Eugene, Oregon is a medium-sized city located fairly close to the Oregon coast. It has a population of almost 170k people and the metro area is home to approximate 370k. This green city has quite a few different things to attract tourists, with one of the most notable being the University of Oregon Ducks. If you are taking a trip to watch your favorite team play in the Autzen “Zoo” or other reasons, you will want to use a VPN when using public WiFi. We’ll tell you why in a moment. First, take a look at our list of the best VPNs for Eugene.
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 76 | |
| 3 |  | 9.2 | 87 | |
In 1846, Eugene F. Skinner arrived in the Willamette Valley (pronounced wil-lam-ette) with 1200 other colonists. The local indigenous people advised Skinner to build on high ground to avoid flooding. He built the first Anglo cabin on what is now Skinner’s Butte. It was used as a trading post and was registered as an official post office in 1850.
Today, there are many different factors that drive the economy. It has many high tech industries, museums, historical locations, it is close to the Oregon coast, the Willamette and Mckenzie rivers that run through the city, the Eugene Yacht Club, and more. Despite other schools located in Eugene or close, the school that gets the most press is the University of Oregon. The school has a very large booster and Alumni by the name of Phil Knight. He is the founder and CEO of the Nike Apparel company, and in an interview, he stated that he donated 100s of millions of dollars to the school.
No matter your reasons for visiting the Eugene area, there is a good chance you will want to use public WiFi. If so, you need to use a VPN first. That is because cybercrooks are lurking about. You don’t need to go far to hear about a data breach from some company. While you can’t do anything about those, using a VPN will help to secure and encrypt your information from those who would want to steal it.
The next reason to use a VPN is to help you get around network and geo-restrictions. From schools, businesses, organizations, to some countries, firewalls are all over the place. By using a VPN, you can make the software think you are located somewhere else. It is also great because the encrypted information is protected from the censors. That way, you can view what you would like to, just as you normally would. The same applies if you have ever experienced sports blackouts. You should not have to miss out on your favorite sports event because you happen to be in the same region where the game is.
There you have the two biggest reasons to use a VPN while in Eugene. However, you may find that there are more. Whether you want to protect yourself from the cybercrooks or get around network and geo-restrictions, using a VPN is a great idea. With all of the protocol options available, you will want to use either the IKEv2 or the OpenVPN encryption protocols when choosing one. If the providers give you an option between versions of OpenVPN, the UDP version is the fastest. However, the TCP version is suited for those with connection issues.
1. Best VPN for Eugene: ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN has the components of fast VPN access and MediaStreamer. Together, they act as a Smart DNS service to unblock access to geo-restricted content. It will also help encrypt your connection and unblock live sporting events as well. You will even find a list of the latest live entertainment and sporting events on the ExpressVPN website.
| Countries | Locations | USA Server Locations |
|---|---|---|
| 94 | 160 | Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New Jersey, New York, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica, Seattle, Tampa, Virginia, Washington, DC |
As you can see in the table above, ExpressVPN manages a very large VPN network. Beyond the USA, the ExpressVPN network boasts hundreds of servers in key locations to help protect their user’s privacy. You can use their network to protect your privacy, unblock censorship, and watch your favorite teams from anywhere.
The ExpressVPN app allows you to select a server location down to the city but you can not choose a specific server. Instead, the client will select a server in your chosen location. You also need to know that some cities are not shown on the recommended tab inside the client. Of course, this is true for Seattle (since it is the closest). You will want to select the “All” tab, open Americas, and then open the United States. At this point, you can select the USA – Seattle server location. As you can see, we tested a server in Portland and the speed was 115.58 Mbps.
While ExpressVPN is sold at a higher price point than the other services in our list, the value is high given the size of their network and service features. You can connect a computer, handheld device, router, and game console (SmartDNS) with a single VPN account for just $6.67 a month with an annual subscription.
2. Best VPN for Eugene: IPVanish
Eugene has beautiful scenery and many things to see and do. However, the closest server location for IPVanish is Seattle. That is why you want to connect to a server there. When you do, you will find that the connections in the city are fast and should work just fine for your needs. That makes IPVanish one of the best choices to use while in Eugene.
| Countries | Locations | Servers | Protocols | Software | Month | 12 Mo. | Refund |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 89 | 1,200 | OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP, PPTP |  | $7.50 | $58.49 | 7 day |
Along with a large footprint in the USA, IPVanish hosts servers in every continent other than Antarctica. The network has consistently been the fastest VPN in the US for our speed tests. You will find multiple server locations in countries all over the region. You can select a specific location or an individual server.
IPVanish hosts 41 servers in Seattle and you can choose to connect to any of them. They have great speeds and perform well. We tested an IPVanish server in Seattle and found the speed to be 126.88 Mbps.
When it comes to value, IPVanish is hard to beat. They offer unlimited access to their VPN network and custom software for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Amazon Firestick and more for $7.50 a month or $58.49 a year. That works out to just $4.87 a month on the annual plan. A 7-day money back guarantee covers all new members.
3. Best VPN for Eugene: NordVPN
NordVPN is based in Panama which some users prefer to using a VPN company that’s actually headquartered in the United States. You will find that NordVPN has a strong presence in the US with servers located throughout the country. Members have full access to their network in the USA and beyond for a very good price.
| Countries | Locations | USA Server Locations |
|---|---|---|
| 61 | 80 | Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Washington DC |
You will find that NordVPN has perhaps the best mix of services for the price if you subscribe to a plan with a longer term. All users have full access to their network and custom software. You can connect using the VPN client for Windows or Mac. They also have an easy-to-use mobile app for both Android and iOS (iPhone, iPad) devices.
NordVPN hosts a number of servers in Seattle (since it is the closest location to Eugene). Unfortunately, the client does not show the city of the server. The easiest way to select a specific server number is to select the “Servers” tab in the app and then sort the results in alphabetical order. You can then scroll down and select any of the server numbers we have listed above. You can see the load time percentage and the distance to each server. We tested the United States server in Seattle and found the performance to be 126.34 Mbps when testing a server in Portland.
Want to access streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world? If so NordVPN is a great choice. They are one of the only VPN services that can still unblock Netflix. You can sign up for unlimited VPN and SmartDNS service from just $3.99 a month with a 2-year membership.
4. Best VPN for Eugene: CyberGhost VPN
CyberGhost was founded in 2001 by 7 enthusiastic young team members in Bucharest, Romania. Since that time the company has grown into one of the largest VPN services in the world. The team of 50+ members is focused on protecting users privacy. Robert Knapp, co-founder and CEO, continues to lead the team even after they joined the Crossrider group in 2017. Since that time the CyberGhost network has expanded quite a bit.
| Countries | Locations | Servers | Protocols | Software | Monthly | 18 Mo. | Refund |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 80 | 2960 | OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec |  | $11.99 | $49.50 | 45 day |
CyberGhost offers a nice mix of server locations, strong encryption, and the ability to unblock popular streaming services like Netflix, YouTube Red, and Amazon Prime. Some of the channels even let you unblock geo-restrictions for multiple regions. For example, you can access Amazon Prime video content in the US, Germany, or others. The Windows client also gives you the option to surf anonymously, protect Wi-Fi, torrent anonymously, unblock basic websites (Google, Facebook Instagram, etc.), and choose a server.
Since we wanted to test a server near Eugene, we opened the Windows client and clicked on the “Choose My Server” option. From there you can expand any country and select a specific server. The CyberGhost network includes a number of servers in Seattle. We connected to one of them and tested the performance. As you can see, our download speed was 120.04 Mbps when we used a test location of Portland.
The CyberGhost VPN client is one of our favorites. It is very easy to use and includes a number of advanced features to help protect your online privacy. They have a development team in Germany that is continually adding features to the client and mobile apps. You can sign up for full access to the CyberGhost network from just $3.50 a month during their current promotion.
5. Best VPN for Eugene: PIA
Private Internet Access (PIA) gives users a few different options. Unlike in the past, you no longer have to set up a profile for each VPN server. Now, you can connect to any of their server locations in 28 countries. As you can see below, the PIA team has organized their servers by region, country, and city. They listed the server locations in alphabetical order by country. Once you select a location, you can connect easily to locations in Seattle (since it is the closest to Eugene).
| Countries | Locations | Servers | Protocols | Software | Monthly | 2 Years | Refund |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 47 | 3282 | OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP | | $6.45 | $59.95 | 7 day |
There are a lot of torrent users who love Private Internet Access. The service includes a feature that will stop your system from communicating if the connection to their service drops. Meaning if your encrypted VPN access is dropped for any reason it will keep you safe.
PIA’s Windows client is very straightforward. You won’t find much to it as far as usage and set up goes. However, you won’t want to underestimate it. PIA offers different levels of privacy protection depending on your needs. You can control encryption levels and find the right balance between privacy and speed. As you can see, our speed test showed that PIA was running at 125.44 Mbps when connected to a Seattle server and testing with a Portland testing location.
When it comes to their Windows client the PIA team has included an Internet kill switch. The kill switch will kill your Internet connection anytime the VPN fails. That can really come in handy for those wanting to ensure anonymity in Seattle. Private Internet Access offers VPN from just $2.50 a month.
Though you can take a look at our top 10 VPN services list, we think you will be good with our top services. We made our decisions based on speed, reliability, price, and security. Many providers have servers located in or around Eugene. That way, you won’t have any speed issues. Of course, they all have great networks. Speed is important if you plan on downloading or streaming any content. No one likes to see the buffering icon, so you will want the best possible speeds. When you use our guide, you can make an informed decision.