Best VPN 2026: 5 Big Names and What They Really Cost
VPN pricing is a promo maze built on first-term rates that double at renewal. The tables below carry both numbers for all five, pulled from the vendors' own checkout pages this week.
This article contains affiliate links, which helps support our site at no extra cost to you.
No software category prices like VPNs. The advertised rate is almost always a first-term promo, the renewal costs two or three times more, and most comparison articles quote only the pretty number. This one quotes both, read straight off the five vendors' own pricing and order pages on July 16, 2026.
One vendor refuses to play at all: Mullvad has charged a flat 5 euros a month for years, discounts nothing, and its pricing page says so in as many words. That makes it the control group the other four get measured against.
Best overall: NordVPN. The 2-year Basic rate of $3.49 a month is competitive, the apps and speeds hold up, and the renewal ($139.08 a year) is at least disclosed on the page.
Best no-games pricing: Mullvad. 5 euros flat, every month, forever. No tiers, no promos, no renewal jump, cash accepted by mail if you want true anonymity.
Best free VPN: Proton VPN. The free tier is unlimited in time, no ads, from the one major vendor whose free plan is not a data play. Paid Plus renews at a reasonable $83.88 a year.
Best for a crowd: Surfshark. Unlimited simultaneous devices on every tier, $2.49 a month for the first 27 months. Renewal price is not disclosed upfront, so set a calendar reminder.
Intro rate against renewal, the number that actually matters
VPN
Entry tier intro
First-term total
Renewal after intro
Effective renewal per month
NordVPN Basic
$3.49/mo (2-yr) or $7.49/mo (1-yr)
$94.23 / 27 months
$139.08 a year
About $11.59
ExpressVPN Basic
$2.49/mo
$69.72 / 28 months
$99.95 a year
About $8.33
Surfshark Starter
$2.49/mo
$67.23 / 27 months
Undisclosed at checkout
Unknown until the charge
Proton VPN Plus
$2.99/mo
$71.76 / 24 months
$83.88 a year
$6.99
Mullvad
€5/mo
€5 each month
€5, unchanged
€5
All figures from the vendors' own pages on July 16, 2026. Every intro rate above except Mullvad's is explicitly first-term-only. Proton has the gentlest renewal of the discounters; Surfshark is the only one of the five that does not print its renewal price next to the offer.
NordVPN: the mainstream pick, repriced this year
NordVPN's current lineup is three tiers: Basic (the VPN), Complete (adds the NordPass password manager and 1 TB of encrypted storage), and Prime (adds identity protection). On the 2-year term they run $3.49, $4.49, and $7.49 a month for the first 27 months, then renew at $139.08, $219.48, and $296.28 a year. Month-to-month costs $14.99, $19.99, and $29.99, noticeably above the old $12.99 that many reviews still quote.
The product earns the popularity: fast WireGuard-based connections, 10 simultaneous devices, and apps that stay out of the way. The honest math is the renewal column. $139.08 a year for Basic is $11.59 a month, which is fine if you like the service and painful if you signed up for a $3.49 headline.
ExpressVPN's order page leads with a 28-month deal: Basic at $2.49 a month ($69.72 upfront), Advanced at $2.99, Pro at $5.49, renewing at $99.95, $119.95, and $199.95 a year. Device allowances scale 10, 12, and 14 by tier, and the upper tiers stack a password manager, identity tools, and even monthly eSIM data.
The service itself stays excellent: 113 countries, a long audit trail, and consistently strong speeds. Two things keep it from the top spot here. The renewal on Basic ($8.33 a month effective) undercuts Nord's, but the tier gymnastics bury simple month-to-month pricing, and the extras push you toward tiers most people never needed.
Pros
$2.49 intro on a 28-month term is the longest cheap runway here
Renewals disclosed plainly
113 countries, mature audit history
Pro tier reaches 14 devices
Cons
Month-to-month pricing is hard to even find
Renewal roughly triples the intro rate
Surfshark: unlimited devices, undisclosed renewal
Surfshark's pitch is volume: unlimited simultaneous connections on every tier, so one subscription covers the whole household and the in-laws. Starter runs $2.49 a month for the first 27 months ($67.23 billed once), One adds antivirus, breach alerts, and private search at $2.79, and One+ reaches $4.49. Month-to-month Starter is $16.45, the highest monthly rate on this page.
The asterisk is the renewal. The checkout says you will be charged "the applicable renewal price" without printing the number, which is exactly the pattern this article exists to flag. The service is genuinely good and the audited no-logs claim is real; buy the intro term happily, and diary the renewal date before the charge diaries you.
Pros
Unlimited devices on every tier
Cheapest first-term total here ($67.23)
One tier bundles antivirus and alerts usefully
Cons
Renewal price not shown at checkout
$16.45 month-to-month is the category's highest
Proton VPN: the trustworthy default, and the real free tier
Proton's free tier is the only one on this page worth the name: no time limit, no ads, one device, medium speeds, servers in ten countries you cannot choose. It exists to upsell Plus, which costs $9.99 month-to-month or $2.99 a month for the first 24 months, renewing at a disclosed $83.88 a year, the gentlest renewal among the discounters.
The apps are open source, the company publishes its audits, and the renewal honesty extends the trust story the brand sells. Proton Unlimited at $7.99 first term (renewing $119.88 a year) folds in Mail, Drive, Pass, and the rest of the suite, which quietly competes with buying a password manager separately.
Pros
Genuinely free tier with no time limit
Renewals printed next to the price
Open-source apps, published audits
Unlimited tier bundles the whole Proton suite
Cons
Free tier picks the server country for you
$9.99 monthly is mid-pack, not cheap
Mullvad: the control group
Mullvad charges 5 euros a month. It charged 5 euros last year and the year before, it offers no discount for commitment, and its own pricing page rules out sales for "Christmas or any other holiday or event that you can think of." Accounts are anonymous numbers, payment can be literal cash in an envelope, and the crypto discount is 10 percent because processing costs less.
Five devices, WireGuard, repeatedly audited, and a client base that treats it as the privacy benchmark. What you give up is range: fewer countries than the big marketing machines, no streaming-optimization promises, no bundled extras. If the renewal games above annoy you on principle, this is the vendor built on that annoyance.
Pros
Flat €5 with no promo-renewal spread at all
Anonymous account model, cash accepted
Repeatedly audited, privacy-first design
Cons
5 devices, smallest allowance here
No streaming or bundle extras
14-day refund window, and not for cash payments
How to buy a VPN without getting played
Decide on the renewal number, not the intro. NordVPN Basic is really a $139.08-a-year product, ExpressVPN Basic a $99.95 one, Proton Plus an $83.88 one; the first term is just a discount on year one. Surfshark asks you to commit without showing that number, so either get it from support first or set a reminder to cancel and re-shop. Mullvad spares you the whole exercise for €60 a year.
For most people the practical shortlist is two questions long. Want the biggest mainstream product with the extras: NordVPN or ExpressVPN, whichever renewal you prefer. Want the least drama per euro: Proton or Mullvad. Households with a device pile lean Surfshark on the unlimited connections alone. Pair whichever you pick with a real password manager; our password manager comparison runs the same honest-pricing exercise on that category.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best VPN in 2026?
NordVPN for most buyers: competitive 2-year pricing at $3.49 a month, strong apps, and a disclosed renewal. Proton VPN is the best answer for trust and the only real free tier. Mullvad wins for privacy purists at a flat 5 euros. The honest differentiator is renewal price, not headline price.
Why do VPN prices double after the first term?
Because the advertised rate is an introductory promotion. NordVPN Basic goes from $94.23 for 27 months to $139.08 a year; ExpressVPN Basic from $69.72 for 28 months to $99.95 a year; Proton Plus from $71.76 for 24 months to $83.88 a year. All three print this next to the offer. Surfshark does not print its renewal at checkout at all.
What does a VPN actually cost per month?
Month-to-month in July 2026: NordVPN $14.99, Surfshark $16.45, Proton VPN $9.99, Mullvad about $5.50 at the €5 flat rate. ExpressVPN sells term plans up front and does not surface a simple monthly price on its order page. Long-term intro rates run $2.49 to $3.49 across the big names.
Is there a good free VPN?
Proton VPN's free tier is the one worth using: unlimited time, no ads, no data selling, with real limits (one device, medium speed, ten countries chosen for you). Free tiers from unknown vendors are commonly data plays. None of the other four here offer a free tier at all.
Which VPN allows the most devices?
Surfshark, with unlimited simultaneous connections on every plan. ExpressVPN scales 10 to 14 by tier, NordVPN and paid Proton allow 10, Mullvad 5. For a family with laptops, phones, and a TV stick per person, that single spec can decide the purchase.
Are the VPN bundles (password manager, antivirus) worth it?
Price them against standalone tools. NordVPN Complete adds a password manager and 1 TB storage for about $1 more a month on the intro term, which beats buying those separately. Surfshark One adds antivirus and alerts for 30 cents a month on the intro. At renewal the math changes, so redo it then.
Is Mullvad really anonymous?
As close as the category gets. Accounts are randomly generated numbers with no email required, payment can be cash by mail, and the no-logs design has been audited repeatedly. The tradeoff is convenience: 5 devices, fewer locations, and no refunds on cash payments.
Should I pay for a VPN monthly or commit to two years?
Commit only if you already know you use a VPN daily; the 2-year rates are 70 to 85 percent below monthly pricing. If you are new to the category, run one month on Proton at $9.99 or Mullvad at €5 first. A calendar reminder a week before any long term renews is worth more than any coupon.
Mullvad
