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Free India VPN

The Best Free India VPN in 2024

Finding a free VPN that's safe and reliable can be very difficult. If you’re looking for the best free India VPN, read this guide to learn about our top choices.

Arjun RupareliaJackie LeavittJasna Mishevska

Written by Arjun Ruparelia (Writer)

Reviewed by Jackie Leavitt (Co-Chief Editor)

Facts checked by Jasna Mishevska (Lead Fact-Checking Editor)

Last Updated: 2024-09-30T21:02:56+00:00

All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.

Key Takeaways: What Is the Best Free India VPN

  1. PrivadoVPN — User-friendly free VPN with servers in 10 countries
  2. hide.me — Feature-rich VPN that offers access to almost all premium features on the free plan
  3. Proton VPN — Free VPN with unlimited data
  4. Windscribe — Fast free VPN with an impressive feature set
  5. TunnelBear — Free VPN with servers in over 40 countries

Freedom House rates India’s internet freedom as only partly free. From banning Chinese apps to the new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2020, several events have limited internet freedom in India. However, if you’re in India, you can use a VPN to access any content you want online. In this guide, we help you select the best free India VPN.

Before we get to the VPNs, you need to know about India’s new VPN laws. The law makes it mandatory for VPN service providers to log user data and store it for a minimum of five years. The service provider must provide data to the Indian government upon request.

Many VPN service providers have removed physical servers from India and now offer virtual servers to avoid logging data.

However, some services continue to have physical servers in India. Using those services can put your data at risk. However, if you’re in India, not having an Indian VPN server isn’t a big deal. Below, we discuss the best free VPNs for India and what makes them the best.

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  • 06/03/2024 Facts checked

    Changed the ranking to highlight the free VPNs that are currently the best to use in India.

Top Free VPNs for India

  1. 1
    • : PayPal, Credit card, Coinbase, SEPA, Discover
    • : 10
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  2. 2
    • : PayPal, Credit card, bitcoin
    • : 10
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  3. 3
    • : PayPal, Credit card, Bitcoin, cash
    • : 10
    • :
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  4. 4
    • : PayPal, Credit card
    • : Unlimited
    • :
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  5. 5
    • : Credit card
    • : Unlimited
    • :
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    • :
    $3.33 / month(save 66%)(All Plans)

How to Choose the Best Free Indian VPN

We will discuss each service individually in the next section. However, you should know what to look for in a VPN before you pick one.

Security and Privacy

Security and privacy are a VPN’s primary purposes — see our most secure VPNs list to learn more. You should select a VPN that offers a good combination of encryption protocols and ciphers. The best VPNs offer OpenVPN combined with AES-256 or WireGuard combined with ChaCha20, or both.

You should also always pick a VPN that has a strict no-logs policy. A VPN that doesn’t log user data is critical to your privacy. You should steer clear of any VPNs that are headquartered in one of the countries that belong to the Five, Nine or 14 Eyes alliances.

Connection Speeds

You need fast connection speeds when streaming content online. Slow speeds cause video content to buffer, which translates to a poor streaming experience.

All VPNs slow down your connection speeds, though they can also increase connection speeds if your internet service provider has been throttling your bandwidth.

The fastest VPNs ensure that the reduction in speed is minimal, so you can continue streaming content in high quality while using another country’s IP address.

Unblocking Streaming Services

All VPNs can help you acquire another country’s IP address as long as the service has a server in that country. The problem? Having a server doesn’t guarantee the VPN will help you unblock regional content.

For example, many VPNs can’t access Netflix U.S. even when you connect to a U.S. server. Websites like Netflix actively ban VPNs, so you’ll need a reliable VPN that can consistently access geoblocked content.

Free Indian Servers

Many VPNs offer virtual Indian servers, but they are only available on their paid plans. Other services have physical servers in India, which we don’t recommend using given India’s VPN laws.

That said, not having an Indian server probably won’t be a big problem for you. You can access Indian content on your unprotected connection. However, if you want to securely access online banking services, and the service doesn’t allow access to anyone outside India, you might need an Indian server. Using a service with virtual Indian servers is best.

Unfortunately, none of the free VPNs on our list have free Indian servers. If getting an Indian IP address is a must for you, we recommend opting for a premium VPN such as NordVPN, which has a virtual Indian server via Mumbai.

The Best Free VPN With India Servers: Comparison Table

VPN serviceFree dataFree Server CountriesUnblocks NetflixSpeedNumber of devicesSecurity
PrivadoVPN10GB10YesFast10AES-256, ChaCha20
hide.meUnlimited8NoFast10AES-256, ChaCha20
Proton VPNUnlimited5 (random selection)YesNot very fast10AES-256, ChaCha20
Windscribe15GB10YesFastUnlimitedAES-256, ChaCha20
TunnelBear2GB40+NoVery fastUnlimitedAES-256, ChaCha20
This table shows our top five choices compared in detail.

1. PrivadoVPN

privadovpn us
PrivadoVPN offers a generous 10GB free monthly data allowance to free users.
Best Free India VPN

Pros

  • 10GB of free data per month
  • Unblocks popular streaming sites
  • Strict no-logging policy

Cons

  • Lacks advanced features

PrivadoVPN offers servers in 13 locations across 10 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This gives you multiple options when changing your IP address.

As a free PrivadoVPN user, you get 10GB of free data each month. That’s more than what many free services offer. If you stream a lot of content, 10GB might be better than TunnelBear’s 1GB.

Your connection is well protected when you use PrivadoVPN. The service offers OpenVPN, IKEv2 and WireGuard combined with AES-256 and ChaCha20 for superior protection. PrivadoVPN is located in Switzerland, a privacy-friendly jurisdiction and adheres to a strict no-logs policy.

PrivadoVPN is also great for streaming because it bypasses geoblocks on all popular streaming websites including Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Disney Plus. While the speeds aren’t impressive, you can still stream content comfortably in standard definition. 4K streamers might experience buffering, though. Learn more about PrivadoVPN’s features in our PrivadoVPN review.

Excellent User Interface

PrivadoVPN is a great pick if you want an easy-to-use VPN. Its interface is sleek and well-orgnaized, making it easy to navigate. Connecting to a server is quick and you can sort the server list in alphabetical order or by latency.

get privadovpn
PrivadoVPN has an excellent interface that’s intuitive and detailed.

PrivadoVPN costs more than some major VPN services like NordVPN and Surfshark. The best value plan costs $1.99 per month for the two-year plan. If you want to reduce the per-user cost, PrivadoVPN offers 10 simultaneous connections, so you can share your account with friends or family.

You can also just try the service using its 30-day money-back guarantee.

Free
  • 10GB
  • 1
Premium
  • *Billed $44.85 for the first 15 months, then $59.88 every 12 months. *Billed $53.73 for the first 27 months, then $95.76 every 24 months.
  • Unlimited GB
  • 10
  • Yes

2. hide.me

hide.me mexico
hide.me offers almost all paid features on the free version.
$2.22 / month
(save 77%) (All Plans)

Pros

  • Most paid features on free plan
  • Unlimited data
  • Unlimited bandwidth

Cons

  • Can’t get into Netflix
  • No free Indian servers

hide.me offers unlimited data. This means that you can use the service without worrying about running out of data. As a result, we recommend hide.me for bandwidth-hungry activities like streaming. hide.me offers servers in eight countries: Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.

Unfortunately, hide.me doesn’t unblock Netflix. However, it can get you into Amazon Prime Video, Max, Disney Plus and Hulu. hide.me isn’t blazing-fast, but it offers decent-enough speeds to ensure lag-free streams. hide.me is also a good option to keep you stay safe when torrenting, thanks to its kill switch.

Access to Premium Features

hide.me lets you use almost every feature it offers to paid plan VPN subscribers. For example, you can use the fallback protocol feature to ensure you’re always safe, even if your encryption protocol fails for some reason.

When your primary protocol fails, the fallback protocol will automatically activate and maintain an encrypted connection. Learn about hide.me’s full feature set in our comprehensive hide.me review.

get hide.me
hide.me is a pocket-friendly VPN.

hide.me offers low-cost plans and shorter commitments from users. Most VPN services offer their best rates on annual, two-year and three-year plans. hide.me’s best value plan is its 12-month plan at just $3.75 per month. You also get a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you’re not fully satisfied with the service.

3. Proton VPN

protonvpn desktop ui
Proton VPN offers unlimited data on the free plan.

Pros

  • Unlimited free data
  • Secure protocols
  • Great user interface

Cons

  • No option to select servers yourself
  • Random server selection on free plan
  • No India servers on free plan

    Proton VPN checks all the boxes of an excellent VPN. It offers good connection speed, robust features and the best encryption protocols — OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard and Stealth.

    In addition to encryption protocols, Proton VPN offers security essentials like a kill switch and split tunneling — though the latter is only available for Android and Windows users. It also has a strict no-logging policy. You can access all major streaming services, including Netflix. Proton VPN has an excellent user interface too. 

    Proton VPN’s biggest downside is that it doesn’t let users choose their servers. The app will automatically choose a server option for you when you click the power button, usually the closest, which makes it useless for accessing streaming libraries. Plus, Proton VPN only offers free servers in five locations (Japan, the Netherlands, the U.S., Romania and Poland).

    Unlimited Data

    Proton VPN is one of the few reliable VPNs that offer unlimited data. However, it only has servers in five countries, so if you’re far from these locations, you might experience slower connection speeds. We discuss Proton VPN and its features in more detail in our Proton VPN review if you want to learn more.

    ProtonVPN homepage 2022
    Proton VPN unblocks all major streaming sites and has an excellent user interface.

    Proton VPN’s paid plan costs $4.49 per month on the 2-year deal. That’s more expensive than some of the best VPNs, like NordVPN and CyberGhost. However, if you like Proton VPN’s interface and feature set, Proton VPN might be worth the price. You can always use the 30-day money-back guarantee to claim a full refund if you don’t like the service.

    Free
    • Unlimited GB
    • 1
    • Yes
    Plus
    • Renewal prices are different after the first year for the 1-year plan, and after the second year for the 2-year plan.
    • Unlimited GB
    • 10
    • Yes

    4. Windscribe

    windscribe
    Windscribe is a secure, reliable VPN that offers fast connection speeds.

    Pros

    • Fast connection speeds
    • Unblocks Netflix & other streaming services
    • Top-notch security & privacy

    Cons

    • 3-day money-back guarantee
    • No free Indian servers

    Windscribe is the best free VPN out there. With Windscribe, you get excellent security. It comes with the standard OpenVPN and AES-256 combination. Alternatively, you can choose WireGuard and ChaCha20. If you’re on a mobile device, you also have the option to select IKEv2 for better performance.

    Windscribe’s privacy policy is transparent and commits to not logging any user data. Connection speeds are impressive too. Our speed tests show that Windscribe beats some premium VPNs with its lightning-fast connection speeds. Add the ability to unblock all major streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and you’ve got a top-notch VPN to stream geoblocked content with.

    Windscribe packs in all the essential features, and then some. For example, it has a kill switch to cut off your internet traffic if the VPN connection drops, and split tunneling that allows you to route an app’s internet traffic via one of two tunnels — the encrypted VPN tunnel and the unprotected tunnel that offers better speed.

    Excellent Free Plan

    The free plan offers up to 15GB of free data every month, provided you confirm your email address and tweet about Windscribe. You can access servers in 10 countries on the free plan, including the U.S., but you don’t get access to an Indian server, meaning you can’t get a local IP address. 

    The free plan also comes with limited access to R.O.B.E.R.T., Windscribe’s ad blocker. We discuss more about R.O.B.E.R.T. and other Windscribe features in our Windscribe review.

    get windscribe
    Windscribe offers flexible pricing with its build-a-plan option.

    The build-a-plan option lets you add server locations to your plan without paying for one of Windscribe’s existing plans. You can either choose three server locations for $1 each per month each, or two server locations and unlimited data plus access to R.O.B.E.R.T., which also costs $1 per month. The build-a-plan option comes with a minimum $3 per month checkout value. 

    If you want to access the entire server list, one of the existing Windscribe plans makes more sense. The best value plan costs $5.75 per month. That’s more expensive than other premium services, but you get unlimited simultaneous connections, so you can always share the account and reduce the per user cost. You can also try Windscribe risk-free using its three-day money-back guarantee.

    Free
    • Up to 15 GB free with email confirmation and Tweet
    • 15GB
    • Unlimited

    5. TunnelBear

    tunnelbear-mexico
    TunnelBear offers servers in over 40 countries.

    Pros

    • Servers in over 40 countries
    • Unblocks streaming sites
    • GhostBear obfuscation tool

    Cons

    • Poor streaming performance
    • No free Indian servers

    TunnelBear is a great, secure VPN for India. It uses OpenVPN and AES-256 to secure your connection and claims to not log any user data. With TunnelBear, you get a minimalist interface that’s perfect for beginners. However, don’t let TunnelBear’s simplicity lead you into thinking it is bare-boned.

    You get all VPN essentials like a kill switch (called VigilantBear) and split tunneling (called SplitBear), although split tunneling is only available on Android and iOS devices. TunnelBear also has GhostBear, which conceals VPN usage, allowing you to access blocked content in countries with heavy internet censorship like China.

    TunnelBear doesn’t effectively unblock services like Netflix. Moreover, TunnelBear only offers 2GB of free data each month — not enough for binge-watching your favorite shows. We talk more about TunnelBear and its features in our TunnelBear review.

    Access to More Than 40 Servers

    TunnelBear offers free servers in over 40 countries, which is more than any other service on this list. You might be able to get past geoblocked websites, but TunnelBear doesn’t work that well for unblocking streaming services.

    For example, you can’t access Netflix U.S. to watch House of Cards, but you can access your bank account in the US or view a UK-based news site that’s unavailable in India.

    TunnelBear has servers in all these countries and 37 other countries — that’s more than any free VPNs in this list. However, TunnelBear doesn’t offer an Indian server. This means you can’t use TunnelBear to acquire an Indian IP address.

    Tunnelbear for security
    TunnelBear has a simplistic, beginner-friendly interface.

    If you want unlimited data, you can get TunnelBear’s best value plan for $3.33 per month, if you’re willing to commit to three years up-front. If you like the simplistic interface, switching to the paid plan is a great move — you get unlimited data and access to most major streaming services.

    Free
    • 2GB
    • 2GB
    • Unlimited
    Unlimited
    • Unlimited GB, unlimited devices, priority customer service
    • Unlimited GB
    • Unlimited
    • Yes
    Teams
    • Unlimited GB, centralized billing, account manager, price per user per month (minimum 2 users)
    • Unlimited GB
    • Unlimited
    • Yes

    How to Get an Indian IP Address Free

    You need a VPN with an Indian server, which may be virtual or physical, to get an Indian IP address. None of the VPNs in this list have an Indian server. However, if you absolutely need an Indian IP address, consider getting one of the premium VPNs.

    A paid VPN like NordVPN or Surfshark won’t cost you a lot. It will give you access to an Indian server and offer superior performance and security compared to most free VPNs on the market. All you need to do to acquire an Indian IP address is download and install the premium VPN, connect to the Indian server and that’s it.

    Free VPNs vs Paid VPNs vs Proxies

    Proxies don’t offer any security. They don’t encrypt your connection like VPNs do and in most cases, are slower than VPNs.

    Free VPNs are generally a bad idea. Most aren’t secure and some even harm your computer by infecting it with malware and ransomware — see our list of the worst VPNs.

    Paid VPNs offer fast connection speeds and top-notch security and privacy. If you’re on a budget, you can always select a low-cost service like Surfshark or CyberGhost. You can reduce the cost even further by sharing your Surfshark account with friends and family — it offers unlimited simultaneous connections and unlimited bandwidth.

    Why Do I Need an Indian VPN?

    You need an Indian VPN to ensure nobody has access to your data and online activities. A VPN encrypts your connection so no one can snoop on what you’re doing online.

    India is also witnessing double-digit growth in instances of cybercrime. When you use public WiFi, your data is prone to theft. However, using a good VPN makes it nearly impossible for a hacker to intercept and read your data.

    You might also need an Indian VPN when trying to access another country’s content library on a streaming platform. For example, you can use a VPN to access Netflix U.S. even when you’re physically located in India.

    What Are the Risks of Using a Free VPN for India?

    Most free VPNs are insecure and unreliable. Picking up any random free VPN for India puts your data at risk. For example, your ISP might be able to log your data if your VPN connection suddenly drops and it doesn’t have a kill switch.

    Using one of the free VPNs in this guide will ensure you’re not compromising your security or privacy when using a free VPN for India.

    Final Thoughts

    You can protect your data and identity when online by using a free VPN. India isn’t as censorship-heavy as China, but you can’t access Chinese platforms like TikTok when you’re in India. That’s where VPNs can help — check out our guide for the best VPN for TikTok.

    Free VPNs are generally bad news because most are insecure, slow and unreliable, but a few exceptions do exist. We recommended five free services for India in this guide, with PrivadoVPN claiming the top spot.

    For more related guides, check out how to access and watch Netflix India.

    Do you know of more free VPNs for India that are trustworthy? Have you used them? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments, and as always, thank you for reading.

    FAQ

    • None of the VPNs on this list have a free Indian server. If you don’t want to spend a lot on a VPN but still need an Indian IP address, consider a low-cost VPN service like NordVPN, Surfshark or CyberGhost.

    • You can get an Indian IP address by using a VPN service that has an Indian server. None of the VPNs listed here offer a free India server, but you can always get a low-cost VPN to access an Indian server. Download and install your chosen VPN app, connect to an Indian server and you’ll have acquired an Indian IP address.

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