The Top 6 Urban VPN Alternatives for 2024

Proton VPN: Best overall

Proton is a Switzerland-based company that promises advanced privacy and security through its Proton VPN product. Being based in Switzerland, Proton VPN provides protection that is compliant with the country’s strong privacy laws. With IP masking, a no-logs policy and DNS leak protection, your web activity can stay secure.

Why I chose Proton VPN

Like Urban VPN, Proton VPN does offer a free version of its VPN service. However, its paid plans are truly what attracted me to this vendor.

Shoppers have a wide variety of options to choose from, enabling them to select the exact option for their needs. Each one can also be purchased through a monthly subscription or a one-year or two-year plan that lets them save money in the long run.

SEE: How to Start a Career in Cybersecurity (TechRepublic Premium)

Proton VPN is a fan favorite for various uses, whether it be for travel use or a secure streaming solution. But if you’re looking to purchase a solution for your organization, the Proton VPN For Business product could be the answer you’re searching for. It is offered in three tier levels, each providing a range of features for network security, access control, endpoint security and more. With plans determined per user, this option is an excellent, scalable resource for growing businesses.

Pricing

Proton VPN offers a free version of its software, which includes unlimited free coverage for one device and promises no ads or logs.

Alternatively, customers can opt to purchase one of the three paid Proton VPN Plus plans, which include more perks like protection for 10 devices at a time and high-speed capabilities.

• Proton VPN Plus 1-month plan for $9.99 per month, billed monthly.
• Proton VPN Plus 1-year plan for $4.99 per month, billed yearly.
• Proton VPN Plus 2-year plan for $4.49 per month, billed every 2-year billing period.

Shoppers can also purchase the VPN through a Proton Unlimited plan. It comes with other services, including Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive and Proton Pass.

• Proton Unlimited 1-month plan: $12.99 per month, billed monthly.
• Proton Unlimited 1-year plan: $9.99 per month, billed yearly.
• Proton Unlimited 2-year plan: $7.99 per month, billed every 2-year billing period.

Finally, Proton also offers a VPN solution designed to meet the needs of businesses and other organizations, called Proton VPN for Business.

• VPN Professional plan for $11.99 per user per month billed monthly, or the option to save up to 17% with an annual subscription and 25% with a 2-year subscription.
• VPN Essentials plan for $8.99 per user per month billed monthly, or the option to save up to 22% with an annual subscription and 33% with a 2-year subscription.
• VPN Enterprise plan for a quote-based price.

Features

• Split tunneling.
• Custom DNS.
• Ad-blocker .
• Fast P2P/BitTorrent downloads.
• 4,500+ servers in 90+ countries for paid plans.

Proton’s NetShield Ad-blocker blocks advertisements for faster performance. Image: Proton

Pros

• Has several plans to choose from, making it a scalable option.
• Offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• All servers are protected with full disk encryption and a no-logs policy.

Cons

• Free plan only provides coverage for one device.

TunnelBear: Best for user-friendliness

Image: TunnelBearDon’t let TunnelBear’s ferocious (but adorable) logo fool you — its user-friendly app supports a safe and easy-going VPN experience. Shoppers can even try the VPN for a spin with 2GB of free monthly data, so that they can experience the stress-free deployment and utilization of this product for themselves.

Why I chose TunnelBear

You know how some software solutions feel like they make you jump through endless hoops just to deploy the product? Not TunnelBear. Within a few clicks, I was already downloading TunnelBear on Windows, and the user-friendliness doesn’t stop there.

TunnelBear has an easy-to-understand privacy policy and lets users get started with a simple on/off switch. And fortunately, this ease-of-use doesn’t mean limited features. It just means that you’ll waste less time trying to download and figure out the software and more time enjoying its security and privacy benefits.

Pricing

TunnelBear’s free software plan provides 2GB of secure browsing.

The adorable interface, which lets users know how much secure browsing remains as part of their free plan. Image: TunnelBearAlternatively, shoppers can purchase TunnelBear’s paid software for more VPN capabilities. The Unlimited plan offers unlimited secure browsing, unlimited devices, premium servers, city-level server selection and priority customer support.

The Teams plan is developed for businesses securing more than two users and comes with all the capabilities of the Unlimited plan, as well as centralized team billing and admin and account management tools.

• Unlimited: Starts at $3.33 per month.
• Teams: Starts at $5.75 per user per month.

Features

• VPN coverage for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android devices.
• IP-based tracking prevention.
• Browsing in 47 countries.
• AES 256-bit encryption.
• Unlimited devices.

Pros

• Organizations can test-drive the TunnelBear for Teams plan for free for 7 days.
• Users can view and manage their personal data in their account, download a copy of the data or even delete it if they choose.
• TunnelBear offers the Teams plan, which is a version of its VPN for organizations.

Cons

• The free version is quite limited compared to the paid plans.

Windscribe VPN: Best for low-cost security

Image: Windscribe VPNWindscribe VPN seems to always be on lists of top VPN options, and for good reason. The reliable solution provides secure, no-fuss VPN capabilities that protect your online data, unblock location-based streaming restrictions and block annoying advertisements. This is one of the reasons it made TechRepublic’s list of top gaming VPNs. But with its fast speed and economic pricing, Windscribe is a sensible and safe Urban VPN alternative for business use.

Why I chose Windscribe VPN

I believe that a VPN should take security seriously, and in this case, Windscribe has gone above and beyond — for a price that won’t break your budget. Windscribe VPN provides a range of features that protect users’ online activity and data. From its IP and domain blocking tool to its strong encryption, your web traffic is for your eyes only.

While Windscribe’s free VPN only includes limited data and server options, it contains all the features of the paid plans. I appreciate that none of these other features are hidden behind paywalls, so shoppers can get a better idea of the paid plan capabilities before choosing to buy.

I also liked Windscribe’s speed. After all, blocking trackers and ads not only means you’ll have a better and safer web-viewing experience, but it also means that you won’t have extra nonsense slowing down your internet.

Pricing

Windscribe offers its VPN and ad block solution through a free plan, which includes 10GB of data, unlimited connections and servers in 10 countries. However, shoppers can also choose Windscribe Pro, the paid solution that comes with access to unlimited data and infinite protection in over 69 countries and 112 cities.

• Windscribe Pro Monthly Plan: $9.00 per month.
• Windscribe Pro Yearly Plan: $69 per 12 months.

Customers can also select the Build A Plan software option, which costs $1.00 per location per month.

Features

• Servers in over 69 countries and 134 cities.
• 6 different protocols and 11 ports.
• Desktop VPN for Windows, macOS and Linux.
• Mobile VPN for Android and iOS.
• Standalone proxy extension for Chrome, Firefox and Edge.

Pros

• Paid plans include R.O.B.E.R.T., its customizable server-side domain and IP blocking tool.
• Reviewers praise Windscribe for fast speeds and lag-free streaming.
• Provides split tunneling functionality.

Windscribe’s split tunneling feature can be configured to suit the user’s needs. Image: Windscribe

Cons

• Free plan only has access to servers in just 10 countries.
• Does not offer significant discount promotions.

PrivadoVPN: Best free service

Image: PrivadoVPNLike UrbanVPN, PrivadoVPN lets users enjoy a forever-free version of its Zero-Log server network software. Unlike UrbanVPN, each of its plans is protected by Swiss privacy laws for extra security. That’s right, PrivadoVPN is another Switzerland-based VPN vendor that delivers fast speeds and impressive features even through its free plan.

Why I chose PrivadoVPN

When comparing free VPNs versus paid VPNs, the free solutions rarely stack up for obvious reasons. Still, I wanted to include a robust free VPN with basic features and reliable speeds. PrivadoVPN seemed like the perfect choice.

If you’re looking for a simple VPN solution to block ads, stream content and access basic security, I recommend trying out PrivadoVPN. For a free solution, I enjoyed many of the included features, like split tunneling and user-friendly apps.

Its security is kept safe through AES-256 encryption and features like PrivadoVPN’s kill switch, which can protect your data if there is a problem with your connection. But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention its speed, as it delivers 10 GB of fast performance monthly for the low price of $0.00.

Pricing

PrivadoVPN offers a free version of its software with limited features, including a 10GB data limit every 30 days, one connection and servers in 13 cities.

The paid plans provide more capabilities, including unlimited data servers in 66 cities, 10 connections and the Ad Blocker feature.

Premium PrivadoVPN users can select from servers in 66 cities. Image: Privado

• 30-Day Risk Free plan: $2.50 per month.
• 12-Month Unlimited VPN + 3 FREE: 2.99 per month.
• 24-Month Unlimited VPN + 3 FREE: $1.99 per month.
• 1-Month Plan: $10.99 per month.

Customers may also add antivirus protection to their plan for an additional $1.99/month.

Features

• Threat prevention.
• Streaming support.
• Servers in 66 countries.
• SOCKS5 Proxy.
• Unlimited devices.

Pros

• Paid plans cover an unlimited number of devices.
• Promises a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• Plans come with strong security features.

Cons

• Free plan only offers a 10GB data limit every 30 days, 1 connection and servers in just 13 cities.
• Ad Blocker is only provided with paid plans.
• Free version comes with limited customization options.

Hola: Best peer-to-peer VPN

Image: HolaHola is known for its HTTP routing overlay network and VPN services. It offers a free version of its VPN software for people who want to “access worldwide content” and have a borderless internet experience. Like many other vendors on this list, Hola also provides a premium version of its VPN with additional perks and capabilities.

Why I chose Hola

Hola’s free VPN service is a bit unique compared to the other options I’ve covered. It is a peer-to-peer IP exchange network, meaning that it routes users to other users’ computers, allowing them to use their IP addresses while other users borrow yours.

I was hesitant to include Hola’s Free VPN version in this list, as some argue that its peer-to-peer connections can put users at risk. After all, Urban VPN is a peer-to-peer-powered solution, so it made sense to include my best peer-to-peer VPN pick in this article.

Hola attempts to secure its free system by only allowing peers to route specific requests from whitelisted sites. Its website states that there is no risk that someone can take over anyone else’s computer or personal information. Still, many people prefer to steer clear of these types of network arrangements, opting instead for a more traditional VPN service.

I would recommend Hola’s free VPN service to anyone who wants a VPN solely to bypass location-based restrictions and who doesn’t care as much about security in their VPN solution.

Alternatively, Hola does offer a premium paid plan where users are not used as peers. Hola Premium’s users can access unlimited HD streaming and more global content starting at just $2.99 per month for a three-year plan. This plan aligns more with the other options on this list, with additional features like unlimited watch time, use across multiple devices and HD content.

Pricing

Hola’s free VPN service is provided in exchange for letting Hola use some of your device’s Wi-Fi and cellular data. This occurs only with the free plan when you aren’t using your device and other users use it as a “peer.”

The Hola Premium plan provides unlimited HD streaming and access to more global content. It can be purchased through three payment options.

• Hola Premium Monthly plan: $14.99 per month billed monthly.
• Hola Premium 1-year plan: $7.69 per month, billed as one payment of $92.26.
• Hola Premium 3-year plan for $2.99 per month, billed as one payment of $107.55.

Features

• 24/7 customer support.
• Browser extension options.
• Multiple simultaneous connections.
• Kill switch.
• Industry-standard HTTPS protocol encryption.

Hola VPN can be used as a browser extension to unlock restricted content. Image: Hola

Pros

• Provides all users (even free plan ones) with access to a 24/7 customer support center.
• Paid plans are 100% backed by Hola’s money-back guarantee policy.
• Offers plenty of app options for using the service across platforms and devices.

Cons

• Peer-to-peer VPNs may not be secure enough for business use.

IPVanish: Best for streaming

Image: IPVanishIPVanish boasts its world-class security, offering a range of encryption and cybersecurity features included with its VPN software. With VPN coverage that spans over 40,000 IPs on 2,400+ VPN servers in 90+ locations, it helps individuals and organizations secure internet activity and protect against data loss.

Why I chose IPVanish

Upon researching IPVanish, I quickly noticed that the vendor advertised its VPN as optimized for streaming. Indeed, the product allows secure access to streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu.

While this aspect of IPVanish supports the product’s capability of securing people’s everyday internet activity, its tools and features can be applied to business settings. For instance, researchers like myself would appreciate a stable VPN connection that allows for uninterrupted streaming of work-related content.

I’m also pleased to note that IPVanish is fast, thanks to its many VPN servers worldwide. While I admittedly enjoyed testing the VPN to binge my latest TV series obsession, its unmetered connections, fast speeds and unlimited bandwidth make it a great choice for your online activity, whatever it may be.

Pricing

IPVanish offers three different subscription tiers for customers to choose from.

• Monthly: $12.99 per month.
• 2-Year + 3 Months Free: $350.73.
• Yearly + 3 Months Free: $194.85.

This vendor also regularly advertises special deals and sales on the website, so be sure to check that out to find the best bang for your buck!

Features

• Servers in 90+ locations worldwide.
• 24/7 live chat support.
• AES 256-bit encrypted internet access.
• Unlimited data transfering.
• No traffic logs policy.

IPVanish allows for unlimited simultaneous VPN connections and installations. Source: IPVanish

Pros

• 30-day money-back guarantee.
• Internet activity is secured through an independently verified no-traffic-logs policy.
• VPN Kill Switch feature automatically cuts off your internet access if the VPN connection drops unexpectedly.

Cons

• Unlike Urban VPN, IPVanish does not offer a free version.