The Best VPN For Netflix And Other Streaming Services

When it comes to watching movies or TV series, streaming services have become the people’s favored choice. These services provide personalized video and audio content over the internet. There are several streaming services available but Netflix is at the top among other popular services such as Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Plus, etc.

Unlike cable or satellite TV subscriptions, they offer content at a lower cost and enable unlimited content streaming at any time without having to stick to a schedule offering the convenience many seek. Furthermore, their content is accessible through mobile applications which you can tap into any time you want. And some services offer a good selection of content as well as recommendations based on your access patterns. Therefore, people nowadays tend to engage with them more than ever.

Nevertheless, one downside of them is that they are location restricted. Meaning that at times, you cannot access the content through the service from certain locations.

Geo-blocking: Challenges and how to avoid

Also known as Geo-blocking, location restricted services block access to contents based on your geographical location. This is generally enforced due to copyright and licensing issues. For example, some of the movies and videos which are very popular in many countries can be completely blocked in some other countries. This is the reason why some streaming services such as Netflix have content libraries that are specific to regions.

Hence, no matter how convenient and affordable your streaming service is, it could become inaccessible when you travel outside your country. This is a huge disappointment specifically for people who travel frequently. While traveling, staying up-to-date about the content you love would be difficult due to this limitation.

So how can we circumvent this issue? Well, using a VPN to access them is the easiest and the most preferred solution. Let’s see what a VPN is and how VPNs for streaming help to bypass location restrictions.

What is a VPN? How does it help to avoid location restrictions?

A Virtual Private Network or a VPN is a security tool that is used to establish an encrypted connection between a device and a network over the internet. This prevents unauthorized access to data and ensures that your data is securely transmitted. VPNs are often used by remote workers to securely access the contents in remote servers. So how VPNs eliminate geo-blocking?

An IP address is what is often used to identify a devices’ location on the internet. Using this, your physical location can be deduced.  VPNs hide your IP address by replacing it with an IP address specific to the country or location where you are in and redirects the network traffic through servers run by VPN hosts. For example, currently, you may be in Paris, but VPNs can make you appear as if you are in New York. And as it encrypts the data you are streaming, it can restrict possible observing parties from knowing what content you are streaming providing the essential anonymity you need to break this limitation.

The importance of choosing the right VPN

At present, there are a lot of VPNs in the market. Among them, there are top VPNs recommended by many industry experts which are working well for Netflix and other streaming services.

When selecting the best VPN out of them, several factors need to be considered. For instance, the speed. You can be frustrated if your speed is degraded when streaming via the VPN. Not only that, if you are not technically sound, you may want to look for a VPN connection that is more user-friendly and easy to download and install. Moreover, the number of servers and across which countries you can connect to the service, and what security measures they have in place are among other topmost points to consider when choosing the right VPN for your streaming needs.

Always check for the compatibility

Besides, not all VPNs are compatible with Netflix and other services.  Not only the service but also, streaming devices should also be compatible with the VPN. For example, some VPNs may not support streaming on IOS devices. Therefore, if you have to use a VPN, you should make sure to test out its trial version initially to see if it is compatible with the streaming service you are using before you are purchasing it.

Let’s take a look at some of the best VPNs for Netflix and other streaming services available on the market and the interesting features they offer.

Best VPNs for Netflix and other streaming services

• ExpressVPN

This is the most recommended VPN for Netflix, HBO Go, and Spotify, which consists of many useful features. ExpressVPN provides 160 server locations for you to choose from which are situated in 94 countries. Similar to NodeVPN, it is compatible with different device types offering applications for those devices and provides strong data protection at transit through strong encryption. In addition, it is straightforward and easy to install. And it is well-known for its very helpful customer support. ExpressVPN also does not do data logging to track users in order to protect their privacy.

• SurfShark

Mostly used for streaming Netflix, SurfShark is popular for its affordability and convenient user interface. And it provides the best value for money. It unblocks location restrictions in 16 countries including the UK, US, and Germany. It also follows a no-logging policy. However, when compared with other VPNs above, it uses fewer servers. This VPN also unblocks BBC iPlayer.

• HotspotShield

HotspotShield is known as one of the fastest VPNs which is claiming to have ‘military-grade” security. Using this VPN, you can connect to more than 1500 virtual servers in a lot of different countries. It also doesn’t track or log any of your personal information ensuring your privacy.

• CyberGhost

Although not as famous as the VPNs explained earlier, CyberGhost also provides you faster and secure VPN access to your content. It gives access to around 7000 servers around the world. This VPN is compatible with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Youtube. However, this can be costly compared with other VPNs.

Apart from these top VPNs, VyprVPN, privateinternetaccess, PrivateVPN, and IPVanishVPN as well as provide good competitive deals for your streaming needs. Based on what streaming service and device you use, you can choose the best VPN that satisfies your requirements.

Conclusion

In conclusion, geo-blocking is the primary drawback of top streaming services such as Netflix. Using VPNs, you can overcome this problem. Among the plethora of VPNs to choose from, it is important to select the best compatible VPN for your streaming service. If you are an avid Netflix user, we recommend ExpressVPN. It has been identified as the number one VPN among streamers around the world. And, feel free to check out the reviews of our latest top recommended VPNs to understand and compare the features of different VPNs.