Best free VPNs for Australia in 2024

It must be difficult providing a legitimate free VPN service. After all, there are thousands of low-effort, malware-infected apps that are just desperate to poach users. Further, they’re free to make all kinds of promises about their service, safe in the knowledge that they won’t have to actually fulfill them. Genuine providers, on the other hand, are often forced to impose strict data limits just to provide a consistent level of service.

The good news is that there are still a handful of reputable free VPNs out there. Of course, there’s an additional challenge in finding ones that provide enough free bandwidth to be used regularly, and that are fast enough for Australian users to rely on. Nevertheless, we’ve managed to find four exceptional free VPNs that work great in Australia. You’ll find the highlights below, but you can scroll down for a more detailed review of each.

Best free VPNs for Australia

1. ProtonVPN: Our top choice for Australia. Has no data limit whatsoever. Boasts strong security and privacy credentials plus high-speed servers. Works with 9Now, BBC iPlayer, and 10 Play, among other services.
2. TunnelBear: Has servers in Australia and 45 other countries. Comes with split tunneling, automatic startup, traffic obfuscation, and a kill switch. Strong on privacy.
3. Windscribe: Offers up to 10GB of free data per month. Highly customizable, with steady speeds, impressive security features, and 11 locations to choose from.
4. Hide.me: Torrenting-friendly provider with plenty of advanced security options. Fast enough for streaming and works with plenty of in-demand services, even on the free servers.

Choosing a VPN can be difficult at the best of times, given how many services there are, and how they all seem to emphasize different features. To simplify things and ensure you always end up with a VPN capable of handling any day-to-day task, we decided to only recommend services with all of the characteristics below:

• Provides a truly free plan with no hidden charges or time limits
• Is fast enough for streaming live TV
• Uses encryption to keep your online activities private
• Doesn’t log any personally identifiable information
• Offers apps for all major operating systems

If you’d like to know more about our research process for ranking VPNs we give full details of our testing methodology and analysis here.

Best free VPN for Australia

Without further ado, let’s start reviewing the best free VPN services for Australia:

1. ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is our top choice for anyone in Australia. It neatly sidesteps one of the most common complaints about free VPNs by not enforcing any kind of data limit. Free users can connect to servers in the Netherlands, Japan, and the US and our testing revealed an average speed of 66 Mbps, which is more than fast enough for HD streaming. On that note, ProtonVPN works flawlessly with a wide range of geo-blocked platforms including Netflix US, HBO Max, and Peacock. The only real downsides are that you’re limited to one connection and can’t torrent on any of the free servers.

This service has a decent set of security features built-in. There’s a kill switch, protection against DNS and IPv6 leaks, and 256-bit encryption, plus a NetShield option that helps block ads, trackers, and malware automatically. ProtonVPN also recently introduced a smart connection option, which automatically chooses whichever protocol (OpenVPN or IKEv2) is best for you at that moment. Users can activate the Secure Core feature, which routes your traffic through multiple servers, making it even harder to track you. Of course, you’re protected either way as ProtonVPN refuses to log any personally identifiable information.

ProtonVPN offers its own Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, and MacOS apps. Additionally, you can manually configure it to work with a decent range of home routers.

BROWSE WITHOUT LIMITS:ProtonVPN is a free provider that gives you the ability to browse and stream safely, as often as you like. Works well with in-demand streaming platforms and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Check out our complete ProtonVPN review.

2. TunnelBear

TunnelBear provides access to servers in an impressive 46 countries, including Australia. This makes it easy to find a server that’s relatively near for the fastest speeds. When connecting to my nearest available server, my download speeds only dropped by a negligible 5 Mbps.

The provider has numerous security and privacy features that are normally only available through subscription-based VPNs. These include split tunneling, which allows you to specify apps and websites that work outside the VPN tunnel; obfuscation to disguise VPN traffic and avoid network restrictions; and a kill switch that stops the flow of traffic if the VPN connection fails.

Other options include the option for automatic VPN protection on startup, and a choice of VPN protocols, including WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2. TunnelBear has a comprehensive and transparent zero-logs privacy policy.

It’s worth noting that TunnelBear is based in Canada, which is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence-gathering alliance. The service isn’t able to access many streaming platforms, which is just as well considering it limits data to 2GB a month.

TunnelBear apps are available for Android, iOS, Windows, and MacOS. Alternatively, you can use one of its browser extensions, which are available for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

SERVERS IN AUSTRALIA:Tunnelbear has servers in 46 countries and decent speeds available in Australia. It has a clearly defined no-logs policy and comes with a kill switch, split tunneling and traffic obfuscation.

Read our full TunnelBear review for more details.

3. Windscribe

Windscribe provides access to a generous 11 free server locations. There is a fairly low initial monthly bandwidth limit, but once you verify your email address, this increases from 2GB to 10GB. This service used to be known for its “Windflix” streaming servers; these have recently been removed, but only because you can now unblock streaming services with any server in the appropriate country.

User traffic is kept private at all times using 256-bit encryption and a firewall that replicates the kill switch and leak protection used by other VPNs on the market. Windscribe has one unique feature, though; it lets you set up a proxy gateway so that you can take advantage of a VPN connection on devices that don’t normally support them (games consoles and older TVs, for instance). This service doesn’t keep any traffic logs, and so can’t help track your activities, even in the face of legal pressure.

Windscribe has iOS, Android, MacOS, Linux, and Windows apps. Users can follow manual setup instructions to install it on supported routers too.

PERFECT FOR STREAMING:Windscribe has more free locations to choose from than many of its rivals, plus, thanks to its proxy gateway feature, it can be used on a dizzying array of devices. Throw in high speeds and powerful security tools, and it’s clear that this is one to watch. Paid users can claim a refund within the first three days of signing up or before they’ve used 10GB of data, whichever comes first.

Interested? Why not read the full Windscribe review?

4. Hide.me

Hide.me is an extremely versatile VPN that has a free bandwidth limit of 10GB per month. Speeds are generally decent, and users are even allowed to torrent if they’d like. While the paid plans offer access to over 40 countries, the free one has just four: the US, the Netherlands, Canada, and Germany. Additionally, paid users can access specially optimized streaming servers, although we were able to access popular platforms like NBC and ZDF without these.

This provider boasts all of the security features you’d expect from a quality VPN: 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, and DNS leak protection. There are also a ton of more advanced options, like the ability to change adapter settings or allow specific apps through the VPN. Unfortunately, only paid subscribers can use the WireGuard protocol. Hide.me protects your privacy by refusing to keep any logs that could help identify you.

Hide.me apps are available for Linux, Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS devices. Manual configuration is required for use with supported routers.

SECURE AND VERSATILE:Hide.me can handle just about any task. It’s quick, has free servers in four countries, and offers a decent amount of bandwidth each month. If you’re considering the paid plan, you can take advantage of a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Take a look at the complete Hide.me review.

How to browse safely with a free VPN

Once you’ve actually decided which VPN to use, the hard part is over. After this, you can start browsing securely in a matter of minutes.

Here’s how to set up a free VPN for Australia:

1. First, choose one of the VPNs above (we recommend Proton VPN).
2. Download and install your chosen VPN’s app.
3. Log in (if required) and connect to one of the free servers. If all you want is to browse privately, then connect to the nearest server. On the other hand, if you’re looking to access geo-restricted content, you’ll need a server in whichever country your chosen service is based (e.g. a US server for Hulu, a UK server for BBC iPlayer).
4. You should now be browsing privately. If you’re having trouble using geo-blocked streaming platforms, try clearing your cache and cookies, and then refreshing the page.

If you’re looking for a little more functionality and privacy from your VPN service then check out our recommended list of best paid VPNs for Australia.

Australia free VPNs FAQ