Laos (officially Lao People’s Democratic Republic) is a small landlocked country located in Southeast Asia. This socialist country has a population of almost 7 million people. Despite its size, many visitors find it an attractive place to visit because of its cultural diversity, beautiful landscapes, festivals, and even some business opportunities. For those that are going to visit the country or think they may want to, using a VPN whenever you use the internet is a great idea. Take a look at our list of the best VPNs for Laos.
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.2 | 125 | |
| 3 |  | 8.8 | 78 | |
Not surprisingly, the biggest reason to use a VPN while in Laos is to help protect your privacy. If you take a look at the Free Internet Project report for the country, the country does not recognize a general right to privacy and they extensively monitor internet traffic. That is why you will want to connect to a VPN server there. That will provide you with an encrypted connection making it much harder for the government or cybercrooks to monitor your information.
In that same report, it states the government restricts access to websites, especially those that are critical of the government. To remedy this issue, you would connect to a VPN server in a different country. That way, you can fool the software into thinking you are located someplace else.
What is the Best VPN for Laos?
Internet coverage for the country is very low. Only about 11% of the population has internet access. However, you can still find it at some businesses and most hotels. Because of monitoring, we’ll focus on providers that are security minded to answer what the best VPN for Laos is. Here are our criteria:
- Strong encryption to protect privacy from prying eyes
- Providers that offer a no-logs policy
- Large network of servers in the region to help eliminate dropped connections
- Ability to get around Laotian government censorship and geo-restricted content
- Fast servers that perform well in Laos and the region
- Multi-platform mobile app support including Amazon Firestick
Based on those criteria, here are our best VPNs for Laos.
1. Best VPN for Laos: ExpressVPN
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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 their user’s privacy. You can use their network to protect your privacy, unblock censorship, and watch your favorite streaming services from anywhere.
The 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 Laos. Simply select the “All” tab, open Asia, and then open Laos. At this point, you can select servers there. When we tested a server in Vientiane, Laos, the speed was 107.55 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 from 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 get all set 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.
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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.
2. Best VPN for Laos: HMA
Sign up for 36 months for just $2.99 a month (75% discount)
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.
For those that want to find a VPN provider with the most server locations, 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 Laos, specifically in Vientiane. 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 Vientiane. We connected to a server there to test and found the speed to be 102.86 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 $4.99 a month and offers all new users a 30-day risk-free money back guarantee.
3. Best VPN for Laos: PureVPN
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PureVPN has been in business since 2007 making them one of the oldest VPN providers on the market. Having an early start has helped them expand and innovate. PureVPN has one of the best VPN clients available on the market. They also have free apps for both iOS and Android.
Innovation is an area that helps PureVPN stand out from the pack. They continue to add new features and add-ons to the service. You can add NAT firewall, a dedicated IP address, StealthVPN browser and a special option called dedicated streaming to help speed up your performance.
Since we wanted to test a server in Vientiane, Laos, we opened the Windows client and clicked on the “Country Selection Tool” option. From there you can expand any country and select a specific server using the “Browse All Servers” tab. The PureVPN network has several servers located in Laos. We connected to one of them and tested the performance. As you can see, our download speed was 12.15 Mbps.
PureVPN does really well in the pricing category. They have cut pricing by over 50% as the service continues to grow. You can sign up for unlimited VPN and access all their server locations from just $4.99 a month. The annual plan is a great value.
Above, you see the best VPN options to use while in Laos. You can clearly see how crucial connecting to one is. If you would like more choices, you can take a look at our top 10 VPN list. Though they will also perform well, we made our favorite choices to provide you with options that are optimized for Laos. No matter what you want to do while there, those factors are important. By using our guide, you can make an informed choice to help you reach your goals.