China's Great Firewall (GFW) blocks access to popular VPNs as well as websites and services like YouTube, Google, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Tourists will also have trouble accessing content from home. Plus, this affects gamers who want to play geo-restricted games and access bot lobbies with minimal lagging. Users want a cheap way around these issues.
Not to mention there are obvious privacy and security concerns due to government surveillance. The solution is to use the best free VPN for China. The problem is many free VPNs log your data, offer poor performance, allow limited bandwidth, and have small server networks. So, it’s best to consider a free trial of a premium VPN when looking for the best VPNs for China.
In this article, we will show you the best VPN trials and free VPNs, compare the two types of services, and explain why you need a free VPN trial. We’ll also share their limitations, explain how to connect to a mainland China server to get a Chinese IP address, and much more.
To get a free VPN trial for China, you'll have to find a provider that can bypass the Great Firewall. Here are all the steps to take:
Keep in mind that you'll need to find an email service that works in China since Gmail doesn't work there. If you need help, take a look at our guide on how to download a VPN in China. Although the country is trying to control the use of VPNs, they are still technically in the legal gray area. Here's how you can use a VPN in China without breaking the law.
To locate the best free VPN for China, we will follow the criteria laid out in our article on the top free VPN to use in 2024. To start, this VPN has to easily bypass the Great Firewall. It should have a high bandwidth limit, which would allow you to use it for streaming and gaming. An ideal free VPN also provides reliable performance and fast speeds.
Security is important, so we focused on free providers with advanced VPN protocols, strong encryption, and a kill switch. A strict no-logs policy is a must, as it prevents free VPNs from storing your sensitive data. Your service should have a large global server network, with locations near mainland China like Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
A VPN with many simultaneous connections will allow you to protect every device in your network. In case you get stuck, you'll want a provider with 24/7 customer support through live chat. Finally, if you decide to go for a free trial VPN, make sure that it comes with a generous 30-day refund policy.
According to all these criteria, here are the top 5 free VPN for China apps:
NordVPN has the best free VPN trial for China. The full service is available on PCs, routers, smartphones, tablets, and browsers. It also offers a 7-day trial for Android, but you can test it on other supported devices for 30 days by getting a refundable subscription. It has no bandwidth limitations, and is great for bypassing the Great Firewall of China.
This provider has a massive network of over 5,900 servers located in 60 countries around the world. This includes 70+ servers in Singapore and 130+ in Japan. NordVPN uses advanced VPN protocols, such as NordLynx, OpenVPN, and IKEv2/IPsec, delivering lightning-fast and stable connections.
NordVPN will conceal all your outgoing data with military-grade AES 256-bit encryption. There are various leak protection tools, as well as a powerful kill switch which will protect your identity in case something goes wrong. Since it follows a no-logs policy and uses RAM-only servers, none of your information will be stored on its servers.
You’ll be able to use NordVPN in China on multiple devices at the same time, as it can hold up to 6 simultaneous connections. If there are any issues while using the free trial, you can contact its 24/7 live chat support.
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Surfshark is another excellent free China VPN trial that easily bypasses the GFW and provides unlimited bandwidth. This VPN has an app for most modern devices, like smartphones, tablets, PCs, and routers. There's a 7-day free trial for iOS, macOS, and Android, but you can use it for a month on all devices if you subscribe, as there's a 30-day refund policy.
Surfshark has 3,200+ servers in 100 countries, with 60+ servers in Japan and plenty more in Singapore. So, you’ll easily be able to unblock news websites and access platforms like Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Google.
With Surfshark, you get access to premium VPN protocols: WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2. No matter the server’s distance, this VPN can provide consistent performance with amazing speed. You won’t have to worry about your privacy or safety, as Surfshark follows a no-logs policy and uses AES 256-bit encryption and a kill switch to keep all your data secure.
The size of your home network also won’t matter since Surfshark provides unlimited simultaneous connections. In case you run into any problems trying to download and install the trial VPN, you can make use of its 24/7 live chat support.
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Windscribe is truly the best free VPN for China. The app is available on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices, but routers aren't supported. As a free service, Windscribe offers limited bandwidth to its users. It starts at 2 GB/month, but you can increase it to 10 GB/month by registering your email, recommending it to others, or promoting it via tweeting.
Windscribe has a limited number of servers in 11 countries, but it's the only free VPN with a server location near mainland China in Hong Kong. It offers 5 advanced VPN protocols: WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, Wstunnel, and Stealth. Windscribe can bypass the GFW, letting you access restricted websites. Obfuscation is available, so you can hide the fact you’re using it.
For a free service, Windscribe offers solid security features. There’s the AES 256-bit encryption, along with the Windscribe Firewall, which is their version of a kill switch. However, although it says it's a no-logs VPN, it still collects anonymized data logs.
Since Windscribe is a free service, you can expect average speeds and decent performance. What pleasantly surprised us is its allowance of unlimited simultaneous connections. If any issues arise while using Windscribe, you can get in contact with its customer support through email.
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Atlas VPN is a completely free VPN that works in China. Unfortunately, its bandwidth is limited to 5 GB/month, which isn’t much if you're into streaming or gaming. While this VPN is available on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, it lacks support for routers. Moreover, it can bypass the GFW, so you can unblock platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Google.
This is a no-logs VPN with AES 256-bit encryption and a solid kill switch. Since it also has support for advanced protocols like WireGuard and IPsec/IKEv2, your data will remain private and secure at all times. As usual with free services, you can expect slow speed and poor performance, particularly on more distant servers.
Free users will get a limited network with 4 server locations in 3 countries, including 1 location near China in Singapore. While this is low, Atlas VPN tries to offset this by providing unlimited simultaneous connections, so you can install it on multiple devices.
If you experience any issues while using this free VPN in China, you can send a ticket to their email support service, which certainly won’t be as fast as live chat.
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Hide.me is our final pick for a free VPN to use in China. Its app is compatible with Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and browsers. Its free plan offers limited bandwidth of 10 GB/month, which should be enough to cover your basic needs. With solid unblocking capabilities, it can bypass the GFW to access YouTube, Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, and other platforms.
While the app offers a huge server network for its subscribers, those using a free plan only get 8 server locations in 7 countries, one of which is near China in Singapore. Hide.me offers 5 VPN protocols: WireGuard, SSTP, IKEv2, SoftEther, and OpenVPN. Plus, all your data will be unreadable to third parties thanks to the AES 256-bit encryption.
Hide.me also provides obfuscation, so you can surf the Web in complete privacy. This is a no-logs VPN, so your activities won’t be recorded. There's also a kill switch to keep your identity safe if your connection becomes unstable. Fortunately, using this VPN won’t have too significant an impact on your connection, delivering steady performance and moderate speeds.
Unfortunately, Hide.me provides only 1 simultaneous connection to free users. If you need help with troubleshooting this Chinese VPN, you can contact its 24/7 live chat support.
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To choose the best free VPN for China, look for a service that can easily get past the GFW and unblock all the websites and platforms you wish to access. Here are other things you'll need to pay attention to:
You need a free VPN trial for China because it will remove bandwidth limitations and improve your speed in comparison to completely free providers. Here is a list of all the benefits:
Free China VPN services come with a range of constraints that make them less than ideal for users looking to bypass the Great Firewall and access blocked content. Here's a list of the most common downsides:
Free China VPNs might be dangerous, compromising users' online security and privacy. While the appeal of accessing restricted content or bypassing censorship in China for free may be enticing, these potential drawbacks may outweigh the benefits:
China uses the Great Firewall to restrict access to platforms like Google, Facebook, YouTube, and even news sites. Thus, travelers to China can't access content from home. Then, of course, there are security and privacy concerns due to surveillance. Users look for a cheap solution with free VPNs, but free providers come with a host of risks.
We recommend NordVPN's free trial as the best free VPN for China. With it, you'll get premium security features, blazing speeds, strong unblocking capabilities, and a huge server network. However, if you don't want to use a free trial, you should get Windscribe, as it's the best alternative. While it doesn't have a mainland China server, it does have one in Hong Kong.
And that's all you need to know about free VPNs for China. If you have any remaining questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment. Thanks for reading!