Fed up with not being able to catch your favorite movie?
Or perhaps you don’t want to miss your team playing while traveling?
It sounds like you need a VPN to access all that exclusive content.
The only issue is finding the right VPN—not every solution is equally suitable for video content, and some might not even work with the streaming service you watch.
Not to worry. We searched for the best VPN for streaming and found many worthy solutions.
Sounds like something you might find useful? Then let’s jump straight into our top picks and see what they can do.
Here’s List of 7 Best VPN’s for Streaming (Top Rated)
- ExpressVPN – Best streaming speed and reliability (Save 35%)
- NordVPN – Greatest variety of streaming services and channels ($3.30/mo)
- Surfshark – Best for unlimited devices (81% off)
- IPVanish – Best for Netflix streaming ($3.75/mo)
- CyberGhost – Largest streaming server network (Save 81%)
- ZenMate – Most affordable VPN for streaming ($2.22/mo)
- Private Internet Access – Best for crypto payment (78% OFF)
How We Find the Best Streaming VPNs
Before we begin, let’s walk you through how we choose the top providers for our reviews:
- We keep tabs on the best VPNs for video streaming in the market. That way, we always have data on the most recent developments in the industry and the leading providers. We keep our reviews regularly updated with the freshest info.
- We also use free trials and similar offers to test out the providers. We try connecting the VPNs to major streaming sites to see what they can do and how they perform.
- We take into account various factors other than streaming performance. This includes ease of use, support quality, and privacy measures—it’s great when a VPN can stream in 4K, but it’s even better if you get a well-rounded service on top of that.
- We factor in the price. We find the best deals for you to access the top streaming sites with ease.
Interested in learning more?
Just scroll down and discover the best VPN services for streaming in 2021.
ExpressVPN
What Is ExpressVPN?
With 12 years in the industry and one of the most reliable server networks, ExpressVPN is a top provider.
Its goal is to grant complete freedom to internet users.
Let’s check if it’s really the best VPN for streaming movies.
Pricing
ExpressVPN has three pricing tiers, based on the length of your subscription:
- One month—$12.95/month
- Six months—$9.99/month
- 12 months— $8.32/month
The prices aren’t the lowest you’ll find in the market, but they’re fair for a premium service.
Your subscription allows you to connect up to five devices simultaneously across the board.
ExpressVPN Best Features
- It has data centers across 94 countries.
- It works with Netflix, HBO GO, Disney+, Hulu, the BBC, and dozens of other services.
- ExpressVPN is very easy to set up on both computers and mobile devices. It also works on various smart TV systems, gaming consoles, and VPN routers.
- It’s often the first to get around new VPN blocking measures.
- It supports all standard streaming protocols.
- It uses tunneling and encryption to protect your online privacy.
- It’s one of the fastest VPNs for streaming—with speeds going over 100Mbps, you can easily stream in 4K quality.
What We Disliked
Other than the slightly higher price, we don’t have many complaints about ExpressVPN.
A few customers pointed out that it doesn’t have the granular controls of a few other VPNs—which is a fair point, but it doesn’t affect the streaming experience so you’re unlikely to be bothered by this unless you’re a real power user.
ExpressVPN User Reviews
ExpressVPN has a rock-solid reputation for being a reliable service and never dropping the ball. It’s one of the most popular providers and it has excellent ratings on sites like Trustpilot and G2.
We Recommend ExpressVPN For
ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs for streaming tv and video. If you want to easily and quickly stream content from a great multitude of locations, it’s tough to beat this offer.
ExpressVPN Sales Pitch —ExpressVPN is a premium VPN with some of the most powerful features out there. It has some of the fastest speeds, unlocks pretty much all significant streaming libraries, and is overall one of the most reliable options. ExpressVPN rules the streaming VPN world in 2021.
NordVPN
What Is NordVPN?
NordVPN is one of the most popular and advertised virtual private networks.
But is it the best VPN service for streaming?
Let’s find out.
Pricing
NordVPN has three pricing tiers based on subscription duration:
- One month—$11.95/month
- One year—$4.92/month
- Two years—$3.30/month + three months for free
All plans allow six simultaneous connections.
Overall, it’s a solid offer, especially if you can afford one of the longer-term deals.
NordVPN Best Features
- It’s available in 60 countries across six continents.
- Expert tests suggest it works with 400+ streaming services and TV channels, making it one of the best services here. The VPN can currently unlock Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, YouTube TV, and much more.
- It supports split tunneling.
- It’s considered the fastest VPN for streaming. Blazing-fast servers and a proprietary WireGuard-based protocol can give you a great streaming experience in 4K.
Other than the streaming-specific features, you also get great benefits like no data logging, private RAM-only servers, an automatic killswitch, traffic obfuscation, and much more.
NordVPN is one of the top VPNs in general, but it really shines as the best VPN for streaming.
What We Disliked
Our issue with NordVPN is that when one of its servers got hijacked, the provider tried to sweep the issue under the rug. Although this isn’t something that affects streaming, such corporate practices are never nice to see.
Other than that, NordVPN elicits no complaints.
NordVPN User Reviews
Plenty of users praise NordVPN for its reliable encrypted connection and ease of streaming. In fact, the provider has thousands of five-star reviews across platforms like TrustPilot and G2.
There have been a few recent negative comments about the quality of support and the difficulty of canceling a plan. That certainly wasn’t our experience, but all complaints are worth keeping in mind when choosing a service.
We Recommend NordVPN For
NordVPN is the best VPN for streaming video if you want access to as many streaming services and TV channels as possible—even if you want to stream in UltraHD.
NordVPN Sales Pitch—NordVPN supports hundreds of different streaming services and channels, making it one of the most versatile VPNs. On top of that, it has a blazing-fast streaming protocol and is overall one of the most powerful VPNs.
Surfshark
What Is Surfshark?
Añthough Surfshark was just established in 2018, it’s already well-known for its quality VPN services.
It’s also one of the fan-favorite VPNs for streaming online content.
Here’s why:
Pricing
There are three pricing plans based on subscription length:
- One month—$12.95/month
- Six months—$6.49/month
- 24 months—$2.49/month
Overall, the price is very reasonable, especially considering that all plans let you connect as many devices as you want, making Surfshark amazing for the entire family.
Surfshark Best Features
- It has 3200+ servers spread across 65 countries.
- Surfshark can unlock at least 15 different Netflix libraries, and it also works with Amazon Prime, Disney+. BBC iPlayer, HBO Now, Hulu, plus a few other platforms.
- It works on all major operating systems, smart TV devices, and even Xbox and PlayStation game consoles.
- It has traffic obfuscation and split tunneling.
- It can automatically connect you to the fastest server available; however, you might want to connect manually to target specific content.
- Excellent privacy tools and a robust ad blocker are also part of the deal.
All in all, Surfshark justifies its reputation as one of the best choices for streaming with a VPN.
What We Disliked
Surfshark is not as fast as some of its competitors.
Although it recently added WireGuard—which goes a long way in ensuring top speeds—it still lags behind speed demons like ExpressVPN.
Surfshark User Reviews
Surfshark scored 4.3 stars on TrustPilot, based on an impressive 9,000+ reviews. Users love its streaming capabilities, and many say it’s the best VPN for Netflix, confirming our findings.
There are a few complaints, but nothing major in terms of streaming.
We Recommend Surfshark For
Surfshark is a great option for streaming from a big number of devices. It’s a comprehensive and affordable offer for the entire household.
Surfshark Sales Pitch—If you have a bunch of devices you want to use for streaming video, Surfshark is for you. It lets you connect unlimited devices for as little as $2.49/month. On top of that, it’s quite robust and works with your favorite streaming services.
IPVanish
What Is IPVanish?
IPVanish is an award-winning VPN service with a lot of experience in the industry and many satisfied users. The VPN claims to be excellent for a range of use cases, including accessing streaming services.
Let’s see if it can deliver what it promises.
Pricing
IPVanish only has two subscription plans.
Both let you connect unlimited devices, so the only difference is in subscription length:
- One month—$10.99/month
- One year—$3.75/month for the first year, and $7.49/month after that
You can also get a plan with additional backup storage for an extra $2/month or $10/year. This isn’t really necessary to unblock streaming video, though.
IPVanish Best Features
- IPVanish has 1,600 servers across 75 locations.
- It works on computers, phones, smart TVs, and VPN routers.
- It supports all the standard protocols and can do split tunneling.
- IPVanish is a very popular VPN service for Netflix and HBO Max. It also provides an awesome experience with various sports streaming websites.
What We Disliked
While you might not care about privacy when streaming, you should be aware that IPVanish blatantly breached its no-logging commitment and handed over customer data to the Department of Homeland Security back in 2016.
While the new management promises IPVanish truly stopped storing logs, it’s hard to regain the lost trust.
Also, the VPN is known for being a bit inconsistent with sites like Amazon Prime, so it’s worth checking how well IPVanish does with your favorite streaming service before committing.
IPVanish User Reviews
IPVanish got a score of 4.6/5 based on more than 7,000 user reviews on Trustpilot—it’s truly a fan favorite.
Users believe IPVanish has great qualities even if not all streaming libraries are always accessible.
We Recommend IPVanish For
IPVanish is excellent for Netflix, sports streaming, and watching content on smart TVs.
IPVanish Sales Pitch—IPVanish is one of the most popular services for top streaming providers like Netflix and HBO Max as well as a whole bunch of sports online TV channels. It‘s one of the more popular solutions for home theater systems.
CyberGhost
What Is CyberGhost?
CyberGhost is a Romanian streaming VPN with a reputation for providing complete privacy.
Let’s see how it performs:
Pricing
CyberGhost has four pricing tiers. As with the other VPN services, pricing depends on the subscription length:
- One month—$12.99/month
- One year—$3.99/month
- Two years—$3.49/month
- Three years—$2.25/month + three months for free
All plans support a total of seven devices. Note that these are seven devices with the VPN client installed, and not seven simultaneously connected devices.
This seems a bit lacking when compared to other VPNs for streaming movies that let you install a client on as many devices as you want and only limit the number of connections.
Then again, you can run CyberGhost on a router and connect as many devices as you want.
The plans are affordable overall and—excepting for the monthly subscription—you get a 45-day money-back guarantee, which is a bit longer than standard.
CyberGhost Best Features
- It has 7,300 servers across 91 countries.
- It works on VPN routers, game consoles, desktop, mobile, and other smart devices.
- CyberGhost supports more than 40 streaming platforms. It’s one of the few VPN services that work with Netflix and Amazon Prime.
- It uses WireGuard to get top speeds and stream in very high quality.
- It supports split tunneling.
- You can set up autopilot—CyberGhost can automatically connect to your favorite server when you start your OS and save you a bit of time.
What We Disliked
While issues with CyberGhost are few and far between, it’s worth pointing out that its new parent company has a bad reputation.
In fact, Cape Technologies is known for being an adware company that built various exploiting software.
While this doesn’t necessarily affect the VPN’s streaming capabilities, it’s something to keep in mind.
CyberGhost User Reviews
CyberGhost has a massive number of user comments, more than any other provider.
Trustpilot alone features a whopping 13,000 reviews and an average score of 4.8/5, which is an amazing result.
We Recommend CyberGhost For
CyberGhost is a fantastic cross-platform option for accessing 40+ services. If you want a VPN for streaming that literally saves you time, it’s the one for you.
CyberGhost Sales Pitch—CyberGhost works on practically all devices you can think of. It also unlocks a great many streaming libraries across 40 different platforms. And if you need to use the VPN frequently, there’s an autopilot option that can save you lots of time. To top it off, a $2.25/month price tag makes it one of the most attractive choices in the market.
ZenMate
What Is ZenMate?
With a user base of 47 million+ clients, ZenMate is one of the biggest names in the industry. On top of that, it offers fairly affordable deals and promises great performance and excellent streaming.
Let’s see how it measures up to the competition:
Pricing
ZenMate has three pricing plans based on subscription length.
- One month—$10.99/month
- One year—$4.49/month
- Three years—$1.64/month
All plans let you connect an unlimited number of devices.
The VPN also has a seven-day free trial. It is the best free VPN for streaming if you want to try it out without committing long term.
Keep in mind that you can go for a browser-only VPN plan as well and get a few bucks off your plan.
This might look like a great option for streaming, but running the VPN as a browser extension might slow down the internet connection a bit too much. It’s usually a better choice to get the full VPN app.
ZenMate Best Features
- It has servers in 79 countries.
- ZenMate works on most devices, including computers and mobile phones. It’s considered the best VPN for streaming on a TV.
- It promises to unlock at least 18 different streaming services, and our testing shows it can reliably access a ton of others.
- You can pre-configure which VPN server to use to access which services. So, you can, for instance, view Netflix from the US but go to BBC from the UK.
- The VPN video streaming is pretty fast—although it doesn’t support WireGuard, you should still be able to stream in as high as 4K quality (if your connection allows it).
What We Disliked
- ZenMate doesn’t have split tunneling, which is a very handy feature for those who have limited bandwidth or just want the VPN for the specific purpose of streaming.
- It lacks native support for gaming consoles and Raspberry Pis, which means you can only encrypt traffic from these through a VPN router.
- ZenMate keeps logs of what its users do—while this isn’t necessarily an issue for streaming, some users don’t like VPN providers meddling in their affairs. In such cases, ZenMate is not the best choice.
ZenMate User Reviews
ZenMate is fairly popular, though it doesn’t have as many reviews as other VPNs here.
Still, it got an impressive 4.7/5 stars based on 600 TrustPilot reviews and it’s considered the best VPN for streaming per Reddit threads.
We Recommend ZenMate For
ZenMate is great if you want a very affordable long-term deal that still lets you connect to all your favorite services.
It might not be the fastest solution in the game, but it lets you unlock content easily at a reasonable price.
ZenMate Sales Pitch—Want an extremely affordable VPN that still lets you access many streaming services? ZenMate can get you started with only $1.64/month and get you a ton of handy features for a range of devices. Plus, great pre-configuration options make the experience of using ZenMate even smoother.
Private Internet Access
What Is Private Internet Access?
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a significant VPN provider that focuses on privacy and affordable pricing—but does it have the chops to be the best VPN for streaming video?
Let’s find out!
Pricing
PIA has three pricing tiers based on subscription duration.
- One month—$9.95/month
- One year—$3.33/month
- Three years—$2.19/month
All plans allow up to 10 simultaneous connections, which is great if you want to connect all household devices.
Also, if you’re big on privacy, you can pay for your PIA plan with either a gift card or different cryptos (like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin).
It’s worth noting that not all the best VPNs for streaming allow this.
Private Internet Access Best Features
- PIA has data centers in 78 countries.
- It can access most US and UK services fairly reliably, including Netflix.
- It uses WireGuard and split tunneling.
- The VPN client also features very granular controls, and you can install the PIA CLI to manage it even more efficiently—it’s an awesome power user tool.
What We Disliked
- PIA is not as fast overall as the top dogs like ExpressVPN, but it has fairly solid performance.
- It has inconsistent streaming support—while the servers work decently in the US, it’s sort of hit-and-miss in other countries.
- The bad reputation of the parent company is hard to ignore—PIA is owned by Cape Technologies, the same company as CyberGhost.
Private Internet Access User Reviews
PIA has an average rating of 4.4/5 on TrustPilot, with most users praising the reliability and performance. It seems to be on par with the other best VPNs for streaming in 2021 even though our own tests suggest a slightly different reality.
Some users have complained that it’s a bit tough to get a refund if you cancel your plan.
We Recommend Private Internet Access For
PIA is a solid option for affordably accessing US and UK streaming libraries from all your devices. And if you have some tech skills, you’ll love all the configurability PIA offers.
Private Internet Access Sales Pitch—PIA is one of the most affordable options for targeting streaming services from US and UK servers. It’s also blazing-fast and offers a plethora of configuration options through the dashboard and its CLI. It’s one of the best tools for power users.
Do I Need a VPN for Streaming?
If you’re new to VPNs, you might not be sure how they work or why you might need one. Don’t worry—it’ll all come clear in a moment.
A VPN simply routes all the traffic going out of your PC, mobile device, or smart TV through a server somewhere. The traffic is encrypted until it reaches the VPN server, which stops people from spying on you.
Crucially, the rest of the internet will see the location of the VPN server instead of your physical location.
This part is important because many streaming services do geo-blocking—in other words, they block access to their content based on users’ location. For instance, Netflix might have a license to run a show in the UK but have it unavailable in the US.
Streaming with a VPN would be a pretty obvious fix here. You can connect to the UK server, and Netflix will let you access the content based on your perceived location.
Simple, right?
It’s a similar deal with various TV services that are available over the internet. A service might block a channel in your location, but you can use a VPN to spoof your location and watch the content normally.
Another issue is that some users have Internet Service Providers (ISP) that route traffic to big streaming services through slower nodes or throttle the bandwidth outright.
This happens when an ISP wants to cram more users onto its service, so it restricts access to save bandwidth. Streaming sites like Netflix get hit the hardest here, as they usually pull the most resources.
However, the best VPN for streaming can hide your online activity from the ISP. You’ll enjoy full speeds no matter what you’re doing.
Overall, VPNs are great if you aren’t happy with what’s available in your area or if you want to do a bit of traveling without missing a sports game.
How to Find the Best VPN for Streaming
Wondering what to look for when you want to stream through a VPN? We’ll give you a few pointers on how to choose the right solution.
The most important part is to see if the VPN you want to go with supports the right streaming service.
Streaming sites usually try to block all VPNs and will constantly create new technologies to detect and geoblock VPN activity. It’s worth checking if a VPN can get around all the defense systems before making a purchase.
Your best bet here is to either use a free trial or check our reviews.
We found the best VPN service for Netflix and similar big sites.
Additionally, you should check the VPNs for:
- Server locations—if you want to access content that’s only available in, let’s say, the UK, you’ll actually need to connect to a server in the UK.
- Speeds and protocols—the best and fastest VPNs for streaming will have a smaller effect on your bandwidth. Also, if all you’re doing is streaming, you can prioritize faster tunneling protocols like WireGuard to reduce the performance impact even further.
- Obfuscation tools—they mask the VPN traffic to make it look like regular HTTP requests, making it undetectable to VPN blocks.
- Customer support—you’ll need the help of the support team if you have trouble with the VPN or connecting to a streaming site.
Other VPN streaming features, like split-tunneling, in-house protocols, and unlimited device support can also be worth looking at, depending on your preferences.
They are not essential for streaming but can be helpful depending on what you want to do.
Lastly, make sure you’re fine with the long-term price. There’s no shame in finding a few services that fit your needs and then seeing which one offers the best deal.
If you get all of that right, you are sure to enjoy streaming with your VPN.
Wrap Up
That covers the best VPN video streaming solutions. Now you now know what good VPNs look like and how to find one that fits your needs.
Feel free to take any solution above for a spin and see what it can do for your streaming experience.
FAQ
Does a VPN make streaming better?
A VPN doesn’t typically improve bandwidth speeds, but it can help if your ISP is throttling the connection to a particular streaming service. ISPs usually do this to save resources—as most bandwidth tends to go towards watching movies and video clips.
If you suspect your ISP is slowing down your internet on purpose, a VPN for streaming can certainly help.
Is VPN safe for streaming?
Sure. Streaming services might not like VPNs and will usually do something to block them but, from a legal standpoint, using a VPN is (usually) completely fine.
Just make sure to check the laws in your area, as a few countries do restrict the use of VPNs.
How do I get a VPN to stream?
You can go with any commercial VPN, as long as it supports the streaming service you want to access. You would typically install a client on your computer or mobile phone and open it to connect to a server. Once you’ve done that, you can open the streaming service of your choice in a browser and access all the content that was previously blocked.
If you’re having trouble, top providers usually also have a guide on how to set up the VPN for streaming.
What happens if you stream without a VPN?
A VPN is mostly used to trick streaming sites into letting you access content that’s geoblocked and getting around traffic throttling by your ISP.
If you don’t have issues with those things, you can stream without a VPN.
Does any VPN work with Netflix?
Netflix is known for implementing all sorts of innovative technologies to block VPNs. That said, getting the best VPN for streaming can usually help. If you’re interested, check out a few of our picks, like ExpressVPN or IPVanish above.
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