The Republic of Bulgaria is located in Southeast Europe and bordered by Romania to the north. Though the population is not large at only 7 million people, the country has a very high Human Development Index like most of Europe. Its European Single Market Economy mostly relies on the service sector, followed by industry. Bulgaria has quite a bit of growth opportunity, but it is plagued with widespread corruption. If you are planning a trip there either for business or leisure and plan on using WiFi, be sure to use a VPN service first. We’ll be glad to tell you why it is important in a few moments.
Best VPNs for Bulgaria – Summary
A big reason to use a VPN while in Bulgaria to help protect your privacy. Whether you live there or are just visiting, there is a good chance that the widespread corruption will touch you in some way. Of course, that also leaves the possibility for cybercriminals to steal your data. On a positive note, the government generally respects the rights of internet users there. Also, keep in mind that Bulgaria frowns on torrent usage. While that is not uncommon, it is another good reason to use a VPN while there. When you do connect, you create a secure and encrypted connection to the server of your choice. That makes it much more difficult for thieves to obtain your personal information.
The next reason to use a VPN while in Bulgaria has to do with accessing geo-restricted content. Fortunately for many, the country does not have specific rules or restrictions as far as viewing content on the internet. That said, media companies will still stop you from seeing content if you are outside the targeted area. When you use a VPN in this case, you can connect to your home region or another region to access the content you would normally be blocked from seeing.
What is the Best VPN for Bulgaria?
Unlike some of the other countries, the criteria we use to come up with an answer to this question are not quite as strong. However, we will use the following factors to answer what the best VPN for Bulgaria is. Those factors should include:
- Network stability – This helps to limit the chance that you will be dropped or disconnected from the service.
- No logs policy – If the VPN provider does not keep logs, there is nothing to turn over if asked.
- Multi-platform mobile apps – It is important to have support for many devices including Amazon Firestick.
- Unblocking geo-restrictions – For everyone that wants to view content from a different area, this one is important.
- Fast speeds – No matter what you plan on doing, good speeds in Bulgaria are important
- Strong encryption – Though this is not the most important factor, it matters because it helps to protect your privacy from thieves.
Now that you see what is important, we’ll go over our options more in-depth.
1. CyberGhost
Based in: Romania | Number of servers: 3,000+ | Server locations: 80 | Simultaneous connections: 7
- Exclusive 12-month plan + 6 mos. free – $2.75 a month ($49.50 total cost)
- 6-month plan – $4.99 a month ($29.94 total cost)
- 1-month plan – $11.99 a month
CyberGhost was founded in 2001 by 7 enthusiastic young team members in Bucharest, Romania. Since that time the company has grown into one of the largest VPN services in the world. The team of 50+ members focuses on protecting users privacy. Robert Knapp, co-founder and CEO, continues to lead the team even after they joined the Crossrider group in 2017. Since that time the CyberGhost network has expanded quite a bit.
CyberGhost offers a nice mix of server locations, strong encryption, and the ability to unblock popular streaming services like Netflix, YouTube Red, and Amazon Prime. Some of the channels even let you unblock geo-restrictions for multiple regions. For example, you can access Amazon Prime video content in the US, Germany, or UK. The Windows client also gives you the option to surf anonymously, protect WiFi, torrent anonymously, unblock basic websites (Google, Facebook Instagram, etc.), and choose a server.
Since we wanted to test a server in Bulgaria, we opened the Windows client and expanded the interface. From there, you will want to click on the “All Servers” tab if it isn’t already active. Scroll down to Bulgaria and click to the right of the star. This will bring up a full list of servers in the country. The CyberGhost network includes a few servers in Bulgaria and is fast because it borders CyberGhost’s home country. We connected to a server in Sofia (Bulgaria) and we got a speed of 104.34 Mbps.
The CyberGhost VPN client is one of our favorites and its speed means it is a great choice for Bulgaria. It is very easy to use and includes a number of advanced features to help protect your online privacy. They have a development team in Germany that is continually adding features to the client and mobile apps. You can sign up for full access to the CyberGhost network from just $2.75 a month during their current promotion.
Read our full review of CyberGhost VPN.
2. IPVanish
Based in: USA | Number of servers: 1,100+ | Server locations: 89 | Simultaneous connections: 10
- Exclusive 12-month plan – $4.87 a month ($58.49 total cost)
- 3-month plan – $6.74 a month ($20.24 total cost)
- 1-month plan – $7.50 a month
Bulgaria is not a large country, but several VPN providers offer servers in the country’s capital of Sofia. Of course, that includes IPVanish. You can expect fast speed in locations in multiple parts of the world as well, though. Because of that, we choose IPVanish as one of our go-to options to use while in Bulgaria.
As well as quite a bit of coverage in various European regions, IPVanish hosts servers in every continent other than Antarctica. The network produces great speeds and they perform well on our speed tests. You can select a location or an individual server from the drop-down menu.
We just mentioned that IPVanish has servers all over Europe and they are all available. If you see any servers that have the letter “a” as part of their server name, those are the fastest in the network. We tested an IPVanish server in Sofia and found the speed to be 43.14 Mbps.
When it comes to value IPVanish is hard to beat. They offer unlimited access to their VPN network and custom software for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Amazon Firestick, and more for $7.50 a month or $58.49 a year. That works out to just $4.87 a month on the annual plan. A 7-day money back guarantee will cover you as a new member.
Read our full review of IPVanish.
3. PureVPN
Based in: Hong Kong | Number of servers: 2,000+ | Server locations: 180 | Simultaneous connections: 5
- 12-month plan – $2.99 a month ($35.88 total cost)
- 3-month plan – $8.00 a month ($23.99 total cost)
- 1-month plan – $10.95 a month
PureVPN has been in business since 2007 making them one of the oldest VPN providers on the market. Having an early start has helped them expand and innovate. PureVPN has one of the best VPN clients available on the market. They also have free apps for both iOS and Android.
Innovation is an area that helps PureVPN stand out from the pack. They continue to add new features and add-ons to the service. You can add NAT firewall, a dedicated IP address, StealthVPN browser and a special option called dedicated streaming to help speed up your performance.
Since we wanted to test a server in Sofia Bulgaria, we opened the Windows client and clicked on the “Country Selection Tool” option. From there you can expand any country and select a specific server using the “Browse All Servers” tab. The PureVPN network has several servers located there. We connected to one of them and tested the performance. As you can see, our download speed was 26.44 Mbps.
PureVPN does really well in the pricing category. They have cut pricing by over 50% as the service continues to grow. You can sign up for unlimited VPN and access all their server locations from just $4.99 a month. The annual plan is a great value.
Read our full review of PureVPN.
4. HMA Pro VPN
Based in: UK | Number of servers: 880+ | Server locations: 280 | Simultaneous connections: 5
- 12-month plan – $6.99 a month ($83.88 total cost)
- 6-month plan – $7.99 a month ($47.94 total cost)
- 1-month plan – $11.99 a month
HideMyAss was brought to life in 2005 when Jack Cator, a 16-year-old student in England, decided that he wanted to create a service to help people avoid censorship. Specifically, Jack was unable to access social media sites and online games because they were blocked on the school network. HMA added hundreds of thousands of users the first month and has since grown into one of the largest VPN services in the world with over 350 server locations. Privax, the parent company of HMA Pro VPN, joined the AVG team in 2015.
f your goal is to find the VPN with the most server locations then HideMyAss is your best choice. Just keep in mind that HMA logs user activity which is a concern for some VPN users. HMA hosts some VPN servers in Bulgaria, specifically in Sofia. To connect to a server there, you will want to go into the “Location Mode” and select “Change Location” to get started. Then click on the “Cities” tab and search for Bulgaria. We connected to a server there to test and found the speed to be 21.93 Mbps.
In 2016 HMA and a few other leading VPN providers led the way in simplifying their custom client software. The result is a full set of custom apps that make it easy for any user to connect to the HMA network and encrypt your connection. They have software available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. You can also connect to HMA through your router. HMA offers unlimited VPN access from just $6.99 a month and offers all new users a 30-day risk-free money back guarantee.
Read our full review of HMA.
5. ExpressVPN
Based in: British Virgin Islands | Number of servers: 2,000+ | Server locations: 148 | Simultaneous connections: 3
- Exclusive 12-month plan + 3 mos. free – $6.67 a month ($99.95 total cost)
- 6-month plan – $9.99 a month ($59.95 total cost)
- 1-month plan – $12.95 a month
ExpressVPN brings together fast VPN access with MediaStreamer which acts as a Smart DNS service to help unblock access to some great geo-restricted content. The service will help encrypt your connection and unblock live sporting events. You will even find a list of the latest live entertainment and sporting events on their website.
ExpressVPN manages a very large VPN network. Beyond the USA and Canada, the ExpressVPN network boasts hundreds of servers in key locations to help protect their user’s privacy. You can use their network to protect your privacy, unblock censorship, and watch your favorite teams from anywhere.
The ExpressVPN app allows you to select a server location down to the city but you can not choose a specific server. Instead, the client will select a server in your chosen location. You also need to know that some cities are not shown on the recommended tab inside the client. You may find that issue with servers in Bulgaria. Simply select the “All” tab, open Europe, and then open Bulgaria. At this point, you can select servers there. When we tested a server in Sofia, Bulgaria, the speed was 12.46 Mbps.
While ExpressVPN is sold at a higher price point than the other services in our list, the value is high given the size of their network and service features. You can connect a computer, handheld device, router, and game console (SmartDNS) with a single VPN account for just $6.67 a month with an annual subscription.
Read our full review of ExpressVPN.
And there you have the best VPN options available to use while in Bulgaria. However, please take a look at our top 10 VPN list if you would like other options. We made the decisions in this post based on server locations, speeds, security, price, and network stability. That way, you will have access to the best speeds possible. No matter which one you choose, our top options all have good networks. These days. good speeds are important no matter what you are trying to do. By using our guide, you can make the decision that will best suit your needs.