Discover the best streaming VPNs, what they do and how to choose yours – a VPN can open up a world of new live TV, sport and on demand streaming services opportunities.
Installing a VPN has become a key tool for people wanting to stream their favorite content. Whether it’s because you don’t want to miss out on a top show while abroad, finding coverage of sports events not broadcast where you live or just want that extra layer of security, there are plenty of reasons to seek out the best streaming VPN. Getting a VPN for streaming also allows you to bypass restrictions and access geo-blocked material – like watching shows not available on US Netflix, or streaming the BBC iPlayer when not in the UK. But not every VPN is made equal, so there’s some serious picking and choosing to be done – luckily for you we’ve rounded up the best streaming VPNs after extensive testing. Much will depend on your TV streaming service of choice. Netflix is the most popular in the world, but also one of the toughest to unlock – it doesn’t make it easy to watch films and shows available in the US once you’ve crossed the border. Prefer BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video? We’ll tell you which streaming VPN unblocks which. The highest placed streaming VPNs on the list also combine lightning fast connection speeds with watertight security. A fast and reliable connection is obviously good for consistent streaming with none of the dreaded buffering. A high server count is also a major boon in terms of finding a good connection. You’ll also want wide support for various devices, as you may well be viewing content across multiple bits of hardware – from phones and computers, to individual streaming devices like Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. And we also favor streaming VPN providers that have fast, effective 24/7 live chat support – just in case you struggle to get things working. Today’s top 3 best streaming VPNs: ExpressVPN makes your choice very easy when it comes to hunting for the best streaming VPN. It unblocks almost all of the major TV streaming services around the world and always seems to be one step ahead of them trying to prevent you watching from abroad. Netflix, no problem. Hulu, easy. Amazon Prime Video, sure thing. So whether it’s movies, TV shows or sport coverage that you’re trying to access from overseas, ExpressVPN’s speedy servers are well up to the task. And on those very odd occasions when we struggled, a quick word with one of Express’s 24/7 live chat support staff got us connected to a server that worked in no time. Indeed, ExpressVPN boasts a 3,000 server count spread across 94 countries. In our performance tests, the service achieved consistently solid speeds without much variation throughout the network. There’s a wide range of native clients including support for Windows, Mac, and Linux, but the service truly shines in the mobile department. There are intuitive apps for iOS, Android, and even BlackBerry, with additional instructions for a number of other devices. Another bonus is that these clients automatically connect to the optimal server to deliver the fastest speeds possible. That’s really handy if you’re away for business or on holiday and trying to catch stuff on a mobile or tablet.
