Manila is the capital of the Philippines and the most densely populated city proper in the world. While the city only has 1.7 million residents, they live in an area of only 16.5 square miles. There are many reasons that you might want to visit the city. If you plan on taking a trip to Manila and are going to be using the internet, you will want to use a VPN to protect your privacy and unblock websites. We’ll explain why it is important in a moment. In the meantime, have a look at our top VPN providers to use while in Manila.
| Rank | VPN Service | VPN Fan Price | Visit Site | Server Locations | No Logs | Browser Extensions | Smart DNS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | $6.67 |  | 160 |  | | |
| 2 |  | $4.87 | | 89 | | ||
| 3 |  | $3.49 | | 52 | | |
Manila got its name from the native Tagalog language. It means the place where the Mangrove trees are. Australoid Aborigines originally settled the area of Manila. When the Malayo-Polynesians arrived, they assimilated them into the Polynesian culture. Spanish conquistadors fought the local inhabitants and defeated them in 1571. After that, the Spanish ruled the area for the next 3 centuries.
In more modern times, there are many things that have happened in the city. There is a lot of growth, development, and trade. Manila has a diverse economy. Some of the things to see and do include shopping, historical buildings, architecture, museums, sports, festivals, and more. You won’t have a shortage of things to do when you are there.
Manila sees 1 million visitors a year, and it has more than 60,000 local businesses. Some of those businesses offer free WiFi for their patrons and tourists. Though the internet in Manila is not great, the president of the Philippines approved a 3-year plan for national broadband in 2017. Those speeds are great for tourists, but they are also great for criminals. You can bet that there criminals that are waiting to steal your sensitive data. By connecting to a VPN, you create a secure and encrypted connection to the server of your choice. By doing so, you make it much more difficult for thieves to compromise your data. Without it, you leave yourself vulnerable to attack.
The next reason to use a VPN is to help you get around censorship. Though there are not many websites blocked by the government, there are still some that are. In this case, connecting to a VPN server location outside of the country will make the blocking software think you are located somewhere else. Simply connect to the server of your choice and you are ready to access any blocked sites.
Those are the two best reasons to use a VPN while you are in Manila. However, you may discover other reasons as well. From stopping cyber thieves to getting around censorship, VPNs will take care of your needs. Now that you see the importance, we’ll talk about the best options to choose.
When you use a VPN, it works by using encryption protocols. These protocols create the desired goals we list above. The best one available to use is called OpenVPN. That is because it is opensource and has a great mix of speed and security. If you are given an option between a UDP and a TCP version of OpenVPN, UDP is the fastest. However, if you are having connection issues, the TCP version is your best choice. While it is a slower option, you are less likely to have connection issues.
Let’s jump right in and take a look at the best VPNs for Manila.
1. Best VPN for Manila: 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 will want to select the “All” tab, open Asia, and then open Philippines (via Singapore). At this point, you can select the servers located there. As you can see, we tested a server there and the speed came out to 106.27 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 Onw, 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 Manila: IPVanish
Sign up for 12 months for just $4.87 a month (60% discount)
Manila is extremely densely populated, and they have servers located in the city. The ones available are fast and will do the job well. You should have no problem with the service while there. It is that speed that makes IPVanish one of our top choices of services to use while in Manila.
IPVanish hosts servers on every continent other than Antarctica. The network has consistently been the fastest VPN in North America and Europe in our speed tests. You will find multiple server locations in countries all over Asia. You can select a location or an individual server.
IPVanish hosts 2 servers in Manila and you can choose to connect to either of them. You will notice that the servers have the letter A in their name, such as mnl-a04.ipvanish.com. That means it is a top-tier server and is the best designation IPVanish offers. We tested an IPVanish server in Manila, mnl-a08, and found the speed to be 120.91 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 Manila: PIA
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. As you can see below, the PIA team has organized their servers by region, country, and city. The server locations are listed in alphabetical order by country.
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 58.24 Mbps while connected to a server located in Singapore.
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 $3.49 a month.
The options above are the best choices to use if you are traveling to Manila. Feel free to take a look at our top 10 VPN list, though. Just be sure the provider you choose has servers located in the region. Our decisions are based on security, speed, reliability, and price. We also looked for providers with servers in Manila and Singapore. That way, the best speeds are available to you. If you want to stream content, good speeds are crucial. Because our choices have solid networks, there are no bad choices to make. By using our guide, you can hopefully make the best decision for your situation.