VPN Renewal Price Traps: What Your Plan Really Costs in Year Two
The intro price gets you in the door; the renewal price is what you actually pay. Here are 15 VPN plans ranked by how hard the year-two jump hits.
The cheap number on the checkout page is a launch price. It lasts one term. Then your card gets billed at the real price, and for most big VPN brands that number is roughly triple what you signed up for.
This is our living snapshot of the vpn renewal price increase across 15 tracked providers, ranked by how steep the jump from intro to renewal is. Every figure below comes from official vendor pricing pages, not from a promo email. Where a plan renews at the same price you paid, we say so plainly.
Data verified from official vendor pages, updated September 11, 2026.
The year-two price is the real price
Here is the mechanic that catches people. A 2-year plan bills once up front. It feels like a one-time cost, so the renewal fades from memory. Twenty-four months later the auto-charge lands at the standard rate, often four to five times higher per month, and there is no second discount waiting.
A big jump is not automatically a scam. A provider can offer a genuine intro deal and still run a clean business. But you should sign up knowing the number you will pay at renewal, because that is the price you are actually committing to. Compare providers on the full list with that lens.
Intro vs renewal, ranked by the jump
Percentages below are computed from the two listed prices only. Nothing here is estimated.
| # | Provider | Plan | Intro | Renews | Jump | Refund window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IPVanish | 2-Year (Essential) | $2.19/mo | $7.50/mo | +242% | 30 days |
| 2 | ExpressVPN | 2-Year | $2.49/mo | $8.33/mo | +235% | 30 days |
| 3 | NordVPN | 2-Year | $3.49/mo | $11.59/mo | +232% | 30 days |
| 4 | Hotspot Shield | Premium 1-Year Intro | $2.42/mo | $8.00/mo | +231% | 45 days |
| 5 | PrivateVPN | 36-Month (12+24 free) | $2.00/mo | $6.00/mo | +200% | 30 days |
| 6 | Surfshark | 2-Year | $2.49/mo | $6.58/mo | +164% | 30 days |
| 7 | ProtonVPN | 2-Year | $2.99/mo | $6.99/mo | +134% | 30 days |
| 8 | CyberGhost | 2-Year | $1.59/mo | $3.45/mo | +117% | 45 days |
| 9 | Avast SecureLine | 2 Years | $3.99/mo | $8.33/mo | +109% | 30 days |
| 10 | PureVPN | 1-Year (+4 mo free) | $2.55/mo | $4.83/mo | +89% | 31 days |
| 11 | Mullvad | 1-Year | $5.00/mo | $5.00/mo | +0% | 30 days |
| 12 | Private Internet Access | 1-Year | $3.33/mo | $3.33/mo | +0% | 30 days |
| 13 | Windscribe | 1-Year (Pro) | $5.75/mo | $5.75/mo | +0% | 3 days |
| 14 | hide.me | 27-Month (24+3 free) | $2.59/mo | $2.59/mo | +0% | 30 days |
| 15 | TunnelBear | 1-Year (Unlimited) | $4.99/mo | $4.99/mo | +0% | — |
Reading the table without getting fooled
A low intro price sitting on top of a steep jump can still beat a flat plan on total two-year cost. IPVanish opens at $2.19/mo and CyberGhost at $1.59/mo; those are among the cheapest entry points on the board even though both climb at renewal. The point is not to avoid every jump. The point is to know it is coming.
Three things worth noticing:
- The steepest four all more than triple. IPVanish (+242%), ExpressVPN (+235%), NordVPN (+232%) and Hotspot Shield (+231%) sit in a tight cluster at the top. NordVPN has both the highest renewal figure on the list at $11.59/mo and one of the biggest percentage jumps.
- Flat is a feature. Mullvad, Private Internet Access, Windscribe, hide.me and TunnelBear renew at the same price you paid. Mullvad's $5.00/mo never moves, which makes budgeting for year two trivial.
- A cheap intro with a flat renewal is the quiet winner. hide.me's 27-month plan holds at $2.59/mo through renewal, so there is no year-two surprise to plan around.
If a flat, predictable bill matters more to you than the lowest possible first-year number, weigh the +0% providers first. If you are chasing the absolute lowest entry cost and you will set a reminder to leave or renegotiate, the top of the table is fair game. Run the head-to-head on our compare tool.
What a fair jump actually looks like
There is no official standard, so here is the plain-language version we use when reading these numbers. A renewal that stays flat is the friendliest. A renewal that lands under +100% is still in reasonable territory: PureVPN (+89%), Avast SecureLine (+109%) and CyberGhost (+117%) cluster near that line. Once a plan more than doubles, and especially once it more than triples, treat the intro price as a one-time coupon and the renewal as the real subscription.
The honest read: none of this is hidden fraud. The prices are published. The problem is that checkout pages foreground the intro figure and bury the renewal, so people plan around a number they will only pay once. For more on how we score these things on documented evidence rather than vibes, see our method and the learn hub.
Use the refund window as an exit, not an afterthought
Every money-back window in the table is a real escape hatch, and most are generous. Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost give you 45 days. Most of the rest give 30. PureVPN gives 31. Two outliers matter: Windscribe's refund window is just 3 days, and TunnelBear's annual plan lists no refund window in our data, so treat both as commit-and-keep.
Here is how to actually use the window instead of losing it:
- The day you subscribe, set a calendar reminder for a few days before your refund window closes. A 30-day window means a reminder at day 25; a 45-day window, day 40.
- Set a second reminder for a few days before the term ends. This is the one that saves you from the renewal charge. If you are on a 2-year plan, the auto-renew fires 24 months out. Diary it now.
- When the renewal reminder pings, decide: stay and pay the year-two price, contact support to ask for a retention offer, or cancel auto-renew and switch. The renewal figures in the table tell you exactly what you are deciding about.
- If a charge slips through and you are still inside the window, request the refund immediately. That is what the window is for.
Streaming users have one extra reason to keep an eye on renewals: your reason for subscribing can change term to term. Check streaming picks before you auto-renew a plan you first bought for one show.
The short version
Intro pricing is bait, and that is fine as long as you know it. Read the renewal column, pick the jump you are comfortable with, and put two reminders in your calendar the day you pay. If you want zero surprises, the +0% providers exist for exactly that. If you want the lowest entry cost, take it with eyes open and a diary alert. Browse current offers on the deals page and the best-of shortlist.
FAQ
Which VPN has the biggest renewal price increase?
Among tracked plans, IPVanish's 2-Year Essential jumps the most in percentage terms, from $2.19/mo to $7.50/mo (+242%). NordVPN has the highest renewal figure at $11.59/mo.
Are there VPNs that do not raise the price at renewal?
Yes. Mullvad, Private Internet Access, Windscribe, hide.me and TunnelBear renew at the same monthly price as their intro rate (+0%). hide.me's 27-month plan holds at $2.59/mo, and Mullvad stays at $5.00/mo.
How do I avoid getting charged the renewal price by surprise?
Set two calendar reminders the day you subscribe: one before the refund window closes (for example, day 25 of a 30-day window) and one a few days before the term ends, when auto-renew fires. When the second reminder hits, decide whether to stay at the year-two price, ask support for a retention offer, or cancel and switch.
Lena, Scout VPN Team