Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, HBO, Disney Plus, etc. use geo-restrictions to prevent content from being accessed in certain regions. This, alongside with the desire for internet privacy, has seen many streaming fans turn to VPN services.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) lets you access your favorite content regardless of your physical location. Unfortunately, most VPNs are blocked by streaming services, and so you need to choose one carefully. To help you out, we have tested various VPNs against the most popular streaming services and come up with a list of the best VPN for streaming.
To come up with the list of VPNs in this list, we rated the VPNs using the following criteria:
- Streaming services it unblocks
- Streaming features & capabilities
- Speeds of the VPN
- Size of the server network
- Privacy and security levels
- P2P & Torrent support
- Features offered
- Overall performance
You can also check our guides on the best VPN for Torrenting and the best VPN for Kodi.
1. ExpressVPN
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Editors’ choice 2020
tekcompareExpressVPN is the best VPN for streaming thanks to its superb speeds, excellent functionality, and ability to unblock almost every streaming service available. The VPN has a massive server network that consists of 3,000+ VPN servers spread across 160 VPN server locations in 94 countries. The excellent distribution means that you can always get a server near you as well as unblock content from any region. 33w
Streaming Capabilities
ExpressVPN works with Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney Plus, and many other streaming services. It’s the best VPN for Netflix as it offers the most Netflix libraries, which include US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, and South Korea, among others.
Apart from this, the VPN provides SmartDNS (dubbed MediaStreamer) which can be used on devices that do not support VPNs (like Play Station or LG Smart TVs) to unblock US streaming services.
Compatibility
ExpressVPN can be installed on almost all VPN-capable devices. There are native clients for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Firestick, and routers. There are also extensions for browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
The VPN allows up to 5 simultaneous streams.
Pricing
Due to the excellent service and reputation as the best VPN for streaming, you’ll need to shell out some good bucks for the VPN. The monthly price goes for $12.95 a month, but we have a discount that gives you a 49% cut which includes an extra 3 months with the yearly plan. All plans are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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Super-fast
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Excellent client apps
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Zero logs & solid security
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Works with all streaming services
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24/7 Live chat support
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30-day money-back guarantee
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Relatively costly
Tekcompare has scanned and tested this software for malware
All plans are covered by a 30-day money back guarantee
2. Surfshark VPN
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Surfshark VPN hasn’t been around for long, but it has been widely accepted as one of the best VPNs. This is especially due to its great speeds and a wide array of features. The VPN has a steadily growing network that consists of 1040+ servers in 61+ countries.
Other features include a Private DNS, Camouflage Mode, Multi-hop, Whitelister (split-tunnelling), CleanWeb( Ad-blocker) and multiple protocols.
Streaming capabilities
Due to their Private DNS, Surfshark VPN can be used to unblock most of the popular streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus, among others.
Supported Netflix countries include the US, UK, France, the Netherlands, Japan, India, and Italy. If you connect to any other country, you will be redirected to Netflix US (all other servers use their Private DNS). This means that you can connect to any server near you for maximum speeds and enjoy US content.
Apart from that, Surfshark also provides SmartDNS service, which can be used on devices that do not support VPN installation.
Compatibility
Surfshark has apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, and Fire TV/ Stick. There are also applets for Chrome and Firefox browsers.
Unlike most VPNs, SurfShark does not limit the simultaneous connections you can have, and you can connect as many devices as you’d like.
Pricing
Surfshark’s monthly plan is priced a bit high at $11.95, but with our discount, you can get the VPN at just $1.99 a month! For one of the best VPN for streaming, this is a decent deal.
The subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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Super-fast
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Based in the BVI & keeps Zero logs
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Unlimited simultaneous connections
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Simple but fully-featured apps
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All servers support P2P
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Works with Netflix and other streaming services
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30-day money-back guarantee
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Can’t choose between protocols
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Live chat doesn’t operate
3. Atlas VPN
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Atlas VPN is a relatively new product, but it has made quite a splash in the VPN industry. The product welcomes all users that might not feel ready to use VPNs. For instance, you can fully use Atlas VPN immediately after installation thanks to its beginner-friendly interface. When it comes to servers, Atlas VPN offers 500 servers in more than 20 locations. Additionally, they are optimized for streaming: less buffering when you watch your favorite TV shows. While the server library is not as vast as with other VPNs, they get the job done. Positive reviews from users indicate that Atlas VPN works like a charm, giving them access to more content to stream each time.
Streaming Capabilities
Atlas VPN unlocks all the most popular video-streaming platforms: BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, and many others. Thanks to the variety of locations, you will have no issue connecting and streaming the richest Netflix libraries’ content. Furthermore, since Atlas VPN focuses on server optimization, your streaming will resist buffering issues or lags.
Compatibility
Atlas VPN works on Windows, iOS, and Android devices. Seems quite limiting? Not for long. As it appears, macOS and Chrome versions are currently being developed. It is useful to remember that this product is relatively new, and improving compatibility takes time. The good news is that you can use Atlas VPN on an unlimited number of compatible devices.
Pricing
You can now sign up for a 3-year subscription for only $1.39 a month. When compared to other VPNs, this price is surprisingly small. Knowing that Atlas VPN appears to live up to clients’ expectations, this deal is definitely worth your attention. Enjoy fuller libraries of video-streaming services anywhere, anytime!
4. Ivacy VPN
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Ivacy is one of the best VPN for streaming thanks to its excellent speeds and dedicated streaming servers. The VPN is based in Singapore, which is a good choice for location, and it has very competitive pricing.
Its features include malware protection, automatic kill switch, split tunneling, multiple protocols, P2P supports, and a dedicated Kodi app, among others.
Streaming capabilities
Ivacy VPN has streaming servers that are labelled to show the services they unblock and make streaming easier. The VPN unblocks Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and Hulu. This is alongside 7 major Netflix regions which are the US, France, Japan, UK, Australia, Germany, and Canada.
Compatibility
Ivacy VPN has apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. You can also install their browser applets on Chrome and Firefox, as well as manually install it on routers. The VPN allows up to 5 simultaneous connections.
Pricing
At $7.50 for the monthly plan, Ivacy has the cheapest monthly subscription in this list. This can be reduced by 66% with a 1 year plan, and 77% percent by going for the 2 year plan. All these plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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Excellent speeds
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Supports many streaming services
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Doesn’t keep logs
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Solid privacy and security
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Supports P2P
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Kill Switch
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Split Tunneling
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Fairly priced
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Relatively small server network
5. NordVPN
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NordVPN is a popular VPN service, and it’s known for its huge server network. The VPN’s network consists of 5500+ servers spread across 59 countries. The huge server network ensures that users can always get fast streaming speeds since there’s no congestion.
Other features offered by the VPN include Smart Play, dedicated IP address, multi-hop, kill-switch, Anti-DDoS, Onion over VPN, double VPN, CyberSec, and DNS & IP Leak protection.
Streaming Capabilities
NordVPN works with Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, and Hulu, among others. The VPN currently offers Netflix libraries for the US, UK, Germany, and France. However, other servers still support Netflix due to the integration of Smart Play, the VPN’s Smart DNS services.
To access Netflix US, you just need to connect to any server near you (apart from the UK, Germany, and France). For the other streaming services, you need to use servers located in a country where the service is accessible.
Compatibility
NordVPN has dedicated clients for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and Android TV. There are also browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Apart from that, you can also install the VPN manually on routers and other devices. The VPN allows up to 6 simultaneous connections.
Pricing
NordVPN’s monthly pricing is just slightly below that of ExpressVPN and SurfShark VPN and goes for $11.95. However, you can get even more value for your money if you go for the 3-year plan, which offers a significant discount of 75%. You’ll get to use the VPN at just $3.99 a month. Each of their plans is covered with a hassle-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
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Super-fast
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Zero usage and connection logs
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Up to 6 simultaneous connections
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Most servers
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24/7 Customer Care
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30-day money-back guarantee
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High cost for month-to-month users
6. CyberGhost VPN
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CyberGhost VPN has recently made lots of improvements, and it’s now of the best VPNs for streaming. The VPN is based in Romania, and it boasts an industry-high server network that consists of 5900+ servers spread across 90+ countries.
CyberGhost VPN also has a dedicated streaming mode that lets users easily unblock various streaming services within seconds. Other features of the VPN includes ad & malware blocker, kill switch, split tunneling, multiple protocols, and DNS & IPv6 leak protection.
Streaming capabilities
As mentioned earlier, CyberGhost VPN has a mode dedicated to accessing streaming services. This mode offers servers labelled according to the service they unblock. Some of the available services are Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Youtube Red, CBS ESPN and various others.
Compatibility
CyberGhost VPN has clients for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android, iOS, Firestick/ Android Smart TVs, Chrome, and Firefox. You can also manually configure the VPN on devices that do not natively support VPNs and use it with up to 7 devices simultaneously.
Pricing
CyberGhost VPN costs $12.99 for the monthly plan. However, its 3-year plan is very well priced, letting you use the VPN at just $2.75 a month. To let you test the VPN risk-free, all VPN plans come with a 45-day money-back guarantee.
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1-day free premium trial
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Based in Romania and keeps zero logs
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7 simultaneous connections
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Unlimited bandwidth
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Fully-featured
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45-day money-back guarantee
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Live chat not available 24/7
Why Use A VPN for Streaming?
There are reasons why VPNs are becoming popular among streaming fans and cord-cutters:
Access Blocked Content
Almost all major streaming services filter content according to location. Some of them like HBO Now are not even available outside the US. For such services, you need to use a VPN to sign up, but you will also need a US payment method. A shortcut for that is purchasing a Google Play or App Store gift card.
In the case of streaming services like Netflix, you just need to connect to a streaming server and then use your account for streaming.
Hide your Streaming Activities
For people who use Kodi or unofficial streaming apps, a VPN comes in handy. Some of the streams provided by these services may be pirated, which makes it illegal to consume such content. A VPN helps such activities by encrypting a user’s traffic and then securely tunneling it to a server
Beat ISP Throttling
Some ISPs cap internet speeds when they notice that you are torrenting, streaming copyrighted content, or using data-intensive services. This leads to poor streaming quality ad buffering.
It can however be solved by simply firing up your VPN. Your ISP won’t know the services that you are using, and the VPN will lift up any artificial caps. It’s advisable to connect to the nearest server for the best speeds.
Netflix Proxy Error
In order to comply with content distributor demands, Netflix banned the use of VPNs way back in 2016. It’s therefore likely that you may face the famous Netflix streaming error when you are using a VPN.
This happens when the IP address you have been given has already been blacklisted by Netflix. This applies to most VPNs since they are not capable of continually refreshing their IP addresses, or they don’t have the capacity to offer integrated Smart DNS services in their servers. All the above-listed VPNs work with Netflix. However, you will need to select the right servers.
ExpressVPN has several servers for all the libraries they facilitate, and they have a live chat support team where you can always verify the working servers. SurfShark and NordVPN have Smart DNS on most of their servers, so you won’t have much of a problem. In case of anything, you can always contact their live chat support team.
CyberGhost VPN and Ivacy VPN, on the other hand, have labelled their Netflix servers as well as those for other services, and from our experience, they work 99% of the time.
Wrap Up
Using one of the best VPN for streaming opens you to a new world of streaming with no restrictions. It also helps you hide your activities from the ISP, government, and other snooping eyes. However, you need to choose your VPN carefully. The above-listed VPNs will help you with all your streaming needs, whether torrenting, Kodi, Netflix, or any other streaming services.