10 Best VPNs for PayPal (2023)

When we use public access points or are on the train in countries with restrictions on access to popular payment systems, it is convenient to use a VPN for 100% security and bypass almost any blocks.

Table of contents:

• What is a VPN for PayPal?
• Some recommendations: how to choose the best VPN for PayPal?
• PayPal users may suffer from malware
• Best VPN services to protect and unblock PayPal
• Best free VPNs for PayPal
• FAQ

The time when we couldn’t use anything but cash, checks, or money transfers has passed. This has gradually changed, and money transfers as well as checks are no longer the predominant payment methods. Today, people prefer to use cryptocurrency or PayPal to make their payments convenient or remain anonymous on the Internet. PayPal was founded in 1998, and over the years it has been constantly expanding and becoming the largest method for online payments not only in the USA but throughout the world.

PayPal’s development hasn’t avoided challenges. One of its biggest challenges is hacking the customers’ accounts and stealing money. The problem is very urgent because the number of cases when the users’ accounts of such services as PayPal are hacked and taken from has increased.

* Free VPNs are poorly suited for financial transactions. Use them only in extreme cases.

Also, there are often problems with the use of payment systems in countries from the prohibited list or in cases where the Internet provider blocks PayPal.

What is a VPN for PayPal?    

Virtual Private Network (VPN) for PayPal is a type of virtual network (a network operating based on a regular IP connection) that creates a secure channel between the user's device on which PayPal is accessed to a special VPN server through which access to the payment system and all other resources is granted.

VPN is the most convenient way of using PayPal.

A high-quality VPN service for PayPal has many servers located around the world. When you get a VPN account, you must be logged in before logging in to your PayPal account. You are provided with an anonymous IP address, which is hosted on the PayPal VPN proxy server that you have selected.

Some recommendations: how to choose the best VPN for PayPal?   

When it comes to VPN for PayPal, you need to make sure that the chosen company has the best level of encryption, the most stable connection, supports computers and mobile platforms and, preferably, supports working on multiple devices with one subscription.

Although tunneling protocols (secure channel implementation technology) are critical, I recommend using WireGuard, OpenVPN, or IKEv2, rather than PPTP or L2TP, which may be unsafe.

Also, you must make sure that this VPN provider for PayPal has a good reputation; otherwise, your personal information can be transferred to any other interested third party. It is also not superfluous to pay attention to a money-back guarantee, otherwise, you may lose your money if this VPN service for some reason doesn’t work on your device.

It would be even better if the VPN service for PayPal that you want to use had a trial version. It should also be noted that the VPN that you choose for PayPal should have an easy-to-use interface and professional round-the-clock support from the technical team.

Seems complicated?

Then keep reading and you will learn about 10 VPN services tested with PayPal. 5 of them will have the best characteristics and as many of the listed above requirements as possible. The other 5 in some cases will allow you to get access to blocked paypal.com for free but pay attention to the description of the risks and disadvantages of such VPNs.

PayPal users may suffer from malware

Every year I learn about new viruses and malware that allow attackers to gain access, steal, or disrupt PayPal accounts.  

For example, recently researcher Alex Birsan discovered a PayPal security vulnerability that could reveal passwords.  

VPN allows you to further protect the use of PayPal and makes it virtually impossible to connect to your device in public networks. For example, at airports, eateries, or even at work.

Also, a virtual network encrypts the data in such a way that its interception becomes useless.

Best VPN services to protect and unblock PayPal

Based on the tests results, I selected five VPN services that are best suited for PayPal. They are equally effective for protecting personal data, for changing the region, and for unblocking the payment service if it is blocked.

Comparison of the main features of VPN services for PayPal

Service	Ranking (out of 10)	Speed, Mbps	Encryption standard	Obfuscation (VPN masking)	Country selection	Price (monthly)
ExpressVPN	10	>100	AES-256	-	94	$6.67-12.95
NordVPN	10	>60	AES-256	+	59	$3.29-11.95
Surfshark	10	>60	AES-256	+	63	$2.49-12.95
PIA	9	>80	Customizable	-	45	$2.69-9.95
CyberGhost	9	>50	AES-256	-	90	$2.25-12.99

• Also read my latest review of the best VPNs for Netflix

ExpressVPN

• Premium VPN
• Super high speed and reliability
• Maximum data security
• Support for all platforms
• Up to 5 devices at a time
• 94 countries

• Doesn’t support obfuscation (for the UAE  and some other countries)
• No cheap plans for more than one year  

ExpressVPN provides the highest quality VPN services. Testing showed a high maximum speed of more than 150 Mbps and 100% protection of data sent to the network. Apps on all platforms are protected against information leakage in case of unexpected loss of connection with the server (Kill Switch).

It is also important that ExpressVPN uses special diskless servers that cannot keep logs, which means that no information about user activity can be recorded.

The tests ExpressVPN on mobile platforms with PayPal App showed excellent compatibility. All data was encrypted in the same way as when using payment via websites.

Also read:

• Review of all the features of ExpressVPN
• ExpressVPN and other VPNs for torrenting

NordVPN

• 5000+ servers in 59 countries
• Interactive map of locations
• Support for all OSs
• Up to 6 devices at a time
• Double VPN
• Obfuscation
• WireGuard (high-performance protocol)

• No Split Tunneling (select apps that bypass VPN) 

NordVPN is great if only you don’t need speed above 100Mbps. This service has very strong functionality for data protection and the ability to mask VPN traffic from an Internet provider, which can be especially valuable when PayPal is unblocked.

NordVPN offers the ability to use a VPN inside a VPN. This allows you to achieve a “paranoid” level of data and location protection.

Obfuscation will be useful to bypass blocks in countries with censorship, which complicates the detection of VPN footprints by Internet service providers.

Also read:

• Review of all NordVPN features
• NordVPN and other VPNs for bank transfers

Surfshark

• The perfect combination of price and quality
• Double protection
• Obfuscation (NoBorders)
• Automatic protocol selection for restricted networks
• Tracking protection
• Apps for all OSs
• Unlimited number of the used devices

• No WireGuard support
• Maximum speed of less than 80 Mbps

Surfshark not only allows you to secure payments effectively using PayPal anywhere in the world, and also it costs significantly less than competitors ($2.49 for a 2-year subscription versus $4.13-$6.67 or more from competitors).

In its capabilities, this service isn’t inferior to the leaders. A lower maximum speed can be called a small drawback, but I will say from my own experience that with all VPN services, the maximum speed can drop to 70 Mbps or lower. It depends on user activity. Also, many VPNs generally never “overclock” by more than 30-40Mbps.

Thus, Surfshark is an excellent budget service with advanced features, and its disadvantages are not significant for PayPal.

Also read:

• Review of all the features of Surfshark
• Surfshark and other VPNs for Bitcoin

Private Internet Access

• Good reputation
• High speed
• Up to 10 devices at a time
• Many advanced features (VPN settings)
• WireGuard
• Shadowsocks

• Not suitable for streaming
• Smaller country selection than in top 3  

Private Internet Access (PIA) is one of the most secure VPN services in 2022. According to the Reddit review research, PIA is one of those VPNs that have significantly more positive reviews than negative reviews.

I want to highlight some of the features of Private Internet Access that are relevant to PayPal:

• Confirmed secure apps for all OS

• Availability of technologies to circumvent censorship (Shadowsocks and WireGuard)

• Access to encryption settings

Also read:

• Review of all the features of PIA

CyberGhost

• 6000+ servers in 90 countries
• NoSpy servers
• Tracking protection
• 7 devices
• Traffic flow indicator
• Split Tunneling

• May increase Windows load
• Doesn’t support obfuscation
• Doesn’t support progressive protocols

A somewhat controversial VPN service CyberGhost closes the top five. This is without a doubt the largest provider in 2022, with more than 6,000 servers in 90 countries. It has the necessary technology for the secure use of PayPal. However, at the same time, it is inferior in popularity to other large VPNs:

The graph shows the indicators of interest of Internet users based on the Google Trends, where it can be seen that CyberGhost is inferior in popularity even to Surfshark, which has been operating since 2018 (CyberGhost was founded in 2011).

Separately, I want to note two technologies useful for PayPal:

1. NoSpy servers. More secure than regular VPN servers, since they are under special control of the company and to which employees of third-party hosting companies which usually rent out servers don’t have access.

2. Tracking protection technology included in the base subscription.

Also read:

• Review of all the features of CyberGhost

Best free VPNs for PayPal 

In some cases, PayPal uses a free VPN service to further protect transactions. As a rule, this is a free limited plan of a regular service, which has several features that you should be aware of in advance. I recommend doing this only in extreme cases.

Warning:  Free VPNs are best avoided for money-related tasks. There are some reasons for this, the main of which is a limited list of servers whose IP addresses are most often compromised. Also, connection failures at the most crucial moment are possible. In such cases, it is not uncommon for a real IP address to leak.

Even the best free VPN providers aren’t suitable for bypassing blocks in countries with censorship.

ProtonVPN

Free ProtonVPN is perhaps the only free VPN that can be called safe enough for financial transactions. This, however, doesn’t guarantee that the IP addresses of its servers aren’t compromised, as a variety of people use free services, including scammers and spammers. Combined with a limited list of servers, this is a serious negative factor.  

Otherwise, ProtonVPN is a good VPN. Its paid version is considered one of the best among professional services.

Signing up is required.

Hide.me

If you need to connect to a VPN as quickly as possible, then hide.me is the best option. You don’t need to sign up. You don’t even have to go to the company’s website, but to simply install the app on your smartphone from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

The main disadvantages are the risk of a connection failure during the transaction, compromised IP addresses, and low speed.

Windscribe

Windscribe also allows you to protect transactions without signing up, but it has a smaller traffic limit than hide.me - 2GB per month versus 10GB.

I also note that until recently, the free Windscribe was too slow for PayPal. Recently, it has improved, but so far, too little time has passed to say for sure.

TunnelBear

I want to introduce you to the free TunnelBear VPN service plan, which looks like a full-featured paid VPN. Speed, choice of locations, and its reliability are quite high. The problem is only the traffic limit, which is only 500-1500MB per month (officially 500, but in my app, for some reason, it says 1500).

Thus, TunnelBear is suitable for single or rare use.

Signing up is required.

Hotspot Shield

It's hard to find a more popular free VPN than Hotspot Shield. However, I don’t think it is the best. Moreover, it is not the best for PayPal. The fact is that for free, it offers a location only in the Netherlands. This and the fact that IP addresses are extremely compromised are the main problems of Hotspot Shield.

Use this VPN only if none of the other ones previously described has suited you for some reason.

FAQ

How does a VPN for PayPal work?

When you start using a VPN for PayPal, you enjoy having your real IP hidden from hackers and other prying eyes. Much as PayPal is a global company, there are many countries and territories where its services are quite basic or simply inaccessible. You might be forced by the circumstances to open a PayPal account even though it is geo-restricted in your area. Using a VPN for PayPal you keep safe your IP address with choosing another virtual location.

The varied choice of server locations provided by a qualitative VPN service for PayPal can also help you avoid any border restrictions imposed by your government or ISPs. When you get an account with a VPN for PayPal, you will choose a proxy IP which is hosted by a server in a country where PayPal is openly accessible.

When do I need a VPN for PayPal?

The use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for PayPal is most often needed during traveling and when it is not possible to make payments with a local IP address. Also often in corporate networks or in countries with state restrictions, you need to bypass the blocking of the domain paypal.com. I also recommend using a VPN on public networks and when using mobile devices.

Can a VPN harm my PayPal account?

Yes, it is possible. When using compromised IP addresses or when changing countries frequently, questions from the payment service are possible. But upon confirmation of your identity, any blocks will be removed.

What are the features of using a VPN with the PayPal App?

If you make a payment or manage your PayPal account through a mobile app, you can also easily set up a VPN. The only limitation is that you cannot use a VPN addon for Chrome. Otherwise, the efficiency and degree of protection are the same as when using the web version.