ZDNET’s best VPN for streaming is ExpressVPN. It has top-tier speed, a massive global network of servers, and supports an exceptionally large number of devices. Regardless of what you’re streaming on and where you want to stream, it’s likely that ExpressVPN will have you covered.

To find the right VPN to meet your streaming needs, you’ll need to do some hands-on testing. Sometimes only specific servers can unlock certain services. You want to be sure you can stream where you want to stream and you can stream through a VPN server that has the performance to support video. 

In addition to having the capability to unlock streaming services, each of the VPNs on our list has to meet certain security and privacy standards.

All of these VPNs are secure and do not track your browsing activities. They all also have useful features, such as kill switches, which cuts off your internet connection if the VPN connection drops to prevent you from accidentally connecting to an unencrypted, less secure internet access point. This ensures that your connection is never accidentally exposed without you knowing about it. 

Lastly, to be a useful VPN for streaming, there is a minimum level of performance that has to be there. After all, there’s no point using a VPN while streaming if your connection continually drops or lagging becomes intolerable.

VPN is an acronym for Virtual Private Network. These services allow users to browse the internet privately and securely connect to open or public Wi-Fi networks. VPNs give users the ability to change their virtual location by redirecting the connection through one of its servers located around the world. A VPN will also encrypt all of your traffic, so you’re hidden from hackers, your internet service provider, and governments.

However, if your online activities are being monitored at the ISP level — say, by a government — they may recognize the signature of a VPN in play, even if exactly what you are doing is hidden.

VPNs are useful in unblocking geo-restricted content and can be a vital tool for accessing information in countries with repressive governments. And they are important services for anyone that wants to maintain a high level of safety and privacy online. However, because they are anonymous (or at least should be) they can also be used to hide illegal online activities such as pirating content.

Using a virtual private network can allow you to unblock streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu — simply by changing your IP address and making it appear as if you are located in a different region. This is useful because many streaming services restrict access to their content based on your geographic location.

In general, here are the steps for using most VPNs with your preferred streaming service:

1. Choose a VPN provider. You need to choose one that has servers in the region where the streaming service you want to access is available. Our list above has some great options. 
2. Download and install the VPN software. Follow the instructions provided by the VPN provider to get the VPN actually up and running on your device.
3. Connect to a server. Once you have installed the VPN, open it and follow the on-screen instructions to choose a server. Pick one in the region where the streaming service you want to access is available.
4. Log in to the streaming service. After connecting to a server, log in to the streaming service. It should now see you as located in the region of the VPN server you connected to — thus allowing you to access any content in that region (which would normally be restricted to you since you don’t live there).
5. Start streaming. Voila! Easy right?

Keep in mind using a VPN to unblock content restricted in your region may violate the terms of service of the streaming service. Also, some VPNs do not work with all streaming services. 

A VPN is not required for streaming movies, games, or TV shows, however, it can change your location to unlock certain services or products in other countries. The tradeoff is that a VPN will likely slow down your connection — and especially so if you opt for a free plan. In saying that, many free VPNs will prevent you from streaming or will have a strict data usage limit. 

This is because the distance to the server, encryption process and protocol can create a lag in your internet speed.

If you find that streaming with a VPN is unbearably slow, try connecting to a different server or you may need to try a different VPN service altogether. Lag can oftentimes be unnoticed with better VPN services.

Basically, Android TV is a version of Android. That means most apps in the Google Play store will run reasonably well on Android TV — including VPN clients. Most VPN vendors slightly recode their Android handheld apps to have a wide-screen UI for the TV and put those apps into the Play Store. Since Amazon’s Fire TV is basically a skinned version of Android TV using Amazon’s app store, VPN vendors didn’t have to do too much technically to make it work — and Amazon is, of course, a huge market. So you just go to the app store and install the app. Easy peasy.

Unfortunately, there aren’t native VPN apps for Apple TV, Chromecast, or Roku devices. You can still take advantage of a VPN security, but you’ll need to set up a VPN on your router or PC network. The same process applies if you want to stream with Xbox, Playstation, or Switch.

If our best VPNs for streaming aren’t the best choices for you, no problem. There are other secure and reputable services that could meet your needs, as shown below.