If Aloha's free VPN feels too limited, or you want protection outside the browser, a dedicated VPN app or a different private browser usually fits better. We compared eight replacements on what we check before recommending any VPN: speed loss, leak results, streaming access, device coverage and price.
Aloha still does some things well. The mobile app feels quick, and its ad blocking is easy to use.
We cover the full product in our Aloha VPN review, so this guide focuses on where to go next.
Quick Comparison: Aloha VPN Alternatives at a Glance
Every pick below except Opera's free tier can protect the whole device, not just one browser.
| App | Best for | Free plan / data cap | Starting price | Whole device or browser only | Standout feature | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Best free alternative | Yes, unlimited data, 1 device | $9.99/mo (1-month Plus) | Whole device | Unlimited free data, no ads | Check price → |
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Free plan with more locations | Yes, 10GB/month with confirmed email | $9/mo or $69/yr | Whole device | Pick your own free server | Check price |
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All-round paid replacement | No | $14.99/mo (1-month) | Whole device | Six Deloitte no-logs assessments | Check price |
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Unlimited devices | No (7-day app store trial) | $2.49/mo on 2-year plan | Whole device | Covers every device at once | Check price |
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Ease of use | No | $12.99/mo (1-month) | Whole device | Stable apps, Lightway protocol | Check price |
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Anonymity | No | EUR 5/mo flat | Whole device | Account-number sign-up | Check price |
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Private-browser swap | Browser free; VPN 7-day trial | $9.99/mo for the VPN | Whole device (VPN) | Default ad and tracker blocking | |
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Free in-browser VPN | Yes, no data cap | Free; VPN Pro $4/mo yearly | Free VPN: browser only | No-account browser VPN |
Why Look for an Aloha VPN Alternative?
The reasons to leave come down to how Aloha is built. It is an all-in-one app that bundles a browser, VPN, ad blocker, video downloader, crypto wallet, NFT viewer, file vault and news feed. Three limits push people elsewhere.
Browser-level vs whole-device coverage
On the free tier, Aloha's VPN protects browser traffic only. Your email app, games and messaging apps connect without it. Premium adds a device-wide toggle, and coverage also varies by platform. Aloha's Premium page lists phone-wide protection across all apps as a paid feature.
Desktop is less clear: Aloha support most recently said the Windows and macOS VPN works within the browser only. That behaviour has changed between app versions, and earlier Windows builds were device-wide only.
Aloha Mobile also sells a separate Aloha VPN app for iPhone and Mac. It is a device-wide client with a kill switch, rated 4.3/5 from 349 US App Store ratings. Plans start at $3.99 a month, although it lists several overlapping tiers and prices vary by region.
Free-tier limits and paywalled Premium features
The free VPN has no data cap, which is generous, but the catch is location choice. Aloha does not publish a free-tier location count, and which countries free users see changes over time. Premium unlocks 80+ locations, VPN autostart and the kill switch for $7.99 a month or $69.99 a year.
In our experience, the free VPN dropped out during long sessions and had to be switched back on. While it ran, our download speed fell far below the line's normal speed.
Privacy trade-offs: bundled news feed, ads and extra modules
Aloha blocks ads on web pages, but the app kept interrupting us with Premium upsell pop-ups. It also nudged us toward its crypto wallet and other modules. The Home tab pulls headlines from MSN by default, so a privacy browser opens onto a third-party news feed.
The Best Aloha VPN Alternatives
We ranked these six full-device VPN apps and two browsers by how well each fixes a specific Aloha limit, with free options first.
1. Proton VPN - best free alternative
Proton VPN is a full-device VPN app, and its free plan is the closest match to Aloha's free VPN without the browser-only limit.
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
- Free plan: unlimited data, no ads, kill switch, 1 device
- Paid: VPN Plus costs $9.99 on the 1-month plan for 10 devices in 140+ countries
Installation took us about two minutes, and the apps explain each setting in plain language. The free tier picks your server for you, since you cannot choose a country, but we saw no throttling. Paid servers nearby cost us under 10% of our download speed. We found no DNS, IPv6 or WebRTC leaks across dozens of countries.
That beats Aloha on trust as well as coverage. Securitum's 2025 no-logs audit found Proton complies with its no-logs policy. The free plan skips streaming and torrenting, and live chat runs 9 AM to midnight CET. Refunds within 30 days are prorated. Our Proton VPN review covers the paid tiers.
2. Windscribe - best free plan with more locations
Windscribe is also a full-device VPN app, but where Proton picks your free server, Windscribe lets you choose it.
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, browser extensions
- Free plan: 2GB a month, or 10GB once you confirm an email, on unlimited devices
- Paid: Pro is $9 a month or $69 a year; Build-a-Plan starts at $3
Free servers cover roughly 10 countries, though Windscribe rotates which ones are free. The free plan keeps the R.O.B.E.R.T. tracker blocker and the firewall kill switch, which Aloha reserves for Premium. Free servers matched Pro speeds for us until congestion hit, at which point speeds dropped by up to 90%. A download that finished in under five minutes nearby took close to 15 on a distant server. Netflix access was inconsistent.
There is no dedicated no-logs audit. Still, charges were dismissed in a 2025 Greek court case because it held no user logs. See our Windscribe review for Pro details.
3. NordVPN - best all-round paid replacement
Windscribe and Proton are free-first; NordVPN is where paying starts to make sense. In our testing its speed loss stayed in the single digits, and it is our pick if you want one paid service that does everything well.
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV
- Devices: 10 at once, with a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Paid: $14.99 on the 1-month plan, or about $3.49 a month on a 2-year plan
That 2-year rate shifts with promotions and renews higher. 4K streaming and gaming ran without buffering for us, and Netflix, HBO Max and Disney+ all loaded. Connections held without unexpected drops, and the kill switch cut traffic when the tunnel failed.
Threat Protection blocks ads, trackers and malware. Advanced extras include Meshnet and Double VPN. Its sixth Deloitte no-logs assessment was announced in February 2026. Our NordVPN review breaks down each tier.
4. Surfshark - best for unlimited devices
Surfshark gave up more speed than NordVPN in our testing. Downloads dropped about 17% on Windows and 31% on macOS, though latency stayed steady throughout.
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, smart TVs, consoles
- Free plan: none, but a 7-day trial runs through the mobile app stores
- Paid: Starter is $2.49 a month on the 2-year plan, or $16.45 month to month
Netflix worked across regions without VPN detection. Setup on Android TV, Apple TV and Fire TV was painless. When the VPN dropped, the kill switch cut access instantly.
CleanWeb blocks ads and trackers, and servers run in RAM only. Deloitte verified the no-logs policy again in 2025. We go deeper in our Surfshark review.
5. ExpressVPN - best for ease of use
Where Surfshark wins on device count, ExpressVPN wins on stability. Our connections stayed rock solid through long daily use, and the Network Lock kill switch rarely tripped.
- Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Apple TV
- Devices: 10 on Basic, across 105 countries
- Paid: $12.99 on the 1-month plan, with a 30-day money-back guarantee
DNS and WebRTC leak tests came back clean. Netflix, Hulu and ESPN+ loaded without issues.
Speed is not its strength. Our downloads dropped roughly 37 to 39% on Windows and Mac, though ping rose only 5 to 6 ms. NordVPN and Proton were faster. Email support took about two days to answer. Our ExpressVPN review has the full breakdown.
6. Mullvad VPN - best for anonymity
Sign-up for Mullvad took us seconds, because a random account number is your only login. It suits people who want to share as little as possible about themselves, which is the opposite of Aloha's feature-heavy approach.
- Paid: EUR 5 a month flat on up to 5 devices, with 10% off for crypto
- Free plan: none, and no free trial
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
You can pay with cash or Monero. Mullvad has passed more than ten independent audits, and a 2023 Swedish police raid found no user data.
Nearby servers cost us only around 6% of our speed, but distant ones made downloads take about three times as long. It failed to unblock US Netflix, Hulu and BBC iPlayer in most attempts. Support is email-only, with replies in roughly six hours, and refunds cover 14 days. Read our Mullvad VPN review for more.
7. Brave Browser (with Brave VPN) - best private-browser swap
Mullvad strips everything back; Brave goes the other way and puts the VPN inside a browser. It is the closest swap if you liked browsing in Aloha but want the VPN to cover every app.
- Platforms: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows
- Free plan: the browser is free and blocks ads and trackers by default
- Paid: Brave VPN is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year for 10 devices, after a 7-day trial
Brave Shields handles ad and tracker blocking with no setup, the same job Aloha's ad blocker does. The VPN falls behind dedicated apps, though. It kept roughly 60% of our download speed, and Netflix US and BBC iPlayer were frequently blocked. We also found no protocol picker, dedicated IP or multi-hop option in the app. The kill switch works on iOS only, and split tunneling is Android only. Our Brave VPN review covers setup on each platform.
8. Opera - best free in-browser VPN
Unlike Brave's, Opera's built-in VPN is free, which makes it the most direct replacement for Aloha's free tier.
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
- Free plan: no account, no data cap, three regions plus an Optimal location
- Paid: VPN Pro is $4 a month billed yearly for device-wide coverage, but not on iOS
The free VPN switched on from a single browser icon, with no account. Like Aloha's free tier, it protects activity inside Opera only. Opera says it uses AES-256, but the free VPN works as an encrypted browser proxy rather than a full tunnel.
VPN Pro cut our download speed by about 45%. It unblocked US and Australian Netflix but failed on the UK library. It only partially passed a WebRTC leak test and has no kill switch. Our Opera VPN review compares both tiers.
Browser Built-In VPN vs Dedicated VPN: Which Is Safer?
Six of our eight picks are dedicated apps, and for most people a dedicated VPN is the safer choice. It protects every app, includes a kill switch and, at its best, has an audit behind it. A browser's built-in VPN is convenient, but it guards one app.
| Browser built-in VPN | Dedicated VPN app | |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Browser tabs only on free tiers | Every app on the device |
| Kill switch | Often missing or paid | Standard, even free on Proton |
| Logging policy | Vendor claim, often unaudited | Audited at Proton, NordVPN, Surfshark |
| Encryption | AES-256 (Aloha); encrypted proxy (Opera free) | AES-256 or ChaCha20 |
| Unblocking | Few regions (Opera free has three) | Major streaming libraries on paid plans |
Aloha cites a Leviathan Security Group browser audit, but no public report exists to confirm what was tested or when. Proton, NordVPN and Surfshark name their auditors and dates.
How to Choose the Right Aloha VPN Alternative
Where you need protection decides most of this. For free browsing on public Wi-Fi, Opera's free VPN covers the same ground as Aloha's free tier. For free whole-device protection, choose Proton VPN. Pick Windscribe if choosing your own server matters more than unlimited data.
For a paid plan, weigh speed, device count and streaming. NordVPN suits anyone who wants one service to handle everything. Surfshark suits a large household, ExpressVPN is the easiest to live with, and Mullvad puts anonymity first.
If you mostly want a private browser, look beyond Brave and Opera. Firefox Focus keeps no tabs or history and erases your session with one tap. Tor Browser routes each request through three relays, which is slower but far more private. Vivaldi offers tab stacks and side panels but no VPN. All three are free to download. Weighing these trade-offs against your habits makes for a more informed decision than any single ranking.
Final Verdict
Proton VPN is the Aloha VPN alternative we would install first. Its free plan protects every app on the device, which Aloha's free tier cannot do, and it costs nothing to try.
If you already pay for Aloha Premium, compare the renewal maths before your next bill. Premium costs $69.99 a year. Surfshark's Starter plan costs $2.49 a month on the 2-year plan and renews at $79 a year, only slightly more than Aloha Premium, for a VPN with native apps for smart TVs and consoles as well as phones and laptops.
