Leaving in China without a VPN is possible only if you are travelling for a short period and with an eSim (in this way the Chinese firewall won't affect you), but for longer stays you will find out that having a traditional local sim with a local number is super useful, but then you won't be able to access most western apps like Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp etc...
So, if you are looking for a cheap and reliable vpn for China in 2025, here's my guide! 🙂
It's nearly impossible to recommend the perfect VPN, I have tried many and usually even the best ones, like Astrill used to be, at a certain point start having issues.
I am reading blogs and comments online still suggesting Express, all I can say is AVOID it, it stopped working years ago; a friend of mine tried to use it in October 2024 and still it was not working.
Astrill is the most recommended, I used to love it but since the end of 2024 I started having big issues, especially on my IPhone, that's why I decided to make a change.
What I am using now is SimpleLink, I cannot say that it is perfect, they had some downs in January (just 2 or 3 days of irregular service), but now it's working great on PC, Android and IOs.
You can connect to different servers located all around the world and with 2 different modes, so you will find the setting that best fits your needs.
Prices are super cheap, starting from a few euros/month for the basic plan, to a little more for premium (50 Euros/year), pro (100 euros/year) or elite (150 euros/year). I have premium and I have more than enough speed and data (500 G), even for my extensive use.
Let's VPN is another option that is often mentioned as one of the best for China, what I don't like about them is that you can only connect 2 devices at a time, while me and my husband often need to connect 4 or 5 (2 PCs, 2 phones, 1 tablet...), and with SimpleLink we have no issues with that.
If you want a FREE TRIAL and a 15 CNY starting credit just click here!
