You can’t enjoy a good movie in Iran when all the top streaming sites are blocked.
Also, it’s very tough to share your opinion publicly on social media since the government has banned most of these platforms.
We get it. A cheap VPN for Iran that actually works to help with that would be a treasure.
But the last thing you want is to end up in a trap where both the government and your VPN provider can access your data.
We’re here to help you avoid that. Want to know about the best cheap picks on the market? Take a look.
Before we get to the list, let’s quickly work through our criteria. We made sure the VPNs in our list all meet the following 5 requirements:
With how Iran has a Freedom score as low as 12/100, we made sure to test the VPNs for a few months, even when the internet wasn’t very stable. So, you’ll be well off with picking any of the options below.
This one is the perfect mix for a first choice—it’s not too popular but has as much protection as a mainstream VPN. With options like NordVPN constantly being blocked by the Iranian government, you’ll be able to sneak by easily with this one. Even better, you get more than internet protection, Vipiyan also protects you from malicious files.
Privado doesn’t seem special on the surface, but it’s everything an Iranian wants to browse casually. 10 GB of free data a month, AES-256 encryption, and even a fancy protection system dubbed “Control Tower”, which combines ad-blocking, threat prevention, and device control.
Surfshark, we’re sure you’ve heard of it, very few haven’t at this point. And their popularity isn’t just because of the excessive marketing, the VPN does actually work, without costing an arm and a leg! Despite paying relatively less than what you would with other mainstream VPNs, you even get special features like Camouflage Mode, IP Rotator, and even NoBorders mode. All of these are everything an Iranian needs as their primary function is bypassing blocks.
Of course, we’d be wrong to not include ExpressVPN. It has its own protocol—the Lightway protocol, and it’s just as good as OpenVPN. Considering that the latter tends to get blocked in Iran often, you’ll benefit a lot by going for this VPN.
Atlas VPN is very good at handling IPs. It does it so well with the specialized SafeSwap feature, where you can have your IP address rotate without even needing to switch servers. The servers are also optimized for streaming, so you can fully enjoy blocked shows. However, user privacy remains a top priority. There’s also a helpful data breach monitoring feature to keep your credentials safe.
Need a VPN for your family or multiple devices? CyberGhost would be a great fit—it supports up to 7 devices per account, which can connect at the same time. Despite being one of the cheapest VPNs on the list, its feature set make it easy to bypass restrictions. There are also dedicated streaming servers, you can use those and the VPN’s dedicated Ad Blocker to watch all your favorite movies and shows.
If you ask a privacy enthusiast what their favorite VPN is, they’d likely say Mullvad. Its privacy-friendliness goes above and beyond. You don’t need an account to start, and even your payments are anonymous. There are also cryptocurrency options, so you can go fully under the Iranian government’s radar. If you know your tech, you can also take a look at the app’s code, as it’s Open Source, with plenty of independent security edits done on it too.
When choosing a budget VPN for Iran, keep these key features in mind:
Yes, cheap VPNs are perfect for the job.
You don’t need to worry about compromises being made in the name of price reductions, as there are plenty of good options still out there.
Even better, most of the good cheap VPNs are used to dealing with countries that have heavy censorship. No matter what you get, you can go anywhere you want on the internet.
You don’t even have to worry about privacy, as you can get a VPN that comes with strong protocols and extra privacy protection features without paying too much.
Besides standard browsing, you can also enjoy not having your speeds throttled on certain sites.
So, all in all, you’ll always have strong security with a good yet affordable VPN.
Just make sure you don’t pick any of the more shady ones, as many VPNs often are “cheap” or “free” because they work by selling off your data.
No, but some of them like Vipiyan offer limited free use without any caps on speed.
Privado VPN offers 10GB of free data every month.
They are. It’s not the same case as using a shady “Free” VPN, which is can potentially sell your data.
No, you’ll have to make sure your chosen provider directly states this and isn’t set up in a country that forces logging. If you go with our list, you don’t need to worry since we’ve taken care of that part for you.
So, did you find anything that you like? These options will keep you safe as you browse the web, without any prying eyes making you uncomfortable.
The best thing is that they’re all cheap, especially Vipiyan. You’re just a few tomans away from getting your freedom, so set yourself up with a good VPN, ASAP.
With how things are in Iran right now, you never know how much risk you’re in. So, better safe than sorry.
