Question & answer

What is the best VPN for streaming?

The short answer

NordVPN is the best streaming VPN in our comparison: high speeds and reliable access to streaming services. Surfshark is the smart pick if you want to spend less, and PrivateVPN is the surprisingly capable budget option.

Streaming demands three things at once: enough speed for crisp video, servers that streaming platforms have not blocked, and stability so your episode does not stall halfway. Across all three, NordVPN was the most consistent performer in our tests; streaming simply worked, time after time.

Surfshark gives up very little in streaming performance and costs considerably less on a two-year plan, while adding unlimited devices. For a household that streams on several screens at once, that combination is hard to beat. PrivateVPN proves it can be done small: the little Swedish provider handled streaming services remarkably well for a price around two dollars a month.

Avoid free VPNs for streaming: the data caps run out within a couple of episodes and their servers are the first to get blocked. And know that bypassing regional catalogs can sit at odds with your streaming service's terms of use.

Relevant to this question

Our picks
NordVPN logoNordVPN
Nord Security
Best overall
NordVPN

Nord Security

Top picks4.7
From $3.99/moView
Our picks
Surfshark logoSurfshark
Surfshark B.V.
Best value
Surfshark

Surfshark B.V.

Top picks4.6
From $2.49/moView
Budget
PrivateVPN logoPrivateVPN
PrivateVPN Global AB
PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN Global AB

Budget4.0
From $2/moView