Skip to main content Tom's Guide Tom's Guide Search Tom's Guide View Profile Newsletters Best Picks Entertainment Apple WWDC 2025 Switch 2 Restock Best laptops Best Mattress Wordle Today Recommended reading Windscribe VPN review Free Netflix VPNs: are they worth downloading and which ones are good? Best VPN free trial in 2025 Proton VPN review Best free iPhone VPN app in 2025 Best Windows VPN for PC in 2025 The best VPN in 2025: our top 5 picks Is it really worth upgrading from Windscribe Free? Olivia Powell 12 June 2025 We take a look at whether you should ditch your free Windscribe plan in favour of its premium option When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Getty Images) Windscribe Free is one of the best free VPNs on the market, with a generous amount of servers for free users, decent speeds and a huge amount of features shared between its paid and free versions. With all these positives, you may be wondering why anyone would switch from Windscribe Free to Windscribe Premium. And, in truth, many people will be more than satisfied with the free version. Let's take a look at what you get: Up to 15 GB data allowance Servers in 11 countries Open-source apps One plan covers unlimited devices R.O.B.E.R.T browsing protection (supposedly limited, but unrestricted in our testing) Some streaming unblocking A kill switch, split tunneling, auto-connect, and a range of VPN protocols Obfuscation This outstrips some of the cheaper paid VPNs, and Windscribe has by far the most features of all the free VPNs we recommend. Unlike many, Windscribe doesn't hold back any essential privacy and security features for the paid plan. This is a big green flag, and shows that your privacy is a priority. You may like Windscribe VPN review Free Netflix VPNs: are they worth downloading and which ones are good? Best VPN free trial in 2025 If you can handle the complex apps and don't mind the limited independent audits, it's a great choice for power users. So there's no point in upgrading? Hold your horses there, champ. The bottom line is that no matter what, free VPNs will always be limited in some way compared to their paid counterparts, and Windscribe is no exception. Here, I'll explore some common reasons you might want to ditch your free plan for a paid one, including data limits, reduced speeds and streaming access. A secure, private VPN: Windscribe Windscribe comes with all of the class-leading privacy and security of its free option (including quantum-resistant encryption), but with some great added extras. This includes faster speeds, split tunneling and a kill switch on iOS and unlimited data. Prices can be as low as $2 thanks to Windscribe's build-a-plan option, and pre-made plans start from $5.75 per month for a 12-month plan ($69 upfront). You need more data Windscribe Free does have a fairly generous data limit at 15 GB per month, although this is reduced to 2 GB if you don't verify your email address, and 10 GB if you don't fancy Tweeting about the company. So, if you want to anonymously use Windscribe, you get far less data to play around with. Sign up to get the BEST of Tom's Guide direct to your inbox. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. One of the main draws of Windscribe Free is that it offers streaming support, something often neglected by other free VPNs. It may not unblock as much as the best streaming VPNs, but it can access Netflix in the US, the UK and Canada, as well as Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, ITVX and All4. However, this access is a double-edged sword – if you use Windscribe Free for data-heavy activities like streaming, you might find yourself running out of data frequently. Windscribe's paid-for version offers unlimited data, meaning you won't run out no matter how often you use your VPN, or whatever you use it for. However, if you don't want to switch from a free to a paid service, you could go for a free VPN that offers unlimited data, like Proton VPN Free. (Image credit: Getty Images) You need a large server network If you use Windscribe Free, you get a choice of 14 locations in 10 countries: the USA; Canada; the UK; France; Germany; Netherlands; Norway, Romania; Switzerland; and Hong Kong. While this is definitely generous, and a far higher number of locations to choose from than other free VPNs (Proton VPN Free, for example, only gives you 5 location options), it can't match up to its paid-for server spread. For one thing, Windscribe's premium version offers servers in 134 locations across 69 countries – a great deal more than Windscribe Free. Additionally, there's a lack of diversity in Windscribe Free's server spread – the majority of the servers are located in Europe, and there's only one server option for Asia. So, if you want a bigger server spread or want to connect to a server in a country not covered by Windscribe's Free servers, you'll be better off going for Windscribe's paid option. (Image credit: TechShali) You need faster speeds In our speed tests, Windscribe Free achieved speeds of 496 Mbps, which is an admirable effort and is even faster than some paid-for VPNs. However, if you want to crank your speeds up to 785 Mbps, you'll need to go for Windscribe premium. While these speeds are not the fastest VPN speeds we've seen, Windscribe's paid version has the benefit of a larger server network, meaning you're less likely to be connecting to an overloaded server. Overall, both Windscribe and Windscribe Free offer pretty good speeds, and shouldn't slow you down while you're using either version of the VPN. But, if you want to give your speeds a bit of a boost, consider switching to a paid-for subscription. /mth at Windscribe Olivia Powell Social Links Navigation Tech Software Commissioning Editor Olivia joined Tom's Guide in October 2023 as part of the core Tech Software team, and is currently VPN Commissioning Editor. She regularly uses VPNs to make sure they deliver what they promise, and specializes in testing VPNs with streaming sites. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Windscribe VPN review Free Netflix VPNs: are they worth downloading and which ones are good? 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