If you are researching the cost of a VPN, then chances are you are more concerned about your online safety or privacy. You probably also know that premium VPNs are safer and better than free VPNs.
As you may already know, the cost of a VPN depends on two things – the VPN provider you select and the length of your subscription. Many premium VPNs offer the cheapest monthly prices for their 12-month plans.
On average, you can expect anywhere between $3 – $12 monthly for a VPN depending on the subscription plan you choose. The longer the subscription plan, the cheaper the monthly price.
Why Pay For a VPN?
This is one of the most searched questions about VPNs on the internet. Many people wonder why they should spend their hard-earned money on a VPN when they are free VPNs. It’s hard to resist a freebie, right?
The purpose of a VPN is to encrypt and reroute your internet traffic ensuring that outside parties can access it. A VPN can also hide your location, allow you to access geo-restricted content, bypass censorship, and so on. But the most important function of a VPN is to improve online security and privacy.
Free VPNs claim to offer the same services but they usually collect your private information and sell them to the highest bidder. And this defeats the purpose of using a VPN. Even if they don’t sell your data, their encryption may not be strong enough, leaving your private information vulnerable to hackers. It’s also worth mentioning that some free VPNs are actually malware disguised as legitimate software. They spy on you to collect your private information.
Things to Know About Paying For VPNs
The first thing to know about VPNs is that the best ones aren’t free and that price isn’t necessarily an accurate indicator of quality. Also, premium VPNs require a small investment and you’ll get the best possible deal if you subscribe to at least a yearly plan.
Factors Affecting the Cost of a VPN
Below are factors that affect the cost of a VPN:
Length of Subscription Plan
As we’ve mentioned a couple of times already, the length of your subscription plan is the biggest determinant of the cost of a VPN. VPN services usually have a monthly plan, two-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month plans. Some services may also offer 2-year plans and the longer the length of the subscription plan, the cheaper the monthly price.
Number of Devices Covered
Most VPNs have a limit on the number of services you can use their product on. This number may or may not be tied to your subscription plan depending on your VPN provider.
Some VPN providers are known to offer flexible plans depending on the number of devices you want to use their product on. VPN providers have programs for different platforms. There are VPN for PC (Windows, Linux, macOS) and VPN for mobile (Android, iOS).
The more the number of devices, the more you pay. Some services, however, have a fixed number of devices regardless of subscription plans.
Streaming Support
VPNs are the go-to option when people want to watch TV shows or online live events that aren’t available in their country. For example, if you want to watch US Netflix when you are abroad. Some VPN providers already include streaming support in their standard plans while others may require you to pay more for the service.
Number of Servers
The best VPN services have a large number of servers. The more the servers, the faster the connection will be due to each server having fewer users. You’ll also be able to connect to closer servers which can improve your internet speed.
A large number of servers also mean a wide range of IP addresses which improves your chances of accessing geo-restricted content. Some services have associated some IPs to VPNs and may not allow access to their service with those IP addresses.
Some VPN providers may increase the subscription fee based on bigger server ranges. More servers mean more money.
Extra Features
Features like dedicated IP, residential IP, port forwarding, and multi-hop servers may come at an extra cost. Some VPN providers may already include them as part of their standard subscription plan or charge you extra for these features.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, you have to consider your needs and then compare offers from different reputable VPN services to get the best deal. It’s worth investing in a VPN as you get improved security and privacy when surfing the web, making transactions, reading emails, or even working on classified projects.
