The Truth about Cheap VPNs

A Google search on VPN service will display a lot of results from providers who promise a cheap VPN or one that is even free. How can someone decide which VPN service is right for them, and choose one that delivers the appropriate amount of security? We’re going to take a look in this article at providers who claim to offer cheap or free VPN service.

Is a cheap VPN worth it?

The first thing we need to do is note that there is a significant difference between a cheap VPN and an affordable VPN. A cheap VPN is usually just what it sounds like: a second-rate or pared-down version of the real deal. What does the word cheap say to you? It usually represents poorly made, but in the case of VPN’s cheap can mean poorly secured, and that is big trouble for anyone who uses one.

Many cheap VPN providers don’t have the same number of server options, and their logging practices are questionable. Did you know that anyone with a little bit of technical knowhow can set up their own VPN and even offer subscriptions? That’s a pretty scary thought. In fact, many of these fly-by-night VPN outfits have made their living not from VPN service, but from logging your data and selling it to marketing companies. Many cheap VPN services are built on insecure servers, and that really defeats the entire point of using one. Sometimes, all a cheap VPN does is provide a secure connection to an unsecure server. You defeat the whole purpose when using one of these providers.

You will also notice that many cheap VPN providers only offer the PPTP protocol. Be wary of this. You really want to look for a vendor that offers you a choice between PPTP and L2TP. In many cases, the L2TP protocol is a better option and so is SSTP and OpenVPN.

An affordable VPN is another thing altogether. Our services are very affordable, but they are built on secure servers in many locations. Your data is not logged and sold to the highest bidder. Our servers use top-level encryption to secure your personal data. We are able to keep our prices lower because of the volume of customers we serve. This is the true definition of an affordable VPN.

Beware the free VPN

With all of the free VPN options that pop up on a Google search, why not just choose one of these? In short, the old saying “you get what you pay for” applies here. Using a free VPN can sometimes open the door to a world of problems.

Someone has to pay for the VPN. If you aren’t paying then the provider must be eating the costs, right? Not hardly. No one can offer services that cost money for free and stay in business. So, how do these free VPN providers make their money? As we stated before in the case of cheap VPN’s, the providers who offer free ones are often making money on the backend by selling data to marketing companies. Some VPN’s are also supported by the use of advertising which can suck up bandwidth and slow down the connection.

Bandwidth can represent one of the most significant problems with the infrastructure of a free VPN. In many cases, the limited speed and bandwidth of a free VPN makes it impossible for users to stream Netflix or YouTube videos. When you take this benefit out of the equation, you’re removing the usefulness of a VPN for a large number of people.

Here’s a little dose of reality about a free VPN. In most cases speed is going to top out at around 512 kbps. Even this is shared. A quality, affordable VPN provider offers almost no difference in the connection speed you experience on your network at home.

The advantage of an affordable VPN

By now you should understand that, in order to get a reliable VPN, you’re going to pay something for it. What you want to look for is a provider you can trust who keeps the costs low. We fit the bill on both counts.

When you pay for a VPN you get the best of technology. You’re getting cutting edge encryption, a choice of server locations, and fast connection speeds. Those things are all important in your VPN. A paid VPN like the one we provide also does not keep logs of browsing history. None of your personal data is being harvested and sold for the purposes of generating income to maintain the servers. You also should consider that our paid VPN encounters almost zero downtime because of the multiple servers we have in different locations.

Your best value is to purchase your VPN service by the year, and when you do that at VPNaccounts.com the daily cost is amazing!