Finding a good VPN for Bahrain is like finding water in the wild. It allows you to breathe freely.
The events of ‘Arab uprising’ in March 2011 caused an increase in government surveillance and also Internet censorship. The websites’ content that the Bahraini get to enjoy is both restricted and monitored.
Even some educational sites are blocked which inconvenience the way students learn and teachers educate.
Besides, for many people browsing the Internet there, it is a risk by itself because they can end up being prosecuted for accessing banned websites. And here’s why you need an efficient VPN service.
Don’t know where to start?
Here I am to help you.
5 best VPNs you must know about if you live in Bahrain
ExpressVPN: The best choice for you in Bahrain. Support of all popular platforms, a 30-day money-back, and servers in 94 countries
Surfshark: Affordable VPN provider for $2.49 per month. 1700+ servers worldwide, the BVI jurisdiction, and 24/7 support.
NordVPN: Reliable protection of up to 6 devices per account with a 73% discount. Fast servers, access to Netflix, and other streaming sites.
CyberGhost VPN: This provider allows us to browse and stream without limitation. Over 6400 servers around the world for a moderate price (2+ extra months)..
PIA: Connect up to 10 devices per subscription and make your web surfing safe and unrestricted. Prices start at $2.69 per month.
Top 5 free VPNs that work in Bahrain
ProtonVPN: A beneficial free plan you may use indefinitely. Access to 3 countries, 1 allowed device, and medium speed.
Windscribe: As well as paid plans, the provider offers a free lifelong plan. The restriction is in the number of devices you may use – only 1.
TunnelBear: For $0 per month you’ll get unrestricted access to the Internet. However, your traffic is limited up to 500MB.
TurboVPN: 100% free VPN for you. Access to 10000+ servers in more than 50 locations worldwide.
Hide.me: Its free plan that gives access to 5 locations. The monthly traffic is restricted to 10 GB – quite generous!
Don’t forget about the restrictions for free VPNs (speed, servers, traffic, or features). Sometimes, they become a major setback to your activity on the Internet in Bahrain. At the same time, paid VPNs can offer you all the benefits for a moderate price.
Is VPN a must-have tool in Bahrain?
98% of Bahraini citizens use the Internet. This rate is one of the highest in the world.
However, not everything is so perfect in the cyber environment of the State of Bahrain. The Internet freedom status was defined as NOT FREE in Bahrain in 2017. And currently, the situation is not improved.
In this respect, a VPN becomes an extremely urgent tool in the country.
Here’s why you need a VPN in Bahrain:
Internet shutdown
Access to the Internet was restricted for the residents of a Duraz area in the day time during 250 days. It can happen again.
Online content blacklisting
Whereas some regions of Bahrain cannot use the World Wide Web at all, restrictions based on censorship and content filtering take place all over the country. Many websites, social media accounts, and blogs were blocked there.
Blocking of VoIP apps
Telegram messenger became unavailable in Bahrain in June 2017. The only way to communicate through the messenger is to subscribe to a VPN service in Bahrain.
Content removal
Although social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are accessible in case one surfs the Internet with a Bahraini IP address, not all publications can be read by people. The government makes netizens delete some posts on their pages.
Monitoring
All Internet users are the target of special agencies. They know what we like or dislike, with whom we communicate and even what we discuss. Thus, for example, Remote Control System was used by the Bahrain authorities to spy on internet users.
The best VPN for Bahrain to unblock the restricted sites
I’m lucky to find several VPNs that meet users’ demands in Bahrain: safe web surfing, content unblocking, and unrestricted torrenting. However, there’s one provider that will suit you best when you are in Bahrain – ExpressVPN. This app will help to open any entertaining and educational service due to its special servers.
Comparison of the main features of VPN services for Bahrain
ExpressVPN is perfect both if you live in Bahrain and if you visit this country as a tourist. In both cases, you can access the services you want and be anonymous for the local ISP. A 24/7 live chat support service will help to solve problems if there’s any.
Advanced TrustedServer technology implemented by the provider guarantees 100% anonymity. ExpressVPN servers run on RAM that minimizes user data risk.
Surfshark is one of the best VPN services for Bahrain. Besides, it’s the cheapest VPN app. Anyone can afford it. Apart from its low cost, Surfshark has many other advantages that make it stand out in the crowd:
CleanWeb to block importunate ads and popups
Whitelister to exclude certain sites and apps from connecting through the VPN
Multihop to double your protection
As you can see, Surfshark is a worthy VPN when you are in Bahrain. It’s not only cheap but efficient. Besides, its functionality will surprise even the most skeptical user.
NordVPN is the number 3 VPN to use in Bahrain. And here’s why. First of all, it has all the features required for unlimited access to the best services and sites (IP masking, a no-logs policy, kill-switch, and whatnot). Also, it has ultra-fast servers for streaming without buffering.
The distinctive feature of CyberGhost is server diversity. Running the app, you’ll find special servers for torrenting and streaming. It simplifies the process of finding the necessary server.
Besides, it’s possible to install the app on any device and even configure your router and make it secure.
Price
The table lists the CyberGhost VPN plans and prices
1 month
1 year
2 years
3 years
Price (monthly)
$12.95
$3.99
$3.49
$2.25
Money-back guarantee
45
45
45
45
There’s an option to add a dedicated IP. Its monthly cost is $5 (for 1 IP).
Payment options: PayPal, Credit Cards, and Cryptocurrency.
Conclusion
A great diversity of servers for $2.25 per month
Opportunity to use dedicated servers for your convenience
Private Internet Access is a really reliable and worthy service that hides your IP and makes you anonymous on the Internet. Among its strong sides, I’ve found the special servers for streaming. Thus, I’ve checked 70% of them and now can say that they cope with streaming. Sites are unblocked, restricted content is available, no buffering is observed.
Price
The table lists the PIA plans and prices
1 month
1 year
2 years
Price (monthly)
$9.95
$3.33
$2.69
Money-back guarantee
7
7
7
Payment options: PayPal, Credit Cards, and Bitcoin.
Conclusion
Worldwide network for your convenience (47 countries)
Can’t pay for the service right now and the free trial period is too short?
It’s not a problem!
There are VPN services that you still can use in Bahrain to unblock Netflix for free. I’ve created the list of free VPNs that do work in Bahrain and cope with the main task.
Warning:Free VPN services have some weak points that may be an obstacle to the quality of your online activity. Their weak side is speed first of all. Besides, some of them restrict users in monthly traffic. If you want to avoid such problems, it’s recommended to subscribe to a cheap VPN service.
If you still believe that a free VPN is a good solution for you, have a look at the best free VPNs I recommend to use in Bahrain
Free ProtonVPN
Main qualities
Free plan
3 countries
Medium speed
The great plus of this VPN is that the provider doesn’t restrict users in time. You may use ProtonVPN free plan as long as you need it. Besides, there’s no traffic restriction. Another plus point is its speed.
All these factors allow streaming Netflix in Bahrain.
Windscribe has servers in 110 cities in the world. But a user of a free plan is to pay $1 per location monthly. It’s rather beneficial if you use a VPN to stream the US Netflix in Bahrain only. There’s no need to pay for other unnecessary functions and servers.
TunnelBear VPN free package is a good-enough solution if you come to Bahrain for a couple of days and want to unblock some sites or use Telegram, for example. This is because only 500MB is allowed. It’s not enough for 24/7 streaming or torrenting.
It sounds fantastic! Turbo VPN has no restrictions on speed, traffic, servers, or functions. Having subscribed to it, you get all the benefits of a VPN app for free.
At the same time, we must realize that free things can be great. If you are ready to watch some ads from time to time and have trouble with OpenVPN, then Turbo VPN is for you.
After my experiments with VPN apps in Bahrain, I want to mention that hide.me is a good alternative to TunnelBear because of more traffic allowed. At the same time, in contrast to Turbo VPN, it doesn’t show ads.
Cybersecurity and online privacy expert and researcher. He's been published on OpenVPN, EC-Council Blog, DevSecOps, AT-T Business, SAP Community, etc. Dean has been testing VPNs for 8 years.
