The Best VPN For Iceland (2024 Updated)

Iceland has the freest internet in the world with no cases of censorship or violations of users, bloggers, and journalists’ rights.

The internet penetration rate in Iceland is 99% and obstacles to access any website are almost non-existent. However, there are mandatory data retention requirements in the country as records are stored for up to six months, which is a concern for users who fear for their online privacy.

These mandatory data retention laws create situations where the best VPN for Iceland can be an indispensable tool. We tested 150+ VPNs to figure out the right VPNs to use in Iceland. Out of them, ExpressVPN is our #1 recommended VPN service due to its strong privacy features and powerful unblocking capabilities.

6 Best VPNs for Iceland (June 2024 In-Depth Analysis)

To get the best VPNs for Iceland, we tested 150+ VPNs on the basis of speeds, servers, unblocking capabilities, refund policies, security features, and multi-logins. Out of these, 6 passed the test. However, ExpressVPN offered the most efficient service overall and got listed as the best VPN for Iceland:

1. The Best VPN for Iceland – ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is the best VPN for Iceland with 3000+ servers operating in its network. Out of these, 1 server is present in Iceland. With an average speed of 85.21 on a 100 Mbps connection, you can enjoy ExpressVPN’s services in Iceland easily.

If you’re residing outside Iceland and want to enjoy some of your favorite local streaming channels of your country, then you can use ExpressVPN’s speedy Icelandic server to get an Iceland IP address and watch RUV, Stöð 2, Nova TV, etc. easily.

In addition, ExpressVPN, being one of the best streaming VPNs, can grant you access to Netflix and other platforms in Iceland. You can easily unblock websites that are inaccessible in the country like BBC iPlayer, NBC, Hulu, Voot, YouTubeTV, etc. in HD by choosing a suitable server location.

This VPN offers super-fast speeds on all its worldwide servers. Our ExpressVPN speed test can confirm this. We tested this VPN’s top 3 worldwide servers and these are the results:

Talking about accessing geo-restricted services, you’ll need to stay secure and hide your activity from your ISP and the Icelandic government. For this, ExpressVPN offers multiple security features like AES 256-bit encryption, split tunneling, and OpenVPN protocol.

ExpressVPN’s kill switch is also a super-effective and much-needed feature that disconnects you off the internet in case your VPN connection drops, thereby preventing your online activity. Since this VPN is located in a country free from any data retention laws, it does not collect any user logs.

To protect your digital presence from data retention laws, ExpressVPN strategically positions its servers in privacy-friendly jurisdictions. It earns its reputation as the best offshore VPN with advanced encryption and a stringent no-logs policy.

An exclusive feature this VPN offers is MediaStreamer that lets you unblock all geo-restricted services with high speeds and preventing all burdens on the connection.

All these fantastic features of ExpressVPN come at a price of $6.67/mo - Save up to 49% with exclusive 1-year plans + 3 months free with 5 simultaneous connections and a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. The consistency of this VPN speaks for itself, however, if you still don’t bond with the service, then you can always cancel your ExpressVPN subscription anytime.

Go through our detailed ExpressVPN review for more details.

2. Budget-friendly VPN for Iceland – Surfshark

Surfshark is a budget-friendly VPN for Iceland. This VPN has a server network of 3200+ servers in 100 countries which includes 1 server in Iceland. The provider delivers strong performance and possesses the ability to work with streaming platforms from within and outside Iceland.

Using Surfshark, you can unblock multiple local streaming channels like RUV and Nova TV if you live outside the country. Similarly, Surfshark is super-useful for working for accessing worldwide geo-restricted streaming channels like US Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, NBC, CraveTV, and more within Iceland.

When we talk about streaming, then speed also becomes a significant factor alongside. It offers an average speed of 77.89 Mbps on a 100 Mbps connection, which isn’t as great as ExpressVPN but is good enough for bufferless streaming.

We tested this VPN’s worldwide servers for Icelandic users, and here are the top 3 recommended ones with their speeds:

Surfshark is located in the British Virgin Islands, a country that hosts strong online privacy laws. Due to this, the VPN offers a strict no-logging policy to users.

Surfshark also offers some advanced security features including a kill switch, CleaWeb, MultiHop, Whitelister, AES 256-bit encryption, and more in the country.

With unlimited multi-logins, the $2.49/mo - Save up to 77% with exclusive 2-year plan + 30-day money-back guarantee price is the best value you can get for a VPN. It also features a 30-day refund policy, so you can use this VPN free for 30 days.

Go through our detailed Surfshark review for more details.

3. Secure VPN for Iceland – NordVPN

NordVPN is known to be one secure VPN for Iceland. It boasts a huge network consisting of 6000+ servers in 61 countries. Among these 13 servers are present in Reykjavik, Iceland alone which can be useful for ex-pat Icelanders that want to access websites (such as local banks) that normally only work within the country.

NordVPN is one secure option if you live outside Iceland and want to access Nova TV and RUV. You can do that by using any of NordVPN’s 13 Icelandic servers.

In the same way, if you live within Iceland and are bored of watching the same Icelandic content repeatedly, then you can always access BBC iPlayer, Voot, HBO Max, NBC, and more in the country.

This VPN has great speeds that you can use to enjoy all streaming services in Iceland. To access worldwide geo-restricted services, you’d require worldwide servers. We tested multiple NordVPN servers and here are the top 3 ones along with their speeds:

If you’re in Iceland, then using NordVPN will allow you to circumvent the data retention requirements in your country by routing your traffic through VPN servers registered under NordVPN’s Panama-based headquarters.

It also offers CyberSec, Nordlynx, kill switch, AES 256-bit encryption, Onion over VPN, and DoubleVPN to stay secure in Iceland.

With one NordVPN account, you can connect up to 6 devices at the same time. It also offers $3.99/mo - Save up to 63% with exclusive 2-year plan + 3 months free for a friend with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Learn more about this service in our NordVPN review.

4. The Fastest VPN for Iceland – IPVanish

IPVanish is the fastest VPN to exist for Iceland. It offers a network of 2200+ servers spread over 75+ locations with 13 of these in Reykjavik, Iceland. These servers can get you past torrenting websites as well as streaming services not accessible in Iceland without any obstacles.

For citizens in Iceland annoyed with geo-restrictions, IPVanish is your ticket to complete online freedom irrespective of the restriction that your desired website has imposed. While you can use this VPN’s Icelandic servers to enjoy Nova TV outside the country, you can also use IPVanish’s worldwide servers to unblock Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more in the country.

This VPN offers the best speeds that no other VPN can offer. With average speeds of 87.88 Mbps on a 100 Mbps connection, this VPN is unstoppable and offers buffer-free streaming in HD.

We tested this VPN’s multiple servers. While most of them offered fantastic speeds, these 3 servers were the most efficient ones to access Netflix of different regions, BBC iPlayer, and CraveTV:

Along with speeds, this VPN is also efficient in security. IPVanish strictly declares that it does not collect any user logs. It further offers a kill switch, split tunneling, AES 256-bit encryption, DNS and IPv6 leak protection, OpenVPN protocol, and more to all Icelandic users.

Considering the $2.99/mo - Get 3 Months Extra + Save 77% on 2-year plan price, IPVanish is easily one of the best VPNs you can have for Iceland. This VPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and allows unlimited simultaneous connections on a single account.

Read our IPVanish review for more details.

5. User-friendly VPN for Iceland – CyberGhost

CyberGhost is one user-friendly option for Iceland and great for users who don’t want to spend a lot of time understanding the apps first. It has a large network of servers, with 11651+ of these in 100 countries, 24 of which are in the city of Reykjavik in Iceland.

These local servers can be quite useful if you are moving abroad and need servers to access websites that only work back home or accessing your bank account to check out your balance. The local servers are also great to enjoy Nova TV that you must be missing out on outside the country.

At the same time, the provider is quite efficient for downloading torrents safely, watch streaming channels, and bypass restricted websites within the borders of Iceland. You can enjoy BBC iPlayer, CraveTV, NBC, US Netflix, and other streaming services in Iceland using CyberGhost’s extensive server network.

This VPN offers great speeds on its servers that would let you stream anything you like without buffering. It offers an average speed of 70 Mbps on a 100 Mbps connection.

We tested this VPN’s multiple servers and these are the top 3 recommended ones by us:

CyberGhost has its headquarters in the safe jurisdiction of Romania. The laws of the country are known for protecting the online privacy of users and the right to freedom of expression. CyberGhost is also known to keep user activities safe by offering various security features including kill switch, split tunnelling, DNS leak protection, and AES 256-bit encryption.

CyberGhost also offers dedicated servers for streaming and P2P networking which deliver optimized performance for these specific tasks. For a cost of $2.03/mo - Save up to 84% with exclusive 2-year plans + 4 months free, users in Iceland will find this VPN super-valuable for their needs. With one CyberGhost account, you can connect up to 7 devices, and enjoy a 45-day refund policy.

For more information, read this CyberGhost review.

6. Best Torrenting VPN for Iceland – PIA

Private Internet Access is known to be the best torrenting VPN for Iceland. This VPN delivers 35000+ servers in 84 countries out of which 48 servers are in Iceland.

This means that you can access the local Icelandic content like RUV from abroad after connecting to the server of your choice in Iceland. Likewise, you can unblock famous streaming services like Netflix, HBO, BBC iPlayer, and others while residing in Iceland.

Streaming and speeds go side by side and therefore it is crucial to mention that PIA offers average speeds of 73.71 Mbps on a 100 Mbps connection for torrenting and streaming. With more focus on torrenting, we tested this VPN’s servers to check out their speeds while torrenting files. For minimal lags while torrenting, check out these top 3 recommended servers:

The service mainly hails from the USA, which is a part of Five Eyes countries however, it follows a zero-log policy. Therefore, you can remain safe from the vicious eyes of ISPs, online hackers, and other surveillance actors. Besides, PIA has some impressive privacy features in its armoury such as dedicated IP, split tunnelling, and kill switch that helps users protect their digital footprints online while torrenting.

It also offers Socks5 and port forwarding for all torrenters out there. Due to its premium features and a vast network of servers reviewers consider PIA VPN a top choice. You can obtain its subscription as low as $2.11/mo which helps you get other benefits like 10 multi-logins and 30 days money-back guarantee.

Read our Private Internet Access VPN review for more information.

Testing Methodology: How we tested the best VPN for Iceland

We tested 150+ VPNs on various criteria and performance indicators and brought you the 6 best VPN services for Iceland. Here are the key features that we tested these VPNs on:

1. Number of Servers: The more servers a VPN offers, the easier it is to bypass geo-restrictions. We made sure to include the VPNs that offer servers worldwide in all major locations including some Icelandic servers.

2. Speed: A VPN encrypts your traffic and it takes a longer route to travel, thus affecting your speed. Therefore, the best VPN for Iceland should offer fast-speed servers, so you won’t have to face any significant speed drops. All 6 VPNs mentioned above offer great speeds for streaming and torrenting.

3. Security: We have only listed the VPNs that offer AES 256-bit encryption that is the industry standard since one of the primary purposes of a VPN is to keep users secure over the internet.

4. Multiple Logins: Premium VPNs should offer multiple simultaneous connections so users can enjoy the VPN on more than a single device. All the VPNs on the list allow a minimum of 5 simultaneous connections so you can protect various devices at the same time.

5. Money-back guarantee: Refund policies are a must-have so you can test a VPN service first. The best VPNs for Iceland mentioned above offer a minimum of a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test all its features first.

3 reasons why you need a VPN in Iceland?

There are multiple good reasons why you should obtain a VPN for Iceland. 3 of these are:

1. Unblock geo-restrictions:

In almost every country of the world, the distribution of content is usually confined to certain countries. Iceland, unfortunately, happens to be one of the countries that are left in the dark, while other countries can access the same content without restrictions.

For instance, Iceland only has a sixth of the titles available on Netflix compared to the content people in the US have on Netflix.

The only way for Icelanders to enjoy Netflix to its full potential is by changing their IP address to one based in the US in order to gain access to American Netflix. This is where a VPN having servers in the US can be of great value in Iceland.

2. Preventing Online Surveillance:

Iceland is one country that has come closest to ensuring complete internet freedom and protection of the digital privacy of citizens. Nonetheless, no place is quite perfect.

Iceland happens to be a cooperative state to the Five Eyes – an intelligence-sharing group of countries. This means that the state and law enforcement in the country may be spying on your online activities.

The Electronic Communications Act of 2003 implemented mandatory data retention for all ISPs in Iceland. The online activities of users are retained for a minimum of six months.

Although law enforcement can only gain access to this logged information after producing a warrant, it may still be a concern for privacy-conscious users.

A VPN with offshore jurisdiction comes with a logging policy that guarantees no retention of user information can be an effective solution to those users in Iceland who want to feel more secure on the web and keep their privacy intact.

Read our guide on surveillance and the role of Five Eyes in violating the privacy of citizens if you want to learn about the relationship between jurisdictions and privacy laws.

3. Protection over Public Wi-Fi:

Like every other country, Iceland is equally vulnerable when it comes to public wi-fi. Cyberattacks are common in the form of phishing emails, viruses, and other malware. Therefore, protecting yourself over public wi-fi is significant if you don’t want anyone snooping in your data.

A VPN encrypts user connection and creates a tunnel between a user and the sites its visiting, thereby forbidding all kinds of snooping of hackers.

VPN Guides for Other Countries

Here are a few alternatives which might help you if you are a resident of another Country:

• Best VPN for India
• Best VPN for Australia
• Best VPN for USA
• Best VPN for Japan
• Best VPN for UK
• Best VPN for Canada
• Best VPN for Spain

FAQs – Best VPN for Iceland

Best VPN for Iceland – Final Thoughts

There is no denying that Iceland is an ideal country where citizens enjoy a level of internet freedom that few other countries can, but it still logs user data for up to six months.

Therefore, to hide from the government’s surveillance, you need the best VPN for Iceland. ExpressVPN is our top choice for Iceland since it has the right set of privacy-protective features to keep Icelanders safe from data logging while enjoying complete access to the web.

It further offers a wide server network and easy geo-block bypassing technology along with robust security and high speeds to keep all Icelanders super-safe and happy.