Why are VPNs priced by month and not by total cost?

VPNs have a somewhat techy reputation, but today’s best VPNs are nice and easy to use, even if you're a total beginner. Still, I know that there's still some confusion about the way VPNs price their various subscription tiers.

It's an understandable complaint. After all, the price you see on the provider's subscription page doesn't always match the price that shows at checkout.

So, why do VPNs do this and how can you tell what the real price of a VPN plan is? I'll cover all of this and more – just keep reading.

Surfshark – from $2.19 per month
The best cheap VPN
Surfshark is one of the best all-rounders in the business, with apps for all platforms, a ton of user-friendly features, and unlimited simultaneous connections you can use to secure each and every gadget in the house. Best of all, it's wickedly cheap. You can pick up a 2-year plan for just $2.19 – and a 30-day money-back guarantee gives you plenty of time to try the VPN before committing to a long-term commitment.

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So, let’s get to the heart of the confusion – and I'll be using Surfshark, our top-rated cheap VPN, as my glamorous assistant.

Head on over to the pricing page (of Surfshark or the provider of your choice) and you'll see that the 2-year plan is the least expensive. Here, it claims that you'll pay $2.19 per month which is, of course, a fantastic deal.

That's exactly the point. You’re meant to see it, be wowed, and then add the plan to your basket.

When you do, you'll notice that your total to pay actually comes out to $64.38 – and the price quoted earlier is a breakdown of this total. This is where some prospective users can get a shock. What happened to the tiny price tag they saw earlier?

It’s a bit of a cheeky tactic, but displaying prices this way helps put the cost into perspective and makes it more tempting. You are still paying $2.19 a month – but you're doing it all in one go, to cover the duration of your subscription, rather than actually a month at a time.

How to get the best VPN prices

With all that in mind, there are a few ways that you can ensure that the price you end up paying for a VPN is the best one – and well worth the expense. Here are my top tips:

• Go for a long-term plan: okay, this might seem counterintuitive, as you pay more upfront, but subscribing to a multi-year plan actually saves you a huge wad of cash in the long run. Why? Well, providers often discount their long-term contracts to tempt you into bagging one.
• Keep one eye on our deals: if there are two things we love here on the TechRadar VPN team, it's a reliable service and a bargain. Our VPN deals page is a constantly updated hub of the biggest and best savings available today.
• Capitalize on seasonal savings: just like consoles, phones, and other goodies, VPNs roll out massive discounts around the holiday season. So, if you're waiting for a real show-stopping bargain, Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are the ones to wait for.
• Make good use of the money-back guarantee: most of today's top VPNs give you around a month to try the service and, if you change your mind, reclaim your dough. If you're comparing multiple VPNs, these money-back periods are a good way to compare features and apps to find your favorites – though you will have to pay for the VPNs upfront initially.
• Use an incognito tab: this may sound silly, but some VPN providers will put prices up for return visitors. Open an incognito tab/window and click through one of our links to get the best prices.