VPN Pricing & New User Deals Compared (2026): ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, Astrill & PureVPN
Last updated: July 2026 · Prices in USD, pulled from official pricing pages and verified deal trackers. VPN promo pricing changes weekly — confirm at checkout.
If you’re heading somewhere with restricted internet — mainland China included — a VPN is still worth having even with a travel eSIM (hotel and café Wi-Fi won’t route through your eSIM). We compared what five major providers actually cost new users right now, including the intro deals, free trials, and the renewal-price traps nobody advertises.
New User Pricing at a Glance
| ExpressVPN | NordVPN | Surfshark | Astrill | PureVPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best intro deal | $2.49/mo (Basic, 2yr + 4 months free) | $3.49/mo (Basic, 2yr + 3 months free) | ~$1.78–2.49/mo (Starter, 2yr + 3 months free) | $12.5/mo (2yr) | ~$2/mo on long-term promos (up to 90% off) |
| Monthly (no commitment) | $12.99 | $12.99 | $16.45 | $30 | $12.95 |
| 1-year plan | $3.99/mo + 3 months free | ~$4.59/mo | mid-tier | $15/mo | ~$4/mo on promo |
| Free trial | 7 days (mobile app) | — | 7 days (app stores) | 7 days on request via support | 7 days for $0.99 |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | No refunds (trial instead) | 31 days |
| Renewal price | ~$99.95/yr (Basic) | Jumps to standard annual rate | Jumps sharply after intro term | No intro discount to lose | Jumps after intro term |
Cheapest way in: Surfshark’s 2-year Starter deal (~$1.78/mo with bonus months) is the lowest real price among the five. Most expensive: Astrill, by a wide margin — but it’s priced that way because it sells reliability in hard-censorship regions, not bargains.
Provider Breakdowns
Surfshark — cheapest entry, real free trial
The 2-year Starter plan at ~$2.49/mo (down to ~$1.78/mo when the 3-free-months promo runs) undercuts everyone here. A 7-day free trial via the Android/iOS app stores plus a 30-day money-back guarantee means up to 37 risk-free days. Unlimited simultaneous devices is the quiet killer feature for families. Watch the monthly price though — $16.45 is the highest single-month rate in this group.
NordVPN — mid-priced, strongest ecosystem
From $3.49/mo on the 2-year Basic deal, scaling through Plus/Complete/Prime tiers that bundle a password manager, cloud storage, and identity tools. No free trial, but a 30-day money-back guarantee. In restricted regions you’ll need its obfuscated servers, which work but require manual setup. Renewal jumps to standard rates — set a calendar reminder before your term ends.
ExpressVPN — premium default, now tiered
Since introducing Basic/Advanced/Pro tiers, ExpressVPN’s headline price dropped to $2.49/mo (Basic, 2-year + 4 free months) — historically its lowest. Mobile users get a 7-day app trial; everyone gets the 30-day guarantee. Renewal reverts to ~$99.95/yr for Basic. Consistently the most reliable of the big three in restricted-network testing, and the easiest to set up: no manual server fiddling.
Astrill — the expensive specialist
$30/month, $15/mo annually, $12.5/mo on two years — four to five times the others’ intro rates, with no money-back guarantee (7-day trials are granted case-by-case via support). What you’re paying for: purpose-built stealth protocols and a track record in mainland China that the mainstream brands can’t consistently match. If uninterrupted connectivity in China is mission-critical, Astrill is the insurance policy. If it isn’t, the price is hard to justify.
PureVPN — budget option with a paid trial
Standard tier at $12.95 monthly, with long-term promos regularly hitting up to 90% off (~$2/mo territory) and a $0.99 7-day trial — the cheapest way to properly test any VPN here without app-store trial hoops. A 31-day money-back guarantee tops the group by one day. The catch: performance in restricted regions is the least consistent of the five, so treat it as a budget pick for general travel rather than a China workhorse.
The Renewal Trap (Read Before Buying)
Every provider here except Astrill uses steep intro pricing that expires. ExpressVPN Basic renews at ~$99.95/year; NordVPN and Surfshark revert to standard rates that can be 2–4× the intro price. Three ways to handle it: set a reminder to cancel/renegotiate before renewal, stack the longest intro term available (the 2-year deals lock the low rate longest), or simply switch providers at renewal — loyalty is penalized in this market.
Which One Should You Pick?
- Tightest budget: Surfshark — lowest 2-year rate, real free trial, unlimited devices.
- Best balance of price and reliability: ExpressVPN Basic at $2.49/mo is the strongest deal it has ever run.
- Want one subscription for VPN + password manager + storage: NordVPN Complete.
- China connectivity is non-negotiable: Astrill — expensive, but that’s the price of “it just works.”
- Just want to test cheaply: PureVPN’s $0.99 week, then decide.
FAQ
Do these VPNs work in mainland China? ExpressVPN, Surfshark, and Astrill test most reliably in 2026; NordVPN works via obfuscated servers; PureVPN is hit-or-miss. Install and log in before you arrive — provider websites are blocked inside China.
Can I get a truly free VPN for China? Effectively no — independent tests show free tiers rarely survive current firewall upgrades. The 30-day money-back guarantees above are the practical “free month.”
Do I still need a VPN if I have a travel eSIM? For eSIM data, no — roaming data routes outside the firewall. But hotel Wi-Fi, laptops, and any local network still need a VPN. Most travelers to China want both; see our eSIM comparison for China.
Are prices different if I buy from inside China? Prices are the same, but payment pages may not load. Buy and install before departure.
Sources: official pricing pages (ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, Astrill, PureVPN); pricing verification via cybernews, VPNpro, Security.org, and Tom’s Guide. Prices checked July 2026.