8 Best VPN For China 2023 (Still Working in May 2023!)

FASTEST SERVERS
ExpressVPN is the VPN that I use 90% of the time I’m online in China because I trust it’s speed and reliability. Throughout the VPN community, it is generally hailed as the fastest wide-release VPN in the world.  ExpressVPN clearly knows it has a large customer base in China and goes above and beyond to cater to that clientele and to ensure that blockages are rare and speeds stay fast. They have invested heavily to ensure that downtime is very very rare and this is the main reason I use them. In fact, ExpressVPN’s average mobile device speed is faster than nearly every other VPN’s desktop average.

FULL COVERAGE IN CHINA
ExpressVPN has servers strategically placed in Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan to offer nearby alternatives; part of a network of more than 2,000 servers spanning 94 countries. It has apps for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android so no matter what your platform of choice, ExpressVPN has you covered in China. The only downside of this VPN choice is the price, which runs on the high end of most commercial VPNs. However, ExpressVPN is currently offering 49% off it’s 1 year plan, and giving 3 months free as well, which works out to about $6.67 per month, so it works out to be a pretty good deal. If you go month to month, it runs you $12.95 per. The best news is that there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee when you sign up for a month, so you can try it first to see if the speed and reliability is up to your needs. For me, watching YouTube and uploading videos to YouTube, it’s definitely one of the best VPN’s for China.

Connect to any of their servers located around the world

BEST SECURITY
One thing I love about ExpressVPN is the Security. Security is important because if the connection slips, the data you are downloading and uploading is exposed to third parties. To ensure that doesn’t happen to you, ExpressVPN has a kill switch in place to sever your Internet connection completely if the VPN connection fails. There is also a no-logging policy, meaning ExpressVPN doesn’t record any information from you such as your IP address or what information your are searching for or downloading. When it comes to streaming video content, ExpressVPN is successful at unblocking the US version of Netflix along with several others around the world. It is a great choice for P2P and torrenting as well.

SUMMARY
In summary, ExpressVPN is my long term favourite VPN for China as it’s the fastest and most reliable amongst all of the VPN’s on this guide. I’ve had great experiences on their Hong Kong (try LA5, it’s FAST!) and Los Angeles servers and amongst all the VPNs I use, ExpressVPN is the one I’m always connecting to. Not only does express VPN work in China, it is FAST! Coming in close second is NordVPN below, which I use as well as a backup.

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RELIABLE
I use NordVPN alongside ExpressVPN because I like to have two solid VPN options with different servers and speeds ready to use in case one is running slow or becomes blocked. I’m constantly trying to find the best servers and speeds for both uploading content as well as watching YouTube in China, and with ExpressVPN and NordVPN, I have the best and fastest servers at my disposal.

HUGE LIST OF SERVERS
NordVPN has great reliability and industry-leading customer service. As part of its server expansion in 2018, it’s gained an impressive total of more than 5,000 worldwide servers spread across 62 countries. That’s a big deal when you’re browsing from China, as you have plenty of options and will always be able to find a fast server.

NordVPN also offers a large list of servers, but fewer countries than ExpressVPN

SECURE
To me, what’s even better is the security it boasts. It has IP leak protection and a built-in kill switch, both of which are important when surfing from China. On a normal VPN connection, if the VPN server shut down for even a second, it would be possible for third parties to identify your IP address. With the kill switch, you can stay safe behind the VPNs anonymity.

24/7 CUSTOMER SERVICE
Its customer service guarantees you a real person on the other end of the connection 24 hours a day, seven days a week. NordVPN’s generosity extends you a 30-day, money-back guarantee. That’s a really good deal if you’re coming to China for an extended work trip or vacation as you can sign up before you arrive, pay the monthly rate, enjoy NordVPN’s prowess for up to 30 days,  and if you’re not fully satisfied with the service, you can ask for your money back.

NordVPN is also great when it comes to unlocking the US version of Netflix, and it excels with Android, ChromeOS, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

GOOD PRICE
NordVPN is currently offering a VERY sweet deal, which I’ve personally used for the past 3 years. At $2.99 per month, it’s an excellent VPN to install and use for your entire time traveling through China. I am constantly either using ExpressVPN or NordVPN because they provide excellent speed and allow me to do my work and travel throughout China without worrying.
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ONE OF THE ORIGINALS
Astrill is another of the best VPNs for China, although lately it hasn’t been voted the best VPN on Reddit. I have used it extensively and found it to be fine, but lately I still prefer ExpressVPN and NordVPN because Astrill has had a history of getting blocked. However, it is still usable with decent speed as long as you install Astrill VPN and choose the StealthVPN protocol prior to arriving in China.  Astrill also offers quite a large amount of server countries, shown below.

A healthy amount of servers, but sometimes can’t connect

NEEDS A PAID UPGRADE
Unfortunately, for users in China, in order to successfully bypass the firewall, it’s highly recommended to purchase for the StealthVPN protocol upgrade. While it’s not the best, it does give you SUPER FAST speeds.

STILL USABLE
There was a time when Astrill was the clear winner amongst the common VPNs to use for China. Nowadays, their status has slipped a little bit but they are still one of the better VPNs to use. One thing I don’t like is the need for all of the add-ons like StealthVPN and their VIP servers, but if you do pay for them, they are a massive help.

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EXTRA SECURE
Much like NordVPN, VyprVPN has layers upon layers of security designed to keep your connection secure when you’re logged on. Those features include 256-bit AES encryption and zero-knowledge DNS, along with VyprVPN’s own firewall to keep unwanted traffic out. What I love the most is the fact that VyprVPN writes and hosts their own servers. Most VPNs have remote servers all over the world, but they rent them from third parties. This means there is always a slight chance of your IP address or the pages you view/content you download being exposed or recorded by that third party. But since VyprVPN owns their own servers, no traffic is ever exposed to a third party.

LOTS OF SERVERS
They have apps for 10 supported platforms and more than 200,000 IP addresses spread across 70 countries. If you’re like me and love streaming content on YouTube, note that VyprVPN does not limit your bandwidth nor does it throttle speeds. Like other VPN companies on this list, VyprVPN offers a 30-day refund, so you can pay for a month, get great VPN results, then get your money back when you depart if you’re not fully satisfied with the VPN. 

WILL BAN YOU IF YOU BREAK COPYRIGHT LAWS
VyprVPN supports torrenting and P2P, but there’s a catch: The VyprVPN user terms of agreement states that if you are caught breaking copyright laws, your account can be suspended. This is likely just VyprVPN’s way of covering themselves, but if you are using VyprVPN, you should make sure you’re careful not to break any copyright laws.

STILL SOLID
VyprVPN is still one of my go-to VPN’s to use in China. I might not use it as much as I used to, but it’s still an excellent VPN when you’re using the chameleon protocol. It’s recently been having troubles if you’re not connected to the chameleon protocol, but once you’re connected, it’s fine, with the occasional disconnect as well. Other than that, it’s another one of the best VPN’s to use in China.

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GOOD CHOICE OF SERVERS
BufferedVPN is based out of Hungary with really nice servers available in Hong Kong and on the West Coast of the United States that are ideal for VPN users located in China. It has apps available for iOS, Mac, Windows, Linux, and Android and allows you up to five simultaneous connections for the price of one license.  If the US or Hong Kong servers aren’t working for you, there are 43 other countries that BufferedVPN operates out of that will have you successfully using a VPN in China.

PROVIDES STANDARD FEATURES
While it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, there are limitations that you must be aware of if you want this to be a cost-free experience. The guarantee is only good if you stay under 100 sessions, 10GB of data, or 10 hours of usage with the VPN. So if you’re streaming or doing some heavy-duty downloading, you’re unlikely to get this one for free. For security purposes, BufferedVPN has 256-bit encryption and a standard killswitch. It offers up to five connections per license and has some success with Netflix, although anything outside of its US West Coast server has spotty coverage. Customer service is exceptional with live chat and a ticketed email system that are both online.

WORKS FINE
BufferedVPN has been working fine for me every time I use it, and it’s another of the better VPN’s to use in China. Check out BufferedVPN below.

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ONE OF THE NEWER AND BETTER VPNS
Ivacy has had a quick rise into the best VPN’s for China arena, starting out small and now taking a large chunk of the market because of it’s nice list of servers, locations, and cheap price. It’s just $40 per year and has 459 servers across 55 different countries. Also, they are currently offering a sweet deal of only $80 for 5 years! That’s only $1.33 per month!

SPEEDY
Since it’s based in Singapore, users in China will find it convenient and most of the servers quite speedy. Ivacy’s best feature is that you can choose different features based on what you want to use it for, like unblocking websites or for having a private IP. It has an OpenVPN connection too. I personally haven’t used it too much, but found it to be working fine whenever I do and it’s also quite speedy.

GOES UP AND DOWN.
Ivacy’s status of working in China sometimes fluctuates. However, you’ll have good luck if you switch between open VPN and L2TP, SSTP or PPTP. Sometimes this is something you have to deal with in China as VPN’s become blocked intermittently, meaning that playing with different VPN features to bypass the block is sometimes necessary.

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One of the cheaper VPN providers for China
PIA on the whole is one of the most affordable VPNs currently on the market. If you go all in for 24 months, you can get it for just US$2.91/month (CNY20.54/month). You have 7 days to try it out and ask for your money back, but there is no free trial, which is disappointing considering how many VPNs offer generous trials to check out their services.

Solid Speeds, Increased Security Give PIA a Favourable Review
PIA shows medium-to-above-average speeds, with its best efforts coming on its popular North American and Western European servers. It has more than 3,300 servers overall but they only span 32 countries. At my last check, that included only one in all of Africa and just two in South America. That’s some slim pickings for two continents that total 1.64 billion people.

Summary
PIA is a solid VPN choice for people on a budget or for those who simply want to break out of China’s censored content quarantine. It’s never going to replace ExpressVPN when it comes to diversity of servers, blazing speeds, or success with streaming services, but that’s not who this service is built for.

THANK YOU!

I hope you enjoyed my comprehensive VPN review for the best VPN’s in China. If you find one of these not working, please leave a comment down below and I will update the reviews. I hope this guide is useful for you as you travel around China!

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means that I will receive a small commission if you purchase from one of my recommendations (at no extra cost to you). In fact, for many of these, I’ve found exclusive deals that will save you money!