Unlocking Savings with a VPN: Expert Strategies for Cutting Costs Online ( 5 Ways)

Author: Perry Stevens, SEO Expert and VPN Enthusiast

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a popular tool for enhancing online privacy and security. However, it also offers various opportunities to save money on online services and activities. As a tech worker and VPN enthusiast, I have gathered several expert strategies to help you leverage a VPN for cost savings. In this article, we will explore how using a VPN can help you unlock deals, save on subscriptions, and make the most of your online experience.

You first may ask “What is a VPN? “. A VPN also known as a Virtual Private Network is a service that helps you stay private online by protecting your IP. It protects your privacy while shopping or surfing the net by establishing a secure, encrypted connection between your computer and the internet.

5 Ways to Save Money With a VPN

Did you know you can save money when you buy things online with a VPN? Setup only takes a few minutes, and you’ll improve your internet safety and security as well. With a VPN, users can make big saving while shopping online. We compiled a list of the 5 most common ways. Did you know you can save on:

• Streaming services
• Flight tickets
• Hotel bookings
• Video games
• Subscriptions

Let’s break it down and see how a VPN will save you money while keeping you safe and secure when shopping online.

1. Save on Streaming Subscriptions

We’re going to use Netflix as an example of how some people have saved money by using a VPN while streaming. There are two things you should know before we get started.

To start with, Netflix is blocking a lot of VPNs to protect their broadcasting rights. Using a VPN to watch Netflix could get your account banned.

Second, they don’t like customers using VPNs to get cheaper prices. Keep these things in mind if you try to follow the same steps others have taken successfully.

Other subscription services where you may be able to use a VPN and save money include:

• YouTube Premium
• Amazon
• Hulu
• Apple TV
• HBO Max
• Spotify
• Office 365

2. A VPN Can Save You Money on Flight Tickets

Want to save a little money on your next holiday abroad? If you connect to a VPN in another country, you can get cheap flight tickets. There’s no single country to pick since flight ticket prices fluctuate and local demand can affect them.

Use your VPN to compare flight prices. Try connecting to different servers before you book. Cheaper prices are often found in lower-income countries, like Argentine, Turkey or Thailand.

We got a discount in most cases by testing different VPN locations. We found some good results on Skyscanner using this method. Although the discounts aren’t huge, they all add up, and we’ve seen others save £30-40! As they say, ‘Every little helps’ right!

3. Book Hotels with a VPN and Save Money

Now that you’ve got your flight tickets booked, and you’ve managed to save money, congratulations! But wait, if you’re traveling abroad, you’ll need a hotel reservation too!

With a VPN, users can save some serious dough on hotel bookings.

Again, you’ll need to play around with your VPN to find a cheaper server. Based on our VPN location, we saw some pretty substantial differences at the Royal Cliff Hotel in Thailand using Booking.com. We set our NordVPN to Turkey and Thailand and found savings for over £200 on a weeks stay at this fabulous resort.

 

 

Having stayed at this beautiful resort, I can tell you from personal experience you can even get a better deal with additional benefits if you make your booking direct; )

4. Save on Gaming

Using a VPN can even save you money on video games if you’re a PC gamer. There’s a game service called Steam that most PC gamers know about. The Steam Store seems to have different prices in different countries with substantial savings based on location.

5. How to Save Money with a VPN on Other Subscriptions

Our research shows that VPNs can save you money on lots of subscriptions! In the following, we’ve compiled some examples we found online. By using a VPN, we’ve also confirmed these numbers.

• YouTube Premium UK £11.99 – 159 Thai Baht (£3.70) SAVING £8.29 per Month
• Apple Music UK £4.99 – 199 Thai Baht (£4.63) SAVING £0.36 per Month
• Spotify UK £9.99 – 209 Thai Baht (£4.86) SAVING £5.13 per Month

(FX Calculated on 14-10-22) 

How Do You Choose the Best VPN?

We’ve got you covered whether you’re looking for the highest quality VPN for your money or want to save money with regional discounts from online retailers.

The best VPNs for saving money are listed here, which offer excellent coverage across a wide range of countries. Not all VPN’s are created equal, SurfShark is a cheap VPN provider, so if you’re looking to save the most, you might want to choose it.

The Best VPN for Security and Advanced Features: NordVPN

NordVPN is our VPN of choice, and we wouldn’t search online without it.

As a Panama-based company, NordVPN – Virtual Private Network isn’t affiliated with any of the major surveillance alliances, such as Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes. Besides a strict data-logging policy, this ensures your browsing, downloads, and personal info is safe. NordVPN uses 256-bit AES encryption, one of the strongest encryption methods available.

Dedicated IP, kill switch, and advanced security settings are all included. Plus, we can attest, it’s one of the fastest VPNs out there.

• With speeds of up to 600Mbps-800Mbps
• There are over 5,000 VPN servers worldwide
• Feature-rich security suite
• Unblocks Netflix and other popular streaming services

All the above can sound complicated and ‘techy‘ but don’t worry, It’s actually easy to download and in a couple of clicks have a NordVPN connection keeping safe and private while shopping online.

We recommend NordVPN – Protect all your devices and get 65% off and 3 months FREE using our referral link.

How Safe are VPNs?

You’re safer online if you use a VPN than without one. We certainly wouldn’t go online without a VPN.

Most VPNs don’t log your data, but you should stick with premium, well-reviewed ones.

You can find a lot of free VPNs – and some that aren’t (If it’s free, you’re the product i.e. the data). They’ll say they won’t log your data, but it’s not always true. Past promises have been broken and data has been handed over to the authorities. That’s why we recommend using a VPN like NordVPN, ExpressVPN or Surfshark. You’ll keep your data safe and hidden this way.

For more info, check out this article about VPNs from the UK Safer Internet Centre.

What are the Benefits of a VPN?

If more people understood the benefits of a VPN, the more people would use them! Not only are VPNs legal in most countries, but they’ll keep you safe online. Using a VPN has a lot of benefits, including:

1. You change your IP address with a VPN. This means increased anonymity, as well as bypassing geographical restrictions on online content. Using this method as an example, people can watch American Netflix and chill from abroad.
2. Your internet traffic is heavily encrypted when you use a VPN. Military-grade 256-bit AES encryption is used by most premium VPNs! It makes your personal data more secure online, especially on notoriously insecure public Wi-Fi networks.
3. You’ll be able to download files anonymously since your IP address is hidden and all traffic is encrypted. If you are downloading sensitive company information, for example, a competitor or third party can’t snoop on what you’re doing.
4. It’s possible to get around ISP (Internet Service Provider) throttling. Many ISPs throttle (slow) users’ connection speeds to reduce traffic on busy servers, but not all do. There are times when they throttle your connection if they think you’re downloading too much and using a lot of data. However, you’ll stay under their radar with a VPN connection.
5. When your connection is encrypted, your personal data is cloaked, and browsing history isn’t left behind. You’re protected from being charged too much because websites can’t identify you.

For example, airlines and other companies use dynamic pricing, so you may pay more than someone else for the same flight. You’re getting a price based on the knowledge about you and your ability to pay!

To learn more about how to save money with a VPN and the pros and cons of using a VPN, check out this article from the National Cyber Security Centre.

In Conclusion

By following these expert strategies, you can effectively save money on various online services and activities using a VPN. Focus on accessing geo-restricted deals, saving on streaming subscriptions, avoiding price discrimination, saving on gaming, and minimizing bandwidth throttling. With these tactics in place, you’ll be well on your way to unlocking cost savings and enhancing your online experience with a VPN.

When you use a VPN to save money, you can get a brand-new game release on the video game store Steam for around £20.00 less. It’s about double the price of a month’s subscription to ExpressVPN.

Installing and configuring a VPN on Windows or mac is very easy and absolutely no technical know-how is needed.

You can save up to 68% on a three year subscription with NordVPN who we use and highly recommend.

Keep in mind that some websites and services ban these actions in their Terms of Service, so make sure you’re comfortable taking the risk.

How to Save Money with a VPN [5 Ways]