The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (2024)

Ah, France. Is there any more romantic country in the world? We’ve been under its sway since we saw the movie “Amelie” — the Eiffel Tower, the wine regions, and little outdoor cafes. We haven’t been there yet, though a trip to Paris is definitely on our bucket list. But we travel there whenever we can — virtually.

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (1)

Netflix and other streaming services, for example, have their own French libraries. Ordinarily, you can’t access those unless you actually live in France. As it happens, though, the right VPN can give you an IP address that makes it look like you live in France, and that can be a passport to all sorts of French films and series. Plus, while we’re getting our fill of berets and bicycles, we know we’re protected from hackers and anyone else who might want to spy on our online tours.

Here’s the question, though: Which VPNs are best if you’re traveling to France — virtually or actually — or if you’re one of those incredibly lucky people who live there? Below you’ll find everything you need to know about choosing a VPN to facilitate a French adventure. Just because you live in Omaha, or Phoenix, or Brooklyn doesn’t mean you can’t add a little romance to your life.

>> Check Out: Best VPNs for Traveling

Best VPNs for France

  1. NordVPN - Most Secure
  2. Surfshark - Best for Families
  3. Private Internet Access VPN - Most Affordable
  4. CyberGhost - Most Servers in France
  5. Proton VPN - Best for Streaming
  6. PureVPN - Best With Multihop

What We Look for in the Best VPNs for France

Choosing the right VPN for France isn’t just about finding the cheapest VPN, or the one with the most features, or the one everyone else seems to like. It’s about doing careful testing and research. It’s about deciding which VPNs are the safest and offer us the most conveniences for the money, and then choosing from those which ones are going to work best in France.

We typically start with three foundational criteria:

  • Security: The point of a VPN is to keep us safe, so we don’t bother with any VPN that doesn’t have the requisite security features.
  • Speed: While security is always our prime concern, a VPN that’s too slow is unusable. So, we test speeds and include only those VPNs that ensure a smooth, buffer-free online experience.
  • Price: Price matters. We like low-cost VPNs, but we’re willing to pay a little extra if we feel like we’re getting our money’s worth. The bottom line is always value.

These three criteria can give us a short list of the best VPNs, but if we want VPNs that work especially well in France, there are additional considerations. Maybe the most important of these is how many servers a VPN maintains in France. More servers in the country means locals and visitors are more likely to find one nearby. It also means there’s a greater chance we can find one that’s relatively traffic-free. And keep in mind that close server proximity translates to faster speeds and better performance from your VPN.

Finally, though, we know that a lot of VPN users want to be able to access streaming content in France. So we also check to make sure the VPNs on this list manage to unblock the most popular streaming services.

>> Read More: Best VPNs for Streaming

Side-by-side Comparison of the Best VPNs for France

System

NordVPN

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (2)

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (3)

Surfshark

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (4)

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (5)

Private Internet Access VPN

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (6)

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (7)

CyberGhost

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (8)

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (9)

Proton VPN

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (10)

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (11)

PureVPN

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (12)

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (13)

Ranking 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Ratings 9.7/10

Most Secure

9.5/10

Best for Families

9.4/10

Most Affordable

8.9/10

Most Servers in France

8.8/10

Best for Streaming

8.9/10

Best With Multihop

Servers in France 230+ 76 300+ 908 45 78
Servers Worldwide 5,878 3,200+ 15,000+ 10,123 3,000 6,500+
Multihop Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Camouflage mode Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Monthly plans $3.79 - $12.99 $1.99 - $13.99 $1.98 - $11.95 $2.11 - $12.99 $5.00 - $11.00 $2.03 - $12.45
Contract lengths 1 month, 1 year, 2 years 1 month, 6 months, 2 years 1 month, 1 year, 3 years 1 month, 6 months, 2 years 1 month, 1 year, 2 years 1 month, 1 year, 2 years
Read Review NordVPN Review Surfshark Review Private Internet Access VPN Review CyberGhost Review Proton VPN Review PureVPN Review

A Close-up View of the Best VPNs for France

  • 1. NordVPN - Most Secure

    Editors Rating:

    9.7 /10

    View Plans

    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (14) The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (15)

    How We Review

    Product Specs

    Multihop Yes
    Camouflage Mode Yes
    Kill switch Yes
    Split Tunneling Yes
    Netflix Yes
    Torrenting Yes

    Servers

    NordVPN maintains nearly 6,000 servers worldwide. That used to be among the most in the industry. These days, it’s eclipsed by CyberGhost’s 10,000 servers and PIA’s 15,000. Even so, Nord has plenty of servers in France: more than 230. Maybe that’s why we experienced such good numbers when we speed-tested it. Our download speeds decreased an average of just 16 percent, while our upload speeds averaged just 43.5 percent slower. A VPN is always going to slow your device down, but anything under 70 percent is usually a win.

    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (16)

    Privacy and Security

    There isn’t really a security technology NordVPN doesn’t have. The foundation of the service is AES-256 encryption, the same encryption used by the U.S. military. Built on top of that are advanced features like multihop, which routes your connection through at least two servers. Multiple hops mean multiple encryptions. We log in to work from coffee houses all over the five boroughs of New York, but we never worry we might get hacked as long as we’re using NordVPN.

    Pricing

    NordVPN is among the best VPNs out there, but quality comes with a price. NordVPN charges $12.99 for a single month of service, and while the price does drop significantly if you sign up for a long-term contract, even with a two-year plan, you’ll still pay $3.79 per month. Note that VPN brands looking to make a name for themselves can often be had for much cheaper. A year of Norton Secure VPN, for example, is just $1.67 per month, while Ivacy offers a five-year plan that runs just $1 per month.

    What We Like
    • Available dedicated IP addresses
    • Obfuscated servers
    • Multihop capabilities
    • Choice of OpenVPN or WireGuard protocol
    What We Don’t Like
    • No split tunneling
    • Not all servers are configured for torrenting
    • Only six simultaneous connections
    • Relatively high price for a two-year plan

    NordVPN doesn’t have everything. It doesn’t come with split tunneling, for instance. And it can run a little slow on Windows devices. If you’re looking for the most secure VPN on the market, you really can’t outdo NordVPN. That’s true whether you’re in France or any other country.

    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (17)

    And with Nord, you actually can go basically anywhere in the world. In addition to its 230 French servers, it also maintains servers in 60 additional countries, from Costa Rica to Thailand. That means you can find a server nearby, no matter where you might be traveling, as we discovered when we needed a stable connection when we were visiting our brother-in-law in Japan.

    >> Read About: Best VPNs for Japan

    Even better, having all those servers in all those countries means you can masquerade as a digital citizen of any one of them. When you log on to a French server, for example, NordVPN assigns you a French IP address, and that means you can access streaming services that are located in France. And that means that you can access Netflix and Prime Video content libraries that are available only in France. If only we’d had NordVPN when we were in college. Our French 101 grade might have been higher if we could have binge-watched a few French sitcoms.

    >> Read More: Best VPNs for Prime Video

  • 2. Surfshark - Best for Families

    Product Specs

    Multi-hop Yes
    Camouflage Mode Yes
    Kill switch Yes
    Split Tunneling Yes
    Netflix Yes
    Torrenting Yes

    Servers

    Surfshark doesn’t have quite as many servers as NordVPN, and its 3,200 is far below PIA’s 15,000. That’s not necessarily a problem, though. It all comes down to how much traffic is on any particular server you’re trying to use. And Surfshark’s 78 French servers are more than enough to accommodate all the traffic from those in the country and those who want to log in from other locations.

    Certainly, our speed tests didn’t reveal any lags, which you’d expect if all the servers were crowded. Latency on our Windows device increased a little more than we were comfortable with, but downloads and uploads were very fast. We never experienced any decrease of more than 50 percent. That was fast enough to get our work done in half the time it usually takes.

    >> See Also: Best VPNs for Windows

    Privacy and Security

    Our most recent tests with Surfshark revealed that the company has added camouflage mode to its list of security technologies. Camouflage mode conceals the fact that you’re using a VPN. That can be handy if you’re worried that the government might be spying on your online activities. A VPN makes you safer just by assigning you an anonymous IP address. But if someone out there knows you’re using a VPN, that can raise their suspicions.

    Pricing

    Surfshark’s single-month cost is a little high. At $13.99, it’s even more than NordVPN charges, and it’s certainly more expensive than UltraVPN’s $7.99 price tag. The company takes care of its loyal customers, though. If you’re willing to commit to three years of the service, the price drops dramatically, to just $1.99 per month.

    What We Like
    • Unlimited simultaneous connections on unlimited devices
    • Unblocks global Netflix libraries, including France
    • AES-256 encryption
    • Available split tunneling
    What We Don’t Like
    • Pricey single-month subscriptions
    • Static IP addresses
    • Headquartered in the Netherlands, a member country of Nine Eyes
    • Slower speeds on Windows devices
    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (20)

    We didn’t have the benefit of access to French television when we were in college, but kids these days certainly do. If members of your family need access to French streaming services, Surfshark can do the trick. When you’re using one of the company’s obfuscated servers, Netflix and Prime Video won’t even know you’re using a VPN. That means they don’t have a chance to block you from signing in.

    And since Surfshark allows you to install its VPN on an unlimited number of devices and to sign on to all those devices at the same time, you won’t have to worry about waiting to secure your laptop until Junior is finished using his tablet. The thing is, these days, everyone in the house is online all the time, and everyone needs protection. VPNs that limit simultaneous connections to two or three just won’t cut it.

    >> Read About: The Best VPNs for School

    Of course, Surfshark does have its downsides. When we were trying to Zoom with our old college roommate on our Acer laptop, our latency increased by over 2,500 percent. Sure, it was funny when our boss’s mouth froze with his tongue out, but when the signal reconnected, he wasn’t nearly as amused as we were. Luckily, we recently invested in an iPad, and Surfshark’s latency dropped to just 2 percent.

  • 3. Private Internet Access VPN - Most Affordable

    Editors Rating:

    9.4 /10

    View Plans

    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (21) The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (22)

    How We Review

    Product Specs

    Multihop Yes
    Camouflage Mode No
    Kill switch Yes
    Split Tunneling Yes
    Netflix Yes
    Torrenting Yes

    Servers

    We’ve already mentioned it a couple of times, mostly because it’s just so astonishing. The last time we had numbers from Private Internet Access (PIA), a couple of years ago, the company was operating well over 15,000 servers. We were a little disappointed to find that only 300 or so of those are located in France. Still, that’s more than all but one other VPN on this list, and it virtually guarantees you’ll find one nearby if you happen to be visiting Paris or Marseilles.

    Privacy and Security

    We were a little alarmed to learn that PIA is located in Denver. It couldn’t be a more American company, and that puts it squarely in Five Eyes territory. Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes are groups of countries that have banded together to share intelligence information with one another. That includes data about their own citizens. Basically, companies in one country have to turn over customer information to any law enforcement agency that comes calling. We were relieved, then, when our reading of PIA’s privacy policy turned up the fact that it doesn’t collect any personally identifying information about our online activities — no IP addresses, no time stamps, no browsing histories.

    Pricing

    PIA is among the more affordable VPNs on this list. We like its single-month price of $11.99. That’s a dollar less than NordVPN’s single-month price, which gives us the flexibility to sign up for a month or two. We’re not always great with commitment. But note that its long-term prices are just as appealing: With a three-year plan, you pay just $1.98 per month. We wonder why it doesn’t offer a two-year plan, as many other top VPNs on the market do offer one.

    What We Like
    • Easy-to-use, intuitive app
    • Multihop servers
    • Strict privacy policy
    • Over 15,000 servers worldwide
    What We Don’t Like
    • Headquartered in Denver, which is part of Five Eyes
    • Slow speeds on Macs
    • No camouflage mode
    • Spotty customer service
    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (23)

    VPNs can improve your overall user experience in a lot of ways. They can save you money if your ISP likes to throttle you. They can provide you with access to streaming content in countries like France. Their most important feature, though, is their security. You don’t purchase a VPN to get more streaming content. You purchase a VPN to keep you safe, and on that ground, PIA definitely succeeds. The heart of this VPN is AES-256 encryption. That meant we could tell our friends that we were protected by the same encryption the CIA uses. You get to choose which VPN protocol you want to use to deploy that encryption, but both — OpenVPN and WireGuard — have been proven safe through open-source testing.

    You take these basic fundamental protections and add on tools like a kill switch and newer technology like multihop, and you’ve got the recipe for online safety and privacy. When we were using one of PIA’s many multihop servers, we liked knowing that even if a hacker managed to decrypt our signal — an impossibility with AES-256 — they’d be confronted with a second level of encryption. Imagining frustrated hackers is how we get to sleep at night.

    PIA doesn’t have camouflage mode, and one of these days, that may wind up costing the company users. As streaming services become more sophisticated, they’re starting to recognize IP addresses from VPNs. For now, PIA still manages to unblock Netflix, Hulu+, and Prime Video, and hopefully it will soon see the light when it comes to obfuscated servers.

  • 4. CyberGhost - Most Servers in France

    Editors Rating:

    8.9 /10

    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (24) The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (25)

    How We Review

    Product Specs

    Multihop No
    Camouflage Mode No
    Kill switch Yes
    Split Tunneling No
    Netflix Yes
    Torrenting Yes

    Servers

    CyberGhost doesn’t have quite as many servers as Private Internet Access, but it certainly has a healthy number: more than 10,000 in all. It also has something PIA doesn’t have: the most servers in France, at 908. What difference does that make? It means you’re more likely to find a server with light traffic, and that means a faster connection. It’s also the case, though, that you get better speeds when you’re closer to a server. If you happen to be in France, you can count on being near one whether you’re in Paris, Burgundy, or Provence.

    Privacy and Security

    CyberGhost is another one of those companies that hasn’t yet jumped on the camouflage bandwagon. That means if you’re in the wrong country, you could find yourself targeted by the government just for using a VPN. Luckily, France doesn’t have those sorts of policies. At any rate, in our testing, we found that CyberGhost has the security features to keep you anonymous online, and bonus tools like a kill switch ensure that even if you lose your connection, you’ll remain hidden.

    Pricing

    CyberGhost is pretty average when it comes to pricing. Its single-month price is $12.99. If you sign up for two years of service, that per-month price drops dramatically, to $2.11. Those prices are better than some but worse than others. You do always want to consider value in addition to price. While CyberGhost’s prices might be average, when you consider what you get for your money — all the most important security features plus access to streaming content from around the world — it’s definitely a great value.

    What We Like
    • Provides support for multiple platforms
    • Offers multihop protection
    • Maintains nearly 1,000 servers in France alone
    • Kill switch standard in all app versions
    What We Don’t Like
    • Only seven simultaneous connections
    • Logs IP addresses, though it logs them anonymously
    • Static IP addresses
    • Impossible to turn off the kill switch
    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (26)

    If you’re thinking about value, CyberGhost offers seven simultaneous connections. That was plenty for us when we were testing the service. Even running it on our iPad, our Mac, our laptop, and our Firestick, we still had three connections to play with. Larger families, though, might prefer unlimited connections from a company like Surfshark.

    Surfshark can’t match CyberGhost’s platform support. In fact, few VPNs can. Surfshark is configured to work with Windows devices, Macs, and Linux systems. It offers support for both iOS and Android. It works with Smart TVs, routers, streaming consoles, and a wide range of gaming consoles, including all recent versions of PlayStation, XBox, and Nintendo.

    >> Find Out How: How to Get a VPN on Xbox

    The other great thing we discovered when we tested CyberGhost is that it has fast speeds across the board. Our download, upload, or latency speeds didn’t increase by more than 50 percent when connected through French servers. That’s rare. It meant we never had to worry about Fortnite hanging up during the Battle Royale. Nothing drives us crazier than our laptop conking out during the Battle Royale.

    >> Deep Dive: The Top VPNs for Fortnite

  • 5. Proton VPN - Best for Streaming

    Editors Rating:

    8.8 /10

    View Plans

    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (27) The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (28)

    How We Review

    Product Specs

    Multi-hop Yes
    Camouflage Mode Yes
    Kill switch Yes
    Split Tunneling Yes
    Netflix Yes
    Torrenting Yes

    Servers

    Proton VPN has fewer servers than any other company on this list, and fewer servers in France itself. As we’ve mentioned already, how many servers a VPN maintains is secondary to how much traffic goes through those servers. One relatively empty server is all you need for a fast, stable connection. We certainly had no problems when we tested the service. We barely noticed any change in ping, for instance. Our Windows latency increased from 10 to 12 seconds, while our Mac latency increased from 10 to 11. The bottom line: We didn’t notice any change.

    >> Check Out: Best VPNs for Mac

    Privacy and Security

    We were impressed with ProtonVPN’s security features. As you’ve probably already gathered, we don’t normally put a VPN on one of our best lists unless it uses AES-256 encryption and either the OpenVPN or WireGuard protocol. Our testing of ProtonVPN turned up that it also provides multihop-configured servers, some of which are obfuscated servers as well. For now, VPNs don’t get much safer than that.

    Pricing

    It can be tricky talking about pricing with Proton VPN because the company operates on euros, and the exchange rate with U.S. dollars is always in flux. At present, for example, a single month of the service runs around $11. That’s a pretty good price. It could get better, but it could also get considerably worse, depending on how the world’s economies rise and fall. We can say for sure, though, that it doesn’t offer a great discount when it comes to multiyear contracts. Forty-five percent off sounds good, but when you consider that Ivacy’s annual price is nearly 90 percent less than its single-month price, 45 percent off doesn’t seem like such a great deal.

    What We Like
    • Based in Switzerland, outside Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes
    • Free version available
    • Never logs information related to browsing
    • Fast on both Macs and Windows devices
    What We Don’t Like
    • Limited P2P servers
    • Relatively high price for long-term subscriptions
    • Hard to connect to customer support
    • Static IP addresses
    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (29)

    Proton VPN is a country that’s defined by its location in Switzerland. The company was founded by engineers at the famous CERN laboratory by engineers who were looking for a way to ensure their international emails were secure. With a pedigree like that, you can be sure the company takes a forward-thinking approach to safety and security. I mean, if they feel safe sending high-level data about the god particle and how quantum entanglement works, we won’t worry too much that anyone will figure out we’re watching “Bridgerton.”

    Switzerland is important for another reason. It’s definitely not a member of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes surveillance organizations. In fact, the Swiss take privacy as seriously as any country on Earth. You don’t have to worry about a Swiss law enforcement agency, or a law enforcement agency from any other country, showing up with a subpoena and forcing Proton to turn over customer data.

    Of course, as we’ve already mentioned, Proton VPN is also solidly Swiss when it comes to its pricing structure. It doesn’t offer any plans in dollars. Instead, we had to take the euro prices listed on the website and run them through a currency converter that was attuned to the current exchange rate. The good news is that most credit card companies and banks will take care of that automatically for you when you make an overseas purchase. It does make researching VPN prices kind of a pain, though.

  • 6. PureVPN - Best With Multihop

    Editors Rating:

    8.9 /10

    View Plans

    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (30) The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (31)

    How We Review

    Product Specs

    Multi-hop No
    Camouflage Mode Yes
    Kill switch Yes
    Split Tunneling Yes
    Netflix Yes
    Torrenting Yes

    Servers

    During testing, we found PureVPN’s number of servers — 6,500 — to be more than enough. Our upload and download speeds on our Windows device increased by just 44 and 11 percent, respectively, and our Mac speeds were just as good. We were a little more concerned when we looked at the number of PureVPN servers in France. Seventy-eight isn’t a terrible number. It’s not even the lowest number on this list. As a percentage of PureVPN’s total servers, though, it suggests the company isn’t as committed to its presence in France as it is to its presence in other countries.

    Privacy and Security

    PureVPN has all the security features you’d expect from a top-tier VPN, including a kill switch. The fact is, you can never count on the internet to be 100 percent stable. That’s just as true for VPNs as it is for regular Wi-Fi. If your VPN should go down, there’s a risk that someone monitoring your connection could peek at your browsing history or even your personal data. PureVPN’s kill switch ensures that can’t happen. It shuts down your browser the very moment you lose your VPN connection.

    Pricing

    We don’t always want to make a long-term commitment to a VPN service, so we like the flexibility companies like PureVPN offer. We can get a single month of service for a good basic price: $12.45. But we can also get an annual or a two-year plan. That two-year plan is especially cost-effective at just $2.03 per month.

    The downside with PureVPN isn’t really a downside. It’s the fact that it’s simply solid across the board. It doesn’t have the server numbers of PIA or the France server numbers of CyberGhost. It doesn’t have the speeds of Proton VPN. It’s not quite as packed with security features as NordVPN. It doesn’t really have anything particular that stands out about it. But that’s its mark of distinction. With PureVPN, what you see is what you can get, and you can always count on the VPN to keep your browsing secure and private.

    >> See Also: The Complete Guide to Private Browsers

    What We Like
    • Easy to install
    • Provides access to Netflix in France and other countries
    • Available split tunneling
    • Offers camouflage mode
    What We Don’t Like
    • High latency on Windows devices
    • Poor customer support
    • Relatively small number of servers in France
    • Interruptions are common with the Android app
    The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (32)

    We don’t just fill out these lists for the sake of having the right number of VPNs on them. PureVPN is just as good a VPN, and just as good a VPN for France, as any of the VPNs on this list. It has AES-256 encryption, just like all the other VPNs we’ve mentioned. It offers the OpenVPN protocol, a protocol that’s been around for over 20 years and that has been rigorously tested by the entire internet community. It offers multihop technology and camouflage mode, just like NordVPN and Surfshark.

    And it doesn’t hurt that PureVPN gave us access to all the most important streaming services and let us stream content from libraries in dozens of other countries. Honestly, we’re probably not going to watch many shows from the Indonesian Netflix library. But it did make us ridiculously happy to know that we could with PureVPN.

    >> Read About: Our Favorite VPNs for Hulu

Research the Best VPNs for France

Want to do your own research and decide which VPNs you think will work best in France? We’re confident in our own testing to know that you’ll almost certainly wind up with the same choices we made. But there are all kinds of reasons to dig a little deeper into VPNs, like trying to find out how the one you’re currently using measures up against the ones on this list.

Here are some factors you might want to consider along the way.

Encryption: Look for VPNs that use AES-256 encryption. It’s the same encryption used by the U.S. military and the CIA, and the chances of cracking it with a brute-force attack are basically zero.

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Additional privacy features: Most VPNs these days offer more than just good encryption. A good kill switch, multihop capabilities, and obfuscated servers should weigh heavily in a company’s favor.

Servers in France: Obviously, if you’re looking for a strong VPN connection in France, you want to choose a company that maintains a strong server presence in the country. But pure numbers won’t tell you the whole story. The best approach is to sign on to a few of those servers and find out how much traffic is typically on them.

Servers in your home country: If you’re looking for French servers because you’re traveling to France, you might also want to investigate how many servers a VPN has in your home country.

Access to streaming services: VPNs can give you expanded access to streaming services. Not all VPNs play nice with all streaming services. Make sure the VPN you choose works well with the streamers you prefer.

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Intuitive apps: Can you use a VPN that has a poorly designed app? Sure. But why put yourself through the hassle? VPNs are standard equipment these days for computers, tablets, and mobile devices. You don’t want to be confused trying to make sure your connection is secure.

Customer service: Finally, it always helps to go with a company that has a reputation for strong customer service. When you’re dealing with technology, you never know when it can go wrong. You also can’t ever be sure you’ll know how to fix it. A kind voice on the phone or on the other end of a live chat can be more valuable than you might think.

If you’re traveling and looking for VPNs that work in other countries, consider visiting some of our other best lists:

  • Best VPNs for China
  • Best VPNs for South Korea
  • Best VPNs for Mexico
  • Best VPNs for Australia

Why Do You Need a VPN, Anyway?

A virtual private network, or VPN, is becoming more and more of a necessity these days.

What does a VPN do? It has two primary functions. First, it routes your internet connection through a secure remote server. Secure, in this case, means serious encryption. No one’s going to hack your signal while you’re logged on to a top-tier VPN. Second, most commercial VPNs conceal your actual IP address behind an anonymous, untraceable IP address. That means that no one — not even the government — can track your activities online.

That’s what a VPN does. Why do you need one? Simple. Any time you leave the house, you’re logging on to public Wi-Fi. When you’re at the coffee shop, or the grocery store, or the bank, or the car wash, or any place that offers Wi-Fi, your connection is unsecure. That means anyone with the right know-how and the right tools can track you and hack you. In fact, even when you’re at home, your ISP is keeping a record of your browsing, unless you’re using a VPN.

By encrypting your connection and assigning you an anonymous IP address, a VPN keeps you safe, even if you’re logging in through the most porous public Wi-Fi.

>> Read More: What Can Someone Do With Your IP Address?

How Do You Log on to Netflix’s French Library?

A side benefit to using a VPN is that it allows you to pretend you’re a citizen of another city or country. You may not realize it, but your home IP address tells sites and apps where you live. Now, that might not matter ordinarily, but it turns out that Netflix and other streaming services offer different content libraries in different locations. The U.S. library is different from the Canadian library, which is different from the U.K. library, which is different from the Dutch library. And because your IP address tells Netflix where you are, Netflix can keep you out of those other libraries.

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VPNs, though, let you log on to remote servers in countries around the world, and when you do, they assign you an IP address from that country. Want to log on to Netflix’s library of French movies and shows? Here’s how you do it:

  1. Sign up with a VPN, one that you know has servers in France.
  2. Log in to your chosen VPN and select a server in France.
  3. Sign in to your Netflix account.

When you sign in, Netflix should list your home country as France, and you should be able to access all the content in the French library.

Of course, if you’re looking to return to your home country’s Netflix library, you need only log out of Netflix, log out of the VPN, and log back in to Netflix.

Conclusion

There are all sorts of reasons to visit France. We’re partial to the cuisine. When we’re at an outdoor French cafe, enjoying a baguette, we don’t want to worry about whether our internet browsing is broadcasting our secrets to the world. We want a VPN, and we want one that’s nearby.

Or maybe you just want to visit France digitally. Virtual trips are almost as good as real-life trips these days. Among other things, when you’re digitally based in France — when your IP address says you’re from France — you can take a peek at streaming libraries that are available only there.

Not just any VPN is going to help you visit France. You need the right one. We feel confident that the right one will be one from this list.

FAQs

Still have questions about which VPNs are best for France? We’ve got answers.

  • Will using a VPN slow down my internet connection?

    Yes. A VPN will slow down your internet connection. Any time you’re running an extra program on your device, it will slow down that device’s functions. In addition, because you’re routing your connection through a remote server rather than connecting directly, it takes longer for your signal to get to its ultimate destination. That said, some VPNs definitely slow devices less than others.

  • What’s the best VPN overall?

    The best VPN overall is NordVPN. After exhaustive testing and research, we believe that NordVPN has the best balance between security features, convenience, and price. While you’ll get advanced technology like multihop and camouflage mode, you’ll also be able to connect to all the most popular streaming services. And you get all of that for a price that’s reasonable whether you’re signing up for a single month or a two-year plan.

  • Are there any free VPNs with servers in France?

    Proton VPN offers a free version of its service, and that free version provides access to all of the company’s servers, including those in France.

  • Are VPNs legal in France?

    Yes, VPNs are absolutely legal in France. Always keep in mind, however, that illegal online activities are illegal whether or not you’re using a VPN.

  • What’s the most affordable VPN to use in France?

    The most affordable VPN to use in France is Proton VPN since the company offers a free version of its service. However, if you are looking for a paid subscription plan with no restrictions, your best bet is Surfshark. Surfshark has servers in France, and it charges just $1.99 for a two-year contract.

The Best VPN Service for France in 2024 (2024)

FAQs

What is the best VPN to use in France? ›

Best France VPN: The 5 Best Providers in 2024
  1. ExpressVPN. © ExpressVPN. Pros. Servers in Alsace, Paris, Marseille, and Strasbourg. ...
  2. CyberGhost. © CyberGhost. Pros. 930+ servers in France. ...
  3. NordVPN. © NordVPN. Pros. Includes antivirus. ...
  4. Surfshark. © Surfshark. Pros. Based in the Netherlands. ...
  5. ProtonVPN. © ProtonVPN. Pros. RAM-based servers.

What's the best VPN in 2024? ›

  • Top 5 overview.
  • NordVPN.
  • ExpressVPN.
  • Surfshark.
  • PIA.
  • Privado.
  • Also tested.
  • Speed tests.
Jun 7, 2024

Should I use a VPN in France? ›

Using a VPN will also unlock a host of geo-restricted content on sites like Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. For French residents traveling abroad, using a VPN is also an excellent option if you wish to continue streaming local premium services such as Eurosport, Canal+, and Play TV.

What is the number 1 VPN service? ›

ExpressVPN is currently CNET's pick for the best VPN overall, scoring an 8.8/10 on our VPN rating scale. It's a veteran VPN provider that consistently demonstrates a strong commitment to privacy and transparency. It's also excellent for streaming and the easiest VPN app to use on any platform.

What is the best network to use in France? ›

Orange has the highest Coverage Experience score — 9.1 points on a 10-point scale — making it the first winner of this award in France. SFR takes second place with a score of 8.7 points, 0.4 points behind the winner, and Bouygues comes third with a score of 8.5 points.

How to buy a French VPN? ›

Open the ExpressVPN app and select the dropdown menu in the location bar. Choose your preferred city, or simply select “France” and ExpressVPN will pick the best server location for you.

What is the safest VPN for Europe? ›

ExpressVPN is recommended as the best VPN for traveling to Europe. In addition to servers in most EU countries, ExpressVPN provides fast connections, military-grade encryption, advanced security features, and the ability to access popular streaming services without causing slowdowns.

Does NordVPN work in France? ›

NordVPN has over 6400 servers located across 111 countries. France has 230 of those servers, ensuring decent coverage across the entire region. Want to stay safe, secure, and have the best options available to you? NordVPN is the way to go.

Which is the most safest VPN in the world? ›

Get ExpressVPN, now 49% OFF + 3 months FREE!

ExpressVPN is one of the safest VPN providers because of its highest-standard encryption, malware protection, and strong tunneling protocols, so you'll be 100% protected by opting for a subscription. Looking deeper, it appears that ExpressVPN has all the standard features.

What is better, ExpressVPN or NordVPN? ›

Bottom line. The good news is that you can't make a poor decision if you're choosing between ExpressVPN and NordVPN. Express scored an 8.8 in CNET's assessment and is our Editors' Choice for the best overall VPN. Nord scored an 8.6 and is one of the fastest, most secure and reliable options on the market.

Is there a free VPN for France location? ›

Based on our France-specific tests, our recommended VPNs for France are:
  • ExpressVPN: Best VPN for France Overall.
  • CyberGhost: Best Free Trial for France.
  • Windscribe Free: 100% Free VPN for France.
Jun 7, 2024

How do I connect to France VPN? ›

There are just three easy steps to follow to connect to a French VPN server:
  1. Download the app and create an account.
  2. Once logged in, you'll see a list of countries and servers.
  3. Click on France, and the app will connect you to the most suitable server. Or you can choose a specific city from the dropdown or the map.
Jan 12, 2024

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