Best Netflix VPN: Is Nord, ExpressVPN or SurfShark the ultimate way to unblock Netflix?

Looking for the best Netflix VPN? We’ve got everything you need to know about VPNs, including whether streaming Netflix with a VPN is legal, in the full guide below.

However, if you’re looking for a short answer – ExpressVPN is the best Netflix VPN.

This stellar software is one of the best VPN services on the market today and is seriously invested in streaming. The company has a dedicated team tasked with unblocking servers so that you’ll always be able to stream the latest must-binge boxsets from Netflix and other popular streaming services. As such, you’ll be able to watch TV shows and movies that are only available in certain countries from anywhere in the world – bypassing all of those pesky geo restrictions!

Virtual Private Networks, more commonly referred to as VPNs, are clever applications that route all of your online activity through an encrypted tunnel. This prevents anyone from keeping tabs on your web history, including your home broadband provider and online advertisers. The extra privacy ensured by a VPN is likely why you’ll find a VPN installed on your company laptop.

Some VPNs include other features, like password managers, anti-virus software, and automatic monitoring to flag when your login credentials have been leaked on the Dark Web, as part of the monthly subscription. If you’re already paying separate subscriptions for these services, switching to a Virtual Private Network could be a great way to reduce your monthly bills.

Aside from the extra layer of privacy, a VPN can also be used to spoof your current location using servers around the globe. The best VPNs will have hundreds of server locations to choose from, scattered across the planet. Picking one of these servers will change your IP address, so that your device appears to be in a different country. This is used by whistleblowers to share information without being traced and allows people in countries where social media sites are blocked to access the likes of Twitter and Facebook.

And it’s also the feature that make VPNs such a popular choice with streamers. In fact, a recent survey found that 40% of all VPN customers use the software to stream.

Using a Netflix VPN means your laptop, smartphone, tablet, Smart TV, Fire TV, games console and more will appear in a different country to your current location. And just like when you take any of these devices on vacation with you, your existing Netflix login will work and you’ll be able to stream the catalogue of shows available in that country. Using a VPN to switch to a different server location is exactly the same principle, except there’s no need to book a flight.

If you’re living in the UK, it means you’ll be able to access the complete catalogue of shows available in the United States, Canada, France, or anywhere else. Likewise, US viewers will be able to see what they’re missing with a UK subscription to Netflix.

While anything produced by Netflix itself – including colossal hits like Stranger Things, Squid Game, and Bridgerton – are available anywhere in the world in dozens of languages, syndicated shows vary between regions. This is due to licensing agreements and historic deals with local broadcasters.

So, if you’re in the middle of a binge-watch of the latest season of Stranger Things, there’s no need to subscribe to a VPN. However, if you want to watch another popular series that’s only included as part of your Netflix subscription in another country, it’s time to launch the VPN app on your device. For example, Supernatural – from The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke – is available in its entirety on Netflix US, but is unavailable to stream in the UK. Instead, you’ll need to buy individual episodes on Amazon’s Prime Video or iTunes.

No, it’s not against the law to stream TV shows and blockbusters that you’d be able to access if you had physically travelled to other countries and signed-in with your Netflix account. However, Netflix does specifically forbid using VPNs to bypass geo blocks and access content restricted to specific countries from anywhere on the planet within its terms of use.

If you break the terms of use, the company reserves the right to terminate your contract when using a VPN. That sounds pretty scary, but it’s worth noting that Netflix has purportedly never taken this step with any of its subscribers. In fact, during discussions with shareholders, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings has previously stated that VPN users are an “inconsequential” problem for the streaming service, suggesting the streamer doesn’t dedicate a lot of resources to these users.

Netflix has cracked down on the servers themselves that enable paying subscribers to connect to the US catalogue of shows and movies. However, it has seemingly never targeted individuals.

ExpressVPN has a dedicated team that removes these blocked servers from its listings and finds new alternatives for paying customers to access Netflix from anywhere on the planet. While some VPNs struggle to connect to Netflix – largely due to an outdated list of servers that have long-since been blocked by the teams inside the Californian streaming company – this isn’t a problem that plagues ExpressVPN subscribers. And it’s the reason we named ExpressVPN as the best VPN for streaming.

We’ve crowned ExpressVPN as our favourite VPN to access Netflix TV shows and movies from anywhere on the planet. While it might not be the cheapest VPN, ExpressVPN offers a number of generous discounts throughout the year to lower the price. Coupled with Klarna support at checkout, it’s possible to break-up the one-year subscription with the biggest savings into affordable monthly instalments.

There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can rest assured that you’ll be able to get a full refund if you’re unable to stream Netflix US unblocked as advertised. ExpressVPN offers 24/7 customer support, so you’ll always be able to reach someone, no matter what timezone you’re in.

Want to change your location to unlock Netflix TV shows and films only available in different countries? ExpressVPN is a perfect choice.

ExpressVPN only has a minimum impact on download speeds, so you won’t have to suffer with endless buffering before getting stuck into the latest boxset or blockbuster from Netflix. Of course, whenever you’re relying on a server halfway around the globe, it’s going to take longer for your data to be beamed that distance.

As such, using a VPN will always be slightly slower than your unencrypted connection. But that’s why it’s so important to pick a provider, like ExpressVPN, that really minimises the impact on download speeds. That’s something many more affordable rivals cannot match.

But what really pushes ExpressVPN ahead of the competition is its endless quest to source new servers that aren’t blocked by streaming services, like Netflix. Despite the crackdown by Netflix on VPN servers to unlock the catalogue of TV shows and films from other counties, ExpressVPN subscribers continue to be able to watch via VPN servers without interruption.

While other VPN providers might have a handful of servers that continue to work with Netflix, you could find yourself tapping around the app for some time until you find one.

Better yet, ExpressVPN pledges to never collect identifying information about its customers, including IP address, online activity, traffic destination, or even the length of each session. For those who want to subscribe for the privacy benefits, this is sure to be very reassuring. ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, which has no data retention laws so the company isn’t legally obliged to keep tabs on the browsing habits of its customers or hand over any data to law enforcement.

ExpressVPN accepts a number of payment methods, including Mastercard, VISA, American Express, and Discover. Paypal and Bitcoin are also options to subscribe to the VPN. Unfortunately, unlike NordVPN, there’s no support for Apple Pay for a one-tap checkout on your smartphone or tablet. However, if you don’t want to pay for a longer membership (you can unlock bigger discounts when you sign-up for a one-year membership, for example) upfront, ExpressVPN has added support for Klarna – so you can break up the payment into smaller instalments.

This is better than any other VPN service, which will force you to pay upfront for a longer subscription plan to unlock the sizeable discounts available. It’s worth noting that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you’ll be able to get a full refund for your subscription plan if you run into any issues with the Netflix VPN.

NordVPN is another phenomenal Virtual Private Network that offers a brilliant balance between price and features. Like ExpressVPN, NordVPN had minimal impact on our download speeds during our testing – even when connected to a server on the opposite side of the planet. That makes NordVPN a great choice for those looking to use the software to stream from Netflix.

And when it comes to server locations, NordVPN has a huge selection. In total, subscribers will have a choice of more than 5,000 server locations worldwide. So, whenever you stumble across a server that has been blocked as part of Netflix’s ongoing crackdown on VPNs, you’ll be able to find a replacement with a quick tap within the app.

It also means you’ll be able to find a solid connection to a server that isn’t too congested – even when streaming TV shows from Netflix at peak times.

NordVPN has applications for all of your favourite devices, so you can be sure that you’ll be able to install the app on any gadgets you want to use to stream Netflix. That includes phones, tablets, Windows 10 PCs, Mac, Fire TV Stick and other streaming dongles, games consoles, and even your Wi-Fi router. With the latter, any device connected to your home Wi-Fi network will be automatically connected via the VPN.

NordVPN doesn’t offer connections in quite as many countries worldwide as ExpressVPN (60 versus 94), so those who want to appear in more exotic locations might want to look elsewhere. It also means you’re not going to be able to stream Netflix TV shows and films from quite as many countries as ExpressVPN, which is a bit of a shame.

NordVPN accepts all major credit card providers, including Mastercard, VISA, AMEX, and Discovery. It also lets you pay with PayPal, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay for an easy one-tap checkout while keeping your card details private. You can also pay for NordVPN with the most popular cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

SurfShark VPN is another solid choice for Netflix fans. The biggest advantage of this Virtual Private Network over its rivals is that SurfShark allows subscribers to login to an unlimited number of devices. If you’re planning on streaming Netflix to a huge number of gadgets – tablets, laptops, games consoles, phones – SurfShark VPN is the best choice. In comparison, ExpressVPN limits subscribers to five devices at a time, while NordVPN offers a slightly more generous six devices simultaneously.

SurfShark isn’t specifically tailored for Netflix streaming, unlike the dedicated teams at ExpressVPN. However, it offers access to over 3,200 server locations in 95 countries so you should be able to find an unblocked server to stream Netflix without any issues.

But if you’re looking for the ultimate value, it’s difficult not to choose SurfShark VPN. Not only is this one of the most affordable VPNs, but can also be bundled with a fully-fledged anti-virus software to keep all of your devices protected from malware and hackers.

If you’re not planning to watch that much Netflix and want your new VPN purchase to have a few more features, this is a brilliant option.

Elsewhere, you’ll find the same 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 customer support as NordVPN and ExpressVPN, so there’s no risk when signing up for the first time.

Surfshark VPN accepts all credit cards, from VISA to Mastercard, AMEX and Discover. There’s also Paypal, Apple Pay and Google Pay – handy if you don’t want to manually fill out all of your details at the checkout. You can also pay for your VPN subscription with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Netflix subscriptions cost pretty much the same around the world, but the amount of content available in each country varies wildly. For comparison, Netflix subscribers in France have access to roughly 1,768 TV shows and 3,323 movies, whereas Netflix UK offers 2,052 TV shows and 4,321 movies. If you’re on holiday in a different country, your Netflix login will work as usual and you’ll be able to watch the syndicated shows and films available in that library. This is perfectly acceptable within the terms and conditions of Netflix.

Installing a VPN will unlock TV shows and movies from across the globe …maximising the value from your monthly subscription cost.