Free VPN for China // 8 of the Best VPNs (for 2022)

Q: Are free VPN's as good as paid VPN's?

Generally no, you get what you pay for. We would widely recommend if you are spending longer than a few weeks in China to go for a paid option . Having said that, there are still plenty of handy free versions for short time periods.

Q: Do all VPN's offer free trials?

No, this depends on the VPN. If you find one you like, it's worth contacting their support to see what they can offer.

Q: How do I know which VPN is best for me?

It depends really on what factors are most important. Is privacy important, is speed important, do you want a reliable connection. What about all the above... Do some research online and you'll discover which are the best suited ones to you.

Life in China • By Zoe Stephens • September 30, 2022

Free VPN’s for China // The One’s You Must Download

What is a VPN, why do I need one, and which one is the best free VPN for China?

All of these questions, plus much more are answered below!

What is a VPN?

Firstly, just in case you don’t know what exactly a VPN is, let’s give you a quick breakdown.

Click and read about How to Download a VPN when inside of China

In short, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a service that conceals a user’s IP address (i.e. location) to provide private internet access and allow access to otherwise censored or restricted websites and services.

We have a whole host of blog posts relating to VPN’s including one in particular which we get asked about a lot at LTL during school days which is…

👉👉👉 Find out how to download a VPN in China right here?

How to Download VPN in China – Top 5 Tips

The Great Firewall of China – How to Download VPN in China? VPN’s – How they work Most people are at least vaguely aware of the need to use a VPN to conquer the “great firewall of China” – the…

Why do I need a VPN in China?

In short – you will need a VPN service to access many of your favourite websites.

A VPN is key to access YouTube in China, as well as how you are able to use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.

Free-VPN-for-China — Free or Paid VPN? Click the image and read the Pro’s and Con’s

This is because the “Great Firewall of China” censors or blocks many of these sites.

Whether you’re planning a trip to China or if you’re thinking about coming to work or even take up an internship in China, downloading a VPN beforehand is a must.

Some opt for a paid VPN, however, for those in China for a shorter time, a free VPN service for use in China may be the better option.

In a nutshell – if you plan to spend more than a month in China a PAID VPN is what we’d recommend. Any shorter length of time and you should get by with a FREE VPN.

There are advantages and disadvantages of using a free VPN.

The main one being a lack of privacy when using a free VPN as your information could be sent to third parties.

A quick Google search will leave you inundated with hundreds of different kinds of VPNs – many of them already blocked by China.

So how do you know which VPN’s really work in China this 2022?

We’ve put together an ultimate list of the 8 best FREE VPNs for use in China that work in 2022:

Free VPN China #1 || Hotspot Shield
Free VPN China #2 || Hide.me
Free VPN China #3 || TunnelBear
Free VPN China #4 || Windscribe
Free VPN China #5 || Betternet
Free VPN China #6 || Star VPN
Free VPN China #7 || Atlas VPN
Free VPN China #8 || Proton VPN

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Free VPN for China || Quick Comparison

First of all let’s have a look at how our eight top free VPNs for China compare on some of the key things you should be looking for from a VPN:

If there is a monthly or daily data limit when using the VPN.
The number of devices you can connect to (e.g. phone, computer tablet).
How many different server locations are available for a VPN connection.
If you encounter any problems with your VPN what support is available to you to help fix it.

VPN	Data Limit	Device Connections	Locations	Support
Hotspot Shield	500MB/day	1	1 (US only)	Support centre
Hide.me	10GB/month	1	5	24/7 Livechat
TunnelBear	500MB/month	1	23	Bot live chat
Windscribe	10GB/month	Unlimited	10+	Bot live chat
Betternet	Unlimited	1	1 (US only)	Via Email only
Star VPN	Unlimited	1	30+	Via Email only
Atlas VPN	Unlimited	1	3	Support centre
Proton VPN	Unlimited	1	3	Support centre

Free VPN for China

1. Hotspot Shield

500 MB per day
US server location
Pay for more features option
Browsing ✅

This is one of the most popular VPN services used by millions of people throughout the world (over 500 million to be precise).

However, you’ll have a limited amount of data usage per day. The user interface is very easy to use and it has very fast speeds, with many extra features. We think that the limited 500MB is extremely generous.

But if you’re wanting to use it for anything else aside from social media and emails, such as streaming, you may want to look further.

If you wish to stream, you’ll have to join the paid plan which will set you back 2.99USD per month if you join their 3 year plan.

NOTE | It is also important to note that this free version of hotspot has limited countries which you can connect to (although this is the case with a lot of free VPN’s).

You will need to sign up to the premium version to enjoy connections to Hong Kong, Taiwan etc.

Generally for people who live in China connections to these locations are better as they are closer and can therefore be speedier. It’s good to have different choices to switch between.

2. Hide.me

2GB per month
3 server locations
Strong Privacy Policy
Speeds above average

The massive 2GB allowance per month for free compensates for the fact that there are only three servers you can access.

This, as well as the fast speeds it provides. This free VPN service also has a very good privacy policy for a free VPN which helps to keep your data secure.

Hide Me is also widely regarded to have pretty strong speeds compared to its competitors coming out above average.

Slow VPN speeds can slow you internet connection right down and if this gets you edgy, you’l want to bare that in mind!

3. TunnelBear

500mb per month
Worldwide server locations
Options to pay extra for more services
Strong Privacy Policy

TunnelBear is a very trusted VPN and if you’re worried about privacy when using a free VPN, look no further.

TunnelBear has one of the best privacy policies – however, this does come at a price with a restriction of 500mb PER MONTH.

This means that if your friends send you a few photos on Facebook messenger it could be wiped out pretty easily.

However, a big advantage is being able to access servers worldwide (apart from Australia). And there are cute bears everywhere!

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4. Windscribe

10GB Per month
Great for streaming due to large allowance
Multiple devices (unlimited!)
Live Chat Support not 24/7

10GB and unlimited devices…?! Yep, you read correctly.

This is THE VPN for those who want to watch private internet access to enjoy Netflix and stream lots of videos on Youtube or download lots of content.

The unbeatable 10GB per month for free definitely sets it apart from any other free VPN for China.

PSST – want to learn Chinese online today? Get signed up in seconds with us at LTL. The #1 ranked Mandarin in China!

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5. Betternet

Unlimited monthly data
Great for streaming due to large allowance
Only US servers (paid options available for more features)
Privacy Policy openly not strong

This is the perfect free VPN for China for those who want to browse as much as they want without any data restrictions – but this comes at a price.

Betternet is very open about the fact that they keep logs.

If you’re worried about privacy – this is not the VPN for you.

However, if a lack of privacy and occasional pop-up ads don’t bother you, this is a firm choice.

6. Star VPN

Unlimited data
50+ locations
No credit card, registration or log in required.
Weak privacy policy

Star VPN is our 6th free VPN for China we would recommend for you.

Why? The unlimited monthly data (as with Betternet) is one of the main reasons here.

We’ve found it to be pretty reliable. What we have to remember with free VPN’s is that you can really get a mixed bag of VPN’s.

For every good experience, there will probably be a bad one, but with Star VPN, we found the positives outweigh the negatives, hence selecting as our next VPN of choice.

Be aware, however, that they do have quite a weak privacy policy.

Although claiming to keep no logs, when you look in to it further it is stated that third-party services are allowed to monitor data for research and advertisement purposes.

7. Atlas VPN

No data caps
Convenient for streaming
No logs policy

Atlas VPN is a relative newcomer, only being launched in 2020. Atlas VPN came out of nowhere and made a lot of noise and it looks like they are set to continue being a strong contender for 2022.

As free VPN’s go this one isn’t bad at all when it comes to streaming and speed.

No data caps is a huge bonus meaning you don’t need to watch your usage.

The negative? You only get 3 server locations on the free version, which means for example, if you want to connect to the UK VPN to watch Sky or BBC, you have to upgrade to a paid subscription.

Either way, Atlas VPN is an excellent service for streaming, especially if you don’t want to overspend.

8. Proton VPN

Unlimited data
No ads
Zero logs
Strong privacy policy

Proton VPN claims itself to be the best free VPN available (well they all do that).

However, having tested Proton VPN ourselves, we can say that is definitely up there as one of the best free VPNs for sure.

As with any of the free VPNs on our list having unlimited data is a big plus. But what makes Proton VPN just a bit better than some of the others is their privacy policy. Not only do they not log online activity, but user data is also protected by Swiss privacy laws.

Added to this is that there is no advertising, so if you hate having to close adverts this is certainly the VPN for you.

The only real downside to Proton VPN is that on their free version they only offer three server locations, so you are quite limited. The speed also isn’t super fast, so you need to be mindful of that.

Free VPN for China || Conclusion

There are many different factors to consider when picking your free VPN for China.

Ultimately however, only you know what’s important for you in terms of data allowance, privacy or speed.

Pick your VPN according to the factors important to you, whether it be speed, number of devices or privacy, and happy surfing!

NOTE – Remember, we have a strong list of great paid VPN options too which we’d recommend if you are staying in China for longer than a few weeks, here is one more really strong VPN we like a lot, you can sign up with them below:

If you’re already in China and haven’t downloaded a VPN before arriving, it can be a bit trickier to access your favourite websites.

Follow our steps for information on how to download a VPN if you’re already in China.

How to Download VPN in China – Top 5 Tips

Free VPN for China || FAQ’s

Are free VPN’s as good as paid VPN’s?

Generally no, you get what you pay for. We would widely recommend if you are spending longer than a few weeks in China to go for a paid option.

Having said that, there are still plenty of handy free versions for short time periods.

Do all VPN’s offer free trials?

No, this depends on the VPN. If you find one you like, it’s worth contacting their support to see what they can offer.

How do I know which VPN is best for me?

It depends really on what factors are most important. Is privacy important, is speed important, do you want a reliable connection. What about all the above…

Do some research online and you’ll discover which are the best suited ones to you.

What does VPN stand for?

Virtual Private Network

Are there also Paid VPN’s?

Yes there are hundreds of paid VPN’s you can choose from. Our favourite VPN’s are here.