Only some VPNs work with Netflix these days. Besides, there are restrictions in supportable countries and devices. I’d like to offer you a complete guide that will help you to unblock Netflix 100% from any part of the world on any platform.

Table of Contents:

It’s most likely, you already know about the real problem with access to American Netflix in 19 other countries. In general, any attempts to unblock the content of this media giant in the region that is different from yours without special tools is a waste of time.

As there are more and more people around the world who want to solve this problem, I decided to share my 3-year+ best practices of unblocking Netflix from any around the world.

So far, Virtual Private Network (VPN) is the simplest and most efficient way to go round Netflix geo-restrictions. It’s very simple and easy but you are to know what VPN providers support this video service streaming. Also, some VPNs work unstable and have access to a limited number of countries. Besides, it’s necessary to consider the prices. There are services that require a significant extra charge. In this article, we’ll study out what services are the most suitable for Netflix in 2020 and how to run them easy and fast. Besides, you’ll learn about the specific features of Netflix sign up concerning the new rules accepted this year.

Best Netflix VPNs: ExpressVPN: NordVPN: Surfshark: CyberGhost: ZenMate:

3 VPNs for limited but free access: Windscribe: TunnelBear: Hide.me:

Unfortunately, there’s a problem with free Netflix geo-restrictions bypass currently. I could hardly found only 3 free VPN providers ready for service and the situation is heating up. Perhaps, there would be no way to unblock Netflix of popular regions for free soon.

Over and above, two out of three mentioned above free Netflix VPNs work too slow with the US region, whereas the stability of the protected connection gives rise to many questions.

What is Netflix and a VPN is required for it?

Netflix is the world’s biggest video streaming service available on the Internet. This media giant renders services on a subscription basis that provides access to the great library of popular movies, series, entertaining and educational shows, cartoons, documentaries, and other video content.

The best part of Netflix is that it not only broadcasts the content of famous TV compounds and motion picture studios but also creates masterpieces. Many of them are more top-rated than Hollywood movies.

The service is popular around the world. In July 2020 it had over 193 million users which is an all-time record.

Unlike all-American Hulu and HBO, Netflix is available in many countries in the world. But it doesn’t mean that the users from the United Kingdom or Belgium, for example, have access to the same movies and shows that the ones from America.

There is a proper list of available video content for each region. And for many countries, it differs a lot. And it’s not about language difference but in special aspects of the license agreement and regional restrictions.

There are many sites where you can learn what movies are available in different countries.

What is a VPN for and how does it work?

Well, there’s a substantial difference in what content users from different countries can watch. But the Internet possesses a useful feature – location sensing through his/her IP address. And in case an IP address is changed, the region will be changed as well.

There are three ways to change IP:

Proxy. This technology routes traffic through a special computer or server on the Internet. Proxy is to be written in the settings of the app or web browser you use to open Netflix.

This technology routes traffic through a special computer or server on the Internet. Proxy is to be written in the settings of the app or web browser you use to open Netflix. Tor. It’s possible to set up the Tor browser and reliably hide your real address. But Tor is worked out in the way that there’s no way to choose the country through which your traffic routes.

It’s possible to set up the Tor browser and reliably hide your real address. But Tor is worked out in the way that there’s no way to choose the country through which your traffic routes. VPN. The most convenient and generic method. In 2020 the Virtual Private Network technology is available at low cost and can be configured thanks to user-friendly secure apps in a few clicks.

I recommend the best way to change IP – run a VPN app.

VPN software creates an enforced path between a user device and a special server on the Internet. The traffic passes through this server and the visited sites will see only its IP address. You change your location to the one where the server is placed.

It is therefore possible to change the region of video content to anyone where your VPN provider has servers. It’s always easier to do it with the best VPN for Netflix.

Netflix unblocking issue

Virtual Private Network technology works in a simple, legal, and efficient way. But Netflix knows fully well about it and therefore reacts against user attempts go round it.

The work in a tried-and-true way – to put the servers’ IPs used for streaming video on blocklists.

This simple and efficient way for most VPN services is an insurmountable barrier. That’s exactly why only few providers can support Netflix. If you set up a usual VPN app, you’ll see UI3012 error on the screen.

Servers in the required country (which content you would like to watch. High speeds. You’ll need at least 20 Mbps as it can vary significantly from time to time.

Streaming support. The service should monitor the quality of geo-blocking.

“Fast” and powerful protocols are recommended if you watch Netflix on mobiles.

Support of TV platforms. Android TV and other types of Smart TVs most of all.

Plugins for Kodi and add-ons for web browsers installability.

But some VPNs can bypass such restrictions.

Some of them managed to support the main regions, others offer special bundled service at extra cost, and some do it invisibly thanks to their scale and experience.

Next, we’ll speak about the services that are time-proved and 100% assured to support Netflix.

I’ll provide you with a step-by-step guide to set up a VPN for Netflix. Also, I’ve prepared some tips to sign up for this video service for those who are going to become its subscribers.

Netflix VPN launch – guided tour

Now you’ll be up to speed on what VPNs are the best ones and the steps to set up a VPN as exemplified by the best Netflix VPN - ExpressVPN.

If you still don’t sign up for this media service, I recommend you to study the next section with the description of all tips on registration and use.

3 steps to unblock Netflix

Register with the VPN service. It’s the most critical step. It’s important to use the service with the required characteristics: It’s not necessary that you need all these functions. But the more, the better for a VPN.

To subscribe to ExpressVPN, follow this link. It’ll provide an extra 20% off when subscribing for 1 year. Servers in the required country (which content you would like to watch. High speeds. You’ll need at least 20 Mbps as it can vary significantly from time to time.

Streaming support. The service should monitor the quality of geo-blocking.

“Fast” and powerful protocols are recommended if you watch Netflix on mobiles.

Support of TV platforms. Android TV and other types of Smart TVs most of all.

Plugins for Kodi and add-ons for web browsers installability. Set up a VPN app. Download the app on all devices on your radar. ExpressVPN and other providers from the list of the best ones offer software for all known platforms. You can use from 5 up to unlimited number of devises simultaneously (Surfshark).

When signing up to ExpressVPN, you’ll get an email with the link to the page where you can find app for any OS and log in without a username and password. It’s very convenient and I haven’t seen anything like that when testing other services. Connect to the necessary country.

Good VPNs possess advanced features. It’s handy to use Split Tunneling for Netflix and other streaming services. It allows choosing apps and programs for which the IP will be masked. It’s convenient when a VPN disturbs the work of the regional sites.

After you’ve connected to the necessary server (the app will inform about it), you can start watching Netflix for this region from any part of the world. You won’t have to do any extra movements like for Amazon Prime Video, for example.

Netflix VPN use on TV platforms

With the advent of new TV features that can be compared with powerful computers, more and more people want to watch their favorite series and shows on TVs without connecting computers to them or without sharing from smartphones.

How to do it?

Use the Smart DNS. This advanced technology serves to unblock Netflix and any other streaming video service or radio without installing a VPN app.

I’ve already described the process of a VPN setup on Smart TV. In this article, you’ll find a step-by-step guide and a description of all details.

Also, with ever-increasing frequency, people buy Android TV, Apple TV, and other TV platforms with the pre-installed apps and functionality to add them through Google Play Store, Apple App Store, Amazon Appstore, and Huawei AppGallery. There are VPN apps for them. Read more about the services that offer such apps and the settings for Smart DNS.

Netflix sign up with a VPN and without it

Generally, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel to watch Netflix.

For a normal registration you’ll need:

to open the netflix.com site

to click Sign In -> Sign up now

to enter your e-mail

to activate a 30-day trial version

After it, you can connect to the VPN and enjoy streaming.

But in some cases a normal registration is impossible.

There are two reasons why Netflix sign in can be unsuccessful: In case your physical location differs from the country where your banking card was released. If Netflix.com is not available in your country (China, Crimea, North Korea, Syria, and some other regions).

Let’s consider the case when a normal registration is impossible.

Firstly, in 2020 the service has changed payment rules and now honors the cards of the country where the user is located. It might become a big problem if you are on a trip or just use the card of a foreign bank.

Secondly, access to the sites that violate religious or moral standards is restricted in some countries with online censorship.

In both cases, it’s necessary to use a VPN. It’s a very multi-purpose tool and millions of users around the world use it in different spheres of internet activity: from IP masking to creating protected virtual networks of large enterprises.

What to do when it’s impossible to sign up for Netflix in a general way

Set up a VPN according to the guidelines mentioned in the section “Netflix VPN launch – step-by-step guide”. Connect to the country where your banking card was released. Open the netflix.com site and sign up.

Sometimes the selection of a VPN location is required. But nearly always it works from the word go.

Best well-tried VPN services for Netflix

The best VPN service for streaming Netflix in any region should possess four significant characteristics:

Servers in all countries which content is interesting for you. With that in mind, consideration must be given to the fact that there are VPNs with servers in dozens of countries but can unblock movies for 1-4 countries. For example, CyberGhost is among such providers. I’ll tell you more about it in this article. Quick operation of technical experts. It’s possible to retarget servers on time to make their operation smooth to the full only in case the specialists who control the support of streaming video work 24/7. Apps for all necessary platforms. It’s one of the most important features. Currently, there’s no need to enter the configuration of VPN protocol in the system. There’re shrink-wrap apps for it. Smart TV is the only exception (read more in the VPN for Smart TV review). Stable speed of over 25-30 Mbps. At slower speed, you might face either image quality problem or buffering when streaming is unavailable. It’s better to choose the services with a higher average speed in case of congestion in prime-time.

Based on the results of my testing for more than 6 years, the best VPN service to use with Netflix is ExpressVPN. It’s faster and more stable than its rivals and has servers in more than 90 countries.

Comparison of the best VPN services’ features

Service Ranking

(out of 10) Speed, Mbps Netflix supported regions Price

(monthly) ExpressVPN 10 >100 all $6.67-12.95 NordVPN 10 >60 all $3.71-11.95 Surfshark 10 >60 all $1.99-11.95 CyberGhost 8 >40 + $2.75-12.99 ZenMate 5 >20 + $2.22-10.99

1. ExpressVPN for Netflix

Overview ExpressVPN has outscored while testing Netflix support on all platforms. It’s easy-to-use and doesn’t need advanced customization. The app selects a suitable location in the country chosen by a user. Fast speed and perfect stability of connection suit perfectly well for streaming video even in Ultra HD. Split Tunneling serves to combine movie streaming and other activity on this device.

Certain popular regions and aggregated speed test results

Country Speed, Mbps US (United States) 25-60 CA (Canada) 30-65 JP (Japan) 12-25 UK (United Kingdom) 30-70 DE (Germany) 40-90 AU (Australia) 13-28 IN (India) 20-30

Prices and plans

1 month 6 months 1 year Monthly cost $12.95 $9.99 $6.67 Money-back guarantee, days 30 30 30

*the prices are mentioned considering discount when using a custom link.

On the surface, Express VPN seems to be more expensive than alternative VPNs. But if you subscribe to not more than a year, you won’t see the substantial difference. The prices of less than $5 per month are possible only when you subscribe to 2-3 years. ExpressVPN just doesn’t offer such long-terms packages.

Summary

ExpressVPN is perfect for Netflix

It supports other popular streaming services

Superfast servers

It has a reasonable price

5 simultaneous connections

Suitable for any other activity as it one of the securest VPNs

Get extra 20% off Visit site

Also read:

2. NordVPN for Netflix

Overview The second efficient service is NordVPN. It’s also ideal for streaming. What it takes is to choose the location on a visualized interactive map and click on it. The app will choose the best server for this country itself and it’ll be fine for watching content that was unavailable for you with a probability of 10/10.

Certain popular regions and aggregated speed test results

Country Speed, Mbps US (United States) 10-40 CA (Canada) 5-30 JP (Japan) 4-10 UK (United Kingdom) 20-60 DE (Germany) 25-70 AU (Australia) 4-10 IN (India) 6-20

Prices and plans

1 month 6 months 1 year 2 years Monthly cost $11.95 $9.00 $5.75 $3.71 Money-back guarantee, days 30 30 30 30

*As of this writing, NordVPN offers a 68% discount for a 2-years package.

And what about the prices and opportunities for free use?

One of the most affordable prices in the market is $3.71 monthly if you buy it for 2 years. But if you want to buy NordVPN for a shorter period, you should be ready to buy it for another price. But this policy is common to all services. That is why it is always profitable to buy “long-term” plans.

You can use a 7-day trial version for mobile phones (Android and IOS).

Would you like to use it for free for 30 days for all platforms? There are no problems! You can buy a subscription and you cancel it after 29 days. It’s legitimate and easy. It is necessary to contact service support with this request. And after one week you’ll get your money back.

Summary

NordVPN provides stable support for streaming Netflix and other services

Easy server selection

Many positive user reviews on Reddit

6 simultaneous connections

NordLynx (WireGuard) protocol optimized for mobiles

Make use of the share – 68% off Visit site

Also read:

3. Surfshark for Netflix

Overview Would you like to get a cheaper VPN service? No problems. Wonderful, professional, dynamically developing service Surfshark can give you the pleasure of stable access to Netflix, not worse than NordVPN or CyberGhost VPN. Right, neither Surfshark offers an interactive map to choose a country, not it has as fast speed as ExpressVPN does. But in practice, the provider’s functions are more than enough to unblock video streaming services almost in any situation. As the provider is particularly attractive thanks to its 2-year subscription, the issue of trust takes place.

Certain popular regions and aggregated speed test results

Country Speed, Mbps US (United States) 8-30 CA (Canada) 20-50 JP (Japan) 20-30 UK (United Kingdom) 20-50 DE (Germany) 40-70 AU (Australia) 15-25 IN (India) 30-50

Prices and plans

1 month 1 year 2 years Monthly cost $11.95 $5.99 $1.99 Money-back guarantee, days 30 30 30

Currently, there’s no provider with the lower cost that would go round Netflix protection so good. Besides, Surfshark doesn’t restrict the number of connections!

Is it worth having trust in the provider when subscribing to a long-term plan? I’ve been testing Surfshark since the beginning of 2019 and during this time it is becoming better. I experience only a very stable US, UK, and other regions’ support at least for a year.

Summary

Surfshark allows to successfully change the region for Netflix in every corner of the world

Support of other popular streaming video services and online radio

Unlimited number of connected devices

Very low cost when subscribing for 2 years

Suitable for any purpose

It has advanced technology of VPN protocol masking

Set up an efficient VPN for $1.99+ per month Visit site

Also read:

4. CyberGhost VPN for Netflix

Overview The next service, CyberGhost, is attractive because it shows what servers support Netflix or other streaming services. It might seem to be trivial but only if we compare it with the other three providers. Most other Netflix VPNs either don’t support all regions or cannot select suitable servers automatically and a user is to do it manually. Among the drawbacks – the tests of some servers have shown slow speeds. Besides, I didn’t always manage to stream at the first try because of the M7111-1331 error.

Certain popular regions and aggregated speed test results

It has been found that there are only 3 locations for Netflix on the list – US, UK, and DE.

Country Speed, Mbps US (United States) 10-30 CA (Canada) Not supported JP (Japan) Not supported UK (United Kingdom) 30-70 DE (Germany) 30-60 AU (Australia) Not supported IN (India) Not supported

Prices and plans

1 month 1 year 2 year 3 year Monthly cost $12.99 $5.99 $3.69 $2.75 Money-back guarantee, days - 45 45 45

CyberGhost also offers dedicated IP addresses that cost $5 per month. You can contact the support service and ask if such addresses are available at the moment for Netflix unblocking.

Summary

CyberGhost possesses a special location to access Netflix and many other video services

Support of 3 countries

It’s possible to order a dedicated “blank” IP address

Up to 7 simultaneous connections

Testing has shown slow speeds of streaming servers

App for Windows can overload processor that can cause excessive noise

Also read:

5. ZenMate for Netflix

Overview ZenMate is a not bad low-budget VPN service with the feature of streaming support. Actually, it’s the simplified version of CyberGhost. It lacks some advanced features and has fewer countries with its servers but herewith it has special servers for Netflix. Partially in other countries, though. It shows average speed results and sometimes unblocks a required region, not at the first try. Is it worth preferring it to the big “brother”? It depends on what countries you want to unblock. If they are US, IT, or DE, then yes. But if you need UK, ZenMate won’t help you.

Certain popular regions and aggregated speed test results

It appeared to be that there are 5 locations for Netflix on the list of servers - US, DE, FR, IT, and DE.

Country Speed, Mbps US (United States) 10-30 CA (Canada) Not supported JP (Japan) 10-20 UK (United Kingdom) Not supported DE (Germany) 30-60 AU (Australia) Not supported IN (India) Not supported

Prices and plans

1 month 6 months 18 months Monthly cost $10.99 $5.39 $2.22 + 6 months free Money-back guarantee, days 30 30 30

On the whole, the prices are good. There’s evident profit if compared to CyberGhost when buying the VPN for 6 months and more. The only minus is the lack of opportunity to pay for it with cryptocurrency (read the review of VPN for Bitcoin).

Summary

ZenMate is built on the simplifies base of CyberGhost VPN

It has the same drawbacks + it doesn’t accept Bitcoin

Support of 5 countries

No limits for the devices used simultaneously

Also read:

Best free VPNs for American Netflix library: 1, 2, 3!

First of all, I would like to point out that all VPN services, I describe here, have been tested, and that is why I can state it for sure that these 3 free VPN providers can help you to avoid restrictions and watch Netflix as if you live in one of the American cities. But with some limits.

I tested more than 50 VPNs and, unfortunately, I haven’t found any VPN provider which can give unlimited access to Netflix. In some cases, Netflix identified the VPN, and in other cases, the VPN blocked the website and offered a paid premium subscription for unblocking. That is why Netflix free watching is available only with some restrictions from a few VPNs, which I will publish for you.

If you need permanent unlimited access to Netflix, it is easier to use paid VPN services, which are described in this article.

And now it is high time to find out more about the ways of using free VPNs for Netflix.

1. Free Windscibe

Windscribe is on the list of top 10 best VPNs 2020. It has a free plan with some restrictions. While the previous testing, this package wasn’t suitable for Netflix as all its locations were detected like proxies and therefore were blocked. But now I’m glad to inform you that at least two locations work and support streaming. But it still doesn’t work with US and FR.

What are the restrictions of using the free plan of Windscribe?

There are at least three serious restrictions:

10 GB per month Slow speed 10 available countries

At average video quality, available at speed of free Windscribe, 10GB will see out for about 5-10 hours of streaming. It might seem to be too few. But as for today, there are no free VPNs with better terms that would support Netflix.

But why does Windscribe have the first place?

Limit removal for traffic volume

Unlimited speed (up to 20-40 Mbps)

63 countries

Access to US Netflix

How to use Windscribe VPN for free?

Nothing’s easier! Windscribe is available even without registration on the site. But the traffic limit, in this case, will be 2GB per month.

All it takes is to download software for desktops on the site of the service, set up it on your device, and connect to one of the countries.

Read Windscribe VPN review to learn more!

2. Free TunnelBear

TunnelBear is considered to be one of the best VPN providers. Its unique and handy animated apps for Android, Windows, Apple, and Linux give the opportunity to unblock Netflix from any location: when you travel with your smartphone or when you are at home in front of the computer screen.

You can do it for free, using a free tariff plan.

What are the restrictions of using the free plan of TunnelBear VPN?

Unfortunately, I can’t cover it. TunnelBear VPN capacity is limited for the free tariff (only 500 – 1000 MB are available). That is why Netflix streaming is limited.

Who can use TunnelBear VPN for free for Netflix?

If Netflix's official online cinema is available in a place where you live. If the library for your region differs a bit.

In other cases, free traffic won’t be enough for you.

But why does TunnelBear have the second place?

no time limit;

no necessity to enter payment details for a free version, you can register some accounts from different e-mails;

the inconvenience of traffic limits;

no add.

How to use TunnelBear VPN for free?

Although TunnelBear is a paid service, it offers to its subscribers a free tariff plan as a bonus.

In contrast with some VPN providers, TunnelBear can be used for free and for a long period of time because it is not a free trial version but a free package.

Well:

run TunnelBear VPN on your device only in the case if the video is blocked for your region;

choose the low quality of the video in the account settings.

Increase your traffic from 500 MB to 1000 MB by means of a tweet TunnelBear:

register several accounts using different e-mails;

monitor your traffic.

These simple pieces of advice can help you to prolong you TunnelBear free traffic plan

Read TunnelBear VPN review to learn more!

3. Free Hide.me

The last considered VPN today is the advanced but not very user-friendly hide.me. Similar to Windscribe, its free plan also has a limit of 10GB monthly traffic. But opposed to its rival, hide.me speed is much slower.

I could barely open the Netflix.com site. I’ve experienced DNS error many times but lastly, I’ve managed not only to load the list of movies but also to fire up one of them.

I’ve spent about 20 minutes on it. But it works!

What are the restrictions of using the free plan of hide.me?

Hide.me doesn’t have many restrictions but they are very severe:

Terrible speed (less than 1 Mbps) 10 GB per month 4 available countries

Video is available only at the lowest quality and I’ve managed to launch it only when connecting to a Canadian server.

But why does hide.me have the third place?

Limit removal for traffic volume

Unlimited speed (up to 10-40 Mbps)

47 countries

How to use hide.me for free?

A free version of hide.me is available without registration. There’s no need to register on the site. It won’t give you any extra functions.

Apps are available for any OS. The setup process is simple and intuitive.

I’ve noticed a high load on the processor on Windows when trying to connect to the working server.

Read hide.me VPN review to learn more!

FAQ

💬 How do I use VPN for Netflix?

It’s so easy! All the VPN services listed in this review don’t require any extra settings. All you need to do is:

subscribe;

download and install the software for the platform you need (all the VPNs on the list work on every OS);

choose a region;

launch the VPN.

It doesn’t matter if you log into your Netflix account before you start the VPN up or after. You just have to turn it on for the required region before you play a movie, series, or show.

Don’t be afraid to pick a wrong server, disconnect from the VPN, or change your region. My account hasn’t been blocked once during my tests even though I used many unreliable VPN services, changes my location, and frequently watched movies without a VPN.

If you use the VPN services we recommend, you’ll be able to unblock the region you need without any trouble and watch video content in high quality for as long as you like.

🏆 What free VPN is the best for American Netflix?

The best free VPN service for Netflix US is ProtonVPN.

Unfortunately, as of this day (January 2020), there isn’t a free VPN provider that can unblock Netflix with no time or traffic limitations.

Furthermore, each month, there are fewer VPNs that manage to do that task. It’s entirely possible that in the future, geo-restricted content will be only unblockable with paid services.

💻 Where to download VPN for Netflix?

Every VPN provider on this list has detailed instructions on how to download an app for any platform (Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, TV platforms).

A paid VPN can be downloaded from its website or installed from the Google Play Market or Apple App Store. To turn it on, you’ll need to sign up by entering your email and to pay for the subscription you choose.

The only way it’s different to download a free VPN is that you don’t have to pay before you launch it for the first time.

There are also VPNs that don’t offer software or aren’t available on some platforms. To use such VPN services, you have to install a third-party VPN client or configure the VPN protocol built into the system by using config files provided by the VPN. Such services did not make it to our Top 10.

👌 Is it safe to use a VPN for streaming?

Yes, it is absolutely safe. VPN technology is perfectly legal and is used by hundreds of millions of people all over the world with different goals. Virtual networks have been used to stream Netflix since the very day when its content started being separated by regions.

🔓 Can my account be blocked?

Unlikely. We haven’t run into any block despite using a single regular subscription to perform all our tests. This subscription has been in use for more than two years now and “seen” dozens of different VPN services.