Batya VPN (Батя VPN on the Russian listing) has cleared 4.8 million downloads on Google Play with a straightforward pitch: install, tap connect, watch YouTube, use Telegram, keep browsing. A 4.7 rating, no in-app ads, and a free trial explain the traction. What is missing is the layer underneath the app: no published audit of the no-logs claim, no clear ownership of the company behind the domain, and no server-status page for the days when a Russian regulator throws a new filter at the market.
If you like Batya’s daily rhythm — one tap, no fuss, no ads — but want a service that publishes an audit or has a public team, the seven Batya VPN alternatives below are the ones that keep the same feel and add the accountability.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price/mo | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proton VPN | Unlimited audited free | Unlimited, 5 countries | Plus $4.99/mo annual | Stealth protocol for censored ISPs |
| Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 + WARP | Always-on background tunnel | Unlimited, no account | WARP+ $4.99/mo annual | Cloudflare edge routing |
| Windscribe | Split tunneling on the free tier | 10 GB/mo, 11 countries | Pro $5.75/mo annual | Per-app and per-domain rules |
| Psiphon Pro | Working through active blocks | Unlimited with ads | Premium ~$3.99/mo | Auto-rotates transports |
| TunnelBear | Simplest onboarding | 2 GB/mo | Unlimited $3.33/mo annual | Independently audited since 2016 |
| Ultra VPN | Ad-free freemium | 7-day trial | ~$3/mo annual | Streaming-friendly server list |
| Mullvad VPN | Anonymous flat pricing | None | €5/mo flat | Account numbers, no email |
Why people leave Batya VPN
Three themes come through in the reviews. The premium sign-in is intermittent — turbo speed advertised on the store page is not always the speed users actually get after subscribing. The company is opaque, with no named team and no jurisdiction on the listing. And the privacy claim is untested, which is fine until it is not.
None of these break the app for occasional use. But if Batya is your daily VPN, on your phone for hours a day, an unaudited no-logs claim is the biggest thing to trade up on. The picks below either match the free-forever pitch (Proton, Cloudflare, Windscribe, Psiphon), the ad-free feel (TunnelBear, Ultra), or push the privacy story further than any Russian-market VPN does (Mullvad).
Which Batya VPN alternative should you pick?
- Proton VPN for unlimited free traffic with a published audit.
- Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 + WARP for the least-visible always-on tunnel.
- Windscribe if you want to route only some apps.
- Psiphon Pro as the backup that keeps working when the first VPN dies.
- TunnelBear as the friendliest first-time VPN.
- Ultra VPN for an ad-free freemium with a broad server list.
- Mullvad VPN if flat pricing and anonymous accounts matter.
1. Proton VPN, unlimited audited free
Proton VPN is the direct answer to Batya’s free-and-fast pitch, with the audit trail Batya lacks. Free users get unlimited traffic across five countries, one active device, and access to the Stealth protocol, which is what you want on a Russian mobile carrier when the vanilla WireGuard handshake gets deep-packet-inspected.
Where it falls short: free servers get crowded on weeknights. Streaming quality can drop, and specific country pick is Plus-only.
Pricing:
- Free: unlimited traffic, 5 countries, 1 device
- Paid: Plus from $4.99/mo on the 24-month plan
- vs Batya VPN: same free-forever pitch with a published audit instead of a store-page promise
Migrating from Batya VPN: install, create an account, tap Quick Connect. Enable Stealth if the connection stalls.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play · App Store
Bottom line: the default pick when you want Batya’s ease and a real audit behind it.
2. Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 + WARP, always-on background tunnel
WARP is the tunnel you never have to think about. There is no account to make, no server picker, no cap. On a stable Russian ISP it is faster than most free VPNs because Cloudflare’s edge is close to the user. It is not built for active censorship — it does not obfuscate — so treat it as the daily-driver encryption and keep Psiphon or Proton as the fallback.
Where it falls short: when WireGuard is being actively blocked, WARP stops connecting and there is no protocol fallback.
Pricing:
- Free: unlimited, no account
- Paid: WARP+ from $4.99/mo annually
- vs Batya VPN: no free trial to expire, no Telegram-only subscription
Migrating from Batya VPN: install, tap the connect switch. That is the whole setup.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play · App Store
Bottom line: the pick when the network is quiet and you just want encryption on by default.
3. Windscribe, split tunneling on the free tier
Windscribe brings per-app and per-domain routing to a free plan, which is unusual. You get 10 GB per month, 11 countries, and the ability to say “tunnel Telegram and YouTube, leave Sberbank direct.” Its Stealth protocol runs over TLS on port 443, which is what you want when the ISP is fingerprinting VPN handshakes.
Where it falls short: the 10 GB free cap is not a daily driver for video. The interface takes more clicks than Batya’s.
Pricing:
- Free: 10 GB/mo, 11 countries
- Paid: Pro from $5.75/mo annually
- vs Batya VPN: explicit per-app router instead of a single tunnel toggle
Migrating from Batya VPN: install, verify email, add the apps you want tunnelled to the split-tunnel allowlist.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play · App Store
Bottom line: the pick if you want the router to be explicit instead of assumed.
4. Psiphon Pro, working through active blocks
Psiphon is not built to be pretty. It is built to work when a national firewall is actively pushing back. It rotates automatically between SSH, SSH+, HTTP proxy, and obfuscated transports, so when one path gets throttled it just tries the next. Unlimited free traffic, ad-supported, and the client is open source on GitHub. In practice it is the tool that reconnects fastest after a Russian regulator update.
Where it falls short: Psiphon logs aggregate stats. Speeds vary by transport. The UI is functional, not friendly.
Pricing:
- Free: unlimited with ads
- Paid: Speed Boost / Premium from around $3.99/mo
- vs Batya VPN: circumvention-first design instead of streaming-first branding
Migrating from Batya VPN: install, tap connect, leave auto-mode on.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: the second VPN on the phone for the days the first one stops.
5. TunnelBear, simplest onboarding
TunnelBear is the app to hand to a parent, a grandparent, or a colleague who has never used a VPN. The main screen is a world map with a country picker, the copy is friendly, and there is a single connect toggle. It has been independently audited every year since 2016 — the longest streak on the list. The catch is the 2 GB free cap, which is enough for messaging and calls, not for daily YouTube.
Where it falls short: the 2 GB free tier is tight for streaming. The server list is smaller than Windscribe’s.
Pricing:
- Free: 2 GB/mo
- Paid: Unlimited from $3.33/mo annually
- vs Batya VPN: friendlier onboarding, smaller free bucket
Migrating from Batya VPN: install, sign up, tap a country on the map.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play · App Store
Bottom line: the pick for a first-time VPN user with a long audit history to back it.
6. Ultra VPN, ad-free freemium
Ultra VPN (built by Hexatech) offers the same ad-free feel as Batya on a wider country list. The free trial gets you full access for a week before the paywall. It leans streaming-friendly — the paid plan reliably unblocks the usual services from most European exits — and the app itself is uncluttered enough for daily use.
Where it falls short: no permanent free tier. The company transparency is thinner than Proton or IVPN. Support is email-only.
Pricing:
- Free: 7-day trial
- Paid: around $3/mo on the annual plan
- vs Batya VPN: similar ad-free feel, broader country picker
Migrating from Batya VPN: install, start the 7-day trial, keep the app if you use it daily.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play · App Store
Bottom line: the ad-free freemium if you want more countries than Proton free gives you.
7. Mullvad VPN, anonymous flat pricing
Mullvad is the pick if you are done with trial expiries, upsells, and Telegram bots. Every account is a 16-digit number, no email required. Pricing is €5 flat per month, with cash accepted by post if you want to keep it fully offline. WireGuard is the default protocol. Public audits cover both the apps and the servers.
Where it falls short: no free plan. Streaming unblocking is inconsistent. The Russia exits are not on the country list.
Pricing:
- Free: none
- Paid: €5/mo flat, no annual discount
- vs Batya VPN: the strongest privacy story, no free path in
Migrating from Batya VPN: install, generate a new account number, pay €5, paste the number into the app.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play · App Store
Bottom line: the pick when anonymity and flat pricing matter more than a free tier.
How to choose
- Pick Proton VPN if you want the free-forever feel of Batya with a published audit.
- Pick Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 + WARP for the tunnel you never have to babysit.
- Pick Windscribe if a split-tunnel router is the missing feature for you.
- Pick Psiphon Pro as the reserve tool for the days a normal VPN cannot connect.
- Pick TunnelBear to introduce a non-technical relative to the concept.
- Pick Ultra VPN if you liked Batya’s ad-free feel and want more country choices.
- Pick Mullvad if you are done with subscriptions and prefer €5 flat.
- Stay on Batya VPN if the current tunnel is working for you and the transparency gap is not a dealbreaker.
FAQ
Is Batya VPN really free? Batya offers a free trial and a paid plan. It is free to install and try, not a permanent free tier like Proton VPN or Cloudflare WARP.
Which Batya VPN alternative works best in Russia? Proton VPN with Stealth, Windscribe with Stealth, and Psiphon Pro are the three that recover fastest after an ISP filter update. Install two of them.
Is there a permanent free unlimited VPN? Proton VPN and Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 + WARP both offer genuine unlimited free tiers. Psiphon Pro is unlimited with ads.
Do any of these publish a no-logs audit? Proton VPN, Mullvad, TunnelBear, and IVPN publish independent audits. Batya does not.
What is the cheapest paid Batya VPN alternative? TunnelBear Unlimited at $3.33/mo and Ultra VPN at around $3/mo on annual plans are the lowest entry points.
Can I use these VPNs for Telegram, YouTube, and Discord in Russia? Yes. Proton VPN, Windscribe, and Psiphon are the three we would install first for that use case. Cloudflare WARP works when the ISP is not actively blocking WireGuard.
