Located on the shore of the Adriatic Sea, Croatia is a popular tourist destination. Besides its stunning nature, warm sea, and breathtaking mountain views, you can also benefit from a Croatian IP address. Continue reading to find out how to get a Croatian IP address, what advantages it brings, and which tools will help deliver it onto your device.
How Can You Benefit from a Croatian IP Address?
Croatia is one of the best countries for torrenting and video streaming. It is ranked 4th as the most torrent downloading nation in the world. There are anti-piracy laws in place but they are hardly implemented in practice. Therefore, you can safely get content from torrent platforms with a Croatian IP address. It will also come in handy to watch videos from pirate streaming services.
An IP address from Croatia is a useful thing for Croatians who travel abroad or reside in other countries. It will provide access to geo-blocked websites and apps that don’t work outside of the country. Also, it will ensure smooth access to online banking when going overseas (your account may end up being suspended when you try to log in with an IP address of a foreign country).
The Best Solution to Change Your IP Address
The desired IP can easily be yours with a VPN or proxy service. Both technologies provide server networks spanning across the globe. When you connect to a server in a specific country, you obtain its IP address. Along with this similarity, both methods have unique features that make them different from each other.
VPN (Recommended Method)
VPNs don’t just mask your virtual location; they also secure your data through traffic encryption. When you establish a connection with VPN servers, they forward your traffic into a so-called tunnel that protects your data from exposure and interception. It makes a VPN a preferred option for online activities that require confidentiality (for instance, when you use public Wi-Fi to access your online bank accounts or share private files with your friends). Another benefit of these services is the capability of bypassing geo-restrictions and network firewalls.
VPNs are available as browser extensions and apps for most popular devices and operating systems such as Windows, macOS, Linux computers, Android, iOS phones and tablets.
Proxy Servers
You can install a proxy extension in a browser or configure it on certain apps (such as torrent software). Some providers offer apps for mobile devices but their range is inferior to VPNs.
Proxies anonymize your traffic through IP masking but they don’t secure it with encryption. Therefore, you can’t use them for sensitive activities. The lack of encryption, however, brings a small benefit – proxies are usually faster than VPNs. It makes sense to use a proxy for general browsing, unblocking videos on YouTube, and using social media websites.
Best VPNs to Change Your IP Address to Croatia
There are several factors to consider before subscribing to any service, namely:
- Servers in Croatia;
- Fast connection speed;
- Apps for any device you’d like to use;
- Solid security features;
- P2P traffic allowed;
- Reasonable prices.
You surely want all these features to be included in your VPN subscription. However, not every service can deliver those. But don’t worry, we tested many VPN providers to find some of the best ones suitable for your needs. Check out the table below and get to know the services we recommend:
- Provider
- User Rating
- Our Review
- Price
PureVPN- 4807 Votes
- $3.24 / month
ExpressVPN- 3795 Votes
- $6.67 / month
Here’s How to Get a Croatian IP Address with a VPN
Even if you are a beginner, you won’t find it hard to set up a VPN on your device. This is what you need to do:
- Create an account with one of the VPNs we recommend in this post.
- Download a VPN client and install it on the device of your choice.
- Log in to the VPN client and connect to a server in Croatia to get a Croatian IP address
That’s it! You can check whether your IP has changed with a service like this one.
Can I Use a Free VPN?
We don’t want to disappoint you but it is impossible to use a free VPN to change your geolocation to Croatia. Unlike commercial VPNs that extend their networks to dozens of countries, free VPNs focus only on ‘strategic’ regions such as the USA, UK, Germany, and a few others. Usually, Croatia is not among them.
There are many other reasons why we can’t recommend free VPNs. They are very slow so video streaming is questionable, especially because they can’t unblock some major video-on-demand platforms. P2P traffic is also forbidden which means no torrenting. Besides, free VPNs are associated with security threats including traffic monitoring, user data trade, malware risk, etc. Therefore, you should avoid these services even if they advertise themselves as secure.
Final Thoughts
A Croatian IP address is of great use for torrenting and video streaming. You can easily get it with a VPN. Make sure you choose a reputable large-scale provider that guarantees security, ease of use, and a fast connection. Free VPNs and proxies are a no-go due to the lack of servers in Croatia, slow speeds, and poor privacy protection.