Which VPN Works With Netflix
When it comes to streaming Netflix a VPN is a must-have if you wish to unlock content from around the world.
The simple inclusion of a VPN service means that your library of shows will be increased exponentially but Netflix will not work with just any old VPN. So, which VPNs work best with Netflix?
ExpressVPN is our personal favorite but you actually have a lot of good contenders to choose from. It all depends on your budget and requirements.
In this article we have collected the best of the best and we’ll let you know about the excellent features they come with.
Following this we’ll anser a few of the most common questions regarding VPN and by the time we’re done you’ll know all that you need to know to get started. Let’s discuss the VPNs that work best with Netflix!
Using VPN technology to ‘unlock’ Netflix geographically-based content
You might not know it, but through the magic of VPN you can access content from across the globe.
Netflix has libraries that are based on the location of its subscribers, partly because of demand but also in order to ensure that content in not shown in regions that it is not licensed for. Enter the VPN.
This game-changed means that you can watch the very latest in UK comedies if that’s your thing. Fancy a little Bollywood?
Login from one of India’s servers through your VPN and the Indian content is now present for your consumption.
It’s really the best way to make the most of your Netflix and to guarantee that you won’t be running out of shows anytime soon.
The importance of selecting the right VPN
The VPN which you select is going to have a huge impact on your Netflix experience. Some smaller VPNs have fewer servers, for instance, and this can lead to connection issues, bandwidth concerns, and more.
Some won’t even connect to Neyflix and if you’ve already bought a lengthy subscription then you will find yourself out of luck.
To combat this we’ve compiled a list of VPNs that WILL work with Netflix. Some of our entries even have servers dedicated completely to Netflix as well, to ensure that your connection is solid and FAST.
You may not be aware of this but VPN access can actually get you better bandwidth, as some ISPs will throttle torrents and streaming content, slowing you down when you just want to enjoy your favorite shows.
With a VPN you can avoid this, as everything you do on the net will be done through the VPN’s servers and thus your ISP won’t know that you are streaming. Your connection will be secure, swift, and solid!
Without further ado, let’s talk about the VPNs that you need to know about if you wish to enhance your Netflix experience!
Cyberghost
Our first entry in this ‘best of the best’ VPNs for Netflix is Cyberghost.
Based in both Romania and Germany, Cyberghost offers an affordable VPN service which you can use reliably with Netflix as well as some extra goodies in the bargain.
These include items such as adblockers, malware avoidance, tracker protection, and more.
Cyberghost provides good coverage, boasting 5900 servers in 90 countries, and if you’ve ever tried a VPN with excellent perks but only a small amount of servers then you know how important this factor can be.
It’s also quite easy to use for novices and experts alike.
Connection with Cyberghost is designed to be user friendly and all you need to do to connect is to start the service and then select a server from the country where you want it to see that your connection is coming from.
Cyberghost is secure, using military-grade AES 256 encryption, so your password and other private information will stay private when connecting from public WIFI.
So, how does it perform with Netflix? Well, if you are looking for European or United States content then it tests pretty well.
Content from Asia was very slow, however, but if you are only looking for U.S. and European content then you should be good.
Cyberghost offers a streaming filter with their service which is specifically designed for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more.
To make things even more user friendly, it can highlight which servers employ this option so that selection is a breeze. If you are looking for one of the easiest ways to unblock Netflix then Cyberghost might be for you.
Subscriptions start at $12.99 on the month to month rate or you can get a 2 year subscription for $3.69 per month for up to 7 devices per month.
Also, check their specials. Sometimes the long subscriptions will come with bonuses like a 1 time PC Cleanup reimage license, so look at the specials before you purchase to get even more out of Cyberghost.
Available Protocols
Cyberghost support provides a concise list of OS specific protocols which we are including here for your convenience:
Windows – OpenVPN for Windows Vista, L2TP/IPSec for Windows Vista, PPTP for Windows Vista, OpenVPN for Windows 7, L2TP/IPSec for Windows 7, PPTP for Windows 7, OpenVPN for Windows 8/8.1, L2TP/IPSec for Windows 8/8.1, PPTP for Windows 8/8.1, OpenVPN for Windows 10, L2TP for Windows 10, PPTP for Windows 10
Mac – OpenVPN for Mac OS (with Viscosity), OpenVPN for Mac OS (with Tunnelblick), L2TP/IPSec for Mac OS, PPTP for Mac OS
Linux -OpenVPN for Linux Mint (with network manager), OpenVPN for Linux Ubuntu (with network manager), OpenVPN for Linux Ubuntu (terminal), OpenVPN for Linux Debian (terminal), PPTP for Linux Ubuntu
Mobile – L2TP/IPSec for Windows Phone 8.1, IPSec for iOS, L2TP for iOS, PPTP for iOS, OpenVPN for Android > 4.x, OpenVPN for Android < 4.x, IPSec for Android, L2TP for Android, PPTP for Android
Hotspot Shield
The only U.S. based offering on our list, while they don’t log usage information there is other information which they do log, such as your email address, the hardware which you are logging on, your real ip address, and more.
That said, if you only need to use this service for streaming, Hotspot shield is one of the fastest VPNs around. With over 3200 servers in over 80 countries their coverage and speed is on par with the best.
From a security standpoint, Hotspot Shield is the least secure of our selections due to the logging concerned, so if you are looking to use TOR or do a bit of torrenting and are worried about privacy concerns then this VPN may not be a good fit for you.
The connection is secure, however, as they offer AES 128 or 256 along with an Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman key being generated for every session and they have a ‘kill switch’ which will automatically deploy anytime the VPN is disconnected to prevent you from ‘exposure’.
If you go with the lowest AES 128 encryption then the speed boost is quite noticeable and this can make all the difference when it comes to streaming Netflix.
As far as unblocking Netflix content we’ve found that Hotspot Shield works like a charm, connecting flawlessly to Geo-locked libraries around the world, so if the lower encryption level is an acceptable trade-off for the faster connection speed and you just intend to use it for streaming, then Hotspot Shield is a great option to consider.
As far as the subscription price, Hotspot Shield is $12.99 per month or you can get a 1 year subscription for about $4.87 per month and use it on up to 5 devices.
Available Protocols
Hotspot Shield, per their support site, only supports their one proprietary protocol known as ‘Catapult Hydra’.
This is quite secure and is utilized by a number of large corporations, such as McAfee, Bitdefender, Cheetah mobile, and more, so it is excellent for connecting from unsecured WIFI spots such as coffee shops or internet cafes but due to logging concerns this is a VPN that is more focused on streaming than full privacy.
NordVPN
Based out of Panama, NordVPN has over 5200 servers in 62 countries.
If you fancy downloading a torrent from time to time, they actually have dedicated P2P servers in order to facilitate this experience by providing you with excellent download speed.
Security-wise they have the edge on this list, providing AES 256 with a little gimmick which they call ‘double data protection’, which basically encrypts your communications twice.
We should note, however, that a data breach was reported in March of 2018.
This was cited as a server configuration issue and has since been remediated with no further breeches reported, however, we would be remiss if we did not report this in our review.
As far as your Netflix experience, NordVPN really shines here.
While not as fast as ExpressVPN it beats out Cyberghost when connecting to Asian servers and provides excellent speed for European and United States servers.
It also unlocks Youtube geographical content and the ever quirky BBC Iplayer, so this is a great choice for streaming.
Beyond this, for TOR users, NordVPN comes with Onion support, which is an uncommon feature for VPNs and not to be overlooked.
If you want a VPN provider that can give you speed and a large number of bells and whistles than NordVPN is an excellent choice.
Subscription to NordVPN starts at $11.95 per month or you can get a 1-year subscription at about $6.99 per month for 6 simultaneous connections.
Available Protocols
NordVPN advises on their support site that OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec are their protocols employed for standard and mobile connections. TLS v1.2 is utilized for their browser connection as well.
While this is a smaller number of protocols that the other providers this is still quite secure and NordVPN will easily unlock Netflix and a number of other services. Well worth a look.
ExpressVPN
Based out of the British Virgin Islands is ExpressVPN, our favorite when it comes to VPN connections to Netflix.
With over 3000 servers spread across 94 countries ExpressVPN has the perk of having some of those servers in the harder-to-reach areas.
This means that you will have better, faster access should you decide to check out some of the content in Asia or India rather than being limited to the U.S. or European Netflix feeds.
This is also currently the fastest VPN for accessing U.S. content so if that is your goal when it comes to a VPN provider then ExpressVPN is the one that you’ll need.
ExpressVPN comes with a number of features, one of our favorites being ‘split tunneling’.
This option allows you to decide which applications will use the VPN, so if you like you can set it to only be used by Netflix to get the most out of your VPN bandwidth. Security-wise, ExpressVPN uses AES 256 encryption in order to keep your ‘securables’ secure.
So, how does it rate with Netflix? While Netflix is always evolving their technology in order to prevent VPN access of geo content, ExpressVPN boasts on their site that this content can be unlocked…
…and so far, they are right. Testing with ExpressVPN allowed connection to multiple geographically locked Netflix libraries with no issues. If you do find that you have any issues you can take advantage of their support.
It is chat-based and available 24/7 and this is quite useful, as you know that they will be there whenever you need them.
Quality comes at a price and so ExpressVPN is one of the more expensive offerings, starting at $12.95 on a month to month basis or $6.67 per month with a 1 year subscription.
This will cover you for 5 using 5 devices with ExpressVPN.
Available Protocols
ExpressVPN ‘s site advises that they support OpenVPN (UDP or TCP), PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, IKEv2and SSTP protocols.
Typically for streaming you are going to want to employ the OpenVPN UDP protocol for best results when it comes to streaming your Netflix.
ExpressVPN will set your protocol by default but if you don’t like this option then you can de-select it from your settings.
Frequently Asked Questions – Which VPN works with Netflix
1. Can Netflix ban you for using a VPN?
When Netflix detects that you are attempting to connect with a VPN, rather than banning you their server will send you an error stating an error code of ‘m7111-5059’ along with a caption of ‘Whoops, something went wrong’, where you will be asked to reconnect.
While that should not occur with the VPNs from this article it can and does occur with many others, so be sure to test your VPN of choice thoroughly before agreeing to a long subscription.
Many will offer 30-day money-back guarantees or you can simply play it safe with a 1 month subscription that doesn’t bind you for more charges.
2. Is it possible to get a faster connection through a VPN than I have with my ISP?
Actually, yes it is. Many ISP providers will throttle speeds when you are torrenting in an effort to save bandwidth.
By utilizing a VPN your transmissions and activities are protected in what is essentially a ‘tunnel’ of encryption.
The ISP will know that you are connected but will not be able to monitor what you are doing, thus any automated attempts to throttle your bandwidth that your ISP had configured to trigger when you access torrent servers should not affect you.
Your downloads should proceed directly through your VPN and will be subject to the VPNs bandwidth.
3. Which is the best VPN to see Netflix content from Asian countries?
ExpressVPN is a favorite when it comes to unlocking content and avoiding censorship in China and other parts of Asia.
If you are travelling to China it is a good idea to get your subscription beforehand, though, as their website is banned in there.
Alternately, you might try a free VPN to get to their website if you are already in an area where ExpressVPN is banned and this should serve as a workaround to purchase your access.
4. Can a VPN allow me to watch Netflix at work?
If you work a late shift and need help staying awake, with a VPN subscription you can create a connection that will allow you to use remote access to access your own home computer.
This will allow you to play games, watch Netflix, write, or do whatever you like directly on your home computer.
This is good for those times when you need to stay awake but also need to make sure that you are not violating your work’s network security policy.
5. Are there any good, free VPNS I can use?
When it comes to Netflix the free VPNs are usually not going to do you a lot of good.
They will typically come with a cap of how many gigabytes that you can use in a day or a month and there is no guarantee that they will be able to access Netflix without issue.
That said, most VPNs will offer free trial access so this is one way that you can test them with your Netflix should you decide to go with a provider which we have not listed.
