While there are plenty of VPN services for Windows, what if you have got a Chromebook? How do you create a private network on your Chromebook? Well, with the help of the Play Store, you can now install and run many popular VPN apps on your Chromebook. And for users who don’t have Play Store support, you can use the Chrome extension to enable VPN in the browser. To make things easier for you, we have tested and compiled a list of the 10 best VPNs for Chromebooks, including paid and free ones. You can access VPN servers from multiple locations, unlock geo-restricted content, and hide your IP address effortlessly. On that note, let’s go ahead and find out the best Chromebook VPN to use in 2023.
Best Chromebook VPNs in 2023
In this guide, we have added the 10 best free and paid VPNs for Chromebooks. We have kept privacy and security features in mind along with performance and server access from around the world.
1. ProtonVPN
If you are looking for the best free VPN for your Chromebook, ProtonVPN is one of the best open-source services you can rely on. Unlike Chrome extensions, it offers an Android app which means the VPN will work outside Chrome and in other apps too. The VPN network will also extend to the Linux container so that is good. I have been using ProtonVPN on my Chromebook for many years and it works pretty well.
The VPN recently added support for the WireGuard protocol which means you get far better security and performance than OpenVPN or IKEv2. The service offers servers from over 60 countries, but the free version only lets you select from three regions including the United States, Netherlands, and Japan. I suppose for free users, this is more than enough. Apart from that, you get the usual VPN security features like strict no-log policy, DNS leak prevention, kill switch, and more. Overall, ProtonVPN is the best free Chromebook VPN you can get in 2023.
Pricing: Free, Paid plan starts at $5.99 per month with the 1-year plan
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2. ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is a premium VPN for Chromebooks that offers servers from more than 94 regions all around the world. It has an excellent Android app and works flawlessly on a Chromebook. However, it does not use the WireGuard protocol, instead, the company has built its own Lightway protocol for routing the network privately. According to the company, its proprietary protocol is much faster and offers better privacy protection than WireGuard. In addition, ExpressVPN also supports OpenVPN.
Other than that, you get features like VPN encryption, IP address changer, kill switch, split tunneling, etc. If you choose to get ExpressVPN, you can use it on a host of other devices as well including your TV, phone, tablet, and more. Simply put, if you are looking for a paid Chromebook VPN in 2023 that does not compromise on any front, ExpressVPN is the service to get.
Pricing: Free trial for 7 days, Paid plan starts at $8.32 per month with the 1-year plan
Download Android App / Download Chrome Extension
3. TunnelBear
TunnelBear is considered one of the most seamless VPNs and it’s available for Chromebooks as well. You can use TunnelBear through a Chrome extension or by using the Android app which will provide system-wide network tunneling. For school-issued Chromebooks, the TunnelBear Chrome extension will come in handy since they don’t have Play Store support.
Apart from that, it also offers 500MB of free browsing every month which is surely on the lower side, but if you like the service, you can get the paid plan. As for security, it uses AES-256-bit encryption and you have support for all three popular encryption protocols: WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2. TunnelBear has servers in about 22 countries which is relatively small, but the performance is pretty good. All in all, if you are looking for a simple-to-use VPN for your Chromebook, TunnelBear is a fantastic choice.
Pricing: Free 500MB data browsing each month, Paid plan starts at $4.99 per month with the 1-year plan
Download Android App / Download Chrome Extension
4. NordVPN
NordVPN is ranked among the best Chromebook VPNs for its security features, ease of use, and reliability. However, NordVPN suffered a breach in 2018, and since then the company has done extensive auditing by independent researchers to close all the loopholes. It currently uses its in-house NordLynx protocol to deliver VPN services. NordLynx is built on top of WireGuard which has unparalleled performance and privacy features.
Apart from network tunneling, NordVPN also has something called Threat Protection Lite that blocks access to malicious websites and protects you online. With 5400+ servers from more than 50 countries, NordVPN covers most of the popular regions and that’s great. Besides that, you get IP leak protection that disables the WebRTC protocol while the VPN is activated. To sum up, If you are on the lookout for a capable VPN service for your Chromebook, NordVPN ticks all the essential boxes.
Pricing: Paid plan starts at $7.49 per month with the 1-year plan
Download Android App / Download Chrome Extension
5. Surfshark
In comparison to premium VPNs like ExpressVPN and NordVPN, Surfshark offers an affordable VPN service for your Chromebook. At $3.99 per month with a 12-month subscription, you get all the security and privacy features. In addition, you can get a 7-day free trial in case you want to test out the service first. The best part is that the service covers more than 65 countries and has around 3200 servers from around the globe. So VPN performance is on par with other paid services.
Coming to security protocols, Surfshark has already implemented WireGuard along with OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols. However, you need to manually configure Surfshark to use WireGuard on your Chromebook. Moreover, features like emergency failsafe, end-to-end data encryption, DNS leak protection, etc. are all present in Surfshark. Finally, you get unlimited device support which is not available on other VPN services. All in all, Surfshark is a powerful VPN service and you can definitely try it on your Chromebook.
Pricing: 7-day free trial, Paid plan starts at $3.99 per month with the 1-year plan
Download Android App / Download Chrome Extension
6. Betternet
Apart from ProtonVPN, if you want another free VPN for your Chromebook, Betternet is an excellent choice. Under the free version, you get access to just US-based servers, but there is no data cap so that is good. If you choose to get the premium plan, you get access to more than 100+ locations from all around the world. As for security, Betternet has implemented its own version of OpenVPN known as the Catapult Hydra protocol.
It uses the AES-128-bit encryption method to secure the connection. It would have been better if Betternet offered options for WireGuard, OpenVPN, or IKEv2. Nevertheless, the VPN comes with a kill switch, ad blocker, Wi-Fi protection, private DNS leak protection, and more. I think if you are looking for a free Chromebook VPN, Betternet does offer the basic features. However, it’s not the best in terms of security.
Pricing: Free, Paid plan starts at $7.99 per month with the 1-year plan
Download Android App / Download Chrome Extension
7. Windscribe
Windscribe is another free Chromebook VPN service that you should definitely check out. It’s not entirely free but offers 10GB of data bandwidth for a month of usage so that is a sizeable data volume. It brings many paid features that are generally available on premium VPN services. For example, you get split tunneling where you can choose which app will go through the VPN tunnel. Apart from that, you can whitelist certain networks based on your location and device. The best part is that despite offering a free service, it lets you choose servers from 10 countries so that is quite good.
For users subscribed to the paid plan, you can access servers from over 63 countries. As for security protocols, it has not got support for WireGuard yet, but you can choose one of the security protocols from OpenVPN, IKEv2, and Stealth. Finally, Windscribe also comes with an ad blocker and the ability to bypass geo-restricted content. Overall, Windscribe is a very good free VPN service for Chromebooks in 2023 and if ProtonVPN or Betternet does not impress you, do consider Windscribe.
Pricing: 10GB free browsing for each month, Paid plan starts at $5.75 per month with the 1-year plan
Download Android App / Download Chrome Extension
8. Mullvad
Mullvad is a VPN service for those Chromebook users who want the absolute best privacy protection. It’s an open-source VPN service, based out of Sweden, and is one of the first companies to bring WireGuard protocol to the masses. Mullvad has been an early adopter of the new VPN protocol and has also donated to the development of WireGuard. Apart from WireGuard, it also supports the OpenVPN protocol. In fact, the recently-released Mozilla VPN and Malwarebytes depend on Mullvad’s servers to offer their VPN services.
Do note that it’s a paid-only VPN service and there is no free trial or free tier. Besides that, Mullvad does not log any kind of activity data and the company is working to not even store the payment details. And the VPN does come with an integrated kill switch. Simply put, for all-around privacy protection on your Chromebook, Mullvad tops the list.
Pricing: Paid plan starts at $5 per month
Download Android App
9. Private Internet Access (PIA)
Private Internet Access or PIA is one of the oldest VPNs out there and it’s as reliable as other premium VPN services. The VPN has servers in more than 84 countries with hundreds of servers to deliver high-speed data speed. As you would have guessed, it’s a paid VPN service, but you can test the service under the 7-day free trial. Coming to security features, it supports both WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols.
You can also hide your IP address and PIA does not log any kind of activity data so that is good. In addition, PIA supports split tunneling and a kill switch to automatically block your internet connection in case of connection failure. The service also brings a free Email Breach Monitor to check if your email has been found in any security breach. To conclude, PIA has a history of offering a reliable VPN service and you can definitely consider it for your Chromebook.
Pricing: Free trial for 7 days, Paid plan starts at $11.95 per month
Download Android App / Download Chrome Extension
10. CyberGhost
CyberGhost is our final recommendation in this list of Chromebook VPNs. Just like Surfshark, it’s an affordable VPN service that starts at $3.99 per month if subscribed to the annual plan. It has over 7000 servers from 90 different countries and offers very good data speed due to the large number of servers. CyberGhost also uses the WireGuard protocol to create a private tunnel and unlock geo-restricted content.
Along with that, it also supports OpenVPN, IPSec, IKEv2, and PPTP security protocols. As for data logging, CyberGhost claims that it does not log any kind of activity data, and all the traffic is protected using AES-256-bit encryption. Not to mention, the VPN service also blocks malicious content on the web and hides your IP address along the way. In tandem, CyberGhost is a decent Chromebook VPN and for the low price, you get solid data speed and privacy features as well.
Pricing: Free trial for 3 days, Paid plan starts at $3.99 per month with the 1-year plan
Download Android App / Download Chrome Extension
Choose the Best Free VPN For Your Chromebook
So these are the 10 best Chromebook VPN services you can check out in 2023. If you want top-notch privacy protection, I would suggest picking a premium VPN over the free one. However, if you want unlimited bandwidth for free with strong security and privacy features, you can take a look at ProtonVPN. Anyway, that is all from us. For a list of the best Chromebook apps, head to our curated list which includes Chrome apps, extensions, Android apps, and Linux desktop programs. And to install the Tor browser on your Chromebook to have even more privacy protection, go through our linked guide. Finally, if you have any questions, let us know in the comment section below.
