Hungary is a relatively small country located in central Europe. It has a population of almost 10 million people. You can find many that travel to the area for different reasons. Whether it is for historical reasons or business opportunities, they are plenty of things to see and do. If you are going to Hungary for business, vacation, or other reasons, there is a chance you will want to use public WiFi. Before you do that, we suggest you use a VPN first. We’ll give you more information about that in a moment.
Best VPN for Hungary – Summary
Let’s take a quick look at our top 5 favorite best VPNs for Hungary.
At the most recent survey of internet speeds in Hungary, it rates very highly. In other words, you will likely enjoy great speeds while in the country. However, that can also open up opportunities for cybercriminals. While the country may have an old-world feel, you can bet that are several of them that would take advantage of the situation. When you use a VPN server, you can create a secure and encrypted connection. That will help to secure your data
The second good reason to use a VPN while in Hungary has to do with censorship and geo-blocks. According to a 2017 Harvard University report, there is selective censorship around social media in Hungary. However, that seems to be the only forms of censorship we can find. If you want to access that material that is banned, you would normally be out of luck unless you use a VPN. Because you can obtain an IP address in a different region, you can successfully get around the social media restrictions. While media companies can block users from seeing content outside of the targeted area, governments can do the same to block anyone inside the country.
What is the best VPN for Hungary?
We focused on the following criteria to determine our list of the best VPNs for Hungary:
- VPN providers that do not keep usage logs
- Large and stable network to help you eliminate disconnects
- VPN servers that performed well in Hungary.
- Strong military grade encryption to help protect privacy
- The ability to unblock popular streaming services and get around filtering
- Mobile apps and support for Amazon Firestick devices
Without further delay, here is a list of the best VPN services for Hungary:
1. CyberGhost
Based in: Romania | Number of servers: 3,000+ | Server locations: 80 | Simultaneous connections: 7
- Exclusive 12-month plan + 6 mos. free – $2.75 a month ($49.50 total cost)
- 6-month plan – $4.99 a month ($29.94 total cost)
- 1-month plan – $11.99 a month
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 focuses 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.
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 UK. The Windows client also gives you the option to surf anonymously, protect WiFi, torrent anonymously, unblock basic websites (Google, Facebook Instagram, etc.), and choose a server.
Since we wanted to test a server in Hungary, we opened the Windows client and expanded the interface. From there, you will want to click on the “All Servers” tab if it isn’t already active. Scroll down to Hungary and click to the right of the star. This will bring up a full list of servers in the country. The CyberGhost network includes a few servers in Budapest. We connected to a server there and we got a speed of 119.05 Mbps.
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 $2.75 a month during their current promotion.
Read our full review of CyberGhost VPN.
2. HMA Pro VPN
Based in: UK | Number of servers: 880+ | Server locations: 280 | Simultaneous connections: 5
- 12-month plan – $6.99 a month ($83.88 total cost)
- 6-month plan – $7.99 a month ($47.94 total cost)
- 1-month plan – $11.99 a month
HideMyAss was brought to life in 2005 when Jack Cator, a 16-year-old student in England, decided that he wanted to create a service to help people avoid censorship. Specifically, Jack was unable to access social media sites and online games because they were blocked on the school network. HMA added hundreds of thousands of users the first month and has since grown into one of the largest VPN services in the world with over 350 server locations. Privax, the parent company of HMA Pro VPN, joined the AVG team in 2015.
If your goal is to find the VPN with the most server locations then HideMyAss is your best choice. Just keep in mind that HMA logs user activity which is a concern for some VPN users. HMA hosts some VPN servers in Indonesia including several servers in major cities. To connect to a server there, you will want to go into the “Location Mode” and select “Change Location” to get started. Then click on the “Cities” tab and search for Budapest. We connected to a server there to test and found the speed to be 119.60 Mbps.
In 2016 HMA and a few other leading VPN providers led the way in simplifying their custom client software. The result is a full set of custom apps that make it easy for any user to connect to the HMA network and encrypt your connection. They have software available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. You can also connect to HMA through your router. HMA offers unlimited VPN access from just $6.99 a month and offers all new users a 30-day risk-free money back guarantee.
Read our full review of HMA.
3. Private Internet Access
Based in: USA | Number of servers: 3,000+ | Server locations: 52 | Simultaneous connections: 5
- Exclusive 24-month plan – $2.50 a month ($59.95 total cost)
- 12-month plan – $3.25 a month ($38.95 total cost)
- 1-month plan – $6.45 a month
As a user, Private Internet Access (PIA) provides you with several different options. Previously, you had to set up a profile for each VPN server. Now, connecting to any server in their network of 28 countries is easy. The PIA team has organized their servers by region, country, and city. The server locations are listed in alphabetical order by country. Once you select a location, you can connect easily to locations in Budapest to secure your Hungarian VPN connection.
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 offers a Windows client and other apps that are simple and easy to use. However, you won’t want to underestimate it. PIA offers different levels of privacy protection depending on your needs. You can control encryption levels to help you find the right balance between privacy and speed. As you can see, our speed test showed that PIA performs well in the region. When we connected to a Budapest server, we got a speed of 114.92 Mbps.
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. Private Internet Access offers VPN from just $2.50 a month.
Read our full review of Private Internet Access.
4. IPVanish
Based in: USA | Number of servers: 1,100+ | Server locations: 89 | Simultaneous connections: 10
- Exclusive 12-month plan – $4.87 a month ($58.49 total cost)
- 3-month plan – $6.74 a month ($20.24 total cost)
- 1-month plan – $7.50 a month
Hungary is centrally located and many services have servers in the region. Of course, that includes IPVanish. You can expect fast speed in locations in multiple parts of the world. Because of that reason, we choose IPVanish as one of our go-to options to use while in Hungary.
As well as quite a bit of coverage in various regions, IPVanish hosts servers in every continent other than Antarctica. The network produces great speeds and they perform well on our speed tests. You will find multiple server locations all over Asia. You can select a location or an individual server from the drop-down menu.
IPVanish hosts a number of servers in the locations we mentioned above and you can choose to connect to any of them. If you see servers that have the letter “a” in the server name, those are the fastest. We tested an IPVanish server in Budapest and found the speed to be 85.09 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 will cover you as a new member.
Read our full review of IPVanish.
5. ExpressVPN
Based in: British Virgin Islands | Number of servers: 2,000+ | Server locations: 148 | Simultaneous connections: 3
- Exclusive 12-month plan + 3 mos. free – $6.67 a month ($99.95 total cost)
- 6-month plan – $9.99 a month ($59.95 total cost)
- 1-month plan – $12.95 a month
ExpressVPN brings together fast VPN access with MediaStreamer which acts as a Smart DNS service to help unblock access to some great geo-restricted content. The service will help encrypt your connection and unblock live sporting events. You will even find a list of the latest live entertainment and sporting events on their website.
ExpressVPN manages a very large VPN network. Beyond the USA and Canada, 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. You may find that issue with the cities we mentioned. Simply select the “All” tab, open Europe, and then open Hungary. At this point, you can select servers there. When we tested a server in Budapest, the speed was 62.38 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.
Read our full review of ExpressVPN.
If you would like to take a look at other providers, please feel free to take a look at our top 10 VPN services for different options. However, we do not think that will be necessary. We hand-picked our choices specifically over other leading services based on regional locations, speed, price, and security. We also looked for providers with a good network of VPN servers. That way, you can get the best possible speeds. There are no bad options, so you can’t go wrong with our suggestions. If you plan on streaming content or even visiting websites, speeds are important. Hopefully, by using our guide, you can make an informed decision.