Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the larger of the twin cities in the capital region of the state. Despite having just over 425k people in the town, many know the area for different things. Those include the music scene, top-tier sports teams, natural beauty, the Mall of America, and more. No matter what you plan on doing or why you’re visiting the city or area, you’ll find plenty to see and do while there. That said, connecting to a VPN is crucial to help protect your privacy and get around geo-restrictions when using WiFi. There are some excellent reasons to do so, and we can tell you more after our list of the best VPNs for Minneapolis.
| Rank | VPN Service | Price | Visit | Server Locations | No Logs | Browser Extensions | Smart DNS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | $6.67 |  | 160 |  | | |
| 2 |  | $3.49 | | 87 | | | |
| 3 |  | $2.19 | | 95 | | | |
| 4 |  | $3.99 | | 73 | | ||
| 5 |  | $1.99 | | 58 | |
For those that are sports fans, you can’t go wrong with teams in the area. These include the Minnesota Vikings (NFL), Timberwolves (NBA), Twins (MLB), Wild (NHL), and United FC (MLS). That means the city has all five top-tier sports available. While they are popular, watching games or matches online can be problematic if you are in Minneapolis. That’s because of licensing rights. If you are there, the blocking software considers you to be “in-market”. The key is to connect to a VPN server in a different region. That way, you’ll gain the “out-of-market” status so you can enjoy your favorite teams from anywhere.
As we mentioned, the Minneapolis area is home to the Mall of America. This unique mall opened in 1992, and travelers worldwide come to see this amusement park-like mall. Some of the things you can do there include driving go-carts, watching live comedy, going through a mirror maze, and even eating at the famous Dick’s Last Resort restaurant. With all of the things to do there, you should not be surprised that the entire mall has free WiFi. As of 2015, you can access it with their smartphone app. That said, so can many others. Unless you take advantage of a VPN’s encryption layer, you are vulnerable. We feel you should not have to worry about your privacy so you can focus on beating loved ones in a go-cart race.
From conventions to festivals, Minneapolis is an excellent place to experience them all. The best include Ice Castles Minnesota, the Lyn Lake Street Festival, the Japanese Obon Festival, and more. However, most of them do not run into the night. If you are going to something like Ice Castles or others, you’ll need something to do at night. Streaming services are popular, but you don’t have to limit yourself to your standard region. Instead, you can connect to a different one to explore other areas. That way, you can catch up on your favorite shows from home if you are traveling from abroad or find new ones.
What is the Best VPN for Minneapolis?
Here, we’ll take a look at factors to help you protect your privacy and get around blackout restrictions.
- Ability to get around sports blackouts, firewalls, and geo-restrictions in the region
- Providers that have a large and stable network to help you avoid dropped connections
- Strong military-grade encryption to protect your privacy
- Fast VPN servers in Chicago that perform well in Minneapolis and the surrounding region
- Multi-platform mobile apps and support for Amazon Firestick devices
- Providers that offer a strict no-logs policy for users
And now, a closer look at some of the best VPNs for Minneapolis.
1. ExpressVPN – Best VPN for Minneapolis
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Streaming media is one of the fun things you can do when you are using ExpressVPN. Because there are servers and locations in 94 different countries, you can use it to open your favorite streaming services. The biggest one, of course, is Netflix. The United States has the most extensive library, with some other countries getting closes in the number of titles offered. Since the libraries have different titles available, connecting to a VPN will give you access to your favorite shows and movies. The same is true for other streaming services in the US and beyond.
With servers on every continent except Antarctica, ExpressVPN operates 160 server locations in 94 countries. That means they have one of the largest VPN networks, and they have a presence in almost half the counties in the world. While the service may be more expensive than some of its competitors, you get a premium VPN dedicated to privacy (ExpressVPN keeps no activity logs, so your browsing is kept private) with some of the fastest speeds, apps for every device, and 24/7 customer support to help troubleshoot any issues.
You have likely heard of ExpressVPN as their reputation precedes the quality of the service. From a worldwide network of servers to extra features like MediaStreamer, ExpressVPN tops the competition. We use the service in our office and while traveling. From privacy protection to gaming, and streaming, their network provides excellent performance. Give the service a thorough test during the 30-day money-back guarantee. You can sign up for 12 months and get 3 months free, a 49% discount with our ExpressVPN deal.
Want to learn more? Read our full ExpressVPN review.
2. NordVPN – value VPN with servers in the region
If you are in the market for a VPN provider that is easy to operate, NordVPN is an excellent option to choose. Gone are the days when you had to be computer savvy to be able to connect to a VPN. Once you sign up, you simply need to download the version you want to use. The NordVPN client is available for Android, Windows. Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android. It also has browser extensions for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers.
While all providers promise security, some may not be protecting your privacy when using their service. However, NordVPN does an excellent job of doing that. You can quickly test their DNS security by using the leak test on their website or checking an independent site. By doing so, you will see if others can detect your location. If they can’t, though, you won’t have to worry about groups or organizations tracking you if you are connecting to a VPN. DNS leak protection is a must-have for VPN users.
Want to learn more? Read our full NordVPN review.
3. Private Internet Access – US-based VPN with fast network
One of the ways that connecting to a VPN with Private Internet Access will help is by granting you access to different parts of the world. As big as gaming is these days, you probably realize that developers release games in many different countries. However, that also means that you can get early access to some games if you are in the right place. With Private Internet Access, you only have to connect to the right area and you will be able to get access to your game as soon as it comes out.
One of the benefits of connecting to a VPN server from Private Internet Access is the ability to connect to different streaming libraries. If you are not aware, some streaming services have separate libraries of content, depending on where you are. No matter whether you want to watch titles from a country like India, Canada, Brazil, the UK, the US, or others, Private Internet Access makes it easy. All you need to do is connect to a server in the country you wish. That way, you can watch as much as you like.
Want to learn more? Read our full Private Internet Access review.
4. IPVanish – Firestick app popular for Kodi users
Some of the most valuable sports teams in the world have international followings. Those include sports organizations like the Dallas Cowboys (NFL) in the US, the New York Yankees (MLB) in the US, Real Madrid (Soccer), and more. If you are outside their home country, though, you can only watch them if you connect to a VPN server in the home country from IPVanish. Of course, you would also need to have a subscription to one of the sports apps, depending on what you want to watch.
IPVanish includes a nice addon called SugarSync cloud storage with their VPN service. While they are not the only ones to offer that type of benefit for their users, they were one of the first. It provides you with 250 GB of free cloud storage space. No matter what items you choose to store, it will help you make sure that you do not lose any non-replaceable documents, images, or files that you want to keep safe. That way, when something happens to your phone or computer, you don’t have to worry.
Want to learn more? Read our full IPVanish review.
5. PrivadoVPN – Socks5 feature for torrent apps
If you use an international gaming platform like Steam, you know that some games come out in different regions early. If you want to get early access to a game like that, you’ll want to connect to PrivadoVPN. To do that, you need to find the countries that offer early access. Then, you connect to a VPN server in that country to get early access so you and your friends can enjoy the game before everyone else. Many times connecting to a VPN server in Australia is a good choice for this purpose.
Unlike some providers, PrivadoVPN gives you great protocol protection. They offer IKEv2, a next-generation encryption protocol that is especially useful for mobile devices, and OpenVPN, the gold standard of encryption protocols. Both of these will provide you with the best combination of speed and protection available in the community. That way, you can browse confidently, keep yourself safe, and not have to worry about others seeing your internet traffic.
Want to learn more? Read our full PrivadoVPN review.
