Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Tom’s Guide
Tom’s Guide
Technology
George Phillips

Black Friday's not just for TVs – it's for VPNs too

Woman holding tablet looking at Black Friday deals.

Black Friday is less than an arm’s length away, and there's already a host of great deals on all sorts of tech. Of course, speakers, headphones, and TVs are Black Friday staples – but it’s also worth looking at VPNs, which often get some of the biggest discounts of the year.

Many of the best VPNs feature in our Black Friday VPN deals guide, so if you're looking to boost your digital privacy, stay safe on public Wi-Fi, or unblock your favorite streaming content, this is the best time to find a bargain.

Why you might want a VPN

There are multiple benefits of using a VPN. Chief among them is protecting your online privacy. When you connect to a VPN, it routes your internet traffic away from your ISP’s servers and through one of its own via an end-to-end encrypted tunnel, which, as the name suggests, scrambles your data to make it unintelligible, thereby protecting you from hackers and third-party trackers.

In addition to encrypting your data, the VPN also changes your online location, which could be anything you want, from the UK to the US or anything in between. That’s because most of the top VPNs offer servers all over the world, giving you access to multiple regions, which brings us to our next point: unblocking.

Streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and BBC iPlayer offer different content libraries in different regions, courtesy of varying licensing agreements. This simply means that certain movies, TV shows, and sporting events might not be available in your region, even though the same streaming platform offers them elsewhere.

However, by connecting to a VPN server in a region where the content isn’t geo-blocked, you can trick sites into thinking you’re physically present there. This means you can still watch your favourite shows when you're abroad or get more for your money by unblocking streaming libraries not available in your country.

If you're someone who connects to a lot of free Wi-Fi – maybe in your local coffee shop or on train journeys – then a VPN is very useful. Public Wi-Fi networks are often unsecured, meaning they lack encryption and don’t even require a password to access.

This is a privacy nightmare, as it gives a free pass to malicious users who can easily snoop in and intercept your data – like credit card info, login credentials, and other personally identifiable information – to commit identity theft or fraud. With a VPN, your data is encrypted and unreadable, even if intercepted by a hacker.

The best Black Friday VPN deal

The best overall VPN deal this Black Friday comes from Surfshark. The 2-year Surfshark One plan is a whopping 87% off, working out at just $2.19 per month.

Surfshark is one of the top-rated VPNs, sitting at number two in our overall VPN rankings, and it's also the best cheap VPN on the market. As well as being one of the cheapest, it's also one of the fastest VPNs we've tested and boasts speeds of over 850 Mbps (if your base connection is fast enough).

It's easy to use, there's no shortage of features, and Surfshark offers protection for an unlimited number of devices. No matter how many devices you have in your home, Surfshark has you covered – all on one plan.

As well as this, Surfshark has great location coverage, with over 3,000 servers in over 100 countries. It offers cybersecurity protection with Alternative ID and Alternative Number, and more premium plans include the data removal service Incogni.

The best VPN for streaming

If it's streaming you're after, then you'll want NordVPN. It's the best streaming VPN, as well as being the number one VPN overall.

NordVPN is 74% off this Black Friday, with the 2-year plan working out at $2.99 per month, and for that price, you get 3 extra months included for free.

NordVPN is super fast and unblocks all your favourite streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and BBC iPlayer. In our testing, it unblocked everything we put in front of it.

There are servers in 126 countries and over 8,000 servers worldwide, so you'll be covered in all major locations. There are apps for all major devices and you also get malware and phishing protection with Threat Protection Lite. On more premium plans this is upgraded to Threat Protection Pro and even cyber insurance.

The best VPN for beginners

The best VPN for beginners

If you're just taking your first steps into the world of VPNs, then you may be looking at the best beginner VPNs and it's ExpressVPN that's our top choice here.

ExpressVPN is offering a discount for the first time ever. This Black Friday ExpressVPN's 2-year plan is 67% off, working out at $3.49 per month.

It's not the cheapest product on this list, but ExpressVPN packs a punch and offers a huge array of features. The 2-year plan now includes Identity Defender, a tool which protects you from cybercrime through ID Alerts, ID Theft Insurance, and Data Removal.

It offers over 3,000 servers and excellent speeds, and has rock-solid privacy. The app and interface are really easy to use and set up, whether you’re using its mobile VPN or desktop app. So if you're a beginner, you’ll have no problem with ExpressVPN.

The cheapest Black Friday VPN deal

If cost is the main driving factor for you this Black Friday, then FastestVPN could be the VPN for you.

You can save 93% on FastestVPN's Lifetime Plan, which is $30 all-in when you use the code FUTUREBF2025. Yes, you read that right – a lifetime plan for $30. Pay once and protect yourself online for a lifetime.

FastestVPN isn't the best product out there, but it offers a decent amount of protection and you can't argue with the price. You can protect up to 15 devices, and it's pretty quick, averaging speeds of 730 Mbps in our testing.

It doesn't offer as many servers as other providers, with 800, but has expanded its country coverage to over 100. The privacy levels are good and FastestVPN has had its no-logs policy independently audited, meaning none of your identifying information is stored.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.