VPN’s have become increasingly popular lately throughout the world, most notably because they are a great way to access blocked websites and apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and to bypass censorships to myriad other platforms.
Especially for people who will travel to or live in countries that impose restrictions and censorship to what websites you can visit, a trusted and secure VPN is a great way to browse safely and anonymously.
Things however can get tricky when trying to find the best VPN for Dubai or one that works seamlessly in this vibrant Gulf nation. But after carefully researching this space, we’ve narrowed down on the top 5 VPNs for the UAE.
The following VPN services offer military encryption and high-grade anonymity thus you can safely use them in countries such as Dubai or anywhere else in the world.
#1 NordVPN
Developed by Tefincom & Co., S.A. and conceived in 2012, NordVPN is one of the esteemed names in the VPN segment for several reasons.
Based in Panama (no laws for log collection), this VPN provider offers desktop applications for macOS, Windows and Linux and mobile apps for iOS, Android as well as Android TV.
NordVPN is a preferred choice for millions across the globe, most notably due to the sheer level of privacy it provides thanks to military-grade encryption, double encryption by using VPN over TOR, DNS leak protection etc.
This allows users to perform several confidential tasks without having to worry about breaches such as shopping online, logging into accounts, and making bank transfers.
Further, and another distinct feature of NordVPN is that it has a strict no-logs policy, which means that they absolutely do not track, collect or share your personal data.
With regards to servers, NordVPN doesn’t fall short with a choice of 5440+ servers spread across 59 countries across the world, so you can access your favorite content anywhere and anytime.
NordVPN is extremely easy to use and connects with the best VPN server almost instantly. Furthermore, it is backed by advanced CyberSec technology, which protects your device from malware and suspicious websites.
NordVPN is available in several different plans starting from $3.99, and is backed by a 30-day, 100 percent satisfaction money-back guarantee.
#2 ExpressVPN
Coming in at the #2 position on this list of best UAE VPNs is ExpressVPN – a virtual private network that was initially released in 2009, and has received several accolades since its inception including Editors’ Choice by both TechRadar and Comparitech.
ExpressVPN is governed by Express VPN International Ltd – a company registered in the British Virgin Islands (again, no-logs policy), and offers apps for macOS, Windows, iOS, Linux, Android, and routers.
With regards to server footprint, ExpressVPN leads the pack with a whopping 3000+ remote servers spread across 94 countries and 160 locations.
The majority of these servers are located in Canada, the United States, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom among others.
ExpressVPN offers an expansive portfolio of products to choose from including browser extensions for Google Chrome and Firefox, and apps for desktops, tablets, smartphones, each secured by class leading 4096-bit CA, AES-256-CBC encryption.
When you sign up with ExpressVPN, you gain access to a wide range of products such as browsing anonymously, unblocking websites such as Amazon Prime, ESPN, HBO, Hotstar, Netflix, Showtime, etc.
Furthermore, it also offers a speed test application for Windows and MAC computers, which can be used to gauge the exact speed of your high-speed VPN server connections.
ExpressVPN offers three different plans to choose from, each backed by a 100 percent money-back guarantee.
#3 IPVanish VPN
Based in the United States, IPVanish VPN or IPVanish in short is a commercial service that provides end-to-end encryption, and allows users to appear in any one of 75+ different locations.
It is designed to mask their current IP address with a decoy IP address, and offers desktop clients for macOS, Windows and apps for Windows Phone, Chromebook and Linux.
Subscribers can also configure IPVanish on DD-WRT routers and are permitted to use the VPN service on an impressive max 10 devices simultaneously.
IPVanish has been featured in and highly recommended by leading publications including CNN, Mashable, and offers three plans to choose from – 1 Month, 1 Year and 3 Months.
With each plan, you get a plethora of features including unlimited bandwidth, 256-bit AES encryption, zero-traffic logs and IKEv2, OpenVPN, and L2TP/IPsec VPN protocols.
IPVanish offers over 40,000 shared IPs, and has a server footprint of 1300+ servers sprinkled in 70+ locations including 727 in North America, 467 in Europe, 71 in Oceania and 63 in Europe.
This VPN service offers unmatched around the clock customer support, help guides, and a 7-day money back guarantee, which allows you to try the service risk-free.
#4 PureVPN
Owned by GZ Systems Ltd., and founded in 2007, PureVPN based in Hong Kong works a bit differently than other VPN services in that they allow users to choose from four different categories – Internet Freedom, Stream, Security/Privacy and File Sharing.
This strategy allows PureVPN to suggest the best servers for the traffic to be routed.
Even though PureVPN does require users to use its service with their real names, it doesn’t keep records of the name of the websites they access or the time.
PureVPN has been recommended by esteemed publications such as Yahoo Tech and Choice and offers world-class data encryption technology to keep you safe while browsing. It also prevents your data from being hijacked and secures your WiFi connections.
But that’s not all – it has dedicated P2P servers that are located in countries where this technology is legal, allowing users from P2P file-sharing prohibited countries to download files securely.
And if you’re one of the millions of streamers, this VPN provider has optimized servers to ensure a smooth and buffer-free streaming experience.
PureVPN offers three price plans to choose from, and offers a great 31-day money back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with its performance.
#5 PIA VPN
Initially released in August 2010, PIA VPN short for Private Internet Access VPN was acquired by Kape Technologies in late 2019, and provides support for a multitude of VPN technologies such as L2TP/IPsec, PPTP, SOCKS5 and OpenVPN.
Additionally, and just like all the other best VPNs for UAE including Dubai on this list, it boasts an extensive list of features including IPv6 leak protection, DNS leak protection, and offers unlimited bandwidth and port forwarding.
PIA VPN supports the latest AES 128-bit or 256-bit encryption RSA (2048, 3072, 4096) or elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) (256R1, 256K1, 521) and SHA1 and SHA256 authentication, but comes with default AES-128, SHA1, RSA-2048 encryption.
It has been showcased in reputed media channels including Business Insider and Wired, and is home to a network of an astounding 3325+ servers spread across 29 countries.
Other noteworthy features offered by PIA VPN include zero traffic or request logs, SOCKS5 proxy, Gigabit VPN port speeds, DD-WRT VPN compatibility, unmetered VPN transfers, and superior quality and reliability.
PIA is backed by a highly knowledgeable support team, offers three pricing plans to choose from, and a 7-day money back guarantee.
Conclusion:
Looking to browse the web anonymously in the UAE? If so, the aforementioned 5 best VPN for Dubai services won’t disappoint.
They come with advanced encryption technology, absolutely zero-logging of data, and most if not all are backed by a certain period of money-back guarantee.
Since I travel a lot for my work, I decided it was smart to invest in a VPN, not only to be able to access blocked sites in certain regions but also stay safe and secure my personal, as well as work devices. I took some time to do research and list out the features I needed in a VPN. Since I have a lot of devices (not only personal but also work ones), one of my main criteria was to get as many device logins as possible. I also looked at the price and security strength, and I ended up getting Surfshark. I recently was in Dubai, and it worked just fine, although I’m not sure about China, haven’t had to use it there yet, but from the comments of other people, I understand that it works most of the time there as well.
I can vouch that NordVPN works in Dubai. Recently I’ve had to stay there for a few weeks and I could watch NetflixUS from there. Some trouble loading it as because they are blocking access towards it, but it worked well in the end.