Do you actually need a VPN in Poland?
Legally there is nothing to consider. VPNs are legal in Poland as across the European Union, with no licensing, registration or app store restrictions, and the country is bound by GDPR and the EU's net neutrality rules, which stop ISPs blocking or throttling services for commercial reasons. Poland even has form in resisting online controls: a 2011 attempt at internet filtering legislation was dropped after protests. The one category routinely blocked is online gambling without a Polish licence, through the Ministry of Finance's domain register. Everything a traveller uses, from WhatsApp and FaceTime to news and streaming, works normally.
The first practical reason is shared Wi-Fi. Poland's fibre is so widespread that nearly every cafe, hostel and coworking space in Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw and Gdansk hands out a password, and PKP Intercity trains and Polish airports offer free networks. Logging into your bank or your employer's systems on them is exactly where encryption earns its place.
The second is UK content. Since 1 January 2021 the EU Portability Regulation no longer covers UK residents, so Netflix, Sky Go and similar UK subscriptions may show a Polish catalogue or refuse to play, and BBC iPlayer does not work outside the UK at all. A VPN connection to a London server restores the home versions. When something stops working at midnight before a flight out of Chopin, 24/7 live chat from NordVPN or Surfshark is quicker than a forum.
What a VPN does and does not do in Poland
A VPN encrypts the link between your device and the VPN server, so a hostel router, a coworking network or a train Wi-Fi hotspot sees only encrypted traffic. It also lets you choose where you appear to be. A London server brings back your UK Netflix library, iPlayer and the UK version of your banking app; a Warsaw or Gdansk server (both of our picks run Polish servers) gives you a Polish IP for local services and Polish streaming when you are elsewhere in Europe.
It will not speed up an overloaded hostel connection, it cannot override a streaming service that blocks all VPN ranges, and it does not change which gambling sites Polish law allows. Both picks come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so test them from your actual flat or desk in the first week: NordVPN for a city break or a short contract, Surfshark if you are staying for a season or relocating.
Recommended VPNs for Poland
NordVPN, best for short trips and month-by-month plans
It is the one for you if you are covering yourself, or you and a partner, and want something simple to run and easy to forget about. One plan covers 10 devices, and the apps are quick to install and easy to switch off and on as you need. Plans run by the month, the year or over two years, all with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Surfshark, best for long stays and unlimited devices
It is the one for you if one subscription needs to cover everyone. Connections are unlimited, so every phone, laptop and tablet you travel with, and anyone you share a place with, runs on the same plan at once. That suits a stay that stretches to months rather than weeks. It sells the same three terms and adds bonus months on the longer two, with the same 30-day money-back guarantee.
Server networks and speeds for Poland
Both of our picks run servers in Poland. NordVPN lists Warsaw, and Surfshark lists two Polish cities, Warsaw and Gdansk, which is useful if you are based on the Baltic coast. From anywhere in the country a Polish server adds a few milliseconds at most, so you can leave the VPN on all day for Wi-Fi privacy and switch to London or Manchester only when you need a UK address. Both providers run several UK cities, and the hop from Poland to London is short enough for HD streaming.
Local networks are quick. Speedtest's Global Index recorded a Polish median fixed download of 152 Mbps in 2024, fibre accounts for 56 percent of fixed lines, and all four mobile operators run 5G, with T-Mobile claiming over 4,000 C-band sites after the 2023 auction. The VPN, not the line, will be the slowest link.
How to choose between them
The differences that matter fit in one table, and the last two rows are there to name two promises you should not believe from anyone, us included.
| Feature | NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|
| 1 month | $14.99 | $16.45 |
| 1 year plan, total upfront | $65.88 (12 months billed) | $50.85 (15 months billed) |
| 2 year plan, total upfront | $94.23 (27 months billed) | $67.23 (27 months billed) |
| Devices per plan | 10 | Unlimited |
| Kill switch and auto-connect | Yes | Yes |
| Independently audited no-log policy | Yes (2025) | Yes (2025) |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
| Guarantees access to any blocked site, anywhere | No | No |
| Makes slow Wi-Fi faster | No | No |
On a single month NordVPN is cheaper. Over a year or two Surfshark is. On everything else the choice is about shape rather than money: 10 devices and a simple setup on one side, unlimited devices on the other.
Setting up before you travel
Do the setup at home, on Wi-Fi you trust, before the airport. Install NordVPN or Surfshark on each device, sign in, and connect once to confirm everything works. Then turn on two settings both apps include: the kill switch, which stops your traffic travelling unprotected if the VPN drops, and auto-connect, which brings the VPN back up when your connection returns.
Poland needs no special preparation: install both apps at home, turn on the kill switch for hostel, cafe and train Wi-Fi, and save London and Warsaw as favourite servers. If you depend on BBC iPlayer or a UK Netflix catalogue, test them on a UK server from the hotel on your first evening, because streaming services change which VPN ranges they block from month to month. Our Best eSIMs for Poland guide covers getting data the moment you land, and both VPN apps run fine over an eSIM.
Final recommendation
Poland is an easy VPN country: legal, fast, open, with Polish servers from both of our picks. You use one for shared Wi-Fi and for UK content that no longer travels, not to get round censorship. For a long weekend in Krakow or a week of meetings in Warsaw, NordVPN is the pick. Ten device slots cover a couple's phones, laptops and a tablet, and its Warsaw and London servers handle both local and UK needs.
For a nomad season, a study year or a relocation, Surfshark is the better value. Unlimited devices covers a flat full of laptops, phones and a TV stick, and its Warsaw and Gdansk servers keep daily use fast wherever in Poland you settle.
