The Best VPNs for India

You can easily get an Indian IP address with ExpressVPN, by connecting to its virtual India servers.

The server list is very easy to find and we never experienced any difficulties connecting to an Indian server, or experienced any speed fluctuations while connected.

All of ExpressVPN’s apps, whether it was on desktop, mobile, or on our Smart TV, changed our IP address almost instantly.

Moreover, ExpressVPN quite simply left Surfshark in the dust in our international speed tests, including India: only a 15% slowdown versus Surfshark’s much higher 17% reduction.

What’s unusual, and slightly frustrating, is that ExpressVPN’s two Indian virtual server locations are vaguely labeled India (via Singapore) and India (via UK).

We therefore had no choice but to connect to each one in order to figure out the resulting IP location in India, which were New Delhi and Chennai. Surfshark’s Indian server location labeling is a lot clearer.

Across its entire network, ExpressVPN runs servers in 109 countries, with connections secured through the Lightway protocol’s quantum-resistant encryption, and a fully-functioning VPN kill switch called ‘Network Lock.’

All 13,360 servers run on RAM, meaning none of them will ever write your activity data to a hard drive permanently.

These measures, combined with a dependable logging policy, will shield you from any monitoring and logging by Indian ISPs like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.

ExpressVPN is renowned for bypassing streaming geo-blocks, and its performance with Indian streaming services didn’t disappoint.

The VPN unblocked JioHotstar, SonyLIV, and ZEE5 with ease. And based on our latest Netflix VPN tests, it continues to access the Indian library.

Despite its otherwise impressive streaming performance, ExpressVPN surprisingly still doesn’t work with Prime Video’s Indian content library.

So while ExpressVPN is a great VPN for streaming Indian content abroad, Surfshark remains a notch above on this front.

Where ExpressVPN easily beats Surfshark is unblocking content around the world.

If you want to watch content from back home during your stay, ExpressVPN offers unparalleled VPN access to HBO Max, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, Sky Go, and many other platforms.

Surfshark is currently the only VPN that can consistently unblock JioHotstar, Amazon Prime Video India, SonyLIV, ZEE5, and Netflix India.

For example, by connecting to one of Surfshark’s India servers, we were able to load JioHotstar exclusives in HD quality without blurriness or buffering.

Also, Surfshark’s GPS spoofing setting in its Android app gives it the edge in bypassing the strictest location-based restrictions on mobile.

You’ll notice that Surfshark has an overall streaming rating lower than ExpressVPN. That’s because it couldn’t replicate its outstanding Indian unblocking performance in other countries.

It’s far from being a poor choice for streaming, but the fact it can only access 10 Netflix regions, compared to ExpressVPN’s 18, says a lot.

Surfshark has 50 VPN servers in India, giving you either New Delhi or Mumbai IP addresses.

Not many VPNs come close to, let alone beat, this impressive total Indian server count. ExpressVPN is one of them, though.

Unlike ExpressVPN, Surfshark allows you to manually select a specific Indian city location. This is useful for identifying and choosing the closest possible VPN server to maximize your internet speed.

All the VPN’s India servers are virtual in order to avoid India’s invasive data laws. The servers’ real-world locations rotate between the Netherlands, the UK, and Singapore.

If you need a free VPN for India, Surfshark’s 7-day free trial is definitely worth considering.

It’s one of our most highly-recommended VPN free trials, available either via Surfshark’s website or mobile app stores.

Once the trial period ends, a 30-day money-back guarantee kicks in, practically giving you up to 37 days of free use.

If you decide to continue your subscription, know that Surfshark is one of the cheapest VPNs available.

All of this comes without any restrictions on the VPN’s features, speeds, or bandwidth allowance.

NordVPN has far more extra features than ExpressVPN, and one of them truly stood out in our review.

We’re talking about Meshnet, a tool that lets you connect remotely into a device back home, which becomes a type of home VPN server.

This hookup allows to use your home IP address while in India. And the great thing that Meshnet is completely free to use, even without a NordVPN subscription.

Remember, though, that your device back home needs to be running at all times, otherwise the connection will cut out.

If the idea of always using the same IP address appeals to you, then consider buying one of NordVPN’s dedicated VPN IPs.

These IPs cost extra, but they never change and therefore are less likely to get flagged by online services.

That said, what you do online will be easier to link to that static IP address, so think twice before purchasing one.

One of NordVPN’s standout characteristics is its quick and stable connections around the globe.

ExpressVPN is one of the fastest VPNs around, but NordVPN is even faster connecting internationally: our speed reduced by only 14% in our tests, compared to ExpressVPN’s 15%.

This speed won’t come at the expense of your security, either.

The NordLynx (WireGuard) protocol will encrypt your data using the ChaCha20 algorithm, and its no-logs policy has been repeatedly confirmed by Deloitte over the years.

Moreover, NordVPN gives you access to a free ad and malware blocker called Threat Protection, which worked exceedingly well to block annoying ads and web trackers.

It’s rare that we complain about NordVPN’s streaming performance, considering its strong unblocking pedigree.

Sadly, NordVPN lags its two rivals above when it comes to bypassing some content blocks.

In particular, the VPN struggled to access JioHotstar as well as the Netflix and Prime Video India catalogs.

At least its VPN servers in the US worked comfortably with fan favorites like HBO Max, Hulu, Paramount+, and Peacock.

Similarly, its UK VPN locations accessed the likes of BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, and Sky Go, without a hiccup.

PrivadoVPN’s free virtual server in India assigns you a Mumbai IP address, and can even be used to access Prime Video India from abroad.

On a less positive note, we couldn’t unblock JioHotstar, Netflix India, SonyLIV, or ZEE5.

Moreover, we found its single Mumbai server often congested from high usage, which affected the stability of our connection speeds.

If you want to unblock Indian geo-restricted content for free, you’re better off using a free trial from either Surfshark or ExpressVPN.

Outside of India, PrivadoVPN operates free servers in 11 countries, including the UK and the US.

Many of these international servers unblocked popular streaming services like Disney+, HBO Max, and Hulu.

The main issue we had with using PrivadoVPN is that free bandwidth is capped at 10GB per month. This roughly equates to four hours of HD streaming.

You also have to renew your free data allowance manually in your account, which is a needless and annoying requirement. The renewal should just happen automatically.

On top of the usage limit, PrivadoVPN also lacks the device compatibility offered by top-tier VPNs like ExpressVPN.

For India specifically, the fact that PrivadoVPN’s Fire TV and Apple TV apps are rather buggy will put off those who like to access Indian content on their TV.

If you’re in India, you won’t be able to download PrivadoVPN directly onto your smartphone or tablet, since it has been removed from local app stores following pressure from the Indian government.

On Android, the only way to install the VPN on your smartphone or tablet will be to use the .apk file, available from the official website.

On iOS, unless you’re willing to change your App Store country, you simply won’t be able to install the VPN from inside India.