A VPN is a must to ensure privacy and browse the internet anonymously. The benefits it yields are beyond any other alternative. A virtual private network is used mainly to ensure security and privacy, but did you know that you can save money with a VPN?
Online retailers vary their prices based on users’ location of purchase. A country with a higher income rate will have a higher price tag as compared to a country with lower-income. This, however, can be tricked and you can save money if you use a VPN. Before we jump in and explain how you can save your money with a VPN, let’s see the arsenals of websites that they use to track up a user and its geo-location.
Before listing down the ways you can save money with a VPN, let’s check out the list of top 5 expert recommended VPNs.
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Top 5 VPNs to Save Money Online
These VPN providers fulfil all the requirements needed to save money online with a vast array of highly-optimized and fast VPN servers. Let’s meet our top 5 VPN providers.
Steps of Saving Money with VPN
These eight simple steps can help you save money with a VPN.
- Sign up for a VPN service
- Download a VPN Client
- Select server location
- Check the website of the desired purchase
- Disconnect the VPN
- Connect another VPN server location
- Compare prices
- Choose the best deal
Now, let’s check how websites are tracking users to offer different prices.
How Websites Can Track My Location?
– Cookies
Whenever a cookie is sent to your PC, mobile or any device from where you access the web its main aim is to store and track your browsing information. Basically, it does all this to understand your browsing behavior on different websites. Moreover, a SuperCookie collects a wide variety of information and stores it even after the cookie itself is deleted.
– IP Address
It helps the websites detect user’s geo-location and then serves customized prices as per the regions buying power and income rate.
– Mobile Tracking
Your mobile phone or tablet with a GPS turned on can help online retailers know your location.
– WiFi
Tracking via WiFi takes place when an individual permits a website to track the location using a WiFi which then geo-locates user and serves with ads and customized prices.
How a User see different Prices based on different Regions?
You might not realize, but online retailing websites do not treat all of their customers the same. If an online retail vendor discovers your location then it might treat you differently, especially the amount you will be asked to pay will differ a lot, examples below depict this behavior.
Locations play a significant role in determining the price of the product online. Prices are often said to be higher for users that access from more affluent countries. These price gauging techniques are called “dynamic pricing,” and it is a common phenomenon among many e-tailers.
This differentiation is even found among Mac and Windows users; some sites were found to charge $20 to $30 additional on hotels to Mac users.
However, when using a VPN and connecting to different servers from around the world, you can check the prices of specific items in different regions and countries. This way you can save money and find the cheapest rates of the desired product on the internet. Although this process requires efforts, its results can save you hundreds of dollars over time.
Experimenting How VPN can save Money?
We tested VPN servers in 9 countries against 6 types of online purchases to determine how VPN can save you some bucks by just changing your location virtually.
How to Book a Flight At the lowest Possible Rates
Prices of airline tickets usually fluctuate as per the locations and demand. Airfare websites use cookies and your browsing history and determine if you have visited any site to book a flight ticket, then they raise prices. A VPN hides your IP address and makes you anonymous; moreover, it hides your browsing history making it almost impossible for airfare website to know your location or your browsing habits.
Location from where an individual purchases a flight ticket makes significant differences. According to research online retailers use dynamic pricing to decide how much to charge for a product.
We looked at the cost of traveling from Malaysia Kuala Lumpur International airport to the United States Los Angeles and compared the prices by changing our IP Address using a VPN
The differences were staggering, and we were amazed to see such differences.
The maximum amount of ticket was reported to be at $2,426 from the United States, while the lowest priced at around $1,304 from Poland. The difference between these two prices was a staggering $1,121!
Car Rentals – Book and Drive at Cheapest Rates
Rental cars vary in price as per the location of the individual. The fluctuation of prices in the rental cars sector largely depends on location surcharges, insurance costs, and local taxes from the country you are renting it from.
To give you an idea about how prices differ as per location we thought off renting a Mitsubishi Mirage from Enterprise Rent-a-Car.
To present to you a comparison we checked the price from 4 different countries. The highest price recorded was to be $492 (per week) from the Philadelphia United States; the lowest, however, was recorded in India at $221 (per week). The difference between these two prices is $271.
How To Save Money on Hotels Abroad
Hotels vary their rates as per their ratings, reputation or stars and their location. Booking hotels can be a hassle especially when you plan a vacation or trip in an exotic location. Hotels work the same way like airfares; they use dynamic prices and track cookies to set prices of their rooms per night.
Location from where you are a book a hotel room has its direct impact on price. We googled a cheap 5-star hotel in New York Manhattan and noted their prices. Later we used a VPN and then noted their price. We were shocked by the decline in prices after we used a VPN.
Sanctuary Hotel New York offered a one night stay in their luxurious room at $301.86. This price dramatically dropped to $235 after changing the location with a VPN service.
Microsoft Office Subscription – Take Advantage of Regional Pricing
Prices of Microsoft Office also vary; we compared the prices of Office 365 from four different places. When logged from a U.S server, it cost around $99.99/Year. However, when we connected it from a Russian location via VPN, it cost around $50.28/Year.
We saw an increment in price in Europe, Poland had the highest cost at 299,99 zł/year or $116.82/Year. Nearby European countries like the Netherlands and Germany saw similar price shift.
Buy books online at discounted prices
Books show a similar shift in prices; online book retailers offer different prices for different regions.
We looked at Rachel Hollis write up “Girl Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals” and compared its prices with and without the VPN.
Without using a VPN service, the price tag was at $14.99 which came down to 9.99 after connecting a VPN and changing the IP Address.
Avoid VAT on hardware and software purchases in Australia
A VAT (Value Added Tax) is a consumption tax that is placed on products; this tax varies from country to country. Australia is notorious for having a high VAT rate due to which Australians complain of getting products at high prices as compared to other countries.
To avoid these added tax people prefer shopping online with a VPN as it hides the actual location of the user.
We checked the price of 2019 Lenovo ThinkPad t480 14” HD Business Laptop on Amazon, it was tagged at $839 after 16% of discount on its actual cost of $999.99.
Later we checked an Australian Ecommerce website called “KOGAN” which had a price tag of the same product at $1,699. The difference is enough to convince any individual with hard-earned money to go with a VPN service and save some valuable bucks.
Here’s the latest rate of value added tax in developed countries.
| Country | Rate as of 2019 |
| Australia | 10% |
| China | 3% – 16% |
| United Kingdom | 5% – 20% |
| Germany | 7% – 19% |
| United States (Washington) | 6.5% |
| Singapore | 7% |
| Russia | 16.67% – 20% |
How you can avail a discount over a discount on occasion like BlackFriday with VPN?
The fourth Thursday of November is a day where almost everyone looks out online and offline for cheapest rates of products. It is celebrated as a thanksgiving day in the United States and is also known with an informal name of Black Friday.
Black Friday is the busiest shopping day in the United States; people wait in long queues to purchase products they cannot afford without discounts. Same goes for the online world, ecommerce website offers mouthwatering discounts that are enough to lure anyone to purchase what they have desired for a long time.
Though Black Friday is celebrated globally, people wish to buy products from the United States as it offers exclusive discounts which are lucrative yet attractive.
You can avail the next black Friday deal on November 29th, 2019 from the United States virtually using a VPN.
Is Saving Money With VPN Legal?
If you are worried about the legality of using a Virtual Private Network for the sake of booking flight tickets, then you should not. Stay assured that airlines have no problem booking tickets with a VPN. Websites that offer tickets themselves quote different prices for different regions. Browsing anonymously with a VPN helps you take advantage by changing IP addresses and allows to showcase that you are using the internet from a different region virtually.
What Are The Factors to Look for in a VPN?
In order to decide between buying a VPN service make sure you keep these factors in mind.
The Speed Factor
VPNs that perform faster than others are usually better in terms of performance. An internet user wants super-fast internet speed to surf online. Not all VPNs provide super-fast connectivity, but if you find a VPN that provides high-speed internet connection, then you should buy its subscription instantly.
Security and Privacy is the Key
Strong encryption and tunneling protocols are inevitable to ensure security and protect your traffic on the internet. AES-256 bit encryption which is also known as a “Military Grade Encryption,” is best that combined with OpenVPN protocol. If these features are offered with a No-Log policy, then you shouldn’t look any further for a VPN.
Network of Servers
The more the servers the increased the liberty to virtual access from around the world. Server size matters especially as a benchmark for quality and performance of a VPN.
Multi-Logins
Some VPNs allow more than ten simultaneous connections while others hardly allow 2. This feature has its great value as it can help the user to connect almost all smart devices with a single VPN subscription.
Value for Money
Value for money is the most obvious reason one looks for. Consider subscription cost as one of the key features and before buying one.
Extra Tips To Save Money The Smart Way
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Sunday Instead of Friday
Most experts suggest that booking a flight on Tuesday is the cheapest, however according to a recent study; Sunday is the best day to buy flight tickets. As per the study, Friday was marked as the most expensive day to buy tickets.
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Add Products to Cart and Leave for A Day or Two
A nifty trick to avail discounted rates is by simply adding products in the shopping cart online and leaving them, yes it sounds odd, but it is not. Online retailers offer free coupons to encourage purchase as per one Lifehacker report.
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Turn on incognito/private mode
Browsing in private/incognito mode although it increases privacy but does not wholly protect from being tracked. It prevents the information of websites you have visited from being saved.
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Delete cookies and browsing history
Websites commonly use cookies to keep track of user’s site preferences, deleting them and your browsing history will keep you protected with such trackers, it will also make it difficult for the websites and other entities to identify you, which will keep you anonymous in other words.
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Try Switching Dates
If your trip is not time and date specific, then try adjusting the date while searching for the cheapest tickets online.
Under any circumstances don’t ever think that these tips are equally counter-productive as using a VPN. These tips can only support the cause, whereas the surefire solution remains to be VPN.
Conclusion
There are a lot of ways to save your money and using a VPN is one of them; it not only saves you some bucks but also protects you from malware and spying eyes on the web.
Are you feeling shy to use a VPN? Read how VPN ensures your privacy and acts as your private bodyguard online.
