What are the best VPN for China and which should I choose?

What are the best VPN for China and which should I choose?

In a nutshell, if you are looking for a VPN that has good performance, it’s easy to set up and has servers in many countries, we recommend you use ExpressVPN.

VyprVPN has similar performances, however has less servers.

The third option is PureVPN, which offers a reliable and cheap alternative to ExpressVPN and VyprVPN.

Even though there are several free options such as Freegate (which is actually a proxy, not a VPN), they aren’t at all reliable and are extremely slow. The practical result is that by resorting to a free option, you won’t be able to do anything other than check your Facebook or Twitter feeds. Even posting a comment on Facebook will become an impossible mission. Forget about watching a YouTube video.

Recently, several free VPNs have been released that might offer decent performances. Our suggestion is to consider your decision carefully before installing one of them on your laptop or smartphone as, in many cases, they’ll install other applications, such as programs that cause popup ads when you are surfing the internet, programs that store your browsing data to sell it to third parties or, in the worst cases, programs that use your computer as a server (with the result that both your laptop and internet connection will work much more slowly).

Since they only cost some Dollars per month, the best option is, without a doubt, to get a decent VPN service.

Nowadays, there is a large number of VPN services on the market. During the years we’ve spent in China, we tested many of them such as Witopia (which was really good back in 2010), Astrill (probably the most popular in 2011/2012), Webmaster and others.

Regardless of what the reviews that you find on the web say, many of them aren’t working anymore because the Great Firewall is being constantly updated and it’s becoming more difficult to bypass it every day. Many reviews you find are outdated or written by people that never went to China; therefore, check the publication date and if the website specializes on China, before you believe to the review!

Since 2013 until recently, we’ve been using StrongVPN and we must say that so far, we have never had many problems. However, during the last years many better VPNs appeared, when it comes down to use them from China.

As of January 2014, we started to also use VyprVPN, and rediscovered the pleasure of having internet on our cellphone. Since January 2015, due to the attack that multiple VPN providers suffered, we also began to use ExpressVPN as an alternative with features similar to those of VyprVPN. And also in this case, we’re very satisfied with the performances of the VPN. In October 2015 we started to use also PureVPN and so far it’s going well.

Important update: Since 2017, China has started a 14-month process to close all Internet access services that have not been previously authorized, including VPNs. Due to legal reasons, all services with headquarters in China have started to be closed. GreenVPN, a VPN that is often used in China, is one of the best-known victims of this new initiative.

Because of this, when choosing a VPN, it’s important to take a look at where it’s based. If its headquarters is in China, it will likely soon be closed.

The majority of VPN services are located outside of China and for the time being, there are no reasons to believe that they will have problems in the near future.

Why are ExpressVPN, VyprVPN and PureVPN the best VPNs for China?

• First of all, they work: as we’ve already stated, we test the three of them often, so if one of them stops working in China, we’ll update this article.

• They are fast: We tested many VPNs and we have to say that ExpressVPN, VyprVPN and PureVPN are the fastest ones that we’ve used.

• They are stable: Once you’re connected, it’s very rare to lose the connection (this is a major issue with most VPNs out there).

• They offer excellent post-sale service: If you have any doubt or problem with your connection, you can chat with a technician at any moment. Just head to the website of the VPN that you bought and send an inquiry. Usually the support team will find a solution within hours (it can also be within 30 minutes, if the problem has an easy solution).

• They offer a large number of protocols and servers: It’s an important detail because the Great Firewall is being constantly updated. Therefore, even if your VPN works today, nobody can assure you that it will work tomorrow. Having the possibility to choose from different protocols and servers provides you with much more flexibility. Therefore, it’s more likely that your VPN will make it through the next firewall update.

ExpressVPN vs VyprVPN vs PureVPN

FEATURES				WHAT’S THE BEST?
Main Advantage	Fastest and Easiest to use	Most Secure (Premium version)	Cheapest (among the best)	It depends on your needs!
Money Back Guarantee	30 days	30 days	7 days
Monthly Plan	12.95 USD	From 9.95 to 12.95 USD	10.95 USD
Yearly Plan	8.32 USD/month	From 5 to 6.67 USD/month	5.45 USD/month
Support	24/7/365 (Best service in our experience)	24/7/365	24/7/365
Server Count	1.000+	700+	500+
Countries with Servers	87	60	141
Payment Methods	Credit Card, Paypal, Bitcoin, Alipay, Union Pay and others	Credit Card, Paypal and Alipay	Credit Card, Paypal, Bitcoin, Alipay, Union Pay and others
Desktop Apps	Windows, Mac	Windows, Mac	Windows, Mac
Browser extension	Chrome, Firefox	No	Chrome, Firefox
Mobile Apps	Android, iOS	Android, iOS	Android, iOS
Simultaneous Connections	Yes (until 3)	Yes (until 5)	Yes (until 5)
Encryption Protocols	OpenVPN, L2TP-IPsec, SSTP, PPTP	PPTP, OpenVPN™, L2TP/Ipsec, Chameleon™	PPTP, L2TP, SSTP, IKE, OpenVPN
VPN Location’s Switchings	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
	Try ExpressVPN	Try VyprVPN	Try PureVPN