Oakland, California is the county seat of Alameda County in the northern part of the state. Though it is part of the San Francisco Bay area, it has its own individual character. It has a population of 412k, serves as the trade center for the bay area, and is the 5th busiest port in the US. Of course, there are several great reasons to visit the area. It is close to Silicon Valley, has good weather, good sports teams, and a whole host of other things. If you are going to be in the Oakland area and plan on using public WiFi, we suggest connecting to a VPN first. Here are some of the best VPNs for Oakland.
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 87 | |
| 3 |  | 9.2 | 95 | |
| 4 |  | 9.0 | 110 | |
| 5 |  | 8.8 | 73 | |
You will likely have some downtime, no matter why you visit the area. While some will do other things, most will use public WiFi at least once. WiFi is everywhere, especially in a tech capital like the bay area. Most feel that it is a great opportunity access, and the cybercriminals would agree. Though it may help you to save on your data plan or give you a faster speed, it will also leave you vulnerable. When you use a VPN, you can help protect your sensitive information from thieves.
The next reason to use a VPN while in the area is to help you get around geo-restrictions. From travelers to sports fans, everyone experiences geo-restrictions or blackouts from time to time. If you enjoy watching sports and are visiting the city, you already know you will be blocked from seeing the local teams online because of licensing rights. Other places you can find restrictions include colleges, corporations, and even some public WiFi spots. By connecting to a VPN server in a different city, the blocking software will think you are located somewhere else. A good VPN service will help you get around those types of restrictions.
Though there are other purposes for using a VPN, those are two of the biggest reasons. Once you sign up, you are likely to find other uses. From protecting your privacy to getting around geo-restrictions, the service covers you. When you are ready to choose a service, there are a few things you should consider.
What is the best VPN for Oakland?
By focusing on a few criteria, we can determine our list of the best VPNs for Oakland:
- Network stability (size of network) to help avoid service disconnects
- Providers with a no logs policy
- Fast servers that performed well on speed tests in the Oakland area
- Apps for multi-platform mobile devices including Amazon Firestick
- Ability to view sports blacked out and geo-restricted content
- Military grade encryption to secure your privacy
Without further delay, here is a list of the best VPN services for Oakland:
1. Best VPN for Oakland: ExpressVPN
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Since ExpressVPN offers browser extensions for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, they have also included several privacy features to help protect you. That includes re-routing you to a more secure version of the website you entered, location spoofing so that your browser will match the IP address of the area you select, and WebRTC blocking. If you connect to a VPN without this feature, websites can still see where you are. Of course, you could always get another extension to resolve the issue, but having it inclusive is better.
ExpressVPN is the #1 rated VPN on our site. We have had the opportunity to compare hundreds of VPN services over the years and ExpressvPN is our favorite. Whether you want to protect your privacy on WiFi networks or unblock streaming services in other countries, ExpressVPN is a good choice. Best of all, you can sign up for 12 months of unlimited VPN access and get 3 months free during our current promotion. The ExpressVPN 30-day money-back guarantee gives you plenty of time to test the service.
2. Best VPN for Oakland: NordVPN
If you have watched the news and are a gamer, you may already know what kind of an effect a DDoS (Distributive Denial of Service) attack can have on you. Those types of attacks can spell trouble, no matter what game you are playing. The way to avoid them is to connect to a VPN server with NordVPN. Since they can lock you out of your game based on your current IP address, changing it will stop that from happening. Then, you should be able to play like normal.
3. Best VPN for Oakland: PIA
As internet speeds continue to increase around the world, more and more streaming services gain popularity. Fortunately, that means Private Internet Access can help you see the ones you want to. If you have a specific streaming service in mind, the provider makes it easy. With their simple setup, all you have to do is pick a server in the country you want to use. Then, connect to the right one and you are on your way to watching your favorite shows or movies.
4. Best VPN for Oakland: CyberGhost
For everyone that lives in larger cities and has cut the cord, watching your favorite team sports online can cause a problem unless you connect to a VPN server via CyberGhost. If your favorite team is in the city you live in, licensing rights may stop you from seeing it online. The trick is to connect to a VPN server in another region. By doing so, the blocking software will let you view your favorite sports online no matter what city you visit or call home.
5. Best VPN for Oakland: IPVanish
Unlike some VPN providers, IPVanish allows its users to connect an unlimited number of devices to their network at once. That is great for everyone that has multiple devices. Whether you have a large family or just a large number of devices, you can’t go wrong by choosing IPVanish as your way of protecting them. Of course, you can always free up some of those connections by running a VPN on your router. That will make sure that any device connected to your network is protected.
