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Are Lifetime VPN Subscriptions Worth It?

Updated Sep 16, 2024

Callum Tennent

Callum Tennent oversees how we test and review VPN services. He's a member of the IAPP, and his VPN advice has featured in Forbes and the Internet Society. Read full bio

Fact-checked by Simon MiglianoAdditional Testing by Alyx Morley

Our Verdict

Lifetime VPN subscriptions involve paying a one-time fee for unlimited access to a VPN service. Lifetime VPN subscriptions can be worth it if the service is high-quality, but you risk paying a higher upfront cost for a VPN that does not meet your needs. Based on our testing, FastestVPN is the best genuine lifetime VPN subscription, at only $40.00 for unlimited access.

Lifetime subscriptions can be a great investment. If you believe in the company’s values, enjoy using the product, and think you’ll use it the rest of your life, then a lifetime subscription at a discounted price is absolutely worth it.

However, lifetime VPN subscriptions have a bad reputation for several reasons. Firstly, a lifetime subscription doesn’t always mean it will last your lifetime. It means it will last for as long as the service is available. In some cases, a lifetime VPN subscription means just three to five years depending on the VPN’s terms and conditions.

Some VPNs offer heavily discounted subscriptions because they make a profit by selling your data onto advertisers. A VPN might also offer a cheap lifetime subscription and shut down after a couple years, leaving you without the subscription you purchased.

EXPERT ADVICE: Our research reveals that the best genuine lifetime VPN is FastestVPN, but it’s not a great service. When it comes to speed, security, and streaming, the best VPNs don’t offer lifetime subscriptions. To test a top VPN for a limited-time period, we recommend trying ExpressVPN for 30 days risk-free.

Why Trust Us?

We’re fully independent and have been reviewing VPNs since 2016. Our advice is based on our own testing results and is unaffected by financial incentives. Learn who we are and how we test VPNs.

VPNs Tested	61
VPNs with Lifetime Subscription Plans	2
Test Devices	Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, Fire TV & Apple TV

What Is a Lifetime VPN Subscription?

A lifetime VPN subscription involves paying a one-time payment for unlimited access to a paid VPN service. This lets you use the VPN for as long as the company exists, without ever having to pay subscription renewal fees. However, the upfront cost is usually higher than a normal VPN subscription.

Lifetime subscriptions might sound like a good deal, but there can be significant risks.

It’s actually very rare to find a secure, high-quality VPN service that offers a genuine lifelong subscription. Most VPNs struggle to offer fast speeds, excellent privacy protection, and the ability to unblock streaming services, and those that offer a premium VPN experience don’t offer lifetime subscription options.

This is because lifetime deals aren’t sustainable for software businesses that need to constantly invest in their service: fixing security patches, releasing apps on new devices, offering new technical features, and expanding VPN server networks.

FastestVPN's lifetime subscription is available on its website.

FastestVPN offers a genuine lifetime subscription deal on its website.

Additionally, not all lifetime subscriptions actually last a lifetime. The length of a lifetime subscription can differ depending on the VPN, as each VPN decides their own definition of “lifetime.” Typically, a lifetime service subscription can last anywhere from three to five years.

It’s not impossible to find a genuine lifetime VPN with great features, though. We’ve curated a list below of the best lifetime VPN deals and lifetime VPNs to avoid.

How Much Do Lifetime VPN Subscriptions Usually Cost?

As with all VPN subscriptions, the price of a lifetime VPN can vary wildly. FastestVPN, for example, offers a real lifetime subscription for a one-time payment of just $40.00, whereas VPN Unlimited’s lifetime subscription costs $199.99.

For context, the average price of a VPN service is around $4.00 per month on a multi-year subscription. Monthly subscriptions are typically more expensive, averaging around $12.00 – though there are exceptions.

Mullvad offers excellent value and flexibility with an equal pricing policy: a flat rate of $5.50 per month and you can cancel whenever.

Here’s a table comparing costs of the best lifetime VPN deals and long-term plans with popular VPNs:

Top Lifetime VPNs Compared

Only a few good VPNs actually offer a lifetime subscription. Here, we’ve made a list of the best lifetime VPN subscription services and long-term VPN subscriptions that are safe, fast, and user-friendly.

Our tests and methodology could only find two VPNs with full lifetime subscriptions worth considering so we’ve added PrivateVPN, which offers an extremely cheap long three-year subscription.

There are other genuine lifetime VPNs available, like Oyster VPN and Goose VPN, but we can’t in good conscience recommend them, as some have serious security flaws and others have worrying business practices.

Here’s a table comparing the best lifetime VPNs and long-term VPNs:

The Best Lifetime VPNs

1. FastestVPN: Best Genuine Lifetime VPN Subscription
Ranked #1 Lifetime VPN out of 61 VPNs
FastestVPN
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Get FastestVPN
- Cheapest genuine lifetime subscription from a trusted VPN service
- Privacy-friendly Cayman Islands jurisdiction
- Unblocks US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, & more
- OpenVPN & WireGuard protocols with AES-256 & ChaCha20 encryption
- 10 simultaneous connections
- Fast speed servers in 48 countries
- Faulty kill switch & DNS leaks
- Slight delay when connecting
At just $40.00 for permanent lifetime access, FastestVPN’s lifetime deal is the cheapest genuine lifetime VPN subscription available. It used to be a one-time payment of $20.00, but FastestVPN doubled the price in 2023.

Nonetheless, FastestVPN is reasonably fast and works with multiple streaming services, which also makes it the best genuine lifetime VPN overall.

We purchased a lifetime FastestVPN subscription for $40.00 from its official website for testing.

The absolute cheapest lifetime FastestVPN subscription is $31.97 for 10 devices on StackSocial. But we advise strong caution when buying a subscription on StackSocial, as it’s a third-party reseller with different terms and conditions.

We streamed The First Lady on Hulu using FastestVPN in the UK.

FastestVPN is a great choice for streaming. It unblocks an impressive list of streaming services, including US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, HBO Max, and more.

Despite the name, it’s not actually the fastest VPN. But connected to a local server in the US, we recorded minimal speed loss of just 5%.

FastestVPN’s average international speeds are also stable – around 14% speed loss – but you might not experience the same results if your internet speed is usually below 50Mbps.

FastestVPN’s 24/7 live chat agents are quick to respond, well-informed, and they don’t follow a script. It’s easy to go through them if you want to request a refund.

If you’re seriously considering FastestVPN’s lifetime subscription, it’s important to be mindful of its flaws.

It’s actually got some serious security issues: the kill switch doesn’t hide your IP address when switching servers, you have to disconnect first. We also recorded occasional DNS leaks during our tests.

In addition, FastestVPN has some of the slowest torrenting speeds we’ve ever seen. Overall, it’s a good option for streaming casually, but it’s a flawed privacy service and doesn’t perform as well as PrivateVPN.

Get FastestVPN
2. VPN Unlimited: Genuine Lifetime Subscription for $199.99
VPN Unlimited
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Get VPN Unlimited
- Genuine lifetime subscription that will last as long as the VPN operates
- 500 servers across 50 countries
- Unblocks US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, & Disney+
- OpenVPN & AES-256 encryption
- US privacy-unfriendly jurisdiction
- Logs data temporarily
- Slower than FastestVPN and PrivateVPN
- No diskless servers, double VPN, or split tunneling
VPN Unlimited is the only other genuine lifetime VPN that we can comfortably recommend. It offers a lifetime VPN subscription deal for a one-time fee of $199.99.

It’s also the only VPN in this list that offers a free trial. It’s seven days when you sign up via mobile or desktop, but you can only use it on one device.

VPN Unlimited’s lifetime subscription alongside the one-year plan.

We also found VPN Unlimited’s lifetime subscription available on StackSocial for an even bigger discount of $69.99. But we advise staying away from StackSocial because they have a worse refund policy, and a 30-day redemption deadline.

VPN Unlimited’s lifetime subscription is much more expensive than FastestVPN’s, and it’s actually a worse VPN in most areas including privacy, speed, and streaming abilities.

In our streaming tests, VPN Unlimited was able to unblock US Netflix.

VPN Unlimited is a reliable VPN for streaming. With its optimized servers, it consistently unblocks Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, and US Netflix. That’s definitely enough movies and shows to last a lifetime.

But if you’re seriously considering purchasing a lifetime subscription with VPN Unlimited, then it’s important to be mindful of its flaws.

Firstly, the company behind VPN Unlimited is based in New York, which means the VPN service is subject to intrusive US data privacy laws. The US government is known for demanding technology companies to hand over data on its users.

Additionally, VPN Unlimited collects some personal data during the length of your VPN session. This data is immediately deleted when you disconnect from a server, but we would like to see VPN Unlimited completely stop collecting any identifiable data during each session.

Get VPN Unlimited
3. PrivateVPN: Best Value 3-Year Subscription
PrivateVPN
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Get PrivateVPN
- Verified no-logs policy, functioning kill switch & no data leaks
- Secure OpenVPN protocol & AES-256 encryption
- Works with 10 Netflix libraries, Disney+ & more
- Servers in 62 countries
- Dedicated IP servers included in subscription
- Firestick app unblocks streaming services
- No multi-hop, diskless servers or WireGuard
- Based in Sweden, a 14 Eyes Jurisdiction
- No Smart DNS feature for streaming
PrivateVPN doesn’t offer a lifetime subscription. However, it’s the best alternative, offering a cheap three-year subscription and a higher-quality service.

Crucially, PrivateVPN is much more secure than FastestVPN and VPN Unlimited. With a zero-logs policy, DNS leak blocking, and an effective kill switch that works on all devices, it’s the most secure long-term VPN subscription on offer.

Even better, it works to unblock 10 Netflix libraries and includes dedicated IP servers in its basic subscription.

PrivateVPN has an extremely cheap three-year plan.

For a three-year subscription, PrivateVPN costs $72.00. It might not offer a genuine lifetime subscription, but the extremely low price and high-quality service rivals competing VPN services that do.

Using its refund guarantee, you can also try PrivateVPN for free using its money-back guarantee.

Our VPN streaming tests have consistently found PrivateVPN to be one of the best VPNs for streaming. We found that it unblocks every major streaming service, including US Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+,

PrivateVPN reliably works to stream US Netflix in the UK.
You can also watch the following streaming services using PrivateVPN:
- Amazon Prime Video
- BBC iPlayer
- Disney+
- Hotstar
- Hulu
- Sky Go
Unlike a majority of lifetime VPNs, which have shady logging practices, PrivateVPN’s no-logs claims have actually been verified in a real-life situation. The VPN service has been pressured by law enforcement to hand over user data. However, each time PrivateVPN has been unable to do so.

With a 82% success rate, it’s also great at bypassing the Great Firewall of China. It offers OpenVPN and industry-standard AES-256 encryption.

PrivateVPN does have some drawbacks, though. There’s no Smart DNS and the VPN also doesn’t support WireGuard, which is much faster and more data-efficient protocol than OpenVPN.

Though these are minor flaws compared to FastestVPN’s data leaks and VPN Unlimited’s excessive data collection.

Overall, PrivateVPN’s three-year VPN subscription is fantastic value for money. For a low unfront fee, you get every streaming service unblocked, incredibly fast download speeds, and genuine online privacy.
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The Best Alternatives to Lifetime VPN Services

Based on our tests, the best alternative to a lifetime VPN subscription is a long-term subscription to a safe, affordable VPN service.

PrivateVPN's app for iOS

PrivateVPN’s three-year subscription is one of the best alternatives to a lifetime VPN. It costs just $2.00 per month, and the length of the subscription gives you a chance to switch after three years if the quality of the VPN decreases or if it shuts down.

Are Lifetime VPN Subscriptions Really Worth It?

Lifetime subscriptions are definitely worth it if the VPN service is high-quality. It should offer consistently fast speeds, excellent customer support, strong security, and reliable streaming functionality.

In this case, a single payment would mean your browsing activity and online personal data is protected for your entire life — granted that the VPN service continues running.

If you subscribe to a lifetime VPN and actually use it for the rest of your life, the average monthly cost of the VPN service will be much lower compared to a regular monthly VPN subscription.

However, just because a VPN is good now, doesn’t mean it’ll be secure or effective in a few years. VPN technology is constantly changing, and the gap between good and bad services is always widening.

Put simply, not all VPN services that offer lifetime subscription are actually worth the money.

Here’s a detailed look at the potential drawbacks of lifetime VPN subscriptions:

Lack of Flexibility

A flexible monthly or annual subscription lets you switch VPNs if the service deteriorates in quality. If you have a bad experience, you can request a refund or cancel your subscription before it renews.

If you sign up to a lifetime VPN and face an unexpected issue, you can’t claim your money back.

Worst case scenario: you might find the VPN leaks your data, its speeds are unbearably slow, its apps are full of bugs, or the company might be shut down altogether.

Unreliable & Untrustworthy VPN Services

Many VPNs that offer a lifetime subscription only do so because they’re struggling to attract customers without a heavily discounted price. This can indicate a subpar service or questionable business practices that make it less popular.

We highly suggest avoiding lifetime VPN deals from suspicious VPN companies lacking a privacy policy or proper terms and conditions. Remember that a VPN can have access to your IP address, browsing history, and banking details.

If you’re looking for a lifetime VPN, it’s important to find a company that is trustworthy and transparent in its business practices and company structure.

Not All Lifetime VPN Subscriptions Actually Last a Lifetime

Some VPN services advertise lifetime subscriptions that don’t actually last forever. Instead, it’s a long-term subscription – such as three or five years.

Before you purchase any subscription, review the terms and conditions. Check how long the subscription really lasts, and if there are any exceptions.

Untrustworthy Third-Party Resellers

If you search for a VPN subscription online, you might come across certain software resellers.

These websites are online hubs where you can browse for software deals sold as digital license keys, including lifetime VPN deals. Some popular examples are StackSocial and CouponRim.

Though they are convenient and provide popular software at a discount, you can get unlucky with a service. The license key might fail to send, or the seller might be a scammer posing as a VPN service.

Software resellers also impose extra terms and conditions, like license key redemption deadlines and unfavorable refund policies.

We’ve used VPN Unlimited as an example below. Here’s a table summarizing the differences when purchasing from a VPN Unlimited’s official website versus StackSocial:

Attribute	VPN Unlimited Website/App	StackSocial
Total Price	$199.99	$69.99
Free Trial	1 Device	None
Refund Policy	30 Days	30 Days on unredeemed licenses. Redeemed licenses cannot be refunded.
Redemption Deadline	None	30 Days

Lifetime VPNs You Should Avoid

The majority of VPNs that offer lifetime subscriptions have questionable company practices or weak security, and most are simply not worth your money.

Here are some examples of lifetime VPN subscriptions that you should avoid:

VPNSecure: Suspicious Privacy Policy & UAE Jurisdiction

VPNSecure offers a cheap, genuine lifetime subscription for $39. But it has some glaring red flag that makes it impossible for us to recommend as a lifetime subscription.

In February 2019, VPNSecure emailed users announcing their change in jurisdiction to Hong Kong. Since then, there has been no change on the website indicating whether the change actually took place.

The VPNSecure terms of service says the company is based in Dubai.

In fact, the website now claims the company is based in the UAE — another country with privacy-unfriendly laws and an authoritarian government. This level of opacity with a VPN’s corporate structure makes it extremely untrustworthy.

In addition, the VPN service doesn’t have a proper privacy policy. There is a short section of the terms and conditions claiming to be a “strict no data storage or logging policy” but this simply isn’t detailed enough.

We wouldn’t recommend using VPNSecure for a month, let alone your lifetime.

SetupVPN: US Jurisdiction & Logs Sensitive Data

SetupVPN is one of the least secure free lifetime VPNs we’ve seen. We analyzed its privacy policy and found it simply logs far too much of your data in exchange for a subpar “free lifetime” service.

SetupVPN logs a lot of identifiable data, making it a bad choice for privacy.

The VPN logs your real IP address, browser type, connection timestamps, and the websites you visit while connected. It’s also unclear how long it stores this information for, which means American law enforcement could easily seize your data.

We strongly encourage users to avoid this VPN at all costs.

Seed4.me: Offers Free Lifetime Subscriptions to Influencers

We can’t recommend Seed4.me because of its shady business practices. On its official website, Seed4.me can be seen to be giving out free lifetime VPN subscriptions to “bloggers and influential social persons.”

Seed4.me website also falsely claims the VPN was featured in Wired, The Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Forbes, The Guardian, and the BBC. We weren’t able to find any mention or reviews of Seed4.me on these websites.

Screenshot of Seed4.me's parent company website.

There’s not much information about how S4M Tech “shows your Ads on all websites on the Internet,” or what its ads have looked like in the past.

Seed4.me is owned by S4M Tech Inc, a company based in privacy-unfriendly Delaware, US. Its official website provides little information about who is behind the company or the corporate structure.

Worryingly, though, S4M Tech seems to offer location-based push notification advertisements under a different company called AskLocala.

Are There Any Lifetime VPN Deals?

Some VPNs will offer seasonal deals on annual, multi-year, and lifetime subscriptions. It’s best to keep checking a VPN’s website if you’re looking for a cheaper deal.

Below are some ideas on how to find deals on safe lifetime VPN subscriptions:

Fundraising Events

A small number of VPN services host physical and virtual fundraising events, which can involve prizes.

For example, Proton VPN runs a yearly December Lifetime Account Charity Raffle. If you win, you’ll get an exclusive lifetime account for ProtonVPN, ProtonMail, Proton Drive, and Proton Calendar.

Twitter conversation between Proton VPN and a customer asking if it offers a lifetime paid plan.

Proton VPN has an active and knowledgeable customer support team on Twitter.

Previously, Proton VPN had held auctions for the lifetime accounts. However, following a bid war that led to the price going up to $10,000, the VPN realized it was “putting them out of the reach of most users.” So it opted to change the event to a raffle, where the tickets to win now sell for $10.00 each.

Cyber Monday Deals

Cyber Monday is a major online shopping event held on the first Monday after Thanksgiving. On this day, lots of online stores and service providers, including VPNs, will launch promotions with heavily discounted products.

You might be able to find a lifetime VPN subscription on Cyber Monday, but it’s rare to find a VPN that will offer a lifetime subscription if it doesn’t offer it normally.

Screenshot of CyberGhost's website on Cyber Monday

CyberGhost had a sale on Cyber Monday, 2021, but it didn’t offer a lifetime subscription.

You won’t be able to access these discounts on any other day though – unless the provider extends the period – so we recommend checking in on VPN websites regularly in November to catch the deals when they come.

Email Campaign Offers

If you don’t mind advertising in your email inbox, we also recommend signing up for VPN newsletters to get regular updates on discount offers. Many VPNs use this method to get previous customers to sign up again for their services.

How We Test Lifetime VPNs

To find the best lifetime VPN deals, we identified every VPN service that offers a genuine lifetime subscription and applied the testing criteria detailed below.

There are many other VPN services that offer lifetime subscriptions, but they didn’t qualify for this list as they didn’t meet our security and privacy standards.

Value for Money

First we chose the VPNs with the longest plans – at least three years. Then we compared pricing of lifetime subscriptions, evaluating which provides the best value for money. FastestVPN came out on top with a lifetime subscription for a one-time payment of $40.00.

This is because it’s the cheapest lifetime subscription, and it’s got the best specs — with a robust no-logs policy, a privacy-friendly jurisdiction, great security features, and fast speeds.

Logging Policy and Jurisdiction

We analyzed each VPN’s logging policy and jurisdiction to find the most private VPNs with a lifetime deal. We disqualified VPNs based in countries with invasive privacy laws that might send your data to government agencies. We also eliminated VPNs that collect excessive personal data to sell to advertisers.

However, just because a VPN is based in a privacy-unfriendly country, doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t use it as a watertight logging policy can counter a bad jurisdiction.

A VPN service that is unable to provide data because it has been deleted or not stored in the first place, is a safe enough VPN to trust with your browsing activity.

Speed

Next, we turned to practical experience with the VPNs, testing whether you would actually enjoy using the VPN for the rest of your life.

It’s important for VPNs to maintain fast speeds, so you’re not waiting ages for a page to load. I’s frustrating when a VPN is so slow that it causes buffering when streaming video or gaming.

We take into consideration how many servers each VPN has, whether they are spread out across the globe, and then how fast average speeds are. It’s important to consider the usability of VPNs too – so you can quickly change protocols and servers.

Security and Features

Lastly, industry-standard protocols, like WireGuard and OpenVPN, are essential for a long-term VPN.

We analyzed whether each VPN had enough security features and whether each VPN invested in continuing research and development to keep up with the ever-changing cybersecurity standards across a lifetime.

FAQs

Can I Get a Lifetime VPN Subscription for Free?

There are currently no VPN services that offer free lifetime access to their premium version. To use a VPN for free, you’ll have to use a 100% free VPN or a premium VPN’s free trial.

The majority of 100% free VPN services are poor quality. You can use them forever without paying, but they’re often slow, have weak security, and can even be dangerous. Many free services rely on advertising to support their network, and some even sell user data to advertising companies.

Not all free VPNs are bad, though. Based on our research, the very best free VPNs are still safe to use, and they can even unblock streaming services or be used for online gaming in some cases.

We used Windscribe Free to game on Minecraft and experienced no lag.

Even the top free VPNs have restrictions, though. You’ll typically be limited by a monthly data cap, basic security features, or restricted access to servers and protocols. Nonetheless, it’s a great way to get free lifetime access to a VPN – if you don’t mind only using a certain amount of data each month.

The only way to use a premium VPN for free is to sign up to a premium VPN free trial. This will not give you lifetime access, but it’s a great way to test a service before purchasing a subscription.

Do Premium VPNs like NordVPN and ExpressVPN Have a Lifetime Subscription?

All premium VPN services – including NordVPN and ExpressVPN – have now discontinued their lifetime subscriptions.

In fact, almost all premium VPNs only offer a paid subscription for monthly or annual access to the service. However, some do offer free trials that doesn’t require payment or even payment details.

NordVPN clarified on Twitter that it doesn’t offer a lifetime subscription.

You can also try out a premium VPN for free using a money-back guarantee. For example, you can get ExpressVPN for free for 30 days with zero risk, and request a refund via its reliable 24/7 customer support.

Top-tier VPNs are a cut above the rest – they can unblock dozens of streaming services, bypass censorship in restrictive countries, and consistently secure your data, all with reliably fast speeds.

It takes a lot of financial investment to achieve this level of performance. As a result, these VPNs have to rely on monthly or annual subscriptions in order to keep offering a premium service and continually improve their services.

Can I Get a Refund On a Lifetime VPN Subscription?

Every VPN has its own refund policy. This means some VPNs might have a 30-day period where you can claim your money back and get a refund, while others might only be seven days.

Conversation with FastestVPN's customer service agent about their refund policy.

FastestVPN has 24/7 live chat customer support where you can request a refund.

For example, FastestVPN only offers a 15-day money-back guarantee on its lifetime subscription.

We recommend getting in touch with a customer service agent at least three days before this date if you want to request a refund, though, as it might take some time for the VPN to process the request.

Your refund terms may also depend on where you purchased the subscription. If you buy the subscription from a third-party reseller, such as Stacksocial or Kinguin, you’ll be subject to different money-back guarantee terms and conditions.

This is the same across free trials as well. For instance, if you get a free trial for NordVPN from the app store, you’ll be subject to the app store’s refund terms.

Can You Use a Lifetime VPN on Any Device?

If the VPN service has a restriction that you can only use a lifetime subscription on a certain device then it will be specified in its terms and conditions. You can find this on the provider’s website or get in touch with their customer support team to have someone clarify.

The top two VPNs with genuine lifetime subscription we’ve recommended have different device limits. FastestVPN’s lifetime subscription can be used on any fifteen devices simultaneously. In contrast, VPN Unlimited can only be used on five devices at the same time.

Alternatively, if you purchase a lifetime subscription from StackSocial, you might be able to choose the number of devices you want a lifetime subscription on.

If covering multiple devices at once is important to you then you might be better off with a VPN with unlimited simultaneous connections.