The best VPN in Azerbaijan is undoubtedly NordVPN. It has excellent security, offers a wide selection of servers, and has additional features.
The government of Azerbaijan has a track record of blocking certain services and websites. For example, access to TikTok was restricted in 2023 during the border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenian militaries. Services like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc., have been blocked occasionally as well.
In addition to content censorship, Azerbaijan uses surveillance to monitor certain people and their communications. In particular, journalists, political activists, and human rights activists are targeted. Furthermore, online discussions are also monitored during certain times. For example, during the Armenia and Azerbaijan military conflicts in 2020, online discussions were under surveillance, and those critical of the war were called in for questioning.
Taking all of this into account, users in Azerbaijan are recommended to use a VPN. A VPN is very useful because it helps users have more privacy when online by encrypting traffic and concealing it from the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and anyone else who may otherwise have access. VPNs also spoof locations, allowing users access to content and services that may be restricted to them because of their location.
When looking for the best VPN in Azerbaijan, you will come across many options. The large amount of VPNs available can make it difficult to choose the VPN that best suits your needs.
What features does the best VPN in Azerbaijan have to have?
- Security/Encryption
VPNs allow users to escape monitoring by encrypting their traffic. When traffic is encrypted, it becomes unreadable to all parties, including the Internet Service Provider. It’s a VPN’s most important feature. Most VPNs use AES-256 encryption, military-grade encryption that’s practically indecipherable.
- Network of servers
The best VPN in Azerbaijan will have a large server network. It’s always better to opt for a VPN that has a lot of servers because they tend to perform better. Servers lag less because users are distributed throughout the servers. Furthermore, these VPNs usually offer more location choices.
- Obfuscated servers
While VPNs are legal in Azerbaijan, obfuscated servers are still a good feature to have at hand because they hide VPN usage. When users connect to a regular VPN Azerbaijan server, for example, their VPN usage is visible to the ISP, even if it cannot read the traffic. However, when connected to an obfuscated server, the VPN removes all traces of itself from users’ data, concealing VPN usage. This allows VPN traffic to get past blocks in countries where VPNs have been banned.
- Audited zero-logs policy
If you want the best VPN in Azerbaijan, make sure it has a strict zero-logs policy. Many users worry that a VPN will keep logs of users’ online activities and sell the data. Indeed, VPNs can technically see users’ traffic but no good VPN will keep logs.
However, it’s worth mentioning that all VPNs will claim to not collect data but not all will be truthful. Users’ data is a hot commodity so plenty of VPNs will try to make revenue by selling it. This is especially the case with free VPNs, which is why it’s not a good idea to use a free Azerbaijan VPN. Users also don’t have a way of checking whether a VPN collects their browsing data themselves. Thus, VPNS must be audited by independent parties because only when an audit confirms a zero-logs policy can users trust it.
- Internet speed
Another common worry users have is whether using a VPN will result in slower Internet. Because of how VPNs work, a slowdown is to be expected. However, how much a VPN will slow down the Internet depends on many factors, including the encryption protocol. If you want a fast Azerbaijan VPN, opt for one that can retain at least 80-90% of the original speed.
- Additional features
If you use programs/extensions to get features like ad blocking, protection against malware, password management, etc., you may want to look into VPNs that also offer these features. Many VPNs come with additional features, and it would be more convenient to use just one tool that has everything you need.
Best VPN services in Azerbaijan
Our top recommendation for the best VPN in Azerbaijan is NordVPN. It is an excellent VPN that offers top-notch security, strong traffic encryption, a large selection of servers, and much more.
NordVPN
- Number of servers: 6,100
- Server locations: 74 countries
- Devices supported: 6
- Is a free trial available: a 7-day free trial is available, but must be initiated on an Android device
- Money-back guarantee: a 30-day money-back guarantee is available
NordVPN can easily be considered the best VPN in Azerbaijan. It secures traffic using a combination of AES-256 and ChaCha20 encryption, and once traffic is encrypted, it becomes unreadable. Additional security features will prevent traffic and other personal information (e.g. IP address) from leaking in case connection to the VPN is lost while online.
NordVPN has a large selection of servers. To be specific, it has 6,100 servers in 74 countries to choose from. Users can choose to connect to obfuscated servers if they want to conceal VPN usage. It also offers VPN servers in Azerbaijan in case users need an Azerbaijan IP address. There are also optimized servers for streaming. Whichever server users connect to, their browsing data will not be collected because NordVPN has a strict zero-logs policy. The policy has also been audited.
NordVPN’s NordLynx encryption protocol is one of the reasons why it’s the best VPN in Azerbaijan. NordVPN is an Azerbaijan fast VPN in general but the NordLynx protocol makes it even faster. You can switch encryption protocols in NordVPN settings but sticking to NordLynx is recommended because it’s why it’s such a fast Azerbaijan VPN.
NordVPN does not offer a free Azerbaijan VPN version so you will need a subscription. Long-term subscriptions all have excellent discounts, making NordVPN more than affordable. All subscriptions come with additional features as well, including an adblocker, a password manager, protection against malware, a data breach scanner, and 1TB of cloud storage.
While there is no free Azerbaijan VPN, NordVPN does offer a 7-day free trial. As long as users have an Android device to initiate the trial, they can use it on all devices. There’s also the 30-day money-back guarantee that can technically be used as a free NordVPN trial.