Guides
10 Best VPN Services For The Middle East In 2024 (Free & Paid)
The VPN services recommended in this article can solve many of the issues experienced by those who are living or visiting the Middle East, including internet censorship, geo-restrictions, and online privacy concerns.
Internet censorship in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and other Middle Eastern countries is so widespread that there’s an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to it.
Fortunately for those who are living or visiting the Middle East, there are many VPN services that make it possible to enjoy unrestricted access to the internet even in countries where certain online content is blocked.
To help you select the best VPN service for the Middle East in 2024 and beyond, we’ve tested many popular VPN services and narrowed them down to the top 10 best options.
What Is A VPN And How Does It Work?
The acronym VPN stands for “virtual private network,” a special private network that extends across the public internet, creating an encrypted tunnel for your data to go through. Nobody outside this tunnel, including your internet service provider (ISP) and government monitoring agencies, can’t see what you’re doing online.
The easiest way to establish a VPN connection is to use an online VPN service, such as those recommended in this article. VPN services have servers in many countries around the world (the Middle East region is no exception), and they provide client applications that enable users to connect to them with a simple click.
Why Use A VPN In The Middle East?
We’ve already touched upon what’s arguably the main reason to use a VPN service in the Middle East: internet censorship.
Indeed, some online content is not accessible in many Middle Eastern countries. Examples of commonly blocked content include gambling websites, pornographic sites, news sites, social media platforms, or anti-Islam, anti-government, and anti-censorship sites.
Besides internet censorship, people living in the Middle East also frequently use VPN services to do things like:
- Enhance Their Privacy: A reliable VPN makes it impossible for third parties to monitor your online activity and see which websites you’ve visited and which files you’ve downloaded. This is true even when you’re connected using a public Wi-Fi network that’s not encrypted.
- Access Geo-Restricted Content: Many streaming services and even news websites geo-restrict some or all of their content to make it available only to users who are located in certain countries. With a VPN, you can circumvent such restrictions by making it seem as if you’re located in a different country.
- Work Remotely: Remote work is becoming increasingly prevalent, but so are the threats all remote workers face, such as man-in-the-middle attacks. A VPN is a must-have cybersecurity solution for all remote workers who don’t always enjoy the peace of mind provided by a trusted enterprise network.
- Play Online Games: Would you like to play an online game that’s not available to players who are located in the Middle East? That’s not a problem if you have one of the best VPN services for gaming.
- Hide Their Real Location: Your real IP address can be easily used to reveal your location. If that’s something you’re not comfortable with, then you should use a VPN service to hide it.
As you can see, the reasons to use a VPN service in Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates are numerous, but determining which VPN service is the best can be a challenge.
How To Choose The Best VPN For The Middle East?
Selecting the best VPN for use in the Middle East is somewhat complicated by the fact that some countries, like Iran, regulate VPN usage and don’t allow all VPN services—only government-approved ones. That’s why this article doesn’t recommend just one VPN service but ten.
Once you have found a couple of VPN services that work in your country, you should consider the following criteria to determine which of them can meet your needs the best:
- Servers: Ideally, you want to choose a VPN service that has servers all over the globe because then you can circumvent any geo-restrictions. Since many online services in the Middle East work only with a local IP address, your VPN service should have at least one server in the country where you live.
- Performance: You don’t want your VPN service to make it impossible for you to enjoy any slightly more bandwidth-intensive content because of its poor performance. The good news is that all leading providers make performance one of their top priorities.
- Security: The best VPN services don’t log any user data, implement state-of-the-art encryption, and use automatic kill switch functionally with DNS leak protection to ensure that no private data gets leaked.
- Location: The location of a VPN service provider matters a lot because it determines its legal obligations. What’s more, the so-called Fourteen Eyes countries (the US, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, and Spain) have intelligence-sharing agreements that may be used to obtain information about VPN users.
- Price: It goes without saying that the price of a VPN service is one of the most important selection criteria. We recommend you set a clear budget a stick to it. It’s also a good idea to look for special discounts, especially around major shopping holidays.
With these criteria in mind, we’ve researched the best VPN Middle East services to help you make the right choice. Let’s take a look at them!
Best VPN Services For The Middle East
Each of the top 10 best VPN services described below can be recommended to Middle Easterners who want to circumvent government censorship, enhance their privacy, access geo-restricted content, work remotely, play online games, or hide their real location.
Note: The prices below are those in effect at the time of writing this article, and they may include temporary discounts.
NordVPN
💵 Pricing: $5.29 a month (with a two-year commitment)
↩️ Money-Back Guarantee: 30 days
NordVPN is one of the most popular VPN services in the world, and not just because of how heavily it is advertised on sites like YouTube. The service actually does deliver on its promise of state-of-the-art security and privacy that don’t require you to sacrifice your download and upload speed.
The users of NordVPN can choose from more than 5,000 fast servers in dozens of countries around the world, including the United Arab Emirates. Unfortunately, access to such a large network of VPN servers doesn’t come cheap, but at least you get a lot of free extras, including malware protection, a password manager, and 1 TB of encrypted cloud storage, among other things.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| – Fantastic performance | – More expensive than alternatives |
| – Intuitive apps for all major platforms | |
| – A huge number of servers | |
| – Great customer service | |
| – Diskless server infrastructure | |
| – 1 TB of free encrypted cloud storage |
ExpressVPN
💵 Pricing: $8.32 a month (with a one-year commitment)
↩️ Money-Back Guarantee: 30 days
ExpressVPN is the most expensive VPN service recommended in this article (unless you’ll get lucky and stumble upon a nice discount), so it must be really good, right? Correct! ExpressVPN has servers in Egypt and Israel (and over 90 other countries), and it’s known for its excellent P2P and streaming support.
Setting up ExpressVPN on a smartphone, tablet, computer, or router is painless thanks to the large library of official client apps and browser extensions. Just know that the service (and many others like it) is owned by Kape Technologies, a digital security software provider that has done some shady things in the past.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| – Great P2P and streaming support | – More expensive than alternatives |
| – Helpful customer support | – Owned by Kape Technologies |
| – Speedy refund process | |
| – Independently audited |
CyberGhost
💵 Pricing: $2.19 a month (with a two-year commitment)
↩️ Money-Back Guarantee: 45 days
CyberGhost stands out with its industry-leading 45-day money-back guarantee, giving you plenty of time to evaluate its performance and usability. The service provides native client apps for all major platforms, including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux. Routers, smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV Sticks, and game consoles are also supported.
At the time of writing this article, CyberGhost operates nearly 10,000 servers in 91 countries, including Egypt, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In September 2022, the service finally completed an independent audit, and it can certainly be proud of the results.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| – Industry-leading money-back guarantee | – Owned by Kape Technologies |
| – Inexpensive | |
| – Constantly growing server network | |
| – A huge number of servers |
Private Internet Access
💵 Pricing: $2.03 a month (with a three-year commitment)
↩️ Money-Back Guarantee: 30 days
Private Internet Access is another popular VPN owned by Kape Technologies, and it has WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2/IPSec servers in Egypt and more than 80 other countries, including all 50 US states.
The service provides dedicated IP addresses to those who would like to enjoy a smoother online experience with fewer interruptions. With a dedicated IP address, you won’t be constantly running into CAPTCHAs and bot checks.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| – Inexpensive | – Average speeds |
| – Audited by a third-party | – Owned by Kape Technologies |
| – Supports ten simultaneous connections | |
| – Provides dedicated IP addresses |
VyprVPN
💵 Pricing: $5.00 a month (with a one-year commitment)
↩️ Money-Back Guarantee: 30 days
With servers in Bahrain, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, VyprVPN is an excellent choice for Middle Easterners who want to improve their online security and privacy while retaining a local IP address.
The service does a great job of circumventing various VPN-blocking techniques, and it uses the WireGuard protocol for hassle-free streaming. These and other perks justify its somewhat higher price.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| – Can circumvent VPN blocking | – More expensive than alternatives |
| – Great P2P and streaming support | – Not many servers |
| – Owns its entire server infrastructure | |
| – Many servers in the Middle East |
Surfshark
💵 Pricing: $2.30 a month (with a two-year commitment)
↩️ Money-Back Guarantee: 30 days
If you can excuse the fact that Surfshark is located in the Netherlands, which is part of the Fourteen Eyes intelligence-sharing group, then this VPN service should definitely be high on your list because it offers a lot of value for a great price.
All Surfshark plans can support an unlimited number of connections, which means that you could theoretically secure each and every device you own for just $2.30 a month—and that’s certainly a great deal. The service also boasts 3,200+ servers in 100 countries, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| – Inexpensive | – Located in the Netherlands |
| – Unlimited simultaneous connections | |
| – Servers in multiple Middle Eastern countries |
PureVPN
💵 Pricing: $1.99 a month (with a two-year commitment)
↩️ Money-Back Guarantee: 31 days
With prices that start at just $1.99 a month, you would be hard-pressed to find a cheaper VPN service that’s as reputable as PureVPN. Despite its low price, the service operates a massive network of more than 6,500 servers, including servers in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Up to 10 people can use PureVPN to secure an unlimited number of devices with AES 256-bit encryption at the same time. Some advanced features, like split tunneling, are included in the price, while others, such as port forwarding and dedicated IP addresses, are available as paid add-ons.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| – Supports ten simultaneous connections | – Occasional client issues |
| – Verified no data logging policy | |
| – Inexpensive |
PrivateVPN
💵 Pricing: $2.00 a month (with a three-year commitment)
↩️ Money-Back Guarantee: 30 days
It’s common for the best VPN services in the Middle East to use 256-bit encryption algorithms, but PrivateVPN takes security to the next level with its military-grade 2048-bit encryption. While the extra bits don’t make much difference in the real-world, they show just how committed PrivateVPN is to protecting its users.
What’s also unique about this VPN service is the fact that it doesn’t outsource customer support at all. Instead, all customers get to talk directly with its in-house developers to get their problems solved quickly and easily. PrivateVPN has a few servers in Israel, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, but its server network is on the smaller side.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| – Inexpensive | – Not many servers |
| – Unblocks streaming services | |
| – Military-grade 2048-bit encryption | |
| – In-house customer support |
ProtonVPN
💵 Pricing: $4.99 a month (with a two-year commitment); free plan available
↩️ Money-Back Guarantee: 30 days
If the name of this VPN service sounds familiar, then there’s a good chance that you’ve used ProtonMail, a secure email service that uses end-to-end encryption. As you’ve probably guessed, ProtonVPN and ProtonMail share the same developer, Proton AG. They also share the same focus on security, privacy, and freedom.
ProtonVPN offers a free VPN service that people who are living or visiting the Middle East can use to 100+ servers in 3 countries (US, NL, JP). To unlock all servers and locations ProtonVPN has to offer (almost 2,000 servers in over 60 countries), including Israel and the United Arab Emirates, you need to purchase the Proton VPN Plus plan.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| – Provided by a trusted and respected company | – Doesn’t offer browser extensions |
| – Nicely designed client | |
| – Free plan available |
Mullvad
💵 Pricing: €5.00 a month (no commitment)
↩️ Money-Back Guarantee: 30 days
VPN services tend to follow the same template: offering more or less the same features and the same customer experience. Mullvad is a welcome breath of fresh air that does away with pricing plans that force you to make a long commitment just to get a nice discount. Instead, there’s just one plan, and you can stop paying whenever you want.
As such, Mullvad is great if you need a VPN for just a month or two, but it’s harder to recommend to those who rely on a VPN every day. That’s especially true since it doesn’t have many servers in the Middle East (only a few in Israel and the United Arab Emirates). What’s more, the client app leaves something to be desired in terms of usability.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| – Fair pricing model | – More expensive than alternatives |
| – Transparent and highly anonymous | – Pay-as-you-go only |
| – Open-source | – Can’t unblock streaming services |
How To Set Up A VPN For Use In The Middle East?
You don’t need to be a networking expert to set up a VPN for use in the Middle East. You just need one of the recommended VPN services and a few minutes of free time.
Let’s demonstrate how it works using our personal favorite VPN service in the Middle East, NordVPN:
- Go to: https://nordvpn.com/risk-free-vpn/
- Click the Start Now button and choose one of the available plans.
- Create an account and pay for the selected subscription plan.
- Download the NordVPN client app for your device and install it.
- Launch the NordVPN client and log in to your account.
You can now connect to any NordVPN server. To see if your connection is protected, you can visit the NordVPN website and look at the status bar at the very top. If everything is working correctly, then you won’t see your real IP address.
Conclusion
The best VPN services recommended in this article can solve many of the issues experienced by those who are living or visiting the Middle East, including internet censorship, geo-restrictions, and online privacy concerns. Just remember to use them responsibly and in adherence with to local laws. If you’re looking for VPN options for your Android device, check out our list of the top 3 VPN services for Android.
FAQs
In countries like Bahrain, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Qatar, VPN usage is completely unregulated. Countries like Iran allow only certain government-approved VPNs, while Iraq bans VPN usage entirely.
Sadly, not all VPN services work in every Middle Eastern country. In Iran, for example, only government-approved VPNs are allowed.
You technically can use a VPN to visit any website you want, but that doesn’t mean you should. In the United Arab Emirates, for example, you can get into some serious trouble if you use a VPN to visit banned websites.
The best VPN services in the Middle East are:
– NordVPN
– ExpressVPN
– CyberGhost
– Private Internet Access
– VyprVPN
Yes, there are free VPN services in the Middle East, such as the one that comes with the Opera web browser, but such services are often not as secure, fast, and feature-complete as their paid counterparts, so we recommend you avoid them.
Guides
Getting Started With Google Gemini: A Beginner’s Guide
Learn how to use Google’s powerful AI chatbot, Gemini. Explore its unique features, get tips for effective prompts, and see how it compares to ChatGPT.
Google Gemini, a large language model (LLM) that outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-4 in many benchmarks, has been available in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region since February 2024. This guide is aimed at those who have yet to try it as well as those who are currently wondering whether they should cancel their ChatGPT subscription in its favor. We provide a comprehensive overview of its capabilities and a brief comparison with its biggest rival.
What Is Google Gemini?
Born from the evolution of Google’s AI initiatives, Gemini, formerly known as Bard, is a state-of-the-art chatbot developed by Google. This LLM initiative was Google’s answer to the fast-rising popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Gemini brings to the table a suite of capabilities we’ve come to expect from large language models:
- Multi-Modal Understanding: Gemini is natively multi-modal, meaning it can understand, operate across, and combine different types of information including text, code, audio, image, and video.
- Sophisticated Reasoning: Gemini’s reasoning capabilities enable it to think more carefully before answering difficult questions, leading to significant improvements over just using its first impression. This is particularly useful in fields requiring complex problem-solving abilities.
- Advanced Coding: Gemini can understand, explain, and generate high-quality code in over 20 programming languages. It excels in coding benchmarks, making it a powerful tool for developers.
- Multi-Language Support: Gemini’s translation abilities and its support for numerous languages help break down communication barriers. This is especially valuable in a globalized world, making both work and personal interactions potentially smoother.
- State-Of-The-Art Performance: Gemini Ultra (used in Gemini Advanced) has outperformed human experts on the MMLU benchmark, a massive multitask language understanding test, scoring 90.0%. It exceeds current state-of-the-art results on 30 of the 32 widely-used academic benchmarks.
While Gemini was introduced with the ability to generate images through Google Brain’s Imagen 2 text-to-image model, these image generation capabilities are currently disabled because the feature created a controversy after flooding the internet with historically inaccurate, racially-biased images.
Google Gemini Availability
Currently, Gemini supports more than 40 languages, including Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish, among others, and extends its reach to over 230 countries and territories, with Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Tunisia all being on the list.
Besides the standard version of Gemini, which uses Google’s Pro 1.0 model, there’s also Gemini Advanced, which is based on the Ultra 1.0 model. This more sophisticated version of the LLM is available in more than 150 countries and territories in English. Again, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Tunisia are all supported. Unfortunately, Gemini Advanced is optimized only for English, so its responses in other languages can be a hit or miss.
How To Use Google Gemini?
Getting started with Google Gemini, whether on desktop or mobile, is a straightforward process:
On Desktop:
1- Visit The Gemini Website: You can find it at gemini.google.com.
2- Sign In: Click on the Sign in If you have an existing Google account and are older than 18 years, then you can simply use it to sign in. If you don’t have one already, this is the time to create it.
3- Accept The Terms Of Service: Read and accept Google Gemini’s Terms of Service by clicking more, followed by I agree on the subsequent page.
4- Start Using Gemini: After clicking Continue, you will be directed to the Gemini page.
5- Message Gemini: Type your question or search term into the search box and press enter. Await Gemini’s response, which will be generated based on the input provided.
On Mobile:
- Android: As an Android user, you can download the Google Gemini app from the Play Store, or you can use the mobile version of the gemini.google.com website.
- iOS: Unfortunately, there’s currently no dedicated Google Gemini app for iOS, but there’s a Gemini tab will appear at the top of the Google app.
Top Tips For Google Gemini Beginners
One of the biggest advantages of conversational AI systems like Gemini is their intuitiveness. You can literally just start asking questions and issuing commands, and Gemini will do its best to understand and respond appropriately. However, to truly harness the power of Google Gemini, especially if you’re just starting out, it’s important to keep a few key tips in mind:
- Double-Check Information: Click the Google icon below any response from Gemini. This feature allows you to quickly verify the accuracy of the information provided using Google Search.
- Provide Feedback: Use the thumbs up or down icons to give feedback on Gemini’s responses. This simple action helps Gemini learn from your preferences, continually improving the accuracy and relevance of its future replies.
- Listen To Responses: For those who prefer auditory learning or simply wish to hear the information, click the speaker icon at the top of a response. This feature converts text to speech, allowing you to listen to Gemini’s replies.
- Leverage Multi-Modality: If you’re stuck explaining something in words, try supplementing your query with an image or reference a piece of code. Gemini’s understanding of different input types can lead to more nuanced assistance.
- Break Down Complex Tasks If you have a complicated problem, try breaking it into smaller, sequential steps. Gemini can assist with each stage, making the whole process more manageable.
- Experiment With Prompts: Don’t be afraid to rephrase questions or provide additional context to guide Gemini in different directions. You may be surprised by the insights you uncover through a slight change in wording.
ChatGPT vs Google Gemini: Which Is Better For MENA Users?
With both Google Gemini and ChatGPT being available in the MENA region, users have unprecedented access to some of the most advanced AI chatbot technologies. Deciding which platform best suits your needs depends on various factors, including pricing, features, and how well each integrates into your daily digital routine. Here’s a breakdown to help you make an informed decision:
| Service: | Model: | Pricing: | Features: |
| Gemini Free | Gemini Pro 1.0 | Free | Access to Gemini Pro within supported countries with a Google account. |
| Gemini Advanced | Gemini Ultra 1.0 | $19.99/Month | Access to Ultra 1.0 LLM and all Google One subscription benefits, including 2 TB of cloud storage. |
| ChatGPT Free | GPT-3.5 | Free | Access to GPT-3.5 with basic OpenAI account registration. |
| ChatGPT Plus | GPT-4 | $20/Month | GPT-4 access with browsing and analysis features, and DALL-E capabilities for image generation. |
Gemini presents a compelling option for users deeply embedded in Google’s ecosystem or those looking for a value-packed subscription. With the Google One AI Premium plan, you can enjoy access to Gemini Advanced and 2 TB of cloud storage space for use across Google’s suite of products, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, and more. Best of all, you can currently get two months of the Google One AI Premium plan for free, so there’s no reason to not give it a try.
On the other hand, ChatGPT shines with its extensive feature set, especially with DALL-E for image generation and the ability to create and train custom GPTs. Despite what artificial LLM performance benchmarks say, ChatGPT’s answers are typically more accurate and relevant than Gemini’s, but they do take longer to generate, and there’s a fairly strict usage limit (40 messages every 3 hours). Unfortunately, OpenAI doesn’t offer a free trial version of its ChatGPT Plus plan, but you can play with the free version of ChatGPT without any limitations.
Conclusion
Google Gemini is a fascinating addition to the world of conversational AI, and it’s already available to users across the MENA region. With its advanced capabilities — from multi-modal understanding to sophisticated reasoning and multi-language support — it presents a good alternative to ChatGPT for those in the Google ecosystem as well as those who have a need for another AI companion in their.
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