Streaming has revolutionised how we watch content, and there’s never been so much entertainment available at your whim.
Choosing what to watch is often the problem, but it can also be frustrating when something you want to see isn’t available on the streaming services you subscribe to. Often, the very same show or film is available to subscribers on the very same service in other regions. But all you need to watch where you are is a VPN.
Live sports are often restricted to certain countries, as are some streaming services such as the UK’s BBC iPlayer and Hulu in the US. But again, a VPN can make it possible to watch them wherever you live. You may still need a subscription, but a VPN removes the need to be in a certain country.
It means you can catch up on shows such as Planet Earth on BBC iPlayer from outside the UK, watch the best of US Netflix from the UK. You can even save money using a VPN by paying for some services when connected to a country with cheaper rates.
Here at Tech Advisor, we’ve tested dozens and dozens of VPN services to see how good they are at unblocking, as well as how reliable they are. As a result of hundreds of hours of testing, then, here are the five VPNs we recommend specifically for unblocking streaming services.
Best streaming VPN 2023
1. NordVPN – Best overall VPN for streaming
Pros
- Reliably unblocks popular streaming services
- Great speeds
- Independently audited
Cons
- Costs more than some others here
- Not unlimited connections
Price When Reviewed:
From $4.19 per month
NordVPN is an excellent choice for streaming thanks to excellent speeds and wide device support. It’s shown here on an iPhone, but there are apps for Windows, macOS, Android and – importantly for streaming, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
The service reliably unblocks Netflix in various regions as well as lots of other streaming services including Disney+, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Max and 9now.
Its SmartPlay feature means you don’t have to think about choosing the right server: you just pick the country and the apps will select the best server for streaming.
If you run into any issues there’s 24/7 tech support for help when you need it.
Using its NordLynx protocol, based on WireGuard, Nord’s connection speeds are some of the fastest around and the apps are very easy to use.
It’s not the absolute cheapest option around, but the best rarely is.
You can see NordVPN’s latest deals here.
Read our full
NordVPN review
2. Private Internet Access – Best cheap VPN for streaming
Pros
- Great at unblocking streaming services
- Audited no-logs policy
Cons
- Price doubles at end of subscription
Price When Reviewed:
From $2.91 per month
Private Internet Access is a feature-packed VPN service which should appeal whether you’re a gamer, privacy advocate or – most importantly – you want to unblock streaming services.
It’s really good value if you subscribe to its two-year plan, but just note that (like Nord and other) the price goes up at renewal.
PIA has a massive selection of servers in all the countries where the popular streaming services operate. It does a decent job of unblocking them, especially if you’re not trying to watch any really obscure ones. In our most recent round of testing it had a bit of a wobble with Netflix’s US library, but it’s always unlocked it at other times, and let us watch Disney+, iPlayer, ITVX and Hulu. It also unblocked Netflix in the UK, Japan and France.
For the privacy-conscious, PIA now has a reassuring Deloitte audit which makes its US location a non-issue.
One slight hiccup is that it doesn’t have Amazon Fire TV or Android TV apps, but it does offer a Smart DNS service that will do the unblocking just as well. This is pretty quick to configure on just about any device from a PS5, Firestick and Apple TV to many brands of smart TVs themselves.
See the latest deals on Private Internet Access’s website.
Read our full
Private Internet Access review
3. Surfshark – Best VPN for streaming in 4K
Pros
- Very good at unblocking streaming services
- Unlimited connections
Cons
- Doesn’t list which services it unblocks
- Price doubles on renewal
Price When Reviewed:
From $2.30 per month (charged at $59.76 upfront for 26 months)
Surfshark is a great choice for unblocking streaming services. It doesn’t list the services it unblocks (the website doesn’t even mention this as a feature), but it does have thousands of servers in 65 countries.
More importantly, we’ve found it reliably unblocks video from various streaming services in our tests, and have had no issues with iPlayer whenever we’ve tried to watch something from abroad.
It will also unblock 15 Netflix regions, as well as Disney+, Amazon Prime, HBO Max and plenty of others. The only roadblock we hit was when trying to stream Dance Moms from 9now in Australia: it just couldn’t convince the service we were really in Sydney or Melbourne.
The reason we’ve put Surfshark above some others here is because it’s such a great-value package: it doesn’t put any limits on the number of devices you can use, supports WireGuard for very fast speeds (which is ideal if you plan to stream in 4K), and has a great selection of apps including Amazon Fire TV.
Just watch for the steep price hike when you renew – a good reason to go for a two-year subscription, which means you can binge watch to your heart’s content for a very long while.
Read our full
Surfshark review
4. ExpressVPN – Best VPN for unblocking unusual streaming services
Pros
- Fast, reliable connections
- Great unblocking
- Additional MediaStreamer service
Cons
- Expensive
- No double-hop option
Price When Reviewed:
From $6.67 per month
ExpressVPN is the one to choose if you’re looking for a premium option that reliably unblocks videos from a huge range of streaming services.
The company claims not just to unblock over 200 of them, but to actively monitor them all and ensure they all work.
ExpressVPN also offers a router ‘app’ which is considerably easier to use than others, even making it possible to change server without too much hassle. This allows you to unblock content on an Apple TV, Xbox, PS5 or any other device that doesn’t support VPNs natively. If you want all your home devices to connect via a VPN, ExpressVPN is the best choice for running on a router. It even sells its own Wi-Fi 6 router now called Aircove.
As part of the subscription you also get MediaStreamer DNS which you can use if you have any trouble unblocking anything with the VPN app. This handy alternative has previously worked for us when we had trouble accessing iPlayer.
There’s great tech support if you ever need help, and the proprietary Lightway protocol means you get quick speeds which, in turn, should mean no annoying buffering.
If you’re wondering what else you get for your money, privacy and security are also excellent, and the company carried out almost a dozen audits in 2022, covering its apps and privacy policy.
Just recently, ExpressVPN added a bunch of new locations and increased number of devices you can have connected at the same time to eight, which should be enough for just about every family.
Get three months free when you sign up for a year of ExpressVPN
Read our full
ExpressVPN review
5. CyberGhost
Pros
- Unblocks lots of video services
- Recent independent audit
Cons
- Price doubles when two-year subscription renews
Price When Reviewed:
From $2.75 per month
CyberGhost might sit at the bottom of this list, but it’s still one of our top picks for reliably streaming content that’s otherwise blocked. When we checked just recently, it was able to unblock every streaming service we tried including Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, BBC iPlayer and ITV X (another UK-based service). And since CyberGhost has an absolutely huge selection of servers, if the recommended one doesn’t work, you can try a few others.
The other highlight is performance. With WireGuard available on all its apps, you can expect speedy connections for things like downloading files, streaming in 4K, and gaming.
It’s a well-established VPN service which is based in Romania. That’s good for privacy, and you don’t have to blindly trust CyberGhost’s privacy policy as Deloitte has audited it and found no issues.
Factor in the tempting deals on two- or three-year subscriptions and the ability to use the service on up to seven devices at the same time, it’s a great option for anyone looking for a capable VPN that won’t break the bank. Just make sure you cancel that subscription before it renews to avoid paying a higher price for the next one.
Read our full
CyberGhost review
What to look for in a VPN for streaming
The first thing to bear in mind is that accessing any of streaming service from another country could violate their terms of service, and you risk losing your account, so proceed at your own risk. Saying that, we’re yet to hear of anyone having their account terminated: those services want you to keep paying, so they’re only going after the VPNs that are circumventing their blocks, not the consumers.
What you may experience is that – on occasion – you might not be able to unblock, say, Disney+ with your chosen VPN service. When that happens, use the VPN’s tech support, which is usually available as 24/7 live chat, to find out how to solve the problem. Or simply try connecting to a different server in the same country.
The other thing to look out for when choosing a VPN specifically for streaming services is to check the which services the VPN claims to unblock, and specifically the regions you may want to use.
Beyond this, a fast, reliable service is of course desirable, as is the availability of apps for the devices you want to watch video on, such as an Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and others.
Bear in mind that some devices don’t support VPN connections natively. It is possible to set up a VPN on a PlayStation, Xbox, or Apple TV, but it’s certainly not a quick and convenient process, so even if a VPN service advertises support for those platforms, take it with a pinch of salt.
If a VPN doesn’t sound like the right option for you, it’s worth considering the StreamLocator Hub. Instead of connecting to different servers, this Hub projects its own Wi-Fi network which you can connect to, and bypasses geo-blocked content automatically.
But for a low monthly price, a VPN is exactly what most people need to unblock streaming services. Here are what we consider to be the best options overall for watching TV and films online.
