Opera VPN alternatives

Opera VPN was shut down in April 2018 by the company behind the service, in a move that impacted people using the Android and iOS apps. However, the free Opera desktop browser’s inbuilt VPN continued unaffected. Finally, in March 2019, a new free Opera VPN for Android was released with the iOS version release date still to be announced.

There are a number of Opera VPN alternative services that now provide enhanced security, quicker speeds and better access to geo-locked and censored content. We have reviewed and can recommend some of these for you.

Choosing the best Opera VPN alternative

Every customer will have their own motivation for using a VPN. Factors to assess and weigh up when looking at a product to replace Opera VPN include:

• VPN speeds
• The level of security
• Availability of multiple platforms and devices
• Traffic logs (ideally, none!)
• Strong customer support

Free Opera VPN alternative providers

Windscribe VPN

This Opera VPN alternative offers an excellent free version of its service without any expiry. Users are limited to using 10 GB worth of data transfers every month, and this is the maximum level of download you’ll ever be offered from a reputable free VPN service. Select from eight server locations, and you’ll also find that some Windscribe servers allow P2P filesharing.

Select from a secure and native app, or choose the browser extension, which is more convenient but less secure. You can also choose to combine the two to really ramp up your privacy. You’ll find Windscribe apps available for Windows, iOS, Android, and MacOS.

Although Windscribe is free, the company doesn’t keep user logs. It also enables superb forward secrecy and extremely tight encryption. Why pay for a service which is already so good at the free tier? This will give you access to a larger number of services, the opportunity to run more connections at the same time, and the ability to get your hands on prime geo-locked programming and entertainment content on channels such as America’s Atlantic and Netflix.

TunnelBear

Again providing plans that are either free or paid, TunnelBear is particularly privacy-conscious and offers a non-expiring free version. Again, there’s a data limit to work within, and this is up to 500 MB a month, which tends to just cover occasional online browsing. However, if this is sufficient for your needs, you’ll still be able to take advantage of 20+ server countries to mask your identity and location.

The company doesn’t keep logs, inject ads or use trackers. Every connection is provided with optimized forward secrecy and a high level of encryption for your security protection. You can find apps for Windows, Android, iOS, and MacOS.

Check out our review of TunnelBear

Hide.me

This provider has paid and free tiers alike. The free tier has as 2 GB a month cap on data, but it doesn’t expire. Paying customers get priority when it comes to speed, but Hide.me does guarantee that its free service will offer a download rate of 3 Mbps or more. This is generally enough to stream SD videos. Again, Hide.me uses AES encryption and doesn’t store any logs that could identify users.

Free users of Hide.me can use torrenting but are limited to three server locations. Apps are available across the usual operating systems.

Check out our review of Hide.me VPN

Speedify

This provider doesn’t use a standard VPN protocol, but instead, it makes use of an alternative and self-developed TLS encryption standard named ChaCha. Speedify claims that this works better for mobile devices and offers better speeds. On the free versions, you’ll get a data cap of 1 GB each month as well as 35 server locations. Together this provides a higher service offer than many other paid Opera VPN alternatives.

Again, you’ll find apps for all of the major operating systems, but note that Speedify’s offer is geared towards on mobile platforms.

Check out our review of Speedify VPN

Paid Opera VPN alternatives

If you’re prepared to pay for your Opera VPN service alternative, you’ll find a broader service with additional benefits. Our favorites in this category include the following:

ExpressVPN

This company offers a premium VPN that does cost a little more than some other services, but it does truly deliver on every single aspect. The data transfer speeds are excellent and consistently remain above average. Security standards are cutting edge and offer optimum forward-secrecy, watertight encryption, and absolute leak protection. Again, ExpressVPN doesn’t log IP addresses or online activity to completely preserve user identities.

With ExpressVPN you can watch content on channels such as BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and overseas channels. The customer support offers a live chat around the clock and will let you know which steaming channel to select.

You’ll find apps across all of the usual OS systems as well as for Amazon Fire TV, Android, and some wifi routers.

NordVPN

With NordVPN you just need the one subscription to access six connections simultaneously. You’ll get immediate access to a vast array of global servers. The firm keeps no connection metadata or user activity logs. Data is under lock and key with leak protection, superb encryption and a kill switch for each app.

You can use NordVPN to unblock a great range of geo-locked content, including the BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and more. Just search the knowledge base to determine which server you’ll need to connect to or ask the customer service team who operate live chat around the world. You’ll find apps on all the usual OS options.

Check out our review of NordVPN

IPVanish

If you’re looking for high speeds above all else, you’ll be incredibly impressed at the speeds on offer with IPVanish. It has a huge network of servers around the world, uses the latest and tightest security standards and operates a stringent no-logs policy.

You’ll find benefits such as 256-bit AES encryption, optimized forward secrecy, traffic obfuscation and a kill switch to activate with your chosen apps.

The service isn’t ideal when you want to unblock content streaming sites such as Amazon Prime or Netflix, but it’s particularly popular amongst the Kodi fan base. It’s also ideal for FireStick users as you can find the app you need on the Fire TV app store. Apps work with a full range of Kodi add-ons and are easy to operate with your remote control.

CyberGhost

This provider is based in Romania and its grown its service significantly in the past year. Choose from servers based across the world based on your planned VPN activity. You can find servers to cloak your location and allow you to access streaming sites such as Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Atlantic, Netflix and more.

The encryption on offer is top-notch, and the security standards are uncrackable, including protection against DNS leaks and kill switches. CyberGhost is also extremely fast, and you’ll find apps for all the usual OS options. It’s a great Opera VPN alternative if you’re in the market for a fresh provider.

Check out our review of CyberGhost

PrivateVPN

This service is a relative newbie, but it is already competing fast. You’ll get speeds and security which are akin to more established VPN services, with optimized forward secrecy, leaks against DNS leaks and a kill switch. PrivateVPN speeds are incredibly fast, and no connection or activity logs are kept.

What’s more, PrivateVPN is ideal for accessing geo-locked content, with channels such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video all accessible. Use a single account to connect up to six devices, and find apps on all of the usual OS options.

Shouldn’t I just use the Opera VPN?

Opera browser users may want to still consider alternatives, as Opera does have its own ad network which depends on user data to turn a profit. This means that it does track online activity and keeps logs. The inbuilt browser VPN isn’t even a “true” VPN and just an encrypted proxy used for traffic tunneling. This means that you won’t get app or process protection, and DNS requests can escape the encryption tunnel, so hackers and ISPs can see which websites you’ve visited.

Conclusion

If you’re in the market for a VPN – and users who want to retain their privacy and security when masking their digital location will be – these options, especially the paid ones, offer a great Opera VPN alternative.