic, and thank us later.
What About Lifetime VPN Plans?
These are very rare and not many providers offer them. At the time, we can only think of two:
- Keepsolid VPN Unlimited at $199.99
- FastestVPN at $40
These prices differ a lot but you can’t deny both deals look attractive. Lifetime means you’ll pay once and get to use the service as you exist (or the VPN). When something is too good to be true, it usually isn’t, and most experts agree on the irrelevancy of lifetime plans.
Companies that offer such plans have low-quality VPN services that won’t meet your demands. Above all, their existence is unsure because they don’t attract many customers. Think about NordVPN or ExpressVPN – why don’t they offer lifetime deals?
Because they don’t need to! They have a steady stream of customers and millions of users, enough to sustain them for decades. When you’re desperate, you’re using all your power to keep the user stream going, and lifetime plans sound like a perfect deal.
The worst that could happen is the company disappearing with your money. You’ve paid for the service, and now, you can’t use it anymore. The company will vanish with all the money, which sounds like a perfect crime. Besides, lifetime plans make no sense to us.
Even annual and biennial plans are very affordable and will cost a few dollars a month. You’re not making huge savings by going lifetime, especially since you won’t like what you get. Imagine the slog of using a poor-quality VPN just because you paid for it – yikes!
How Much Does a VPN Cost in 2025: Our Final Verdict
So, to recap, let’s again answer the question of how much is a VPN. For those with the child’s attention span, the answer is roughly $2 to $7 a month. Sometimes less, sometimes more. It all depends on the subscription plan length and a few additional features.
The best-case scenario is getting a long-term plan and making significant savings. However, if you need the service for a month or two, using a monthly plan can be beneficial. One is certain. You don’t have to belong to the Rothschild family to afford a VPN.
7492 servers
118 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
10 simultaneous connections
9.4 /10
3000 servers
105 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
8 simultaneous connections
9.1 /10
27000 servers
91 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
Unlimited connections
9 /10