Portugal is certainly one of the more privacy-minded countries in Europe, protecting its citizens' right to free speech and imposing very few restrictions. Despite this reputation, however, folks may still have trouble accessing P2P sites and streaming content from abroad – but don't despair! A VPN is an ideal tool to circumnavigate these roadblocks.
In this guide, we list the best VPNs for Portugal and explain the benefits of using one in the country.
A VPN – or virtual private network – conceals your original IP address and assigns you a new, temporary one based elsewhere. Additionally, a VPN encrypts all incoming and outgoing traffic from your device. These tools enable you to browse the web securely and without pesky geo-restrictions imposed by your workplace, ISP, or government.
What are the best VPNs for Portugal?
We've highlighted 5 of the very best VPNs for Portugal below. Keep reading to check out our detailed VPN summaries.
- ExpressVPN - The best VPN for Portugal. It has super-fast servers in Portugal and 93+ countries and it's great for streaming and gaming in HD.
- NordVPN - The best mid-range VPN for Portugal, with a full privacy toolkit, access to global streaming sites, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Private Internet Access - A secure VPN for Portugal. It's easy easy to use and install, super-cheap, and it will keep you secure. Has servers in Lisbon.
- Surfshark - The cheapest VPN for Portugal. It offers strong AES-256 encryption and RAM-only servers that are wiped entirely when switched off.
- CyberGhost VPN - An easy to use VPN for Portugal. It's quick service and compatible with any and all devices, as well as Chrome and Firefox.
Before a VPN makes it into our top 5, however, it has to meet some critical criteria:
- Servers
- Speed
- Security
Our top picks meet and exceed these points, and come with tons of other benefits and features! Expect a wide variety of server locations, ad-blocking features, kill-switches and much more!
We've run through all the details below, so keep scrolling!
Best 5 VPNs for Portugal – looking in-depth
We take a closer look at the best VPNs for Portugal below. Our VPN picks can provide access to services from around the world as well as sidestep surveillance from your school or work, ISP, or government. If you still need more information, check out our detailed VPN reviews.
ExpressVPN is the best VPN for Portugal. It's a stellar service that prioritizes security with staunch encryption, a no-logs policy, and obfuscation (cloaking) technology. ExpressVPN is a top-notch provider that boasts more than 3,000 servers across 94 countries – Portugal included, of course. These servers are lightning-fast, too, so you won't have trouble streaming Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Prime Video, as well as a ton of other streaming services. You'll be able to install ExpressVPN on just about any device, and the service offers five simultaneous connections. ExpressVPN comes with an automatically-enabled kill-switch that ensures your personal info stays private in the event your VPN connection drops. The service keeps no logs, is based in the British Virgin Islands far beyond the reach of the 14 Eyes, and has even been independently audited – great news for the security conscious! We'd recommend taking ExpressVPN for a spin with its 30-day money-back guarantee, and be sure to field any questions to an expert customer service team, available 24/7. NordVPN is the best mid-range VPN for Portugal. With lightning-fast servers and easy-to-use apps, as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee. NordVPN is another industry-leading service that I constantly recommend to VPN newbies, thanks to its easy-to-use apps that are available for pretty much any platform you can imagine. Connecting to a NordVPN server is simple, thanks to a fresh-feeling UI (and even a handy map), and users in need of a Portugal IP can take their pick of more than 20 servers in the country! I like that NordVPN has a collection of specialty servers, too, so if you're looking to torrent or want the extra protection of Double VPN, you're covered. And, if you're an avid streamer, you'll be glad to hear that NordVPN is one of the best providers around when it comes to unblocking streaming services – and that includes Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and HBO Max. A NordVPN subscription also comes stuffed full of privacy features. Its Threat Protection can banish malware and trackers, reducing the risk of infection, and split tunneling comes in handy if you want to check out local content whilst also benefiting from the VPN's encryption. Speaking of, NordVPN uses strong OpenVPN encryption to keep any prying eyes away from your personal, identifiable data, and is a zero-logs service. As a result, you can rest assured that the provider isn't squirreling away any connection logs – and NordVPN even invited third party auditing firm, PwC, to validate its zero-logs claim. You can take NordVPN for a risk-free test run with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Private Internet Access is the most secure VPN for Portugal. It has a massive server network makes it easy to spoof your location, allowing for HD streaming without geo-restrictions. Private Internet Access (PIA) is an excellent choice for VPN newbies or folks on a budget. For a modest price tag, you'll have access to more than 24,000 servers in 77 countries – with 60 of those in Portugal – P2P support and dedicated stealth servers. If streaming is your thing, PIA can effortlessly unblock Netflix and BBC iPlayer. In addition to Chrome and Firefox extensions, PIA is available for all devices, and offers 10 simultaneous connections. PIA can also block malicious ads and trackers, a kill switch keeps your data secure when the unexpected happens, and instant setup makes it nice and easy to get going. Despite being based in the US, PIA boasts a zero-logs policy and AES-256 encryption, and the service's support team are more than happy to answer any additional security questions. Take advantage of PIA's 30-day money-back guarantee to trial these features – and many more! Surfshark impresses with a wide server network, unlimited simultaneous connections and compatibility with all devices. Surfshark may be one of the youngest providers in our list, but it has made a huge splash in the VPN market – and you only need to check out its 3,200+ RAM-only servers in 65 countries to see why. Surfshark offers unlimited bandwidth and full P2P support, as well as a "Camouflage Mode" that disguises your VPN usage as regular traffic. With Surfshark, you'll never run out of shows or movies to stream, with unrestricted access to 15 Netflix libraries, as well as BBC iPlayer, Prime Video, and hulu. Unlimited simultaneous connections are a huge bonus, and because Surfshark is compatible with all devices, you'll be able to secure every laptop, PC, phone, and tablet in your home. CleanWeb banishes pesky ads and malware, and once you enable the kill-switch, you're protected from unexpected dropouts. Surfshark is an audited no-logs provider that you can check out yourself with a 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 support from an expert team. CyberGhost is an easy to use and great value VPN for Portugal. It balances security tools with unblocking features – enjoy Netflix and more without worrying about user logs! CyberGhost's 6,700 servers (25 of which are located in Portugal) all boast unlimited bandwidth, and if you'll be streaming, torrenting, or focusing on privacy, the provider has dedicated servers for you. CyberGhost has no trouble accessing Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer and many, many more sites, and seven simultaneous connections means the whole family can benefit from a single subscription. Easy-to-use apps are available for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux devices, and users can enable an automatic kill-switch for extra protection, and enjoy DNS and IP leak protection, too. CyberGhost is a no-logs provider based in Romania, and has had its service independently audited. You can try CyberGhost for yourself with its generous 45-day money-back guarantee, take advantage of a free one-day trial, and get in touch with a 24/7 customer support service. 1. ExpressVPN
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Why do you need a VPN in Portugal?
With so much of our lives taking place in the digital realm, it's never been more important to stay safe online – and a VPN is a simple, reliable way of doing so. A VPN secures your browsing sessions and keeps your data private and anonymous. What's more, a VPN is your ticket to content that's usually geo-restricted!
Sites and streaming services can examine your IP address to get a rough idea of where you are in the world. Armed with this information, they can then grant or deny you access to content, as a result of licensing agreements or legal requirements – and this is what's known as a geo-restriction. You can bypass these website blocks with a VPN, however.
In order to do this, a VPN conceals your original IP address and assigns you a new one based on the location of the server you connect to. Anyone living in Portugal who wants to see what's new on US Netflix would simply need to connect to a American VPN server and refresh the site! Then, Netflix will assume you're in the US, too, and grant you access to its American library of content.
But wait... there's more!
A VPN is a handy piece of kit for folks in Portugal wanting to bypass blocks, or anyone traveling outside of the country who wants to log into sites as usual – but that's not all a VPN can do!
Stay secure, stay private
We take to the web every day and share all sorts of personal information; we make social media posts, we make purchases, and input passwords and addresses. This convenience has a consequence, however. Plenty of cybercriminals target this data for their own unsavory ends, and your ISP – as well as you government – can track your online activity. VPN encryption puts a stop to this, and makes your data unreadable even if a crook manages to get their hands on it.
Smart torrenting and P2P activity
As you might expect, torrenting is something of a gray area in Portugal, and we'd advise anyone looking to use BitTorrent to do so at their own risk. In 2015, Portuguese ISPs were ordered to block a website for the very first time. That website was The Pirate Bay, as well as its proxies, and months later a slew of other sites were struck from the net for copyright infringement.
All of the VPNs we've recommended in this article support P2P activity, however, concealing your downloads (and general torrenting activity) from peers, your ISP, and anyone else who happens to take a peek. Check out our VPN for torrenting page for a list of the best services and some tips on how to stay secure when torrenting.
Sidestep ISP throttling
Your ISP keeps an eye on what you get up to online, and if you're doing something particularly data intensive – like streaming, joining a VoIP call, or gaming – it might just decide to reduce your internet speeds to preserve bandwidth. Now, ISPs would probably have an easier time if they invested in a more robust network and stopped penalizing customers, but until that day, a VPN can prevent this pesky problem. Because a VPN conceals your activity from your ISP, they won't know what you're doing, and if they can't tell if you're streaming or gaming, they can't put your connection on ice!
The notorious Wi-Fi hotspot
It seems innocuous enough, right? You're in a coffee shop, a hotel, or even an airport, and you connect to the free public Wi-Fi. Well, whilst these connections are convenient, they're also the target of cybercriminals hoping to snatch your data or identifiable information. By installing a VPN on your phone, you take its protection with you wherever you go.
Is there internet surveillance in Portugal?
Unlike some of its nearby neighbors, Portugal does not restrict its internet access, and citizens are afforded security and anonymity online. Laws and legislation protect the people's user rights and free speech, and the government does not intrude upon public communications without the proper legal mandates to do so.
Portugal has to abide by the laws that protect net neutrality as set out by the European Union in 2002.
But Portugal's government skirted net neutrality rules in one regard – by allowing certain broadband providers to offer pricing models where customers could purchase extra data to be used with specific sites. One such model allows users to pay an additional fee for data that could then be used to access Facebook and Twitter, or other social media sites. Naturally, these pricing models have drawn criticism, particularly from supporters of net neutrality, which cites that all content should be treated equally by ISPs.
Fortunately, in 2018 ANACOM, Portugal's national communications regulator, gave the country's three main ISPs 40 days to amend these pricing models so that they fell back in line with the EU's net neutrality laws.
So whilst Portugal doesn't suffer from the same level of online surveillance as the UK, France, or Belarus, it's still important to use a VPN to secure your browsing sessions. Crooks are constantly developing more insidious ways of capturing user data, and ISPs can still log your sessions. In order to access the internet privately – as was intended – we'd recommend using a VPN in Portugal.
What to consider when picking a Portugal VPN
There are hundreds of VPNs available on the market, and each one boasts that it's the best of the best – but sorting the bogus claims from the reliable gems can be as time-consuming as it is overwhelming. To help make your task of picking out the perfect VPN that much easier, we've put together a list of the most important factors to keep in mind when looking for a VPN for Portugal.
- Servers – it's important that your VPN has servers in Portugal, so you can surf the web as usual if you travel overseas, and also a wide selection of servers in international locations, too.
- Unblocking power – this one's a must for avid streamers, and it pays to check whether the VPN you're considering can access the services you're subscribed to.
- Encryption – a VPN should never skimp when it comes to keeping you safe, so be on the lookout for OpenVPN and AES-256 encryption, widely considered the gold standard of security.
- A no-logs policy – this one's vital, as you won't want your logs stored or given to your ISP, or government, particularly if you plan to torrent.
- Kill-switch – a handy feature that prevents your data, and original IP, from leaking in the event your VPN connection unexpectedly drops.
- Customer support – having an expert team of customer service agents on-hand, 24/7, comes in handy if you're having technical trouble, need help with choosing a server, or want to know more about what the VPN service can do.
These are our top considerations when it comes to a VPN for Portugal, but in reality, a VPN can do a lot more. If you're interested, be sure to check out our in-depth articles:
How to install a Portugal VPN
Installing a VPN is a piece of cake – even if you've never used anything similar before! Simply follow along with the steps below and you'll be connected, secure, and ready to browse a truly free internet in no time.
- First and foremost, you'll need to decide which VPN provider to go with. All of the VPNs we've highlighted are secure, reputable, and have servers in Portugal.
- Next, download and install the VPN software for your device. This is usually straight-forward, and you'll just need to follow along with the on-screen instructions.
- Log in to your VPN, and when prompted, connect to a server of your choice – the VPNs in this guide all have servers in Portugal, and you can select them via the map or the handy list. Once you've connected, you're good to go!
Conclusion
Portugal takes its citizens' online privacy seriously, with laws in place that protect freedom of speech and user privacy, but there are still threats lurking on the web. A VPN wards off cybercriminals and snooping ISPs, governments, and workplaces, whilst granting access to sites that were previously geo-restricted. With one subscription, you'll be able to surf the web securely and check out the latest from overseas!
Need a reminder of our top 5 VPN picks? Check them out below! Each provider boasts an impressive server network – with locations in Portugal – as well as simultaneous connections, industry-standard encryption, and speeds that make HD streaming a cinch.
- ExpressVPN - The best VPN for Portugal. It has super-fast servers in Portugal and 93+ countries and it's great for streaming and gaming in HD.
- NordVPN - The best mid-range VPN for Portugal, with a full privacy toolkit, access to global streaming sites, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Private Internet Access - A secure VPN for Portugal. It's easy easy to use and install, super-cheap, and it will keep you secure. Has servers in Lisbon.
- Surfshark - The cheapest VPN for Portugal. It offers strong AES-256 encryption and RAM-only servers that are wiped entirely when switched off.
- CyberGhost VPN - An easy to use VPN for Portugal. It's quick service and compatible with any and all devices, as well as Chrome and Firefox.
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