Besides the price, what are the real differences between a paid and a free VPN in 2019? Several aspects differentiate them. Let’s look at the details.
Features
Let’s talk about features. You may suspect it, but all the features like being able to stream on sites like Netflix US and P2P downloading will be available to you with a paid provider.
However, a free VPN provider will not allow you to bypass the geo-restriction problem in any way. No streaming possible. Also, safe downloading will not be possible.
Safety
Be aware that there will be no security at all if you switch to a free VPN. Indeed, your data will be an easy target for the first hacker. Not to mention your identity, which will be easily accessible.
However, the paid version of a VPN uses military-grade encryption coupled with the best protocols. To top it all off, you will have the guarantee that your browsing history will not be recorded at all.
Customer support
The implementation of customer support is a sign that your supplier cares about your comfort of use. With a paid VPN, this feature will be there. Moreover, you will be entitled to different means of contact, such as email, contact form, and live chat. It will allow you to contact customer service and get an immediate response. Besides, customer support from a paying supplier is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The website Tackk provides a great insight on VPN customer support and performances!
With a free VPN, don’t expect to have customer support available. Even if this were the case, you would only be able to contact them with the contact form. The wait for an answer will then be very long if they would even bother to answer you!
Bandwidth
Let’s also talk about bandwidth.
A paid VPN will not limit your bandwidth in any way. It will allow you to enjoy your connection fully. Unlike a free VPN, which limits the bandwidth to around 500 Mb. And we are still subjective because this limitation varies from one free VPN to another for even more mediocrity.
The number of countries covered
With a paid VPN, you will have an almost unlimited choice of servers and countries covered. If we only take NordVPN, it will provide you with more than 5700 servers. Some suppliers also offer more than 190 countries to choose from.
For free VPNs, the choice is limited. Generally, you will only be allowed between 1 to 5 countries for such a poor server choice. Of course, the countries that the free provider will offer you will not be interesting destinations. So don’t expect to unlock Netflix by choosing a server in the USA, for example.