The Best VPN For Iran (July 2021 Updated)

In the light of anti-government protests across the country, Iranian authorities have blocked access to many websites, including social media websites such as Instagram, Telegram, and YouTube. While some of the bans were lifted, Telegram remains completely blocked even in 2021. Overall, internet freedom remains highly restricted in Iran.

Considering the current online landscape in the country, using the best VPN for Iran seems like the only option to secure online privacy and anonymity. Aside from privacy and security, with a VPN, you can also access blocked websites and streaming platforms in Iran with ease.

To help you make a decision, we bring you 6 of the best VPNs for Iran in 2021 that will help you unblock social media websites and other blocked services without compromising privacy. We have tested 150+ VPNs on various criteria to bring you 6 providers that work best in Iran.

6 Best VPNs For Iran (July 2021 In-Depth Analysis)

We tested 150+ VPNs on the basis of their security protocols, servers, privacy features, unblocking ability, etc, and concluded that the following 6 VPNs are the best ones to use in Iran:

1. The Best VPN for Iran – ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is the best VPN for Iran. It has apps available for all popular platforms and is incredibly easy to use. It is an all-rounder VPN offering the best speeds, security, and unblocking ability.

ExpressVPN offers more than 3000+ servers in 94 countries. Considering this and the fact that it offers speeds of up to 88 Mbps on a 100 Mbps connection, it is one of the best streaming VPNs out there. With fast speeds, you’ll be able to stream content in HD quality without any buffering.

With servers all over the world, you’ll be able to access popular geo-restricted streaming services and channels in Iran such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney Plus, DAZN, YouTube TV, and more.

We ran a speed test while connecting to ExpressVPN’s foreign servers just to see what speeds we can expect to get from Iran, and here are the results:

Aside from server coverage and speed, ExpressVPN offers security features like 256-bit AES encryption and an extensive set of protocols which include OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, and SSTP.

In addition, the provider offers an Internet Kill Switch, Split-Tunneling, and server obfuscation to keep your private information fully protected from agencies and cybercriminals in Iran. We ran an IP leak test just to confirm if it has what it takes to protect our DNS and IP address from leaking.

As you can see, our original DNS and IP address are not exposed from the screenshot above. Overall, it is an amazing VPN option for anyone living in Iran. If we talk about pricing, it starts from $6.67/mo and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

If you want to know more about this service, you can refer to our ExpressVPN review.

2. Budget-friendly VPN for Iran – Surfshark

Surfshark is a budget-friendly VPN for Iran. It comes with a low price of $2.49/mo  with a 30-day money-back guarantee. One feature that makes Surfshark so distinctive from the rest of the providers is its unlimited simultaneous connections.

Surfshark offers 3,200+ servers in 65 countries that are perfectly capable of unblocking US Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, ITV, Channel4, UKTV, and any other foreign websites that are blocked in Iran.

If we talk about speeds, Surfshark performs quite well. As per our testing, it is capable of delivering speeds of up to 69 Mbps on a 100 Mbps connection. With such speeds, you’ll have no trouble torrenting, streaming, or browsing in Iran. We also performed speed tests on various servers, and the results are as follows:

If you want more details about its offshore servers speeds, then you can check out our Surfshark speed test guide.

It offers excellent privacy-boosting features such as CleanWeb, MultiHop, and WhiteLister. It also boasts 256-bit encryption along with DNS and IP leak protection. We tested its leak protection feature and found no leaks whatsoever. Check out the screenshot below:

Like ExpressVPN, Surfshark is also located in the British Virgin Islands, and it also doesn’t store logs of any kind. From a privacy standpoint, it doesn’t get better than this.

Thanks to its unlimited simultaneous connection feature, you can set up Surfshark on macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromecast, router, Roku, PS4, Xbox, and many other devices on a single subscription plan. Overall, if you’re on a budget, this is the best budget VPN to get in Iran.

Check out our Surfshark review if you want additional information about this VPN.

3. Secure VPN for Iran – NordVPN

NordVPN is the most secure VPN in Iran. NordVPN offers DNS leak protection, and other powerful security features, including Obfuscation technology, Onion Over VPN, Internet Kill Switch, and DoubleVPN.

With over 5200+ servers in 59 countries, NordVPN is among the best VPN in Iran in terms of network coverage.

If you wish to stay updated with your favourite international shows offered by foreign streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, ESPN+, BT-Sports, NordVPN is one the best VPN to get.

NordVPN offers reliable speeds. We got a fast download speed of 79 Mbps on a 100 Mbps connection, which is more than enough for HD streaming, torrenting, and even gaming. Here is a table with speed results of various NordVPN’s international servers that we tested:

If you want more details of its speeds on its international servers including Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, then you can simply check out our NordVPN speed test guide for it.

NordVPN also offers IP and DNS leak protection for maximum security. We also ran leak tests using NordVPN’s servers and found that it did not leak our IP or DNS. Here’s a screenshot of that:

You can easily configure NordVPN on various devices such as macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, router, Linux, PS4, Xbox, Chromecast, and many others.

But despite offering such amazing features, NordVPN only costs a modest $3.30/mo and is covered by a full 30-day refund policy.

For more information, check out our exclusive NordVPN review.

4. Fastest VPN for Iran – IPVanish

IPVanish is the fastest VPN for Iran. With our base internet connection, we managed to get a fast download speed of 91.34 Mbps on a 100 Mbps connection.

IPVanish offers over 1,600+ servers from over 75+ countries. It may not have servers in Iran, but its international servers will allow you to unblock all foreign content that can’t be accessed in Iran. We managed to stream Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ESPN+, Spotify, BT-Sports, UKTV, CBS, NBC Live, and more in HD quality.

As far as compatibility is concerned, you can set up IPVanish on your Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and more. You can also manually configure it on routers as well. IPVanish also manages to offer fast speed on all its servers. The table below shows speed results on IPVanish’s international servers:

We further tested this VPN’s offshore servers in countries like Switzerland and India. If you want to check out their speeds, then you can go through our IPVanish speed test guide.

The provider is based in the United States, which raises some eyebrows. However, its zero-log policy and military-grade AES-256 bit encryption are surely enough to keep the user’s personal data and online activity logs secure. Some other appealing features of IPVanish include Split-Tunneling, Internet Kill Switch, and unlimited simultaneous connection.

To be extra sure, we tested IPVanish to see if it had what it takes to prevent our DNS and IP address from leaking. Despite testing it rigorously, we encountered no leaks. Check out the screenshot below:

IPVanish is also quite affordable. It is available for just $3.33/mo and comes with 30-day money-back guarantee.

Please visit the IPVanish review for more information on this provider.

5. User-friendly VPN for Iran – CyberGhost

CyberGhost is one of the most user-friendly VPNs for Iran. Its apps are amazing and offer various modes to help you stream, torrent and download without putting a lot of effort into finding optimized servers.

This VPN offers 7000+ servers in 90 countries worldwide and 14 servers in Iran to help you unblock pretty much any blocked content you can think of. With so many servers, you can access foreign streaming platforms such as Fox-Sports, HBO Max, Euro-Sports, Nine, ABC, Sling TV, and more in Iran.

With its local servers, you can also easily access local Iranian channels such as IRINN, IRIB Nasim, and even iFilm Farsi abroad.

If we talk about speeds, then CyberGhost managed to offer a speed of up to 68 Mbps on a 100 Mbps connection. We also tested other servers offered and found them to be just as fast as their local servers. Check out the speed test results covered below:

For more information on this provider, please visit our CyberGhost review.

6. Best VPN for Torrenting in Iran – PIA VPN

PIA is the best VPN for torrenting in Iran. It offers 35500+ servers across 78 countries. All these servers are optimized for P2P. It also offers P2P optimized features such as SOCKS5 proxy for safe torrenting.

With so many international servers, PIA can help you with pretty much any foreign content you can imagine. Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Vudu, Yupptv US, UKTV, Channel4, and ITV are to name a few that can be easily accessed with PIA in Iran.

You can set up Private Internet Access on devices such as macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, Android TV box, Firestick, Chromecast, Roku, and more. It also supports 10 multi-logins.

Private Internet Access (PIA) offers an average speed of 67 Mbps on a 100 Mbps connection, enough for buffer-free streaming and downloading large torrent files. Here are PIA’s top 3 recommended servers and their speed result:

If you want to learn more about this VPN’s speeds, then you can check out our PIA speed test guide. In this guide, we have covered 9 countries’ speeds in detail.

PIA offers 256-bit encryption, Internet Kill Switch, Port forwarding, and Split Tunneling, for online privacy and security. It also offers protection against IP and DNS leaks.

We tested DNS and IP security of PIA by connecting to a Sri Lankan server, and you can see that it does restrict your actual IP from being revealed:

PIA’s subscription plans start from $2.08/mo , and all of its plans are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Please look at our PIA review for more information.

Testing Methodology: How we tested the best VPNs for Iran

The political situation in Iran is volatile and alarming. Citizens should exercise extreme caution when using a VPN. While selecting the 6 best VPNs for Iran, we tested 150+ providers on the following criteria:

1. Encryption: All the VPNs mentioned above offer the strongest 256-bit AES encryption for data protection. They also offer an internet kill switch to keep you safe online.
2. DNS Leak Protection: All the VPNs that we have on our list are thoroughly tested for DNS leaks and found to be DNS leak-proof. Also, they all offer their very own DNS leak protection, so make sure to turn on this feature to get maximum online protection.
3. Server network: The best VPN for Iran should offer global server coverage with servers in all major countries. The VPNs on our list offer thousands of servers across the world.
4. Unblocking ability: VPNs on our list work with all major geo-restricted platforms in Iran like Netflix, BBC, Hulu, HBO, and more.
5. 24/7 customer support: We made sure to include the VPNs that offer 24/7 customer support, and live chat in case you face technical issues.
6. Money-back guarantee: The VPNs on the list offer at least a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test the service risk-free in Iran. Among the VPNs, CyberGhost offers an extensive 45-day money-back guarantee.

3 Reasons Why You Need a VPN in Iran

Here are 3 major reasons why you need a VPN in Iran:

1. Online Censorship

Internet censorship is widely prevalent in Iran. In fact, Freedom House, a US-funded non-government organization, ranks Iran 16 on its internet freedom rankings. Along with these restrictions, there are also growing concerns about government surveillance in the country.

The government in Iran also controls media outlets, as even newspapers and magazines face censorship. Similarly, foreign websites are filtered as well, including news sites, and social media platforms. What’s more surprising is that satellite dishes are banned in the country, as in the past the police have raided private homes for confiscating satellite dishes.

Under such tight censorship, VPN becomes a necessary tool in Iran. With a VPN, people of Iran can connect to foreign servers and enjoy geo-restricted content. Not just that, VPNs can also hide your IP address to stop the government from monitoring your digital activity.

2. Online Surveillance

Although hard to believe, the Iranian government actively monitors the online traffic of its citizens. Believe it or not, the Iranian government eavesdrops on its citizens’ email messages and even chat conversations. Worst of all, the government mandates all local ISPs to store logs of their citizens for a minimum of 90 days.

Not only are the Iranians restricted from accessing popular social networking and video streaming websites, but their online activity is also observed for any violation of the country’s moral codes. It can be said that using a VPN in Iran is not even a choice, but a necessity.

3. Blocked Websites in Iran

Blocked websites are a problem in Iran. The government has restricted access to all those websites that intervene in their social value. The Iranian government does not compromise on those values.

Even in 2021, most foreign websites are blocked in Iran. According to one estimate, more than 500 mainstream websites are blocked in the country. You can’t access  YouTube, Facebook, and not even Twitter.

Here is a list of websites that are blocked in the country:

• Facebook
• Netflix
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Google Services
• Hulu
• HBO

The only way to access these websites from Iran is by using a VPN service. We recommend using ExpressVPN since it is one of the best overall VPN in terms of performance, security, and unblocking ability.

VPN guides for other countries

Here are a few VPN guides for other countries:

• Best VPNs for Sri Lanka
• Best VPNs for Venezuela
• Best VPNs for UK
• Best VPNs for Canada
• Best VPNs for Australia
• Best VPNs for Lebanon

FAQs – Best VPN for Iran

Here are a few FAQs answered over the best VPN for Iran:

Best VPN for Iran – Conclusion

Iran imposes harsh restrictions on the online liberty of its citizens, even to this day. Similarly, there is increased online surveillance as the government controls the internet and limits access to information, especially from abroad.

Fortunately, with the best VPN for Iran, you can access all blocked social media apps, websites, and streaming platforms in Iran. Our top recommendation is ExpressVPN with its military-grade 256-bit AES encryption, obfuscation technology, and ability to bypass geo-blocks.

ExpressVPN also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 12 months + 3 months free offer so you can test the service risk-free in Iran.