The Best VPN for South Africa [Updated 2023]

There was a time when the internet in South Africa was free and unrestricted. You’ll even find South Africa listed as a country that promotes internet freedom in the 2018 Freedom on the Net index by Freedom House.

However, in recent times, things have taken a different turn. For instance, to access the internet freely in this country, you’re going to need the best VPN for South Africa, and here’s why:

The South African government was believed to be in favor of the rights to internet freedom, but things did take a turn when the Film and Public Amendment Bill (FPAB) was approved by the National Assembly of South Africa in 2018.

The bill enforced regulations circulating around the censorship and blocking of a number of websites, apps, and much more. The FPAB was given full rights to control movements on the internet, in the belief that they were protecting children from obscene amenities.

So, to protect your online freedom within South Africa, you’re going to need the best South African VPN. You’ll also be able to keep in touch with your roots and access local content when traveling abroad. The South African VPN services that we chose are capable of providing you access to blocked content from anywhere in the world.

Best VPN Services for South Africa

1. Surfshark – Offers South African IP address with unlimited simultaneous connections
2. ExpressVPN – Offers the fastest speed in the VPN industry
3. NordVPN –  Best for streaming foreign channels in South Africa
4. CyberGhost – Best money-back Guarantee of 45 days
5. IPVanish – Unblocks almost everything that is based in the USA
6. StrongVPN – Offers limited but solid VPN servers

If you’re within South Africa, and want to access unlimited geo-restricted content, while maintaining your online privacy, then only the best VPN services will help with that! However, not every VPN provider can work well for SA, which is why we’ve shortlisted, tested, and finalized only the services for South African users.

What Makes These VPN Providers the Best for South Africa?

There are certain ways to choose a VPN, particularly for South Africa in this case, so keep reading and find out what makes them the most reliable in 2023, starting with:

1. Surfshark – Offers South African IP address with unlimited simultaneous connections

If you are wondering how to get South African IP address, then Surfshark is by far one of the best VPN services in the industry and makes an equally remarkable app for users in South Africa. In a nutshell, it offers a user-friendly app, unblocks numerous international and local South African content, all while being affordable.

However, there’s much more that makes this provider the absolute best for the people of South Africa, as well as for those traveling abroad.

Just like ExpressVPN, Surfshark is also located in the British Virgin Islands, which is free from any data retention or surveillance regions. It doesn’t log any data by following a strict policy. That’s a great start for users in South Africa to feel safe while using VPN services and to maintain their privacy online.

This provider offers around 3200+ servers in 65 counties and includes coverage in South Africa. This means users will be able to access numerous international services within South Africa and at the same time would be able to access local content when traveling abroad.

During testing, we were able to unblock Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, and much more. We even tested the South African servers to see whether they unblocked local channels and managed to access SABC, eNCA, and more. A few of the Surfshark servers are also optimized for P2P file sharing and worked well with Popcorn Time.

The Surfshark security features are great for South African users since it offers optimum protection. It runs on AES 256-bit encryption, which is the highest standard in the industry, and OpenVPN protocol for safe and speedy access. The app also comes with an in-built Kill Switch to protect your data soon after the VPN connection fails, and DNS/IP leak protection to prevent any data leaks.

Surfshark offers unlimited device connections, which means you’ll be able to connect multiple supported devices within South Africa and while travelling. A few of the platforms that Surfshark is compatible with include Windows, iOS, Android, macOS, Firestick, browser extensions, and Linux.

Just in case you want to give the app a test run, Surfshark offers a free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. So, you’ll be able to test all its VPN features or unblocking abilities. You can invest in Surfshark using its most affordable price of $1.99/mo for the 2-year plan.

Get Started with Surfshark Now!

2. ExpressVPN – Offers the fastest speeds in the VPN industry

ExpressVPN is the top provider that offers the best VPN services for users in South Africa and worldwide. It’s one of the few that deliver the fastest speed results, offer the best security features, and unblock unlimited services worldwide.

This provider, is also headquartered in the British Virgin Islands. This means that the people of South Africa won’t need to worry about privacy over the internet. Adding to that, ExpressVPN is also a strict log-free VPN. So, regardless of what website or streaming service you’re trying to access in South Africa, this provider will not log your data.

ExpressVPN offers a large coverage of 3000+ servers in 94 countries, and also includes South African servers within its list. This is best for all those who’re trying to unblock a service within the country or to gain access to local content or bank accounts while traveling out of South Africa.

We put the ExpressVPN servers to the test, to check if they unblocked the most popular yet geo-restricted platforms. This VPN paved access to the US, UK, and South African Netflix libraries, BBC iPlayer, Showtime, DAZN, Hulu, and more. We even tested its South African servers and unblocked a couple of its channels like SABC-SABC 1, and Cape Town TV.

Since it has strong unblocking capabilities, ExpressVPN is the best choice for those countries where internet is restricted like Iran, China, etc. Also, it is a top-picked VPN for countries like Hong Kong, Turkey, USA, and more.

This provider operates on AES 256-bit encryption, with OpenVPN protocol as default on most of its apps. This is best for internet users in South Africa, allowing them the utmost security online through an encrypted connection.

ExpressVPN offers a Kill Switch feature on most of its apps that’ll protect your data even after the VPN connection stops. Other features include Split-Tunneling that lets you choose the apps or websites you require to pass through the encrypted tunnel, DNS and IPv6 leak protection to make sure all private information doesn’t leak, and more!

If you’d like to protect more than one device or run the VPN app on multiple streaming devices, you should know that ExpressVPN allows simultaneous multi-connections on up to 5 devices! A few of its supported platforms include Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, Linux, Firestick, Smart TVs, and browser extensions.

Lastly, you’ll also be able to test ExpressVPN within South Africa or anywhere abroad using its South African servers, on its 30-day money-back guarantee. The most affordable ExpressVPN price is the 1-year plan of $6.67/mo.

Get Started with ExpressVPN Now!

3. NordVPN – Best for streaming foreign channels in South Africa

NordVPN is quite well known in the VPN industry, having been one of the best VPN services to date, and now makes one of the best for users in South Africa. It makes a great VPN app mostly because of its robust security features, obfuscation technologies to access restricted content, and its privacy policies.

This provider is located in Panama, known for being one of the more privacy-friendly regions away from the 14-eyes countries. This means added anonymity and privacy for users in South Africa. NordVPN also respects its user’s rights to privacy by following a strict no-logs policy.

Whether you’re trying to access unlimited international content, or access local South African services while traveling abroad, you’ll have plenty of servers to choose from.  NordVPN offers around 5200+ servers in 59+ countries, with 53 of its servers in South Africa.

To test out its unblocking abilities, we connected to a few of the international servers like the US and UK, and unblocked Netflix, BBC iPlayer, DAZN, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and much more! Using the South African servers, we accessed SABC, UBN TV, and eNCA quite easily. NordVPN also produces fast speeds and unlimited bandwidth.

As mentioned above, NordVPN is known for its security features. It protects the users in South Africa offering the highest military-grade AES 256-bit encryption with OpenVPN protection on all apps. This enhances online security, to dodge the government or surveillance agents in South Africa.

NordVPN offers a Kill Switch to secure your online privacy at all times, and Double VPN protection allowing you to shield your identity and location behind two encrypted servers. You won’t have to worry about annoying ads that spread malware using the NordVPN CyberSec feature. Other than that, there’s DNS and IPv6 leak protection and much more!

Where device compatibility is concerned, NordVPN supports all the major apps for multiple devices and operating systems. A few of its supported platforms include Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, Firestick, Linux, Android TV, and browser extensions. Additionally, you’ll also be able to connect the VPN on more than one device since NordVPN offers simultaneous multi-device connections on up to 6 devices.

If NordVPN interests you, you’ll be able to test the app out using its 7-day free trial for Android, or directly jump into its 30-day money-back guarantee. Either way, NordVPN offers affordable prices with the most discounted package being the 2-year plan for $4.79/mo.

Get Started with NordVPN Now!

4. CyberGhost – Best money-back Guarantee of 45 days

CyberGhost is also one of the best VPN services for South Africa, particularly because of its ability to unblock unlimited streaming services, all while offering reliable privacy and security features. It allows users to maintain their anonymity while experiencing online freedom.

CyberGhost is located in Romania, which is far away from any surveillance territories. A safe jurisdiction of a provider is necessary if users in South Africa are mainly looking for privacy over the internet. The plus point is that the service doesn’t log any user data.

It has one of the largest server coverage in the VPN industry, offering around 7700+ servers in 90+ countries, with the inclusion of 10 South African servers. A great aspect of CyberGhost is that the app comes labeled with all the streaming services or platforms that particular servers unblock. This saves a lot of time.

During testing, we unblocked the US Netflix and a few other libraries, BBC iPlayer, ESPN, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and more. The South African servers were also tested to see whether they worked with accessing local content when traveling abroad. A few of the local channels accessed were SABC-1, Cape Town TV, kykNET Musiek, and others.

Jumping to the CyberGhost in-app features, it protects users in South Africa with AES 256-bit military-grade encryption, which is the safest! It has a Kill Switch on the majority of its apps. This is necessary to protect your identity whenever your VPN connection fails midway or stops working. Other than that it is DNS and IPv6 leak protected, making sure your data or search history goes undetected.

Just in case you’re looking to protect multiple devices in one go, then you’re in luck because CyberGhost allows simultaneous connections on up to 7-devices! A few of the supported devices include Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, Firestick, browser extensions, routers, Linux, and more.

You’ll be able to test the VPN since CyberGhost comes with a 24-hour free trial and a 45-day money-back guarantee. The most affordable CyberGhost package is 2 years plan of $2.11/mo.

Get Started with CyberGhost Now!

5. IPVanish – Unblocks almost everything that is based in the USA

Next, we have IPVanish, whose unblocking abilities is one of the main reasons this VPN is the best for South Africa, and abroad. Accessing unlimited US-based services shouldn’t be an issue anymore for users within the country, with the addition of fast speeds that this provider delivers.

IPVanish is located in the United States and is within the 14-eyes regions. However, this provider strictly abides by its no-logs policy and collects extremely basic information, like your email ID used for creating your account.

Since IPVanish is a US-based provider, this means easier access to the US or international content from within South Africa. It offers around 2000+ servers in 75+ locations, with around 6 servers in South Africa (Johannesburg).

When put under testing, we managed to unblock many international streaming services, websites, and apps. Some of these include Comcast, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, BBC iPlayer, ESPN, and more. We even connected to a South African server to test it out with local channels. We unblocked SABC-1, UBN TV, kykNET Musiek, News24, and others.

IPVanish is built with reliable security features and allows you to use its obfuscation technologies within the app’s settings. This is perfect for users in South Africa to add extra anonymity to their digital footprints all while allowing access to geo-restricted services. It runs with AES 256-bit encryption with Perfect Forward Secrecy ensuring a secure connection online. Additionally, it offers a Kill Switch, Split-Tunneling, and DNS leak protection further strengthening your online presence and data.

In the updated version, IPVanish now offers unlimited device connections and supports all the major devices and operating systems. A few of the supported platforms include Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, Firestick, Android TV, Linux, routers, and more.

IPVanish doesn’t offer a free trial, but it does include a reliable 30-day money-back policy. This is as good as a free trial, allowing you a set number of days to test the service, and if you find any faults along the way simply ask for a refund. IPVanish now offers a huge discount on its 2-year plan at $2.99/mo.

Get Started with IPVanish Now!

6. StrongVPN – Offers limited but solid VPN servers

Lastly, we have StrongVPN. This provider comes with a much simpler server coverage as compared to the other providers on this list but doesn’t mean it lacks in profound functionality for the users in South Africa.

StrongVPN is located in the United States, which you probably know is a country within the 14-eyes alliance, but that doesn’t affect the safety of the provider. Some providers are based in the US and sell user data, whereas some are within the States but follow a strict no-logs policy. Luckily, StrongVPN follows that latter. It stores minimum and basic information, the same as every other VPN provider would.

It offers around 950+ servers in 30+ countries and has one server in South Africa (Johannesburg). During testing, we unblocked only a couple of the more popular platforms like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and Disney Plus. After connecting to the South African server, we tested it on local channels too, and with much success managed to unblock a couple.

StrongVPN operates using military-grade AES 256-bit encryption to ensure your connection stays solid and impenetrable and offers OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2 protocols that you can manually switch between depending on if you’re looking for faster speeds or sound security online.

Other advanced features include Split Tunneling to send particular websites through the encrypted tunnel, a Kill Switch feature to shield your data if the VPN stops working, and DNS leak protection.

Coming to device support, StrongVPN allows you to connect up to 12 devices. So, you can now protect multiple devices in one go, whether you’re within or traveling out of South Africa. A few of its supported devices and operating systems include Windows, Android, macOS, Kindle, Chrome OS, iOS, and routers.

This provider doesn’t come with a free trial just yet, but it does offer a reliable 30-day money-back guarantee. The most discounted price is on the 1-year plan for $3.97/mo.

Get Started with StrongVPN Now!

To Conclude

The internet in South Africa is restricted, and though a few may think it’s not as bad compared to many other countries around the world, it doesn’t mean that online security should be brushed under the rug. There’s still heavy censorship and a large platform of blocked websites in South Africa, only the best VPN can get you past these issues.

We’ve provided around 6 South African VPN services that offer the best performance, but if we were to recommend one, it would be Surfshark for South African users.