Best VPN for Streaming in 2023

There are several advantages to virtual private networks that can improve your online activities. Many people use VPNs to stream geoblocked content from all over the world in addition to using them for general privacy purposes. Your IP address changes to the IP address of the VPN server you are connected to and your internet traffic is encrypted when you connect to one. This implies that you can access content that would otherwise be inaccessible in your location because your visible location is changed to the server you are using, giving the impression that you are somewhere else.

At The Tech Fun, we’ve spent years thoroughly evaluating almost a dozen of the top VPNs on the market to identify which ones work best for different platforms or scenarios, such as streaming. When it comes to streaming, not all VPNs are made equal, which is why we tested a number of them to compile this list of the top streaming VPNs. With the VPNs on this list, you can unblock content on a variety of other streaming services, including Max, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, and Hulu, as well as access your home Netflix library while on the go. Even sports broadcast blackouts can be avoided with a VPN, allowing you to watch your preferred teams without any limitations. Just make sure to check your streaming service’s Terms of Service to see if it says anything about prohibiting VPN use because you don’t want to be mistakenly in violation of the service’s Terms.

What is the best VPN for streaming right now?

The greatest streaming VPN available is ExpressVPN. Netflix, Disney Plus, and Amazon Prime Video are successfully unblocked in the US and the UK. Despite having excellent customization options, the ExpressVPN app is still easy to use even for first-time VPN users. With very little speed loss, excellent dependability, and wide device compatibility, NordVPN is a good option. The best value for money can be found with Surfshark, which also supports streaming services and has respectable speeds. We suggest IPVanish for VPN beginners because, in spite of its inconsistent speeds, it maintains an intuitive and simple-to-use interface.

Best VPN for streaming in 2023

NordVPN

Best VPN for speed and reliability

Being among the fastest VPNs available, NordVPN is a fantastic option for streaming. While all virtual private networks slow down your internet connection compared to not using one, Nord had some of the lowest speed drops during our tests. Even when streaming 4K UHD content, we experienced no stuttering or buffering while watching videos. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and UK Disney Plus were all available to us thanks to Nord. We relaxed while watching Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on Netflix UK (also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the US) thanks to Nord enabled on Chromecast with Google TV.

With no features compromised, the NordVPN client is easy to use. Along with access to every server that is available, there is a useful list of the fastest servers for various nations, including Canada, the UK, the US, France, and Germany. For even stronger security, you can use obfuscated servers, onion over VPN, and double VPN. Nord even promotes Meshnet access as a way to connect externally to a local area network. With NordVPN, you can use split tunneling, auto-connect, and choose your favorite VPN protocol.

Some of NordVPN’s streaming client apps, like Android TV and Fire TV, noticeably lack a kill switch. That usually makes a deal breaker for us, but if you primarily want to stream movies or TV shows and don’t care about privacy, it shouldn’t be a problem. Nord does not have an Apple TV client, like many VPN services do. Nonetheless, you can access foreign Disney Plus, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video libraries on TVOS thanks to its whole-home VPN router functionality. The retail price of the monthly plan is $15; the annual subscription is $67 for the first year (subsequently $100 annually), or $102 for the full two years of service (subsequently $100 annually).

Surfshark

Best value streaming VPN

Surfshark is the best option if you’re on a tight budget or if you use Netflix and want to make the most of your membership. When it comes to streaming content on different streaming services like Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video, we found Surfshark to be more than capable. But when we tried to stream anything from Hulu, we encountered a couple of problems. The iOS app did not function, but it did on the Fire TV Stick app. Additionally, even though we could stream Hulu content using Surfshark’s MacOS app, the quality of the streaming experience was lacking because the titles wouldn’t load and we couldn’t access the whole library.

Having said that, Surfshark truly shone when we put its Netflix streaming capabilities to the test. Although Surfshark claims to be able to unblock Netflix libraries from 22 different nations, during our testing, it was able to unblock libraries from even more nations, including Denmark, Bulgaria, Belgium, and Hungary. While some VPNs are able to unblock multiple Netflix libraries, few VPNs are as good at it as Surfshark. Considering how actively Netflix has been policing VPN use for years, that is quite impressive. However, Netflix’s Terms of Use don’t specifically address VPN unblocking; instead, they state that you should “access Netflix content primarily within the country in which you have established your account and only in geographic locations where we offer your subscription plan and have licensed such content.”

In general, Surfshark’s speeds are sufficient for streaming, even in 4K, although they occasionally proved to be frustratingly inconsistent during our testing. This means that, in rare cases, you might need to experiment with your connection settings in order to get the best streaming experience, particularly for higher quality streams or those coming from far away. Surfshark is not only a great VPN for streaming, but it also includes a ton of helpful privacy features in a package that’s affordable. By using Surfshark’s Dynamic Multihop feature to route your connection through two servers of your choosing or by using the VPN’s IP Randomizer or IP Rotator features to change your IP address, you can increase your privacy. Beyond what most others permit, Surfshark also provides an infinite number of simultaneous connections. The $13 monthly plan offered by Surfshark remains unchanged. Its annual plan begins at $48 for the first year and increases to $60 for each subsequent year of service. In the event that you choose the two-year plan, you will pay $53 for the first two years combined and an additional $60 per year for each additional year. Because the VPN market is known to change rapidly, we do not advise sticking with a single VPN provider for longer than a year at a time.

IPVanish

Best streaming VPN for beginners

If you’re new to VPNs and want a solution that’s easy to use and can help you watch content on multiple streaming platforms, IPVanish is a good option for streaming. We were able to access Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, and Netflix libraries from a few different regions during our testing. With IPVanish, we were able to access all of the streaming services on all of the devices we tested them on, even though some VPNs might have trouble working across platforms. The only thing IPVanish occasionally has trouble with is speed. Your streaming experience may be negatively impacted by IPVanish’s inconsistent speeds, depending on the servers you’re using and whether you connect using the VPN’s Fast Connect option. The simplest method of connecting to an IPVanish server is by using Quick Connect, although this feature didn’t always link us to the best server that was available. By selecting a server that indicated a lower server load manually, we were able to achieve significantly faster speeds. In the event that your stream is of poor quality, you might need to take the same action.

If you want to stream media from a specific area, make sure IPVanish has servers in that area before buying a subscription. With IPVanish, you’ll have access to servers in 52 countries, which is significantly less than other options like ExpressVPN (105 countries) and Surfshark (100 countries). Maybe because IPVanish has all the essential features you need in a VPN, even though it doesn’t have a ton of bells and whistles, is why it’s such a great choice for VPN beginners. Even if you’ve never used a VPN before, you can get connected and start streaming right away thanks to the apps’ easy-to-use interface. A monthly subscription to IPVanish costs $13 per month, which is on par with most of the other top VPNs, but its annual plan starts off cheaper than both NordVPN and ExpressVPN at $42 for the first year (then jumps to $90 annually for any additional year). IPVanish offers a two-year plan that costs $72 for the first two years combined, then $90 per year afterward.

Other VPNs we tested

Proton VPN

Proton VPN is the best option if you want a free VPN that can still stream US Netflix content. Right now, Proton VPN is the only free VPN that The Tech Fun suggests using because it is safe, reliable, and has no usage or speed restrictions. Although Proton VPN’s free US servers aren’t technically designed for streaming, we were still able to stream Netflix content with ease and at fast enough speeds. Content from multiple Netflix regional libraries, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus were all accessible with Proton VPN’s premium service, which has servers in 69 countries (compared to three with the free plan). The only issue we had was that, while it functioned flawlessly on other platforms, we couldn’t stream Disney Plus on MacOS using Proton’s US servers.

Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access, or PIA, is an open-source VPN service with a security-focused approach that is affordable. We were unable to get PIA to function for UK Disney Plus streaming, despite the fact that it functioned satisfactorily for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video’s US and UK libraries. Even though it’s less expensive than many of its competitors, it’s difficult to suggest for streaming. Furthermore, you will need to use PIA’s Smart DNS option as there isn’t a Firestick app available for sideloading from the Amazon Appstore. Installing Private Internet Access’s Smart DNS isn’t as hard as it is with apps from ExpressVPN, Surfshark, or NordVPN, but it isn’t as user-friendly. In the end, PIA is an excellent VPN with robust privacy features, but its streaming issues limit its applicability to light entertainment needs.

How we test VPNs for streaming

Since selecting a VPN for streaming can be difficult, we carefully compared several providers across a range of platforms and streaming services. We assessed the streaming capabilities of each VPN provider on desktop, mobile, and specialized streaming devices such as Amazon Fire TV Stick. To find out if the VPN could unlock geo-restricted content from various regions worldwide on streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video, we connected to hundreds of server locations with each VPN. When a VPN was able to stream content successfully, we made note of any instances in which it was prevented from accessing specific geo-restricted content and verified that there was no buffering during the streaming process. Although all of the VPNs on this list are suitable for streaming, your needs and financial situation may determine which one is best for you. Additionally, every VPN provider on this list has a money-back guarantee, so you can test them out before committing to one and make sure it meets your needs.

Factors to consider in a VPN for streaming

Based on our years of experience using and testing VPNs, we’ve established the following list of factors you should consider when choosing a VPN for streaming.

Streaming capabilities

The most important thing to look for in a VPN for streaming is, of course, its ability to access streaming content. Your VPN isn’t appropriate for this use if it can’t access streaming media. It’s crucial to make sure that the VPN you select is compatible with the streaming service you wish to access, in addition to considering accessibility to streaming content in general. Free trials and money-back guarantees are quite helpful in this situation since not all VPNs are compatible with every streaming service.

Speed

Your entire streaming experience is greatly influenced by the speed and functionality of your VPN. Faster VPN service is required, particularly if you’re streaming in 4K or accessing geo-blocked content from a location that’s sufficiently remote from your actual location. You might notice a lot of buffering or poorer-quality video playback if your VPN is significantly slowing down your connection.

Privacy

Privacy is a crucial factor for every VPN service, regardless of the purpose for which you use it. A kill switch, no-logs policy, and DNS leak protection are examples of privacy features that your VPN should have (bonus points for one that’s been audited or tested in the wild). Your internet traffic, including the websites you visit and the content you stream, will never be exposed unencrypted if your VPN offers the required privacy protections.

Network

A robust VPN network with servers spread out across the world is ideal for streaming. You should definitely pick a VPN with servers spread across the most nations if you want to maximize your streaming and gain access to the widest range of streaming media. However, if you want to access content from a particular region, make sure the VPN you wish to use has servers in the region or regions you require. Before you buy a subscription, you can see which countries the VPN has servers in by visiting its server page on the internet.

Device compatibility

Additionally, you should confirm that the VPN you select is compatible with the device—be it a laptop, mobile device, smart TV, or streaming device—on which you wish to stream content. Although the majority of VPNs are compatible with a large number of devices, it’s a good idea to make sure the service you’re thinking about will work with the device you want to use.