5 Best Iran VPNs in 2024 (For Streaming and Unblocking)

If you’re searching for a VPN with an Iran IP address use this guide.

Want to access censored or geo-blocked sites? Need to hide your P2P traffic or avoid surveillance? Or maybe you just want to keep your data safe in Iran? You’ll need a VPN for that. But not just any VPN will do. You need one that the Iranian government can’t block.

In this article, we’ll explore which VPNs work in Iran. We’ll focus on services that offer top-notch security, features, and speeds.

Best VPNs For Iran in 2024

1. NordVPN – the fastest and most secure Iran VPN on the market.
2. Surfshark – unlimited connections and great anti-censorship features.
3. PrivateVPN – has excellent torrenting support.
4. ExpressVPN – has great obfuscation and fast speeds.
5. VyprVPN – uses its own obfuscation protocol.

How to Pick a Good VPN for Iran

When choosing a reliable Iran VPN, we focus on several key points:

• Works in Iran – This is essential. Iran blocks many VPNs, so you need one that can bypass censorship.
• Obfuscation – This feature hides your VPN traffic. It makes it look like regular Internet traffic, so the government can’t block it.
• Powerful security – A good Iran VPN must use strong encryption like AES-256 or ChaCha20. It should also have a kill switch to prevent leaks.
• No-logs policy – The VPN should never log your IP or monitor your browsing. You’re using a VPN to avoid surveillance.
• Leak protection – VPN leaks can reveal your IP address and DNS queries. They should protect you from IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC leaks.
• Cryptocurrency payments – This payment method is more private than credit cards and online services like PayPal. Cryptocurrency support helps if you want to hide your payment.
• Good speeds – Internet speeds in Iran aren’t the best, and VPNs can slow down your connections. You need a service with fast connections and unlimited bandwidth.
• Large server network – To unblock any foreign content and get fast speeds, you need a VPN with many servers worldwide.
• P2P support – Torrenting in Iran isn’t always legal and can be risky. You can use a VPN to hide torrenting traffic, but the service needs to allow P2P traffic on its servers.
• 24/7 support – If the app crashes or you can’t connect to a server, you need support ASAP. The VPN should have 24/7 customer support, ideally available through live chat.
• Good refund – If things don’t work out, you should be able to get your money back. Most VPNs provide a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Which VPN Is Best for Iran in 2024 – our detailed list:

Many VPNs claim to be the best for Iran. But not all of them work there or offer top privacy and security. We tested over 20 VPNs to find the best ones.

1. NordVPN

NordVPN works in Iran and other countries with strict internet rules like China and Russia. The support team says users in Iran have no issues with the VPN. NordVPN also offers obfuscation on over 150 servers.

NordVPN is very secure. It uses strong encryption and has a reliable kill switch. All servers run on RAM, so all data is erased with each reset. It also blocks leaks from IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC.

This VPN doesn’t keep logs and has passed two security audits to prove it. It also has an ad blocker called CyberSec that blocks harmful ads and sites.

NordVPN is fast, thanks to its NordLynx protocol. AV-TEST found NordVPN to be the fastest VPN available.

NordVPN is great for streaming. It has fast speeds, unblocks most sites, and has a huge network of 5,400+ servers in 59 countries. It’s also good for torrenting, allowing P2P traffic on 4,600+ servers. You can use it on many devices, including iOS, Android, Windows, and more.

Lastly, NordVPN offers 24/7 live chat and email support. It also has a 30-day money-back guarantee and accepts cryptocurrencies.

2. Surfshark

Surfshark works well in countries with strict internet rules like Iran. It has a NoBorders feature that helps when sites are blocked.

Surfshark is unique because it allows unlimited parallel connections with one account. You can use it on as many devices as you want. You can even share it with friends to save money.

Surfshark also offers obfuscation. You automatically use it when you use the OpenVPN protocol. That means Surfshark allows obfuscation on 3,200+ servers in 65 countries.

Surfshark has a backup plan if you can’t connect using OpenVPN, WireGuard, or IKEv2/IPSec: Shadowsocks. It’s another way to hide your VPN traffic.

Surfshark has a no-logs policy, strong encryption, and RAM-only servers. It also has an ad blocker and a capable kill switch. It protects you against DNS and WebRTC leaks. But, it doesn’t block IPv6 traffic, so you need to disable it manually.

Surfshark is good for P2P, with 80+ torrenting servers. It’s also great for streaming, with fast speeds and the ability to unblock most sites. It works on many platforms, including Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android. It also has extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

Surfshark is one of the cheapest VPNs, accepts cryptocurrency payments, and offers a 30-day refund. You get 24/7 live chat and email support.

3. PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN’s support reps confirmed it works in Iran. It has 200+ servers in 63 countries. You can use Stealth protocol for obfuscation on all servers.

PrivateVPN is great for P2P. You can download torrents on all servers. It also offers port forwarding for better speeds. Plus, it has very fast download speeds. We found the quickest ETAs with this VPN.

PrivateVPN has top-notch security. It uses military-grade encryption, has a no-logs policy, and a kill switch. Its apps prevent DNS and IPv6 leaks. But, you need uBlock Origin to block WebRTC leaks.

This VPN is excellent for streaming. It unblocks most streaming sites. You can use OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPSec, L2TP/IPSec, and PPTP, along with Stealth protocol. PrivateVPN supports Windows 10, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

PrivateVPN has 24/7 live chat and email support. The pricing is attractive, and you can pay with crypto. Plus, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee.

4. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN works well in Iran and offers obfuscation on all 3,000+ servers. You need the Automatic protocol to bypass censorship. But, our tests show Lightway protocol also works well.

ExpressVPN is very secure. It has bank-grade encryption, RAM-only servers, and an audited no-logs policy. You get a reliable kill switch and protection against IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC leaks.

ExpressVPN has fast speeds and is excellent for streaming. It has 3,000+ servers in 94 countries and unblocks most streaming sites. It allows P2P traffic on all servers and works with all torrent clients. You can use Lightway, Automatic protocol, OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPSec, and L2TP/IPSec. ExpressVPN supports PC, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

ExpressVPN has 24/7 live chat and email support. It’s more expensive, but accepts cryptocurrency payments. And, there’s a no-questions-asked 30-day refund.

5. VyprVPN

VyprVPN defeats censorship with Chameleon protocol. It combines OpenVPN with obfuscation to bypass VPN blocks. You can also use OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2/IPSec, and L2TP/IPSec.

VyprVPN offers great security. You get strong end-to-end encryption, a no-logs policy verified by an audit), and a kill switch. VyprVPN protects against DNS leaks with encrypted VyprDNS servers. It also stops WebRTC leaks. But, there’s no IPv6 leak protection, so you need to disable IPv6 manually.

VyprVPN is a good P2P VPN for torrenting on all servers. It has 700+ servers in 70+ countries, which is pretty good. This VPN unblocks popular streaming sites and offers decent speeds. You can download VyprVPN’s Iran VPN for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

VyprVPN offers 24/7 live chat and email support, making it easy to get help anytime. It also has a 30-day money-back guarantee. The cost is affordable, but it doesn’t accept cryptocurrency payments.

How to Use a VPN in Iran

1. Subscribe to a VPN that works in Iran. We recommend NordVPN.
2. Download and install the VPN provider’s app.
3. Use the app to connect to a VPN server. Choose a location where you want to access content.
4. Turn on obfuscation if necessary. This helps keep your ISP from knowing you’re using a VPN.
5. Enjoy an Internet that’s free of censorship and surveillance.

FAQs

In this part, we’ll answer some common questions about Iran VPN services. If you have more, just leave them in the comments.

Is Using a VPN Illegal in Iran?

It’s hard to tell, actually. Many online articles say VPNs are illegal there, but they don’t offer sources. The only source we found is this article from 2013. It says the authorities call VPNs “illegal,” but they don’t say using them is illegal.

It seems many people in Iran use VPNs to get around censorship. A person from Tehran also answered to this Quora question. They said VPNs are illegal but nobody has faced trouble for using them.

So, VPNs might be illegal there, but you might not get in trouble. To be safe, always enable obfuscation to make sure your ISP can’t see you’re using a VPN. Also, use crypto to pay for the VPN so your payments can’t be traced.

Does Iran Enforce a VPN Block?

Iran regularly blocks VPNs. They do this by using DPI to block OpenVPN connections, closing ports used by VPN protocols, or blocking known VPN server IP addresses.

We don’t know how the government gets access to VPN providers’ IPs. Maybe they have a cyber police division that signs up for popular VPNs and collects their IPs. Or maybe they use geo-location services to get VPN and proxy IP databases.

Some VPNs can bypass those blocks, though – like the ones mentioned in this article. They do that by:

• Using obfuscation to hide VPN traffic to avoid DPI detection.
• Using the 443 port, the same one HTTPS uses. The government is very unlikely to block that port because pretty much all Internet traffic goes through it.
• Constantly refreshing their servers’ IPs to avoid getting blacklisted.

What Websites Are Censored in Iran?

It’s challenging to list all censored sites due to their sheer number. But, around 35% of the world’s most popular sites are blocked in Iran.

After researching, we found that Iran blocks various sites. These include:

• YouTube
• Quora
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Telegram
• Western news sites
• Porn sites

Why Do People Use Iran VPNs?

They use VPNs to bypass government censorship. They also use them to access geo-locked sites like Netflix or BBC iPlayer.

People also use VPNs to hide their browsing from the government. It helps secure their Internet traffic.

Can You Use a Free Iran VPN?

Yes, you can download free Iran VPNs for PC, macOS, Android, and iOS. But, we don’t recommend it.

Free VPNs have no benefits. They’re not safe to use. They might log your data and expose you to malware. They also spam you with ads and have slow speeds.

Free VPNs have monthly bandwidth caps. This barely lets you unblock content. They also have buggy apps and unreliable support. You won’t get 24/7 live chat support like with paid VPNs.

Can VPNs Bypass Internet Blackouts?

No, they can’t. This is a common myth. An Internet blackout is when the government shuts down the Internet across the country. The Iranian government does this often during protests.

For a VPN to work, you need online access. There’s no way for it to restore your Internet. When you connect to a VPN server, your traffic first passes through your ISP’s network, like so:

You → ISP Network → VPN Server → Internet

If your ISP shuts down your Internet, you can’t access the VPN.

Can the Iranian Government Force VPNs to Hand Over Logs?

Generally, no. The only way the government could do that is if the VPN provider were headquartered in Iran. In that case, the company would be under the legal jurisdiction of the Iranian authorities. The VPNs we listed in this article are all located in privacy-friendly countries:

• NordVPN – Panama
• PrivateVPN – Sweden
• ExpressVPN – The British Virgin Islands
• Surfshark – The British Virgin Islands
• VyprVPN – Switzerland

The Iranian government can only force a provider to give up logs if the VPN has servers in Iran. If the servers are there, the authorities can take them over.

To keep your privacy safe, don’t use a VPN with servers in Iran. It’s best to avoid those.

How Do You Speed Up Iran VPNs?

VPNs can slow down your internet, which is a problem in Iran. Here are some tips to help:

• Use fast protocols like WireGuard, IKEv2/IPSec, and L2TP/IPSec instead of OpenVPN.
• Use OpenVPN over UDP instead of TCP.
• Connect to nearby servers like India, Turkey, Georgia, or Israel.
• Use wired connections instead of WiFi.
• Turn off web-connected apps you’re not using.