PureVPN announces the end of five-year plans for existing subscribers

Five-year VPN plans are usually the most cost-effective way of protecting your internet privacy, because when you break it down by month, you see it works out as just a dollar or two (compared to the standard cost of around $10 for a single month of VPN coverage). So it kind of sucks that PureVPN has emailed subscribers announcing the end of its five-year VPN plan, offering a final chance to grab one more deal. But is it actually over?

PureVPN has long held a spot in our list of the best VPNs, and the value of its five-year plan (which works out at $1.99 a month) was part of the reason for that. Its recent announcement comes just a few months after BulletVPN shut down and ended members' lifetime subscriptions, and VPN Secure did the same after a buyout.

I've been using PureVPN as a backup for a while now, and I was intrigued by the email I recently received, which reads: "This is it. One more day before the 5-year plan is gone. But you can still upgrade today and get 85% off - after tonight, it's gone for good. Upgrade your 5-year plan now > Tomorrow, it's history."

I opened up a chat with the PureVPN support team to learn more about this discontinuation and why this decision might have been made. This was, I'm sorry to say, pretty inconclusive, and the agent didn't really have any solid answers, other than to confirm - to my surprise - that the five-year plan remains available to new sign-ups.

It's a bit confusing, isn't it? The best way to find out what was going on, I decided, was to email Amanda Cruz (the author of the announcement email) directly. She responded quickly:

"For existing users, upgrading will end the current 5-year plan. However, the 5-year option is still available on the order page for new sign-ups. I will further check with the team and keep you updated on this. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation."

So, essentially, it seems to be the case that the five-year plan remains available exclusively for new users. Existing customers had a window to grab a five-year deal, but that has now passed.

What does all this mean? I don't want to draw any conclusions about the longevity of PureVPN's existing five-year plan, but it does seem something of an odd decision.

Our recommended VPN partner is NordVPN, which offer its plans hassle-free, so go and check it out if you're looking for a new provider.

For more recommendations, read our list of the best gaming VPN. We've tested NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, CyberGhost, Surfshark, and other providers to help you pick the top choice.