VPNs have grown in popularity for a variety of reasons, including basic internet security, accessing prohibited apps, and bypassing online restrictions. Using a VPN for Netflix, on the other hand, is right up there.
Over 40% of VPN subscribers use their service for streaming, according to a recent poll. That’s because they make your computer, mobile device, or streaming device appear to be in a different region of the globe than you are. And, in the case of Netflix, it means being able to access exclusive international material that would otherwise be unavailable where you are.
We should warn you right away that choosing the best Netflix VPN is no easy task. The streaming powerhouse goes to considerable efforts. To make its service incompatible with VPNs, going so far as to ban all residential IP addresses last year. As a result, some customers have been unable to access their Netflix accounts. Regardless of whether they used a VPN or not. However, we test some big providers regularly to see if they’re now functioning with Netflix and, if so, for which regional catalogs.
You may use a Netflix VPN to make your laptop, phone, tablet, gaming console, or TV streaming device (think Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Fire) appear to be in a different country than the one you’re actually in. As a result, if you’re in the US, you’ll be able to watch shows that are only available in the UK, Canada, or elsewhere – and vice versa.
It’s also really simple to accomplish. After you’ve switched on your VPN and installed it on your streaming device, all you have to do now is pick a server in the country where you wish to ‘appear.’ Netflix will then believe it is in that nation and provide series and movies that are available in that country.
Keep in mind, though, that Netflix does not want you to view content that isn’t supposed to be available in your area. Netflix’s terms and conditions of use make it clear that this is not permitted. Naturally, you choose this route of content unblocking at your own risk, but we’ve never heard of anyone’s Netflix account being suspended because they used a VPN to access it.
At the moment, ExpressVPN reigns supreme as the best Netflix VPN. During our testing, it allowed Netflix in several locations on demand, and ExpressVPN makes it simple to do so (with superb 24/7 live chat help accessible in the unlikely case things go wrong).
It’s fast, safe, and works on just about every device you can think of. So you can watch it on your laptop, phone, smart TV, PlayStation, Xbox, or any other TV streaming device. One sub also allows you simultaneous connections on five devices. So you may give it to friends and family to use for their Netflix streaming requirements throughout the world.
Many providers have given up on unblocking Netflix, resulting in the infamous proxy error, which advises you to turn off your VPN while viewing Netflix. However, all five VPNs listed in this guide work with Netflix.
Of course, connection speeds are important – video streaming is a demanding pastime. That needs quick response times to avoid stuttering footage, especially when watching HD or 4K material. With so many servers to choose from, you’ll have a better chance of finding that crucial fast connection. It also pays to choose a business with outstanding customer assistance in case you have any problems.
Whatever you’re using a Netflix VPN for, privacy and security are critical. Strong encryption and a “no logs” policy are absolute must-haves. Support for mobile devices, as well as native iOS/Android clients, will be extremely useful for watching movies on the go.
Another excellent suggestion is to choose with a company that has a money-back guarantee; this will come in handy if circumstances suddenly change and the VPN you chose ends up receiving the cold shoulder. Some countries, such as China, entirely prohibit Netflix; however, you may circumvent this restriction by using one of our top Netflix VPN recommendations listed above.
Netflix does not want you to use your VPN when streaming on the platform. It expresses this in its terms and conditions. It’s logical, given the company’s desire to safeguard its licensing agreements.
In most cases, its engineers will do this by entirely banning Netflix access at a subset of IP addresses that it knows are connected with VPN servers.
However, in August 2021, it upped the ante even more. Netflix has blacklisted a wide range of home IP addresses in an attempt to crack down on violations of its terms and conditions. The result was a significant reduction in VPN attempts to circumvent geo-blocks.
Copyright laws are the reason why Netflix collections vary from region to country. Because movie companies have various contracts in different countries, one series may be accessible in one but not in another.
Then there’s the issue of local broadcasting rights. That some countries may own the rights to certain episodes and thus prohibit them from being viewed on Netflix. In Hong Kong, for example, House of Cards is not available online because a local TV network has the rights to the Netflix show.
It’s no surprise that the United States has the most extensive Netflix collection. Given that the United States produces the bulk of original material, it’s only natural that more shows would be available there. The Netflix collection in the United States contains approximately 1,000 more shows than its counterpart in the United Kingdom. Again, excellent if you live in the United States, but not so much in the United Kingdom.
When you use your VPN with Netflix, you may view series and movies. These are only available in particular locations, generally because they are licensed to another streaming service in that nation.
If you want to watch Rick and Morty, this is a great example. You’ll need a service in the United States to watch Adult Swim. However, in Australia, every episode is available on Netflix. It’s the same thing with Friends, The Office, and Fargo, which aren’t available on US Netflix but can be watched with a VPN.
It’s beyond the scope of this site to list and update every single regionally exclusive show and film. Fortunately, FlixWatch does a decent job at it.
Netflix has spent a lot of money on identifying and banning VPNs, and customers can attest to the fact that servers that function one day may not work the next. If you used a VPN to access Netflix from outside the US, you’ve probably seen the iconic “Streaming Error” warning below.
Netflix has been discovering and blacklisting suspicious VPN IP addresses systematically. While the struggle between VPNs and Netflix limitations has been ongoing for the past few years, VPNs are now building up specialized server locations designed to be used with Netflix.
To begin with, ExpressVPN has been one of the most effective defenders against Netflix’s increasingly assertive approach. It was successfully unlocking material in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and many other countries at the time of writing. That means Express maintains its top rank on this list, especially given its excellent 24/7 customer service, which can assist you in locating today’s best servers if you’re having trouble.
Whether you watch Netflix on your laptop, smart TV, mobile device, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Roku, another streaming device, or a combination of the above, ExpressVPN will be accessible to you for safe viewing and the opportunity to seem in a different country. Indeed, the company’s MediaStreamer DNS unblocks Netflix on devices that don’t allow VPNs right away (like Apple TV, some smart TVs, and game consoles).
For streamers, NordVPN is an excellent choice. The provider’s unique NordLynx protocol provides rapid performance. It minimally affected our speeds in testing, so you shouldn’t notice a difference even while streaming HD and 4K material.
Netflix, on the other hand, has been causing Nord issues in recent months. The VPN behemoth was one of the first to respond to the streamer’s most recent IP ban. But it soon found itself unable to access anything other than US Netflix.
However, as expected, NordVPN’s developers have been hard at work in the background to find ways to circumvent the geo-restrictions. And our most recent tests were quite favorable. Allowing us to unlock exclusives from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and the notoriously difficult Japan. For the time being, we’ll leave it at a fourth position to ensure that we observe some consistency in performance over time.
Unlike other providers, IPVanish makes no grand promises or boasts about the number of streaming services it can access. If you go to its website, you won’t find any mention of Netflix.
That’s why discovering that IPVanish can obtain exclusive access to US Netflix episodes and movies was such a wonderful surprise. We couldn’t get IPVanish to work in any other countries. But if you’re simply a homesick patriot overseas who wants to watch all the shows you can on Netflix. That should be enough.
Apart from streaming, IPVanish has been on the VPN scene for a long time, and its clients and applications have always performed well. They’re easy enough to use while still providing some fantastic insights into your connections.
Firstly, Surfshark is one of the best overall VPNs for streaming, and it’s doing a good job of getting around. Netflix’s limitations, with unblocking results increasing dramatically in our most recent tests.
Surfshark is a decent, low-cost choice. If all you truly want to do is access US Netflix from outside the 50 states. It performs an excellent job at unlocking the library’s unique episodes and movies. In addition, in our most recent test, we were able to access unique material in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and even Japan – a remarkable diversity of outcomes.
This is a company that is rapidly rising in the rankings on our main top VPN table. With ProtonVPN’s continuous advancements. It seemed inevitable that it would ultimately reach the top five on the overall list. That’s precisely what occurred here on our dedicated Netflix VPN countdown as well.
While services like Hotspot Shield, VyprVPN, Private Internet Get, and IPVanish (all of which are fantastic providers in general) struggle in some locations when attempting to access Netflix exclusives, ProtonVPN joins the rare few that have a stellar track record everywhere. In our most recent testing, we were able to access catalogs in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Every IP address is assigned a country code, which Netflix utilizes to redirect or prohibit network traffic. Because most VPN companies offer many servers in different cities and countries throughout the world, traveling from one location to the next is practically the only method to watch Netflix from the United States while overseas. It’s clumsy at times, but it gets the job done.
Be careful that not all servers will function; it’s recommended to check with the provider’s customer service to determine which servers are available on a specific day. ExpressVPN, for example, has been one of the most successful providers in avoiding the Netflix VPN block.
The firm has been working overtime (along with a few other VPN companies) to obtain new IP numbers, which they can then cycle out when an older address stops functioning. When Netflix discovers and censors a certain IP, the VPN automatically shifts to another IP and encourages clients to view from that location.
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