Best VPN for Turkey

NordVPN is a good pick for Turkey if your monthly budget doesn’t quite stretch to ExpressVPN. Performance is solid thanks to nine servers in Turkey (five standard and four obfuscated), as well as five in nearby Greece and eight in Bulgaria, meaning you can connect locally to ensure you get the best possible speeds. Nord is also one of the only VPN providers that still works consistently with both Netflix and BBC iPlayer.

User-friendly native apps are available for Microsoft Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android devices, and come with a ton of useful features such as a VPN kill switch and DNS leak protection. Access to obfuscated servers, double VPN and TOR over VPN makes it easy to overcome government censorship measures and access blocked content, and a strict zero-logs policy means you don’t need to worry about anything you do online being traced back to you as an individual.

Customer support is excellent quality, even if responses to email can be slow at times, however the website is blocked without a VPN so be sure to set up the software before you go. Don’t expect the same level of reliability you’d get with ExpressVPN, but at the bargain price of just $2.99 per month on the three-year plan that’s a compromise we’re willing to make.

Astrill made its name as the best VPN for China, so it has a good track record for overcoming government censorship blocks. It’s not as reliable as our top pick ExpressVPN, but excellent performance on local connections combined with servers in Turkey and its surrounding countries makes it one of the better options, even if performance drops drastically connecting internationally. Access to Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and other streaming sites is quick and hassle-free.

Astrill’s two main selling points are its proprietary protocols: Stealth and OpenVPN. These disguise your VPN connection as normal web traffic and therefore make it easier for you to beat the censors and access blocked content. The custom apps also come with other advanced privacy features such as a VPN kill switch, DNS leak blocking and even a split tunneling feature.

Customer support on the website will cover most basic problems, but live chat isn’t always available – the site is also blocked in Turkey, so make sure you download and install the VPN before you travel. The price doesn’t drop below $8.33 even on the annual plan, so there are cheaper options out there, especially if you’re going to be connecting internationally on a regular basis.

PrivateVPN is an alternative budget option for Turkey that doesn’t require as long a commitment as NordVPN. The server network is only mid-range in terms of size but a choice of servers in Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria means you can connect to a nearby location for the most reliable performance. Speeds elsewhere in the world are excellent and unrivaled by most other providers. Access to Netflix and iPlayer is quick and easy through dedicated streaming servers.

The custom apps are available for loads of different devices and come with handy features such as a VPN kill switch and protection against DNS leaks. You can connect using PrivateVPN’s proprietary stealth protocol to mask the fact you’re using a VPN and massively reduce your chances of being detected by government censors, making it a breeze to access sites that would otherwise be blocked. A strict zero-logs policy is another added bonus.

Customer support is decent enough but live chat is only available intermittently, which is annoying if you just have a quick question that needs answering. The website is blocked in Turkey (as are those of most providers) so make sure you set up the VPN before you go. The low monthly price of $3.60 on the 17-month plan is excellent considering the level of service on offer.

VyprVPN isn’t as reliable as our other top picks but still does a pretty good job at connecting out from Turkey. Its server network is a decent size and with options in Turkey as well as nearby Greece and Bulgaria, you can connect locally to ensure you get the best possible speeds. Vypr is by no means the quickest provider out there but it’ll certainly do the job for everyday browsers and streamers. Unfortunately, access to Netflix and iPlayer is very inconsistent.

The proprietary Chameleon protocol is available on every server location worldwide, including Turkey, and scrambles OpenVPN packet metadata to ensure it’s unrecognizable via deep packet inspection – this means users are able to bypass government censorship measures without sacrificing any speed or privacy. The custom apps include a VPN kill switch and DNS leak protection, and a zero-logs policy means you don’t need to worry about any of your online activity being traced back to you.

Customer support includes a genuinely 24/7 live chat feature with friendly, helpful agents, although you can only access this through a VPN as the main website is blocked in Turkey. This means you should try to download the apps before you go and make sure you don’t have any problems. VyprVPN isn’t the cheapest provider out there but it’s currently only $4.17 over two years for the Premium plan, which is pretty good value.