The Cheapest VPNs (Including Renewal Prices)
We ranked the cheapest VPN plans and put each renewal price right next to the intro price, so you know what year two actually costs.
The word "cheapest" does a lot of heavy lifting on VPN comparison pages. What most of them show you is the intro price — the low monthly figure you get only when you pay one or two years upfront. What they bury is the renewal price, the number that kicks in automatically once that first term ends.
This page fixes that. Every plan below was taken from the provider's own pricing page as its cheapest long-term option (never from a reseller or gray-market coupon site). And every intro price sits next to its renewal price, so you can see the jump before it hits your card.
The cheapest VPN plans, intro vs renewal
Here is the full ranking, sorted by intro monthly price. Read the intro and renewal columns together — that is where the real cost lives.
Prices below were recorded from the providers' official pricing pages on 9 July 2026 and may have changed since; check the provider's site before buying.
| # | Provider | Intro/mo | Billed upfront | Renews at | Refund window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CyberGhost | $1.59 | $41.34 | $3.45/mo | 45-day |
| 2 | iTop VPN | $1.66 | $59.99 | undisclosed | 30-day |
| 3 | PrivateVPN | $2.00 | $72.00 | $6.00/mo | 30-day |
| 4 | PureVPN | $2.15 | $58.20 | $4.00/mo | 31-day |
| 5 | IPVanish | $2.19 | $52.56 | $7.50/mo | 30-day |
| 6 | Hotspot Shield | $2.42 | $29.00 | $8.00/mo | 45-day |
| 7 | ExpressVPN | $2.49 | $69.72 | $8.33/mo | 30-day |
| 8 | Surfshark | $2.49 | $67.23 | $6.58/mo | 30-day |
| 9 | hide.me | $2.59 | $69.99 | $2.59/mo | 30-day |
| 10 | AirVPN | $2.75 | $99.00 | undisclosed | 3-day |
Notice how the ranking scrambles once you look at renewal. The provider with the lowest intro price is not automatically the cheapest over two years, and the two "undisclosed" entries mean the vendor does not publish what you will pay when the promo ends.
The cheapest VPN on paper: CyberGhost
At $1.59/mo, CyberGhost tops the list on intro price, and its renewal is one of the more honest ones here. You pay $41.34 upfront for two years, then it renews at $3.45/mo. That is roughly a 2x step-up — real, but modest next to some rivals. The 45-day money-back window is also the longest on this list, tied with Hotspot Shield, which gives you more room to change your mind.
Where the renewal trap actually bites
The intro price is bait; the renewal price is the meal. A few plans here look cheap in year one and get expensive fast in year two:
- IPVanish starts at $2.19/mo but renews at $7.50/mo — a jump of more than 3x.
- ExpressVPN starts at $2.49/mo and renews at $8.33/mo, the highest renewal on this list.
- Hotspot Shield has the lowest upfront bill at $29.00 for its first year, but renews at $8.00/mo.
Compare that with hide.me, the only provider here where the intro and renewal prices are identical: $2.59/mo at first, $2.59/mo later. No step-up at all. That predictability is worth something, even though it starts ninth on intro price. See the full breakdown on the hide.me deal page.
The "undisclosed" problem
Two providers — iTop VPN and AirVPN — do not publish a renewal price at all. That is not a rounding error; it is a choice. When a vendor hides the number, you are agreeing to a price you cannot see. Treat undisclosed renewals as a risk, not a blank you can ignore. AirVPN also has the shortest refund window on the list at just 3 days, which leaves almost no margin to test the service and cancel if the renewal terms surprise you.
Cheapest is not the same as best value
ExpressVPN and Surfshark tie mid-pack on intro price at $2.49/mo, but Surfshark's renewal ($6.58/mo) is meaningfully lower than ExpressVPN's ($8.33/mo), so if you are weighing those two, the second-year math favors Surfshark.
You can put any of these side by side on our compare tool, or start from our best VPNs shortlist. For picking by task rather than price, streaming-focused picks are broken out separately.
A quick way to read any VPN offer
- Find the renewal price, not the headline monthly. If it is not shown, assume the worst and factor in the risk.
- Multiply the renewal monthly by 12 to see year-two cost.
- Check the refund window — a longer one lets you cancel before an auto-renewal lands.
- Confirm the price is on the vendor's own site, which is where every figure here came from.
If a comparison page shows you an intro price with no renewal figure anywhere, that is the tell. The number they left out is the one you will actually pay longest. We stick to documented pricing and published policy; more on that approach on our about page.
Two-year cost, not monthly spin
Monthly numbers make everything look cheap. The upfront bill is more honest, because it is what leaves your account on day one. On that measure, Hotspot Shield's $29.00 first-year charge is the smallest single payment, CyberGhost's $41.34 is the lowest two-year commitment, and AirVPN's $99.00 is the largest upfront total on the list. Match the billing length to how long you actually plan to stay subscribed.
For promo links on any provider above, see our deals hub, and the providers directory has the full profile behind each one.
FAQ
Which VPN plan here is the cheapest?
On the intro prices recorded here, CyberGhost is the cheapest at $1.59/mo, billed $41.34 for two years. It renews at $3.45/mo. If you want the price to stay flat, hide.me is the only plan here that renews at the same rate it starts, $2.59/mo.
Why is the renewal price higher than the advertised price?
Because the low monthly figure is a first-term promotion. Once that term ends, most plans renew at a standard rate — for example, IPVanish jumps from $2.19/mo to $7.50/mo. Always check the renewal column before you subscribe, and note the refund window so you can cancel in time if needed.
What does "undisclosed" renewal mean?
It means the vendor does not publish the price you will pay after your first term. iTop VPN and AirVPN both do this. We will not invent a number, so we mark it undisclosed and treat it as a cost you cannot verify in advance.