Using a VPN today is as essential as it gets.

Whether you’re freelancing online, playing video games, or purchasing a streaming subscription to watch your favorite shows, more often than not it won’t be possible without using a VPN, and to be honest, why shouldn’t you buy one, especially since they are so light on your wallet.

However, new users might be confused about what’s the best cheapest VPN or what’s the cheapest one with the fastest speed.

This article helps nail down your choices from thousands to only a handful that are guaranteed to make your life easier, but first, here’s why you need to have one.

A “Virtual Private Network” or VPN for short is an encrypted internet connection that offers the user anonymity, access to platforms restricted in their country due to geographical issues, subscription services otherwise not available for the same reason, and at times, higher internet speeds.

Maybe you want to download a new game, but it’s only available in Japan because the studio didn’t plan on releasing it elsewhere.

A bummer right?

With a VPN, you easily bypass that problem since it masks your IP address, making it appear as if you are in the place where you want to be, and in turn, giving you access to stores and websites only available there.

Just use a VPN, open up the thing you wanted, pay for it, and voila, you’ll have it now.

And this practically costs you exponentially less than other means of obtaining the item through third-party vendors, so they are great and there are a lot of cheap VPNs out there for you to buy.

On top of that, a VPN protects you from malicious attacks on the internet by offering another layer of protection.

Here are a few other stellar reasons why you should use a VPN.

More Media: Access to exclusive content available only in certain regions including TV shows, and software.

Lower Ping: Sometimes, using a VPN drastically improves your ping in games, allowing for faster responsiveness, especially in multiplayer titles.

AdBlock: Some VPN plans also offer a free dedicated ad blocker.

There aren’t many downsides to using a VPN, but here’s what you should keep in mind.

There are thousands of VPN services out there claiming to be cheap.

This guide names a couple which in our experience have proven to be cheap as well as reliable and easy to use.

Atlus vpn, cheapest vpn available

Minimum Cost:

$1.8/Month (3-Yr Plan)

Average Speed:

350 Mbps (USA)

Bandwidth:

unlimited

Devices:

unlimited

Best Features:

WireGuard, ad blocker, unlimited bandwidth

Countries:

48+

Headquarters:

New York

Atlas VPN is the cheapest and most reliable VPN on this list thanks to its fast connection speeds and user-friendly interface.

For gamers, this is one of the best gaming VPNs too since it’s incredibly budget-friendly at its $1.8/month price point featured in the service’s 3-year deal.

But that’s not all. If you purchase the 3-year plan, you get an additional 6 months free.

Unlike other services, Atlas VPN also offers access across unlimited devices, keeping you logged in on all of them at all times.

Atlas VPN is easily the cheapest VPN provider you’ll find right now.

Minimum Cost:

$3.00 Per Month (2-Yr Plan)

Average Speed:

417.0 Mbps (USA)

Bandwidth:

Unlimited

Devices:

6

Best Features:

Plans include secure storage, ad blocker, cyber insurance

Countries:

60

Headquarters:

Panama

While it’s more expensive than Atlus, Nord VPN’s ad block support that comes with its Plus tier and the 1TB cloud storage included in its Complete tier will make your life unbelievably easier.

You also get a cross-platform password manager in the Plus tier and above, and best of all, Nord VPN automatically scans for malware every time you download a file, making it the ultimate pound-for-pound private network on the market right now.

CyberGhost vpn

Cost:

$2.50 Per Month (2-Yr Plan)

Average Speed:

548 Mbps (USA)

Bandwidth:

Unlimited

Devices:

7

Best Features:

High average speeds, 10,000+ servers, remote access

Countries:

91

Headquarters:

Romania

CyberGhost takes the trophy home when it comes to the cheapest VPN with the fastest speeds. With an average speed of 548 Mbps (USA), CyberGhost gets the job done when it comes to maximizing the efficiency of your internet’s speed while using a VPN.

If you’ve already got a fast internet provider and love using VPNs, CyberGhost allows for minimum bandwidth loss.

A must-have for those who don’t like waiting around.

SurfShark vpn

Cost:

$2.01 Per Month (2-Yr Plan)

Average Speed:

59 Mbps (USA)

Bandwidth:

Unlimited

Devices:

Unlimited

Best Features:

CleanWeb, unlimited devices, ‘Camouflage’ Mode, ad blocker, cookie blocker, data remover

Countries:

100

Headquarters:

Netherlands

One giant benefit of using SurfShark is that it comes with a free ad blocker in its base package which – you guessed it – is one of the cheapest VPN packages ever at a little over $2/month (2-year deal).

At higher tiers, you also get a cookie blocker and integrated data removal from third-party websites.

The 3000+ available servers aren’t too shabby either. With SurfShark you can effortlessly access regions worldwide on unlimited devices.

SurfShark is the cheapest bang-for-the-buck VPN and we couldn’t recommend getting it more.

If you watch a lot of shows and movies online, getting a cheap VPN is hands down the best decision you could make as doing so gives you access to so much more spectacular content whether that’s from a region in Turkey or Australia.

Alternatively, if you’re a gamer, you’ll be able to access exclusive content from other regions, all while you’re safe from malicious IP attacks.

Just make sure that you’re not breaching any terms of service or using the VPN for unethical reasons and you’ll be set