Best VPNs for Johannesburg

JohannesburgJohannesburg is the largest city in South Africa. It has an estimated population of 957k residents but the metro area is 9.6 million. Every year there are many visitors to the city. Those include the Wits Art Museum, the Maboneng Precinct, the Mandela Museum, and more. If you are going to be one of the numerous travelers to the city, you will need to connect to a VPN whenever you use the internet there. We’ll tell you why it matters in a moment. First, though, please have a look at our best VPNs for Johannesburg.

RankVPN ServiceOur
Score
Server
Locations
Visit
1ExpressVPN9.8160ExpressVPN
2NordVPN9.487NordVPN
3Private Internet Access9.295PIA
4IPVanish9.076IPVanish
5CyberGhost9.0110CyberGhost

According to the Freedomhouse.org report, South Africa is listed as a free and open country. That said, you still need to be vigilant while in the city of Johannesburg. Even though the government may not monitor you, there are plenty of cybercrooks that will. That is why you need to connect to a VPN. Doing so will encrypt your traffic and make it much harder for anyone to steal your private information.

The second reason to use a VPN while in Johannesburg is to help you get around geo-restrictions and government restrictions. While they do not have many censorship rules, there are a few in place. The way around that is to connect to a VPN in a different country. That will trick any blocking software into thinking you are located someplace else. That way, you can browse as normal.

What is the Best VPN for Johannesburg?

The best way to answer this question is to look at several factors. Only then can we decide what the best VPN for Johannesburg is.

  • Large and stable networks to help lessen the number of  disconnects while in Johannesburg
  • Ability to get around geo-blocked content and government censorship while in the city
  • Military grade encryption to protect you from prying eyes of the government and cyber crooks
  • Servers that will perform well in Johannesburg and the region on speed tests
  • Strict no logs policy offered by the provider
  • Mobile apps and support for Amazon Firestick devices

Let’s take a more in-depth look at the best VPNs for Johannesburg.


1. Best VPN for Johannesburg: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

Sign up for 12 months and get 3 MONTHS FREE on our #1 rated VPN

ExpressVPN brings together fast VPN access with MediaStreamer which acts as a Smart DNS service to unblock access to geo-restricted content. The VPN 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. Being in the British Virgin Islands puts ExpressVPN outside the 5 eyes and 14 eyes countries. They maintain a no-log policy that has been verified through high profile legal requests over the years.

ExpressVPN manages a very large VPN network. Beyond the USA, the ExpressVPN network boasts thousands of servers in key locations to help protect user’s privacy. You can connect to their VPN network to protect your privacy, unblock censorship, and watch your favorite streaming services from anywhere.

ExpressVPN Johannesburg speed testThe ExpressVPN app allows you to select a server location down to the city but you do not need to choose a specific server. Instead, the client will select the fastest 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 servers in the area. Simply select the “All” tab, open Africa, and then open Johannesburg. At this point, you can select servers there. When we tested a server in Johannesburg, the speed was 103.09 Mbps.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of using ExpressVPN is their support for a wide range of devices. ExpressVPN offers custom VPN software for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Connect your desktop and mobile at the same time with up to 3 simultaneous connections. You can also install the ExpressVPN web extension for Chrome or Firefox. Want to protect your entire home network with a single VPN account? If so you can use the ExpressVPN router app to set it up. The MediaStreamer feature adds Smart DNS support to devices like game consoles (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, etc.), media boxes (Apple TV, Roku, Nvidia Shield TV, etc.), and Smart TVs.

ExpressVPN couponSave 49% and get 3 months free with 12 months of our #1 rated VPN

ExpressVPN performed very well in our speed tests. They are a great choice for privacy and to unblock geo-restrictions. Customer support is available 24/7 to provide assistance and answer any questions. Enjoy the best VPN for less with confidence as ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee.

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2. Best VPN for Johannesburg: NordVPN

NordVPN

Sign up for 36 months for just $2.99 per month (75% discount)

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.

You will find that NordVPN has perhaps the best mix of services for the price if you subscribe to an account for a longer period of time. 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 Android and iOS (iPhone, iPad) devices. You can use the NordVPN browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. NordVPN offers some advanced privacy features like double VPN, P2P servers, and dedicated IP that really helps the service stand out.

NordVPN Johannesburg speed testNordVPN hosts a number of servers in Johannesburg. From the console, clicking on the 3 horizontal dots to the right of the country, you can locate the server area and see the percentages of the servers available. We tested a server located in Johannesburg. The download speed was 110.37 Mbps.

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 $2.99 a month with a 3-year membership.

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3. Best VPN for Johannesburg: PIA

Private Internet Access

Sign up for 24 months for just $3.49 a month (65% discount)

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 33 countries. The PIA team has organized their servers by region, country, and city. You will find the speed to be fast most of the time.

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.

PIA Johannesburg speed testPIA 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. We connected to a Johannesburg server and tested it with a speed of 107.07 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 $3.49 a month along with a 7-day money back guarantee.

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4. Best VPN for Johannesburg: IPVanish

IPVanish

Sign up for 12 months for just $4.87 a month (60% discount)

IPVanish is a very popular service and has many servers located all over the world. No matter which continent you are on, you can a solid performance from the servers there. They are typically fast, and the provider has one of the largest networks in the world.

Along with its large world network, IPVanish hosts servers in every continent other than Antarctica. As we mentioned, they usually are one of the fastest providers in the marketplace. It is known for having multiple server locations in a number of countries. You can select a location or get more specific by picking an individual server. IPVanish is excellent for protecting your privacy but can be hit and miss for unblocking popular streaming services.

IPVanish Johannesburg speed testIPVanish has servers all over the region and they are all available to you. If you happen to see a server that has the letter “a” as part of its server name, those are the fastest in the network. We connected to an IPVanish server in Johannesburg. The speed was 80.21 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.

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5. Best VPN for Johannesburg: CyberGhost

CyberGhost

Sign up for 36 months for just $2.75 a month (79% discount)

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.

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.

CyberGhost Johannesburg speed testSince we wanted to test a server in Johannesburg, 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 Cape Town. We connected to one of them and tested the performance. As you can see, our download speed was 12.81 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.

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You should be able to use the internet in Johannesburg, providing you connect into a VPN. We have given you a number of great options above. However, you are welcome to look at our top 10 VPN list. They will all perform as expected, but we optimized our choices specifically for Johannesburg. That way, you will have access to the best speeds available in the region. By using our guide, you can make the right decision.

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