The Best VPNs for Netflix in 2022

More About Our Picks

Best for Privacy Wonks

Bottom Line:

ProtonVPN has an excellent combination of powerful features and affordability, in addition to the best free subscription we’ve yet reviewed. While it has servers that recommended for a better video streaming experience, they are not specifically for streaming.

Pros

• Best free subscription
• Numerous advanced privacy tools
• Strong customer privacy stance
• Slick, accessible client
• Excellent Speedtest scores

Cons

• Awkward Chrome OS implementation
• Complicated pricing structure

Best for Frequent Travelers

Bottom Line:

CyberGhost offers the largest VPN server network we’ve seen, accessed by a snazzy client, and powered by the latest VPN technology. All that helps offset the service’s hefty price tag, but it doesn’t include all the privacy features found among competitors.

Pros

• Large, well-distributed server fleet
• Allows up to seven simultaneous connections
• Several add-ons, including antivirus
• Outstanding speed test scores

Cons

• Expensive
• No third-party audit
• Confusing privacy policies

Best for World Travelers

Bottom Line:

ExpressVPN has a new look but still offers the enormous collection of server locations that cover the globe. It does not have servers specifically intended for streaming services.

Pros

• Large, diversely distributed fleet of servers
• Strong privacy and security practices
• Split tunneling
• Stylish interface

Cons

• Expensive
• No multi-hop connections

Private Internet Access VPN

Best for Power Users

Bottom Line:

Private Internet Access wraps its service in a highly customizable client, making it easy to get online securely. The company provides servers for accessing UK streaming platforms.

Pros

• Split tunneling and multi-hop
• 10 simultaneous connections
• Numerous server locations
• Good Speedtest scores
• Completed third-party audit

Cons

• Expensive
• No free version

Best for General Users

Bottom Line:

Hotspot Shield VPN has a good collection of servers across the globe, and successfully streamed Netflix in the US.

Pros

• Numerous server locations
• Slick, approachable client
• Split-tunneling by domain
• Hefty services bundle

Cons

• Expensive
• Free version throttled, supported by targeted ads on Android
• Gathers significant, but anonymous, data
• No third-party infrastructure audit
• Dated transparency report
• Limited WireGuard support

In the summer of 2021, Netflix reportedly began cracking down on customers using VPNs to stream movies and shows from Netflix. We went back to our list of best VPNs for streaming video online and tested them to see which ones were still letting the content flow. 

How Do We Test VPNs for Netflix?

For our testing, we drew from the list of products from the services previously featured in this roundup, our list of the best VPN services, and our list of VPNs we’d tested for unblocking overseas Netflix content. 

In mid-August of 2021, we installed and tested each service. We looked only at whether a US-based customer could connect to a US-based VPN server and still successfully stream Netflix content. If you want to view Netflix content that’s available in other countries, we have a separate article for you.

All the testing for this story was done from Max Eddy’s home in New York City. That means we were starting from a residential IP address using a normal internet connection. In most cases, the VPN client software connected to a VPN server in the New York City area, but we frequently looked to use different IP addresses and locations in our testing. 

Each service got five attempts. We tried to obtain a different IP address for each attempt, either by selecting a different server or using a different VPN server location. Some products, such as TunnelBear VPN, don’t let you select specific servers and only let you choose servers at the country level. In these cases, we toggled the VPN connection on and off to try and force a fresh connection.

For a VPN to make it on this list, we had to be able to view US Netflix normally while the VPN was running. In short, there should have been no difference viewing Netflix with or without the VPN. The services that achieved this goal are listed above and at the bottom of this article.

You can see the full breakdown of results in the chart below. Our results show the best result for each service. That means that some of the services we list as unblocked were functional at least once, though they may have been blocked on other attempts. 

Note that these VPN services worked with Netflix when we last tested them in August, but that functionality is subject to change at a moment’s notice. The services here may stop working with Netflix one day, and then start working again the next (or vice-versa). If streaming Netflix is your primary VPN concern, don’t sign up for a yearlong subscription to a VPN service. Instead, you should go with a month-to-month account. This will give you the flexibility to cancel your plan, should you find that Netflix has blocked your VPN of choice.

While it’s convenient when a VPN works with Netflix, it’s not how we judge the best VPNs. We look at these as privacy products first, and we are more concerned with the features each service provides and the steps they take to protect your privacy. Even if they didn’t all work with Netflix this time, we strongly recommend all of our Editors’ Choice winners: ProtonVPN, which did work with Netflix; and IVPN, MullvadVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark VPN, and TunnelBear VPN, which didn’t.

What Is the Best VPN for Netflix?

The question of which VPN Netflix users should adopt has become a little more complicated lately. A few years ago, testing VPN compatibility with Netflix was fairly straightforward. Netflix either streamed video without complaint or it kicked up an error message. Frequently, Netflix was able to tailor the message to VPN users, suggesting that they switch off their VPN or proxy connection.

Last year, a weird, third state appeared. Instead of showing all the content for a region, Netflix would display a smaller subset of content. All of these would stream without incident. This was mostly Netflix Originals programming, like She-Ra: Princesses of Power but also included some licensed content not produced by Netflix, such as 2019’s Uncut Gems. We previously indicated this state on charts as Netflix Originals but now refer to it as Limited, which more accurately reflects the situation.

In some ways, the Limited library is a good thing for customers. When you use a VPN, you’re not entirely cut off from the content you’re paying Netflix to see. It also seems like an admission on Netflix’s part that it cannot entirely stop customers from using VPNs. 

It can be hard to tell which state you’re in. A good rule of thumb is to look at the My List section and compare what appears with and without the VPN. If it’s different, you’re probably in Limited mode. 

Note that Limited mode does not guarantee you’ll be able to stream content. In some cases, we found we were blocked from viewing content when presented with the Limited selection of shows and movies. Our chart above shows only the best results we observed over five attempts. Your mileage will surely vary.

What Is a VPN and How Does One Spoof Your Location?

When you activate a VPN, it encrypts all your web traffic and routes it to a remote server operated by the VPN company. No one can monitor your activity, not someone on the same network as you, not even the person operating that network. Neither can your ISP monitor your activities, which is handy, because several years ago Congress gave companies the green light to sell customers’ anonymized metadata.

Once your web traffic reaches the VPN server, it exits to the public internet. Because your data is emanating from the VPN server, not your home computer, anyone watching will see the server’s IP address instead of your own. It effectively spoofs your location.

The Best VPN Services for 2022

When observers attempt to divine your physical location on the internet, one simple way to do it is by looking at your IP address. These identifiers are divvied up by geographic location and can be remarkably close to where you are actually sitting when you use the web. Thus, routing your traffic to a remote VPN server makes it appear as if your computer is wherever the VPN server is located. Think of it as astral projection for the internet.

There are other ways to find someone’s true location. When using a mobile device, an app might simply request your GPS location. Companies can also look at cookies or the specific combination of device and browser settings on your machine—a process sometimes called browser fingerprinting—to track you across the web and compile more information about you. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have access to more exotic methods, such as advanced timing attacks that compare activity on a target computer with observed traffic out on the web. A VPN won’t necessarily defeat all these techniques, but it is a simple and effective way to improve your online privacy.

VPNs have also been used around the world by activists and journalists working in countries with particularly repressive internet policies. VPNs can unblock censored websites by routing traffic past government censors, and protect dissident transmissions, too. 

That ability to route your traffic to another country can sometimes cause problems when you want to access certain sites and services aside from Netflix. For example, a bank’s fraud detection system might think it’s unusual to have a US-based customer suddenly logging in from Europe.

Keep in mind that while VPNs are useful for protecting your privacy, they will not guard against every threat. We strongly suggest that readers use local antivirus software, enable multifactor authentication wherever possible, and use a password manager to create unique and complex passwords for each site and service.

Why Does Netflix Block VPNs?

Spoofing your location can be particularly handy if you want to access region-locked video content on Netflix. Far from being a monolithic repository of film and television, Netflix has different content available depending on your location. It all has to do with licensing deals. At one point, for example, you could watch Game of Thrones on Netflix—as long as you were in Australia. Such licensing deals are likely the reason that Netflix has begun blocking VPN users.

Being blocked from Netflix is a bummer, and it’s especially annoying when you’re not trying to spoof your location. If you’re concerned about the security of your network, or just the general state of surveillance capitalism, it makes sense to use a VPN. Unfortunately, even in this case, where you’ve paid for the right to watch everything that’s locally available, Netflix will still probably do its best to block you if you try to access the service over a VPN connection.

While most people will likely want to spoof their location in order to access content they wouldn’t normally have access to, that’s not always the case. Let’s say you’re from Baltimore and you’re watching your favorite show on Netflix. If you travel to the UK and try to watch it, you might discover that you cannot, unless it’s also available in the UK. With a VPN, you could conceivably keep watching as if you were back in the US.

Whatever your situation, just remember: Netflix considers the use of a VPN to be against its terms of service. You are forewarned. 

Will Netflix Block My Favorite VPN?

If you already have a VPN that you like, or you don’t like any of the Netflix-friendly ones we’ve listed above, take heart. Just because your preferred service didn’t work with Netflix when we tested it doesn’t mean it never works with Netflix. Here are some tactics you can try that may get Netflix working with your VPN of choice.

Be persistent. Most VPN services have multiple servers in a given country, with different IP addresses at each. If you find yourself blocked at one VPN server, switch to another in the same country. Some VPNs will let you view all the available servers in each location, making the process easy. If your VPN doesn’t do this, try toggling the VPN on and off to try and get a new IP address.

Use every tool. VPN companies understand that many of their users are interested in streaming video, and some have worked to meet that demand. Your VPN may include specialized servers just for streaming, perhaps streaming in specific regions. Your VPN may also include a stealth mode or unblocking mode that aims to disguise VPN traffic. Familiarize yourself with all the tools available and use them all. Your VPN almost certainly has FAQs on how to stream content, so be sure to read those.

Be flexible. Is the content you’re trying to stream available in just one country, or several? If you try other locations, you may have more luck.

Be patient. VPNs are frequently looking for new ways to sneak past Netflix, and Netflix is frequently finding new ways to stop them. If you’re not able to access what you want, wait a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks.

Consider a static IP address. Some VPNs offer static IP addresses for an additional fee. When you use a static IP, your data will always appear to have the same public IP address. Sometimes these addresses are private to the user and sometimes they are shared between a very small number of other people. Either way, it looks more like normal internet traffic and may not be blocked by Netflix. These are generally sold geographically, so you can pick an IP address in the country of your choice. Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that a static IP address will work, so be careful before you purchase. In fact, blocking residential IPs has been part of the reported recent Netflix VPN crackdown, so this may be even less effective.

What Is the Best Free VPN for Netflix?

You don’t necessarily have to open your wallet in order to get a VPN. There are several excellent free VPN services out there, although most place some kind of limitation on your use. Generally, a free VPN limits the number of devices that can connect at once, the amount of data used per day, the number of available VPN servers, or all of the above. 

ProtonVPN is our pick for free VPNs because it places no limit on the amount of data you can use while connected. That’s critically important, especially if you’re streaming video. It does, however, limit your choice of servers. That could make spoofing your location difficult, and means you are competing with many other free users for limited bandwidth on the designated free servers.

If you can spare a little bit of money, try one of our top-rated cheap VPNs. These services cost significantly less than the average monthly price we’ve seen across the industry. In general, these services offer more flexibility than free VPNs with more servers and server locations to choose from. None of the cheap VPNs we’ve reviewed place a restriction on data usage.

It’s Surprisingly Easy to Be More Secure Online

Will a VPN Slow Down Netflix?

A perennial concern when using VPNs is sacrificing speed. When a VPN reroutes your data it has to travel further, through more machines and via more wires, all of which serves to slow it down. 

For Netflix streaming, this is a recipe for stuttering audio or even your video dropping from HD to blocky low-res. Netflix’s documentation(Opens in a new window) outlines how much data the service needs, suggesting about 1GB of data per hour for standard definition video, and up to 3GB per hour for HD video.

In general, you’ll see an increase in latency when a VPN is in use. You’ll also see a decrease in upload and download speeds. In our testing, we find a percent change between speed test results with and without the VPN running. To measure internet speeds, we use the Ookla Speedtest tool.

(Editors’ Note: Note that Ookla is owned by PCMag’s publisher, Ziff Davis.)

The following chart shows the most recent speed test results we’ve recorded. We have had to adjust our testing methodology due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and will update our results throughout the year.

The Trade-Off

Here at PCMag, we’ve spent a lot of time trying to dispel the myth that security must come at the price of convenience. While we’ve been pleased to find that using a VPN doesn’t decrease internet speeds to 1990s levels, we are disheartened by the complications VPNs sometimes cause for mundane activities, such as video streaming services—including Netflix—or even online banking.

The internet, sadly, wasn’t made with security and privacy in mind. Hopefully, that will change, and we’ll be able to move away from VPNs. Of course, unless Netflix and similar services change their models, people will still want to spoof their locations to see content not locally available, and that means VPNs will likely be around for a bit longer.

(Editors’ Note: While they may not appear in this story, IPVanish and StrongVPN are owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company.)