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Quick Guide: How to Use a VPN to Save Money

Companies have been adopting strategies like dynamic pricing, which means you may be paying more for the same product or service, depending on where you live.

Thankfully, you can save big bucks on flights, hotel bookings, entertainment, and more! Here’s how to get cheaper subscriptions with VPN software:

  1. Download NordVPN. We’ve tested 80+ VPNs, and this is the best VPN to date. It has fast servers and a global network spanning 83 countries.
  2. Install the VPN on your device.
  3. Connect to a server in a country you want to see prices for. Generally, prices will be lower in mid and lower-income countries, such as India and Indonesia.
  4. Head over to the online service you want to purchase and save money!

NordVPN can help you get around price discrimination and save you money on all sorts of online services.

Keep reading to learn more about how to save money with a VPN.

Did you know you can buy things cheaper online just by changing your virtual location? Think streaming services, flight tickets, hotel bookings, video games, and more! Online retailers adjust their prices based on where you are, so users in countries like the US, the UK, and Canada often get shown higher prices than others in India, Indonesia, and Ukraine.

Fortunately, with a virtual private network (VPN), you can change your virtual location to a country where prices are cheaper, therefore saving tons of money!

Read on to find out how you can get cheaper subscriptions with VPN software and save cash on many online purchases. Want to get started right away? NordVPN, our best VPN of the year, currently offers a great discount.

What Can You Get Cheaper With a VPN?

You can use a VPN for cheaper subscriptions and other purchases, like flights and hotels. A VPN app lets you see prices from all around the world. These prices differ because retailers use dynamic pricing, meaning people in different countries are offered different deals.

When you connect to a VPN server, your virtual location changes to match your chosen location. Connect to a server in the United Kingdom? You’ll see UK pricing online! Change to a server in Argentina? Argentinian prices. It’s that easy.

Using a VPN, you can save money on different online purchases, including:

  • Flight tickets
  • Entertainment subscription services (Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, etc.)
  • Online shopping, including software and video games
  • Event tickets
  • Hotel bookings

How Does Dynamic Pricing Work?

Online retailers use dynamic pricing, which uses several factors (like your country or region) to determine how much a product or service should cost to you. Businesses big and small use this strategy. For example, Amazon adjusts its prices up to 2.5 million times a day.

Changing your virtual location lets you see prices from different countries, letting you save money on subscriptions and get the best online deals. Below, we tell you exactly how to save money with VPN software.

How to Get Things Cheaper with a VPN: Step-by-Step Guide

To compare prices online and save money with a VPN, you need to install a VPN service. This won’t take more than a couple of minutes. After that, you’re ready to explore everything a VPN can offer you.

Here’s how to get started:

  1. Choose a VPN provider. We recommend NordVPN to save money online since it’s easy to use and has 6188 servers across 83 countries. You can even get a 30-day “trial” period if you use their money-back guarantee.
  2. Download and install NordVPN. It’s compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and more.

    A screenshot of the NordVPN website showing a button you can click on for downloading the VPN.
  3. Log into the app with your account.
  4. Connect to a server in a country with lower prices. Some good options usually include India, Indonesia, Ukraine, and Poland.

    NordVPN connected to a server in Poland

That’s it! You’re now viewing websites as if you were physically in the country of your chosen VPN server.

Pro Tip:

Still seeing prices from your home country? There’s an easy fix. Clear your browser cookies (you can find this in your browser’s settings) and then restart your browser. You can also use Incognito or Private mode if you’d rather not close your browsing session.

Below, you’ll find specific instructions for saving money on subscriptions and other purchases.

Use a VPN to get cheaper subscriptions

Netflix, Disney+, Hulu — most streaming services have been raising their prices. Thankfully, you can easily save money on online subscription services. All you need to do is connect to a NordVPN server. When testing this method, we connected to a server in India and had great results.

First, we had a look at Netflix plans in the United States. As you can see, the Standard subscription is $15.49/month.

A screenshot showing Netflix prices in USD, next to NordVPN's interface showing a connection to a server in the United States.

Then we switched to a server in India. As you can see, the pricing changed immediately, along with the currency (Rupee). The prices might seem very high in numbers, but $1 is equal to about 83 Rupees, meaning. This means that the Standard subscription (499 Rupee) will cost you just $6/month. That’s a 61% discount!

A screenshot showing Netflix prices in Indian Rupees, next to NordVPN's interface showing a connection to a server in India.

And that’s not all. When comparing subscription prices in US dollars, we found some of the best deals with NordVPN activated.

SubscriptionPrice in the United StatesPrice in India (Using a VPN)*
Netflix (Standard)$15.49/month$6.01/month
Disney+$7.99/month$3.60/month
YouTube Premium$13.99/month$1.55/month
Apple Music$10.99/month $1.19/month
Spotify$10.99/month$1.43/month
Office 365$69.99/year$59.93/year
* Currency conversion rates are subject to change.

Here’s how to get cheap subscriptions with VPN software:

  1. Note the price of your subscription at home. It’s best to head to the streaming service for official, updated prices.
  2. Connect to a VPN server in a different country (like India).
  3. Head back over to the service and see how much money you could save. Remember, you might need to convert the price back to your currency!

If you get a discount, it’s time to sign up! Need a local payment method? In most cases, you can use PayPal. This is how you can easily save money on a Netflix subscription or YouTube Premium plan.

We found NordVPN to be the most reliable VPN to unlock discounts.

Use a VPN to get discounts on online shopping

Online retailers such as Amazon use the data they collect from users to determine prices. Sometimes, Amazon even updates the prices of items multiple times a day.

It’s not just Amazon, though. Competitors such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and others across the world are using dynamic pricing to increase their revenues.

For example, here’s a price comparison for Adobe Creative Cloud in the US and the Netherlands:

Creative Cloud All Apps pricing plans for USA and Netherlands, listed side by side.

As you can see, the same product costs more in the Netherlands than in the US. In some cases, one product can even have different prices across zip codes in the same country. Discount offers on shopping sites are usually geo-restricted, as well. This means Amazon could have a sale on certain items in the UK but not in the US. So how can you make sure you get the best Amazon deals?

A VPN allows you to access discount offers in other parts of the world, so you can get the best deal when buying an online product. For example, you can connect to a US server to get that cheaper price on Creative Cloud. Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Take note of the price of the purchase you want to make.
  2. Connect to a VPN server in a different country using NordVPN.
  3. Visit the online retailer again and compare prices.

We recommend NordVPN for its vast server network of 6188 servers in over 83 countries. No matter which country’s prices we wanted to check, NordVPN had us covered.

Use a VPN to get cheaper flights

Looking to save money on your next holiday? Get cheap flight tickets by connecting to a VPN in another country!

Since flight prices change regularly, it’s best to shop around using your VPN. Try connecting to different servers to bypass price discrimination and find a good deal on your next flight.

Pro Tip:

Connecting to VPN servers in lower- and middle-income countries will often result in more favorable pricing.

We’ve used NordVPN to find different prices on countless flight routes and have been able to get a discount in most cases. Some of the results are listed below.

While these discounts are fairly small, they still add up. Depending on the time of year you’re looking for flights, as well as some other factors, you can save as much as $40 to $50!

RoutePrice in the United StatesCheaper in*
London to New York$949$939.81 (India)
Brussels to Frankfurt$198$186 (Indonesia)
Paris to Amsterdam$246$239.36 (Ukraine)
* Conversion rates are subject to change.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how to book cheaper flights with a VPN:

  1. Go to a flight comparison site like Skyscanner or Kayak. Enter the details for your upcoming trip and note down the prices in your local currency.
  2. Close your browser and open NordVPN.
  3. Connect to a server in another country. We recommend India, Indonesia, or Ukraine.
  4. Clear your cookies in your browser’s settings.
  5. Go back to the flight comparison website and compare flight prices.

Find a good discount? Congratulations, you’ve just managed to save money on your flight tickets with a VPN!

Use a VPN to get cheaper hotels

A VPN can also help you save money on hotel bookings. Using NordVPN’s server network, we’ve seen big price differences for the Milestone Hotel in Kensington, London. The room was priced at $896.88 when using a server in Brazil (calculated from Brazilian Real), while it was only $705 using a US server.

Screenshot showing the price of a hotel in three currencies; Brazilian Real, Pound Sterling and US Dollar

If you want to save money on hotel bookings, go through the steps below:

  1. Open Booking.com and enter your trip details. Note down the pricing, then close your browser.
  2. Connect to a VPN server in another country.
  3. Clear your cookies in your browser’s settings.
  4. Open Booking.com again and search for your chosen hotel and trip dates.
  5. Compare hotel prices on a VPN connection.

Use a VPN to get cheaper event tickets

We love going to concerts! Unfortunately, ticket prices for concerts and other kinds of events can be quite expensive. While a VPN is unlikely to help you find discounts based on your location, there is another way in which it can get cheaper tickets. The right VPN helps prevent tracking and personal price-setting on websites that sell ticketed events.

The prices of events on some sites are dependent on your behavior. You might find that, the second time you look up a festival or concert, the price is higher than the first time around. This is because the website is tracking you, knows you’re interested, and rakes up the price. This is also the case for flights!

When you use a VPN, the encryption on your internet connection will hide your online search activity. This means that service operators won’t be able to track your internet traffic and charge you more for events you might be interested in.

What is the Best VPN for Saving Money?

A screenshot of NordVPN's homepage.

The best VPN for saving money online is NordVPN. Whether you’re looking to get regional discounts from online retailers or book flights online, NordVPN’s reliable server network and unblocking capacities will get you the best deals!

Best features:

  • Huge server network: 6188 servers in 83 countries
  • Very user-friendly interface and easy set-up
  • Unblocks websites easily with advanced security features
  • Affordable plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee

NordVPN is incredibly easy to work with. All you have to do is choose a country from their list (or click on a location on their map) and you will be connected in seconds. It’s also the fastest VPN available right now, so you’ll get those deals in no time!

See for yourself how NordVPN can help you buy things cheaper online using our discount link.

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If you’re not satisfied, you can get a full refund within 30 days, no questions asked. For more information on my experience with NordVPN, check out our detailed NordVPN review.

Can I Use a Free VPN?

Free VPN shield icon with a dislike button

You might be tempted to get a free VPN service. After all, if you’re trying to save money, why pay for a VPN?

Unfortunately, there are a few key limitations and risks that come with using a free VPN service to get discounts online. Here’s what we experienced while using a free VPN to score better deals:

  • Limited server network: Most free VPN providers only have a limited selection of server locations. This means you might not be able to connect to any countries that show price differences. For example, ProtonVPN Free only has servers in the US, the Netherlands, and Japan, which typically aren’t much cheaper than other locations.
  • Security vulnerabilities: A free VPN is not as secure as a premium one. Some might leak your data and reveal your real location, while others might sell user data. This was the case with several free VPNs, including Hola VPN.
  • Data caps: Most free VPN services don’t have unlimited bandwidth. You’ll need to subscribe to their premium versions if you want to use their service for more than a few hours a month.

Premium VPNs offer money-back guarantees that let you use the VPN at no cost if you get a refund within 30 days. A premium but cheap VPN like NordVPN keeps you secure, doesn’t cap your bandwidth or data use, and covers dozens of countries known for their cheaper prices.

VPN Not Working? Other Tips for Getting Online Discounts

Icon showing piggy bank and some cash around and VPN shield icon

Dynamic pricing is intrusive and predatory. To protect yourself from these pricing tactics and continue shopping cheaper, we recommend you use a top-rated VPN like NordVPN.

If using a VPN alone isn’t working, consider doing the following:

  • Log out of your online shopping accounts, so the website doesn’t recognize you.
  • Clear all caches and cookies from your browser, or use Incognito Mode or Private Mode.
  • Try different devices when comparing prices, as websites might recognize your device ID.
  • Use discount apps like the Honey browser extension to automatically find and apply coupons and compare prices across different stores.

In most cases, a VPN alone plus opening a browser in Incognito mode can already get you better prices. However, if that fails, the tips above can show you the best sales right now.

Conclusion: Using a VPN for Cheaper Subscriptions

There are lots of opportunities to save money with a VPN, whether you want to book flights for your next trip or get better discounts when shopping online. All you need to do is connect to a VPN server and compare prices.

The best VPN to get cheaper subscriptions and save some cash is NordVPN. This VPN has a large server network, so you’ll be able to get around price discrimination easily. It also lets you use the VPN for 30 days, during which you can request a refund hassle-free.

Use our link to get an exclusive discount on the best VPN for saving money.

Want more tips on shopping online with a VPN? Check out these articles:

How to Use a VPN to Buy Things Cheaper and Save Money: Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re looking to save money with a VPN when buying goods or services online, then we’ve got you covered. Still got questions? Check out our FAQ below.

Can you use a VPN to get cheaper flights?

Yes! In our tests, we were able to use a VPN to get a cheaper flight: we could save $54 on a flight from Atlanta to Mumbai. However, many airlines and travel booking websites know these tactics and have implemented measures to counter them. Check out our guide to booking cheap flights with a VPN for additional tips and step-by-step instructions.

Which is the best VPN for shopping?

We tested 80+ VPNs to determine the best VPNs for shopping, and NordVPN stood out as the best. It has an extensive network of servers scattered across the globe, so you can compare prices and buy products from anywhere in the world. It’s also user-friendly and offers blazing-fast speeds.

Will a free VPN work to unlock discounts online?

While you can use a free VPN to access most websites and apps, it may not work for finding discounts on platforms that use geo-blocking technology or sites that actively block VPNs. Most free VPNs have a small server network, so you’re limited to finding discount deals from just a few countries or regions. Some free VPNs also harvest and sell user data to third-party companies, which damages your online privacy.

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