Whether you live in Nigeria or you’re traveling to the “Giant of Africa,” you’ll need a robust VPN to sneak past censorship, surveillance, and geoblocks. The best VPNs for Nigeria have servers close to the West African nation and come decked with a suite of privacy and security features.
Based on our research and testing CyberGhost is the best VPN for Nigeria, thanks to its huge server network, dedicated streaming features, and user-friendly setup.
CyberGhost
But there are other VPNs that also do a good job. Read our full article below to discover our top three VPNs for Nigeria.
Although Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, its internet freedom landscape leaves much to be desired, making a VPN a must-have. In June 2021, the Nigerian government banned Twitter after the social media platform deleted tweets by the Nigerian president. Although Twitter was restored seven months later, reports of clampdowns on journalists and protesters have led to Freedom House rating it as “partly free.”
However, government censorship is only half of the problem. Some websites and apps have blocked Nigerian IP addresses, meaning that you’ll need a foreign IP address if you want to access them – and that’s just what a VPN service does.
Short for a virtual private network, a VPN spoofs your location and encrypts your internet traffic, allowing you to use the internet anonymously and securely. However, with so many VPN services on the market, finding the best Nigeria VPN can be tricky. We’ve done the heavy lifting for you in this article. Read on to discover the most effective VPNs for Nigeria.
The Best VPNs for Nigeria
We put several VPN providers through the wringer to create this list. Below, we’ll share our three top picks with you, explaining what makes each of them a great choice for bypassing Nigerian geoblocks. If you want to do your own research, scroll down to our “What to Look for When Choosing a VPN for Nigeria” section.
1. CyberGhost: an excellent beginner-friendly VPN for Nigeria
CyberGhost is the best VPN for Nigeria for several reasons. You can have your pick of 7,800 servers in 91 countries – including 13 in Nigeria. These servers are useful if you want to watch Nigeria-specific content such as Nigerian movies on Iroko TV. For perspective: none of the other VPNs on our list have servers in Nigeria, so they can’t give you a Nigerian IP address.
What’s more, CyberGhost is of the most user-friendly VPNs we’ve reviewed. Using a minimalist design, CyberGhost’s user interface is simple, organized, intuitive, and easy to navigate.
For example, instead of bundling servers together, as some other VPNs do, CyberGhost separates servers by location and function. Plus, you can customize and automate your VPN experience using the “smart rules” feature.
In addition, the VPN service has dedicated streaming servers, meaning you’ll be able to watch anything, whether you want to stream the latest Netflix movies, watch BBC iPlayer, or watch English Premier League matches from Nigeria. Admittedly, it’s not as fast as NordVPN, but it performs well enough to still top this list. You can use your CyberGhost subscription on up to seven devices, making it a family-friendly option. If you want to take it for a test run, use their 45-day money-back guarantee – the longest we’ve seen yet.
- Very user-friendly
- High quality for a low price
- Torrents and Netflix possible
2. NordVPN: the most secure VPN for Nigeria
Although NordVPN tops our best VPNs listing, it claims the second spot in our best VPNs for Nigeria, mainly because it doesn’t have servers in Nigeria or neighboring countries. Although you’ll find about 50 NordVPN servers in South Africa, Nigeria and South Africa are about half a continent apart. That said, with NordVPN you get access to over 5,400 high-speed servers in 60 countries, which work perfectly for streaming and bypassing Nigerian geo-restrictions.
When it comes to security features, NordVPN is well-stocked. You get military-grade AES-256 encryption, an automatic kill switch, and DNS leak protection. Just like Surfshark (the number 3 on our list), NordVPN has a double VPN feature, which routes your internet traffic through two instead of one VPN server. However, NordVPN is much better for streaming.
If you intend to use your VPN connection to unblock region-blocked Netflix content, you’ll love NordVPN’s SmartPlay feature, which enables you to access US Netflix from random servers. NordVPN also ranks as one of the best VPNs for accessing streaming services like Hulu and BBC iPlayer.
- Fast and large worldwide network of VPN servers
- Perfect for privacy and streaming
- Trusted by many, with over 14 million users
3. Surfshark: a cost-effective VPN for Nigeria
If you’re on a tight budget, Surfshark might be your best bet. It has amassed an eye-catching 3,200 plus servers in 65 countries, although there are only two servers in Africa (Algeria and South Africa). Despite being much younger than NordVPN and CyberGhost, Surfshark is decked with some exciting features. For example, you can stop malware, trackers, and ads using the CleanWeb feature. The split tunneling feature, known as the Bypasser, allows you to exclude specific apps and sites from the VPN tunnel.
If you’re a journalist or blogger and you’re worried about the Nigerian government tracking your internet use, you’ll love the Camouflage mode, which hides the fact that you’re using a VPN connection. Another useful feature is the NoBorders mode, which is excellent for sneaking past Nigerian geoblocks and censoring.
Of course, Surfshark also has standard VPN features like the AES-256 encryption, a kill switch, and DNS leak protection. Furthermore, it comes with unlimited data and bandwidth, and you can use it on as many devices as you like, since it offers unlimited simultaneous connections. This makes it a good choice if you perform data-heavy tasks and use many different devices on the daily.
- Very user-friendly and works with Netflix and torrents
- 30-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked!
- Cheap with many extra options
What to Look for When Choosing a VPN for Nigeria
There is a laundry list of VPN features, and it can be challenging to know which ones are must-haves for specific uses and countries. We have an insightful VPN info section to get you started, but to cut through the clutter, here are the key features to keep tabs on when looking for a VPN service for Nigeria:
- Look for a VPN with a trove of online privacy and security features to get you around censorship and internet restrictions. The military-grade encryption AES-256 and a strict no-logs policy are must-haves. A kill switch and DNS leak protection as well as obfuscated servers help conceal your VPN use. Double VPN servers are not too common among VPNs, but they route your traffic through two servers, adding an extra layer of protection.
- Find VPNs with servers in and around Nigeria. Servers in Nigeria are useful if you need a Nigerian IP address — for example if you want to access Nigerian streaming services. However, servers close to Nigeria, especially those in Africa and Europe, are necessary for geoblocking and fast connection speeds.
- Get a VPN that doesn’t throttle your bandwidth or data. This is especially important if you intend to use the VPN to stream HD videos or perform data-heavy tasks. Otherwise, you’ll experience annoying buffering and lags.
Price is another vital consideration, and you might be tempted to opt for a free VPN. However, many free VPNs come bundled with ads and malware, and they’re likely to limit your data and bandwidth. Some even log your data and sell it to advertisers. There are some nice free VPNs that work in Africa, but they always come with restrictions. On the other hand, the paid VPNs mentioned in our top 3 are safer and more secure than a free VPN, making them a great choice for places with internet censorship like Nigeria.
If you want a cheap VPN, we recommend Surfshark, but you can check out our top five VPN picks to find other good paid VPNs. If you’re still bent on using a free VPN, you’ll find our top 6 of truly free VPN providers valuable.
Final Thoughts
A VPN is an excellent way to use the internet safely in Nigeria, whether you want to browse anonymously or stream your favorite shows and games. We carefully curated this list of the best VPNs for Nigeria:
- CyberGhost: the best VPN for a Nigerian IP address
- NordVPN: the safest Nigeria VPN with the best security features
- Surfshark: a cheap Nigeria VPN that offers limitless simultaneous connections
If you want to learn more about censorship in other countries, check out our censorship section. Below are a few other guides on censorship and the best VPNs for specific countries:
- Censorship in Egypt
- Censorship in China: Bypass the Great Firewall of China
- Censorship in Iran
- Censorship in Ukraine
- The Best VPNs for Venezuela
- Best VPN for Kenya
If you’re interested in learning how to use a VPN to unblock streaming services, take a look at our streaming section.
If our article didn’t answer all your questions, don’t worry. Check out our Frequently asked questions section to learn more.
CyberGhost is the best VPN for Nigeria thanks to its vast server network, excellent security features, and easy-to-use interface. It’s also great at unblocking regionally restricted content from the likes of Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu. You even get a 45-day money-back guarantee with all plans. Learn more in our best VPN for Nigeria article.
You need a VPN to bypass censorship and geoblocks in Nigeria, so you can access your favorite sites without restriction or tracking.
The Nigerian government has been increasingly tracking and clamping down on social media and news platforms. Additionally, many apps and sites are not supported in Nigeria for various reasons, while some streaming platforms give you a limited content library while you’re in Nigeria. A VPN spoofs your location and encrypts your data so that snoopers cannot access or track your internet use, and you can access region-blocked content with ease.
PrivadoVPN is the best free VPN for Nigeria. Unlike many free VPNs, it can access Netflix in Nigeria and it’s also great for torrenting. In addition, PrivadoVPN works well on various platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Android TV. However, you only get 10GB free each month, so spend it wisely!
