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ExpressVPN has cutting-edge privacy and security features and is a recipient of a CNET Editor’s Choice award. It’s extremely simple to use, fast and excellent for streaming. Right now, you can get 61% off when you sign up for a two-year subscription, plus four free months on any of ExpressVPN’s three subscription tiers.

Streaming support

When you’re selecting a VPN to stream Netflix, you’ll want to consider how many international content libraries it unlocks. Generally, we found that most servers in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Romania and South Africa worked flawlessly. Servers in other countries, such as Egypt, occasionally didn’t show geo-specific movies and shows -- while I was usually able to access Netflix, on some VPNs, it simply continued showing the US version. Aside from Netflix, think about the other streaming services you want to unblock with a VPN, such as Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, Hulu, Sling, YouTube TV and other providers.

Server network

The more individual country servers a VPN provider offers, the greater potential it provides to unblock Netflix international content libraries. At the high end, VPN companies, including ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Proton VPN and Surfshark, sport 100 or more nations. We recommend at least 60-plus countries, which gives you plenty of options. Notably, you may not be able to access global Netflix content on all servers. But if a VPN offers multiple servers in a particular country -- such as several choices in the UK -- you can try changing servers within that region to see if one successfully unblocks Netflix. 

The best way to see if a provider unblocks the content you want to watch is to take advantage of a 30-day money-back guarantee. You’ll know for sure if a provider can actually give you access to Netflix in the region you want when you test it for yourself. If not, you can issue a request for a refund.

Aside from the total number of servers available and a diverse set of countries, think about specialty servers for other purposes. Some VPN providers, including ExpressVPN, let you torrent on any server, while others, like Proton VPN and NordVPN, have P2P-optimized servers for file-sharing.

Device compatibility

Think about the devices you want to stream Netflix on using a VPN. Most VPNs offer Windows, MacOS and Linux applications for desktops or laptops. Likewise, you’ll find Android and iOS/iPadOS apps for mobile devices, including phones and tablets. Many VPNs feature Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TVapps that run on streaming boxes, like the NVIDIA Shield TV, Amazon Fire TV 4K Max, Apple TV or smart TVs.

Speed

All VPNs slow down your internet connection somewhat, with the fastest VPNs dropping your speed by an average of 25% or less. A reliable connection is a must, especially for streaming in 1080p high-definition or 4K ultra-high-definition. Look for a VPN with a minimal internet speed loss for buffer- and lag-free streaming. Netflix recommends a minimum 15Mbps or higher internet connection for a single 4K UHD video stream, but faster is better. Generally, if your internet service provider delivers 50Mbps or greater download speeds, you should be fine streaming in 4K or 1080p while using a fast VPN. But if you're using a slower, higher-latency ISP, like a satellite internet provider, you'll want the fastest VPN available so as to retain as much of your base internet speed as possible.

Privacy

Aside from entertainment such as streaming video and gaming, many people use VPNs for additional privacy. When connected to a VPN, apps, websites and your internet service provider view your traffic as coming from a different location -- such as another state or even country. At a minimum, I recommend a VPN service with AES 256-bit encryption (with the OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2 VPN protocols) or ChaCha20 with WireGuard.

If you need obfuscation, which tries to hide the fact that you're using a VPN, look for a provider that offers proprietary obfuscation-focused VPN protocols, like NordVPN's NordWhisper or Proton VPN's Stealth. I also suggest getting a VPN that has a kill switch (which cuts off your internet connection in case your VPN unexpectedly disconnects) and split tunneling (which lets you use a VPN with some apps and websites but not others).

Additionally, make sure your VPN provider maintains a strict no-logs policy and undergoes annual third-party audits to verify its zero-log claims. While audits don't paint a full privacy picture, they're helpful trust signals that can verify that your VPN provider isn't logging VPN session data.

A standard VPN connection should suffice if you want to stream movies and TV shows on Netflix, BBC iPlayer, CBC Gem and other apps. But more privacy-conscious users, such as investigative journalists or political activists, may want advanced privacy features such as a double VPN or multihop, which uses two VPN connections rather than one or Tor over VPN, which utilizes The Onion Router and a VPN simultaneously. Onion over VPN servers and double VPN servers both make it even harder to trace your web traffic back to your device than with a standard VPN connection. Likewise, privacy buffs may want RAM-only servers, which theoretically don't log any VPN session data, since the server stack is completely cleared upon each reboot or restart.  

Price

You can sign up for a monthly, bi-annual, yearly or multi-year VPN subscription. VPN plans run you anywhere from $40 to $100 per year. Typically, the more you commit to the more you save, so an annual plan breaks down to a lower price per month than a monthly plan (but you’re paying upfront). We recommend sticking to an annual plan for the maximum savings with the lowest risk. A lot can change in a year: Your fast, private VPN might suffer a data breach or get acquired by a shady company during a 12-month span. Notably, many VPN providers hit you with price hikes, so you might pay $60 for your first year of service, then get slapped with an auto-renewal of $100. Pay attention to the checkout page when purchasing a VPN, and take advantage of any early renewal discounts you get to avoid a costly subscription renewal. I never pay full price for my VPN subscription, and you shouldn't either.

Netflix libraries vary by your location, so available movies and TV shows vary by country. For instance, if you’re a US Netflix subscriber traveling throughout the UK and pull up Netflix, you’ll find certain content unavailable in other regions. For instance, you can stream Star Trek: The Next Generation on UK Netflix but not US Netflix. Therefore, a VPN lets you watch many movies and TV shows previously unavailable in your region. Moreover, foreign film fans can access popular movies and shows from other areas. Using a VPN to stream Netflix at home lets you maximize your subscription by accessing a vast library otherwise unavailable to watch in your area.

Conversely, you can set a VPN to your home country while abroad. For instance, while traveling in the UK, you could access Netflix to continue binge-watching Gilmore Girls even though it’s not available in the United Kingdom by tunneling through a US server. 

With a VPN, you may even be able to reduce the number of streaming services you pay for. There’s no need to worry about breaking the Netflix terms of service, because thankfully, Netflix allows the use of VPNs. But you still can't stream live content on Netflix with a VPN enabled.

You'll want a fast VPN capable of unblocking many regional Netflix libraries with a solid selection of worldwide high-speed servers so you can enjoy buffer-free 4K video playback. We tested over a dozen VPNs on a slew of devices, including computers, smartphones, tablets and streaming boxes such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV dongles.

How to use a VPN to unblock Netflix libraries

Streaming Netflix with a VPN only requires a VPN subscription, an active Netflix plan (excluding the ad-supported tier), a compatible device and an active internet connection. Here’s how to watch Netflix with a VPN:

1. Download your VPN provider's app on your device. If there’s no available app, you can run a VPN on your router.
2. Once you’ve installed a VPN on your device or router, fire up your virtual private network. 
3. Choose a server from the country you want to unblock.
4. Open the Netflix app or head to Netflix in a browser.
5. Start streaming videos from the international Netflix library you unblocked.

You should now be able to view movies and shows from your region of choice. But if that doesn’t work, you can try switching Netflix profiles. Occasionally, especially on streaming boxes or mobile devices like phones and tablets, I had to change profiles to get the correct region to load, because it didn't unblock Netflix properly at first. 

Alternatively, on a phone, tablet or streaming device, you can try force-closing the Netflix app, then reopening it when you’re still seeing a country in Netflix that doesn’t match the VPN server you selected. I even had to force quit the Netflix app, clear my cache and data, enable my VPN, then restart the Netflix app on some Android phones and tablets to load the correct region. 

If you want to stream Netflix using a VPN on your TV or projector, an Apple TV, Android TV or Amazon Fire TV streaming device lets you install a VPN app. All of our top-rated VPNs -- including ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark and Proton VPN -- support Android TV, Fire TV and Apple TV. For folks using a smart TV that runs Google's Android TV or Amazon's Fire TV, you can install a VPN directly on your television. But for operating systems that don't natively support VPN apps, like Samsung's Tizen OS, LG's webOS or Roku, you'll need to either run a VPN on your router or use a computer as a VPN hotspot.

I tested Netflix VPNs by streaming movies and TV shows on dozens of global servers to determine each virtual private network's international Netflix libraries. While researching, I used servers in a bevy of countries, including Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, Romania, South Africa, the US and UK. I tried VPNs on a host of platforms, including Windows, MacOS and Linux PCs, Android and iOS/iPad mobile devices, plus Android TV and Apple TV streaming boxes. In addition to geo-restricted Netflix content unblocking, I tested each VPN’s connectivity -- officially with hundreds of internet speed tests per provider and anecdotally by streaming videos in 4K to assess lag or lack thereof. 

PIA

Private Internet Access, or PIA, is a wallet-friendly VPN that you can use to unblock Netflix. I was impressed with its superb Netflix unblocking capabilities -- PIA provided access to all the worldwide servers I tried. PIA is one of the cheapest VPNs on the market, at $12 per month, $40 for the first year (renewing at $50 per year) or $79 every three years. Despite its modest price, PIA doesn’t cut corners. It boasts a massive roster of 35,000 servers across more than 90 countries. I streamed The Fifth Element on Netflix via a German server (it's unavailable on Netflix US). An unlimited simultaneous device policy means that Netflix’s concurrent streaming is the only thing keeping you from streaming on all your devices at once. 

However, PIA’s middling connectivity -- I experienced an average 49% internet speed loss in our benchmarking -- might impact streaming quality, particularly on a slower internet connection (think less than 50Mbps or unreliable connections such as satellite internet). Video quality was occasionally blocky when first starting out and sometimes buffered. Also, when using PIA in general, I ran into considerably more CAPTCHAs than I'd like to see on a VPN.

Nevertheless, PIA brings a lot to the table. Its diverse device support includes Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS/iPadOS, Android, Android TV, Fire TV and Apple TV. I liked the Linux graphical user interface app, which is easier for beginners than a command line-only app. The Android TV, Fire TV and Apple TV apps simplify streaming Netflix with a VPN in the living room on your television. Plus, its relative affordability compared with competitors helps PIA overcome its internet speed loss. If you’re on a budget, PIA is a value-packed VPN with strong privacy chops and robust device compatibility.

Read our PIA review.

IPVanish

IPVanish is a decent Netflix VPN for casual users. (Again, IPVanish is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis). While I was able to unblock Netflix in most regions, including the US, UK, Canada, Japan and Germany, streaming on an Australian server didn’t work at all. You do get 3,200-plus servers in 113 countries for decent Netflix international library options. But with its high 44% average internet download speed loss that we clocked in our 2024 testing, IPVanish isn't ideal for streaming videos in 4K or even 1080p.

IPVanish initially is a decent value, costing $13 per month, $40 for the first year or $53 total for your first two years. However, IPVanish's auto-renewal price hikes mean the one- and two-year plans renew at $90 a year -- that's cheaper than NordVPN's and in the same ballpark as ExpressVPN. Ultimately, IPVanish's future price hikes and high internet download speed loss mean you’re better off with other VPNs for watching Netflix.

Read our IPVanish review.

One of the most important factors in a VPN for streaming region-restricted content -- and for travel -- is a sizable network of servers. ExpressVPN now offers servers in all 50 US states, so if you need to stream US Netflix while traveling internationally or watch regional sports, like NFL and WNBA games, it's a terrific choice. NordVPN boasts a massive roster of 9,000-plus servers in 130 countries, while Proton VPN is similarly well-equipped at 18,900-plus servers in 129 countries. The greater the choice of servers, the better the chance you'll have of finding a server in a country to unblock regional Netflix libraries.

Most VPN providers now offer bundles, so you can subscribe to a VPN, password manager, antivirus software and other privacy or cybersecurity services in one package. However, just because you can bundle VPNs and other cybersecurity services doesn't necessarily mean you should. While it may be more convenient having one bill, apps might be easier to access and you could save versus going á la carte, there could be more risk by having everything under one roof, your VPN's bundled services might not provide all that you need and you may not necessarily get the best deal.

NordVPN published the results of its latest annual audit in February 2026, which found no evidence of logging by the provider. Meanwhile, ExpressVPN released a hybrid browser extension for more flexible online privacy, as well as an app for Meta Quest VR headsets.