California is one of the largest countries in the US, and therefore, among the most popular tourist destinations. Whether you’re traveling to this country or living there, you need a safe and secure VPN. The USA is an epicenter of government surveillance that will violate your privacy, and this service is a perfect solution to the issue. Wondering what are the best choices? Let’s check our top 3 VPNs for California.
Best California VPNs – Top Picks for 2024
With a plethora of providers on the market, choosing the one that fits your needs is never an easy feat. But, we carefully analyzed and reviewed every VPN, hence we’ve come up with a list of the top choices for California.
List of the best VPN you can use in California (2024):
- ExpressVPN
- CyberGhost
- NordVPN
- Surfshark
- Private Internet Access
1. ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is a California VPN that offers a lot for the money. Sure, it’s not going to be the cheapest purchase, but we promise that you’ll get every dollar worth. For the start, the provider packs 3,000+ servers in 94 countries around the globe.
Around 1,000 servers are in the USA (a lot of them located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hollywood,…), making it a great choice for Californian users. Living in this country means that you’re exposed to certain privacy risks. ExpressVPN knows that and employs rock-solid security for every user.
To be precise, it uses 256-bit AES encryption in conjunction with a Kill Switch. Furthermore, there’s IP and DNS leak protection that protects even IPv6 addresses, for maximum security. Another thing where ExpressVPN shines is speed.
It’s the fastest VPN provider with servers in California out there, making it great for streaming, browsing, and torrenting. Speaking of streaming, it’s great performance-wise, but also as a tool for unblocking sites. You can watch Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO GO abroad in a snap of a finger!
Do you need a Bay Area VPN as well? Don’t worry, ExpressVPN is here, and supports ALL platforms. You can install it on iOS, Android, Linux, macOS, Windows, Fire TV, routers, and many other platforms. On top of that, there are 5 simultaneous connections on a single account!
ExpressVPN’s 24/7 support is very helpful and will fix the potential issues in a matter of minutes. Last but not least, it comes with a 49% discount and 3 months free for an annual plan. Accompanying this great deal is a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can get a refund if you don’t like it.
Get ExpressVPN for California >
2. CyberGhost
If you live in California, you probably aren’t very poor. But, even then, you might want to save some money while buying a great VPN. If that’s the case, CyberGhost should be at the top of your list, as one of the best VPN USA providers on the market.
What makes CyberGhost so good is the ability to give a premium performance for the price of a small, less-popular provider. For example, it has around 7,000 servers in 90 countries, which is the largest server network.
Furthermore, it comes with an array of features, such as dedicated servers. These are great for streaming and torrenting, providing substantial speeds and security for a complete experience. Also, we like the addition of an ad-blocker.
While streaming Netflix, Hulu, or BBC iPlayer, you can avoid annoying ads and trackers, threatening to endanger your privacy. CyberGhost also uses OpenVPN as a default protocol, but if you use an iPhone or Linux, you can take advantage of its new WireGuard addition.
For the price, it’s amazing that you get 7 simultaneous connections, instead of 5, as we’ve seen with ExpressVPN. Support here is excellent, and since it’s available through live chat, getting the necessary help will be a one-minute job.
CyberGhost is a Romanian provider, which is outside the 14 Eyes. As a result, you get a crystal-clear zero-log policy accompanied by 256-bit encryption and a reliable kill switch. If you’re planning on getting it, we recommend its 3-year plan that comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee.
Enjoy Online Freedom in California With CyberGhost >
3. NordVPN
NordVPN is a great VPN provider if you want to get a Californian or San Jose IP address. You can actually get any IP you want, given that it’s within the limits of NordVPN’s 5,600+ servers and 60 countries worldwide. These numbers are definitely impressive, but how good the provider is?
In one word – excellent! NordVPN focuses heavily on privacy and security, and it does it so well. Needless to say, military-grade encryption is in place, all while the kill switch prevents any IP/DNS exposure. The addition of obfuscated servers is a good one, allowing users in China to bypass the Great Firewall.
Another great feature here is called Double VPN. It lets you route your traffic through two VPN servers, for an additional layer of encryption. Californian users traveling abroad will be glad that NordVPN unblocks American streaming platforms easily.
This means that streaming Netflix or ABC from abroad will be a breeze. Torrenting lovers can now use P2P-friendly servers, should they want to download some movies, music, or games.
As is the case with the previous two choices, everything we said applies to every supported platform. You can even use NordLynx on your phone, NordVPN’s new WireGuard-based protocol, for insanely fast speeds and impenetrable security.
Offering 6 simultaneous connections, NordVPN will protect all of your devices at the same time. As an icing on the cake, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee, backed up by relatively cheap prices. All of this makes NordVPN an outstanding choice for California.
Enhance Your Online Experience in California With NordVPN >
Why You Should Use a VPN in California?
For some people, using the best VPN in California sounds pointless. But, if you’re from the USA, this service can be of great benefit for privacy and security online. Here are our main reasons why you should get one NOW:
Avoiding Government Surveillance
The USA and its 50 states are all a part of the 5 Eyes alliance. This alliance was formed by English-speaking countries as a means to disrupt the USSR in the Cold War era. Nowadays, it’s a conglomerate that focuses on grand-scale surveillance and data acquisition.
As a result, these countries share data with one another, meaning that your personal info can easily get into the wrong hands. Recently, the government gave full rights to the ISPs in the country to monitor users’ activities and collect data.
Your ISP can now see what you’re doing online and control your internet access through censorship. If they catch you doing something they deem suspicious, you can get into legal issues, which is something you want to avoid.
Thankfully, the best working VPN for California will conceal your IP address, making you invisible to the watchful eyes of your ISP, government, and even hackers.
Torrenting Safely
Remember when we mentioned something suspicious? Well, this is is what we thought about. California, and the USA in general, are fierce enemies of torrenting and any P2P activity. If you’re from this country, you’ve probably heard of DMCA… or perhaps, had any experience with it.
DMCA is here as an anti-piracy regulatory body, aiming to disrupt online pirates and prevent copyright violations. There’s a trick, though. They also fine those who torrent, but not violate any copyrights.
And this is where we have to retaliate, sadly. By using a VPN, you can obfuscate your IP so that no one can intercept your traffic. Doing so will let you download any torrents you want, without DMCA snooping around your back.
Bypassing Geo-Restrictions
You may ask yourself – why do people in the USA have to use a VPN for unblocking sites? Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, and ABC are all there. But what about BBC iPlayer and 10Play, for example?
Or, what if you travel abroad and you want to access your favorite shows and movies? In that case, without this service, doing so would be impossible. A VPN lets you change your IP address, granting access to foreign sites and streaming platforms.
If you’re in Europe, for instance, you can get a US IP address and watch content available in this country. Of course, the same applies vice versa, where you can connect to the Australian server and enjoy 10Play in the USA.
Free VPN in California – Should You Use It?
The worst thing you can do is get a Free VPN California app. Free VPNs are rarely a good deal, and they often do more damage than they actually help you. First, they offer a lackluster performance.
You’ll get very slow speeds, bad stability, and limited bandwidth. This bandwidth can go from 500 MB a month to 10 GB a month, depending on the provider. Even then, this amount of bandwidth simply isn’t enough for streaming, torrenting, and browsing the web.
For unblocking platforms, free VPNs are probably the worst solution. They can’t unblock Netflix and other services, preventing you from accessing your favorite shows and movies abroad. Now, for the worst part – privacy and security issues.
They’ll store logs of your personal information and browsing history, which compromises your privacy. Not only that, but this data often ends up in the hands of third parties, after which they’ll use it to bombard you with ads and trackers.
For the reasons mentioned above, we recommend avoiding free VPN providers for California at all costs. Instead, get ExpressVPN and enjoy all the benefits of a premium VPN service.
Quentin is the co-founder of the-bestvpn.com. With several experiences as a System and Network Engineer, he is very knowledgeable when it comes to VPN, cybersecurity and the risks of using the Internet nowadays.
