We would like to count page views and clicks with Google Analytics, which sets cookies in your
browser. It is how we learn which pages are worth writing. Nothing loads until you choose, and
declining costs you nothing on this site. What we collect.
Netflix has the most sophisticated VPN blocking of any streaming service and the most valuable prize behind it: a different library in every country, with the largest anime catalogue in Japan, the American sitcoms in the UK and Canada, and originals everywhere. This page ranks providers on one thing — how reliably they get you into another region's Netflix — with price after renewal as the tiebreaker.
NordVPN77 Consistently the provider with the most Netflix regions working at any given time in user reports — US, UK, Japan, Canada, Germany, Korea, Australia and more — because 7,400 servers give it more unflagged addresses than anyone.
ExpressVPN80 The most reliable in expat reports for the harder regions — Japan and Korea in particular — and the best device coverage: native Apple TV app, Fire TV, and MediaStreamer DNS for consoles and older TVs.
Surfshark77 Unblocks US, UK, Japan and Canada consistently in user reports at the lowest intro price of the three, with unlimited devices so the whole household's screens are covered.
The biggest network and the most features; renews at nearly triple the intro price.
77
Owner
Nord Security
Jurisdiction
Panama · Outside the alliances
No-logs audit
Deloitte, 2024 (report not public)
Price
from $3.39/mo · ~$7.53/mo over 3 yrs after renewal
Runs oniOSAndroidMacWindowsLinuxRouterBrowserTV
Consistently the provider with the most Netflix regions working at any given time in user reports — US, UK, Japan, Canada, Germany, Korea, Australia and more — because 7,400 servers give it more unflagged addresses than anyone. SmartPlay is on by default, so smart TVs behind the app get the right library without configuration.
The two-year plan renews at roughly three times the intro.
Streaming
90
Price & renewal
62
App quality
58
Privacy & trust
65
Largest server network in the market
NordLynx (WireGuard) is consistently fast
Four Deloitte no-logs audits since 2018
Two-year plan renews at roughly 3× the intro price
Sibling brand Surfshark is presented as a competitor
No port forwarding
Lab test pending — scored on public dataiOS app score 58/100 from 699,424 ratingsFull reviewVisit NordVPN
Polished apps and reliable unblocking; owned by Kape, which also owns three review sites.
80
Owner
Kape Technologiesalso owns review sites
Jurisdiction
British Virgin Islands · Outside the alliances
No-logs audit
KPMG, 2023 (report not public)
Price
from $4.99/mo · ~$7.08/mo over 3 yrs after renewal
Runs oniOSAndroidMacWindowsLinuxRouterBrowserTV
The most reliable in expat reports for the harder regions — Japan and Korea in particular — and the best device coverage: native Apple TV app, Fire TV, and MediaStreamer DNS for consoles and older TVs. The pick if you watch on a television rather than a laptop.
Unlimited devices at the lowest headline price of the big three; same owner as NordVPN.
77
Owner
Nord Security
Jurisdiction
Netherlands · Nine Eyes
No-logs audit
Deloitte, 2025 (report not public)
Price
from $2.19/mo · ~$4.41/mo over 3 yrs after renewal
Runs oniOSAndroidMacWindowsLinuxRouterBrowserTV
Unblocks US, UK, Japan and Canada consistently in user reports at the lowest intro price of the three, with unlimited devices so the whole household's screens are covered. Its Smart DNS is included for TVs.
Fewer working regions than NordVPN at any moment; renewal triples.
Streaming
84
Price & renewal
77
App quality
66
Privacy & trust
58
Unlimited simultaneous connections
Cheapest two-year intro among the major brands
Deloitte no-logs audit (2023) and Cure53 app audits
Renewal is about three times the intro price
Owned by Nord Security, which also owns NordVPN
Netherlands base sits inside the Nine Eyes
Lab test pending — scored on public dataiOS app score 66/100 from 128,114 ratingsFull reviewVisit Surfshark
Streaming-labelled servers and a 45-day refund; Kape-owned and Romania-based.
73
Owner
Kape Technologiesalso owns review sites
Jurisdiction
Romania · Outside the alliances
No-logs audit
Deloitte, 2022 (report not public)
Price
from $2.19/mo · renewal price unconfirmed
Runs oniOSAndroidMacWindowsLinuxRouterBrowserTV
Servers labelled 'Netflix US', 'Netflix UK', 'Netflix Japan' and so on remove the trial and error, and the 45-day refund on long plans is the longest on the site if it does not work for you. Works for the main regions in user reports.
Kape-owned; the long-plan renewal price is not clearly published.
Streaming
82
Price & renewal
71
App quality
77
Privacy & trust
38
Servers labelled by streaming service
45-day money-back guarantee on long plans
Very large server count
Does not work in China or Russia
Kape-owned; same conflict as ExpressVPN
Renewal price on the long plan is not clearly stated
Swiss, non-profit-controlled, open source, with the only free tier worth using.
80
Owner
Proton Foundation
Jurisdiction
Switzerland · Outside the alliances
No-logs audit
None — apps audited by Securitum, 2025
Price
from $4.49/mo
Runs oniOSAndroidMacWindowsLinuxRouterBrowserTV
Plus-plan servers unblock US, UK and Japanese Netflix in user reports, and it is the only pick with a Swiss non-profit owner and open-source apps — for anyone who wants a single VPN that does Netflix and takes privacy seriously.
Fewer regions than the streaming specialists; the free tier does not unblock Netflix.
Streaming
84
Price & renewal
77
App quality
68
Privacy & trust
73
Controlled by a Swiss non-profit foundation since 2024
All apps open source and independently audited
Free tier with no data cap and no ads
Renewal is higher than the intro price
Free tier cannot choose a country
Speeds trail NordVPN and ExpressVPN in most tests
Lab test pending — scored on public dataiOS app score 68/100 from 101,311 ratingsFull reviewVisit Proton VPN
Small network that Netflix flags quickly; works for US some weeks and not others.
What we weighed for Netflix, and the exact weights
Regions unblocked
US, UK, Japan, Canada, Germany and Korea are the libraries people want. A provider that only does US Netflix is a US Netflix VPN, not a Netflix VPN.
Recovery speed
Netflix flags ranges continuously. What matters is how fast a provider retires a flagged server and offers a fresh one; server count is the best proxy.
Smart DNS for TVs and consoles
Half of Netflix viewing is on devices that cannot run a VPN app. A DNS-based unblocker from the provider covers them.
Price over three years
Netflix VPNs are kept as long as the subscription. The renewal price is the real one.
Weights on this page: Streaming 40% · Price & renewal 15% · App quality 15% · Privacy & trust 10% · Speed (our tests) 8% · Features 6% · Support & refunds 4% · Censorship bypass 2%. Formula.
How Netflix detects VPNs
Netflix maintains lists of IP ranges belonging to datacentres and known VPN providers, updated continuously, and compares your address on every request. A match used to produce the proxy error; since 2021 it more often produces a library containing only Netflix originals, which Netflix holds rights to everywhere, with the licensed content silently removed. Either way the mechanism is the address, not the protocol, and it cannot see inside the tunnel.
That is why server count predicts success. A provider with thousands of servers in a country has thousands of addresses; when Netflix flags a range, the provider retires it and the next server works. A provider with ten servers in that country is one flag away from not working. NordVPN’s lead on this page follows directly from its network size, and the order below it follows from server counts in the popular regions.
The regions people actually want
The United States, for originals and network shows. The United Kingdom and Canada, for the American sitcoms — Friends, The Office, Seinfeld — that are on Peacock, Max and Paramount+ in the US. Japan, for the largest anime catalogue on any Netflix, including Studio Ghibli films that are absent from the US library. South Korea, for K-dramas before they reach other regions. Germany and France, for European originals and dubbed content.
The library explorer on this site answers “which region has this title?” for the titles people search for most, with the date it was last checked.
Televisions and consoles
Most Netflix viewing is on a television, and most televisions cannot run a VPN app. Three answers: a native app where the platform has one (Apple TV since tvOS 17, Fire TV, Android TV — all five picks cover these); the provider’s Smart DNS, which changes the region Netflix sees without encrypting anything (ExpressVPN’s MediaStreamer, NordVPN’s and Surfshark’s Smart DNS); or a router running the VPN so every device in the house is behind it. Smart DNS is the simplest for a PlayStation or a Roku, and it is why ExpressVPN ranks where it does despite its price.
When it stops working
Reload the app fully — Netflix caches the region. Then switch to another server in the same country. Then try the provider’s Smart DNS instead of the VPN app. If none works, the provider has lost that region for now; NordVPN and ExpressVPN typically recover within days, smaller providers within weeks or not at all. The re-check date at the top is when the statuses here were last confirmed.
What we have not tested
Regional unblocking status comes from user reports and provider statements, weighted to the most recent. Our own monthly Netflix checks on paid subscriptions, per region, are on the roadmap; when they land, the basis for every status on this page changes to “our test” with the date.
iPhone app rating is far below every established provider in this catalogue
Frequently asked questions
Does Netflix ban accounts for using a VPN?
No. Netflix's response to a detected VPN is to refuse playback with a proxy error, or, since 2021, to show only its own originals rather than the licensed library. No account has been publicly reported suspended for VPN use. It is against the terms of service, and Netflix is within its rights to block, which it does by address range.
Why does Netflix only show originals when I use a VPN?
Since 2021 Netflix treats a detected VPN address as 'unknown location' and serves only content it holds worldwide rights to — its originals — rather than blocking outright. If you see a library with no licensed shows, the server is flagged. Switch to another server in the same country.
Which country has the best Netflix library?
By title count, several European countries and the UK have led recent counts; the US has the most originals and network shows; Japan has the largest anime catalogue; Canada and the UK have the American sitcoms that are on Peacock and Max in the US. The library explorer on this site tells you where a specific title is.
How do I watch Netflix from another country on my TV?
On Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV, install the provider's app and connect. On older smart TVs, consoles and Roku, use the provider's Smart DNS (ExpressVPN MediaStreamer, NordVPN and Surfshark Smart DNS) — it changes the apparent region without a VPN app. Or put a VPN router in front of the whole house.
Does a VPN slow Netflix down?
HD needs about 5 Mbps and 4K about 25 Mbps. Any of the picks on WireGuard-family protocols will exceed that on ordinary broadband. If 4K buffers, the server is far away or overloaded; choose a closer one in the target country.
Can I get a free VPN that works with Netflix?
Not reliably. Proton's free tier does not unblock streaming by design; Windscribe's free Windflix servers sometimes work for US and UK Netflix with a 10 GB monthly cap. Anything else free is either flagged immediately or funding itself with your data.
