Australia is the land of plains. The smallest continent is a unique place filled with passion and adventure. The land down under is not only home to one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, but it also has some of the most beautiful beaches. Sadly, the country of kangaroos is infamous for data retention laws. It has strict copyright law and aggressive online surveillance practices. Thus, there is an apparent need for a VPN in Australia. Hence, we have brought our readers an article on the best VPNs for Australia. It covers all the critical providers that tailor their products for this particular continent. The write-up also has a list of VPNs to avoid.
Disclaimer: The following article is a subjective representation of the writer. We do not endorse the use of VPNs against laws. We recommend users practice discretion when using a VPN.
Is there a reason to use VPN in Australia?
We know the internet is no longer safe due to the advent of online surveillance. Unfortunately, this one is among the leading countries that practice extreme prejudice against online privacy. Although VPNs are legal in Australia, the country has stringent data retention laws and a strictly online presence. Thus, a VPN becomes paramount. However, not all VPNs are created equal, and there are several reasons behind employing one. Hence, we will analyze a few causes. Here’s why a VPN is necessary for Australia:
- Data mining by ISP — Under the Telecommunications Interception and Access Act of 2015, Australian ISPs are under a legal obligation to log their user data. Furthermore, Australia is a member of the Five Eyes alliance, which bodes ill for privacy. Thus, a VPN can aid your online interests without worries.
- Online censorship — Australia actively censors the net. Many international reports hail Australia as the enemy of the internet for surveilling it. Therefore, a VPN that can spoof your IP address is crucial.
- Anti-piracy and copyright laws — The country imposes some of the harshest punishments regarding online piracy. The government can land someone with fines up to AUD$117000 and even a prison sentence. We are not advocating piracy, but it is often better to be safe than sorry. Hence, employing a VPN can aid you with some trouble, especially if you are an avid torrent lover.
- Unblocking streaming content — You can not enjoy geo-blocked content without accessing a VPN. Thus, if you love streaming and find yourself in Australia, give VPNs a try.
Which VPNs to avoid within Australia?
There are numerous VPNs you should stay away from while in Australia. For instance, any free VPN should be left untouched unless it comes from a reputable brand. Also, in our opinion, you may want to ignore the following providers:
- Turbo VPN
- Touch VPN
- Thunder VPN
- VPN proxy master
- Psiphon
- FreeVPN
- Hola VPN
- Sky VPN
Best Australia VPNs
With everything above acknowledged, here’s a concise list of the top VPNs for Australia:
NordVPN
The first VPN on our list is the popular NordVPN. The provider offers a streamlined experience catering to Australian users with the fastest connection speeds and over 200 exclusive VPN servers. NordVPN is a tried and tested name in the VPN arena with over a decade of service. This no-logs VPN originates from Panama and is a user favorite for privacy.
Overall, the vendor lists over 5100 servers in 60 countries with exclusive obfuscated servers and advanced features like multi-hop, split tunneling, Tor over VPN, kill switch, the latest security protocols, and AES-256 encryption. Also, it is a cheap service that has prices as low as $3.71. NordVPN is undoubtedly the VPN to use in Australia. Besides a detailed NordVPN review, we have lots of related articles.
Windscribe
Another gem on the list is Windscribe VPN. Although you can buy a subscription for the service, what truly sets this VPN apart is its free-to-use product. However, that variant has a smaller server network compared to other VPNs on this list. Offering a total of 112 locations, out of which 11 are in Australia, Windscribe makes our list for its ability to proffer geo-unblocking at no cost.
Touted as one of the best streaming VPNs, Windscribe offers a decent app with enough features to make it work. Yes, it may appear lacking. But for generic use, free to boot, you won’t go wrong with this product. We invite you to start reading an in-depth Windscribe VPN review afterward.
ExpressVPN
One of our favorites, ExpressVPN, is also a superb choice for the land down under. Although it is the costliest VPN on this list, at $6.67, it offers numerous advanced features to make it up for it. The provider offers over 3000 servers globally and in 94 different places. Further, a fair amount seems to prefer Australia, as we witnessed an outstanding speed of 88 Mbps for download. Furthermore, the service is proficient at bypassing VPN blocks and censorship, though we don’t condone that.
ExpressVPN is a strict no-logs VPN. It favors torrenting owing to its fleet of diskless servers running on RAM. Together with a robust encryption policy and the latest security protocols, it’s among the most secure VPNs on the market. We can wholeheartedly recommend ExpressVPN to our Australian readers. Moreover, you can check out our detailed ExpressVPN review for additional information.
PIA (Private Internet Access)
PIA or Private Internet Access is probably the oldest VPN on this list. That’s likely why it has the highest number of Australian servers. It also supports torrenting on them all. Additionally, it is much cheaper at $2.08 per month. However, most VPN servers in the PIA network are virtual. Although the service has over 20k servers globally, it doesn’t own them all, making PIA a risky provider to opt for.
The VPN itself is a zero-logs product with an emphasis on privacy. Yes, it can unblock streaming content, however, it isn’t reliable enough. There are scandals linked to the provider, which have adversely affected the user base. Despite that, it is a solid VPN with tons of features and a vast array of servers. If you’re interested, you can give our review of PIA a look before giving it a go.
IPVanish VPN
IPVanish is the final VPN on our list. It has superb speed owing to the 89 exclusive Australian servers. However, the VPN fails to impress when bypassing geo-blocks or censorship. Although it is a zero-logging VPN with advanced features like SOCKS5 proxy, it lacks browser extensions and Smart DNS. The service is available across multiple platforms, including Fire TV stick and sideloading APK files.
At $3.75, it is a moderately priced VPN. But it falls under the jurisdiction of the United States. The VPN employs protocols like OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec. Furthermore, it also supports IPv6 leak protection and split tunneling. The VPN may appear lackluster, but it proffers excellent speed in Australia, hence it landed a spot on this list. Learn more about the service with our exclusive IPVanish VPN review.