The best VPNs for Android in 2026

Proton VPN has the best free plan on Android. It has no data or time limit and shows no ads, and Proton says it doesn't log your activity. The catches are one device at a time, medium speeds, and servers in 10 countries that Proton picks for you; streaming and P2P are paid features. For a phone you mostly use on public Wi-Fi, that's enough, and you can install it today without a card.

The Android app is open source, and besides Google Play you can install it from F-Droid or as an APK from GitHub, which matters if you run a phone without Google services. It has a kill switch, split tunneling that lets you include or exclude websites from the VPN, and alternative routing for networks that try to block the connection. Paid plans add NetShield, which blocks ads, trackers and malware sites, and there's an Android TV app.

VPN Plus costs $9.99 a month, or $3.49 a month on a two-year plan, and covers 10 devices at once. Proton Unlimited costs $12.99 a month, or $7.99 a month for two years. Both have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Surfshark puts no limit on how many devices you connect, so one subscription covers your phone, a tablet, a partner's phone and the Android TV in the living room. The Android TV app comes from Google Play, though Surfshark notes that it doesn't support Ethernet connections on TVs and boxes running Android 9.

The Android app has Bypasser, which lets chosen apps or websites skip the VPN (useful for a banking app that refuses VPN connections), a kill switch, and CleanWeb, which blocks ads and trackers. It runs on Android 6.0 and later. The Google Play version needs Android 7.0, so owners of older phones install the APK from Surfshark's site.

Surfshark's basic VPN plan costs $18.95 month to month, or $2.49 a month on the two-year plan, which bills $67.23 for the first 27 months. Buy a one-year or two-year plan on Surfshark's website and you get a 7-day free trial; you enter payment details but pay $0.00 upfront, and the trial covers up to three devices. The 30-day money-back guarantee starts when the trial turns into a paid plan.

Private Internet Access (PIA) has the lowest long-term price on this list, and it keeps that price at renewal. The three-year plan, with four extra months, costs $2.03 a month and bills $81.20 every three years. The one-year plan is $3.99 a month ($47.88 a year), and month to month is $11.95. Every plan covers unlimited devices at once.

PIA's apps include split tunneling, so you can let chosen apps use your regular connection, and an advanced kill switch that blocks traffic whenever the VPN is off, even if you disconnected it yourself. You can pick WireGuard or OpenVPN, and port forwarding is available on selected servers for P2P apps. The network covers 113 countries, and PIA's software is open source. PIA's features page lists these for its apps in general and doesn't say which apply to Android specifically, so check the app once you install it.

New subscribers get a 30-day money-back guarantee, but only if they buy on PIA's website. A subscription bought through Google Play follows Google's refund terms instead.

ExpressVPN's Lightway protocol is the main reason to pick it for a phone. ExpressVPN says it reconnects quickly when you switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data or lose signal, so the VPN stays up while you walk out of a coffee shop or ride a train.

The Android app has split tunneling by app, and a kill switch that pauses all traffic, including IPv6 and DNS requests, until the tunnel is back. Threat Manager blocks known malicious trackers and domains in your browser and in apps. The same subscription works on Android phones, tablets and Android TV.

The Basic plan costs $2.99 a month on a two-year plan, billed $83.72 for the first 28 months, and renews at $99.95 a year. Basic covers 10 devices, Advanced 12 and Express Pro 14. You can try it free for 3 days if you sign up inside the Android app with a Google Play payment method. Read the refund terms before you choose: only first-time customers who buy on ExpressVPN's website get the 30-day money-back guarantee, and Google Play subscribers have to go through Google for a refund.

NordVPN is worth a look if your phone often joins office, campus or hotel Wi-Fi that blocks VPNs. Its NordWhisper protocol is built for those restrictive networks, and it is available in the Android app as well as on Windows, macOS, iOS and Linux.

One account covers up to 10 devices at once. If you want more, NordVPN can run on a router, which takes a single device slot for every phone and TV on your home network.

NordVPN has two ways to try it on Android. First-time Android users who install the app from Google Play get a separate 3-day free trial, managed by Google Play. If you buy a one-year or two-year plan on NordVPN's website with a card or PayPal, you get a 7-day free trial instead, but only in 15 countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia. First-time customers also have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

We couldn't give a price. NordVPN's website, including its pricing page and Android download page, refused our requests on November 4, 2026, so check the current price and renewal rate on its site before you buy.

Windscribe has a free plan that lets you pick from 10 of its 69 countries, which Proton's free plan doesn't. You get 2GB a month without an email address, or 10GB a month once you confirm one. That covers browsing, maps and messaging on public Wi-Fi, though not much video.

Windscribe's apps, including the Android app, list split tunneling for choosing which apps use the tunnel, a firewall that blocks connections outside the VPN, and R.O.B.E.R.T., which blocks ads and domains you choose. You can connect over WireGuard, IKEv2, OpenVPN, Stealth or WStunnel on many ports, which helps on networks that block standard VPN traffic.

Pro costs $9 a month or $69 a year ($5.75 a month) for every location. If you only need a few countries, Build A Plan charges $1 per location a month, with a $3 minimum and up to 7 locations, and each location adds 10GB to your monthly data.

Mullvad doesn't ask who you are. You generate an account number with one click and pay against it, and you can pay in cash or Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash or Monero as well as by card, PayPal or bank transfer. There are no sales or long plans to work out: it costs €5 a month whether you pay for one month or ten years. Mullvad charges in euros only; the dollar figure on its pricing page is a conversion that moves with the exchange rate. Up to 5 devices can connect at once.

On Android, Mullvad gives you three ways to install: Google Play, F-Droid, or a signed APK from its site or GitHub. That makes it a good fit for phones running a privacy-focused Android build without Google services. The app needs Android 9.0 or later and includes split tunneling.

Mullvad has a 14-day money-back guarantee, except for cash payments. It's a plain tool for people who care most about privacy; if you want streaming help or an Android TV app, the other picks here are a better fit.

CyberGhost runs on Android 7.0 and later, and its Automatic Wi-Fi Protection switches the VPN on when you join an open, unsecured network, so you don't have to remember. The app also has split tunneling for apps you want to keep off the VPN, an automatic kill switch, and apps for Android TV, Google TV and Amazon Fire TV. Servers cover 100 countries and 126 cities.

The 28-month plan costs $2.19 a month ($61.32), and the page says it renews at $61.32 a year. The 6-month plan is $6.99 a month and the monthly plan $12.99. One subscription covers 7 devices.

CyberGhost's refund window is the longest here: 45 days on the 6-month and 28-month plans, and 14 days on the monthly plan. On Android you can try it free for 3 days through Google Play, but you need a payment method and must cancel in Google Play before the trial ends.