Best VPN for China in 2026: ExpressVPN vs NordVPN
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Disclosure: This guide contains affiliate links for NordVPN and ExpressVPN. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I use NordVPN myself. ExpressVPN is listed as a simpler backup — I have not run it as my daily China VPN.
Quick answer
There is no VPN that always connects in China. The firewall changes. Apps that worked last month stall on hotel Wi-Fi this month.
What I actually run: NordVPN. It does work for Gmail, WhatsApp, and the rest — after I turn on Obfuscated Servers and OpenVPN (TCP). It is also the one that sometimes sits there for a long time before it connects. When that happens I switch Japan / Singapore / Hong Kong, or I wait. I do not pretend it is instant.
Simpler menus, not my China log: ExpressVPN is easier to tap (Automatic / Lightway). I am not going to write a fake Guangzhou test. I have not used it as my daily China VPN. If Nord keeps timing out on hotel Wi-Fi, that is when a second app earns its slot.
Do not buy two by default. A few days on eSIM mobile data often skip a VPN entirely. Two apps are a hotel-Wi-Fi backup, not a starter kit. Need vs not need: Do you need a VPN in China?.
Get NordVPN → · Get ExpressVPN →
How to choose (one table)
| Your situation | What to install |
|---|---|
| Follow what I actually use | NordVPN. Obfuscated Servers + OpenVPN (TCP). Expect slow connects on some hotel Wi-Fi. |
| Want simpler menus, accept I have not daily-tested it in China | Add ExpressVPN as backup — not as a claim that Lightway always beats the firewall. |
| Already on Nord | Keep it. Add Express only if hotel Wi-Fi keeps timing out. |
| Work / study, need it up most days | Astrill is what long-term residents name. It costs more. I do not sell it here. |
| 3–5 days, mostly mobile data, almost no hotel Wi-Fi | Start with an eSIM. Add a VPN only if you know you will sit on hotel Wi-Fi. |
Free VPNs and random browser extensions fail in China and are a security mess. Skip them.
Why there is no “#1”
China’s firewall does not block “VPNs” as a brand. It looks at traffic patterns. Standard OpenVPN and WireGuard look like a VPN. The apps that still work disguise that traffic as ordinary HTTPS — Nord’s obfuscated servers, ExpressVPN’s Lightway stack, Astrill’s StealthVPN.
When the firewall updates, one provider’s nodes die for hours or a day. The other may still connect. That is why people who live here keep two apps, not one favorite forever.
I learned this the noisy way. Smaller cheap VPNs I used before Nord would go black with no warning — every node on timeout, midnight in Chengdu, files that had to go out.
LetsVPN was the same failure, at a scale that made the news. It marketed itself as the VPN that always connects, went down for weeks in early 2026, refunded users, and left the mainland market. If a forum thread still tells you to buy LetsVPN, ignore it.
Install before you enter China. App Store and Play listings are unreliable once you land. Do it at home. Test Google once. Then you are not debugging an empty App Store at 1 a.m. in a hotel.
NordVPN — what I actually use (including the slow part)
I go back and forth between the Philippines and mainland China. After LetsVPN died I bought Nord at $14.99/month. Three months in, it is still what I open first.
What works: Google, Gmail, Instagram, WhatsApp, banking, news — once it is up. Hong Kong is usually the lowest latency from Guangzhou. Speeds dip in the evening. I have had to reconnect a handful of times.
What is annoying: connecting is not instant. On hotel Wi-Fi especially, I have sat through a long “Connecting…” before anything happens. Sometimes I switch Japan or Singapore and it comes up. Sometimes I wait. This is not a settings miss — Obfuscated Servers + OpenVPN (TCP) are already on.
If you use Nord in China, do this or it often fails completely:
- Get NordVPN — Basic is enough for travel. Complete/Prime are extras you do not need for two weeks.
- Install on phone and laptop before you fly.
- Settings → Obfuscated Servers on.
- Protocol → OpenVPN (TCP). Not NordLynx. NordLynx is WireGuard-based and the firewall spots it.
- Connect once at home.
Payment: card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or crypto. No Chinese number, no Chinese App Store.
When it stalls in China: confirm obfuscation is on, confirm you are not on NordLynx, change server, switch hotel Wi-Fi ↔ mobile data, then open a second app if you installed one.
ExpressVPN — simpler menus, not my China log
I am not going to write a fake “three months in Guangzhou” review. I have not used ExpressVPN as my daily China VPN.
I list it because tourists fail on fiddly menus: they land, tap Connect, and sit on “Connecting…” with no idea what obfuscated servers are. Express’s default is Automatic / Lightway. That is easier than Nord’s China settings. Easier is not the same as “I have seen it hold a Guangzhou hotel network.”
What the app is built for (vendor design, not my field log):
- Protocol on Automatic (Lightway). You should not have to find a hidden stealth menu.
- Lightway is meant to reconnect faster than a full OpenVPN handshake. I have not timed that on Chinese hotel Wi-Fi.
- Japan, Singapore, or Hong Kong first. US/EU nodes usually feel sluggish from the mainland.
If you add it as backup
- Buy and install on phone and laptop → ExpressVPN
- Log in.
- Protocol: Automatic. If Automatic fails later, try Lightway TCP.
- Connect once at home. Load Gmail.
- Leave the app installed. You will not re-download it in China.
30-day money-back if it never connects for your trip.
Astrill — for people who live here
Long-term residents who need a laptop up through crackdowns still name Astrill (StealthVPN / OpenWeb). It is roughly twice the tourist-VPN price. For a two-week holiday I would not start there. I do not have an affiliate link for it. If you are moving to China for work, ask someone already in your city what is holding this month — it changes.
LetsVPN — do not buy it
LetsVPN’s whole pitch was “永远能连上的VPN.” In early 2026 it could not keep mainland nodes up, said so, refunded people, and exited. There is no current LetsVPN plan for a China trip.
Pre-departure checklist
- VPN app installed and logged in on phone and laptop
- Nord: Obfuscated + OpenVPN TCP. Express (if you added it): Automatic / Lightway
- One successful connect at home (Google loads)
- Japan / Singapore / Hong Kong as the first servers you will try
- A China eSIM or a plan for a local SIM — a VPN on a dead connection looks like a broken VPN
- Second VPN only if hotel Wi-Fi matters (you switch apps; you do not run both at once)
FAQ
What is the best VPN for China in 2026?
None of them is always on. What I use: NordVPN, with slow connects on some hotel networks. Simpler app I have not daily-tested in China: ExpressVPN. Add a second app only if hotel Wi-Fi is in the plan.
Does LetsVPN still work?
No.
Is NordVPN legal in China?
Gray area. Tourists using it for mail and chat are not who enforcement targets. Not legal advice.
Can I download a VPN inside China?
Often no. Do it at home.
Do I need a VPN for a short trip?
Not always on eSIM mobile data. Usually yes on hotel Wi-Fi. Do you need a VPN in China?
What if it will not connect?
Switch server (Japan / Singapore / Hong Kong). Check the China settings above. Change Wi-Fi to mobile data. Open the second app if you installed one. Wait out a crackdown window if every provider is failing at once.
Related reading
- Do You Need a VPN in China?
- Best eSIM for China Travel
- Internet in China: Full Guide
- China SIM Card Guide
- Alipay or WeChat Pay verification failed — a dead VPN can stall payment setup too
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