The United States is one of the best places in the world for streaming lovers. With full access to Netflix and other services, users can enjoy a great deal of content. Still, you might be looking for a VPN for Chicago to unblock your favorite content abroad or stay safe online.
Venturing abroad on a vacation leaves you without access to your favorite TV channels and platforms from the US. Local TV channels from Chicago will also be unavailable, which a VPN with a Chicago IP address can fix.
Since the US is a part of the 5 Eyes, it’s not privacy-friendly. To prevent your ISP from spying on you, using a VPN is a great idea. It’ll encrypt your traffic and make you anonymous online even in this part of the US. Thanks to this, you can also torrent safely and enjoy privacy when going on the dark web.
These are all reasons to use a VPN in Chicago in 2024. But now, the real question is – what is the best Chicago VPN? Which one should you choose? To find that out, stay with us, as we analyze our top 3 choices and fully explain why we selected them.
Best VPN for Chicago: Our Top 3 Services
Just to make it clear, today’s list will be populated with premium services. We want to make sure we give you the absolute top VPN choices that offer servers in Chicago as well as other cities/countries globally.
On top of that, these providers offer unlimited bandwidth and speeds.
As such, they’ll be great for bandwidth-intensive activities like torrenting and streaming. More importantly, they’re suitable for people in Chicago and those abroad who want to get an IP address located in this city. Without further ado, our top 3 providers include:
1. ExpressVPN
Pros
- Servers in Chicago, Illinois
- The fastest speeds
- Audited by KPMG and Cure53
- Works on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux
- 3 free months for the 1-year plan
Cons
- It could be more affordable
If you’re looking for a VPN with thousands of servers in the US, look no further than ExpressVPN. This service has 3,000 servers in 94 countries, with numerous servers in Chicago, Illinois. The provider offers no bandwidth limits and comes with the fastest speeds on the market.
This makes it suitable for Chicago residents but also users abroad who want an IP from this city. ExpressVPN offers impenetrable security thanks to AES-256 encryption, which works in conjunction with a kill switch and IP/DNS leak protection to keep you safe online.
Most notably, the service offers a proprietary Lightway protocol known for 10 Gbps performance and rock-solid security. If you live in Chicago, ExpressVPN’s no-logging policy will come in handy, and with audits from KPMG and Cure53, you can be sure the provider doesn’t track you online.
What about streaming? Well, this best VPN for Chicago in 2024 can unblock a wide variety of platforms, both in and out of Chicago. It’s also great for torrenting but you can also enjoy this VPN on Apple TV and unblock your favorite shows and movies in a split second.
ExpressVPN is easy to use as well, and if you’re a beginner, you shouldn’t worry. It works on all platforms and systems, plus, it packs 5 simultaneous connections on a single account. ExpressVPN offers the ability to block malicious sites on mobile devices.
This is great for ensuring a safe and smooth browsing experience. To make things better, the kill switch on iOS is here and ExpressVPN even works in censored countries like China, just in case you ever go there. Finally, the provider has a very genuine 49% discount for its annual plan.
Here, it also gifts you 3 free months and a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you’re dissatisfied, get a refund – but why would you? ExpressVPN is as close to perfection as it gets!
2. CyberGhost
Pros
- 56 servers in Illinois
- Streaming/torrenting servers
- Ad blocker
- WireGuard support
Cons
- Not working in some censored countries
Being a great Chicago VPN, CyberGhost offers plenty of features to look forward to. For one, this VPN has servers in Illinois, Chicago, and you get 56 of them just in this city.
With 10+ server locations in the USA (it belongs to the category of VPNs with servers in California) and 9,100+ servers globally, CyberGhost is a force to be reckoned with.
The provider is known for dedicated torrenting/streaming servers available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Mobile users get just streaming servers which, in any case, work well with popular streaming services in and out of Chicago.
Moreover, the provider allows for safe and secure P2P in the USA, which will help you avoid DMCA notices and copyright trolls. Even better is the fact that it offers NoSpy servers independently operated by this company, so no one can trace your activities online.
This is further improved with 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, DNS leak protection, and an ad blocker. CyberGhost uses WireGuard but it also offers OpenVPN for added variety. As it’s based in Romania, the service stores no logs of your private data, with a no-logs policy audited by Deloitte.
Although not the most intuitive VPN, CyberGhost is fairly simple to use and offers apps for all your devices. Besides, you get 7 simultaneous connections per subscription, which is 2 more than ExpressVPN. All in all, this is a pretty impressive VPN for the money.
With so many servers, you can use it to alter your YouTube TV location or simply get an IP address from the country you want. It won’t work in China like ExpressVPN but hey, its 2-year plan is extremely affordable at under $2.5 a month.
Not only that but it also has a neat 45-day money-back guarantee for all long-term plans. That’s something you won’t get in other VPNs that give you a smaller 30-day refund period.
3. NordVPN
Pros
- 10 Gbps performance
- Nearly 2,000 servers in America
- Threat Protection
- RAM-only servers
Cons
- Value-added taxes (VAT) in some locations
- Expensive 1-month plan
NordVPN must be mentioned in the ranking of the best VPNs for Chicago for 2024. As a VPN with 5,700 servers in 60 countries, this powerful company packs nearly 2,000 of them in the US. We don’t know the exact number of servers in Illinois but we do know that this number is larger than 50.
The provider is blazing fast, much like the other two, offering 10 Gbps speeds with the NordLynx VPN protocol. In addition, it’s focused primarily on security, so it’s not strange that you get Threat Protection that also protects you from viruses, malware, and ads.
NordVPN even offers Dark Web Monitor that’ll notify you if your private information gets involved in a data breach. Furthermore, the provider has servers for torrenting, Onion Over VPN, and even Double VPN – a feature that’ll double your encryption and route your traffic through two servers.
NordVPN is a mean streaming machine. Our tests indicated that it works with US-based streaming platforms, plus many others abroad. Users in Chicago and abroad can use NordVPN to watch foreign TV channels or bypass firewall restrictions at work or job.
Plus, it has an advanced kill switch paired with split tunneling and Private DNS for even more anonymity. After all, the provider has a zero-logging policy with 3 audits from PwC and Deloitte, so it’s a verified option for privacy-aware users.
Being an awesome VPN for Chicago, NordVPN ensures your safety all the time thanks to RAM-only servers that’ll keep your ISP and other snoopers away. Its apps are modern-looking and are available for all platforms, with 6 simultaneous connections.
Users in Chicago won’t be subject to value-added taxes. However, if you’re abroad, these taxes might apply, increasing its price a bit. Regardless, we recommend its 2-year plan with a 30-day refund policy that you can get below – it’s the cheapest NordVPN deal in 2024.
Free Chicago VPN: Why We Don’t Recommend It?
The main factor that makes free American VPNs attractive is the presence of servers located in the USA. Pretty much all free providers offer servers in the US but very few of them have servers in Chicago, Illinois. Even if they had servers in this city, you’d be hard-pressed to find a good free VPN provider.
Our tests and experiences indicate that they offer limited bandwidth and 1 Gbps speeds. For example, TunnelBear gives you just 500 MB a month, while PrivadoVPN limits you to 10 GB a month. Both are, as you can guess, all but enough for day-to-day browsing.
If we talk about streaming and torrenting, free services are even more limited. They don’t work with popular streaming services, and if you live in Chicago, you’ll be surprised they mostly forbid P2P traffic! ProtonVPN is a prime example of this, as it doesn’t allow for torrenting.
For us, the most alarming thing is the lack of security and privacy. Free providers don’t earn money through subscriptions so they usually use targeted ads and/or store your personal data. This data is later sold to third parties, which is how companies like these make money.
If you compare this to ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and NordVPN – our best VPNs for Chicago (Illinois) for 2024 – you’ll see a big difference. These VPNs have no security issues and they offer unlimited access to restricted sites, with excellent performance and P2P capabilities.
That’s why we don’t recommend using a free VPN for Chicago, whether you live there or you want an IP from this city.
Conclusion
Today, we presented you with our top 3 VPNs for Chicago in 2024 if you don’t want any compromises.
ExpressVPN is our #1 pick but if you want a budget solution, consider CyberGhost and NordVPN. All Chicago VPNs on our list are worth their money.
And if you’re not satisfied, there’s a money-back guarantee for each provider. However, we tested all of them thoroughly to give you our genuine opinion of them.
Thus, with all the benefits we mentioned, chances are that you’ll be more than happy with any service from this list.
