Best VPN for Raspberry Pi | A to Z Setup Guide + Debugging

In this buying guide, You will learn about the importance of VPN for Raspberry Pi and I have listed the best VPN for Raspberry Pi. I will also help in choosing the best one among them and have given the VPN for Raspberry Pi setup guides in steps.

This is unbiased article and all the VPNs listed here are personally used and tested by me. The VPNs listed are all reliable and works well with Raspberry Pi. 

OVERVIEW

Raspberry Pi is a cheap but full-fledged computer that gives you limitless power, good memory, and a quad-core processor to let you do computing and coding. It is not completely like a computer, but it has everything to help you with coding.

It supports a Linux operating system so if you're Windows or Mac user then you will have to learn how to work on Linux.

It also comes with a GPIO chip which can help you in controlling electrical devices. So, you can code a game, build a robot or stream Netflix, and chill with your Raspberry Pi. Buying a Raspberry Pi opens up wide possibilities for you if you are in coding and tech.

But Raspberry Pi still lacks security measures and it will not be a good choice to keep this amazing device unsecure. Therefore, I have to bring a tool for you that can secure your Raspberry Pi from all potential internet threats.

Yes, I am talking about a VPN. A VPN will not only secure you from all security threats, but it will also help you in streaming Netflix and Kodi in a better way. So let's start securing your Raspberry Pi without any delay.

NEED OF VPN FOR RASPBERRY PI

A Raspberry Pi works on a Linux system which is already very secure but still, it leaves a great potential for hackers to break into your system and steal your information. Moreover, governments, websites, and ISPs can monitor your data and use it for unfair purposes.

But you can stop all of this by simply using a VPN. A VPN for Raspberry Pi encrypts your data traffic so that no hacker can hack into your system. In addition to this, it also hides your IP address and makes you anonymous on the internet. 

This way no third party can track what you're searching and where you are right now. It gives you complete anonymity and security on the internet.

Last but not the least, it also gives you the freedom to access region-blocked websites and streaming platforms which means you can watch Netflix US on it while staying in the UK.

BENEFITS OF USING VPN FOR RASPBERRY PI

Ensures Security

VPN is the best tool if you want to secure your Raspberry Pi. It offers a ton of features to keep you secure every time when you browse the internet.

VPNs use the strongest encryption technology to make it impossible for hackers to perform a man-in-the-middle attack. It also offers many features like kill-switch, ad-blocking, DNS-leak protection, and split-tunneling to keep you more secure.

Ensures Privacy

Privacy is also a big problem nowadays. Your Wifi provider can see what you're watching, ISPs and websites store your cookies to track you while advertisers collect your search history and preferences to target more ads to you.

Now if you don't want to serve your personal information to third parties then you must use a VPN. A VPN hides your IP address, search history, and cookies from all third-parties. It itself also never stores anything related to your web-browsing.

This way it gives you complete anonymity while surfing on the Internet.

Freedom From All Restrictions

Many websites and streaming platforms like Netflix impose geo-restrictions on their content. Which means you can access them only if you live in a specific country or region. But it's not fair to be deprived of your desired content just because of your living location.

They pit these restrictions by monitoring your IP address but if you will use a VPN then it will change your IP address and you will get access to your desired website without any problem.

Helps in Torrenting

If you are planning to do torrenting in your Raspberry Pi then VPN is a must-have tool for you. VPN can help you in accessing torrenting sites and download files from them without getting caught by the government.

High-Speed

ISPs throttle the Internet connection of their users if they find that their users are using a lot of bandwidth and data in streaming and downloading or you are indulging in torrenting.

They do this by monitoring your web-history. A VPN stops this throttling by hiding your actual search history from your ISP and showing a fake one to them. Thus, It not only gives you anonymity, but also provides you high-speed internet all day which is good for a Raspberry Pi user.

5 BEST VPN FOR RASPBERRY PI

If you are thinking about buying a VPN for Raspberry Pi, but you don't know which one will be best for you then read this column carefully as I'm going to explain 5 VPNs which I found out best VPN for Raspberry Pi.

Any one of these is not best for everyone as every VPN specializes in one unique thing which could be significant for someone and insignificant for others. But I want to warn you to not use free VPNs in any case as they are good for no one.

1. ExpressVPN

It is one of the fastest VPN which offers lightning-fast speed through its 3000+ servers. If you need a high internet speed for your Raspberry Pi, then this is the best VPN for Raspberry Pi. 

It is also best in geo-unblocking as it has servers in more than 90 countries which means you can access the content of any of these 90 countries through this VPN. It perfectly works on Linux setup and it is very easy to set up it on your Raspberry Pi.

It is also best for streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and BBC iPlayer. So, if you love to stream videos then this will help you in accessing all international content.

This VPN for Raspberry Pi is best for security too. It offers AES 256-bit encryption which is a military-grade encryption technology. It also offers a variety of tunneling protocols like L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, OpenVPN UDP/ TCP and SSTP.

These will make your Raspberry Pi completely secure from many threats. This VPN also follows a strict no-log policy which means your internet-history will stay completely anonymous with this VPN.

You can use this VPN on 3 devices simultaneously which means that with your raspberry pi your mobile phone will also stay secure with this VPN. It also offers 24×7 customer care support to help you in every situation.

However, it is a little bit overpriced due to the best services which it provides. But if you can pay for it, then it will be best for your Raspberry Pi.

Do you still have doubt about this best VPN for Raspberry Pi? Then try their 45-day money-back policy where you can return in case you didn't like it.

2. IPVanish

IPVanish is best VPN for Raspberry Pi, in terms of security and privacy. It has over 1400 servers across all major countries of the world which will be good enough to provide you with high-speed data and Geo-unblocking. It supports Linux OS and you can easily set up this VPN on your Raspberry Pi.

This VPN offers many great features to keep your device secure. It offers military-grade encryption technology with the kill-switch feature. It is also best for privacy measures. It follows no-log policy and all of its servers are self-owned so no third party can access them.

You can use this VPN service on 5 devices simultaneously which will be enough to secure your whole family. It also offers a 24×7 customer service to help you with every issue related to VPN.

However, this VPN is not so helpful for accessing streaming services like Netflix and you will have to compromise with it.

3. NordVPN

NordVPN is a perfect combination of internet-speed and security. If you're interested in both things at a very reasonable price then this VPN will be best for you. It has more than 5500 servers installed in 60+ countries of the world.

It provides a good internet speed to watch a HD video without any buffering. It is also awesome in Geo-unblocking and you can use it for accessing all streaming platforms.

It performs best in maintaining the security of a device. It provides uncrackable encryption technology to secure your Raspberry Pi. It also offers multiple extra security measures like DoubleVPN, kill-switch, and ad-blocker.

It also never stores its user’s personal data and follows it's a no-log policy very strictly. Therefore, your data will be safe and secure with this VPN.

This VPN service lets you use it on 6 devices simultaneously after buying a single subscription. It also offers an efficient 24×7 customer service to help you with every problem related to VPN.

4. PureVPN

PureVPN is a VPN service whose headquarters are in Hong Kong. It offers more than 2000 servers in 154 different locations of the world. You cannot see this sort of geo-diversity in other VPNs.

It perfectly works with Linux OS and it is a good option for Raspberry Pi in terms of both price and features.

It secures your Raspberry Pi with it's AES 256-bit encryption technology and provides a wide variety of protocols to secure you further. It follows a strict no-log policy to not store any information about you.

It lets you connect 5 devices to PureVPN service by buying a single subscription usually. But it is offering 10 simultaneous connections for some time and you can enjoy this offer by subscribing to it right now. It also offers an efficient 24×7 customer service.

However, it's internet speed is only above-average and it's not suitable for unblocking Netflix and many other streaming platforms.

5. Surfshark

Surfshark is a young player in the VPN market, but its features are perfect for your mentioning it in my top 5 list. It has more than 1000 servers in 59 different countries.

Don't judge it by a number of servers. It still provides good internet speed to watch HD video without buffering. It supports Linux OS and it perfectly works on Raspberry Pi.

It provides military-grade encryption technology like the other 4 VPNs. It also follows a no-log policy to keep your data anonymous. This way, Surfshark scores full marks in maintaining the security and privacy of your Raspberry Pi.

It allows unlimited simultaneous connections with just one account. Therefore, it will be best for securing devices for your whole family. It also works well with streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, BBC iPlayer, and many others. It also scores well in customer care by its 24×7 live chat support.

However, it is not as fast as ExpressVPN and NordVPN. So, you cannot watch 4K videos with it.

SETUP GUIDE VPN FOR RASPBERRY PI

If you want to set up a VPN in your Raspberry Pi device then follow these steps. These steps will be easier for you if you have some past experience of a Linux device and you will easily get the meaning of commands too. But if you're new to Linux then just follow these commands blindly and your VPN will be set up without any problem.

• You need a file with extension 'crt' which means certificate. It gives you permission to connect to your VPN server.
• The second one will be of extension:- .ovpn and it is used to determine the IP address which will be entitled to your device. You can download this file of any location which you want.

The files will be downloaded in a zip folder named config.zip. Now you need to enter following commands into your device

• cd /home/pi/vpn
• wget http://www.ipvanish.com/software/configs/configs.zip
• unzip configs.zip
• rm configs.zip

Here I've taken the website of IPvanish but you can change it according to your VPN service provider. If you need the website name of your provider then you can comment us down and we will try to help you.

6. Now, you have downloaded all the files and you are ready to connect to your VPN. Just enter the following command:-

sudo openvpn --config SERVER.ovpn

7. Now you will be connected to your VPN.

8. In case, you get an error like this in the end

ERROR: Cannot open TUN/TAP dev /dev/net/tun: No such device (errno=19)

Then you can simply solve this problem by restarting your raspberry pi. You enter "sudo reboot" and after reboot launch the VPN service again.

9. If you want to change your server location then you can easily do it by changing the name of the country in the code. You can do it by entering the code like

sudo openvpn --config ipvanish-SE-Stockholm-sto-a01.ovpn

10. I hope that this setup guide might help you in setting up your VPN. But if you get stuck on any step then you can comment us down or reach customer support of the VPN service. You will instantly get your assistance in setting up VPN perfectly.

FAQS ON VPN FOR RASPBERRY PI

1. What Else Can I Do With The Best VPN For Raspberry Pi?

The best VPN offers a lot of benefits to its users other than keeping them safe for hackers.

VPN masks the IP address of their users which gives them free access to access any website which they like irrespective of the geo-restrictions imposed by that website.

It also hides the search history and web-browsing history of users from their ISPs and Wifi providers.

It also secures its users when they connect to an open Internet network. As we know open Wifi networks are not secure and very easily get hacked. 

But a VPN encrypts the data traffic of its user which consequently helps in securing them from all potential threats of using open wifi.

Last not the least, it can also stop your ISP from throttling your internet speed. ISPs throttle the speed of their users when they see them visiting some specific sites or doing torrenting.

But if you will use a VPN then they will never see your internet history and you will always get fast internet speed.

2. Can I Use a Free VPN For Raspberry Pi?

You can use a free VPN for your Raspberry Pi if you find one. But I assure you that you will regret using that "free" VPN for your lifetime.

A free VPN also brings a lot of problems with it for free. It gives you very limited bandwidth because of its limited servers which ultimately throttles your internet speed.

And with such a slow speed, you can not use your Raspberry pi properly. If some VPNs give good speed then they will only give you a limited monthly data which will not be enough for you.

They also have a very limited server and at very limited locations which means you will not get a lot of choice in them.

And on top of everything, they store our personal data and sell it to third-parties. They can use ad-trackers and cookies to store your personal information or they can directly steal your web-history and all online activities and sell them to the highest bidder.

And the person who will spend a lot of money in gaining your personal information will most likely not use it for fair purposes.

Therefore, free VPNs are no good choice but you can definitely use paid VPNs for a trial period. Most paid VPNs give a 7-day, 14-day, or a month trial to users to check their services. You can use these trials to use VPN services for a short period.

3. How Else Can I Secure My Raspberry Pi Device?

Raspberry Pi works on a Linux operating system which is already a very secure operating system. So, half of your work is already done. But you will have to do the other half to secure your Raspberry Pi completely.

A VPN will secure your phone from many potential threats but you will also have to download some other software to secure your Raspberry Pi from every potential threat. These other security tools include:-

WRAPPING UP

There is no doubt that Raspberry Pi is a very powerful tool. It opens up many opportunities for coders and tech-lovers. And the best part is its price. It gives us a full-fledged computer at a cheaper price than a low-budget smartphone.

There are many people who are using it to invent something better for increasing the comfort of people. You can watch videos on it too. It is a complete package for tech-lovers.

If you haven't bought your Raspberry Pi yet then buy it fast and not forget to secure it with a VPN.

It was all about the Raspberry Pi and use of VPN in it. You can comment down your doubts related to the article or you can give your honest review of your VPN. I will see and reply to all of your comments.

If you liked the article then please share it with your friends who have Raspberry Pi. I will meet you in the next article with some interesting and knowledgeable content.